How to switch between two different personalities?

[Karnitis]

I want to play a player with two different personalities - one a southern belle, another an Indian man. They're going to be an EK so I can (somewhat) switch between one maining melee w/ a little magic and one maining magic w/ a little melee.

this could obviously get annoying after awhile, for both me and my teammates. But it's for a oneshot, so it's mostly a chance for me to play with accents a little bit.

But if this character were to have split personality disorder (due to experimenting from the Simics), how would I randomly alternate?

I thought about first making it like concentration - when I am damaged - but that narrows it only to combat situations. I figured I could roll a d20 and above/below 10 could determine a change, but I'm not sure when I would roll to make it truly random.

Thoughts?

[Man_Over_Game]

I want to play a player with two different personalities - one a southern belle, another an Indian man. They're going to be an EK so I can (somewhat) switch between one maining melee w/ a little magic and one maining magic w/ a little melee.

this could obviously get annoying after awhile, for both me and my teammates. But it's for a oneshot, so it's mostly a chance for me to play with accents a little bit.

But if this character were to have split personality disorder (due to experimenting from the Simics), how would I randomly alternate?

I thought about first making it like concentration - when I am damaged - but that narrows it only to combat situations. I figured I could roll a d20 and above/below 10 could determine a change, but I'm not sure when I would roll to make it truly random.

Thoughts?

Have a trigger for each role to take over. Avoid having generic triggers that apply to both (like damage), so that they both feel like distinct personalities.

Perhaps the caster version has a bit of an ego, and often takes over when near someone attractive, when they're challenged, or when they want to show off.

Perhaps the melee version is practical and protective, and takes over when they're threatened, or when they're insulted. Maybe they have a bit of a temper and comes out when they're angry.

Have them each have distinctive traits about their personality that sort of....blend in combat. One wants to prove he's better, and the other wants to get rid of a problem, and so they both can appear in the same combat. Do this so that you can comfortably shift strategies (or personalities) in combat without having to punish your teammates, or so that shifting a personality due to a change in a scenario doesn't feel awkward.

I'd recommend not tying in mechanical aspects to the changes. Not only does it put you often on the spot, but it can also hinder your teammates, create awkward transitions, and just feels lazy sometimes (well, I rolled poorly, so I guess I'm diving in headfirst!). Rather, make it feel more fun and fluid by just keeping your hand on the throttle and shifting as you think best fits the narrative.

[MikeRoxTheBoat]

Haha, I would've went with Hexblade Warlock with Agonizing Blast and Mask of Many Faces. Use Mask of Many Faces to literally swap your appearance as you swap your personality. Use Melee Cantrips in the melee personality, Eldritch Blast in the ranged.

As for personalities, I agree, go with triggers. Have very broad, but opposing, things that each personality is attracted or invested in, so that on most situation it's clear which personality would want control. I'd only roll if you're not sure, or maybe after a certain amount of time in one personality (maybe after short rests or something).