Party

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Don't you know, you never split the party.
Clerics in the back keep those fighters hale and hearty.
The wizard in the middle, where he can shed some light,
And you never let that damn thief out of sight.

- Emerald Rose, "Never Split The Party"

A party, in the context of role-playing games, is a group of player characters working together. Generally, given a group of players, one will be the GM/DM/ST/Aedile, and the other players will take control of the player characters in a party. A party does not need to contain solely Player Characters, and various NPCs may or may not join the party, at the GM's discretion, when the plot demands it, or when players get goofy.

Never split the party. I'm serious, man, it's a bad idea.

Character Roles

As so often with most stories that we know and love as the roleplayers we are, PCs often fit into different roles in the party both inside and outside of combat. This can be planned out before the game starts ("okay, I'll play a melee tanky character so you can get some room while preparing your spells."), to a naturally developed synergy in the party ("Your character is very heroic and has all the good plans - Only natural you be the leader!"), to a party that completely ditches any kinds of tropes and roles and just does whatever the hell they feel like. As a matter of fact, any group will often end up being unique in its own way unless the players are truly devoid of any kind of strategic planning or imagination, or if they play as example characters from the rulebooks... But who does that anyway?

There are, as mentioned, two kinds of roles: What role your character takes in combat (the crunchy role), and what role your character takes during social encounters (the fluffy role).

Crunchy Roles

Keep in mind that this is more than RPG advice. In good video strategy games (both realtime and turn based), or table top games (like 40k or Warmachine)you may often be able to make each characters or unit entries fit these categories. By rounding out your team or army with units from multiple categories you will have a well rounded force.

  • The Brick: A big solid wall of "No, you can't", this dude is often a barbarian, fighter or similar, who is build to withstand large amounts of damage and deal them back in kind. The party can always rely on him to do well in battle and take the biggest load off the others' backs, but the Brick is often a bit weak on the fluffy part. Bricks rule dungeon-crawl games. A moderate amount of crossover with both the tank and Berserker as, if one was to chart it out, the Brick would be where the two roles met.
    • The Mover and Shaker An offshoot of the Brick, the Mover and Shaker has a slightly different focus from the Brick, rather then just hitting stuff and drawing the odd hit, their job is to forcefully throw the enemy about into positions where their allies can do the most amount of damage. Not especially effective on their own Movers and Shakers require a massive amount of team work. The most effective method of using this particular off-shoot of the Brick is to Bull-Rush opponents through a hallway of allies who all get their Attacks of Opportunity off as the enemy flies past. The only way to make this a real Damage dealer is to take the 3.5 Fighter archetype, the Dungeon Crasher, which allows for you to deal serious damage by bull Rushing an opponent into a solid object (4d6 + Double STR at lvl 2, 8d6 +triple STR at lvl 6), or if your DM allows you to Bull Rush enemies into the air letting gravity do its work.
  • The Berserker: No, not that one, ok, kinda, he is an example of this role. The Zerker's focus is simple - Get in a fight and kill what can be killed, regardless of damage done to him. Damage is of most importance to the Berserker, so expect him to flail around with as many and as heavy weapons he can find. Barbarian-equivalents are made to be Berserkers, but other characters, like Sorcerer-likes can do it too through how much magic they can spew through their fingers. Due to the focus on damage they tend to be some what glassy, not to the extent of the Nukers but notable softer then Bricks or Tanks.
    • The Masochist: Characters who mechanically fight better the more damage they take. The lower their health, the higher their damage output. Not all systems have the ability to run a character like this and they're more common in video games but they work well as "guided Missiles", point them in the right direction and watch them paint the town red.
  • The Tank:Berserkers hit stuff, Bricks hit stuff and get hit, Tanks are all about getting hit. The Tank's job is to make sure the enemy does not get into the back lines so that the Nukers, Supports, and Nerfers can do their thing. Bricks can do this as well, but Tanks focus exclusively on this role, often they may even have some mechanical way to make the enemy have to hit attack them, often called "Taunts" from WoW, so the the enemy has to focus on them allowing the other party members the ability to do damage safely.
  • The Maxim: The Maxim (machine gun), also known as the DPS, does not do much damage but does it rapidly. Where a Nuker does a lot of damage in a big "blast" a Maxim will chip an enemy down over time. Maxim's advantage is that they rarely overkill a target, meaning they rarely have to kill a 5 hit point crab with a fireball because all they have are fire balls. the downside is of course that while they make take a target down eventually, they're not going down as soon as the Maxim decided they want to kill them.
  • The Nuke: If you have ever played WoW, then this will sound familiar to you - Do as much damage as possible as fast as possible from as long range as possible. Though this might sound a bit like the Berserker, there are a few key differences, most notably, that the Nuke wants to stay as far away as humanly (or elfishly/dwarfishly/orcily/etc.) as possible from the enemy while doing it, and certainly wants to stay alive through a fight rather than go down bleeding. Nukes usually prepare for a very long time before doing their magic, but when they finally get to it, the enemy will know that they are dead already. Often Mages and other magical characters, but ranged characters like Riflemen and Snipers do the same as well.
    • The Bombardier/The Smart bomb:The Bombardier focus on dealing damage to groups, typically they do lowish damage but make it up by hitting many targets. the Smart bomb on the other hand does high damage but only does it to one or two targets. It's the difference between doing ten damage to ten targets, or doing 100 damage to one target. Both are useful but in different ways and a wise Nuker makes sure to cover his bases with a bit of both, but some situation may demand focusing down one style in expense of the other. Some times a Nuker can chose which role he will do in given day or he can pick a mix of both.
    • The Gustav: Gustav was a German world war 2 railway gun that fired an 80cm shell over 39,000 metres away, but could only fire 14 times per day. That sums up the Gustav sub class of Nuke perfectly. A Gustav is a nuke who can, with one shot, Destroy all his enemy's, tear down buildings, and erect a monument in memory of his fallen comrades with the debris, but can only do it infrequently.
    • The Overclocker: Nukes who use there own health to fuel there power. They tend to be Tanker then normal nukers, but only because they burn though half there hit points without getting hit. Some times you find Berserkers with this sort of ability.
  • The Support: The Support might have the most boring job of all the roles on this list, but he might just be the most vital - The Support simply makes sure that what the other PCs can't do, he will make sure they can when they need to. That dude can't take that hit? Here, have an armour buff. We are outnumbered? Summoning some magical creature. You hurt? Here, have some healing. This way, the Support is what keeps the pain train chugging along, even if things go bad on the party. Often mages and priests, along with healers and certain warrior-types - Actually, thinking about it, pretty much anyone can be made into a Support, as long as they have something to give the other PCs something to boost them. Love your Support, ladies and gentlemen - He is the life of the party.
    • The General: A normal support supports the people in the party, The General is a character who supports the party by summoning small armies from the ether, whether Necromancers, Druids, Summoners or Wizards, to augment his allies numbers. This party member will cause initiative slow down, and can be identified by the sheer amount of creature sheets he carries around. With the right feat selections and Summons he can create his own Brick Walls and Berserkers, so if you really want to play one, let the players who chose those particular aspects have some time in the spotlight, before bringing down the hammer. Generals are very useful in a small party because if a General can summon two allies in a party of three he has created a 66% increase in numbers. However in Larger parties Generals become mediocre as the number of minions they can summon have less of a total impact.
    • The Whetstone/Medic/Armorsmith: Each of these roles are variants of the things a normal support does, only they do one of the tasks of a support to the exclusion of the others. A whetstone focus on buffing the party's damage and works well with a party of Tanks and Bricks that can take a hit but not return on the damage they take. A Medic has nothing but heals and works well, again, with tanks and bricks as he can fix up the chip damage they may take as well as Berserker and Nukes whose lower health need "fill ups" often to keep them out of the red. An armor smith however focus on defensive buffs that make taking damage harder. They work well with glass cannon classes like Nukes and Berserkers, or they can work with tanks and bricks to make them even harder.
    • The Driver: The guy with the ride. A peculiar subclass of The Support, not every campaign requires a Driver, but those that do need them really do. If your party needs to be somewhere soon, or needs to get someplace very far away, you need a Driver and her vehicle of choice. Unique as a Support because they help the party logistically, Drivers are often saddled with a large portion of the loot when transporting it, simply because they can mitigate encumbrance so well. Sometimes Drivers can be relegated to Cheerleaders if a vehicle is prohibitively expensive during character creation; although this is not always the case in every campaign, it frequently happens. Drivers can turn into Maxims, Bricks or Nukes by way of upgrading their vehicles instead of themselves. It should be said, finally, that Drivers don't have to have an econoline van or horse cart; vehicles mean anything moving people from one place to another including boats, planes, spaceships, huge mounts, magic carpets, magical mounts and wormholes. Drivers can be very dangers if the systems does not actually allow drivers to sink XP into there ride as such while they might be under equipped since there sinking all there money into affording a gold plated Tachanka all there XP can go into buffing themselves up meaning that when they do have to go on foot they can be just as good as the others.
  • The Nerfer: The direct opposite of the Support: Where the Support takes your mediocre PCs and plates them with titanium and gold, the Nerfer takes the enemy troops and slaps them so hard over the face they lose all hope of doing anything to threaten the party. By removing any strength the enemy have and making them easier to deal with for the rest of the party, the Nerfer is about as powerful as the Support, albeit in another way. Nerfers can be sorcerers, mages, rogues and other characters who excel at making the enemy weaker and easier to chew. The Nerfer is also dangerous as all hell to the party itself - If you ever make a Nerfer pissed, he or she might just spill some "screw you" into your cup as well. In fact, some players might even use the capabilities of the Nerfer to manipulate the rest of the party into doing what he or she wants them to. Fear your Nerfer, ladies and gentlemen - He can be the death of the party.
    • The Engineer: A subset of Nerfer is the Engineer who does his work before the battle to make the fight easy. This is the guy who can and will dig a Punji stick trap, in front of a fake loot chest, in the middle of a grassy field, that is filled with bear traps. While less flexible then a regular Nerfer if they can pick the place of the engagement they can be devastating as the enemy sets off a rube goldberg machine of traps magical and mundane. As along as thing go Just as planned for him, things will go not as planed for the enemy.
    • The Mute Button: a unique sub sect of Nerfer, the Mute button focus on Silences. IN WoW terminology a "silenced target" is unable to cast spell. The Mute Button takes the concept farther and rather then directly nerfing an enemy, makes them unable to even preform an action. It's the difference between dulling a sword, and taking it away. Mute Buttons don't just effect single enemy's, but groups of them as they can prevent the calling of reinforcements or take away the ability to retreat. Any party going for a sneaking approach would be wise to include a Mute Button as a way to "turn off" an enemy ability to raise the alert. Mute Buttons also focus in counter spells, they're basically big "No you can't" devices.
    • DOTer: The Damage Over Timer-er,is similar to a nuker only instead of doing 50 damage at once they do five damage per turn, for ten turn. DOTers slowly grind an enemy down. Classes that have DOT's often also tend to get proper Nerfs as there is a connection between a Curse of slowness and a Curse of damage. DOTers rarely have the damage to finish a target off but they can help an ally by giving them just a little more damage to knock a target out. Proper nerfers reduce an enemy's ability to fight,a DOTer removes an enemy's life, slowly. DOTers also include classes that use poison or other "slow kills".
  • The Cheerleader: The usual role-playing party is composed of people with arts in the ways of battle and warfare. They are used to fighting for their lives, their beliefs or for something else they deem more important than their well being. They go outside the norm and take up the sword to make a change, changing what they can't and fighting those who stand against them. But, not everyone can be warriors and heroes - They might not have the power to fight for something they believe in, but that doesn't mean they might not have the courage to stand up anyway and do what they feel must be done. He might have been a scholar who have lived his entire life reading and learning, but now, when the daemons of the Infernal Plane are invading, choose to do something with his life and join a party of heroes out to send the infernal creatures back. He might not be able to kill or protect, but he can still be of worth something with his own particular set of skills.

TL:DR: A character who are worth shit in combat. He might simply be weaker than the other character, but is often a more intellectual or social character who simply just isn't proficient with weaponry and fighting. Parties react very differently to Cheerleaders - Some see the role-playing-potential in the character and chose to defend the poor sod when problems arise, while others see the usefulness of a Cheerleader as a diversion. Suffice to say, the Cheerleaders can be burdens to the team if not played right, and and if played right, the party will hate your character while not wanting to kill him or her off - Both because the character is well played and because the character has significance to the party in other areas than fighting. Other party members may find them selves temporary turned into cheerleaders, either at the hands of a hostile Nerfer or (in the case of the nuker) running of ammunition, magical or regular.

  • The Mosquito: Let's say your party doesn't have a Brick wall, and all of your "Berserker" and "Nuke" needs are fulfilled with spell casters taking those roles, spell casting can be a slow process and in the case of concentration spells can eat away at the casters actions, that's where the Mosquito comes in, the Mosquito is a wall who rather than being a single solid point that nobody can get past, moves about at such a speed he threatens all the enemies while avoiding retribution. Normally this role is fulfilled by Rogues who specialize in Tumbling/Acrobatics or TWF Rangers who 5-foot step all over the god-damned place. Not often seen due to the nature of cliched party dynamics, these guys can be fun to play if you like describing flips, tricks and swashbuckling. Normally played by Bards, Monks, Rangers, Rogues, Gunslingers (PF), Alchemists (PF) and Magus's (PF)
  • The Burgler: If you've read the Hobbit the name should clue you into what this guy does. It's not just about stealing, the Burgler does all the miscellaneous things that need sneakiness. Scouting, ambushing, observing, and yes Burglering, if it requires more subtlety then you think your barbarian is capable of then it falls to the Burgler. Rouges are a natural fit for this in DnD but the role can be taken up by anybody who can be subtle.
  • The Counter/Specialist: The Counter and Specialist are different from the other roles because they are often adventure specific. Facing Demons? bring an anti Demon Specialist. A campaign involves facing an evil cult? Counter it with a guy loaded up with spells that only harm the wicked. Adventure in the wilds? a tracker wouldn't be a bad bet. Pirate hunting? Looks like a job for Aquaman. etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. While playing a Specialist can be fun, it does have some draw backs. Namely that if the situation goes out side of your speciality then you may become a less effective version of a more general class, or worse a Cheerleader. On the other hand the Specialist may be so useful in his speciality that the moments he's useless would be worth what he can do when he's in his element.
    • The Deep Striker: Every 40k player worth his salt knows about the tactic of, on turn one or two, dropping a cheap deep unit armed with melta right next to his enemy's metal box to blow it to kingdom come before it can do damage to the rest of his army. The Deep Striker is the same, pop up as quickly as possible eliminate a high priority target and, if possible, drop back out. Another possible name for the Striker is "The Assassin". Targets for Deep Strikers are enemy Nukes, Maxims,Berserkers, and other soft targets before they can do their damage. In order to be a good Deep Striker, you need a way to somehow Deep Strike, be it teleport, a leap, being able to dodge and jump your way past the enemy (like the Mosquito above)or just having an ally able to consistently throw you. Of course, The Deep Striker is only worthwhile if their are consistently high value targets, that need to die quickly, that for what ever reason are hard to otherwise eliminate since you would have to chop through the other guys Tans and Bricks, that the Deep Striker can eliminate. The Deep Striker is fundamentally a Counter, they can have other roles in the party such as "Burgler" or "Mosquito" but Deep Striking by it self has limited, but useful, utility.
  • The Insurance: So your party has a "Support", a "Nuke", and a "Nerfer", and a "Brick" and/or "Berserker", sounds like a solid party, should win most fights no problem. Gasp! A beholder with with the compound eye template!! More than likely 2 if not 3 of your players just became cheerleaders! That's where you step in, with your ability to do a little bit of every bodies job! The Insurance can take many forms, but they all require the ability to think quickly and adapt to any situation. You might not take as hard a hit as a Brick, you might not be able to stand toe to toe and dish damage like a Beserker, and your ranged abilities will never truly compare to the Nuke, you have the one thing that they all lack, versatility. Through liberal usage of tricks and combat applications of skills, you manage to supplement any other role in the party. Usually this is filled in by Artificers, UMD Rogues, or Bards, however it is in theory possible with any class. Possibly also known as "Jake from State Farm" or if you play video games, The Mario.
  • The Mutt: Mutts combine two or more of the above roles (and prevent us from having endless roles between roles). A few common mutts are listed bellow
    • The Red Mage::combines the ability of a Support, typically the healing, with a Nukes damage.
    • The Paladin:Combines the ability of a Support, typically the healing, with either a brick, Berserker, or Tank. They provide self synergy and can work well on their own if they can self heal.
    • The black Knight:Combines the ability of a Nerfer with either a brick, Berserker, or Tank. They provide self synergy and can work well on their own as they are very flexible.
    • The Yin/Yang bomb: A combination Nerfer and Support. A 40k example are Markerlights, they can nerf cover or buff your BS until it is, BS.
  • The Cheddar: That one guy who has minmaxed his character into being an overpowered abomination. on the other hand if your in a Killer GM game you may need one or more Thors. But be careful: He who fights monsters . . .
    • The DMPC: the Dungeon master, player character. If your DM brings in a DMPC who regularly mops up combat, and renders the rest of the party null and void, you've got this, get planning, and may [WHICHEVER GOD YOU CHOSE] be with you. However, the DMPC, does not have to be a force for evil. A good DMPC provides your party the ability to proceed in situations it might not otherwise while fading into the background in most situations. An example of the good DMPC is a rouge who picks the locks while being too cowardly to fight thus letting your party of meat heads crack all the skulls they want.

*** More to come - Please add if you have ideas! ***

Fluffy Roles

unlike the crunchy roles Fluffy roles are based a lot more on what the character the player is playing, is. Players doing the "The Drifter' archetype may become Hawks, while players doing a "Dashing rogue" type will gravitate to becoming the face.

  • The Face: You know it, you love it. Faces are the stereotypical charming, classy, and urbane characters, with good negotiating skills, and the lots of drink-buying for buttering people up. Demands heavy roleplay investment, since no one wants to just announce they're being charming and roll a skill. Some Faces also make heavy use of blackmail along with the charm. Probably the most likely role to get laid without paying for it, though it's rarely as good an idea as one thinks.
    • The Merchant: some body needs to sell off all the loot you find but don't want, and that role falls to the Merchant. Typically they are Faces Or Diplomats since there is overlap in the skill sets, namely convincing people to see things your way. They may also fit the role of an Artisan as the can give similar items to the party, at a cost yes, but less than if your barbarian had attempted to negotiate for them.
  • The Diplomat: There's some overlap here with the Face, but less than you'd think. If the Face uses charm, flattery, and negotiation to get his or her way, the Diplomat uses reason and patience to try to mediate a solution. Think the difference between a rhetorician and a lecturer, or between a chaotic and lawful approach to the same problem. Requires patience and willpower on the part of the player, as well as a cool head under pressure and an ability to identify when reason just isn't going to work. Every diplomat needs to know when to try talking things out, and when to switch to threats of force to get everyone's attention.
  • The Muscle: Sometimes, negotiations can go better when there's a big beefy guy standing behind the negotiator looking tough. The Muscle is the unspoken threat that keeps everyone's mind on the problem at hand. That's not to say he can't participate: challenging a particular problem to a duel is a great way to help make it go away, and the Muscle can figuratively smash through political combat with blunt, endearing earnestness.
    • The Leg Breaker: This is the guy all Muscles threaten to become. A believer in the term "war is politics by other means" the leg breaker is well prepared to roll up his sleeves and crack some heads to help get his way.
  • The Hawk: If there's ever a role that overlaps heavily with others, it's this one. The Hawk looks over everyone involved in the conversation like Sherlock Holmes, gauging their reactions for tells and checking to see what else is going on in the room. If someone's slipping notes, he sees who and why. If someone leans over to whisper in the lord's ear, the Hawk reads their lips. Very much a support role, and a specialized one at that. Lots of parties do without a Hawk, making the Face or the Diplomat cross-train in the role, but it still needs to be filled. Hardest part is knowing when to ask the DM for a skill test and when you're just wasting everyone's time.
  • The Wallflower: There's always that one guy. Maybe he's just here to stab stuff, and all this talking just isn't really his thing. Maybe she just always seems to get swept along in other people's plans. Maybe the player's new and worried about messing up. Heck, maybe they just don't fit into any of the other roles and don't want to get underfoot. Any way you slice it, the Wallflower is a non-factor in social interactions. There's nothing wrong with this, per se, so long as they aren't getting bored. If they are, giving them a little mini-interaction with a minor character can help draw them in even if they aren't having much of an impact on the outcome.
  • The Shadow: At some point in almost any story, there comes a need for a distraction. The role can be covered by the Face, or the Diplomat, but sometimes they are the ones that need the distraction, so they can get past the guards and speak to the reclusive noble in peace. Or maybe they are distracting the noble so he doesn't notice as someone lifts the key from his belt. Where as the other types here are mostly visible, the Shadows job is to be un-noticed, even when doing something very noticeable. The shadow works best with partners, even if those partners are in the next building. The shadow may also be a Wallflower in situations that have no need for this level of subterfuge.
  • The Pet Psycho/The Dogooder: Another word for this would beToken Evil team mate this is the guy who has a wildly different alignment, world view and goal then the other members of the party. When the guy is Evil in a good party he's the Pet Psycho, a good person in an evil party would be the Dogooder. how party's respond to the Odd duck out varys, partly based on how preachy the mismatch is.
  • The Librarian These guys are the epitome of "Take a look, it's in a book", in the deep dark facing off against something indescribable, this guy knows what it is, a mechanical monstrosity mauling mulling villagers, this guys knows where its weak point is, stuck outside of a castle by an insurmountable wall, this guy knows which brick to remove to bring that wall crumbling down, put simply, if you need to know it, these guys know it. May be some overlap with "The Artisan" as both knowledge/linguistics and Craft/Appraise rely on heavy INT scores, and Wizards usually grab a bunch of Item creation feats if they expect downtime, play as a Bard or Archivist (Bard archetype PF) if you want to explain important plot knowledge via song.
  • The Artisan Need a belt of Giant's Strength +4 in hurry, this guy's got you covered, want a bunch of goods you found in an ancient ruin valued so that you don't get stiffed by some unscrupulous merchant, he's got his tiny eyeglasses ready. If you need something physical this guy is who you go to, and if he can't craft it, then it was probably too overpowered for your level. A great saving on any party's coinpurse, just remember that item creation feats take up the place of survivability feats so this guy may end up being a cheerleader in combat.
  • The GM insert: the guy in the story who hands out missions and points you the right way.

*** More to come, please add more if you have ideas! ***

Story Roles

While the Fluffy roles are how the PC's deal with social encounters, and the Crunchy roles show how any PC can deal with combat, story roles are how player's shape the world at large, why they are in the campaign at all, and how the DM can motivate, they'll have very little, if any, mechanical impact on the game, but these are what adds flavour to the character, and done well, make your character more than just another murder-hobo on the road to infamy.

  • The Noble Knight "What ho fair maiden, fear not for I am hear to rescue you from this foul of Wyrms" this guy is here to adventure, with his cohorts all gleaming in blue and gold. He may be a famous warrior whose reputation stretches across the lands, allowing the DM to have a reason that any lord might actually hire the party, if this guy's with them. If he's not famous, he may just be a fighter looking to make a name for himself, or a peasant out to change the world. If played poorly, can be a very cliched Stupid Good, or Lawful Stupid.
  • The Rakish Rogue "There's no place you can hide from my blade, and no woman I have not wooed" this guy is here to make money, and score chicks. He may be a thief whose love of gold has led him into situations more dangerous than he cares for, or a Ladies Man who hopes to gain the Duke's daughter for her beauty. If played poorly he makes for an incredibly bad murder-hobo with his thin motivations, and love of loot.
  • The Seeker of Secrets "Do you realise, we're the first people to have stepped into this place in centuries" A common type of Wizard or Cleric, he wants to find knowledge that has lain undisturbed so that he might make his magic stronger, or find some sin that needs to be rectified. An interesting motivation, however the GM may leave it alone if he trying to keep you on a railroad as ancient secrets are the easiest way for a player to find something other than the main plot.
  • The Driven drifter "Wheels are made for rollin', mules are made to pack, I've never seen a sight that didn't look better looking back." This is a person who set out to explore and see the world, to observe, maybe not places new to man, but places new to him. A natural born explorer, this person set out from home one day and never turned back. The term "driven drifter" brings to mind a rugged, hard bitten traveler, worn by time but still at his core an individual with intense curiosity. Driven Drifters are a moderate challenge to role play, given their simple goals, however they're likely to fit into any party that's moving from place to place.
  • The Magnificent Money Maker. "Sure I can save your princess. . . if you pay me 500 gold and sign this life insurance policy." The Magnificent Money Maker is motivated by money, they are out to make some coin, or some other form of currency. Note that this does not mean they have to be scrooge mcduck; a mercenary out to make enough money to finally settle down and a man who hunts Orcs to feed his family are both money makers. Magnificent Money Makers are easy to convince to join a party, wave a dollar in front of their face, as long as they're getting paid they'll stick around.
  • The Psychopathic Pikeman "No sir I haven't seen him since yesterday. No sir it was not me. No sir, that not my knife." he's here to kill, this psychopath is what we think of when we say "murderhobo", a functional mad man who's out to break and kill as much stuff as he can. Think Belkar Bitterleaf, and your have it. Note however we are talking about the stereotype of the murderhobo here, not an actual psychopath, which is far more complex. As long as the party can keep breaking and killing things the Psychopathic pikemen will stick around.
  • The Extraterrestrial Expatriate "Aaaaaughibbrgubugbugrguburgle! (where can I find a Hamburger?)" He's, different. In a fantasy world she's the one who sits confused in a corner as the wizards work there magic. In science fiction, he makes scientists scratch there heads with wonder as he calls froth the forces of the universe. Shes the one who stepped though a closet and into Narnia, while he summons earth elements before cell phone cameras. This is a case of the dinosaurs getting wiped out by aliens. The Expatriate is something not native to the world, an nonconformity as it were in the fabric of the world. While this Expatriates have a tendency to be Mary Sues, we've all read that story where some one from the future goes to the past and sets the industrial revolution off, it does not have to be that way. Books like a yankee in king arthur's court or the Ring of Fire prove it can be done. The key to playing an Expatriate is that you must remember, your character is LOST in this new world, and likely can't speak the language, don't know or understand the social mores, and while every one else has been instructed from birth how to avoid the local Dragons, and that they also EXIST he has not and he should panic when a demon comes from the abyss swinging hell fire. Expatriates are easy to stick to a party, there knowledge one way or another, comes in handy to a party, while the party keeps him from getting his head chewed off by the local fauna and maybe the Expatriate can follow them for a way back home. Needless to say this type of character needs to be cleared with the Gamemaster, a reason why Major Tom was allowed only if he was insane was likely to avoid the kind of bullshit a modern person with modern knowledge can pull in a fantasy world. On the other hand, as Major Tom proves, it can be a fun character and if done well they can be memorable.
  • The Signed Solider. "Yes my lord, I'll make sure we get the maguffin to secure the nation." the signed solider is here because he is a part of a larger organization, and one of his superiors has ordered him to tag along to further the organizations goals. They are soldiers or members of knightly or religions orders. A signed solider can either be a zealous follower, or annoyed with there orders but follow them anyway. The Former is a fanatic with all his focus bent toward getting his goal done and doing what ever he can to further his organizations prospects. The later will still obey orders, but he'll be counting down the days until his tour of duty is over.
  • The Progenitor Persecutor "My dad left me mum when I was a babe. Don't know why, If I find him maybe I'll ask ehm. The Progenitor persecutor is adventuring because he has a problem with one of his parents. Maybe his dad boarded a boat one day and left his mother all alone, or maybe he's an orphan seeking his parents, or maybe one of his two parents is out doing evil and he's out to fix it. Does not matter which, there all Progenitor Persecutors. Like the Driven Drifter there simple motivations allow flexible personality. One Persecutor maybe bitter and angry, the other optimistic and looking forward to meeting a lost parent. however like the Seeker of Secrets the Progenitor Persecutor can be easily jerked around by a GM with false leads to get them to follow the adventure, which can be good or bad as it allows easier railroading, without it feeling like railroading and can add more variety to an adventure.
  • The King's Kid "40 years ago demons rampaged the land killing, burning and destroying everything they touched until a hero stopped them. I just call her. . . Mom." he's in the party because he's got some big Sabatons (armored boots) to fill. one of his parents did something famous, and now he's out to prove that he can be as good as his parents. Unlike the Persecutor he's not looking for his parent, he's just trying to be as good as, be as famous, or as powerful. The King's Kid, (and despite the name he does not have to be actually royalty) have some tricks to role playing since this kind of motivation has bundled into it some amount of an inferiority complex, on the other hand it's easy to explain why they stick with the party since there out there getting famous.
  • The Vengeful Villager:"Those damn orcs burned my home to the ground, and now I will burn them to cinders." The vengeful Villager adventures to take revenge for something that was inflicted upon him. As far as motivations the "Doomed hometown" as as simple and cliche as they get, however the Vengeful Villager is angry and bitter and out for blood, those who instead take bright point of view about preventing it from happening again tend to be Noble Knights as listed above. Vengeful Villagers stick with a part as long as the party is either going after the same group or person as the Villager, or the Villager is in the "get stronger so I can deal with X by my self" phase. Be sure to clear this background with your GM because he may not want a wandering band of villager burning Kobolds in his world.
  • The Freaken Fanatic:GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH!!!! similar to the Signed Solider, the Freaken Fanatic is a man on a mission, he has a cause and he will not rest until he sees it completed. Note while "Fanatic" has religions continuations, the Patrick Henry quote is up there to demonstrate the Fanatic can be, well fanatical about anything. Religion, Patriotism, sports, anything that can boil blood and raise passions can be a motivation to the Fanatic. Fanatics tend to be focused on there cause, it's what makes them fanatical, so getting them to stick to a party that either against there fanaticism or not aiding it. But as listed above you can be fanatical about many things so Freaken Fanatics can fit in partys.
  • The Cinema Clone this is a character copied from or inspired by (or anything in between) another source, be it video game, movie, book, RPG, greeting card, ectra. While this may sound lazy, one has to admit that there is kind of fun, fan boyish appeal in playing the DnD version of Indian Jones or Star Lord. (Mind, that most characters people make are inspired at least a bit by other characters they know - It's only natural, and called 'creative stealing'. The Cinema Clone can be both the a creative inspiration, and a Mary Sue Batman-Eragon hybrid.)

*** More to come, please add more if you have ideas! Also, please try to keep the name alliterative. ***

See Also

External Links

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