Cliches to Avoid

[sambouchah]

My group is starting a new campaign this weekend and it will be heavier on the roleplay side(Praise Pelor!). I'm trying to think of my character's backstory but I don't want it to be full of the usual fantasy cliches.

My character is a Wizard named Syrus Meyweaver. He is an arcane artist who has switched colleges to be able to practice his art more. By arcane artist I mean he alters the visual manifestation of his spells(Caltrops, the spell, are small blue flames instead of caltrops, etc). He is the son of a Noble who desperately wanted him to become a court wizard, but he instead became an artist(while still practicing arcana). I'd like for him to have a love interest as well.

What should I avoid and how can I add to this character?

Thanks for the help!

[Waker]

Cliches to avoid and things to add to him? Narrowing down cliches is tricky, the only one I'll point out is try to avoid emulating any well-known characters from fiction.
As for things to make him interesting, I can make a few suggestions.
-Try to figure out what it is that made him become an artist in the first place. Did he find it liberating to make something with his own hands (and bat guano)? Was he trying to impress a young lady? A bit of childish rebellion (a bit cliche maybe)?
-What does he do in his downtime? When he isn't manipulating the basic forces of the universe, how does he spend his time.
-Does he have any particular likes and dislikes? Is he a sucker for spicy food and tends to overdo things when he is on cooking detail for the group? Does he tend to prefer a certain color scheme when he arranges his adventuring clothes?
-How does he carry himself? Does he feel the need to show off his intelligence by using large, complicated words and jargon? Is he the sort to sulk when he doesn't get things his way? How about his posture? Does he look people in the eyes when talking?

[Grizzled Gryphon]

Your Wizard would be extremely anti-cliche to be a work out/ sports junkie. The jock that is an artist and a wizard? Not exactly common.

Cliches for wizards that come to mind include "always has his nose in a book", "easily found; just check the lab/library", "wears a pointy hat", "wears a flowing blue robe with stars on it"...

So, yeah, have him be a big, burly type wearing leathers that loves the arena/ sporting events, and even participates in them.

[sambouchah]

Cliches to avoid and things to add to him? Narrowing down cliches is tricky, the only one I'll point out is try to avoid emulating any well-known characters from fiction.
As for things to make him interesting, I can make a few suggestions.
-Try to figure out what it is that made him become an artist in the first place. Did he find it liberating to make something with his own hands (and bat guano)? Was he trying to impress a young lady? A bit of childish rebellion (a bit cliche maybe)?
-What does he do in his downtime? When he isn't manipulating the basic forces of the universe, how does he spend his time.
-Does he have any particular likes and dislikes? Is he a sucker for spicy food and tends to overdo things when he is on cooking detail for the group? Does he tend to prefer a certain color scheme when he arranges his adventuring clothes?
-How does he carry himself? Does he feel the need to show off his intelligence by using large, complicated words and jargon? Is he the sort to sulk when he doesn't get things his way? How about his posture? Does he look people in the eyes when talking?

This has helped a lot! Thanks, Waker


Your Wizard would be extremely anti-cliche to be a work out/ sports junkie. The jock that is an artist and a wizard? Not exactly common.

Cliches for wizards that come to mind include "always has his nose in a book", "easily found; just check the lab/library", "wears a pointy hat", "wears a flowing blue robe with stars on it"...

So, yeah, have him be a big, burly type wearing leathers that loves the arena/ sporting events, and even participates in them.

As much as I would love to break the stereotype that wizard's are bookkworms, this character is physically fit(Str 10, Dex 15, Con 14) he doesn't(thus far) like physical labor outside of walking.

Also his favorite color is blue:smalltongue:

[Waker]

This has helped a lot! Thanks, Waker
Welcome. Oftentimes I find the biggest hurdle that people face when trying to come up with a unique character is that they overlook all the things that makes a character a person rather than scribbles on paper. They are supposed to have lived a life before you start your adventure. All the likes, dislikes, phobias, dreams and habits that we all have should be reflected in any RPG as well. So while you don't need to write a novella, consider doing a brief history on your guy.


As much as I would love to break the stereotype that wizard's are bookkworms, this character is physically fit(Str 10, Dex 15, Con 14) he doesn't(thus far) like physical labor outside of walking.

Also his favorite color is blue:smalltongue:
Why doesn't he like physical labor? Was he a clumsy kid? Overprotective parents? Feel that exerting himself is common or beneath him?

[Duke of Urrel]

Artists can be very eccentric characters. Think of Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, or Salvador Dalí. They can also be passionate inventors, like Leonardo da Vinci (or Leonard of Quirm (http://discworld.wikia.com/wiki/Leonard_of_Quirm)).

Your character may like to use Marvelous Pigments (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#marvelousPigments).

Perhaps you can convince your DM that you should be able to use paints and brushes in place of the usual material components for many spells. You could carry a palette instead of a spell-component pouch. Your wizard's robe would be an artist's smock or apron, streaked and splotched all over with experimental color. Maybe you could acquire the planeshifter prestige class and eventually paint yourself your own private demi-plane, which would resemble a surreal three-dimensional painting.

[sambouchah]

Why doesn't he like physical labor? Was he a clumsy kid? Overprotective parents? Feel that exerting himself is common or beneath him?

He was a delicate child, he preferred to create than to run and play.


Perhaps you can convince your DM that you should be able to use paints and brushes in place of the usual material components for many spells. You could carry a palette instead of a spell-component pouch. Your wizard's robe would be an artist's smock or apron, streaked and splotched all over with experimental color. Maybe you could acquire the planeshifter prestige class and eventually paint yourself your own private demi-plane, which would resemble a surreal three-dimensional painting.

I love the idea of the demi-plane painting! Where is the Planeshifter PRC?

[Waker]

I love the idea of the demi-plane painting! Where is the Planeshifter PRC?
Manual of the Planes, pg 30.

[ArqArturo]

I second on the idea to look on the Masters of the Renaissance. Also, look on Nikola Tesla.

And avoid acting like Raistlin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raistlin_Majere#Early_life).

[Waker]

I do sort of like Duke's suggestion of a paint spattered mage. He goes into a situation where he tries to bluff himself off as being some all-powerful worldly wizard and not realize that he has a bit of paint on his cheeks and hair. At low levels, he awkwardly tries to juggle an easel and brushes while descending down a rope. Even at high levels, he frequently has to use Prestidigitation to clean smudges and handprints off of his things.

[6thEdition]

Try to create artistic versions of spells. Grease becomes Paint, Magic Missile becomes Magic Brush, Summon X becomes Paint X, Genesis becomes Draw Planes, etc.

[Sian]

depending on the ammount of roleplaying, it might be worthwhile to burn a feat on Spell Thematics (http://dndtools.eu/feats/players-guide-to-faerun--22/spell-thematics--2714/) which neatly fits slightly offbeat versions of the spells ... giving opponents a harder Spellcraft DC check to identify (for counterspelling)

[Crake]

You could include some kind of participation in a Tournament Arcane, specifically The Grand Illusion. It's outlined in complete arcane (page 178 to be specific), and focuses on using illusion spells to create, albeit temporary, grand works of art for an audience and panel of judges. Sounds like it would fit pretty well.

[Ravens_cry]

They can be done well, even very well, but I am a little tired of 'save the world' plots. They are just so big that it's so much harder to tell the individual stories that can invoke a much stronger emotional response, their focus is too broad. Worse, where do you go from there? You stopped the world ending baddie or situation, how do you top or compete with that?

[Twilightwyrm]

If you want a manner to explain him turning to wizardry (despite not wanting to follow his father's suggestion of becoming a court wizard), consider this: perhaps despite his love of art, or images and of form, he is only actually an mediocre to okay artist on his own. His mental block is being able to translate the magnificent imaged from his mind to the canvas. Being the smart person that he is, he decides to put aptitude for arcane magic towards fulfilling his desire to put his imagination to canvass, and begins using his magic to help him paint. Think of him like someone who cooks with chemistry rather than by honing their instinct and technique.

[SamsDisciple]

Another aspect that might not be a huge cliché but that is a pet peeve of mine for sure is that I noticed that you are a noblemans son, who is your mother? do you have any siblings? how is your relationship with them? After seeing the 100th orphan/only child adventurer I am getting sick of 0 family relationships. I understand that a lot of this came about because a lot of dm's saw a family tie and immediately used it as a kidnapping subplot but seriously most people have families and your family is a huge part of who you are so if you are doing a heavy rp experience then flesh out your family as well. As you do that you are much more likely to get more inspiration for the small quirks your character has and why.

[Amphetryon]

Cliches to avoid? The ones you don't like.

A Character that's free of any cliches? All but impossible.

[sambouchah]

Another aspect that might not be a huge cliché but that is a pet peeve of mine for sure is that I noticed that you are a noblemans son, who is your mother? do you have any siblings? how is your relationship with them? After seeing the 100th orphan/only child adventurer I am getting sick of 0 family relationships. I understand that a lot of this came about because a lot of dm's saw a family tie and immediately used it as a kidnapping subplot but seriously most people have families and your family is a huge part of who you are so if you are doing a heavy rp experience then flesh out your family as well. As you do that you are much more likely to get more inspiration for the small quirks your character has and why.

He actually does have a mother, and the family butler became a second father to him when his own grew too cold. He had an older brother but he died in battle.

[XmonkTad]

Well you're not a billionaire orphan wizard, that's a good start.

[Pumpkin Tiger]

Be creative for example im a pumpkin catfolk

[Isamu Dyson]

Clichés are rarely one-hundred percent avoided. For the clichés that do remain, try to put your own spin on them.