"my character's a wizard, with the secret identity of a stage magician, but uses real magic in his act!"

In my group it is "my character is magic but he thinks his magic is just his families inexplicably good luck" or "my character is an idiot and when they do something right it is on accident (ie critting an enemy is them losing grip of their sword and having it fly into the monsters eye)"

These two tropes were funny like for the 1st and 2nd time around as comic relief characters but it got really annoying really fast when 2 players would only use these.

It would be interesting if someone played a wizard who became so powerful that he was virtually immortal (never ages because super healing magic he pisses out every morning, but can be killed if injuries are severe enough) and so thoroughly unopposed that he became bored out of his wits. So he gave up practicing magic to live a normal life. Only it went a full 360 degrees and now he is a stage magician who only ever uses sleight of hand. He thinks it's "cheating" to use real magic.

I have actually never seen this ever

>I'm a fist wizard

Basically anything ever done with a warforged

>shy, naive runaway princess who becomes tenacious and brave when it's mechanically convenient
>necromancer who uses his powers for good and makes bone puns
>angry, moody elf who wants bloody revenge for something

>Not!Gimli drunken dwarf fighter

John Titor. Larping as the head honcho of the united states.

Nobody ever thought that was unique

>An OP who starts stupid greentext threads to start shit.

Man, I hate this gimmick.

>necromancer who uses his powers for good and makes bone puns
That will never get old, ever.

Has something gotten you rattled? Maybe you just need to marrow out a bit?

You'd be surprised

What if the character is actually a stage magician that pretends to use real magic during his fights?

Actually, that seems like a ridiculously fun character to play

>"My character is a 'stab first, ask questions later' kinda guy"

>I'm a bard, so I have sex with everyone
>I'm a bard, but like a heavy metal one
>I'm a bard, but I'm a giant lizard man. Bet that threw you off

>Browse these threads specifically to see if any of my character concepts come up so I can strike them from the list

No one overly concerned with "unique" ideas is worth giving the time of day. Just play what you find fun.

More than anything I'd say if they don't feel like cliche bullshit to you then your group hasn't run them into the ground yet, so why worry about it?

There are a bunch of "cliches" in this thread that exist literally nowhere except Veeky Forums or are never used in actual games/worlds

I browsed Veeky Forums for a long time and only got into a group recently, and as such I am hardcoded to be self conscious about all of my ideas and behaviors at all times.

I can guarantee you that 99% of the active P&P playerbase has never heard of OP's cliche nor think it to be one

The only difference between an amazing character and a shitty character is how well it's played. The underlying character concept has little to do with it.

Every single living human in my setting is a magic user. I made a magician npc character who performed tricks then proved he didn't use magic to scrutinizing wizards who were amazed.

Still not unique or clever

I would think more of the base than you think has heard of Zatanna, at the very least.

>machines made out of flesh; biological computers
>dragons that are closer to eldritch horrors than they are to traditional dragons
>using fairy tale monsters as their 'original' horrific form
>a race of people that all look the same except using some sort of thing to differentiate everyone (even though a race of people that all look the same might not have an importance of uniqueness like we do)
>the religious man who always prays before he kills someone
>a version of chess where the only opponent is yourself
>a group of villains based on tarot cards
>eye color determining something like the type of magic you can use
>a character whose only power is super empathy
>god of guns
>mechanized religion magic, prayer wheels and music boxes that hold chants
>non-Newtonian armor used to justify future samurais
>the power to always know exactly where you are
>a place where idioms are literal such as cats actually having nine lives
>american mythology setting
>reverse halo
>a city with a massive open hole or field in the middle that is filled with seemingly nothing
>a nature giant so humongous that he uses a cloud as a scarf
>a reverse blasphemy animal that has multiple bodies but only one hand

...

Skeletons who have each others backs are vertebros.

don't all magicians do that

Other than her and her father, I honestly can't think of many other mainstream examples

Usually the cliche is that the magician is actually a really good scientist

>the religious man who always prays before he kills someone

Playing as Monsignor Martinez would be fun IMO

Here's a dumb concept I came up with when I was 15 or so
>Paladin type character, holy warrior, etc
>personal tragedy befalls him, death of brother, sister, never really worked out details
>slowly descends into necrotic ways, forgoing his righteousness and salvation from his god to see his dead important person again
>character conflict of the promise of eternal salvation/happiness (a heaven type place is supposed to exist, though no proof beyond texts and prayers) vs the promise of the concrete (necromancy has been shown to bring back the dead as imagined, though imperfect. Legends say such magic does exist, though is lost).
cliche as fuck but young me thought it was cool

I have serious trouble believing most of those are "overused" by anyone, unless you're counting being used once by someone as "overused".
Which I could see.

I did this once for a very short lived DC RPG I was in. She was basically McGuyver cosplaying Zatana, an expert at stage magic, riging shit up on the fly, escape artistry and more all the while pretending she had real magic.
She wanted to meet Zatana and find out how she made hers look even greater, not actually beliving in magic herself.

Shame the DM had to score his dream job and move interstate after only the second session.

Add Mandrake the Magician to your list, man.

maybe five from your list are used somewhat often, at least, compared to others, and even then they are hardly overused.

>reverse halo

Does it darken the area around their head or what? Sounds edgy.

>god of guns
AVE NEX ALEA

Does this only apply for luchadors? Because fuck you, what's the point of grappling if I can't suplex a bitch?

>a group of villains based on tarot cards
What would you prefer: tarot cards, Egyptian gods, or 80's rock bands?

I'm stealing these ideas, some actually sound pretty cool

You can just say a dwarf, user.

...

...

>a group of villains based on tarot cards

>Doesn't know that D&D Jester's are a thing
>Has never red the canon Forgotten Realms comics, so he doesn't know about Diarmunds Last Jest, or the older dragon magazine issues which also featured Diarmund's last jest, including Jester battles, performance arts, and the slew of insane class features Jesters get
>Doesn't know in 3.5, Jesters got to perform so hard that Outsiders wanted their audience, earning mad dosh from doing so as a Jester Prestige Class
>Doesn't know about the Jester BASE CLASS in 3.5 in the Dragon compendium to boot
>Doesn't know one can use Spell Somantic components alogside a bluff check to cast spells with enemies unaware, and doesn't know Jester's do this as well as a class abiltiy to do Diarmund's last jest, and other spell-woven performances and jokes

Grats on your shit taste, and lack of WIS-score, go read some fucking tomes. OP is a faggot.

...

Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

oh god noo
I hate it when players want their characters to drink all the time and dont expect there to be any negative consequences
"What do you mean I cant drink this entire barrel of mead we found I'm a crazy drunken dwarf"
no

people's 'unique' 'quirky' bard concepts always make me cringe so much
just dont try to come up with something 'unique', and never EVER make joke characters and youre fine

>reverse halo
what

Anyway yeah you're mistaking "ideas people think are super unique but have actually been done before" for "ideas people think are super unique but are actually overused".

>I'm a dark elf out to apprehend a traitor to our people who is a ranger who dual wields scimitars.

>necromancer who uses his powers for good and makes bone puns
WHAT how is that bad

Personally, I think that's bonederful

This is why everyone hates you.

Thing about Drizzt's weapons is that they aren't really designed as Scimitars, they're fucking Kilij's.

You seem a little rattled.

>I'm a high level cleric
>nobody has even heard of me and i have no worshippers or acolytes

There was an old, old, old Magic the Gathering short story called God Sins which was basically this, although it's more about how the all powerful protagonist is trying to wean himself away from reflexively using magic for everything.

What if I think of a character that I KNOW is not unique, but play it anyway because it tickles my fancy?

>my character is a human male fighter

You know what one I miss? The bossy, haughty princess who is forced by adventure to learn some life skills but never quite loses her waspishness.

...

It's a bone-afide great character IMO

user this is supposed to be a dumb ideas thread, not a cool ideas thread.

Laughing at all the defensive faggots who've used one of these shit ideas, well done.

>reverse halo
I know this probably means some signifier of evilness, but my first thought was a campaign where the PCs play as agents of the state against terrorists who will (intentionally or otherwise) awaken an ancient evil and unleash it on the world.

>necromancer who uses his powers for good and makes bone puns
This one will always be great.

You know, I think this is where Veeky Forums discussion kind of falls apart. Because as a community, "cliche" doesn't make a heck of a lot of sense when d&d games are isolated to what you and your friends are interested in. So many dm's don't even dovetail off of the D&D lore and cannon, and just make up entire worlds of their own. So it's only your fault if your game is cliche.

Like, okay, no one wants to dm for an edgy lone wolf guy. The "CN drow rogue that escaped the underdark", I get that. Everybody learns the "letting their newbie players try out a necromancer" lesson. But imagine being the curmudgeonly old fuck that gets stary-eyed players with cute ideas and goes "THAT'S CLICHE, NO." Like, eat a dick? It's not your game dude, it's your players game. If your players are too normie-core for your dm'ing, you just shouldn't be dm'ing their game. Simple as that.

Most of those actually sounds really cool.

>it's not your game dude,
Yeah, about that...

I always love that concept every time I see it, even if it is overused.

What world did you live in where half of these are overused?

>He dm's for himself
Go write a needlessly complicated book like Martin did, kid

Oh I agree with the rest of your dissertation but you're pretty off the mark if you think the Game Master isn't in charge of how a Game goes. I've never vetoed a unique cute idea unless it was just completely off the mark like "I wanna play a homeless man with a medieval suit of armor and SWORD" in my Delta Green game.
Also,
>kid
Swing and a miss.

If you have to say you're not a kid, you're a fucking kid, kid.

>If you think the Game Master isn't in charge of how a Game goes
Yeah, the dm is the narrator and the rule-maker, and they mitigate everything that happens to your players, but it's up to your players to decide how you got there. It is THEIR game. How hard is it to say, if you don't like their ideas, or they're doing something that would get them in hot water, you challenge them? You make it part of the game? It's not difficult dude.
>Swing and a miss
Oh so it's more embarrassing then, got it

>itt: things that never happened
A couple of these sound fun anyways, thanks for the idea bucket

Ben 10 omnivore had a character like that at one point, he was the hailed master of all magic, living a quiet life as a janitor practicing slight of hand tricks because he found real magic dull, no challenge, no rules.

>Modern game with fantasy elements
>Cleric is dressed in a suit and tie and carries a book.
>Not actually a cleric at all, but a guy with a doctorate in psychology masquerading as a cleric.
>"Casts" healing magic, except it's not magic at all.
>He simply uses advanced psychiatric tricks to convince players they're feeling better, has the same effect as giving someone temporary hitpoints.

I have for the better part of a year wanted to play a guy who's been impersonating a megachurch pastor in a setting like Shadowrun or WoD. I figure there might've been a heist on the church's coffers, the group accidentally kills the real pastor, and the face attempts to disguise himself on the spot as him so security doesn't get alerted. In the end, he winds up passing off so well, he's basically taken over something more lucrative than running the shadows ever was, so he just keeps playing the part.

I wanna play a Drow Jester now...

Holy shit, I think the BBEG in my campaign is going to lead up to something like this now.

>overused ideas
>literally don't even understand what half of them are supposed to be
The fuck is a reverse halo?
I think you have very different RPG groups than the rest of us.

For some, if its been done once by another person, it's "over used" and "cliche" and "unoriginal"

It's essentially abother kind of hipster, seeking novelty and originality for its own sake

Bonus points if the character does a macho man randy savage impression

Aw, I'm flattered user.

I hope you and your players have lots of fun!

The only embarrassing thing is replying to you when you're flexing your lack of reading comprehension like a bodybuilder with a speech impediment at a spelling bee. I already said I agreed with the rest of your points, man.
The point is that it's not the player's game, it's everyone's game, and the GM is the only one with sway during character creation. Because if the person running the game doesn't get to shut down "quirky" "clever" "unique" (aka randumbe) ideas, then who does?

And children skeletons are vertebrats.

I've had a player who essentially faked being a wizard and was just a rogue

A wizard with any of the following characteristics:
>"wacky", "no sense of right and wrong"
>pervy old man
>DUDE WEED LMAO