The Anti-Cliche

[Blackhawk748]

That probably sounds weird doesn't it? Well i feel its fitting for my group as we really dont do that many cliche things, which is generally good. Heres a list of cliche things i havent done.

1. I have never played the bastard child of *insert nobility* questing for X
2. I have never fought rats in the Inns basement
3. I have never rescued a princess, or any nobility for that matter.
4. I have never actually gone questing for the Plot MacGuffin, though i have once gave one to a party and they needed to charge it.

So what cliches havent you done?

[Amphetryon]

I'm legitimately curious how #4 is actually possible; do you simply never acquire things through adventuring, or is every single thing you've ever acquired through adventuring entirely inconsequential to everyone at the table's story, individually or as part of a larger whole?

5. I've never played the Paladin/Fallen Paladin/Redemption cycle with an actual Paladin.

[nedz]

I've been playing since the beginning, so I've done them all, though many of them weren't clichés at the time.

5. I've never played the Paladin/Fallen Paladin/Redemption cycle with an actual Paladin.
Well, OK. I haven't done this one. But then I've never played a Paladin; though every Paladin I've DM'd for has gone through the first half of this sequence.

[Blackhawk748]

I'm legitimately curious how #4 is actually possible; do you simply never acquire things through adventuring, or is every single thing you've ever acquired through adventuring entirely inconsequential to everyone at the table's story, individually or as part of a larger whole?

The second mostly, items we get through adventuring are just that. Items. We may personally get attached to them but they are just items of +X. Now i have written items im lookingfor into my characters backstory, but the game has a tendency to fall apart before we can get to them.

[HolyCouncilMagi]

Part of me wants to ask if "fighting a dragon" counts as a cliche, just because this is Dungeons & Dragons. Also never fought an orc group (or horde), though there have been individual orc enemies. (Incidentally, orcs and dragons are both allies fairly regularly in games I'm in.)

Never been in a tournament or sporting competition of any kind... Or spoken directly to a king, queen, or princess on-screen, though the one time I've encountered a prince I did romance him, so I guess my character ended up talking to a king off-screen (and post-campaign).

Never made an evil god be a relevant background antagonist in any game I've run.

Those are the major ones off the top of my head.

[(Un)Inspired]

What does anit-cliche mean?

[Blackhawk748]

What does anit-cliche mean?

im not sure, i thought it sounded cool :smalltongue:

[SangoProduction]

Does being an actual prince, who was to be put to death by the king count as that cliche? (I personally never heard of it before I read this but, still, wanna ask.)

[(Un)Inspired]

im not sure, i thought it sounded cool :smalltongue:

It does look kinda cool.

"I've finally mastered the spells of the anit-cliche masters. Prepare yourself!"

[SangoProduction]

im not sure, i thought it sounded cool :smalltongue:

I think he's referring to your mispelling.

[Blackhawk748]

I think he's referring to your mispelling.

Well how in the hells did i miss that??


Does being an actual prince, who was to be put to death by the king count as that cliche? (I personally never heard of it before I read this but, still, wanna ask.)

Wait, really?? The LARP i play has that particular cliche in the Character Creation section in "Stuff Not To Do"

[LooseCannoneer]

I've never had an evil adviser. I've duped the party when during world-building I decided that the BBEG cursed a great many people to appear as evil, causing the Falling of just about every Murder-crazy Paladin. I warned them, they alignment-checked the adviser, he pinged evil, and despite the warnings, they still killed him.

[Nifft]

These don't read like anti-cliches (which would be "original ideas").

They read like a to-do list.

[Amphetryon]

The second mostly, items we get through adventuring are just that. Items. We may personally get attached to them but they are just items of +X. Now i have written items im lookingfor into my characters backstory, but the game has a tendency to fall apart before we can get to them.

So, none of the items you got featured in the story in any way? None of them were useful in advancing the plot (through the defeat of encounters, for example), or were upgraded with additional magic, or exchanged for currency that allowed for the purchase of other items (which, of course, were also not useful)?

[LooseCannoneer]

Sometimes you need a good macguffin. Never let your players assume that everything is just loot.

[HolyCouncilMagi]

So, none of the items you got featured in the story in any way? None of them were useful in advancing the plot (through the defeat of encounters, for example), or were upgraded with additional magic, or exchanged for currency that allowed for the purchase of other items (which, of course, were also not useful)?

Now, now. Not every item that's ever useful is inherently a MacGuffin, especially in a game with magic items flying around for cheap like D&D.

[Hrugner]

I had a DM once who was so perturbed by my necromancer character concept that it just treated me like a doom-cackling corpse thief right down to the upturned color and raven familiar. Sometimes the cliche is really unavoidable.

I've never played the bardic sex fiend. I've never played the stoic becloaked sniper. I've never played the drunken barbarian or the by-the-book cleric. I've never played the unwitting half-dragon or child of demon rape. My eyes have always been the same color. I've never started the party in an inn, nor inexplicably had them know each other from somewhere. I've never been the thief who pickpockets everyone, or the hot-head who avenges all slights.

The list of cliches I have done is rather longer though.

[HolyCouncilMagi]

I had a DM once who was so perturbed by my necromancer character concept that it just treated me like a doom-cackling corpse thief right down to the upturned color and raven familiar. Sometimes the cliche is really unavoidable.

You might have more luck avoiding cliches about how much of a monster who doesn't care about life you are if you didn't refer to your DM as an "it." :smalltongue:

[Hrugner]

You might have more luck avoiding cliches about how much of a monster who doesn't care about life you are if you didn't refer to your DM as an "it." :smalltongue:

Does it help if I say I accidentally attributed intent to the game itself and wasn't blaming the DM at all?

[tadkins]

As someone who's a big fan of dwarves and plays them frequently, I make sure to try and downplay certain...things, they're known for and expected to do. I try to give them actual character beyond beer, hammers and fighting.

[HolyCouncilMagi]

Does it help if I say I accidentally attributed intent to the game itself and wasn't blaming the DM at all?

Actually, yeah, that totally would help, but your post certainly didn't read that way.

On-topic: Here's another one... I've had bad guys unleashing (or attempting to unleash) ancient evils fairly frequently, but despite the omnipresent stereotype (either "thanks for releasing me, but now I don't need you" if the ancient evil is the aggressor, or "ha! now you shall do what I say or else!" if the bad guy doing the unleashing is stupid) I've never actually had one betray or kill the other.