So how do I play characters with a childish mentality?

[CrackedChair]

So for a character still in the works, I decided that she'd... er... think like somebody who is 8 or something, but is really somewhere between 18 or 19.

I thought to do stuff like refer to herself in third-person or have a rather child-like voice, but is there any other things, big and little that I can do to roleplay this properly?

I should also mention that while she is childish, she also has a murderous personality and would 'probably' maim somebody for a slight against her.

[Ghatt]

Just curious but how many characters are you playing right now?

[CrackedChair]

Well, I am not sure just what character I want to play, but I have around 3 complete sheets so far and 1 in the making.

[comk59]

Be petty. Get frustrated and stubborn when you don't get your way. Always ask someone else to do simple tasks for you, like getting food and carrying things. And escalate things rapidly then say "But they started it!"

[Naanomi]

http://www.webmd.com/children/tc/milestones-for-8-year-olds-topic-overview

[nickl_2000]

complaign about everything, and whenever you are traveling ask how long until we get there every 25 feet.

Sulk, moan, complaining, fail to grasp higher level strategies, make poor choices

[Naanomi]

Key RP points from the 'developmental milestones' I posted above:

Have a black-and-white perspective much of the time. Things are either great or awful, ugly or beautiful, right or wrong. They focus on one trait or idea at a time, which makes it hard for them to understand complex issues

Have rapidly changing emotions. Angry outbursts are common. Many children are critical of others, especially of their parents. They may seem dramatic and sometimes rude.

Are impatient. They like immediate gratification and find it hard to wait for things they want.

[Laserlight]

Well, I am not sure just what character I want to play, but I have around 3 complete sheets so far and 1 in the making.

Just play one. Get some experience with it. Don't worry about doing things perfectly; doing stupid/crazy things can make for a good story. Also don't worry about making all your RP decisions in advance; characters grow and change, sometimes in unexpected ways. As long as you're not causing the other party members not to have fun, no one is going to say you're RPing wrong.

[Waterdeep Merch]

In a game I DM'd a major NPC was a little girl named Alyce. The players loved her so much they spent time training her, eventually taking her with them as an pseudo-player controlled henchman. I characterized her thus-

She was absolutely smitten with one PC, as he reminded her of her late father. She got angry at anyone who said bad things about this PC, and would often sneak off to follow him no matter how many times you told her no.

Speaking of, you simply could not tell Alyce no. She'd behave while in earshot, but the moment you couldn't see her you could bet she was going to do whatever she felt like.

She also got bored very easily. Especially if she was being taught a lesson. One of the players, a druid, tried to educate her and teach her some basic manners. She started referring to him as 'Uncle Boring'.

Despite all this, she was, at heart, a sweet girl. She wanted to be a hero like her heroes, the party. She always wanted to learn more about cool fighting tricks and magic. One of the most heartwarming moments was when the party all pitched in to get her a set of plate armor, a shield, and a shortsword in her favorite colors- pink and blue.

[CrackedChair]

In a game I DM'd a major NPC was a little girl named Alyce. The players loved her so much they spent time training her, eventually taking her with them as an pseudo-player controlled henchman. I characterized her thus-

She was absolutely smitten with one PC, as he reminded her of her late father. She got angry at anyone who said bad things about this PC, and would often sneak off to follow him no matter how many times you told her no.

Speaking of, you simply could not tell Alyce no. She'd behave while in earshot, but the moment you couldn't see her you could bet she was going to do whatever she felt like.

She also got bored very easily. Especially if she was being taught a lesson. One of the players, a druid, tried to educate her and teach her some basic manners. She started referring to him as 'Uncle Boring'.

Despite all this, she was, at heart, a sweet girl. She wanted to be a hero like her heroes, the party. She always wanted to learn more about cool fighting tricks and magic. One of the most heartwarming moments was when the party all pitched in to get her a set of plate armor, a shield, and a shortsword in her favorite colors- pink and blue.

D'aww... what a sweet story!

[BigKaiju]

If I could recommend a really great example of this is current popular culture, check out the movie SPLIT.

Be not just petty in your actions, but justify them as approval-seeking from some other power (patron/god/parents).

[90sMusic]

Kids are oddballs because they have crazy moodswings. Sometimes they are the most selfish and petty people on the planet, then the next minute they would give up their favorite possession to make someone else happy. Kids almost universally have garbage attention spans. They can't really be part of a conversation, they get bored quickly into it and start wandering around looking at things, poking around with something in their hands or playing with some object they find in the room they are in. They might start asking questions that would have obvious answers to an adult or would perhaps even be socially inappropriate to ask but do so anyway due to childlike innocence and ignorance.

Children get bored very easily. They don't like to sleep when they are supposed to or especially when they are told to, so short and long resting might be a problem. Other times they just get really tired and want to sleep when it really isn't a good time or appropriate. Kids always get very crabby and whinny when they are tired.

[Herobizkit]

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpoiledBrat

also http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RoyalBrat

[furby076]

In a game I DM'd a major NPC was a little girl named Alyce. The players loved her so much they spent time training her, eventually taking her with them as an pseudo-player controlled henchman. I characterized her thus-

She was absolutely smitten with one PC, as he reminded her of her late father. She got angry at anyone who said bad things about this PC, and would often sneak off to follow him no matter how many times you told her no.

Speaking of, you simply could not tell Alyce no. She'd behave while in earshot, but the moment you couldn't see her you could bet she was going to do whatever she felt like.

She also got bored very easily. Especially if she was being taught a lesson. One of the players, a druid, tried to educate her and teach her some basic manners. She started referring to him as 'Uncle Boring'.

Despite all this, she was, at heart, a sweet girl. She wanted to be a hero like her heroes, the party. She always wanted to learn more about cool fighting tricks and magic. One of the most heartwarming moments was when the party all pitched in to get her a set of plate armor, a shield, and a shortsword in her favorite colors- pink and blue.

We had one of these. He was a fire imp named Zeke. He started off as an enemy, but he begged to be spared. My paladin wanted to finish him, but the group convinced me not to. He kept following us around. My paladin became very fond of him (and vice versa). He would call my paladin "boss". He was an npc party member. The dm killed him. I lost my ****. Session ended for the day