Making a creepy Aasimir

[Fiery Justice]

Okay, so I'm working on a character, and I'm trying to give him as mercilessly creepy a look as possible while remaining in keeping with a good character. He's got solid gold eyes at the moment (because thats a nice mildly reflective surface to have people stare at.), he's about 6'5", his skin is a marble white and gleams in direct light and his hands give of a constant very dim light emits in a steam like form from his hands. I've got a few nice conditional things like whenever he knowingly witnesses an evil act, tears roll down his face without it crunching up or showing any other signs of sadness and when he never gets obviously dirty (even if you dump mud on him it won't stay there). None of these things are set in stone but I was wondering two things:

Is this character at all creepy sounding?

And Do You Have any ideas on how to make him creepier?

[Nohwl]

teeth that look like he was chewing on metal, wounds that never seal, no fingernails, and things like that would make your character more creepy.

[sonofzeal]

Fairly creepy, although I'd keep the tears thing out if possible. The main problem I see is that, however creepy the description sounds, it'll tend to be forgotten fairly quickly because, really, what the other guys are looking at is just you.

What might be creepier would be to (depending on your level) get a magical Zone of Truth permanence'd around him. Better yet, make him never, ever, show any degree of emotion or hesitation, even when faced with a moral dilemma. If you as a player absolutely need to think for a moment, request the time in character in an utterly emotionless voice, and sit entirely unmoving while you think, then suddenly give your answer. When tragedy strikes and your hometown is burned to the ground - "Regrettable. May Pelor take their souls." And never mention it again.

[Leewei]

Thematically, angels can be extremely frightening. Christian dogma says, among many things, that fear of God is the beginning of knowledge. Consider that in biblical accounts angels laid waste to cities, appeared as chimeras, and were generally scary beings; additionally, they were never given the gift of free will that men were given. This last part may be a nice "creepy" addition to your Aasimar. Portray his Good nature as an aspect of himself by which he is absolutely overwhelmed - perhaps even enslaved. A good guy that tries to be merely normal, but tragically is driven to heroic acts and ideals, perhaps even sacrificing himself despite an earnest desire to live simply.

Depending on his ancestry, he might have other features that may seem bizarre or even demonic to the uneducated. Stigmata are a good example of such traits.

[CASTLEMIKE]

Consider giving him a mixed planar pedigree (Asimar and Teifling).

Give him some of the creepy Tiefling aspects like casting No shadow (Possibly with No reflection in a mirror) or having animals shy away from him. Consider giving him all 3 with some birthmarks attesting to his origin.

Two birthmarks one each of Good and Evil Powers with the Evil very conspicuous and the Good one hidden from normal viewing.

Instead of Gold Eyes what about Black Orb Pools of Darkness?

For the tears consider making them Tears of Blood.

If the PC favors Chaos or Law base his pedigree on that. Archons and Baatezu for Law and with an Asura and a Demon for Chaos. Neutral could be a Guardinal and a Yuggoloth.

[Fiery Justice]

Fairly creepy, although I'd keep the tears thing out if possible. The main problem I see is that, however creepy the description sounds, it'll tend to be forgotten fairly quickly because, really, what the other guys are looking at is just you.
Yeah I was on the fence about the idea with the tears. It was mostly a background feature.


What might be creepier would be to (depending on your level) get a magical Zone of Truth permanence'd around him. Better yet, make him never, ever, show any degree of emotion or hesitation, even when faced with a moral dilemma. If you as a player absolutely need to think for a moment, request the time in character in an utterly emotionless voice, and sit entirely unmoving while you think, then suddenly give your answer. When tragedy strikes and your hometown is burned to the ground - "Regrettable. May Pelor take their souls." And never mention it again.
You have no idea how much I agree with most of those statements. Completely otherworldly perspective is what I aim for in this character's perspective. People dying isn't a tragedy, it is a regular event. Evil is a tragedy, it lasts forever.


Thematically, angels can be extremely frightening. Christian dogma says, among many things, that fear of God is the beginning of knowledge. Consider that in biblical accounts angels laid waste to cities, appeared as chimeras, and were generally scary beings; additionally, they were never given the gift of free will that men were given. This last part may be a nice "creepy" addition to your Aasimar. Portray his Good nature as an aspect of himself by which he is absolutely overwhelmed - perhaps even enslaved. A good guy that tries to be merely normal, but tragically is driven to heroic acts and ideals, perhaps even sacrificing himself despite an earnest desire to live simply.
As a slightly unimportant side note, the whole angels lacking free will is something I disagree with (Read: Satan) but thats beside the point. I'm making this character out of the feelings of guilt, shame, and the urge to be better. As such I'm portraying good a thing to be struggled for and I like the term "Fall" in the sense "fell into evil" because the opposite is rise. It must be struggled for, grabbed hold of, fought for. It is not the easy way (most of the time), it is the hard way. Evil is easy, its why people do it.


Depending on his ancestry, he might have other features that may seem bizarre or even demonic to the uneducated. Stigmata are a good example of such traits.
I'll take that probably but I'm not sure what that stigmata would be from. I'm also probably gonna use a lack of shadows and try

[Adumbration]

Take the Stigmata feat from Book of Exalted Feats. It lets you heal people's wounds with your blood. :smallwink:

Also, take a look at various Relics from... was it BoED, Complete Champion or C Divine? Nothing says "I'm a servant of the gods" than swinging a thighbone of a saint as a club. Costs about 20 000 gold pieces, but is definitely worth it. No weapon bonus, but it is considered as a Holy weapon and some other plusses.


EDIT: For some cheaper stuff, get a fingerbone of a saint. Gives +1 to saves and rattles nicely in your pouch.

[Khanderas]

I feel that the idea is to get a being of Good ancestry that is subconciously creepy to anyone.
Golden eyes are good, fits the theme and noone really knows if he is looking at you.
Continue on to hairless, not even eyebrows. Talking in emotionless whispers is creepy. Hannibal creepy. Especially about deaths and other tragedies.

Should be enough, piling on too much would just make the idea itself a joke.

[MammonAzrael]

I liked the subtle detail of no fingernails. Since he's already marble white, perhaps have his veins appear as if they were simply part of the veined marble. Whenever he moves, walks, runs, etc, his entire upper body remains fairly still. So no natural arm swinging while walking, etc.

[Mad Maudlin]

If you want to go to the extreme, you could try dropping the odd hint that he has judged his fellow party members and found them... lacking. He's perfectly secure travelling with them, but knows that someday all their wicked deeds will catch them up - and has no plans to speak in their defence when it happens.

Things like, in a battle that is getting out of hand, say "It seems we are being sped to our respective final rewards. Likely we shall not see one another again." Or if a good aligned party member does something particularly selfless and heroic, say "Oh, well done (name)! I'm sure that will count in your favour at the final judgement." in the most patronising manner you can.

[Kol Korran]

okay, first of all- it's always nice to see players who comeup with an interesting character concept, and put the work to make it come to life.
But it seems you might have some decisions you must make (or have made allready about your character):

- how does it interact with the party? does it tries to preach/ enforce it's views? what if the party's decisions contradict it's high moral code? it reminds me of the common problem with players playing overzealous paladins...

- what sort of "creepy" are you aiming for? "creepy" out of birth? "creepy" out of a chosen path? "creepy" because of tragedy/ fate/ choices made for you/ and so on? "creepy" for the sake of being "creepy"?

- how does this creepiness manifests? (the whole point of the thread, but still, it might be worth thinking of it) physical attributes? movement? interaction with physical elements? (the light thing for example) speech? language? what you say? how you act? habits?

now, a creepy character can be percieved as either:
- laughable (that's why only certain actors play certain roles)
- detestable ("lets kick the creep!")
- annoying ("not him with his dram again!") or rarely...
- disturbingly fascinating (which is the effect i imagine you're looking for).

keep these in mind when planning your character. find way to interact with the other characters, and let the "creepiness" be the side effect of those interactions, the flavour, a side detail they observe... do not call specific attention ("look at my shiny skin! my eyes!" and such). after several times the players/ characters wil lstart wondering about you themselves, and so you don't force it upon them, you jsut present them soemthign to interact with...

ok, now for my tips on a creepy character, and perhaps more importently- playing a creepy character:

1) the main thing about creepy, contrary to horrifing, shocking, and so on, is that it gets under the other person's skin...and secondly- it is persistent, and disturbing, and you don't realy know what to do about it... creepiness isn't about shock and awe, it isn't about grand impressions, it's about little ones, seemingly meaningless ones, that keep etching at the back of your mind. therefor:
- i suggest you avoid obvious physical marks. sure, the marble skin might look cool, but it will only be cool once. people will forget it after about a session. the same goes for the eyes. how about some of the followings physical traits (all might require some help of the DM):
at some debates/ discussions/ arguments, if the other person looks into your eyes, they suddenly change, and look like his eyes, reflecting some hidden emotion. this unerves soem people who talks to you, but you yourself can't control it at will. (might be used in critical succeses, or just when the DM thinks it might be cool. with other players this demands that you/ the DM knows enough about their character)
sometimes when you all do some non dangerous activites (setting camp, going to town, searching a place), you hum to yourself... on certain occasions, people have reported that they hear past conversations/ the ocean/ melodious singing/ their deceased parents/ their victims/ their lover... (this works well if either you or the DM slips the other players a note or so. they can ignore it, or play on it). peopel might grow concerned of your humming, either wanting to be near, or away. (prepare all kinds of strange impressions on notes and such. when an opportunity arises, start humming to yourself, eyes closed or not. the DM, on cue, hands one of these to the players. at first this might disturb them, but they wil lcatch on to it after a bit.)
at times of great importence or excitment for you, you might seem to glow to those who know you, maybe even slightly transform (HERE the marble effect could be cool. at times of importence), your voice maybe changes to unearthly tones (echoes?), and so on. this is seen only by some, and has no real game affect (you might change your manner or behviour as well at these occasions). when it subsides though, you seem not to have noticed it. the "transformance" could gain more and more features as you go up in levels/ closer to your ideal. thus never realy becoming boring. (you can draw the altered character, and give it to the DM to present other characters. when you change, add to the drawing. when you play the transformed character try speaking differently, and perhaps change your posture in the chair)
In short- the physical aspects should be subtle at most times, but deeply unnerving when they occur. you could make yourself heavenly beautifull and what not. but remember- all elves are defined as unearthley beautifull, with unmatched grace and so on. beyond the first time we read the description/ saw it in a movie, no one gives a damn...

2) the philosophy/ ideals/ inner logic: this is actualyl the most importent part... if you just have some strange quirks and ticks, you'l ljsut be labeled as an oddity. what makes a person realy creepy, is the obviously alien mind s/he posseses. without his insights and strange mind, Hannibal lecter would just be a sorry murderous freak. we might fear him, but we wouldn't as well be fascinated by him.
Develop some inner logic, ideals, values, and so on... find justification for them. avoid way too bizarre or inhumane ideas- the basis of fascination is that, well, we might understand the creepy guy too... (the others must be able to relate to your views, however remote from their own they might be).
then, start applying your logic to various situations and questions of the setting/ campaing you're playing in, as well as situations that may occur with the group. the point of this exercise is to test your new beliefs, fix any "holes" that might ruin your game if some PC or NPC points them out, and perhaps most importently- getting you in the mind of the character, so you could quickly respond to unknown situations.
some more focused advice o nthis topic:
- find a suitable "role" for the other party memebers, so that you can easely play with them: "means to an end", "poor souls i might guide to the light", "other views from which i must learn", "other views sent by the powers to test my faith" (especially good for annoying players), and so on. since your character seems quite the zealot (to her own goals at least), i'd suggest you talk with your DM t osee how you can fit to the main goals...
- make notes and observations when in sessions/ after sessions about PCs, NPCs, and how you all handled situations. it is better to respond according to your character later, then just some lame play immediatly, if you're not VERY good thinking on your feet.
- i suggest to avoid "judging" other players. it gets tiresome after awhile. instead, if you are bent on "changing their ways" (and please remember the "party roles" i mentioned) then i'd advise you try probing with questions, or making soem sort of example to show them... it is only worth it if you think the other player/s will enjoy it as well. don't piss everyone off just so you can play your characer...
- as to talking and speech. people focus on how you say things, but what you say has a far greater impact. please don't just say something to "show how creepy" you are... the best creepy fellows make every. damn. word. count. make some of your remark highly obscure, and refuse to elaborate (it would be best of they will be connected to something of relevence though). at other times use overly long responses, or use words somewhat out of context. (PC: "hey aasi? are you coming?" you: "i have never left/ with you, yes, but not to where you think we're going/ coming? going? it is being that matters!/ ah, the pull of strings on unseen cords...")
- find interest in things that most of the party doesn't (but preferably that at least one does, though from different reasons) and seem bored with things that all care for. however- it must fit with your "inner logic/ beliefs".
- one nearly last thing about this: make your character belieavble, and after some time, even predictable... consistency is key- if youkeep alternataing and doing strange stuff just to be "creepy", you'll ne just percieved as a lunatic. if after several adventures some of the party stars anticipating your shenanigans, it doens't make it less creepy, it just validates it.
- one note that is importent: give the character other characteristics other that her "creepy side". these should be as "normal" as possbile! this also makes it a bit mroe accesible t othe others (and relieve you of the tesnion of playing it well all the time), as well as in a way increasing the unease and bizzare factor. (normal people the character knows, cravings, small harmless fetishes, a hobby and so on)

3) plan in very broad terms how your character might evolve. is it's philosophy all well established? can it change? (to more mallow or more extreme forms), is it pursuing some final (achievable or unachievable) goal? or is just going through life by it's onw philosophy? what impact might the other members have on her?

hope this helped. i intentionally didn't go into too many "creepy making" details, since i think this was covered by others. good luck to you.

[AslanCross]

In the Christian bible, Angels never appear without saying "Do not fear" or something like it. Their appearance, even when they take human-like features, is still thoroughly unearthly and inherently rattling to mortals, so I guess you could draw from this.

I like the marble-like appearance, as well as the lack of fingernails. He might also have the scent of incense drifting about him permanently. Aasimar are also known to sometimes have unnaturally loud and clear voices, especially if they were descended from Trumpet Archons or Lillends. (I believe this was mentioned in Races of Faerun).

Or it could be as simple as having a focused, almost frozen, never-blinking stare. Depending on which deity he reveres, maybe he could wake up long before everyone else in the party and always be found watching the sun rise, or always wake up at the time a certain star is high in the sky.
"Why are you awake at this hour?"
"I do not know. That star calls out to my blood when it reaches its zenith. And I obey."
"What'd happen if you don't see it?"
"Let us speak no more of this matter. Come, the day awaits."

[Xuincherguixe]

Crying tears of blood might do it.

If we're going for the alien aspects, at various times it almost looks like the character might have a really mixed up face. A mouth where an eye should be, an ear for a nose, that kind of thing.

Something with possibly more thematic implications, an additional set of eyes. These let him see something supernatural, and are themselves something that can't normally be seen.

He could also sometimes appear as having wings (I don't think Aasimir get them normally). They don't do anything, but just look creepy.


Play it off as being possible hallucinations.

[Prometheus]

I like sonofzeal's "Regrettable. May Pelor take their souls." idea and Mad Maudlin's "sped to our respective final rewards" idea.

A being perfectly at peace should have no mourning, no sense of loss or even compassion. After all he knows that he is doing the best that he possibly can and that in the end good will prevail - to be concerned with the intermediate details is to have doubt or distraction. Anything bad that happens to anyone either falls into one of two categories: a) justice against evil or b) necessary sacrifice for the greater good. He is always perfectly comforted and sees the worries of others as short-sightedness or sin.

All in all, I love the character sketch.

[Glawackus]

If you want to go to the extreme, you could try dropping the odd hint that he has judged his fellow party members and found them... lacking. He's perfectly secure travelling with them, but knows that someday all their wicked deeds will catch them up - and has no plans to speak in their defence when it happens.

Things like, in a battle that is getting out of hand, say "It seems we are being sped to our respective final rewards. Likely we shall not see one another again." Or if a good aligned party member does something particularly selfless and heroic, say "Oh, well done (name)! I'm sure that will count in your favour at the final judgement." in the most patronising manner you can.

Oh, man. Stolen for my next Aasimar character. :smallbiggrin: