Character races and roleplaying - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Character races and roleplaying

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
frostdawn
Feb 07, 2005 13:42:19 On another thread, I started to reminisce about an old DL group I used to play in, and wondered if the various character races attributed themselves to some of the 'uniqueness' of the group. Our group was comprised of a half-elf, a minotaur, a dimernesti, a human, a kender, and a pixie with a pet faerie dragon. The pixie liked to create illusions to both help and hinder our group of wary adventurers, but ultimately, she made a highly effective scout, and was moderately effective in combat with her enchanted 'darts' (ie arrows to her). The kender forged a quick friendship with the minotaur whom she like to climb up on his shoulders, and grab onto his horns and pretend to 'steer' him around. Fortunately, the minotaur was kind hearted and the patient sort. Lots of other character interactions like this occured, but these stick out in my mind, and help to serve as examples to get the proverbial ball rolling.

I was curious if people found that roleplaying sessions tended to be more enjoyable/memorable when their groups were comprised of different races, or not. What kind of groups have you played in?
#2
frostdawn
Feb 08, 2005 16:32:32 anybody?
#3
darqanjel
Feb 08, 2005 19:34:40 You know, I DM'd a game w/a Minotaur Mariner, an (eccentric) Sylvanesti White-Robe, and a dwarf sorcerer w/suicidal tendencies. It was quite an interesting campaign (KoD) as it seemed like no matter where they went there was SOMEONE who didn't like them :P , The I remember when they were caught by the KoN, somehow the elf managed to convince the minotaur to let him try to use his horns to pick the locks on their manacles. THAT was a riot (the elf rolled a 1 on his attempt, I still to this day don't know what kind of a check he was trying for)!

I don't remember his name off the top of my head, but the kender the group means in the prison compound ended up strung up unconcious in the sewers w/a small cut in his side dripping blood to attract hungry things...The dwarf was quite odd when it came to kender.
#4
zombiegleemax
Feb 09, 2005 7:37:18 I had a group comprised of one Red Robed Human Ergothian (who was a little bit of a ladies' man), one female fighter Ice Barbarian who later dual-classed to a Cleric of Mishakal (and had a little romance going with the mage's merchant/fighter cousin...just hanging out together and him giving her tokens of affection), one male Minotaur Fighter who was really good friends with the last character: a male Kender handler who was older and just a little bit jaded...this was before afflicted kender were around. They would do crazy things like the minotaur had some boots of flying and the kender had boots of spider climb so he's stick himself upside down to the bottom of the minotaur's feet and fly along with him...invisible. He had a ring of invisibility made for himself with the trigger word of "Bye" so when he said "Bye-bye" he would blink in and out of sight. The kender later on kind of had an epiphany and became a Bard of Branchala. I ran this group through Dargaard Keep once. The Kender would walk along the ceiling in his boots of spider climb while invisible and whack the draconion guards on the head...mind you he also had some bracers of ogre strength which in 2nd Ed gave him a 22 strength. :^P Then when night came they'd find some old storage room and lock themselves inside so they wouldn't have to deal with all the undead. LOL! It seems like my players are frequently too smart for me! Anyway, that's my two cents for now on PC groups with some more unusual characters.

--Tamora Amberleaf
#5
frostdawn
Feb 09, 2005 8:59:38
You know, I DM'd a game w/a Minotaur Mariner, an (eccentric) Sylvanesti White-Robe, and a dwarf sorcerer w/suicidal tendencies. It was quite an interesting campaign (KoD) as it seemed like no matter where they went there was SOMEONE who didn't like them :P , The I remember when they were caught by the KoN, somehow the elf managed to convince the minotaur to let him try to use his horns to pick the locks on their manacles. THAT was a riot (the elf rolled a 1 on his attempt, I still to this day don't know what kind of a check he was trying for)!

I don't remember his name off the top of my head, but the kender the group means in the prison compound ended up strung up unconcious in the sewers w/a small cut in his side dripping blood to attract hungry things...The dwarf was quite odd when it came to kender.

Just what I was looking for, thanks! It seemed to me, looking back, that having a variety of races in a group just added to the character interaction in the group, and the story of the elf using the minotaur's horns is a great example. The dwarf and kender interaction, while a little gruesome, sounded good too.
#6
frostdawn
Feb 09, 2005 9:10:22
I had a group comprised of one Red Robed Human Ergothian (who was a little bit of a ladies' man), one female fighter Ice Barbarian who later dual-classed to a Cleric of Mishakal (and had a little romance going with the mage's merchant/fighter cousin...just hanging out together and him giving her tokens of affection), one male Minotaur Fighter who was really good friends with the last character: a male Kender handler who was older and just a little bit jaded...this was before afflicted kender were around. They would do crazy things like the minotaur had some boots of flying and the kender had boots of spider climb so he's stick himself upside down to the bottom of the minotaur's feet and fly along with him...invisible. He had a ring of invisibility made for himself with the trigger word of "Bye" so when he said "Bye-bye" he would blink in and out of sight. The kender later on kind of had an epiphany and became a Bard of Branchala. I ran this group through Dargaard Keep once. The Kender would walk along the ceiling in his boots of spider climb while invisible and whack the draconion guards on the head...mind you he also had some bracers of ogre strength which in 2nd Ed gave him a 22 strength. :^P Then when night came they'd find some old storage room and lock themselves inside so they wouldn't have to deal with all the undead. LOL! It seems like my players are frequently too smart for me! Anyway, that's my two cents for now on PC groups with some more unusual characters.

--Tamora Amberleaf

The spiderclimb/invisibility combo for the kender is an awesome idea! The only downside to that was once the kender attacked, the invis would wear off (unless it was greater invis I guess). I can SO 'see' the kender hanging upside down from the minotaur.

An enemy thinks, "hey, I'll just stay below the minotaur, where he can't reach me, and *whack* HEY! What the hell just hit me?!" *giggling from 'thin air'*

Thanks guys. I was just wondering about stuff like this. My old group was so memorable, but the current group seems kinda bland. They're 3 humans and a half elf (the half elf being the NPC I run). Oh, and I guess an elf in the form of Elijayess since the group is kinda small, and needs more fighter-types, but the roleplaying interaction between characters is kinda bland, even when I give them opportunities to do things. And 2 of the 3 people have been playing RPGs for the better part of 20 years or more.
One of the players is considering bringing in a centaur (with the level adjustment already taken into consideration) and I was looking for ideas and feedback to validate my encouraging that idea.

Thanks for sharing guys!

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 frostdawn Feb 07, 2005 13:42:19	On another thread, I started to reminisce about an old DL group I used to play in, and wondered if the various character races attributed themselves to some of the 'uniqueness' of the group. Our group was comprised of a half-elf, a minotaur, a dimernesti, a human, a kender, and a pixie with a pet faerie dragon. The pixie liked to create illusions to both help and hinder our group of wary adventurers, but ultimately, she made a highly effective scout, and was moderately effective in combat with her enchanted 'darts' (ie arrows to her). The kender forged a quick friendship with the minotaur whom she like to climb up on his shoulders, and grab onto his horns and pretend to 'steer' him around. Fortunately, the minotaur was kind hearted and the patient sort. Lots of other character interactions like this occured, but these stick out in my mind, and help to serve as examples to get the proverbial ball rolling. I was curious if people found that roleplaying sessions tended to be more enjoyable/memorable when their groups were comprised of different races, or not. What kind of groups have you played in?
#2 frostdawn Feb 08, 2005 16:32:32	anybody?
#3 darqanjel Feb 08, 2005 19:34:40	You know, I DM'd a game w/a Minotaur Mariner, an (eccentric) Sylvanesti White-Robe, and a dwarf sorcerer w/suicidal tendencies. It was quite an interesting campaign (KoD) as it seemed like no matter where they went there was SOMEONE who didn't like them :P , The I remember when they were caught by the KoN, somehow the elf managed to convince the minotaur to let him try to use his horns to pick the locks on their manacles. THAT was a riot (the elf rolled a 1 on his attempt, I still to this day don't know what kind of a check he was trying for)! I don't remember his name off the top of my head, but the kender the group means in the prison compound ended up strung up unconcious in the sewers w/a small cut in his side dripping blood to attract hungry things...The dwarf was quite odd when it came to kender.
#4 zombiegleemax Feb 09, 2005 7:37:18	I had a group comprised of one Red Robed Human Ergothian (who was a little bit of a ladies' man), one female fighter Ice Barbarian who later dual-classed to a Cleric of Mishakal (and had a little romance going with the mage's merchant/fighter cousin...just hanging out together and him giving her tokens of affection), one male Minotaur Fighter who was really good friends with the last character: a male Kender handler who was older and just a little bit jaded...this was before afflicted kender were around. They would do crazy things like the minotaur had some boots of flying and the kender had boots of spider climb so he's stick himself upside down to the bottom of the minotaur's feet and fly along with him...invisible. He had a ring of invisibility made for himself with the trigger word of "Bye" so when he said "Bye-bye" he would blink in and out of sight. The kender later on kind of had an epiphany and became a Bard of Branchala. I ran this group through Dargaard Keep once. The Kender would walk along the ceiling in his boots of spider climb while invisible and whack the draconion guards on the head...mind you he also had some bracers of ogre strength which in 2nd Ed gave him a 22 strength. :^P Then when night came they'd find some old storage room and lock themselves inside so they wouldn't have to deal with all the undead. LOL! It seems like my players are frequently too smart for me! Anyway, that's my two cents for now on PC groups with some more unusual characters. --Tamora Amberleaf
#5 frostdawn Feb 09, 2005 8:59:38	You know, I DM'd a game w/a Minotaur Mariner, an (eccentric) Sylvanesti White-Robe, and a dwarf sorcerer w/suicidal tendencies. It was quite an interesting campaign (KoD) as it seemed like no matter where they went there was SOMEONE who didn't like them :P , The I remember when they were caught by the KoN, somehow the elf managed to convince the minotaur to let him try to use his horns to pick the locks on their manacles. THAT was a riot (the elf rolled a 1 on his attempt, I still to this day don't know what kind of a check he was trying for)! I don't remember his name off the top of my head, but the kender the group means in the prison compound ended up strung up unconcious in the sewers w/a small cut in his side dripping blood to attract hungry things...The dwarf was quite odd when it came to kender. Just what I was looking for, thanks! It seemed to me, looking back, that having a variety of races in a group just added to the character interaction in the group, and the story of the elf using the minotaur's horns is a great example. The dwarf and kender interaction, while a little gruesome, sounded good too.
#6 frostdawn Feb 09, 2005 9:10:22	I had a group comprised of one Red Robed Human Ergothian (who was a little bit of a ladies' man), one female fighter Ice Barbarian who later dual-classed to a Cleric of Mishakal (and had a little romance going with the mage's merchant/fighter cousin...just hanging out together and him giving her tokens of affection), one male Minotaur Fighter who was really good friends with the last character: a male Kender handler who was older and just a little bit jaded...this was before afflicted kender were around. They would do crazy things like the minotaur had some boots of flying and the kender had boots of spider climb so he's stick himself upside down to the bottom of the minotaur's feet and fly along with him...invisible. He had a ring of invisibility made for himself with the trigger word of "Bye" so when he said "Bye-bye" he would blink in and out of sight. The kender later on kind of had an epiphany and became a Bard of Branchala. I ran this group through Dargaard Keep once. The Kender would walk along the ceiling in his boots of spider climb while invisible and whack the draconion guards on the head...mind you he also had some bracers of ogre strength which in 2nd Ed gave him a 22 strength. :^P Then when night came they'd find some old storage room and lock themselves inside so they wouldn't have to deal with all the undead. LOL! It seems like my players are frequently too smart for me! Anyway, that's my two cents for now on PC groups with some more unusual characters. --Tamora Amberleaf The spiderclimb/invisibility combo for the kender is an awesome idea! The only downside to that was once the kender attacked, the invis would wear off (unless it was greater invis I guess). I can SO 'see' the kender hanging upside down from the minotaur. An enemy thinks, "hey, I'll just stay below the minotaur, where he can't reach me, and whack HEY! What the hell just hit me?!" giggling from 'thin air' Thanks guys. I was just wondering about stuff like this. My old group was so memorable, but the current group seems kinda bland. They're 3 humans and a half elf (the half elf being the NPC I run). Oh, and I guess an elf in the form of Elijayess since the group is kinda small, and needs more fighter-types, but the roleplaying interaction between characters is kinda bland, even when I give them opportunities to do things. And 2 of the 3 people have been playing RPGs for the better part of 20 years or more. One of the players is considering bringing in a centaur (with the level adjustment already taken into consideration) and I was looking for ideas and feedback to validate my encouraging that idea. Thanks for sharing guys!