Questions tagged [character-development]

For questions about narrative character development or growth. See [character-creation] and [character-advancement] for questions about using advancement mechanics.

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3 answers
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Shoe-themed race or class features

My character is really into shoes and I'm planning on taking Leadership next level. I want my cohort to be devoted to the old norse god of shoes and vengance, Víðarr. While there is a retribution ...
Dan's user avatar
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46 votes
7 answers
6k views

Problems Regarding a Mary-Sue type Player Character

In my game, one of the player's characters is a bit... too much. It's not easy to describe, but I think she's a somewhat more subtle example of the Mary Sue archetype: a character who is perfect, and ...
Schilcote's user avatar
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43 votes
8 answers
36k views

How can I roleplay my evil character properly?

I have started playing as an evil character in a group of neutral and good characters. We are traveling in a caravan through an undead-ridden world. No teleportation or plane traveling possible. We ...
Discipol's user avatar
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25 votes
6 answers
2k views

What are some character development tools? [closed]

I have a character that I want to develop slowly through the campaign. By this I mean I want him to slowly mature and change his personality through the sessions. What tool or trick can I use to ...
C. Ross's user avatar
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21 votes
4 answers
5k views

How to role-play serious characters?

In my last campaign I tried to play a druid. I made quite a detailed background story that involved him being rejected from his dwarf clan and had travelled the world after that without too much human ...
Wolpertinger's user avatar
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20 votes
5 answers
2k views

As a player, how can I help other players explore their characters on a deeper level?

I'm playing in a group with a diverse group of players. Some have everything about their character planned (like myself and one other player), others came to the table with a concept and nothing else. ...
Nameless Nick's user avatar
19 votes
8 answers
3k views

How to transform a tragic hero into a villain? [closed]

First things first: let there be a tragic hero with some (yet undefined) personal characteristics. Let there also be a grim world, in which the stories take place (no fairies, knights in shining armor ...
John's user avatar
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13 votes
3 answers
26k views

Can a player's character become a Devil?

Can a player character ascend (or descend depending on how you look at it) to become a demon or Devil, somehow? My PC is a Warlock under the Archfiend Patron. While I understand I could potentially ...
He Who Rules As Intended's user avatar
13 votes
4 answers
2k views

Tips on playing a character whose goals run contrary to his outward actions (to the other PCs)

So, in one of the previous campaigns I played, I had a character whose own personal goals often ended up at odds with the rest of the party (who all agreed with each other). It was difficult to ...
Izkata's user avatar
  • 233
13 votes
4 answers
2k views

How do I track NPC relationships with each other?

My players are big on Character Development and have a list of NPCs they regularly interact with (they are rulers). I know there are many ways to handle my question, but I'm at a loss. So, how do I ...
wolf's user avatar
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12 votes
2 answers
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How is character development realised in Mongoose Traveller?

I've just read through Mongoose Traveller, and as I understand it the lack of conventional character development (perceived as the increased value of numeral signifiers) isn't a bug but a feature - ...
schlossblick's user avatar
11 votes
6 answers
3k views

What should I do if my character is deeply related to a villain that they are loyal to (the villain has recently revealed themselves)?

I feel stuck as a character between a choice of my party or the villain. I know that I want to help the party, but my character is loyal to this person (who they had no idea of where they were) who ...
eko's user avatar
  • 127
11 votes
2 answers
1k views

Is 5e character advancement commutative across multiclassing?

Is 5e character development commutative across multiclassing? I'm talking about the mathematical property where given two operands and an operation, \$x \circ y = y \circ x\$. That is, regardless of ...
Mindwin Remember Monica's user avatar
10 votes
3 answers
4k views

How can a PC become more draconic?

Long story short, the frail, ancient 7th lvl wizard in the party I DM is actually a dragon who is slowly remembering his past and the dragon council's curse that turned him into a human. He has ...
J. Michael Cherry's user avatar
9 votes
4 answers
1k views

What can I do to help a player not make antagonistic characters?

One of my players heard that during the second game he played (out of a few) that his characters were always antagonistic to every other character in some way. Personally, as a GM I didn't see this (...
Thomas E.'s user avatar
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9 votes
1 answer
528 views

Character differentiation (through sub- and crafts talents) in Dungeon World

Compared to other game systems like The Dark Eye or DnD, Dungeon World seems to lack in character differentiation through game mechanics outside of combat environments. A player of my group recently ...
iraserd's user avatar
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8 votes
6 answers
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What's a Solid Way to Strike up a Conversation With a LE Devil outsider without the Gate Spell?

My DM has allowed me to make a vampire / hexblade player character for our weekly game. Naturally, my character's motivations include betraying her old boss (vampire lord) and murdering him. Her back ...
Micah's user avatar
  • 400
8 votes
1 answer
311 views

Modifying hobby ranks

We had a debate in our RP group last night (22/12/2014) regarding the application of hobby ranks and how/why they are used. The argument was based on the fact that a thief can be a better weapons ...
Paul's user avatar
  • 635
8 votes
3 answers
497 views

How do I get inexperienced, reluctant players to set in-character goals?

When GMing for a group of players of mixed level of experience in RPGs and with varying knowledge of the setting. However, my experience shows that less experienced players have harder time creating ...
eimyr's user avatar
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7 votes
5 answers
1k views

How can I roleplay a character arc without my GM or group's prior knowledge?

I'm setting up a character to have an arc, but I want to hide my intentions from my GM and the party. Specifically, I created a rogue who lived as an urchin until meeting the party. He had no combat ...
JessLovely's user avatar
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5 votes
2 answers
2k views

Barbarian Revenant Half-Orc: How to roleplay [closed]

Introduction We have been playing 4e D&D for a while now. First we started with 3.5e skills but recently incorporated Burning Wheel style skills because we wanted more role-playing possibilities ...
El_Jairo's user avatar
  • 520
1 vote
0 answers
6k views

Making Deals with Devils [closed]

I'm preparing for running my first campaign (Storm King's Thunder) and I've got most of the basic information down in terms of running the campaign with the information provided but I wanted to add a ...
R.Patel's user avatar
  • 11