RPG Superstar 2014 Top 32
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A common complaint regarding PFS is the inability to play "deep" characters for roleplaying purposes. Many people, both on and off of these forums, have complained that roleplay is more constrained in PFS than in a home game. While it's true that PFS scenarios can never be as personalized as a home game is, it's also true that great roleplay opportunities can be had in PFS. This article is going to explore what sort of character concepts work in PFS, what character concepts don't work, and how to bring that out at the table.
Before we begin, let's talk about the various roleplay opportunities that exist in PFS. For the purposes of this discussion, I'm going to limit them to 5 different types of character interaction:
1) Character Introductions - Most good GMs allow for players to introduce their characters to the table before the game gets started. This is an excellent opportunity to lay down the ground work for who your character is and why they are on the mission.
2) Interaction with NPCs - This is what most people think of when they think of roleplaying. While dialogue with NPCs is important, it is far from the only means of roleplay.
3) Interactions with PCs - Many players gloss over interacting with their fellow companions. What would be your character's reaction to the bard's stirring speech? To the fighter's impressive swing? To the wizard's recounting of some important historical fact?
4) Combat - Roleplay can be had during combat, too. What would your character say when struck? When they strike an impressive blow? When they first lay eyes on a hideous monster? When your turn comes around, you have the floor and all eyes are on you - nobody will mind if you throw in a quick sentence regarding your character's reactions.
5) Non-combat encounters - Puzzles, locked doors, traps, etc, can provide excellent opportunities for roleplay as well. Will your character sit by patiently while the rogue fiddles with the trap? Will your character be nervous waiting for so long?
You'll notice that there is a common thread amongst all 5 of these types of interaction. In PFS, your character generally reacts, while in a home game, your character generally acts. That is not a bad change, but it is a change, and it is likely what drives a lot of the concern over a lack of roleplaying in PFS. It's fairly rare that characters have a big, plot-changing choice to make in a scenario, but the characters CAN react to the things that happen to them.
With the understanding of the roleplaying opportunities and the importance of reaction, the following are some tips regarding building an interesting character:
1) Make a character with an obvious personality. - Maybe it's an accent, maybe it's some sort of a tick or quirk. Maybe the character has a mental disorder, or is obsessed with something, or follows a particular deity's teachings to the extreme. Maybe your character is lazy, maybe they hate killing people, maybe they flatly refuse to wear anything green. Regardless, the easier it is to pick up on the character's personality, the more that players and GMs will give you an opportunity to react.
2) Don't expect a long, detailed backstory to come up at the table. - While in a home game, it's possible to spend an adventure sitting in a tavern prying the shy rogue's backstory, it's less possible to do so in PFS. There simply isn't time. While I do advocate building backstories for your characters, understand that if it doesn't affect how your character reacts in an obvious way, it's unlikely to come up.
3) Tie your character to the game world. - If you create a character with ties to currently-extant organizations, countries and faiths, it's likely that your character will have more opportunity to explain those ties. If your character is a member of a church that isn't detailed in any of the game material, it's less likely that your faith will come up. If your character doesn't have a home, you lose the roleplaying opportunity that might come up when your Taldan character visits Oppara (or, for that matter, Andoran). If you give your character a faith, a home and a reason to be in the society, those things will usually come up more often than not. If you tie your character into a particularly obscure part of the game world, such as the country of Lastwall or the faith of Imbrex, be prepared to work a bit harder on getting that to be relevant.
4) Keep it short and to the point. - Think about the last movie you saw. How many long speeches and monologues were there? If you hold on to the floor too long, you'll lose your GM and player's attention. Give other people a chance to speak - it will give you even more ideas for responses.
5) Tie mechanical choices to roleplaying. - When your character uses furious focus, what does it look like? When your player channels, what does it look like? What's the story behind your bard being able to sing so well? Things that are mechanical in nature don't have to be solely mechanical - see if you can work some of that into your character's story.
I think that's a good start on the subject. What do you think? How do you come up with character concepts, and how do you make sure that your characters shine through at the table?
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I'd say that Point #3 is, from my view, the most rewarding of the five points. Not only do you get to develop an interest in researching the world of Golarion, but you end up with an excellent character.
In my experience, the best-roleplayed characters are not the ones which the strangest quirks, but the ones who make the most convincing residents of Golarion.
-Matt
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RPG Superstar 2014 Top 32
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I don't know, I enjoy playing really quirky characters, but then again, I'm a goofball. Right now, my favorite character to play is my Taldan gnome who collects as many royal titles as he can buy and who, every year, enters his mount in an Andoran election. The mount's name is Senator Oinkers. He lost the election, but he gets touchy about it, so we still call him Senator.
Developer
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I don't know, I enjoy playing really quirky characters, but then again, I'm a goofball. Right now, my favorite character to play is my Taldan gnome who collects as many royal titles as he can buy and who, every year, enters his mount in an Andoran election. The mount's name is Senator Oinkers. He lost the election, but he gets touchy about it, so we still call him Senator.
It's for the best. The esteemed Mr. Oinkers would only engage in pork barrel spending if elected.
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RPG Superstar 2014 Top 32
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| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I don't know, I enjoy playing really quirky characters, but then again, I'm a goofball. Right now, my favorite character to play is my Taldan gnome who collects as many royal titles as he can buy and who, every year, enters his mount in an Andoran election. The mount's name is Senator Oinkers. He lost the election, but he gets touchy about it, so we still call him Senator.
It's for the best. The esteemed Mr. Oinkers would only engage in pork barrel spending if elected.
That doesn't seem to matter too much in Andoran. I mean, look at Senator Naran - he certainly knows a thing or two about pork!
This is a fantastic article, Netopalis - thanks for writing and posting it! I'm in the process of rebuilding one of my PFS characters and have been stuck for a while, so this gives me some new ideas and inspiration to work with.
On point #5, my paladin has Profession: Baker as a skill, which he uses for his day job checks. This doesn't usually enter actual game play, but once in a while I find myself with an opportunity to make jokes about it. My favorite line is something about my character trying to influence someone or show gratitude by presenting them with a plate of paladin cookies. It's good for table-wide laugh, so it's worth the skill points I've dedicated to it.
On point #2, I have my paladin write his own Pathfinder Chronicles, which begin with his backstory. That is, I myself actually keep a running document in which I write like he would write, covering the details of each scenario he completes. Like his baking, this doesn't usually come up in actual game play, but it gives me a better feel for who he is and what he values. Plus, it provides a good record of material that I can use to make references from (which I guess also relates to #3).
Once again, thanks for a great article!
-- jason
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If I sit down at a table, con or not, that the GM doesn't allow for character introductions, I will be very sad. I have often spent quite a bit of time molding a character to a point where he can be described quickly but still effectively.
I think that something to be aware of (not just in PFS or RPing, but in life in general) is that it isn't WHAT you say, but HOW you say it. Roleplaying adds a certain angle to that because if you sit down at a table like I did this week and you have Milosh, an obvious Varisian; Cherlisia, a drug addict, addled minded swashbuckler; Alex, a bumpkin archer of E-RAS-tul; and Pan, a posh New Opparan who doesn't wish to get his hands dirty; you would be able to relate a good bit of that JUST from HOW they were introduced, not the words that were actually said. I think that PFS gives a nice opportunity to create simple concepts that blossom over sessions, but the biggest thing is to give each character one quirk that you can build the rest off of. While you might not get the time to really tell your characters story, you can still express well who they are in our snapshot adventures.
Or you can PBP and get all the interactions you can stomach (with some characters)
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I knew this was coming after Tuesday and the discussion we had a few days prior to that but was surprised to find it on the forums. Solid material here bud. I've been trying to make my character more memorable as of late and these are some good tips.....even if all of my character are kind of dark and scary or are just generally disturbing.
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I try to give each of my characters a shtick that will make them memorable.
My Cleric of Naderi begins each mission asking if there are any Do Not Resuscitate orders in place, and explains her own.
My Monk spends her downtime weaving miniature baskets, and leaves them at the scene of any memorable battles. (It's a slightly misunderstood Grandmother Crow thing.)
My Soralyon worshiper has a stone from every ruined shrine she has visited (after restoring it as best she can in the time allowed) - which seems to be about one per scenario.
etc etc
But it has to be quick and memorable. In terms of wordcount, you probably have about 25 words -- if you can't describe it in 1-2 sentences, it's too complicated.
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RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 8
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Awesome article; these are the threads I want to see more of around here.
Something that I think is worth mentioning is how a character's roleplaying can develop over the course of multiple sessions. In my experience with tabletop, starting a chacter at higher levels is fun, but strips them of the roleplaying experience gained from those lower levels. I'd always much rather play the early levels of my characters, even if their build hasn't started to shine yet, because it makes roleplaying them in the higher levels so much easier. It helps add that third dimension to a character as their personality becomes more refined the more times you get to explore it.
Let's take my level 11 PFS barbarian as an example.
Level 1: He was your standard, two-dimensional, meat-bag. A half-orc from the Realm of the Mammoth lords who valued physical might over arcane mumbo-jumbo. I gave him a name, a tribe, and a sentence or two of backstory. That was about it. He roared a lot, and did barbarian things.
Level 5: Between level 1 and 5, he had been played in almost a dozen games. A lot happened in those levels. He had been married, gotten divorced, slayed a dragon, and been betrayed by his faction leader. This gave him some new dynamics to roleplay with. He boasted about the dragon he killed (as well as other fights), bad-mouthed his ex-wife with other brooding pathfinders, and became more reserved after the betrayal he had experienced at the hands of both his wife and his faction leader.
Level 9: Since level 5 he traveled to many exotic locations. He experienced dozens of different cultures and climates and started picking up languages. He proved his worth in an area, swam through a river of lava, and stopped a group of trolls from killing a small child that he later adopted. He started reading books and went on a diet. He got to return to the Realm of the Mammoth lords as an emissary of the society, helping to scout out a location for future operations in the region. He even forgave his ex-wife.
Level 11: Now when I play my barbarian, I have 10 levels worth of background to draw on. He's a lot more than just a barbarian from the Realm of the Mammoth Lords. Whenever he gets into a situation, I have all this rich previous experience to draw upon, which makes the in game interactions with him that much better. I had no idea that I'd like this character as much as I do when he was level 1, but now that he's 11 I can't imagine playing him without all those games to back him up.
In short: the more you roleplay a character, the better it becomes.
This is just a pet peeve of mine, but too many people try to make their character have a tragic background. After awhile you just wonder if there is a band of roving parent murders in absolom.
I alway RP when needed. I used to not but now I do. I think people try to focus TOO much on other things, like how to make a character to get through.
My ifrit once kissed her way passed a guard, ran through a courtyard naked, Rode a drake, and crashed it into a cliff. With all this, I play her as a reckless character that sometimes has no idea what she is doing.
When I started, she was not really anything, she was just a piece of paper and a concept, but when I played her, she became more and more of a character
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Nice work Netopalis,
A part of #1 but really part of #6 is the catchphrase. Trying to make one is difficult, but over the course of a few adventures something might jump out at you. And it doesn't always have to be something spoken: impatiently twirling the great-axe, turning three times before settling, or stringing one's fingers through one's beard when there is a lull in the conversation works well. As well as Bazinga!, it's clobbering time, or aye Carumba!
EDIT: re-spelled Netopalis
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Remember, it is possible to role play flaws as well as strengths.
A flawless, faultless character is a bland character.so, having a flawless character would be a flaw?
(and fun to RP, after all, he can point out his flawlessness at every chance he gets and really be a perfict pain...)
Wait... this sounds a lot my tiefling wizard, Angelo... self-proclaimed "Master of All Things Arcane". He "knows" everything of value (obviously, if he doesn't know it, it isn't worth knowing).
For me, sometimes I am able to envision the character before I play them the first time... others, I have to "learn" who they are. I actually like learning who these people I am playing are... sometimes I am surprised (such as the fact that I didn't plan on Lady Natalia Landros being such an elitist snob... especially when her twin brother, Magnus is very humble). That's always been a lot of fun for me.
But, Netopalis, you've given me more things to think about when creating the characters. Especially the description of how certain maneuvers look for each character.
Example, Lady Natalia (a cleric of Aroden, read battle oracle), does have Furious Focus. I imagine she is focusing all the ridicule she has received over the years professing that Aroden speaks to her, and grants her divine power. Sir Magnus, her twin and paladin of Abadar, does not have Furious Focus... he Power Attacks, but more to end combats quickly and efficiently (according to his training). I see him being more elegant in his swordmanship... she is more... brutal.
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Remember, it is possible to role play flaws as well as strengths.
A flawless, faultless character is a bland character.so, having a flawless character would be a flaw?
(and fun to RP, after all, he can point out his flawlessness at every chance he gets and really be a perfict pain...)
There is a difference between characters who believe themselves to be flawless and characters the player portrays as flawless. The former is a narcissistic, egocentric character with a possible god-complex. Such a character may be fun to role play as, but does not mesh well with the PFS model. The latter is a character who is decidedly un-fun for everyone else as they inherently hog the spotlight. Additionally, when such a character inevitably falls short in an endeavor, the player of said character is not having anymore.
In short, having a flawless character is generally not conducive for Society play.
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I use a variety of inspirations.
Sometimes it's reading though the books on Goloarian that set me off. Sometimes it's an image. Sometimes it's something out of the blue.
For example.
-Lore related. I was reading up on the Grey Maidens and came up with my tower shield specialist. She's a former grey maiden (one of the ones forced into the group, her sister was held hostage)
-Image. I saw this image.. And what is where my character Cindrana Longpath came from. The Korvosa book and a quick read on how Cheliaxians treat both Varisians and Tielfings got me thinking. She's had some loss but not tragic, she takes care of her (extended) Varisian family.
-'The Muse' factor. I tried to make an unbearded fighter type for Taldor and kept winding up with a female noblewoman cleric. That turned out to be one of the funnest Roleplaying challenges. No tragedies. No pathos. She knows the last 50 generations or so of her family, all the deeds (and misdeeds) of her family and is a proper snob (The locals around her call her 'The Diplomat of Mass Destruction/Distraction). FYI. I finally made a Taldane beardless fighter type. (Simon Clarkson, my new War Priest)
There are a LOT of ways, a LOT of methods and approaches. I know that it took me a long long long time to figure out how to do a Kitsune. This was a challenge for me.
Now I got to make my 'Beachboy' after a few of us got the Undine boon. :D