I want to be... creepy!

[Starsinger]

So one of the DMs in my group decided that we're going to be, in the future, running a Dark Heresy game. Given the understanding that I'll have to be a member of the Imperium :smallsigh: I've decided I want to be ridiculously creepy. So I was coming here to compile some creepy things to say/do cuz I like to think about characters for a while (and it'll be a few weeks before we start at the earliest). So.. give me some creepy ideas.

So far I've decided she will refer to herself in 3rd person (preferably with a 1 word name that's also an object/color/something familiar) despite being fairly intelligent. I'm thinking "Cat" so far..

[shadow_archmagi]

I prefer Tables as a name. Also, chew on the other players.

[Starsinger]

I prefer Tables as a name. Also, chew on the other players.

Mm.. that's a good way to be laspistoled in the face...

[InkEyes]

Have lots of knives and sharpen them on an hourly basis while muttering to yourself. Topics of muttering can include phrases in weird-sounding languages, prayers, or my personal favorite: "I'm the angel of death. The Time of Purification is at hand."

[valadil]

My creepiest character ever was a Deadlands undertaker by the name of Digger. He made a living burying dead people for $5 a pop and loved it. His creepiest moment came when he hit on the female PC, telling her "I'll put you in the ground for three dollars fifty cents." Yeah. He also had a habit of measuring people's heads with a tape measure and always carried around a single yard of barbed wire.

The trick is to deadpan all the creepiness and make sure there's an actual reason for it. If you laugh while delivering something bizarre your character will be dismissed as a joke. If you do random creepy things you aren't playing a character, just a set of creepy actions. The character who isn't quite so over the top, but still believable is infinitely more creepy than the one who is the most outrageous.

[UglyPanda]

Third person doesn't seem creepy to me, it's an endearing/annoying eccentricity. I'd probably make fun of a character like that, especially if the name is Cat. "Does Kitty want to go out and play? Does Kitty Witty want to kill us? I think Kitty does want do kill us. Oh yes she does."

Also, are you going for gory creepy, paranoia creepy, or gross creepy? You could have the character spend a bit of time sitting down and strangling hobos. Paranoia creepy is accomplished by always being there when the other players don't think you are. Gross is simply picking your nose and wiping it on yourself when the other characters are clearly watching.

[Psiwave]

Have lots of knives and sharpen them on an hourly basis while muttering to yourself. Topics of muttering can include phrases in weird-sounding languages, prayers, or my personal favorite: "I'm the angel of death. The Time of Purification is at hand."

Probably best if you keep that as an in character attribute.

Paying undue attention to certain irrelevent aspects of others anatomies can also cause discomfort.

...Morning jim, soooo, how is your liver today? Healthy? Good, just asking....

[Stiz]

Try ignoring what most people would consider normal social habits.
Violate peoples personal bubbles by standing to close with out seeming to realize that your doing it.
Talk about the things that everyone else in the room is trying to ignore. The darker things or just completely inappropriate things. (ask the grieving widow if he screamed a lot as he died.)

....... and avoid the name Cat.... that's extremely not creepy or scary

[SilentNight]

Well, there's the ever popular split/dual personalities and the invisible companion. Try referring to yourself as we especially if you are not uppity or royal. Take some tips from Belkar. Maybe take craft disturbing mental image.

[Starsinger]

The goal of the name "Cat" was that, on top of everything creepy that she does, it just makes it worse.. Although I've become very partial to "Tables".


Also, are you going for gory creepy, paranoia creepy, or gross creepy? You could have the character spend a bit of time sitting down and strangling hobos. Paranoia creepy is accomplished by always being there when the other players don't think you are. Gross is simply picking your nose and wiping it on yourself when the other characters are clearly watching.

Yeah I don't want gross creepy, because it's not really creepy.. it's just gross.

[Wraith]

I don't know if you play D&D, but the book Heroes of Horror has a list of several dozen things you can add to a character, deliberately designed to make them seem creepy. Might be worth a look?

An alternate way of doing 'creepy' comes from acting as you roleplay.
A different voice, done carefully, does wonders for character development. A few other IN PERSON tics - staring at someone's throat while you speak, giggling at unlikely moments, licking your lips when someone mentions a particular (unwelcome) phrase - would, depending on how seriously your group takes it's RP, seriously creep someone out if they let it.:smallamused:

[Moff Chumley]

Again, what kind of creepy is the goal? The scary kind or the weird kind? If scary is the goal, conducting random inquiries into people's business and then pronouncing them heretical is always quite disconcerting, as is installing survellience devices everywhere you go and then flaunting the knowledge thusly gained. If wierd is goal, ask someone else. I recomend Raiser.

[Starsinger]

Again, what kind of creepy is the goal? The scary kind or the weird kind? If scary is the goal, conducting random inquiries into people's business and then pronouncing them heretical is always quite disconcerting, as is installing survellience devices everywhere you go and then flaunting the knowledge thusly gained. If wierd is goal, ask someone else. I recomend Raiser.

I haven't decided yet.. I was going to decide after I get a bunch of replies.

[mikeejimbo]

Stare a lot. Never blink, and make sure your eyes are always really wide. Spend some time staring at one person for a while, and then write something down.

"Just taking notes," you should say when inquired.

[Everyman]

Actually, I've found that the difference between "creepy" and just plain weird boils down to how long you are willing to keep it up. For example, a persistent smile is a little odd (especially in the middle of a dungeon crawl), but that smile becomes steadily creepier when it never seems to fade. Whether you're in the town's tavern enjoying the local ale or fighting off opponents in a life-or-death battle, you never lose that grin. Every once in a while, you might change things up by dropping your smile whilst doing something truly horrific or creepy. Suddenly, that smile is even worse, as it has been a mask hiding some truly maddened part of your personality.

You can apply that principle pretty much any mundane activity or activity and instantly make it creepy. It really just takes a bit of time.

[sonofzeal]

My all time favorite D&D flavourtext:

"I'll help you kill the Ogres, but the Elf has to die first. No wait, the Elf's my friend. Definitely the Ogres first."



Adapt as necessary. :smallwink:

[GrassyGnoll]

Hello fellows, do you remember Fred?
We heard the words inside his head
Creepy may cause thoughts of dread
But it's better to be... naughty

[Wooter]

Take a severed aligator head with you to the session. Stroke it lovingly, as though it was a cat, and occasionally shush it.

That's what I plan on doing, anyway.

[BRC]

Have your character take notes on everything that happens
Everything, especially things your teamates do.

[mikeejimbo]

Take a severed aligator head with you to the session. Stroke it lovingly, as though it was a cat, and occasionally shush it.

That's what I plan on doing, anyway.

That is rather creepy, though it should be "as though it were a cat." :smalltongue:

Also, keep a document entitled "How to kill my party".

[Raolin_Fenix]

The art of Creepy is a subtle and dastardly thing that I have, over the course of many, many years, mastered. And it is a subtle thing. A lot of people will give you crazy things to do (alligator tails?), but, while somewhat creepy, these things are just sort of overblown -- trying too hard. Ultimately, it's all about facial expression and the way you carry yourself.

There are any number of a thousand things you can do to be creepy. A lot of it is psychological -- you have to know how your target audience thinks in order to creep them out. So get in their head first.

One thing I've found to be universal is the "staring problem" standby. Master the ability to open your eyes really wide without moving your eyebrows -- people do this with their eyes when they're angry, usually. But instead of an angry expression, keep the rest of your face blank. Once you've got that mastered, simply stare at people for long periods of time -- without blinking, if possible; if you must blink, exaggerate the motion, slowly. If you're really going nuts with it, smile -- just a little, Hannibal Lecter smile. Adopt either a confident, straightened set of your shoulders, or a slightly hunched posture -- I prefer the latter. Always speak quietly, and smoothly. Wild outbursts don't make you creepy; they make you insane, and not to be taken seriously.

Mostly, though, the bugeyes will do the trick all by themselves.

If you've got these things mastered, anything you do will be creepy.

[Mando Knight]

Half-closed eyes, cat-grin... look at this guy...
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/35/Ichimaru_Gin.jpg

...Excessively polite, yet speaks in a sarcastic tone... this guy is creepy-awesome. I think that Ichimaru is exactly the kinda guy you want your character to emulate...:smallbiggrin: He's so polite and calm-looking, he's scary.

Cheers!:smallbiggrin:

[Grug]

I agree. Manga is great for creepy poeple. Try reading Helsing.

one creepy thing you could do is randomly take a spide off the wall of a small crypt or w/e and start pulling it's legs off one by one until it dies, saying you were testing its will to live.

[Azerian Kelimon]

If you want to be super creepy, play as a character that is constantly screaming bogus arguments of "Monks don't suck!". If any of the players is a D&D veteran, they'll lose all their hair out of fear and pee on their pants.

[Oracle_Hunter]

So one of the DMs in my group decided that we're going to be, in the future, running a Dark Heresy game. Given the understanding that I'll have to be a member of the Imperium :smallsigh: I've decided I want to be ridiculously creepy. So I was coming here to compile some creepy things to say/do cuz I like to think about characters for a while (and it'll be a few weeks before we start at the earliest). So.. give me some creepy ideas.

So far I've decided she will refer to herself in 3rd person (preferably with a 1 word name that's also an object/color/something familiar) despite being fairly intelligent. I'm thinking "Cat" so far..

Oh, there are tons of things you can do.

The easiest require finding things that spook your fellow players - it can be anything from known phobias (snakes, for instance), to a wildly inappropriate catch phrase (say, every time you melta someone's face off say "Well, that's how the cookie crumbles"). Possibly the most generally effective tic would be to do a brief, high-pitched giggle every time you execute someone.

Remember - play the people, not the game :smallbiggrin:

[YPU]

Make sure people need you, and then display some nervous streak, works great for cleric like characters.
Also, you can be very creepy by doing exactly the opposed. a character that’s always positive and in high spirits can be very creepy.
The worlds about to be destroyed!
Ah, it cant be that bad, I mean we still have the moon. Cookie?

[Telok]

Removal of the head is the most efficient form of decapitation.

[mikeejimbo]

More ideas:

A callous view of the value of life is always good. Never cry over death, or mourn, or anything, for example. Believe that killing things is doing them an act of kindness. Plot your suicide. Plot (as I said) your party's deaths. Make jokes about death and dying.

Also, quoting Alice's Adventures in Wonderland can be creepy, though not in character. :smalltongue:

[BRC]

Insist on keeping a diary of everybody the party kills, record specific cause of death, not just that they got stabbed, draw a rough sketch and mark the spot.

[...Eh?]

My personal favorite creepy is just to speak very quietly and keep a kind of wide-eyed face on, although you don't really ned to stare. Now, combine that with the smile idea suggested by Tarkahn, and you've just got a hugely menacing personality; a person who always seems creepily happy, with a kind of blank look on, like a doll. Make sure that you don't speak in a monotone; there's a difference between quiet, deeply discomforting psychopath and robot.

[Farmer42]

Also, giving your characters some for of basic physical disfiguration can help. The right scars can really set off the weirdness vibes before you even do anything. From there, go with mannerisms. One of the creepiest characters I've played with is an obsessive undead hunter, which isn't too weird untill you find out that he only sleeps during the daytime, never drinks after sunset, and adds an entire clove of garlic to everything he consumes. Everything, even water. From there, he's constantly taking notes on the other PCs, which has led to one of the biggest jokes out of play, since the most trusted party member at the moment, in his notes and by his eyes, is the Dread Necromancer who no one realizes is such. Needless to say, the Necromancer is scared ****less of this guy, on general principle.

[Dan_Hemmens]

I know this isn't exactly the sort of advice you're after, but if I might suggest an alternative:

Don't try and be creepy.

It's Dark Heresy, for Pete's sake. You're playing Inquisitors, you're playing inquisitors in a setting where the "good guys" are the ones who periodically exterminate entire planets just because they deviate from their stringent genetic purity laws. Start trying to creep the other players out and the best case scenario is that they'll be unimpressed. The worst case scenario is that you'll get chronic one-upmanship.

In a game where the standard characters are going to be, to a man, genocidal religious fanatics who think nothing of exterminating millions in the name of their holy cause, "creepy" is pretty much impossible.

[shaggz076]

I once played a Malkavian in a VTM LARP that had the dead pan stare. He wouldn't look directly at you, more over your shoulder and every once in a while he would taril off and follow some unseen "thing" as it flitted away from behind whomever he was speaking with. He carried with him a skull that he called daddy and if there was something off about you daddy noticed it. He also would creep into fits of paranoia and do his damnedest to get out of where ever he was and if he couldn't leave his level of activity would escalate to the point that he would start lashing out at anyone who came near. He would speak of embracing his inner darkness and through it gaining power. He wore black with a white carnation on the lapel of his trench coat. I played it so well other players would drop out of character just to tell me I was seriously creeping them out. Now that was fun.

[Neek]

You could have the character spend a bit of time sitting down and strangling hobos.

When I glossed over this, I imagined a man wearing a smoking jacket relaxing in his luxurious study with a nice, hot cup of tea, and a pile of dead hobos at his feat. He's adding one to the pile...

That isn't creepy. It's absurd. :D

Anyhow, the best is to find some creepy things. I recently re-watched the Addams Family movies, which contain some of the best deadpan deliveries and unusual behaviors for people to have.

Which is a good jumping board for creepy. Don't take it as your absolute bible, there're better examples of creepy, but the deliveries are too good to not be overlooked.

As said before, when being creepy, you don't want to overdo it. You don't crack a smile (unless you go with the eerie smile as mentioned before) or even ever laugh. You want to be serious, or at least keep a straight face, as best as you can.

I never had a creepy character. The closest I got was a Gnome Barbarian/Sorcerer, who would keep the ears of his fallen. The first few dead orcs and giants were okay, but after dungeon and dungeon, after a few hundred orcs came charging at a fort, and when the bags began to fill quite fast... And still more followed. Then he took up sewing. Made himself quite a vest, if I may say so myself.

[Admiral Squish]

Run your fingers lovingly over old scars, marvel at the bodies of the fallen, and periodically go into clinical detail about how to break a bone, remove a limb, or break a neck. I once made a character who dissected particularly interesting enemies and had a bag of holding devoted to spare limbs and the organs of particularly interesting foes. Abberations and undead fascinated him. He was a mage, and the only reason he kept a dagger was to open up his foes. Eventually, he made a flesh golem of the parts, named it after his long-deceased brother, and kept adding odd bits from the fallen, like an otyugh tentacle and a ogre's left arm.

[Illiterate Scribe]

If, as I gather, Dark Heresy is meant to be the spiritual successor to Inquisitor (RIP - you were the best games-system, but undersupported), then the creepy comes, as was said above, from aping the system.

My Puritan Inquisitor had a complex that he was the Emperor, and made a point of abducting live Daemons from Chaos cults, so that he could take them back to his Demi-Starfort and torture them. For no reason, other than that he really, really hated them.

Unpleasant? Yes.

Creepy? Certainly.

[Tengu]

If you have enough time, read the Discworld book Hogfather (or watch the TV movie) - Mr Teatime is really creepy.

[dyslexicfaser]

I'm not familiar with the game, but here's my thoughts on the matter.

I've found that many creepy characters are ones that don't come off as abnormal - at least not right away.

The trick I've found is to pick a psychosis in advance and try to imagine the world through the lens of that craziness. Seem perfectly lucid. Friendly. Personable. Reliable. Then, after a little while, let something 'slip'.

Talk to someone that isn't there. Introduce an off-the-wall nonsequiter. Maybe pick a person and fixate on them: stare at them when they're talking, and sometimes when they're not; stand up for them (be a personal attack dog in their defense: if anyone disagrees with the fixated-upon character, have your character jump on them for it. It'll make the fixated-upon character uncomfortable after a while, I guarantee it); buy them flowers; basically, never leave them alone. Ever.

My best 'creepy character' was probably a grandmotherly little vaudun necromancer. A sweet little Gypsy-like old lady, the kind who bakes you cookies and gives you a pinch on the cheek and tells you how cute you are when she hasn't seen you in awhile. She went around in a little horse-drawn wagon and owned lots of cats and had a shrine to a god of undeath in her bedroom. Then, during some pre-fight banter, she told a half-orc (her adventuring party's enemy): "Oh, aren't you are just lovely! Beautiful bone structure. Just gorgeous. Really! You are." (in a sort of Steve-Irwin-talking-to-dangerous-animals voice), After the fight, she returned that night, took his body, and reanimated it. The next day, she showed up for the adventure with a new servant. Some ranks in Craft (Taxidermy) and Gentle Repose took care of the battle-wounds and post-mortem grossness. No fanfare, didn't call attention to it. Rinse and repeat. Still as friendly as always. Eventually it got around that the bodies of her adventuring group's slain enemies tended to just disappear, and they were leaving trails of battlefields and desecrated areas in their wake. People started fleeing from the sight of her brightly-colored wagon. The other characters were stumped.

[Xuincherguixe]

Unfortunately, my creepiness is innate. I don't really know entirely what it is.
And what isn't, is mostly me joking.

Blurring the lines between gender can work fairly well. But from what I can tell reading previous posts of yours this might be a bit too close to home for you. That being said, not too much danger if you being insulting with it as so often happens.

I might be opening a dangerous can of worms here, but occasionally express an interest in playing with little boys. Note that you would only be playing with them. Even without people drawing conclusions that's still pretty damn creepy.

If you see a cute thing, start snuggling with it. There probably isn't going to be many cute things though. You can randomly decide something is cute though. The above goes double for people. That might be a bit too overt. Just note that things are cute. This mostly only really works if you're a very dark character.

Talk like someone is there, when they aren't. It shouldn't be long detailed conversations, just out of the blue something like, "Hey, that's a good idea." "No. No blood. That won't do at all."

Give him a weird hobby that he NEVER talks about, but clearly devotes a tremendous amount of time with. It's only when they are in the characters living space that they discover it. This one is a bit hard. It shouldn't be too overt like fingers from people that he's killed. But if it's something like pink flamingos it's just stupid. If you can't come up with a good weird hobby, a normal hobby is almost as good. So long as he's obsessed and doesn't talk about it.

The problem is that people might think he's turning to Chaos. And while Chaos is awesome, getting fragged by your team mates isn't. Discuss with the GM ahead of time what will and won't get you shot.

If it helps, your character should have a strong dislike for chaos. Maybe not even the hate that seems to get bred into everyone. Make remarks like, "Chaos is always interfering with the way things should be. It's very annoying." That's another thing. Other than the creepy things, the character should be fairly structured.

It'd be a lot easier if the Warhammer Universe wasn't so heavy handed, and not saluting because you're distracted by the gunfire will get you shot on the spot for insubordination.

Because it's so obvious, I'd say if you want a character to fall (or rise depending on your perspective) to chaos, leave that for another one.

[dyslexicfaser]

Give him a weird hobby that he NEVER talks about, but clearly devotes a tremendous amount of time with. It's only when they are in the characters living space that they discover it. This one is a bit hard. It shouldn't be too overt like fingers from people that he's killed. But if it's something like pink flamingos it's just stupid. If you can't come up with a good weird hobby, a normal hobby is almost as good. So long as he's obsessed and doesn't talk about it.

That'd work nicely, I should think.

Put some points in Craft (Taxidermy) and buy a bag of holding or portable hole. When they walk into your living room, see how many old foes they remember from past adventures, now stuffed or mounted or turned into a rug in front of the fire place. Include defeated humanoids, as well.

Hmm... I suddenly want to make a character like this...

[Tengu]

That'd work nicely, I should think.

Put some points in Craft (Taxidermy) and buy a bag of holding or portable hole. When they walk into your living room, see how many old foes they remember from past adventures, now stuffed or mounted or turned into a rug in front of the fire place. Include defeated humanoids, as well.

Hmm... I suddenly want to make a character like this...

Sorry if that will sound rude, because that's a thing that irritates me much, but...

Have you bothered to read the original post? It's not DND we're talking about here!

[dyslexicfaser]

Sorry if that will sound rude, because that's a thing that irritates me much, but...

Have you bothered to read the original post? It's not DND we're talking about here!

Easy there, Thunder. Yes, I did.

Sorry for forgetting that fact for a moment - probably because I tend to think of GitP as a default D&D board, since that's what's usually discussed here.

Seriously: just because I said it using D&D terms, it isn't applicable at all for Inquisitor or whatever the OP is playing? It's impossible for a religious zealot to stuff and mount his enemies as a reminder for the others to get in line (or something similar)?

[Tengu]

As I said, that's my completely unreasonable, personal issue - I hate when people give DND-specific advice (or at least use DND terms) when asked about advice about a non-d20 game. In your case, it was the bag of holding part that pushed my berserk button. Sorry for that.

[Freelance Henchman]

Maybe inappropriate cheerfulness might work? Carry around a box of chocolates and offer them at random times in a friendly manner.

[DementedFellow]

You can be like Freaky Fred.
http://tn3-2.deviantart.com/fs14/300W/i/2007/101/d/d/Fred_Desktop_by_KashaPaw.jpg

He talked in rhyme which I highly suggest you do as well.

Hello, new friend. My name is Fred.
The words you hear are in my head.
I say, I said, my name is Fred.
And I've been...very naughty.

The story I'm about to tell,
I tell you, I will tell you well,
is about my dear Aunt Murielle.
And just how I've been...naughty.

Viola! The farm. My Aunt lives here.
With precious pup, and husband dear.
My heart beat fast as I drew near.
I felt so nice...and naughty.

I thought just how excited they
must be, that I would come today.
They'd shout, "Come Fred! Huzzah! Hurray!".
Dear boy, you look so...naughty.

That's when my tired eyes beheld, a doggy dog, like dog he smelled.
D-O-G is what he spelled.
And that's how I spell...naughty.

It was a day I'd not forget,
the day that I first met my pet.
Oh! What a lovely gift to get.
I'd never felt so...naughty.

My fuzzy friend is what he was,
this darling little ball of fuzz.
And, oh, such fuzz, such fuzz! It does
demand that I be...naughty.

He looked at me, his fetching eyes,
and fetching fur did hypnotize.
I filled with joy, I filled with sighs.
And that's when I got...naughty.

This dripping hair, this droopy curl.
Unfurls sweet memories, of a girl.
With tresses, oh, they'd twist and twirl.
And tempt me to be...naughty.

Barbara, my love was named.
And her fair hair, a mane untamed.
Until one evening, I'm ashamed.
I got a little...naughty.

[Lizardfolk Lich]

My only advice is to read a Stephen King book, or something... IT was pretty creepy as I remember it, it didn't help that the main villain was a shapeshifting clown. (See my avatar)

[Xuincherguixe]

There's also http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Author:H._P._Lovecraft. I really should read that all at some point.

[TheLogman]

Chuckle randomly, especially when something happens unexpectedly. Act like you knew it was coming. The Future is scary, you acting like you know it doubly so.

[Zare]

take a few pointers from Marlie (http://www.roadwaffles.com/index.php?c=2003-4-23)

[Destro_Yersul]

Chuckle randomly, especially when something happens unexpectedly. Act like you knew it was coming. The Future is scary, you acting like you know it doubly so.

Only problem with this in 40k is that it will make people suspect you're a Psyker. Not good, unless you're an Inquisitor or something and they could be expected to expect that anyways. Random guardsmen acting like they can predict the future are liable to be executed.

[Shiny, Bearer of the Pokystick]

Well, there's actually a talent called Disturbing Voice, so you can take that.

Other than that....40k is creepy all by itself. If you're a Psyker or Tech-priest, doubly creepy.

If you haven't got that sort of innate creepy going, I suppose play up some borderline-heretical nonsense about death cults, etc.; it's honestly not that hard, and practically spelled out anyways.

[GrassyGnoll]

You can be like Freaky Fred.
http://tn3-2.deviantart.com/fs14/300W/i/2007/101/d/d/Fred_Desktop_by_KashaPaw.jpg

He talked in rhyme which I highly suggest you do as well.

Hello, new friend. My name is Fred.
The words you hear are in my head.
I say, I said, my name is Fred.
And I've been...very naughty.

The story I'm about to tell,
I tell you, I will tell you well,
is about my dear Aunt Murielle.
And just how I've been...naughty.

Viola! The farm. My Aunt lives here.
With precious pup, and husband dear.
My heart beat fast as I drew near.
I felt so nice...and naughty.

I thought just how excited they
must be, that I would come today.
They'd shout, "Come Fred! Huzzah! Hurray!".
Dear boy, you look so...naughty.

That's when my tired eyes beheld, a doggy dog, like dog he smelled.
D-O-G is what he spelled.
And that's how I spell...naughty.

It was a day I'd not forget,
the day that I first met my pet.
Oh! What a lovely gift to get.
I'd never felt so...naughty.

My fuzzy friend is what he was,
this darling little ball of fuzz.
And, oh, such fuzz, such fuzz! It does
demand that I be...naughty.

He looked at me, his fetching eyes,
and fetching fur did hypnotize.
I filled with joy, I filled with sighs.
And that's when I got...naughty.

This dripping hair, this droopy curl.
Unfurls sweet memories, of a girl.
With tresses, oh, they'd twist and twirl.
And tempt me to be...naughty.

Barbara, my love was named.
And her fair hair, a mane untamed.
Until one evening, I'm ashamed.
I got a little...naughty.

Wait a tick, I do declare!
I thought that first, it's just not fair
Your neo-Crédit Mobilier
Should leave you feeling... naughty

[Demented]

Other than that....40k is creepy all by itself. If you're a Psyker or Tech-priest, doubly creepy.

Top that off with a human inquisitor.
Not the species, the condition.

What hurts more than having your entire planet nuked because your kid drew a hexagram? When the inquisitor responsible is genuinely sorry. (Course, if the rest of the inquisition doesn't smite you, there's always the accusations of bad roleplaying.)

[The_Werebear]

The thing that triggers creepiness (at least to me) is incongruity. Two things which should obviously not be mixed up getting twisted together. Reading the post of Grandmother Necromancer sent shivers up my spine, because I imagined her embroidering patterns on them.

So, as for specific stuff.

1- Name your gun. A lot of people do stuff like this, but take it very seriously an in a non joking manner. Occasionally suggest that there is one extra person in the party who needs a space, then gloss over it if called. After a hard battle, occasionally do things like kiss the side of the barrel gently. Note that this works with any tool that one could use frequently.

2- Pick up a hobby that doesn't seem to fit with inquisition. Like it was mentioned earlier, don't talk about it whatever it is. But let it be seen that you cook, embroider, engrave, or craft origami near compulsively. Now, the fun part. When the time comes to interrogate someone (You are inquisitors, the time will come), apply what you know of your craft to the scenario. For example, the cook above. Pour boiling stuff on people. Fillet him like a fish. All the while, talk calmly about your craft, how you have practiced, and describe your technique in detail.

3- Have precise anatomical knowledge of every species you will be dealing with. Tell them in detail how you could make them stop working.

4-Smile all the time while keeping your head tilted 15 degrees to a side.

5- Occasionally say thing that seem irrelevant, but are deeply disturbing once people draw the connection. This is something that requires a lot of practice.

[horseboy]

I know this isn't exactly the sort of advice you're after, but if I might suggest an alternative:

Don't try and be creepy.

It's Dark Heresy, for Pete's sake. You're playing Inquisitors, you're playing inquisitors in a setting where the "good guys" are the ones who periodically exterminate entire planets just because they deviate from their stringent genetic purity laws. Start trying to creep the other players out and the best case scenario is that they'll be unimpressed. The worst case scenario is that you'll get chronic one-upmanship.

In a game where the standard characters are going to be, to a man, genocidal religious fanatics who think nothing of exterminating millions in the name of their holy cause, "creepy" is pretty much impossible.

Exactly. With your "typical" inquisitor retinue consisting of things like a Null (A human who doesn't have a soul), an arco-flagellant (http://store.us.games-workshop.com/storefront/store.us?do=List_Models&code=302962&orignav=300813&ParentID=212241&GameNav=300808), or, heck how about a Demon host (http://store.us.games-workshop.com/storefront/store.us?do=List_Models&code=302964&orignav=300813&ParentID=212784&GameNav=300808), the floating skull of his mother that constantly records everything she sees, what the Hell are you, a mundane human going to do that's creepy? Cthulthu itself couldn't make The Imperium any more creepy.

In fact, the creepiest thing one could do in that setting would be to be a bright, happy, optimist.

[DementedFellow]

Wait a tick, I do declare!
I thought that first, it's just not fair
Your neo-Crédit Mobilier
Should leave you feeling... naughty
You thought it first, this much is true,
But I did far more than you,
adding quotes and a picture too.
And yes, I do feel ... naughty.

[GrassyGnoll]

You thought it first, this much is true,
But I did far more than you,
adding quotes and a picture too.
And yes, I do feel ... naughty.

Then a truce I do propose
Between two weavers of Fred-like prose
Where this pact may lead no one knows
But it most certainly will be... naughty

To the OP I readdress
A man of contrasts proves the best
To rhyme as a man might possessed
When he does things he finds... naughty

[Tengu]

Speaking in third person is rarely creepy, it makes you sound like Thog... with one exception - address to yourself as "this one". That will be unnerving. Until someone at the table makes a HL2 joke.

Also, a very inquisitorial creepy personality aspect might be an obsession with cleanliness - but in a calm, concentrated way. Spend all your free time making sure that your body and possessions are perfectly clean, putting extreme effort (even hurting yourself) just to remove the tiniest specks of dirt. You can also add elements of mental as well as physical cleanliness, too, and comment on other's cleanliness in a calm, yet everything but collected voice. A good idea is to combine this with the "violate personal space" quirk.

[Fuzzy_Juan]

Heh...absolute creepiest character I have ever had the 'privilage' to see in action was a human fighter(rogue maybe?) named 'Mondai'. He was a complete sociopath and was always talking in graphic terms how he liked to d very disturbing things to people...especially small children. (there is a line between just creepy and outright sick, and he definatey flirted with it...and then just outright humped it a few times). In addition to being a nearly compulsive child abuser and serial murderer, he was also a mysoginistic freak that would hit on anything dead or alive...not sure he had a preferance...He also carried around a belt of Masc/Fem...paralytic poison...and a random assortment of goodies.

Among his favorite lines...and most eerie...

"Hey...got any kids?"

"Damn baby...I bet you'd be a great f%$# even as a zombie..."

"Don't kill them...I want to be able to take my time and hear them scream while I slowly drill the marrow from their bones...Oh, no particular reason, 've just been dying to try it some time mua hahahahaha!"

*after giggling while others talk* "I'm sorry...what did you say? I was too busy imagining what I was going to do to your wife while wearing the face I am going to skin off your still breathing meatsack...do continue though."

"Lova ya baby *makes smooching sounds*"

(the above became slightly modified when he no longer had lips after becoming an undead...unable to pucker to make the smooching noise without lips, he would clack his teeth together loudly and then declare "Smootchie sounds". Yes...the player actually did that...as funny as it was, it was kinda creepy.)

One thing to note about Mondai though...while he was always a sick bastard...his player made it a point to know what disturbed us the most and made sure that Mondai did just that. 'Creepy' vs. just plain sick is in the judgement of the person being creeped out...they could be most uncomfortable by stares and snickering, by close proximity, sexual references at them and others, psychotic behaviour, evisceration, severe uncleanliness...all depends on the individuals. When trying to be 'really' creepy, it is important to remember your audience. To creep them out, you must tailor the maddness to fit their pallet for maximum effectiveness. That is what made Mondai so special. His player knew just how to push everyone's buttons so that all of us were so creeped out and highly disturbed that we thought Mondai was capable of pretty much anything...we were straight up terrified of what he might do...and he was on 'our' side. In many ways, I felt even more sorry for those NPC's...and of course, the DM who bore the brunt of the madness.

Know that too...you will be creeping out the DM as often or more than your party...know what makes people tick.

[shaggz076]

In fact, the creepiest thing one could do in that setting would be to be a bright, happy, optimist.

First thought at this to me is Delores Umbridge from Harry Potter. Now that was fricken creepy...

[Ulrichomega]

I once had a character who stuck crosses (or whatever the symbol was, I forget) in the chests of all of the dead enemies that his party killed so that "Aunt Marcy doesn't get to them first." I had to quit it after a while because the other party members threatened to leave me on the side of the road after a while. This would definitly work in the setting you proposed I think.

[Starsinger]

Okay, these suggestions were good, especially the fred poems. And now it's time to clarify. She is a Psyker (sanctioned of course, but nonetheless a psyker), which is part of the inspiration for wanting to be creepy.

Dark Heresy is the spiritual successor to the Inquisitor RPG (but less toned down in power) in which the PCs are Acolytes in the Inquisition, which as far as I could tell when my DM explained it to me, means we're in an internship program within the Inquisition, we work for the Inquisitor, and if we don't become corrupt or insane to the point of useless, some day, Emperor willing, we'll be Inquisitors ourselves.

Dark Heresy is set in the WH 40k universe, so gross creepy things, death obsession, and the more serial killer creepy suggestions aren't out of place at all. Especially the "shove crosses into their heads" suggestion above.

Still, my goal for her is to if not outright creep out the other Acolytes, to make them feel very disturbed around her. Thanks for the suggestions so far, keep them coming!

[Saph]

I think Horseboy's got the best suggestion. Don't try to be creepy. Try to be as friendly and sweet and nice and fluffy and charming as possible. Play up the cute-little-girl element too. Be constantly upbeat and happy.

And do all this while doing all the non-stop-killing that 40K games always turn into. Someone who's constantly cheerful and humming to herself while slaughtering people by the dozen is far creepier than someone who's trying to be a freak.

- Saph

[Falrin]

Keep a can/box around without ever showing/talking about the contents. Just smile and walk away when they ask.

Don't react to killing/gore/dead people. Don't smile, don't freak, don't do anything special.

[Enzario]

Take ranks in Bluff, Disguise, and Perform: Acting ,and take mental notes on everyone you meet. Then find a magical means of changing your appearance.

Now, at random times during the game, disguise yourself as someone that the characters are an acquaintence with (or possibly one of the other characters themselves). After a while, the party will be wondering whether everyone they meet is actually another person or just you in disguise, messing with them.

Note: You may want to ask your DM to play your character while you're in disguise so the other players don't catch on. (i.e. they don't know whether that one beggar that single-handedly took out three town guards is you or an NPC)

You also could just be a doppelganger. Much easier.


Addendum: OOOH. If you can, be an Unbodied from the XPH. They can change their shape at will, but are incorporeal. Imagine the possibilities there...

EDIT: Whoops. Thought this was DnD. Anyway, most of this should still be relevant.

[Fuzzy_Juan]

Okay, these suggestions were good, especially the fred poems. And now it's time to clarify. She is a Psyker (sanctioned of course, but nonetheless a psyker), which is part of the inspiration for wanting to be creepy.

Dark Heresy is the spiritual successor to the Inquisitor RPG (but less toned down in power) in which the PCs are Acolytes in the Inquisition, which as far as I could tell when my DM explained it to me, means we're in an internship program within the Inquisition, we work for the Inquisitor, and if we don't become corrupt or insane to the point of useless, some day, Emperor willing, we'll be Inquisitors ourselves.

Dark Heresy is set in the WH 40k universe, so gross creepy things, death obsession, and the more serial killer creepy suggestions aren't out of place at all. Especially the "shove crosses into their heads" suggestion above.

Still, my goal for her is to if not outright creep out the other Acolytes, to make them feel very disturbed around her. Thanks for the suggestions so far, keep them coming!

Hmm...didn't realize you meant a 40k rpg...ok...a sanctioned psyker who is inquisition and creepy? Think River Tam on Miranda (randomly muttering about the dead and evil all around) mixed with the mayor of Sunnydale from Buffy season 3.

That might be fun.

[CherryC]

Salad Fingers (http://www.fat-pie.com/salad.htm)
'nuff said.

[horseboy]

Hmm, psyker subtle psychosis. Okay, take either precognition and/or psychometry as a power. Pick one verb tense. Always use it to the exclusion of all others. That way it seems you're always looking back into the past or away into the future, never into the here and now.

[Dethcom1]

Man, until I remembered that this was a WH40K universe I had a great idea for cannibalising people creepily (is there any other way? State your cutting off "some limbs, maybe a stomach area or some muscle, for later" and obviously add a ration or two to your character sheet.) But that would only work if you were Chaos, and then it wouldn't even be creepy, would it? It would be par for course.

Yeah, ridiculous optimism always works. Additionally, you can develop a few rather unnerving habits. For example, suggest genocide at every available opportunity.
You: So who was that guy we just met?
Party: Joe Shmiggelbieg.
You: Where did he say he was from?
Party: Hive Xerxes.
You: I think he's a traitor, and if he's a traitor, there could be more in his hive. Let's blow it off the face of this Chaos-ridden planet.
Remember, if you just flippantly offer the idea out there with no support, it comes off as absurd rather than disturbing. Fight, passionately and logically, for the destruction of a couple billion souls. Don't give up, or do so with extreme reluctance. This may annoy your party, however, who have to stop and explain that they can't blow up an entire hive to kill maybe five people.

Exterminatus is actually not that common. Inquisitors have to get permission to do so, I believe, from the highest authority, the Council of Terra, and the Typhoon missiles are very rare.

Also, continue attacking corpses long after they're dead. Nothing says "psychotic" quite like laughing maniacally while the limbs of your dead enemies fall about you like so much rain. If you chant the Emperor's Hymns while you do it, it makes you so much worse. Plus, you won't be called out for it.

Random trial by fire also works. Randomly select an NPC, declare him a traitor, and demand a trial by fire to prove his innocence. May come over as "frothing mad" rather than creepy, but you have to take the sugar with the lumps, or some oter metaphor involving sugar. Plus, you might get bonus XP for good roleplaying, and that's almost always nice.

[freetobeuandme]

know what creeps me out? getting killed by nice things.
that's the whole point of chucky to use nice things to kill.
you could pull out enemy fingernails and chew on them or use somebody's spine as a weapon.
better yet, from princess bride, pretend everyone you meet killed your father and used intimidation to make them confess and then kill them.
practice piligamy for say.....
:smallannoyed:

[Tokiko Mima]

Hmm... creepy... I think simple is better.

What creeps me out is someone who will never be the first person to break eye contact. You glance at them and they glance back, and they *don't* look away when you do, and they have a completely blank expression. It's not that odd the first time, but if it happens all the time it gets creepy fast.

Also, I would try to enjoy really horrible things, like poking dead things, or examining garbage or multilating insects and such. The more disgusting they are, the more you should enjoy it and never explain why. "You'll understand someday," would be about the only responce given for maximum creepy.

I think it would also help to watch Silence of the Lamb's Hannibal Lector once to properly frame your mind around an appropriately creepy character, that's not all out bizarre creepy like Buffalo Bill in the same movie. I think all creepy people are at least a little (and usually a lot) sociopathic.

[thorgrim29]

Oh, creepy in 40k...... tough, well very easy but tough. I like the insanely cheerfull idea. You could also pretend the emperor talks to you, and sulk like a little girl when you dont get what you want, could be fun.

-Lets kill them
-no
-But The Emperor says so!
-No He does'nt, shut up now.
-"sulks in corner, possibly making people implode"

[Bellmaethorion]

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=MzOpjBOzMqA
If you want to be creepy, just bring a pickle, or you know... no pickle...:smallsmile:

[Demented]

Also, I would try to enjoy really horrible things, like poking dead things, or examining garbage or multilating insects and such. The more disgusting they are, the more you should enjoy it and never explain why. "You'll understand someday," would be about the only responce given for maximum creepy.

Sadly, I'd probably follow suit.

"Why are you chopping up that caterpillar?"

"She said I'd understand some day."

"Who said?"

"You know. Her."

[Khanderas]

My creepiest character ever was a Deadlands undertaker by the name of Digger. He made a living burying dead people for $5 a pop and loved it. His creepiest moment came when he hit on the female PC, telling her "I'll put you in the ground for three dollars fifty cents." Yeah. He also had a habit of measuring people's heads with a tape measure and always carried around a single yard of barbed wire.

The trick is to deadpan all the creepiness and make sure there's an actual reason for it. If you laugh while delivering something bizarre your character will be dismissed as a joke. If you do random creepy things you aren't playing a character, just a set of creepy actions. The character who isn't quite so over the top, but still believable is infinitely more creepy than the one who is the most outrageous.
I absolutly agree. It isn't creepy until it makes sense... somehow. Problebly only makes sense to the character, and for it to make sense he has to be mad.
That is what made Hannibal Lecter so scary. He was quite lucid. Eating people made sense to him, so he did even when he knew others found it horrible. I'm sure if a psychiatrist was charged with curing him he would just switch the tables and have the psychoanalyst try a thumb... for scientific reasons, mind you. :smallbiggrin:

Wonder what wine would work with thumbs... Problebly a dry white one. Red would just be... idonno gross. And no ketchup, you hethen.

[GolemsVoice]

Well, you are a psyker. Psykers are creepy right from the box. They see glimpses of their own future. They hear voices, they have seen things that other won't ever see, or won't see and stay sane.
They have bonded with the Emperor's soul, which made them blind, but still THEY SEE. Maybe look at the sanctioned psyker from DoW Winter Assault. He caries a lasgun, but he always looks the other way when firing.
Or have a word with your DM, to get tiny pieces of your or other's character's future, and mutter: "You've got 13 years to live before a traitor will shoot you with your own weapon." or some other nonsense. The Warp speaks to you, poor, broken mortal.
And, to even further the creepiness, psyker-powers drain the body, so you will eventually need an exoskeleton, an anti-grav cradle in whcih you lie, cables on your whole skull, muttering and screaming insanities at poor unsuspecting people.