PDA

View Full Version : Misfits



SilverClawShift
2007-05-25, 11:37 PM
I've allready seen threads about bizzarre characters, but this is a slightly different topic.

Has anyone ever run or been a part of a game where you intentionally made misfit characters that had no real excuse to exist? My groups DM is usually overwhelmingly lenient about our class/race/feat picks, he lets us get away with murder (but we're not powergamers, so it doesn't really matter except to make our games more eccentric).

But in this one campaign, the DM gave us the full out "I have to approve your character or you can't play it" restriction. We all agreed to it beforehand cause this was a game we wanted to play.
The DM would ONLY approve characters that were just completely horrible misfits. Not just picking opposite concepts and slamming them together, but real 'elf wants to be a dentist' misfits.

And yes we sang the "Why don't I fit in?" song every session.

my character was just a halfling bard. Sort of. My characters concept was that they had severe Attention Defecit Disorder on a massive scale, and would never take more than one level of any class for any reason other than flat out running out of options. The DM liked it so much, he declared alignment restrictions null and void to me if I gave him a reason, because he knew I wasn't gonna make a career out of any one class, so it wasn't a big deal if I bounced around wrapped in a shroud of lies.
So my second level was paladin, "Cause they're all respectable and daring and the like it's a right pretty sight it is". My only justifaction.

It WASN'T as unviable of an option as you'd likely have guessed. I mean, I was never gonna be a high level wizard (or a high level anything), but I got by surprisingly well on my charm and wits. And the fact that my saves were bulletproof. Every level I was getting +2 in at least one saving throw, usually two, or even 3. Sure my base attack sucked like a mages, but I had so many little tricks up my sleeves that the baddies never saw coming. A 1d6 warlock blast if I found myself without a weapon, 1d6 sneak attack, detect evil, rage (haha), lotsa cantrips, a few first level spells (and I pretty much wound up with every first level ever for obvious reasons). I even qualified for a level of dragon disciple :D

The others in my group were:

A pixie barbarian who refused to use weapon finesse, because she had a bad attitude and refused to 'pretend she was all dainty and precious and get the hell out of my face"

One player suggested a lawful evil drow wizard. And almost got away with it too. Reason? "No one plays a *expletive* evil drow." The DM laughed hard, then thoguht better of it. So that player wound up as an elf favoured soul. Of GRUUMSH.

A half elf wizard/sorcerer played one for one. Because his elf mother insisted he be a wizard, but his father swore up and down that he was brimming with NATURAL arcane potential. He did both to keep his divorced parents happy, and just told each that he was the other class.

And my personal favorite. A Brain in a Jar Rogue. Who used telekinesis to move around ("Sneakily?" "Very sneakily"), and the DM houseruled that when he used his psionic ability to dominate one of the party memebers willingly (a natural ability for a brain in a jar) he could control us directly to use his rogue skills, despite that not being officially how the spell works. He could only move under his own power three times a day, and could only control a person to expend his skills once a day (the DM gave him some feats to expand his uses per day on the dominate person ability, and I picked up the slack by basically having a few ranks in every skill, and a supply of roguely tools).
So one of us (usually the half elf) would carry him around in his sealed little arcane 'tinted window' jar, and when it was time for him to sneak somewhere (?!?) we'd set him down and let him do his thing. Or dominate someone to sneak to his objective and unlock/pick pocket/ect it. He was actually pretty effective. Since he had no STR or CON, his DEX was usless (DM ruled it didn't add to AC, so this tiny brain in a jar had magical armoring smithed onto it randomly), he just pumped INT and CHA like crazy, magically and naturally, with a few WIS boosts too. The result was skill points in the 12+ range per level, and a charming little bastard.

Sickly? That was one of our longer running campaigns. Banded together, the misfit psychopaths were actually a good team, and the DM is good at catering to our eccentricities.

So how about anyone else? Real MISFIT characters, not just weird ones, anyone?

SurlySeraph
2007-05-25, 11:49 PM
I just can't compete with any of those. Those characters make my aasimar wereweasel warlock/ barbarian look normal.

Lemur
2007-05-25, 11:55 PM
One concept I had wasn't actually bad mechanically, but I thought was pretty funny. An orc bard/war chanter. The thing is, he wants to be an opera singer, but his voice is terrible and he can't sing worth crap. In fact, people who hear his voice gain a death wish and go berserk (Inspire Recklessness, anyone?). Maybe not the best misfit ever, but it would give an excuse to start trying to do opera style singing in an orc voice during combat.

A misfit I actually got to play once was a magic girl. You know, anime style mahou shoujo, transforming outfit, unnecessary posing, charisma based caster. Only she was a sadistic, chainsmoking drow who would go from being very cute to buring people's faces with cigarrettes.

LongVin
2007-05-26, 12:15 AM
In a World of Darkness Mage game my friend created a character who all he wanted to do was to die, but he couldn't commit suicide directly. However his avatar wouldn't let him die and everytime he was in a life threatening situation his avatar would use magic to save him, then he would curse God for letting him live.

In a normal campaign he would of lasted only 2 sessions before the luck of the die killed him but our DM for that campaign refused to kill anyone short of a building collapsing on them which is how the only character to die in said campaign died.

Krimm_Blackleaf
2007-05-26, 12:28 AM
Well, I don't think any of the groups I've ever been in could compete with SilverClawShift's, nor any indevidual character I've ever played alongside or as could compete with any one indevidual you've mentioned...

But I know I can safely say, I really wish I could play in your group, SilverClawShift...

Toric
2007-05-26, 12:55 AM
Closest I've ever come was my Gnome Ranger whose parents were brutally killed during an nature walk by a random magical creature. He was raised by a human Ranger, so he was a a blunt, practical little man who was thoroughly convinced that the party's Gnome Illusionist was completely mad. That didn't stop him from getting in touch with his gnomish heritage by adopting a second name from and bestowing a name upon the illusionist. He was a fun character, punched a goblin to death with a critical hit in a barroom brawl (it was ruled that the goblin fell on top of a pile of broken bottles).

TheThan
2007-05-26, 01:09 AM
Shathis Curseblood-

Tiefling paladin x/divine crusader x /shining blade of Heironeous x

Backstory
It’s a miracle that Shathis and his twin brother Balriaz are alive. Their mother died due to complications during childbirth, and their father seeing the demonic appearance of his children, went mad and took his own life, believing the two to be cursed (the man was already pretty unstable). All their other kin rejected the pair for their demonic appearance and as a result they ended up in an orphanage.
Unfortunately the pair couldn’t say in one place long because of fear that they would bring doom to the various places they stayed. So the two bounced around in different orphanages for a while, eventually the pair were split up.

One day the other kids found the box of tendertwigs the headmaster kept to light the hearth and oven. Soon the building was ablaze, all the children ran away, one knocked Shathis down and he bashed his head, chipping one of his horns and knocking himself out. The headmaster and the others that worked at the orphanage rushed to rescue the children, but they purposefully ignored the unconscious Shathath, believing it a fitting end for their “cursed” kid.
A paladin of Heironeous happened to be near scene and offered assistance, the headmaster said all were safe, but he let slip that they left Shathis behind to perish in the flames. Without hesitation, the paladin rushed in and scooped up the still unconscious Shathis and brought him to safety.
The paladin, upset with the actions of the headmaster, took the young Shathis under his wing and took him as his squire and apprentice.

Shathis spent the rest of his early life learning the path of the paladin, upon his 21st birthday he graduated into full paladin hood (despite some controversy). He now seeks to right the injustices he sees, and battle evil on any front he finds as well as to prove himself to his detractors.

Personality

Shathis is very confident and courageous. To the point of being overly courageous. He’s loud and comes off as a bit preachy. This is just a front to hid his true feeling, deep down he fears his demonic heritage will lead to his own self-destruction, and possibly that of others.

Shathis is now a paladin of Heironeous
Shathis reminds you of a sneaky serpent. He has slitted brown eyes that are like two patches of dried blood. His luxurious, straight, soot-black hair is worn in a simple long style. He is very tall and has an athletic wide-shouldered build. His skin is reddish-brown. He once had two sweeping horns sprouting from his forhead, but the left one has broken off, leaving the butt exposed. He has a strong chin. He wears light armor and a longsword at his side, with a shield strapped across his back.

Note
I haven't played this guy yet, but I will... one of these days