Good official race for a player who can't roleplay?

[Delicious Taffy]

My current group has an upcoming game based loosely on Victorian-era London, with heavy Gothic imagery. This setting is ripe with roleplaying opportunities, but one of the players has an issue - he can't roleplay. At all. He's tried it before, but it just never sticks or works out, because he just can't wrap his mind around it. It wouldn't be too bad, except that the rest of the group is very interested in heavy roleplay, so he sort of sticks out. His reasoning for the lack of roleplay capability is that he's autistic. Something with his brain just works differently, so he winds up defaulting to his own natural reactions.

What I'm wondering is, are there any officially-published 5e races that would help alleviate this issue? Social graces aren't exactly his strong point, and he tends to follow somewhat-unusual trains of thought, which often results in unorthodox methods and strange behavior. To be clear, he's not the Random Access Humor Guy, he just has a peculiar way of doing things, and his line of thought can be understood easily enough, even if he often has trouble explaining himself. It would help a lot if his behavior and lines of logic could be reasonably justified as typical of his race.

If there's any other information I can give that would help, just let me know.

[Sigreid]

Sounds like a lizard man to me.

[Moredhel24]

I'd say Lizardfolk or Gnome. Lizardfolk is mindset is action based and impersonal. Gnomes themselves are oddballs.

To help w/ roleplay, you could have a session 0 where ya'll develop a character w/ traits similar to the player's.

[DarkKnightJin]

If all else fails, could have his character be a slightly 'off' wizard or something. I'm sure that with friends you can all come up with a character that's pretty much him in the fantasy setting.
Maybe let it reflect in his stats. If he tends to remember things at inoppurtune moments.. that sounds like a high Int, low Wis + Cha kinda guy to me.

I'm fairly sure that something less reliant on Wis would be a decent fit. Barbarian, maybe. Got hit in the head one too many times, and tends to go off on a tangent every now and again.

The sky's the limit!

[Ritorix]

I would say keep the race simple - leave it at human and let him get more practice. But that thought process description sounds like a rock gnome too.

Honestly I don't think hiding it behind race is going to help. Roleplaying doesn't necessarily mean being social, just being able to set aside one's normal reactions and thought process and instead use those of another person. If he is logical and thoughtful, he could try playing someone flighty and impulsive - what would they do? Probably the first thing to come to mind. Maybe point them to some of the RP-heavy podcasts where they really get into characters, like Turncoats or similar.

[ZorroGames]

Kenku? I do not get that race and anything would be possible?

Lizardman would be good.

Yes, Tiefling? A “not completely of this earth” aspect.

Dragonborn, non-human, very much a semi-inscrutable reasoning.

Edit: Human as himself would be good, just needs some pre-game work.

[Requilac]

It sounds like you this player needs to pick a race where his strange train of thought makes sense. I have to say that I believe Kenku, a race of short bird people who can mimic any sounds they here perfectly, would be the best choice. Many people have actually pointed at that they behave as if they had aspergers (which is a form of autism) so i think that they are a perfect match. Aside from that, it may make it a lot easier to role play. Since they can only mimic what others say and not form their own sentences, it is harder for them to talk. Which means that they will talk less and they have to make sure that whatever they say is important and can't be too superfluous. It can create a rational reason as to why his team mates are doing all the talking while he is mostly sticking to the sidelines. And Kenku would perfectly fit in the Urban London setting that you have chosen. You can find the Kenku race in Volo's guide to monsters and the Monster Manual has some additional information on them.

I have heard that some people find it frustrating working with a Kenku because they cannot form their own sentences, but I played in a group with one before and he seemed to be a rather good addition to the team. It helps if they write down certain phrases that they here or use sentences from people their character has heard talking off screen before they became an adventurer. Having some app or device which makes certain noises can also be useful. Overall the Kenku in my party was a very entertaining to have around and extremely interesting. I would suggest your problem player choose to be a Kenku.

[smcmike]

If he can’t act like someone else, he should act like himself - there is nothing wrong with playing a character basically like yourself.

Human, with a similar basic background to the player should work fine. Wizard is usually a good choice for someone with odd intelligence.

[Ventruenox]

I have some experience with autistic mindsets. While roleplaying games are phenominal for social practice, their lack of Theory of Mind does make roleplaying quite a challenge. I'm making the assumption that mathematics comes fairly easy to him, so that may be the way to have him wrap his mind around the concept of roleplaying.

Explain that roleplaying is a social equivalent of an algorithm that defines a vector. The bonds, ideals, and flaws are the parameters under which this particular equation operates. The challenges the DM presents are the variables to feed into the equation. Graphing the vector is choosing the course of action his character takes. If the parameters of his equation vary somewhat from his own perspective, the shift is akin to changing from the default base 10 math mindset to a base 8.

Either that will click for him, or he will explain for 5-10 minutes everything that is wrong with that analogy.

If he wants to play himself, that is a viable option, but I see how it would have him stick out in your group. Having him talk with a really bad English accent might be an alternative to getting into character.

[Galadhrim]

Why not just give him the out lander or far traveler background? That play style and thinking pattern is built right in. He can be any race he wants and the role play will be perfect.

[Delicious Taffy]

Kenku?

I have to say that I believe Kenku [...] would be the best choice. Many people have actually pointed at that they behave as if they had aspergers [...] they can only mimic what others say and not form their own sentences [...] It can create a rational reason as to why his team mates are doing all the talking while he is mostly sticking to the sidelines.
Kenku seems like a solid fit. I pointed him to them and he likes the concept well enough.


I'm making the assumption that mathematics comes fairly easy to him.
I sent him a screencap of your analogy, and he just replied "Wow, that guy was way off." Not sure if he meant your analogy or assumption.


So far, Kenku seems to be working out. He's also kinda side-eyeing the Vedalken race from the Plane-Shift Kaladesh supplement.

[jaappleton]

Kenku with the Far Traveler background.

As a side note, I have an Autistic son myself. He's only 3, and thus far pretty non-verbal, so I don't really know what to expect long term, but the Kenku would be an excellent race for him to play. It allows him to convey what his character desires without having to really role play anything.

[8wGremlin]

Yuan ti - is also a good one to try out...

[pdegan2814]

Lizardfolk is what popped in my mind first, given how Volo's describes them.

[LordEntrails]

I agree with the others. Have him play what he knows. Either a stereo type that he is comfortable with or how he envisions himself.

[Pope Scarface]

I would recommend having them play themselves as a victorian fantasy character, rather than having them portray a victorian fantasy character. Same game, different billing.

"Johnny Depp IS Captain Jack Sparrow" as opposed to "Captain Jack Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp."

[ShikomeKidoMi]

For someone who can't roleplay? Human. No roleplaying required.

Pick an alignment that matches their real-world ethics as close as possible, etc.

[Sariel Vailo]

But zome monks rook vows of silence and cut out thwir own toungues

[lebefrei]

I know you said official, but with your setting and the particular issues here I think your player should be a warforged, and as a DM I'd be recommending that. As a warforged, newly born into a world he doesn't really understand, any peculiarities in his personality or difficulty expressing himself in the world are immediately explainable and understandable, and he doesn't have to be anyone but himself to play that way.

The class fits the setting, has awkwardness or social-ineptitude directly explained into its existence, and is even light on roleplay as it has less needs in the world to express; no eating, drinking, sleeping etc lets him stay in the background and observe all he wants until he chooses to participate.

https://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/UA_Eberron_v1.pdf

[Honest Tiefling]

...Why not a human? It's a bit dehumanizing to have your own behavior classified as something 'other', personally, but I don't know how he feels about it.

Sherlock Holmes is often proposed to have been based on a person with Asperger's after all. You could make a similar character of the Mad Wizard, the Rich Social Recluse, or the Eccentric Writer. I'm pretty sure you could find enough examples of that sort of thing in Victorian Literature. His social standing or wealth (or both!) would force NPCs to acknowledge him despite his logic not working like theirs.

I would like to request information on what class he wants, because that will inform any future suggestions if he wants to play a non-human. Admittedly, the idea of a class of wealthy Kenku (in little suits and top hats) forming a wealthy upper class (perhaps literally, if they wish to return to the skies with their buildings) lording over a lower class of non-Avian races pretty fun.

[Dappershire]

So I'm going to go in an opposite direction. Elf.

There are some good ideas, but Elf allows him to still keep an image of himself as his character. Few oddities. And he can just be so snobbish that everyone elses lesser lived antics are literally beneath him.

Maybe some sort of detective character would be of good use in the world. Sherlock-ish. A Rogue or Fighter type.

[Arkhios]

TIL: Suffering from autism means you are a reptilian.

http://www.madaboutmemes.com/uploads/memes/61.png


...sorry, I mean no offense. Just my black sense of humor speaking here.

[Requilac]

I do not think anyone here is trying to dehumanize autistic people, I am sorry if it came across like that. I do not find anything wrong with him wanting to play a race where he could have an easier time role-playing though. Of course he could just play a human, but he is simply looking for a fun way to represent his behavior. The OP’s player seems to be asking for an eccentric race, so I do not think the autistic person is going to be insulted by this at all.

[Elric VIII]

I know you said official, but with your setting and the particular issues here I think your player should be a warforged, and as a DM I'd be recommending that. As a warforged, newly born into a world he doesn't really understand, any peculiarities in his personality or difficulty expressing himself in the world are immediately explainable and understandable, and he doesn't have to be anyone but himself to play that way.

The class fits the setting, has awkwardness or social-ineptitude directly explained into its existence, and is even light on roleplay as it has less needs in the world to express; no eating, drinking, sleeping etc lets him stay in the background and observe all he wants until he chooses to participate.

https://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/UA_Eberron_v1.pdf

I was going to come here to say this. Victorian + D&D screams "steampunk" to me. Or if that doesn't work, warforged are also magic golems.

Option 2 would be to just let him play himself. Don't force him to RP, let him be himself in the setting. There were autistic people back then, they were just called "weird."

[Honest Tiefling]

I do not think anyone here is trying to dehumanize autistic people, I am sorry if it came across like that. I do not find anything wrong with him wanting to play a race where he could have an easier time role-playing though.

I think I should have worded that better. I don't think the OP should push him to be a non-human, but there are examples of eccentric people in those times so it should be an option as well. If he'll have more fun playing things up, then well, no issue.

I'm going to say that Warforged and Elf are excellent examples, as both would be fitting for a Gothic/Victorian setting. Fey were popular imagery in the Victorian era, and a lone Warforged would make for an excellent Frankenstein's Monster type of deal.

I do wonder if giving autistic traits to an entire species is a worthwhile endeavor. On the one hand, it's a valid way of thinking, so why wouldn't a race think like that? On the other, it might go poorly. But honestly, if you give autistic traits to the long-lived, intelligent, beautiful race of elves, I doubt many people will take it the wrong way given how many positive traits they have.

[Chugger]

I'm glad you have an autistic friend and that you're reaching out and trying to get help for him.

The comments about theory of mind are in general correct, although a lot of things that get said about autistic people aren't "really true" or "necessarily true about all autistic people" (as anyone who has worked with them or who has been close to one or more knows).

Let me explain it this way, because it's hard. It used to be believed (and still is) that autistic people "have no empathy". This is wrong. Psycopaths/sociopaths and maybe some narcissists seem to literally have no empathy that is felt (and what looks like empathy coming out of them may be a calculation to get something). Autistic people have empathy - it's just different from neurotypical empathy - it's expressed differently - and the settings are different.

Here's a great example from a book "Look Me in the Eye", written by a man with Asperger's Syndrome. He said one day his mom's friend came over to the house and said that a boy had been run over and killed by a train. The author, a child at the time, was worried it might be one of his friends. When the mom's friend said who it was and the author didn't recognize the name, he smiled - not because he had no empathy - but because he felt relief - his friends were okay. The woman saw this and went on the offensive, calling him a vile little boy and other horrible and wrong things for smiling at the news of someone else's death - but the author wasn't about to be a hypocrite and show false emotion over someone he didn't know. He realized it was tragic that the boy had died, but his feelings of empathy were so to speak buffered by his intellect - his logic - which was also strong in him and forbade him from showing fake emotions (that's lying to him). So he felt empathy, even though it looked like he didn't.

Okay the point of that long story, if it wasn't clear, is that people with autism often do have feelings like ours (NTs) and can do things we do, like play DnD - and maybe even roleplay one day (even if struggling now). The way they approach and learn some form of "theory of mind" (basically the ability to imagine what it is like to be another person - another reason why autistic people are said to have no empathy, because empathy is related to this - and _some_ people with autism may have very little empathy or may express it in such a different way that it may not seem like empathy) ----- anyway, people with autism, if they see a value in it, can try to intellectually or "literally" force themselves to imagine what it is like to be someone else. Some schools have exercises in this - and in some cases it takes on and helps the autistic students - and they can (some of them) ultimately gain a basic intuition-based theory of mind, though usually weaker or more limited than an NT's (though not always - some are arguable better at aspects of theory of mind because they think it through so well).

Anyway, your friend who struggles to role play - urge him to keep trying - and (as others have said) the best and most obvious place to start is to let him role play without role playing - meaning let him "be himself" in the game - let him run a character who is much like himself. If his mom or dad is an engineer or a programmer or an IT person - show him how he can see himself in the dnd world as the son of a person who makes "magic items" or who works for a guild that makes magic things. Maybe they make or specialize in things that are not weapons, which is why they haven't given him a magic sword - they don't know how to make them. But maybe they've given him a magic raincoat that keeps him dry in bad weather and one or two other fluff magic items to help him believe and "live" it in the game. His goal can be as simple as "to fight evil" and maybe help him with one or two others - think about what he's said or told you. Remind him of this and see if it can be morphed into a game goal.

Help him out. The DM - when everyone else is buying drinks - should turn to him and ask him what he orders to drink. He might stammer because he has no idea what this imaginary tavern offers or what it costs. The DM should tell him the ale is good and costs 3 copper, which is a little expensive but not really. There is a rare wine supposedly made by cultured, intelligent bugbears that live far away - and it's 1 gold a glass. There is cider which costs the same as the ale. And there's a crazy and dangerous looking drink called "The Guano Hunter" which is served on fire with a cracker shaped like a bat - which costs 3 sp. If he doesn't ask about the ridiculous drink, prompt him to ask about it - let him know it's okay to ask about it - that he's not expected to know what it is, maybe.

Start small with baby steps like this. Let him get used to the process and see how he does with it. He might surprise you all. Good luck!

[Delicious Taffy]

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. They've all been gone over and explored, and the final verdict for the race is Kenku. I probably could have been slightly more active in this thread, to avoid some minor misunderstandings, but what's done is done. I'll address a couple of things, though.

Regarding Human as the character's race - Human was almost immediately written off for being too plain, in the player's own words. I certainly wasn't trying to imply or insist that an autistic player had to be an alien-minded race to fit in, and I'm sorry if I gave that impression.

As for the various reptilian suggestions - Due to negative past experiences with another player whose pet character was a lizard-like race, pretty much anything with scales was off the table from the start. I definitely should have mentioned this much, much earlier on.

Again, thanks for the suggestions. Our player has settled on Kenku for his race, and is waiting on the rest of the party to pick their races and classes, so he can choose his class based on what the party needs.

[Honest Tiefling]

Regarding Human as the character's race - Human was almost immediately written off for being too plain, in the player's own words. I certainly wasn't trying to imply or insist that an autistic player had to be an alien-minded race to fit in, and I'm sorry if I gave that impression.

I was more worried about convincing the player to play a non-human, but I can certainly understand his desire to play something non-human.

But I must know...Is a top hat involved?

[Chugger]

Hope he likes it.

An autistic player I know struggles with role playing. He told me he can't understand why this other player did something so stupid - almost got himself killed and got the party in trouble. Ah, that's RP'ing I said. But it's stupid, he said.

We talked about it, and he's been snapped at before "how dare you tell another player how to play their character" when he thought the person was having trouble thinking and needed help - could not understand that the person was role playing certain "flaws" their char had to the hilt. It only irritates him. And I can see why.

Your friend may need more prompting - may need help. No two cases of autism are identical, so beyond what I've said I am not sure how to help. There's a lot of overlap, but autism influences a person; it doesn't define them - at least if they are high functioning.

[Delicious Taffy]

But I must know...Is a top hat involved?

As far as top hats go, this player would be uncomfortable giving his character one, since they tend to imply a certain level of class, and even that's a bit too much roleplay for his comfort. He's planning on dressing his character in the most average way possible, for that specific reason.

[Azreal]

This was a great thread to start my shift on. This community is great.

[Easy_Lee]

I think the better policy is to deliberately teach him to role-play. In this case, you can't just explain the concept. Tell him what to do, and let him figure out why he's doing it and what it feels like.

The easiest way to teach role-play is with a dwarf. Everyone knows how dwarves behave: they grumble often; have bad Scottish accents; enjoy food and ale; and are blunt and practical. That's easy.

He can justify any action by saying, "Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time." Tell him to actually say this.
If he has downtime, there's a default thing for him to do - drink ale and eat.
In combat, there's a default thing for him to do - hit enemies.
In dungeons, there's a default thing for him to do - bounce around trying doors, looking for enemies, and commenting on the architecture.

Role-playing a dwarf is easy, and you can write most of his reactions for him ahead of time, so he doesn't have to think about it. I'd start there.