My Character is More Charismatic than Me

[StoryKeeper]

So I'm hoping to play my first game of Changeling: The Lost soon, and I have a character in mind. He's one of those quick-talking, fast-thinking, probably trouble but too likable to ignore types. Problem is, I'm not sure that I'll be able to keep up with him in terms of quick-talking and fast-thinking.

Changeling will be the first game other than DnD 3.5 that I'll have played in a while, and my group for DnD isn't exactly the best when it comes to role-playing. I've recently been told to shut up and loot bodies while I was talking to another player about what he thought might have killed off the pile of grimlock slavers that we were investigating.

Anywho, this being a new system, and me not being (consistently) as awesome as my character when it comes to manipulating businessmen and coming up with words of encouragement or well-veiled threats, I'm afraid that I'll ruin my character by not playing him well enough. What do I do?

I could just play someone a bit easier to roleplay for my first game so that I don't have to worry about using the wrong terminology or not knowing the group well enough to interact with them well, but I'd prefer some useful advice on how to play my suave socialite oneiromancer.

Oh, this is a different group than my DnD one, by the way. It will be an online game done via chatroom in case that makes a difference.

[valadil]

My first LARP was like that. I was a shy nerd playing a chatty talker type. The sort of character who would go up to anyone and strike up a conversation. Very much not me. Or rather, very much not my real life character. I dropped that and took on chatty character and it just kinda worked itself out. When I forgot to be shy I was able to shmooze with everyone in game. I actually built a lot of self confidence from that experience. You should be able to do so too.

- edit -

I missed the chatroom bit. That actually makes your job easier. You can edit your speech as you say it. In a live action chat, you're committed to each word as it comes out of your mouth. In a text based chat room you get to review each sentence before committing to it. If an insult doesn't sound all that clever you have ample time to reword it.

[TripperdeCleric]

I can understand the shy tendancies and the lack of on the spot thinking..we all start out that way. However, play the character like you are the character. When in LARP you are that character not yourself. People will not treat you like you. Be who you want to be..it is a game. If this is the character you have your heart set on..then play this character..if not play a shy character to start and slowly evolve into that character...rp is everything...just do your best to mix and match as you see fit.

[HunterOfJello]

just by 5 energy drinks before each game

once you start to feel down and the caffeine high starting to wear off, drink another one































P.S This post is a joke. Don't do this or you'll get yourself addicted to caffeine really fast.

[Lord Vukodlak]

The thing about charismatic people is, they can say things and make it sound smooth when if a regular joe said it they'd get slapped.

I think the best example I can think of for this is on That 70's Show
FEZ: Yeah. Rhonda won't let me get past second base, and I really want to explore further.

CASEY: Well, sometimes a seasoned lady like Rhonda she's gotten used to the usual order of things. So, I think the next time you're fooling around just, uh, skip second and go right to third.

DONNA: Yeah, with Rhonda, you know, that just might work.

ERIC: W-Wait, you like that?

DONNA: Well, the words are wrong, but they sound so good coming out of his mouth.

A charming person doesn't necessarily know the right thing to say but they know how to make the wrong thing sound right.

[TripperdeCleric]

The thing about charismatic people is, they can say things and make it sound smooth when if a regular joe said it they'd get slapped.

I think the best example I can think of for this is on That 70's Show
FEZ: Yeah. Rhonda won't let me get past second base, and I really want to explore further.

CASEY: Well, sometimes a seasoned lady like Rhonda she's gotten used to the usual order of things. So, I think the next time you're fooling around just, uh, skip second and go right to third.

DONNA: Yeah, with Rhonda, you know, that just might work.

ERIC: W-Wait, you like that?

DONNA: Well, the words are wrong, but they sound so good coming out of his mouth.

A charming person doesn't necessarily know the right thing to say but they know how to make the wrong thing sound right.

I feel dirty after reading that just to let you know...but i agree with that...I used to play VTM LARP and I played Ravnos the social tricksters...convincing someone to teach you thier disciplines and give you all thier belongings in exchange for a coin that was once cherished by Cain is something that is possible with a social charismatic character..it dont sound good from anyone else...but when they look at that coin and see the power of cain within it..its definately worth it..and all they have to do it shove it into thier heart to gain the power....

[Inyssius Tor]

P.S This post is a joke. Don't do this or you'll get yourself addicted to caffeine really fast.

Also, it doesn't work, unless your character is really supposed to be a subtle and charismatic Machiavelli who never actually is subtle because the jittery old sod drinks eight pitchers of coffee a day--and, as a result, waaaay overplays every scheme he tries to run.

(I type this good-naturedly, as a guy who drinks a lot of caffeine and quite enjoys it.)



Anyway, on-topic: extremely charismatic people, like extremely perceptive or intelligent ones, are the sort of thing that I personally would try to collaborate with the GM to realize. A really suave character leaves a sort of charismatic impression in the NPCs around him, like the gravity well around a star--and that's something your GM will have to handle no matter how well you play your character. Actually being really suave in-game is one way of telling the GM to do that; but if you're worried that you can't quite pull it off, you might want to ask him about it directly out-of-game as well.

[SilverSheriff]

Join the James Bond school of wise-cracking and witty banter:

• Write down Catch phrases, one-liners, retorts, in-game celebrity news/gossip (consult the Storyteller/Game Master) Movie-Quotes, rousing speeches and pick-up lines on a piece of note-taking paper; a book of some kind even!
• Recite them often during the game.
• Get a Thesaurus, write down other words listed which would be appropriate during an upper-class shindig.
• when all of this fails: start killing things.

[TheMadLinguist]

All you really need is that one ability that lets you modify memories.

As long as everyone thinks you were suave, who cares how good your charisma was.

[StoryKeeper]

Good advice so far, guys. Keep it up. Oh, and to clarify, this will be a chat-based game. I kind of got the impression that people thought it was a LARP for some reason, but your advice is still sound.

[1stEd.Thief]

When the fighter severs the head of an opponent, does the player really have to be able to do it? No. Talk to the GM, and describe what you want to do. This should be sufficient.

"I want to try and seduce the high priestess using my charisma" Works waaay better than "I say to the high priestess "Hey baby, what's your sign""

Don't get me wrong: RP to the best of your ability... but lets face it: Gamers are not known for their social skills and the player should not be penalized for playing a PC with different mental stats &/or skills than themselves.

[Mastikator]

My advice is alcohol. No seriously, just take one or two beers, it'll break down enough of your inhibition without taking down too much of your int/wis/charisma modifier to benefit you.
This only works if you're really shy though.

The alcohol will wear off before the session is over but since you won't notice it you'll be uninhibited for the whole session.
This will only be necessary the first or maybe even second time, since you'll get used to being open and in your face.


But don't if you're young. By the way. Breaking the law is bad and all that jazz.

[valadil]

I kind of got the impression that people thought it was a LARP for some reason, but your advice is still sound.

That might be my bad. My relevant story took place in a LARP. I posted because it was still applicable but I think it got the word LARP stuck in everyone's heads.

[Abd al-Azrad]

I actually played a high-Charisma Paladin in a long-term game, specifically to get better at social interaction IRL. It was a little weird, but it kinda worked. Really, I found the most effective trick was just assuming that everyone liked the guy and recognized him as a de facto leader. I was generally too shy to take this too far and make him arrogant, so he actually turned out exactly the right way: friendly, confident and passionate.

I guess the lesson is, Charisma comes from confidence, and confidence is basically just assuming everyone wants to be in your presence and hear you talk.

[Thajocoth]

I tried a high-cha character once. It wasn't D&D... It was... 7th Sea. I only played the one session... If I wanted to seduce someone, I rolled something really really ridiculous. I wound up saying "I want to seduce that person", instead of saying what my character would say, because my character was so far into the realm of "not me" that I could not actually even fathom a guess as to what he might say. It's one of the reasons that session sucked. It was my only session of 7th sea.

I advise against attempting to use written resources to circumvent your lack of charisma. Other players hate when people stop to read through their stuff, and it's just going to make people annoyed. State the purpose of what the character is saying if you can't think of the right words that should cause the effect you want. Another player or even the DM might even suggest specific words if they have better charisma.

After a while of this, you might get the hang of it. Or not.

[Tehnar]

I suggest you get some practise in PbP or chat first. When posting / typing, stop and think for a bit. What would be a good response from your character? There is a lot of free advice on the internet on how to talk to people. Use them. For example using the phrase ...you surely know that.... is much better then saying ...that is true...

Also check up your facts before posting, keep your character as informed as possible.