Have any of you ever played a character with dissociative identity disorder? I am thinking of doing one were he usually is a nice and gentle with people, but every so often he becomes evil or crazy. Maybe the dm can role a dice or something.
If any of you have experience with this and have some thoughts or tips I would be glad to hear them.
The closest I've played is a Changeling who is nearly-but-not-quite a different person when they change personas.
Though honestly what you're describing sounds less like DID and more like a stereotype of schizophrenia. And you need to be really careful about playing mental illnesses otherwise you're basically just turning them into a gimmick and perpetuating the stereotype.
I'm not saying don't do it - just be very careful and consider why you're doing it and whether it would really add to the character.
Study as much about the actual disorder as you can. It does not work at all like the portrayals in popular entertainment. This is true of most mental illness. Games always get it wrong.
What you have described sounds more like a character with an explosive temper. usually a very nice guy, but every now and them something sets him off into a flying rage. very different to Dissociative Identity Disorder.
Though honestly what you're describing sounds less like DID and more like a stereotype of schizophrenia. And you need to be really careful about playing mental illnesses otherwise you're basically just turning them into a gimmick and perpetuating the stereotype.
I'm not saying don't do it - just be very careful and consider why you're doing it and whether it would really add to the character.
And that is why I don't give my characters named mental abnormalities*: I don't know what they're supposed to be, even some of the ones I probably have, nor do I know how to diagnose them, so I'm far more likely than not to get it wrong. Much easier to describe the specific ways in which So-and-So isn't "normal," and much easier than that to just extrapolate a basic personality from what I already know about the character (which frequently includes a scene or two, making it more likely for me to get something resembling an actual personality).
*Except for the really easy ones, like paranoia, delusions, phobias, fanaticism, sadism, megalomania, etc.
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"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Have any of you ever played a character with dissociative identity disorder? I am thinking of doing one were he usually is a nice and gentle with people, but every so often he becomes evil or crazy. Maybe the dm can role a dice or something.
If any of you have experience with this and have some thoughts or tips I would be glad to hear them.
The closest I've played is a Changeling who is nearly-but-not-quite a different person when they change personas.
Though honestly what you're describing sounds less like DID and more like a stereotype of schizophrenia. And you need to be really careful about playing mental illnesses otherwise you're basically just turning them into a gimmick and perpetuating the stereotype.
I'm not saying don't do it - just be very careful and consider why you're doing it and whether it would really add to the character.
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Study as much about the actual disorder as you can. It does not work at all like the portrayals in popular entertainment. This is true of most mental illness. Games always get it wrong.
What you have described sounds more like a character with an explosive temper. usually a very nice guy, but every now and them something sets him off into a flying rage. very different to Dissociative Identity Disorder.
I will look more into it :)
And that is why I don't give my characters named mental abnormalities*: I don't know what they're supposed to be, even some of the ones I probably have, nor do I know how to diagnose them, so I'm far more likely than not to get it wrong. Much easier to describe the specific ways in which So-and-So isn't "normal," and much easier than that to just extrapolate a basic personality from what I already know about the character (which frequently includes a scene or two, making it more likely for me to get something resembling an actual personality).
*Except for the really easy ones, like paranoia, delusions, phobias, fanaticism, sadism, megalomania, etc.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
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