Keeping in character and alive.

[Jayngfet]

So I'm in a freeform game. I'm playing a bold sort of character who's personally sworn to kill the BBEG.

The problem here is the BBEG is powerful enough to snap me in half and he's the sort to rush at this guy. I've stayed alive with fast thinking but barely. I'm wondering how to live without breaking character.

[Oracle_Hunter]

Um, do you see the BBEG every morning at coffee or something? In general, there's enough security between the Avenger and his Target to give the Avenger an excuse to "try and find a way" rather than suicidally charge in.

Alternatively, you can acknowledge "he's too powerful now" and then swear to train yourself until you can defeat him! Or go all Count of Monte Cristo on his ass.

[Jayngfet]

Of course the main problem is that I can get around security in the form of a dozen mid power demons with little trouble. Its the BBEG himself who's too tough.

[Learnedguy]

How stupid is your character?

Because he's smart, then he might realize that he's not yet a match for the BBEG and will try to improve instead of facing him directly for now. Possibly finding allies that hold similar grudges.

If he's dumb, prideful, ignorant or suicidal though, then he will probably face the BBEG directly. To avoid death in this scenario, work out the encounter with the DM before running it, and agree on the small detail that your character becomes becomes completely curbstomped, but not killed (BBEGs does that all the time. I think it's because they've lost will to live usually).

I doubt your character is dumb enough to try the same twice, and this will become an excellent opportunity for further roleplay.

[Baalthazaq]

I'm having a similar problem.

I'm playing a good version of Thog.
My party is playing an evil version of: Achilles, Alexander the Great, Jesus, and Peter Pan.

They're currently trying to take over a village, kill their men, steal their women and enslave their children. Thog, who in our game has just left his Mommy and is currently 15, and is not happy with the subjugating, murdering, and pillaging.

I don't want to have to kill them all.

It's also frustrating me because I think the whole thing reeks of shallow "Muahahaha, we're EVIL!!!! Muahahahahaha!" There is no benefit in this. The women and children are all going to ONE of the player's tribe. The others are doing this.... for no reason.

We've only met each other a week ago. We're risking our lives and our mission (given to us by the closest thing the world has to gods) in order to help a prisoner we met in a camp last week to get brownie points for when he tries to take over a tribe.

My problem differs also in that I could actually just kill the whole party... they're not *that* tough.

[Kylarra]

I'm having a similar problem.

I'm playing a good version of Thog.
My party is playing an evil version of: Achilles, Alexander the Great, Jesus, and Peter Pan.

Well there's your problem. One good character amidst a horde of evil characters (or vice versa) is just a ticking timebomb. My suggestion? Kill them all now and hope for rerolls in the good-neutral areas.

[krossbow]

My party is playing an evil version of: ... Jesus,

Lulwut?!


Does he crucify himself mid battle to do blood magic, or is he literally like the anti-christ? I mean, there's only a few ways to do evil jesus short of healing cripples so they can fight your battles for you

[Piedmon_Sama]

**** it, it's just a character. That's what I tell myself; I play my characters as smart, as brave, and as cooperative as I intended them to be. If they buy it as a result of their personalities, well.... you can always roll up more where that came from. Try to make it as spectacular a death as possible, at least. This is particularly true at low levels--the character isn't anybody important or special yet, not at level 3 or 5 or 8 or 10 depending on how many high-level muckity mucks are tearing around in the setting. Going down an anonymous casualty on the battlefield is a probability you have to accept before you reach the vaunted high levels. It's what makes actually reaching those levels a grand accomplishment: how much sweeter is that "Ding!" if it's the first character of several to survive past level 7? You can genuinely say you beat the odds, that this character survived where many have not. The pride you feel will be much sweeter than a steady diet of conveyor-belt "safe" encounters can offer, that's for sure!

(Disclaimer: I am 9/10 times the DM for my party, although this is my philosophy towards playing. Though I've given many variations on this speech before my players have never seemed to buy into the idea of real achievement. I blame World of Warcraft, ruining our gaming youth with this notion of respawns and "newb-friendly zones." :/ )

[arguskos]

**** it, it's just a character. That's what I tell myself; I play my characters as smart, as brave, and as cooperative as I intended them to be. If they buy it as a result of their personalities, well.... you can always roll up more where that came from. Try to make it as spectacular a death as possible, at least. This is particularly true at low levels--the character isn't anybody important or special yet, not at level 3 or 5 or 8 or 10 depending on how many high-level muckity mucks are tearing around in the setting. Going down an anonymous casualty on the battlefield is a probability you have to accept before you reach the vaunted high levels. It's what makes actually reaching those levels a grand accomplishment: how much sweeter is that "Ding!" if it's the first character of several to survive past level 7? You can genuinely say you beat the odds, that this character survived where many have not. The pride you feel will be much sweeter than a steady diet of conveyor-belt "safe" encounters can offer, that's for sure!

(Disclaimer: I am 9/10 times the DM for my party, although this is my philosophy towards playing. Though I've given many variations on this speech before my players have never seemed to buy into the idea of real achievement. I blame World of Warcraft, ruining our gaming youth with this notion of respawns and "newb-friendly zones." :/ )

Sir, I wish to salute for you speaking it as it is! Thank you for putting in perfect wording what I keep trying to explain to my players.

[Baalthazaq]

Well there's your problem. One good character amidst a horde of evil characters (or vice versa) is just a ticking timebomb. My suggestion? Kill them all now and hope for rerolls in the good-neutral areas.

I agree, we didn't discuss our alignments with each other until session 3. I assumed they were all good guys basically because of who they were emulating, but it turns out they all (individually) decided it'd be fun to be an evil version of the thing.

I ended up doing the reverse... I have no idea how this happened.

Lulwut?!


Does he crucify himself mid battle to do blood magic, or is he literally like the anti-christ? I mean, there's only a few ways to do evil jesus short of healing cripples so they can fight your battles for you

Heh, not quite that extreme, he is basically pretending to be all holy and light while swaying people to his own nefarious ends. He's using his connection to the "Dragonwraith" to make himself seem like his messenger, which he is not.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

My party is playing an evil version of: Achilles, Alexander the Great, Jesus, and Peter Pan.

Redundant much?

[Olo Demonsbane]

Another thing: How do you play an Evil Peter Pan? Flying Wizard?

[Faleldir]

So you've personally sworn to kill a BBEG who's too far out of your league to even remember your name?
Pack more than one sword.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Another thing: How do you play an Evil Peter Pan? Flying Wizard?

He spent years watching a pubescent girl through her window, then kidnapped her to keep her from outgrowing him. He leads a small army of kidnapped children who survive by stealing, and he regularly psycologically tortures the Captain and attempts to feed him to an alligator. How do you play that as good is the real question.

Now give me a hard one.

[Atamasama]

Jayngfet! You must complete the leveling.

You must not go!

Stopped the BBEG must be. On this depends. Only a fully leveled PC with epic feats as his ally will conquer the BBEG.

If you end your training now, if you choose the quick and easy path, you will become an ex-PC.

Strong is the BBEG. Mind what you have learned. Save you it can.

Told you, I did. Reckless is he. Now matters are worse.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Jayngfet! You must complete the leveling.

You must not go!

Stopped the BBEG must be. On this depends. Only a fully leveled PC with epic feats as his ally will conquer the BBEG.

If you end your training now, if you choose the quick and easy path, you will become an ex-PC.

Strong is the BBEG. Mind what you have learned. Save you it can.

Told you, I did. Reckless is he. Now matters are worse.

Do not worry. There is...another.

[lsfreak]

My suggestion is that if your character has at least +1 to Wis or Int, he knows that rushing the guy is nothing short of suicide. He may not have a particularly well-thought-out plan, but he knows that jumping headfirst into combat will do nothing worth while. He therefore instead spends his time doing rather reckless things in an attempt to make himself powerful enough, rather than reckless things that involve certain death (mainly, charging the BBEG).