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Eleven
2012-04-11, 04:50 AM
Although the superficialities are sometimes just chosen out of fun, usually when I play, the personality and basic flavour of my character is based completely on my own self-image.

To what extent do you all do that sort of thing?

Kol Korran
2012-04-11, 05:19 AM
i have mostly DMed so far, but when i play i tend to play one of two types:
1) the kind of person i aspire to be. usually when i play a heroic game.
2) a kind of person who's personality is contradicting with my own. one that i would have trouble with. i like to take it as an interesting challenge for me to roleplay. not always easy, but definitely interesting.

all of my characters have SOME element of myself, through which i connect to them, but it is often not a major part of who they are (or at least that is how i try to make them). i have enough of myself in the real world. i want something else in my games. :smalltongue:

Ravens_cry
2012-04-11, 05:22 AM
They are part of me, that's how I can dredge them up, how I can keep in character, and often they are something I wish I was, at least in part, some part of me that needs expressing.
But they are not me in the sense of who I am in totality.

Mastikator
2012-04-11, 06:34 AM
Used to when I was younger, now a days I find it more interesting to roleplay someone very different from me.

dsmiles
2012-04-11, 07:26 AM
Well, since I usually play an Evil Genius-type of character, I'm going to have to say, "Yes, I play as myself."

Starscream
2012-04-11, 08:40 AM
I like to play crazy or disturbed characters. How much they resemble me depends on who you ask.:smallredface:

Bastian Weaver
2012-04-11, 09:30 AM
Sometimes. Pretty much always when I'm not game-mastering or playing canon characters.

TheCountAlucard
2012-04-11, 10:20 AM
Let's see...


Clever hacker, willingly underwent numerous surgeries, including invasive brain surgery, has no compunctions about committing crimes.
Twi'lek crime lord, paranoid on the inside, but has the presence to intimidate a Sith.
Vainglorious martial artist, obsessed with reputation.
Sneaky vampire, feigns insanity to better manipulate people.
Temperate prince, charismatic and diplomatic.


I don't think so. :smalltongue:

Bosaxon
2012-04-11, 10:30 AM
My most recent characters, in order:

Dogmatic ex-guardsman in a Rogue Trader Game
Apathetic eastern european immigrant in a Dread game
Someone's mental delusion in a Dread game
Strict adherant to the faith in a Dogs in the Vineyard game

The closest thing to me would be the apathetic, unless I'm so secretly a fascist even I don't know it. My characters tend to be made on whims, so I've had criminally insane characters and passive medics in the same month.

Morithias
2012-04-11, 11:59 AM
Only in the Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced campaign. 90% of the time I'm playing women, so no otherwise.

Shadowknight12
2012-04-11, 01:44 PM
I once played a friendly, loving, elderly woman with psychic powers and enough shotguns to invade all countries simultaneously. Our only point in common was our mutual enjoyment at punching the people who attack us in the face, a trait we probably share with the entirety of humanity.

So nope.

Ellye
2012-04-11, 02:02 PM
I intentionally played as "myself" once (not exactly myself, but a character that was very, very similar).

It was an almost diceless horror adventure, heavily focused on atmosphere and such. So roleplaying myself was a great way to get even more immersed. I get the impression that all the other players were doing the same (intentionally or not), but we never mentioned it.

It was actually one of the best sessions I've ever played, if not the best one.

LikeAD6
2012-04-11, 02:10 PM
No; for me, roleplaying means I get to not be myself. However, one of my players once played in a World of Darkness game set in Earth in which the players had to play as themselves. It worked out pretty well for him, as he has been doing martial arts for a while and owns several weapons. If I had been invited to that game I would have left on the spot when the DM said we had to play as ourselves.

eggs
2012-04-11, 02:45 PM
I like to pretend that every character I play isn't a spinoff of a self-interested windbag with a penchant for swindles and basically no inclination toward physical violence.

Delwugor
2012-04-11, 03:10 PM
I'd be bored silly playing myself.

Jay R
2012-04-11, 03:25 PM
Well, all characters are characters that feeel enough like me that I can get into their heads, but here are some of the recent ones.

Ornrandir (2E) - disaffected elven mage/thief. Highly intelligent, without much social development, he usually misunderstands personal relationships.

Gwydion (OD&D) - happy, slightly reckless bard, always curious about others. Gets along with everyone.

Professor Power (Champions) - comic-book energy projector / mild-mannered engineer with a classic Silver Age approach of working with the authorities and respect for everyone.

Shadowmonk (Champions) - comic-book shapeshifter / martial artist, strictly grin'n'gritty Modern Age vigilante, constantly distrusting.

Dr. MacAbre (Champions) - comic-book mystic, nervous that, despite his researched powers, he also sometimes turns into a wolf, bat, or mist.

Jean-Louis (Flashing Blades) - musketeer-era rogue. An orphan raised my nuns; he as trying to find a place in 17th century Paris. He has no real morals, but is absolutely set on following a Code of Honor learned in the salle.

I have no idea what the common thread is, but I was comfortable playing them all.

Bahamut Omega
2012-04-11, 03:44 PM
When I first started playing, my characters were simply my personality interacting with a different environment. This was fine and probably a good starting point, but after awhile it was something I became unconsciously bored with.

What I often try and do now is magnify one particular aspect of myself and take a few things which aren't at all like me and throw them together to force my character to act in a way that's different from how I would. For example, in a LARP I play, I chose to play a character torn between multiple religions and unsure what he wants to pick and choose to follow (aspect of my own personality). Gods are known to be real in this world, a ritual even exists to create more, so denying their existence is like saying a tree has very little wood content. Couple that with a total ineptitude with math (not so for myself) and strong agreement with the major governing body in the world with very little desire to question it (also not so for myself) makes for an interesting character.

Often he opts to follow what the laws of the governing body are. Due to in character actions and events, he's become somewhat more faithful to one of the game's old goddesses and I could feasibly see him turning his back on the governing body to join in what he sees as a righteous holy crusade. Such a situation is highly unlikely to occur, so he's not yet had to worry about such a personal conflict. He does occasionally preach at people who never asked, though.

His mathematical ineptitude rarely comes up, he actually has very good intuitions which is not something I can do and if it weren't for the game system's rule mechanics it would be impossible for me to pull off.

Kobold-Bard
2012-04-11, 03:48 PM
With the exception of a game which was "D&D is real & you're a PC" I don't believe I've ever intentionally played myself.

ForzaFiori
2012-04-11, 04:15 PM
Sometimes. I go through phases where I'll have characters who are basically "me but with magic/psionics/etc", but then I'll have a phase where I try to make someone who's very different then me (sometimes based off of friends, so that I can have a good idea of how the character should act). it also tends to depend on what my character does. As a former martial artist, when I make a monk or something, it tends to be more like me then when I make a cleric or paladin. (something i've never had fantasies of being)

Ason
2012-04-12, 12:33 AM
Generally my characters include an aspect of my personality but not all of it, often with that aspect made more extreme and into a defining characteristic. Examples:

My LN cleric of the silver flame channeled my legalistic and perfectionist side but dropped the lighthearted and forgiving features that normally balance it out.

My N wizard has my tendency towards flattery and using large words when only diminutive ones are needed, but he is less self-controlled and less masculine.

My priest of Cayden Cailean has my goodness and cleverness, but where I favor sobriety and private conversations, he is a drunk who loves the spotlight.

My halfling rogue, warforged cleric and synthesist summoner had few characters in common with me, and roleplaying them was much harder. Give me a few things on which I can connect, and I can stretch my acting chops to fit the rest of the character.

Alleran
2012-04-12, 12:43 AM
Yes and no. Some parts of my characters are going to resemble me, but they're usually not the same as me.

Jay R
2012-04-12, 01:29 AM
I played a game of GURPS, long ago, in which the GM created characters that were intended to be the player, set in this world. My greatest memory of it is that he thought I was a lot more omni-competent than I did. It was a great character.

Daftendirekt
2012-04-12, 02:28 AM
They are part of me, that's how I can dredge them up, how I can keep in character, and often they are something I wish I was, at least in part, some part of me that needs expressing.
But they are not me in the sense of who I am in totality.

This is most of my characters. There are a few I want to play that are totally against my personality, but I haven't played them yet.

Milo v3
2012-04-12, 04:10 AM
Every character I play is partially based off me which I think makes them more realistic.

But I've only ever played as myself once, which was in a game of Pokemon Tabletop Adventure.

Rorrik
2012-04-12, 12:55 PM
I usually go chaotic good, which is the alignment I'd assign myself, but have been branching out lately. As far as personality, I go all over, I like the fun of putting on the act.

Tengu_temp
2012-04-12, 01:28 PM
Most of my characters have some of my personality in them, but all of them have notable differences - even those two who were lazy, introverted nerds like me are still pretty different people. Playing someone who is literally just me in another setting would probably be pretty boring.

randomhero00
2012-04-13, 08:49 AM
I take a piece of myself I'd like to explore more (that I wouldn't be able to in modern society) and then amplify and extend it into a character.

Lord Raziere
2012-04-13, 09:10 AM
Not exactly. I believe that all my characters are some part of me, since I've created them and therefore they are incapable of not being me.

More like they are different parts of me, different sides of myself that I let myself express.

GreenZ
2012-04-13, 12:32 PM
I've actually done a little (Read: quite a bit) of delving into the topic as it take two of my passions, roleplaying and criminal psychology, and blends them together. :smallcool:


As far as I can tell, both from understanding myself and from what I have gathered from other people, there are three 'types' of characters in this regard:

Characters that a player uses a piece of themselves and builds around it. For example: I'm not a Halfling nor a member of any holy order but I do believe myself to be chivalrous and dive headfirst into problems before thinking of a solution; I might make a Halfling Paladin with this in mind.

Characters in which a player uses a trait collected from another person or character. I'm sure everyone has seen a knockoff of a superhero or fictional character in a roleplaying game. But also, characters can be inspired by real people too; I might take a trait I don't have, such as 'being an Otaku', but my sister has and may form a character around this trait.

Finally, characters that represent something the player wishes they had. This might be something as in-specific as simply the power to destroy cities or fight off demons or more specific fantasies played out through a character.


Each 'type' can overlap or be present in different characteristics of the same character, and most often the question is not whether the player uses parts of themselves in playing their character but to what degree.

AgentofHellfire
2012-04-13, 06:31 PM
I don't consciously do this, but ultimately when I make a character I want it to be one I can switch into the mindset of fairly easily, so I will often (unconsciously) take a character trait of mine and magnify and distort it.

lotusblossom13
2012-04-13, 07:02 PM
The first character I played was a lawful good Cleric, and minus the fierce love for Pelor and zombie killing, I would say it was definitely me.

However, I branched out more with my second character as I am now playing a sexist male wizard who is chaotic neutral, paranoid, and power hungry.

This is especially funny as I am female.:smallbiggrin: