Characters based on Media [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

Zonugal

2017-08-05, 06:03 PM

As long as the player can generally disguise the character enough I don't care if they are based off a pre-existing pop culture character.

Like, in my free time I adapt Marvel superheroes into D&D characters. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?527034-Zonugal-s-House-of-Marvels)

But I once sat down at a gaming convention to play D&D 3.5 with some strangers and one player titled their rogue "Solid Snake."

And... Just... You have to try just a smidge harder for me to not judge you for that.

Koren

2017-08-05, 07:13 PM

See, I briefly had a Tabaxi named Katia Managan (from the comic strip Prequel: Making a cat cry) mine wasn't obscured beyond the possibility of the other players not having read Prequel. So I can't say I'm beyond that.

Though in all fairness it's not like I'm ever going to make a sword and board Fighter named Link.

Grod_The_Giant

2017-08-05, 07:33 PM

It's fine to take inspiration, but skewing too closely to a character everyone recognizes is grating. Especially if you don't change the name and/or change the name slightly, but it remains genre-inappropriate.

mgshamster

2017-08-05, 08:19 PM

I've got no problem with it, and often even try to find ways for it to work for the player so they can have fun.

I've made a fighter who wants to be a pirate, but it just too good to actually do the rotten stuff. His name: Guybrush Threepwood.

I've had a Pathfinder player with an Android that was small sized, all blue, and his Psionic abilities flavored as an arm-gun that was MegaMan.

I've have a Pathfinder player with a gunslinger named Dean Winchester. He and his brother were teleported to Golarion, and then separated. His primary goal was to find his brother.

I've had a 5e player with a human Light Cleric named Ronnie James. He was 5'4", and always had a quote about light on hand.

I'm all for allowing PCs to be based on pop culture.

Herobizkit

2017-08-05, 08:40 PM

I had a solid run with a 4e Hexblade based largely off Miguel from "The Road to El Dorado". Even used various facial expressions for in-game digital tokens. Worked very well.

Zonugal

2017-08-05, 09:09 PM

I once showed up to a Pathfinder Society game with a character very deliberately modeled after Jack Burton from Big Trouble in Little China.

He... He didn't help the group out at all.

So, one could say he was adapted faithfully.

furby076

2017-08-05, 09:17 PM

My first dnd character was named Riptide, from the image comics. Thats where the similarity ended. I played a male human ranger. My HS friends were still jerks about it.

Then i was reading wheel of time (2nd book), and made an Aes Sedi. When my friends eventually found my character was based on a book, they never read...they killed her. I needed better friends lol.

My opinion, is do what makes you happy. But dont try too hard rping the character...eventually you will fail...or realize you need an agent to get you a job in Hollywood

Xrposiedon

2017-08-06, 12:36 AM

alchahest

2017-08-06, 01:47 AM

mgshamster

2017-08-06, 07:54 AM

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BgpTBnPCUAAjE60.jpg

Yeessss...

I'm so sending that pic to him right now.

Gignere

2017-08-06, 08:02 AM

What are your guys' thoughts on characters based on existing characters, from books and movies and games?

Which ones have you seen or played as that you enjoyed?

I think most people gain inspiration from other media for their characters. We are not in real life fighters/barbarians/wizards so we have to base RPing on something. Nothing wrong with it even actors try to do the same. The problem is if you try too hard to ape something.

I have gain inspiration on my characters from comics, stories, mythologies, movies, and even real life people. The closest character I would play is probably Guts from Berserk just because I think he fits my own personality pretty well. So I can really get into character without changing it too much.

Koren

2017-08-06, 08:59 AM

I think most people gain inspiration from other media for their characters. We are not in real life fighters/barbarians/wizards so we have to base RPing on something. Nothing wrong with it even actors try to do the same. The problem is if you try too hard to ape something.

I have gain inspiration on my characters from comics, stories, mythologies, movies, and even real life people. The closest character I would play is probably Guts from Berserk just because I think he fits my own personality pretty well. So I can really get into character without changing it too much.

Slight inspiration is one thing, my question was more for like a character whose personality or class and stats/abilities were directly based on an existing character. Like the others mentioned here.

Specter

2017-08-06, 10:29 AM

I made a thread back in the day about making Snake/Big Boss from Metal Gear Solid. Basically an Assassin/Battlemaster combo, expertising Stealth and Athletics. Should be a blast in a stealth-dedicated campaign.

jas61292

2017-08-06, 12:27 PM

I generally dislike this kind of character. Not necessarily because because the character being annoying or anything like that, or most other things people have mentioned. Rather, my biggest issue is that, in my personal experience, the players who want to do this kind of thing typically want to do so after just having watched/read/played the media in question that contains said character, and as the campaign drags on, they will have moved on to other media, and lose interest in their character in favor of some other character from media. Or, more simply, the player feels less ownership of the character (as make sense) and thus feels less attachment to them, and cares less about them.

Also, instead of always thinking "what do I want Character X to do?", they think "what would Character X do?," which further reduces their own feeling of ownership, as the game is not about them making decisions, but rather analyzing the situation and determining how someone else's character is supposed to react.

Smitty Wesson

2017-08-06, 12:33 PM

I often turn well known fantasy (or specifically D&D-inspired fiction) characters into character sheets so that I have a bunch of spare character sheets on hand - whether for a player who needs one or if a replacement character is handy for any reason.

I also really like to take something that isn't really convertible into D&D and make a character out of it - for example, adapting the combat style and personality of a random Transformer into a dwarf or goliath or such. I played a dwarf cleric with the personality of Transformers Prime Ratchet, and it was a pretty perfect fit. (I also had a dwarf based on G1 Warpath, which gave him a bit of personality that would otherwise be absent.)

I think it's a good thing in general, but that there's an art to it. For anyone who wants to play their favorite character, I always encourage thinking through how that character might be different in another world, how fitting them to a D&D race and class can change how they do things. Basically - I think that bringing in the personality is a much bigger positive than trying to translate the character's ability exactly into mechanics.

Gignere

2017-08-06, 12:36 PM

Slight inspiration is one thing, my question was more for like a character whose personality or class and stats/abilities were directly based on an existing character. Like the others mentioned here.

Even than I bet eventually the player will change it, even if initially they wanted to carbon copy a character. I am damn sure if I write Guts on my character sheet that after a few games it will not even be Kentario Miura's Guts anymore it will be my Guts that was inspired by the original.

Koren

2017-08-06, 12:47 PM

Even than I bet eventually the player will change it, even if initially they wanted to carbon copy a character. I am damn sure if I write Guts on my character sheet that after a few games it will not even be Kentario Miura's Guts anymore it will be my Guts that was inspired by the original.

This is true. Different experiences make for different characters.

I found a certain joy in determining how my character would act vs how I actually would have played it. It made for some memorable moments we wouldn't have had otherwise.

That can be both good and bad though.

Sariel Vailo

2017-08-06, 12:54 PM

I made Harley quinn changed her name her name but the only hint was the costume it was even described using crimson and shadow. Kensaix monk fighter x eldritch knight. It. Was simple fun and i had fun. Snow white the fiendlock and her axes of doom.i havent nailed down a multi class. But i was thinking valor bard 3 or 5 rest fiendlock.alice oh dear sweet alice human variant war caster wizard seventeen sorcerer 3 wild magic.welcome to wits end. I had one more character frost from mortal kombat monk with some sorcerer

Dudewithknives

2017-08-06, 01:10 PM

Depends on where the character is from.

If it is from D&D itself, no. No essentially playing a character from a D&D novel.

Most others are fine, as long as it is not so far into the refluff it is barely even fantasy.

Ex. You want to essentially play Storm as a storm sorcerer. Fine.

You want to play a colonial space marine as a spelless artificer gunner... probably not.

I played a lore bard who was an insult comic, who used a lot of cutting words.
He was a half elf named Andrew "Dice" Fey.

gloryblaze

2017-08-06, 03:19 PM

I am currently playing a Speedster monk. Trying to be the flash.

Right now he is only level 11....but....when he is maxed out....

Human: 30ft speed

Monk level 15 Unarmored Movement: +25 ft.

Barbarian level 5 Unarmored Movement: +10 ft.

Mobile feat: +10 ft

Longstrider spell: +10 ft

Boots of Speed: Double speed

Haste Spell: Double speed

Dash Action x3 (Bonus, Action, and Haste Action): Quadruple speed

My DM once asked our party..."what are you guys doing for the night?"

I replied ..."I am going for a run on the lake"

He replied "Okay so you go run by the lake...."

I replied back "no....I am going for a run ON the lake....I said ON"

Running on water, so often overlooked...and makes for some really fun times.

fun fact: 30 + 25 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 85 ft base speed

85 x 2 x 2 x 4 = 1360

1360 feet in 6 seconds (one combat round) is only ~155 miles per hour or ~248 kilometers per hour. That's pretty dang fast for a medieval fantasy setting, but if the Flash's top speed was 155 mph, there would be some cars faster than him! DnD doesn't really have a lot of mechanical support for superspeed, despite what it seems at first :(

Rhynear

2017-08-06, 04:43 PM

fun fact: 30 + 25 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 85 ft base speed

85 x 2 x 2 x 4 = 1360

1360 feet in 6 seconds (one combat round) is only ~155 miles per hour or ~248 kilometers per hour. That's pretty dang fast for a medieval fantasy setting, but if the Flash's top speed was 155 mph, there would be some cars faster than him! DnD doesn't really have a lot of mechanical support for superspeed, despite what it seems at first :(

You can double it for one round as a tabaxi, meaning you can get ~497 kilometers per hour or ~309 miles per hour.

Also there is the Marilith faster than light engine if you want to go really quickly, link in sig.

Xrposiedon

2017-08-06, 09:50 PM

You can double it for one round as a tabaxi, meaning you can get ~497 kilometers per hour or ~309 miles per hour.

Also there is the Marilith faster than light engine if you want to go really quickly, link in sig.

THere are definitely builds you can go much faster than even what is posted above.

However, that was just what I am doing...Tabaxi doesnt really play into the Flash....since ....you know the flash is human.

Koren

2017-08-06, 10:14 PM

Tabaxi doesnt really play into the Flash....since ....you know the flash is human.

In the DCU sure but what about the DNDU?

GoodmanDL

2017-08-06, 10:50 PM

I've sometimes done this by basing PCs on non-genre characters. Like the 19 year old human fighter who basically has a personality lifted from a Teen Soap. Or a Warlock inspired by Reality Competition shows.

"I'm not here to make friends... I cast 'Friends'..."

Jerrykhor

2017-08-06, 11:04 PM

I am practically playing X-Men's Psylocke, and my group is surprisingly fine with that. She is a human Mystic Soul Knife, complete with purple everything and her quirk is 'hates wearing pants'.

Though her personality is customised somewhat, since she has no notable traits. I play her as rather uncharismatic, lack social skills with a laser mouth.

Hrugner

2017-08-06, 11:05 PM

I tend not to like it. The players I have who have done this are, by pure coincidence, light on brains and creativity and have trouble meshing their fantasy and the group's shared fantasy very well. There's often a clash between the character's world needs, and the DM's world that cause some friction or confusion. It's something I'd ban for specific people if I could get away with it, but since I can't do so politely, I just flat ban it.

GoodmanDL

2017-08-06, 11:14 PM

Gwalchavad

2017-08-06, 11:19 PM

Months-long lurker, first time poster.

I can't knock basing PCs off of media for one simple reason - my all-time longest lasting and most dedicated RP troupe started off this way!

Well, actually, ground 0 was a Werewolf: Apocalypse game with me and one of my friends when we discovered we both liked RPGs of all types and he was intrigued by the concept behind Werewolf. A few sessions in and his DM gears started turning.

He ended up homebrewing a system for a popular anime series using the D&D ruleset. A good amount of our friends joined this game, modeling all their favorite characters (and this is one of the few games where I ever had the pleasure of being a player and not DM/GM/whatever term the system uses as a synonym).

The D&DBZ game ended up being a gateweay drug. Every night our friends were over, they wanted to play more. My friend couldn't keep up. So I started a FASERIP Marvel game in a homebrew universe. Only one person wanted to play a non-original character. They still wanted more. Another D&D game and more players for the pre-existing Werewolf campaign, all featuring original characters.

I've had nothing but good experiences with media-modeled characters. Eventually (in my case, a few weeks!) the player(s) will mature beyond that with fresh concepts. A media based character provides an easy short-hand to get people involved.

And heck, even as a DM, modeling an NPC after a character in other media can be an easy cheat that provides fun for the table. Though in that case, more obscure media helps. If everyone at your table is a Brown-coat, don't model Mal or the Operative. But one of my players' favorite NPCs was a giant talking mouse paladin in the days before a Chronicles of Narnia was a glimmer in Disney/Walden's eye.

xroads

2017-08-07, 10:55 AM

My cleric is loosely inspired by Thoros of Game of Thrones.

He was never a member of a church. He was actually a regular member of the Neverwinter city watch who drank & gambled on his off time. Then during a siege of the city, he prayed to Helm to help save a dying comrade. Much to his surprise, it worked! :smalleek:

So now he adventures while trying to understand why Helm actually answers his prayers.

xroads

2017-08-07, 10:57 AM

Months-long lurker, first time poster.

Welcome to the forum. :smallsmile:

Hrugner

2017-08-07, 11:54 AM

Well, it's one thing to straight copy and another to use traits as an inspiration. If you play the character as someone who actually lives in the game world it can work.

I expect so, and it sounds like many other players have good experiences with it. It's just the weird coincidence of those I've played with who have played media inspired characters also appear to lack the ability to do it in a way that doesn't make the game less fun for all others involved.

Waterdeep Merch

2017-08-07, 12:20 PM

I have played characters based on other media. I've DM'd for characters based on other media.

My feelings for them come down to one simple question- did you do your own thing with the concept?

In a Curse of Strahd campaign, I had two examples. One player decided to make a dex-based paladin of Waukeen named Bronne, based on the Song of Ice and Fire character. He was a pragmatist above all else, used trickery and underhanded tactics whenever it suited him, but was also a reliably tough and skilled fighter in his own right. He grew up as an enforcer in Baldur's Gate before getting involved with the Church of Waukeen, which he stayed with because of the power, prestige, and coin on tap- things that made him favorable in the goddess' eyes. He even described his connection with his own goddess as a type of 'contract'. Flavorful, fantastic, well done. The inspiration was there, but this character was absolutely his own thing.

In the same game, another player decided to play a sun soul monk named Vegeta. He was the prince of all Saiyans, came from outer space, wore space armor, talked exactly as you'd imagine he would, and talked about incidents and characters from Dragonball Z. Everybody hated this character. He did not belong in D&D, absolutely ruined any part of the setting he got involved with, and eventually managed to screw up roleplaying the very anime character he was playing. This is terrible because he did not make a character- he stole one. One that had no place in the setting he was in. And then used it to ruin the verisimilitude for everyone else involved.

So my issue is very simple- did you take inspiration from an outside source, then reimagine them and their backstory to fit into the setting? Good job! Play your Master Chiefs, your Wolverines, your Luke Skywalkers. It's cool and fun. Did you instead lift a character entirely from a fiction that doesn't fit the setting and refuse to even attempt to make them work? You are annoying everyone else involved and are creatively bankrupt.

If I got an opportunity to revisit that game, I would have banned that Vegeta player.

Koren

2017-08-07, 12:32 PM

Why is it always dbz characters doing this? (Had a similar experience with a "Goku" in an unstructured RWBY rp)

At that point I wouldn't even really say the guy was playing DnD by the sound of it, he was trying to play his own game and you guys were just there with him. People do that with all kinds of characters regardless of origins, it just seems easier to do with pre existing ones. Anyone ever had a guy who just absolutely HAS to play out their personal story no matter what the party/DM wants?

DarkKnightJin

2017-08-09, 06:38 AM

Though in all fairness it's not like I'm ever going to make a sword and board Fighter named Link.

Be sure to also have him use Alchemist's Fire, and Boomerangs.
And cover his chain mail with a forest green tunic for some odd reason.
Oh, and he obviously would need to be a Wood Elf.

Koren

2017-08-09, 06:48 AM

Be sure to also have him use Alchemist's Fire, and Boomerangs.
And cover his chain mail with a forest green tunic for some odd reason.
Oh, and he obviously would need to be a Wood Elf.

Hylians could work as a half elf too!

But Links inability to speak and lack of an overall character keeps me away from this idea.

The_Hansard

2017-08-09, 07:17 AM

Hylians could work as a half elf too!

But Links inability to speak and lack of an overall character keeps me away from this idea.

Clearly the character should be called Zelda (coz duh!! That's what the games are called) :smallwink:

He should be mute and have a level of bard so he can play an ocarina - that's how he casts his spells. Also he should have magic initiate to get the find familiar spell and have a pixie or fairie as a familiar (named Navi). This fairie (Navi) should have insanely high perception and investigation scores so when something needs to be seen by the party Navi can fly over to it and say one of 2 catchphrases.... "over here" or "hey listen". The player should rp the familiar as well.

The goal was to make the most annoying character wasn't it???

Ruebin Rybnik

2017-08-09, 07:42 AM

I am currently playing a Speedster monk. Trying to be the flash.

Right now he is only level 11....but....when he is maxed out....

Human: 30ft speed

Monk level 15 Unarmored Movement: +25 ft.

Barbarian level 5 Unarmored Movement: +10 ft.

Mobile feat: +10 ft

Longstrider spell: +10 ft

Boots of Speed: Double speed

Haste Spell: Double speed

Dash Action x3 (Bonus, Action, and Haste Action): Quadruple speed

My DM once asked our party..."what are you guys doing for the night?"

I replied ..."I am going for a run on the lake"

He replied "Okay so you go run by the lake...."

I replied back "no....I am going for a run ON the lake....I said ON"

Running on water, so often overlooked...and makes for some really fun times.

I love this idea, here is a youtube video where they took it one step further: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYEoeJ1bd38
I think the final number was 4960ft of movement in one round, roughly 564 mph. Foot Race anybody?:smallbiggrin:

Oramac

2017-08-09, 08:11 AM

My DM once asked our party..."what are you guys doing for the night?"

I replied ..."I am going for a run on the lake"

He replied "Okay so you go run by the lake...."

I replied back "no....I am going for a run ON the lake....I said ON"

Running on water, so often overlooked...and makes for some really fun times.

This is awesome. I agree that that part of the Monk is so often overlooked.

================

Me? I've made/played several characters based, however loosely, on media.

1) Clint. Just Clint. He was a Human Ranged Battlemaster Fighter with a Longbow, Sharpshooter, and Crossbow Expert. Clearly based on Hawkeye from the Avengers. It was an amazingly fun character to play. Sadly, he also has next to no AOE, which kinda stinks.

2) Makal Vesten. Half-Elf Mastermind Rogue. Based on Michael Westen of the TV show Burn Notice. Requires some really damn good stat rolls since you need to take at least 3 Feats to make it work (Keen Mind, Observant, Linguist; also, Lucky and Skilled help).

3) Kroc. Goliath Barbarian. Point buy 15, 15, 15, 8, 8, 8. Based on Grog Strongjaw. This was my first dumb character, and it's surprisingly fun to play.

nickl_2000

2017-08-09, 08:16 AM

SNIP
Though in all fairness it's not like I'm ever going to make a sword and board Fighter named Link.

I'll allow it, but only if you take Magic Initiate to get a fairy familiar and destroy every pot you see in every shop during the campaign.

MrStabby

2017-08-09, 06:50 PM

I first read this as "characters based on Medea", although that would qualify for building a sorceress.

I tend not to like anything too close. Inspiration is fine but finding that special thing that seperates your version from the original is important. Too often there is difficulty when the game mechanics don't match with the vision - you see the character a PC is based on able to do something well that the PC can't do at all.

mgshamster

2017-08-10, 11:05 AM

We just did a quick two-session module and my players all made joke/bad cliche PCs (min-maxed to all hell; PF rules). All of them tried to make a character based on what a high school kid would think was cool. I hadn't expected it; it was pretty funny.

We had:

1) Edgelord extreme
2) PC who was a player in the real world playing a VR game (lots of meta knowledge)
3) Japanese school girl with demon arms

Easy_Lee

2017-08-10, 11:10 AM

This is my fun vs your fun. Players should do what's fun for them.

Player characters don't need to meet any legal requirements, and there are no copywrite or other laws pertaining to this. Players can copy an existing character if they want to. Other players may choose to judge them for it. Both are fine.

Copying an existing character has benefits. The biggest one, I think, is that it saves you a lot of time in fleshing out the character.