The 'Is my character shit' test

He had a deep interest in learning about and seeing the natural world. He's largely practical, tries to make it his watch word, but he prefers not to wear shoes. Because of his upbringing, he ends up being the both the party doctor(which has worked out great for dealing with locals) and has played coroner a time or too. He also has an interest in seeing justice be carried out.

It's my first character, how's it seem thus far?

This does sound like a fun character to play with a small twist: they're not a dwarf. Or male.

A dispossessed nobleman after his homeland went through a quasi-French Revolutionish thing. (Complicated by this world having multiple races and a strong racial underclass component). Long term goals are to crush the revolutionary state and reclaim his ancestral lands, and adventures to raise the sorts of capital, both material and social, to get that sort of expedition together. Is fundamentally 'good' in the sense that he is selfless and wants people to do well, but ascribes to a hard group morality mentality; he sees nothing wrong, for instance, with hanging the brother of a murderer if you can't catch the murderer himself.

A man who seeks only to win back the soul of his daughter that he once bartered away, and return to a quiet lifestyle if his life isn't forfeit in this quest. He frequently writes, both drafts of letters to his daughter, of prayers, last messages in case he dies, and notes on intriguing encounters.. The party member most likely to turn a camp into a miniature living room with tea on and a book.

I was betrayed by my old mentor and made to think my friends were sacrificed to a false god. I have left my childhood home to make myself stronger, strong enough to return home and liberate my people. Every challenge I face head on cause I know that fightong stronger opponents will also make me stronger. Although most of my life was spent in seclusion Im finding my place with my new friends who I adventure the world with. Maybe it is my friends that will make me strong enough to kill a god?

Fun loving guy who tries to keep everyone calm and "taking it easy", but who can get pretty serious in the right circumstances, such as when people he cherishes are in danger.
He's also really appreciates the female form, which is to say he is a lecher.

A man who ran away from home at a young age with a person who he would grow to consider his adoptive father. While the skills and customs of his homeland are buried deep inside him, the new home he found is what he mentions when people as where he came from.

After many years living with his new family, a man he considered a brother murdered his adoptive father in a play for power and betrayed the PC, leaving him marooned on an island in the middle of the Sea of Fallen Starts.

Barely surviving long enough to be rescued, he spent years running away from his problem instead of seeking out his father's killer, eventually turning to drink to mask his pain over his cowardice. He puts on a veil of levity and boisterousness to conceal his solemn sadness.

Through his tribulation, though, he has made himself determined not to make the same mistake again. He keeps people at arms length, but to those who show him kindness he shows a fierce and unwavering loyalty.

If Saitama was a Mary Sue he'd also be smart, wise, and likeable. And everyone would love him. He'd be king of the world and champion of the people (like Superman)

Saitama is supposed to be overpowered, it's funny, and it's cool as fuck. Which fits well since it's a parody.

If it's background you're after:
He's stuck in a place he'd rather not be, but he's making the best out of it with his new friends. Or rather, trying to.

>inb4 that's not specific at all
That's what I'm going for.

Raised and brainwashed by a monastic order, she eventually escaped, and managed to get knocked up somewhere out in the world.
They recaptured her, and attempted to wipe her memories by torture and magic.
Now she carries out their dark biddings, driven by powerful hypnotic suggestion, and with only the tenderest hold on any sort of identity or sense of self.
But still, sometimes, she gets the feeling that something cries out for her, from afar.
Cries out for its... mother?

>The characters race and appearance are also very important

Then he's shit. It's very simple

>not recognizing that all of these things can have bearing on a character's nature and portrayal when actually used in a game.

That's like saying Roland being black and not having a gun doesn't matter to the events that shape the Dark Tower series, when in both cases they are critical components to the very characterization of the figure of the Last Gunslinger and how he interacts with other people in his adventuring party.

In other words, OP is not only full of shit, but ignorant.

>No people in real life or interesting characters in fiction are affected by their race or appearance in any way

Abandoned as an infant due to race, she was found by a priest of a loving and accepting god, and taken to the temple in which he lives and worships with his fellow worshipers. They raise the child for years, teaching her their ways and basically ignoring her race. She ends up not even knowing the term for what she is, but she doesn't care due to their kindness and teachings. She's never left the immediate outskirts of the temple, so she hasn't seen "real life", basically ever. Around the age of 24, while out a bit further than usual, trying to learn of the surrounding plant and animal life, she steps on a loose mound of soil, and it collapses beneath her. After tumbling down, she's in a cavern covered in odd symbols, and all around her she hears whispers. On an altar ahead, there is a small statue of a horrifying looking creature which turns out to be Azathoth. A strange force compels her to grab it, and when she does, Nyarlathotep appears to her and forces a contract upon her, giving her amazing powers while also shattering her entire world. He guides her back to the surface, and upon reaching her home, the temple, she finds it in ruins, with incomprehensible beasts still killing and maiming survivors; her entire family is dead, and her home is destroyed. She would've gone insane without Nyarlathotep's powers. She ends up a nihilistic and depressed wanderer, and one of Nyarlathotep's "thralls", working unknowingly to bring Azathoth to this plane of existence. Of course, this won't be happening any time soon, so there isn't much being done for Nyarlathotep. She's more just a wanderer, working for whoever Nyarlathotep sends her to, which just so happens to be the party she just recently joined. Part of her is trying to find a way to break the pact, while another part is really enjoying her recently acquired powers.

No fucking shit, dude, it's bait that has worked on Veeky Forums since the fucking dinosaurs roamed the earth, stolen from Red Letter Media whining about the new Star Wars trilogy.

Tiefling GOOlock?

I should also note that the encounter with Nyarlathotep drove her into the depths of madness, and she's barely clinging on to her sanity. Nyarlathotep is somewhat protecting her sanity, as she can't do what he wants if she isn't able to function. Before the end of the campaign, she'll most likely be completely insane unless she dies before the end.

Yep. The most generic of class and race pairing, but it allowed me to make a more interesting set up for her background at least.

>salty fuckers
The point isn't "your race/profession/gear/looks shouldn't matter". Those can all be key elements of who your character is.

The point is they shouldn't be the only things. Your personality, world view and demeanor are all big parts of who a person is, and most people who aren't either completely unrealistic have enough complexity that you ought to be able to bang out a paragraph describing that without issue.

Born the son of an ambassador he spent a lot of his youth in the nearby kingdom of Ethos where he fell in love with the ideals of the Ethonian templar. Seeking to bring this back to his homeland and found his own order of Prussian knights the youth began to study and learn from them as much as he could.

Now as an adult he must choose between the order of Winrose, and the uncertainty of personal freedom.

A true hero.

>playing a half-elf bard who is a guild merchant, drives a cart selling sundries to villages
>is also a smuggler, sneaking contraband like alcohol and porn through tariff checkpoints, to make money on the side
>playing D&D Han Solo basically
>can't pass OP's test

>He can't describe a personality in two sentences.

I think that just makes OP's premise disingenuous and pretty much kind of a dickish thing to treat people like.

Do I pass the test?

Not really, no. My game group frowns on that kind of thing. If your taking time rp'ing, either with other PC's or with NPC's, then your wasting everyones time and slowing the game down.

At the end of the day, every shepard is also a butcher.

I hope that isn't your mentality because if it is, go play a different game.

Your group is trash.

You took the test, that mean you failed.

It isnt, but I'm expendable in this group of friends

Not all of us have the luxury to shop around for better.

Highly intelligent but unfocused student who hangs with counterculture groups because of boredom and recrational drugs. Especially interested in mind-altering art.

Setting is medieval Europe

Do halfings next

Highly charismatic but unwise tribal traveler. Has a liking for the non-human races in more ways than one. Can't survive on his own so he tries to make friends. It is desperately trying to never be alone again. Comes off as insensitive due to my IRL problems roleplaying.

man red letter media sure has gone down the tubes recently

what's your favourite review out of em guys?

Han Solo had personality traits beyond "I like to smuggle stuff" tho.

A man with no love for the Empire, but also no particular desire to fight the Empire, at least one that he himself is aware of He makes his way in the galaxy with a reckless initiative, always trying to shoot or run first where trouble is spotted. Deep inside his calloused outlook, lies a heart of gold, and one that will always do the right thing in the end.

My character struggles with being on the side of the law versus purging evil with sword. This is being fueled even more by being falsely accused of being a criminal himself and the nature of his race pushing from inside to show who/what he truly is.

half orc barbarian who was a guard until being accused of setting half a village on fire, background story ended where he was fired as a guard with half the population wanting to lynch him. He's pretty much like an action movie "trigger happy cop on the loose". In game terms his unruly way of lawbringing pushed him over the edge from lawful to neutral/chaotic good right before the RP started (because barbs can't be lawful). Over the course of the sessions he gets more and more violent/animal like.

No, it's a good rule of thumb. If you literally can't write 2 or more sentences about your character's personality that don't explicitly mention the character's class/race/profession/powers, etc, then your character sucks.

What does it mean for a character to suck?

That whenever you describe your character to other people, they mentally replace whatever it is your character is doing with an image of you sucking your own dick.

>Their race/species
>Their profession/skillset
>Their gear/appesarance
>If you can't get a good couple sentences describing them, chances are they're boring as shit.
But why though?

Ummm, are you sure? Because you might be projecting just a bit and require psychological help.

My character dances around in combat, frequently moving for tactical purposes. My character is obsessed with collecting treasure not out of personal greed, but rather for someone else's benefit and favor. This obsession with hoarding money and loot has caused a falling out with a group they were part of and is now on the run from. Their actual job was mundane and boring so they hired someone to do the work while they went off adventuring.

(You)
please reply

Bully with a chip on his shoulder that uses his family as a justification to hurt people

-mary sue character

-most stereotypical image of race/class without a single interesting idea in background or play style

-character completely out of touch with campaign/world and shoehorning it in

Although as I was writing this, I realized shit characters are almost always because of shit players.

Youngest brother of a family of individuals who all despise him for not going into the family business.

Attempting to make it based on his own passions and interests - a little native and quick to trust, definitely with an aversion to unnecessary violence.

Compassionate, kind to children and the weak, wants to be appreciated for what he contributes to the world by way of his craft. Ambitious for the world to see his genius because he truly believes in the value of his unique abilities rather than because he thinks he's superior to others.

He's a good guy. I like him.

I like it!

Aww, that's so sad tho :( nice motivation though

Pretty fucking cool

Oh also he became obsessed with a member of the party when he saw the member running past during a market chase, and now travels with the party as a part of wanting to win them over towards endorsing/advertising the equipment that he makes.

You know those persons that seem to be one thing, to do one thing, and be content with that? Not necessarily the happiest people around, but clearly found their way? Well, her indipendent self isn't exactly what is seems to be. True, she's very good with her peculiar army career (and perhaps one the most level-headed in her group), and if anything she's pissed off with some short tem perceived failure... and true, she's pretty good with her (high) social role and her new home -which gives her a solitude that she's found necessary for herself...
... Something is off. It's not her better-than-you attitude or the somewhat off-putting moments of competitiveness and contrarianism in relation to her sweeter and almost naively passionate moments (all things she doesn't show off to just anyone, at least the second part. Even the religious aspects of these.): her deepest part is probably the self-sacrifice, and she's scared of that, perhaps.
The funniest or saddest thing is that she probably would like to do this to her family, but she can't, her role in the world must be another altogether. Maybe that's why she never really had a deep relationship, too scared of something other than obeying orders of superiors she wanted to be with?

>sounds kinda mary-sueish I guess, hope not too much. Wanted to talk about personality alone, not even hobbies or something like that. Family is a pretty big part of her life but didn't want to drone on anymore.

Guess the game, or at least the fiction genre

>tough I think the skillset thing could be left for this test to work

Because if you understand that these things can have an influence on how someone turns out - especially in the skillset category, where social skills or lack thereof are often extremely useful to describe personality - you are obviously a minmaxer, a player of mary sues, or some other form of That Guy. Get with the program and be an ignorant piece of shit already, jeez.

Elmo knock off that likes to play robinhood.

OP here, back from work. Nice to see this took off, there's some cool characters here.

Seems pretty interesting, not too wacky and nice and easy to play, hope you have fun with him!

This user gets it. Its not that your race/profession/gear DON'T matter, obviously they do. But they are things that affect your characters personality, not things that define them.

Not all dwarves are boisterous, some are subdued, not all assassins are edge lords, some might do it for desperate income for a loved one and hate themselves for their job.

Thanks bro.

Seems like it. Clear goals, maybe a tiny bit thin on personality for my taste but that's semantics.

This boi got it.

See the debate above, I find it helps me help players make interesting characters. I really often get a player hyped to play an 'x race y profession', rather than think of a character.

Of course. But this makes people realise just now boring and 2 dimensional their character is if they can't easily pass it.

Here's one of mine:

Orphan from a young age, was adopted by a scientist (cyberpunk) Quickly fascinated by technology she began study at a young age, an innocent, bright spirit of a girl. As she grew up however, her relationship soured, being groomed by her adoptive mum, she started being experimented on herself to test new anaesthetics, cybernetics etc. This deteriorated over a number of years until she ended up basically prisoner, unable to live the normal life she wanted, used as a human guinea pig. She kept sane and happy, to some extent through learning on the net, and various sciency forums.
Eventually, the straw broke the camels back and she murdered her adoptive mother with a medical scalpel she stole, and escaped, making it her mission to visit her internet buddies around the world.

1/2

Personality wise while she's quite a bright optimistic girl on the outside, and generally is in a good mood, she's haunted by her past and still struggles with the moral implications of her old situation, when is murder justified etc. She takes great pleasure from helping others out, although a portion of it is from merely wanting to try new wacky shit on people. Quite the innovator she's often picking up weird scraps or stealing components from cars and such, she has the simplistic view of whatever she does is justified if she's helping a patient/client and this often gets her into trouble, especially when she felt out doesn't understand why people are mad at her.

Didn't need to mention White haired waif of a girl with a travelling backpack filled with cybernetics did I?

>inb4 someone recognises the art

This sounds just awful.

i was taking the test not calling you a hero you fucknugget

Nice constructive criticism, friend.

A man who fell in love and got married to someone above his station, he decided to adventure and become famous because even though his wife says she doesn't care about the snide comments to her he does. Also so he can be the hero his daughter has always seen him as.

Normally gentle and even tempered he tries to make the world a better place by finding different solutions to help as many as possible, but when the chips are down he will not lose because he has people at home waiting for him and he'll be dammed if anyone stops him from seeing them again.

>Their race/species
?
>Their profession/skillset
ex-guinea pig (not having a profession described isnt really hard if you have been prisoner from birth and even then you could argue she's a technician/technomancer or whatever is your cyberpunk class described in the book)
skills: technical, cybernetics, computers

>Their gear/appearance
whatever cybernetics are still on her now that show

also
>orphan

Not hating on your character, it seems pretty cool actually, just holding you up to your own standards here.

...

Mmm Nah. You got me there. Too tired for my own good. Shoulda just cut the appropriate words out and it still could have worked. Glad you like her though.

I like this. MK ULTRA sword & sorcery style.

Oh right, the "too tired" excuse huh!

But seriously, I only now always really try to avoid the "orphan" schtick. Why not go with that her parents sold her off (and maybe regret it and look for her now) or that she's been kidnapped/stolen? She can even go on a quest to find her parents (maybe she doesn't even know her parents are alive), only to find out she is altered/alienated so much that her parents see her as a monster or something?

I think I've seen orphans in about 90% of all the characters on the table.

My current character writes letters to his parents who live in the fantasy equivalent of Dildo, Illinois and serve as a gentle reminder my character wants to be a good boi.

Street rat got bullied a lot by other kids because of muh albinism, but one day got saved by an older street rat when the latter found out about his heightened senses (a compensation for his weak eyesight). The older street rat was a petty thief took him under his wing (mainly as a "spotter") and introduced him to a life of thievery. In a few years, the pair gained enough skill to be recruited into a Rogue's Guild. Getting into the guild meant tasks that went beyond stealing a smuggler's wares. Older street rat felt accomplished, but albinofag felt wrong. Still, he went along; to leave the guild would be to leave the only person he'd ever had.

But everyone has their limits. When Savior failed to return from a dubious mission, albinofag called quits and ran off into the night. Or at least is trying to.

You know, there's no real conflict going on here about her. What are her problems now?

If a character critique was what you're looking for. Per se it's perfectly fine, it's not like Conan or his rpg clones had real "problems".

appearance: Albino, probably in poorfag outfit
profession/skillset: rogue, heightened senses

Not OP, just having fun picking OP standards.

Hmm. The alienated return might be quite good. What also could be good to be honest is I just have the woman that has her as a test doll her biological mother in the first place. No reason to go with the adopted mother meme at all. I just felt a biological mother might not go to such depraved depths in their own child. Maybe I'm too nice, Heh.

Her conflict is whether she was right to murder [mother figure] or not. She still had a bit of that old devotion you can have to family members. I've seen relatives of my own put up with horrible spouses just cause they love them, going so far as to stop me calling a charity for them (despite having literally been beaten up).

She also struggles with hopelessness and motivation too. Some sort of her wants to settle down and open up shop, take the easy route, but she has the gnawing hunger of wanting to know about her internet buddies more.

oh right.. then:

Always willing to suck and ride orc, tiefling and dragonborn cock. Sometimes willing to suck other humanoid cock. Will never suck dwarven cock but willing to ride them. Will never touch halfling and elven cock.

Hrm. Pretty internal. I guess it depends on the game.

>also no one reads mine

Professional chef tired of getting overcharged for rare ingredients by adventurers so takes the ingredient collecting into his own hands.

A man grows up, raises a family and is prepared to settle into retirement when evil raiders slaughter all of his children and grandchildren, leaving him for dead. Although he survives, he has nothing to live for. After falling into a deep depression he grabs a weapon and heads out to right any wrongs he can, cruel fate has robbed him of his bloodline but he still has a few good years left in him, dammit.

Probably cliche as fuck but I feel that gives me a lot to work with.

No skills allowed.

Tough your Senshi is likeable.

Quote it so I know which is yours?

And yeah, internal conflict. As a gm-forever I like to make characters never be what they first appear, etc she's often bright and jovial, yet commits crimes plenty. People might assume they're some kind of tiny tina rip off or just general psycho teen girl character.

Just wants to live a simple life but is forced in to adventuring by events out of his control. Over time his adventuring wears him down until he is a broken man. Also partially responsible for the apocalypse.

I agree

This:

>Their race/species
yer mum

bretty gud

>army
Career detected.

Regardless, seems cool. she'd make a great leader kinds character, whatever she actually is. Sounds a lot like a character who's lost someone close to them in their past though. Certainly a character I wouldn't mind playing with.

I dunno if when you were being vague with things like 'something is off' you were doing it to maintain secretiveness or whether you don't know yourself, if you don't, might want to try and figure out what it is, you'll find her more fleshed out and easier to play that way imo.

Eugene Dragunov:

A selfish, narcissistic, self-eggrandising gloryhound seeking to outdo his (Lawful Good) legendary father's war hero fame by scheming his way up the political-military ladder without fundamentally understanding that it wasn't his father's actions and medals and accolades that made him so beloved, but was rather his father's respectful treatment of people, heroic selflessness, and humble community-centric bravery (all concepts foreign to Eugene) that was his father's key to fame and success.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about the traditional story structure of Active Bad Guys vs Passive/Reactive Good Guys. I wanted to make a character that explored two central notions:

1) The tragic flaw of the Evil-Aligned Eugene trying so hard to get a hero's recognition, yet fundamentally 'not getting' why fame and glory and social validation came so easily to his father.

2) The (admittedly somewhat Randian) notion that in his herculean efforts to live up to and exceed his Father's name, Eugene ends up actually doing more good for his country and for the world than his father ever did. (Sort of a "The Road to Heaven was paved with selfish intentions" sort of thing).

The motivations for this character come from two sources: I've been reading about the brothers Gracci (Tiberius and Gaius) and their catastrophic efforts to outdo their father, Elder Tiberius Gracchus.

Also I'm finally getting around to watching Legend of Korra and I am so fundamentally buttfrustrated by the story's handling of the character Tarlocc. He's a greedy, scheming, power-hungry, selfish snake of a man that will do anything for power and the good guys will do anything to stop his plans, whatever they are...

...And at this point in the story (no spoilers pls, I haven't finished it) HIS PLAN IS TO STOP THE ACTUAL BAD GUY because it will increase his political clout..And the good guys are getting in his way. Wtf?!

I'd like to make a version of this character that 'works'.

Why play pen and paper rpgs then?
It sounds like your group would have more fun as a clan in an online MMO.

My character is a guy who loves food and merriment. He isn't much for fighting though. He loves peaches the most out of everything he's ever eaten, and holds them at an almost diety-like status.

Kind of vague but not bad. A bit of actual background would be nice. Otherwise good.
How's mine?

My character grew up on the mean streets and was branded for stealing a noble's coin purse. He moved to a foreign land where others wouldn't recognize his past misdeeds and was taken in by a kindly priest. He decided to reform his ways and use his skills to help others.

>play role playing game
>doesnt play role

Profession: Bard
Specifically, singer of Presidents Of The USA band

This little piggy went to market,
This little piggy stayed home,
This little piggy had roast beef
This little piggy had none,
And this little piggy cried wee wee wee all the way home.

I think you'd find it a rewarding experience to host your own game (possibly even including the players in your current game) that focuses more on roleplaying and character development.

I understand it would be a great deal of effort (all worthwhile things take effort) and you risk being mocked for trying something new (all brave trailblazers are mocked for trying something new, even if they don't fail).

But brave men do not let the twin threats of labor and juvenile mockery stop them from attempting what lesser men would not dream of endeavoring. I think it would be something you would enjoy greatly and your group would be glad to have an alternative to the 'crunchy' gm you currently have.