Warlock RP

[Ardantis]

My Warlock is a reskinned fiend pact Bladelock (brass dragon pact). He was adapted from a 'crazy old man' character, so he's got the Outlander background and suffers from insane visions of a dark future (which happen to be true unless averted.)

I'm playing tonight, and would like some more emotional avenues for my RP characterization. What can I do?

The rest of the party is pretty do-gooder, but with distrust of one another. Slow to trust is my Flaw.

[Malifice]

My Warlock is a reskinned fiend pact Bladelock (brass dragon pact). He was adapted from a 'crazy old man' character, so he's got the Outlander background and suffers from insane visions of a dark future (which happen to be true unless averted.)

I'm playing tonight, and would like some more emotional avenues for my RP characterization. What can I do?

The rest of the party is pretty do-gooder, but with distrust of one another. Slow to trust is my Flaw.

Tell me about your characters family.

[Daishain]

What is his relationship to his patron and/or what is his patron like? Did this dragon take pity on the crazy old man and is trying to aid him? Or perhaps the dragon/pact IS the source of the madness?

What kind of crazy are we speaking of? Complete psychosis would be difficult to RP and near impossible for the party to work with, so I suggest avoiding that.

One compelling possibility is to RP him as a dignified gentleman, always formal and polite in his dealings with others, and showing intelligent and rational thought in his plans. Right up to the point that he has an 'episode', at which point those around him will probably want to duck into a steel bunker. Episodes could be triggered by specific stimuli, or completely random.

[Ardantis]

Well, he's mentally ill, first off. So that's a long-term concern. His alignment is CN.

Family, right.

He was born in a tribal island culture. Showing lots of promise as a boy, and a quick wit, he was considered on track to be a leader. His parents were proud and trusted in his upbringing.

Then his illness struck. Madness drove him, and a village building was burned to the ground. Nothing was proven, but he was rode out of town on the rail of public opinion.

The parents never found out what became of their special boy. He's been abandoned to the wilderness for decades now, mad with guilt over something he might never have done...

Until the dragon found him.

[Malifice]

Well, he's mentally ill, first off. So that's a long-term concern. His alignment is CN.

Family, right.

He was born in a tribal island culture. Showing lots of promise as a boy, and a quick wit, he was considered on track to be a leader. His parents were proud and trusted in his upbringing.

Then his illness struck. Madness drove him, and a village building was burned to the ground. Nothing was proven, but he was rode out of town on the rail of public opinion.

The parents never found out what became of their special boy. He's been abandoned to the wilderness for decades now, mad with guilt over something he might never have done...

Until the dragon found him.

Why does he thibk he's visited by these visions.

Maybe he sees the burnt hut as a metaphor for the realm. He secretly fears his visions are a portent to the ruin he will cause.

[Grimstaff]

Have him argue now and then with an unseen friend, sometimes jovial, sometimes weeping. The party will believe he is crazy with an imaginary friend. But it is actually a real friend he killed in a fit of jealousy over a romantic rival decades ago.

The twist? Your character acutally is haunted by the ghost, its not imaginary at all.

[Ardantis]

Why does he thibk he's visited by these visions.

Maybe he sees the burnt hut as a metaphor for the realm. He secretly fears his visions are a portent to the ruin he will cause.

So, connect his past trauma to his future visions? I like that.

As far as behavior goes, psychosis is out but he's more constantly affected by his past than it just being episodic at this point. He's regularly seeing visions/flashbacks.

As far as his patron is concerned, the dragon is the protector of the islands and rescued him from his own madness. The dragon is willing to/planning on sacrificing itself to help defeat other dragons and prevent the rise of a dark dragon diety. This is the connection to the overarching plot.

EDIT: talking to imaginary people is not part of his crazy, but he's not above acting like it is!