So, having just read James Haeck's marvelous Roleplaying 101 article, I've been thinking about some of my characters, and how to deepen them and make them more dynamic. In particular, I've been about Vargach, my Lizardfolk Barbarian.
Ruminating on Vargach is nothing new for me, I've been thinking on how events of his backstory and the campaign would have affected him for a while now, but the article I guess gave me a spark of motivation to get outside input. Particularly, I've been curious as to whether any psychological diagnoses could be put to him, and, should they be able to, how I could better play those out at the table. Obviously, I'm not a psychology expert, or even a psychology amateur, and I want to avoid hurtful stereotypes, so I have come to the internet with such things for input. I'd appreciate any advice. ;)
A very large chunk of Vargach's motivation is based in his reasoning for adventure from his backstory. Basically, our Lizardfolk wildman woke up one day and his entire tribe had disappeared. This caused Vargach to leave his swamp and begin wandering the world with one goal, to find his tribe. On the outside, Vargach is a kind of cheery and hopeful sort. He's always eager to do his part in combat and supplying spare weapons for the party, though his excitement when it comes to feeding does disturb his comrades. (I do play into the archetypal cannibalistic lizard in that sense.)
When you look past the perceived optimism and enthusiasm, though, he does have a rather cold sense of logic and dedication to survival to him, and his determination to find his lost tribe is paramount. Whenever the other characters talk about their families or such, Vargach refers to them as "their tribe," and, when he is not confused by the complexity of humanoid family dynamics, stresses the importance of loyalty to them. Whenever our paladin is disturbed by Vargach's explanation as to what happens to dead members of his Lizardfolk tribe (aka eaten and skinned for hide and bones), Vargach typically makes some comment about those who died surviving on through those who use their bodies to feed themselves another day or armor them against dangers or some such, and he is very confused by the humanoid practices of burial and cremation.
I hope that's enough of an overview of my cannibalistic lizard for you, and I look forward to hearing your advice.
My son and I play a pair of Lizardfolk kin, born from the same egg clutch (egg brothers is how we define the relationship with other "softskins.") We spend a good chunk of the time discussing how we react to the other members of the party, the environs, and other npcs quite a bit so we flesh out the very non-human point of view. So some suggestions/ideas:
You sound enthusiastic because you might believe that's what other "tribes" expect to hear. You aren't a optimist really, but a realist. But you have a firm belief in your own ability to find your tribe. That confidence is what people pick up on. Fitting in is a survival technique.
Cold logic applies to everything. So an example is, you would disagree with "violence doesn't solve anything" From your perspective it does - if you kill all the threats, you aren't threatened. If two "tribes" are fighting in a war, you would want it to finish out and would be puzzled on peace negotiations just because of exhaustion. Just finish the fight and be done with it. A peace negotiation that actually solved problems would be different because...
Efficiency. You might look 'lazy' but that is because you will spend the least amount of time to get the desired outcome. Fighting in a war on the front lines is a waste of time; just poison their wells and don't fight. Your confusion on rituals of the dead fall in here, as recycling the corpses is more efficient. Posturing socially is a waste of time...especially around softskins who can't survive a day in the swamp. Remarking on how the softskins waste time on things is a privilege because..
"The Lizardfolk's burden" You have to help these softskins survive. You are a barbarian, and you have more health than anyone around you most likely. The others are fragile, need metal clothing, and require weapons to be effective at all. Your adopted tribe needs serious help and only you can do it, because without you they are the next corpse to be eaten.
Religion is a mystery. Why do you need a god? Semuanya created the Folk, and gave us everything we need, and told us to survive. You need no portents or messages from your perfect god. The softskins need gods to make up for their flaws, and which if they were truly created by softskins gods, why would they make them so 'weak'? You don't worship; you just acknowledge you are doing what your god told you to do in a past, and that's enough.
You have emotions, but they are muted. You don't rage because you are angry; you rage because its a burst of adrenal energy in an attempt to efficiently kill something. You miss your tribe, but you aren't going to weep about it and say 'poor me' Love is probably an alien concept though, as for mammals, love leads to children in most cases. Children are likely raised collectively, so you couldn't pick out your own child from a clutch of eggs. But you likely feel attachment or comradery to the tribe in general.
Humor is hard. Why is slapstick comedy funny? You have no clue. Ridiculous scenarios with improbably results is just poor thinking.
Nuance is hard. Get. To. The. Point. Subtlety is a waste of time. Just say what you mean, and stop dancing around the topic.
I don't want to tell you how to run your interpretation of your Lizardfolk, but after playing one for year...ideas get stuck in your head. So take what you want and run with it.
So, having just read James Haeck's marvelous Roleplaying 101 article, I've been thinking about some of my characters, and how to deepen them and make them more dynamic. In particular, I've been about Vargach, my Lizardfolk Barbarian.
Ruminating on Vargach is nothing new for me, I've been thinking on how events of his backstory and the campaign would have affected him for a while now, but the article I guess gave me a spark of motivation to get outside input. Particularly, I've been curious as to whether any psychological diagnoses could be put to him, and, should they be able to, how I could better play those out at the table. Obviously, I'm not a psychology expert, or even a psychology amateur, and I want to avoid hurtful stereotypes, so I have come to the internet with such things for input. I'd appreciate any advice. ;)
A very large chunk of Vargach's motivation is based in his reasoning for adventure from his backstory. Basically, our Lizardfolk wildman woke up one day and his entire tribe had disappeared. This caused Vargach to leave his swamp and begin wandering the world with one goal, to find his tribe. On the outside, Vargach is a kind of cheery and hopeful sort. He's always eager to do his part in combat and supplying spare weapons for the party, though his excitement when it comes to feeding does disturb his comrades. (I do play into the archetypal cannibalistic lizard in that sense.)
When you look past the perceived optimism and enthusiasm, though, he does have a rather cold sense of logic and dedication to survival to him, and his determination to find his lost tribe is paramount. Whenever the other characters talk about their families or such, Vargach refers to them as "their tribe," and, when he is not confused by the complexity of humanoid family dynamics, stresses the importance of loyalty to them. Whenever our paladin is disturbed by Vargach's explanation as to what happens to dead members of his Lizardfolk tribe (aka eaten and skinned for hide and bones), Vargach typically makes some comment about those who died surviving on through those who use their bodies to feed themselves another day or armor them against dangers or some such, and he is very confused by the humanoid practices of burial and cremation.
I hope that's enough of an overview of my cannibalistic lizard for you, and I look forward to hearing your advice.
Campaigns
Oethea's Chosen- Jiron Booyahn, Hobgoblin Artificer(Gunsmith).
Shackles of Silver- Dungeon Master
Ravnica, City of Guilds - Rukorm, Minotaur Fighter(Cavalier) - Izzet League
My son and I play a pair of Lizardfolk kin, born from the same egg clutch (egg brothers is how we define the relationship with other "softskins.") We spend a good chunk of the time discussing how we react to the other members of the party, the environs, and other npcs quite a bit so we flesh out the very non-human point of view. So some suggestions/ideas:
I don't want to tell you how to run your interpretation of your Lizardfolk, but after playing one for year...ideas get stuck in your head. So take what you want and run with it.
GLHF