I've been having some issues keeping my characters separate in my RP recently. I've been playing D&D for about two and a half years now, and for the first two years, we played a 1 to 20 campaign. I was lucky enough to keep the same character over all 20 levels, though he did bite it during the campaign, but not until we were at higher levels and able to bring him back. I've played a lot of one shots over the past couple years, and I've never had an issue keeping my first character, Gaston (yes, he was as EXTRA as Gaston from BatB), out of my roleplay when I played different characters. We play a fairly roleplay-centric style of D&D, and his character evolved a LOT over the campaign.
My current problem is, my new character is nothing like him, and I'm having trouble keeping Gaston out. I went from playing what was in essence a 200 year old *****y old man (god, he was so petty) to an early 20s himbo with a heart of gold, and they have almost NOTHING in common. In the first few sesssions, I'd make sarcastic and sassy quips like my old character and then follow it up with, "Wait no, sorry! That was Gaston!" It was humorous at first, but it hasn't stopped and I'm worried I'm starting to irritate the rest of the group with my inability to keep up the same character. Last session, one of those "quips" got us into some trouble with a figure of authority in game and my deception mod is now a -2, not a +17, so it's not as easy to get away with random shit like that. DM was kind enough to cover for me in the way they reacted because I've talked to him about the issues I've had, but I gotta figure out how to stop it.
Does anyone have any advice about stepping into a new character and keeping their old-ass grandpa-from-hell previous character away? Anythings appreciated!
Whenever I switch to a different character other than my main, I take extra time before starting the campaign to read through the entire character sheet (spells, background, actions, features & traits, etc.). Do this over and over until you can completely take on the mindset of the new character. I even run through a few hypothetical situations in my head and think about what my new character would say/do.
I would even recommend going over your characters backstory in your head whenever you're entering an RP heavy situation (taverns, new cities, etc.). Try to stay involved in most situations with your character and speak out whenever you find an APPROPRIATE opportunity. If you go a long time without speaking you might slip back into your old character by accident. Although, take caution not to speak so much it annoys people or gets you into trouble. Walk the fine line.
Another helpful tip: actively think with the personality of your new character. Ex.: If another PC or NPC is speaking, think about what they say and react in your mind with how your new character would react within their own mind. Constantly think about and consider how your character would react to every situation, even if you don't have an opportunity to react out loud. This will help you to be ready with the personality of your new character when the time arrives.
Do you have a picture of the new character? If so, place it in front of you so that you can't avoid looking at it. Just the reminder of the picture may help.
Another thing, and this may be kind of silly but, have you thought about maybe getting yourself a new set of dice? If the old guy rolled green dice with black numbers for 20 levels, have the new guy roll white dice with red numbers. The fact that you are using new dice may help you remember the difference.
I guess my idea here is to give yourself some visual cues that you are playing a new guy so you can remember.
But really the only thing that will fix this is that you have slow down your RP a little bit. Instead of knee-jerk reacting, you're going to have to think for an extra 20 seconds about what this character would say instead of the old one.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
RPG if you feel you and your character are at odds make a list of random responces and roll. When your brain says that's not right you should be good to go with your character.
Like one of my best friends always says: “You know your character when you can tell me what they have in their pockets without looking at their character sheet.” Do you know this character as well as you know Gaston?
This is why I like voices. Voices carry a lot of character in them. If you can affect a posture for your character. If you do this for each character it will be very difficult to fall back into your old character. The physicality of the character will keep you in check.
Something that I end up doing sometimes in my daily life is improvise in my head "What would this character do in this situation?" It may help you to do something similar and just think of what your new character would do in any random given situation, and just do that outside of the game every now and then.
Whenever I switch to a different character other than my main, I take extra time before starting the campaign to read through the entire character sheet (spells, background, actions, features & traits, etc.). Do this over and over until you can completely take on the mindset of the new character. I even run through a few hypothetical situations in my head and think about what my new character would say/do.
I would even recommend going over your characters backstory in your head whenever you're entering an RP heavy situation (taverns, new cities, etc.). Try to stay involved in most situations with your character and speak out whenever you find an APPROPRIATE opportunity. If you go a long time without speaking you might slip back into your old character by accident. Although, take caution not to speak so much it annoys people or gets you into trouble. Walk the fine line.
Another helpful tip: actively think with the personality of your new character. Ex.: If another PC or NPC is speaking, think about what they say and react in your mind with how your new character would react within their own mind. Constantly think about and consider how your character would react to every situation, even if you don't have an opportunity to react out loud. This will help you to be ready with the personality of your new character when the time arrives.
I did a lot of theory crafting when I was building this character and I'm fairly familiar with his stuff, but I think spending some time going back over everything to remember why he has what he has will do me some good. The hypothetical situations are also some great practice and I've found those to be helping me sort him out!
Do you have a picture of the new character? If so, place it in front of you so that you can't avoid looking at it. Just the reminder of the picture may help.
Another thing, and this may be kind of silly but, have you thought about maybe getting yourself a new set of dice? If the old guy rolled green dice with black numbers for 20 levels, have the new guy roll white dice with red numbers. The fact that you are using new dice may help you remember the difference.
I guess my idea here is to give yourself some visual cues that you are playing a new guy so you can remember.
But really the only thing that will fix this is that you have slow down your RP a little bit. Instead of knee-jerk reacting, you're going to have to think for an extra 20 seconds about what this character would say instead of the old one.
I appreciate the emphasis on slow down, my last character was nothing but instinct to RP and I need to separate that. I guess it's just harder when I myself am more like a *****y grandpa than a himbo.
RPG if you feel you and your character are at odds make a list of random responces and roll. When your brain says that's not right you should be good to go with your character.
Are you talking in like responses to questions and situations or something different?
Like one of my best friends always says: “You know your character when you can tell me what they have in their pockets without looking at their character sheet.” Do you know this character as well as you know Gaston?
God, I knew everything about Gaston down the last time he had an actual bath instead of just using magic. There was nothing I didn't know about him. It's gonna take a while before I can get there with my new guy. But it's a good goal, thank you for the idea.
This is why I like voices. Voices carry a lot of character in them. If you can affect a posture for your character. If you do this for each character it will be very difficult to fall back into your old character. The physicality of the character will keep you in check.
Yeah, his current voice needs some work. I don't think an accent is the way to go, but maybe more in-depth vocal inflections...
Something that I end up doing sometimes in my daily life is improvise in my head "What would this character do in this situation?" It may help you to do something similar and just think of what your new character would do in any random given situation, and just do that outside of the game every now and then.
Time to ask myself the age old question, "How would Roake handle paperwork?"
my last character was nothing but instinct to RP and I need to separate that.
Keep in mind there are multiple things going on in D&D. On one level, you are your character and should be trying to RP as such. But on another level, you're a player socializing with your friends and having fun. It sounds to me like your irreverent quips are coming out because you as a player like to comment on the game.
While constantly repressing this sounds appropriate for your game, it's likely that you really enjoy the chances for self-expression that D&D stories provide. So I'd try to find a way to explore new types of RP without totally muffling your inner prankster. Because the ultimate point of the game is for the players to have fun.
I don't know how your old campaign ended, but typically a level 20 hero leaves a mark on the world, or even on other worlds. Maybe the spirit of Gaston lives on in the new campaign. Maybe your character is unknowingly a descendant, or possessed, or Gaston has decided to "mentor" him (without really asking or caring about how his pupil feels about it). In other words, your quips could literally be Gaston and then you could roleplay your character's frustration or mortification with Gaston's influence. You could RP your own struggle to suppress Gaston by having your character go through the same thing. My only caution would be to limit the amount of time you spend acting this out - too much inner conflict can be tedious to others at the table. But giving them a chance to address your struggle through their characters could be fun for them too.
As a DM, I would leap at a chance to tie a character conflict like this into my story. I've played through two full campaigns with the same group, and in the second campaign we explored some of the consequences of the previous campaign and influence of our old characters showed up in the world in various ways. It was a lot of fun and allowed us to make some great callbacks to old gaming moments.
That actually can work really well with what we currently have. I'm playing a Wildfire Druid and we decided to make it that the Wildfire Spirit was a sentient creature that my character hosts, similar to the Kalashtar. That.... holy shit. Thank you. That can fit so well because he started hosting the spirit as soon as he got his subclass at level 2 and we're only 3 right now. Bless you. This can work super well. <3
I've been having some issues keeping my characters separate in my RP recently. I've been playing D&D for about two and a half years now, and for the first two years, we played a 1 to 20 campaign. I was lucky enough to keep the same character over all 20 levels, though he did bite it during the campaign, but not until we were at higher levels and able to bring him back. I've played a lot of one shots over the past couple years, and I've never had an issue keeping my first character, Gaston (yes, he was as EXTRA as Gaston from BatB), out of my roleplay when I played different characters. We play a fairly roleplay-centric style of D&D, and his character evolved a LOT over the campaign.
My current problem is, my new character is nothing like him, and I'm having trouble keeping Gaston out. I went from playing what was in essence a 200 year old *****y old man (god, he was so petty) to an early 20s himbo with a heart of gold, and they have almost NOTHING in common. In the first few sesssions, I'd make sarcastic and sassy quips like my old character and then follow it up with, "Wait no, sorry! That was Gaston!" It was humorous at first, but it hasn't stopped and I'm worried I'm starting to irritate the rest of the group with my inability to keep up the same character. Last session, one of those "quips" got us into some trouble with a figure of authority in game and my deception mod is now a -2, not a +17, so it's not as easy to get away with random shit like that. DM was kind enough to cover for me in the way they reacted because I've talked to him about the issues I've had, but I gotta figure out how to stop it.
Does anyone have any advice about stepping into a new character and keeping their old-ass grandpa-from-hell previous character away? Anythings appreciated!
So i have a friend who had a similar situation where he was playing a very ANGRY cleric, who enacted things similar to a way that an overzealous paladin would.
One thing he did that helped discern him from each of the characters is he would associate them with a theme song, and then listen specifically to that genre before sessions so he could get into the mindset of the characters. When he needed to be his cleric, he would play slipknot, when he was switching into his super up front oblivious flirt he would play hip hop. When he played his combat hardened character he would listen to some Dark Souls OST.
Auditory association does help people get into certain mental modes as well as memory modes. its part of why people often listen to specific music when studying or things of the like.
That actually can work really well with what we currently have. I'm playing a Wildfire Druid and we decided to make it that the Wildfire Spirit was a sentient creature that my character hosts, similar to the Kalashtar. That.... holy shit. Thank you. That can fit so well because he started hosting the spirit as soon as he got his subclass at level 2 and we're only 3 right now. Bless you. This can work super well. <3
Really, it's probably not your character that keeps showing up - it's you. This kind of bleed is not unusual when you've played the same character over an extended campaign (or campaigns). Very few people are able to completely divorce themselves from the character they're playing - sometimes you need to remind yourself of which responses are actually yours and are likely to come up with any character you play (and yes, if you play the same character long enough you might start to internalize some of their responses or your own). Regardless, once you recognize where the response is coming from you're better prepared to either restrain the impulse or roll with it.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Hey guys!
I've been having some issues keeping my characters separate in my RP recently. I've been playing D&D for about two and a half years now, and for the first two years, we played a 1 to 20 campaign. I was lucky enough to keep the same character over all 20 levels, though he did bite it during the campaign, but not until we were at higher levels and able to bring him back. I've played a lot of one shots over the past couple years, and I've never had an issue keeping my first character, Gaston (yes, he was as EXTRA as Gaston from BatB), out of my roleplay when I played different characters. We play a fairly roleplay-centric style of D&D, and his character evolved a LOT over the campaign.
My current problem is, my new character is nothing like him, and I'm having trouble keeping Gaston out. I went from playing what was in essence a 200 year old *****y old man (god, he was so petty) to an early 20s himbo with a heart of gold, and they have almost NOTHING in common. In the first few sesssions, I'd make sarcastic and sassy quips like my old character and then follow it up with, "Wait no, sorry! That was Gaston!" It was humorous at first, but it hasn't stopped and I'm worried I'm starting to irritate the rest of the group with my inability to keep up the same character. Last session, one of those "quips" got us into some trouble with a figure of authority in game and my deception mod is now a -2, not a +17, so it's not as easy to get away with random shit like that. DM was kind enough to cover for me in the way they reacted because I've talked to him about the issues I've had, but I gotta figure out how to stop it.
Does anyone have any advice about stepping into a new character and keeping their old-ass grandpa-from-hell previous character away? Anythings appreciated!
Give everyone at the table a spray bottle. Have them spray you when you fall into Gaston.
I’m just kidding, try to think about what the new character would do before speaking out.
Honestly, a spray bottle might not be a bad idea.
Whenever I switch to a different character other than my main, I take extra time before starting the campaign to read through the entire character sheet (spells, background, actions, features & traits, etc.). Do this over and over until you can completely take on the mindset of the new character. I even run through a few hypothetical situations in my head and think about what my new character would say/do.
I would even recommend going over your characters backstory in your head whenever you're entering an RP heavy situation (taverns, new cities, etc.). Try to stay involved in most situations with your character and speak out whenever you find an APPROPRIATE opportunity. If you go a long time without speaking you might slip back into your old character by accident. Although, take caution not to speak so much it annoys people or gets you into trouble. Walk the fine line.
Another helpful tip: actively think with the personality of your new character. Ex.: If another PC or NPC is speaking, think about what they say and react in your mind with how your new character would react within their own mind. Constantly think about and consider how your character would react to every situation, even if you don't have an opportunity to react out loud. This will help you to be ready with the personality of your new character when the time arrives.
Do you have a picture of the new character? If so, place it in front of you so that you can't avoid looking at it. Just the reminder of the picture may help.
Another thing, and this may be kind of silly but, have you thought about maybe getting yourself a new set of dice? If the old guy rolled green dice with black numbers for 20 levels, have the new guy roll white dice with red numbers. The fact that you are using new dice may help you remember the difference.
I guess my idea here is to give yourself some visual cues that you are playing a new guy so you can remember.
But really the only thing that will fix this is that you have slow down your RP a little bit. Instead of knee-jerk reacting, you're going to have to think for an extra 20 seconds about what this character would say instead of the old one.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
RPG if you feel you and your character are at odds make a list of random responces and roll. When your brain says that's not right you should be good to go with your character.
Like one of my best friends always says: “You know your character when you can tell me what they have in their pockets without looking at their character sheet.” Do you know this character as well as you know Gaston?
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
What hasss it got in itssss pocketsesss? My precious....
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
This is why I like voices. Voices carry a lot of character in them. If you can affect a posture for your character. If you do this for each character it will be very difficult to fall back into your old character. The physicality of the character will keep you in check.
Send me the address of whoever is mad, I got you ;)
Something that I end up doing sometimes in my daily life is improvise in my head "What would this character do in this situation?" It may help you to do something similar and just think of what your new character would do in any random given situation, and just do that outside of the game every now and then.
I did a lot of theory crafting when I was building this character and I'm fairly familiar with his stuff, but I think spending some time going back over everything to remember why he has what he has will do me some good. The hypothetical situations are also some great practice and I've found those to be helping me sort him out!
I appreciate the emphasis on slow down, my last character was nothing but instinct to RP and I need to separate that. I guess it's just harder when I myself am more like a *****y grandpa than a himbo.
Are you talking in like responses to questions and situations or something different?
God, I knew everything about Gaston down the last time he had an actual bath instead of just using magic. There was nothing I didn't know about him. It's gonna take a while before I can get there with my new guy. But it's a good goal, thank you for the idea.
Yeah, his current voice needs some work. I don't think an accent is the way to go, but maybe more in-depth vocal inflections...
Time to ask myself the age old question, "How would Roake handle paperwork?"
Keep in mind there are multiple things going on in D&D. On one level, you are your character and should be trying to RP as such. But on another level, you're a player socializing with your friends and having fun. It sounds to me like your irreverent quips are coming out because you as a player like to comment on the game.
While constantly repressing this sounds appropriate for your game, it's likely that you really enjoy the chances for self-expression that D&D stories provide. So I'd try to find a way to explore new types of RP without totally muffling your inner prankster. Because the ultimate point of the game is for the players to have fun.
I don't know how your old campaign ended, but typically a level 20 hero leaves a mark on the world, or even on other worlds. Maybe the spirit of Gaston lives on in the new campaign. Maybe your character is unknowingly a descendant, or possessed, or Gaston has decided to "mentor" him (without really asking or caring about how his pupil feels about it). In other words, your quips could literally be Gaston and then you could roleplay your character's frustration or mortification with Gaston's influence. You could RP your own struggle to suppress Gaston by having your character go through the same thing. My only caution would be to limit the amount of time you spend acting this out - too much inner conflict can be tedious to others at the table. But giving them a chance to address your struggle through their characters could be fun for them too.
As a DM, I would leap at a chance to tie a character conflict like this into my story. I've played through two full campaigns with the same group, and in the second campaign we explored some of the consequences of the previous campaign and influence of our old characters showed up in the world in various ways. It was a lot of fun and allowed us to make some great callbacks to old gaming moments.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
That actually can work really well with what we currently have. I'm playing a Wildfire Druid and we decided to make it that the Wildfire Spirit was a sentient creature that my character hosts, similar to the Kalashtar. That.... holy shit. Thank you. That can fit so well because he started hosting the spirit as soon as he got his subclass at level 2 and we're only 3 right now. Bless you. This can work super well. <3
So i have a friend who had a similar situation where he was playing a very ANGRY cleric, who enacted things similar to a way that an overzealous paladin would.
One thing he did that helped discern him from each of the characters is he would associate them with a theme song, and then listen specifically to that genre before sessions so he could get into the mindset of the characters. When he needed to be his cleric, he would play slipknot, when he was switching into his super up front oblivious flirt he would play hip hop. When he played his combat hardened character he would listen to some Dark Souls OST.
Auditory association does help people get into certain mental modes as well as memory modes. its part of why people often listen to specific music when studying or things of the like.
Nice! Have fun with it!
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
How is this going buddy?
Really, it's probably not your character that keeps showing up - it's you. This kind of bleed is not unusual when you've played the same character over an extended campaign (or campaigns). Very few people are able to completely divorce themselves from the character they're playing - sometimes you need to remind yourself of which responses are actually yours and are likely to come up with any character you play (and yes, if you play the same character long enough you might start to internalize some of their responses or your own). Regardless, once you recognize where the response is coming from you're better prepared to either restrain the impulse or roll with it.