I created a character over 30 years ago and I'm unsure if I should continue to play her. She's an avariel and, per the rules of the time, she has claustrophobia that, in her case, was severe. However instead of going catatonic when she lost a will save she would disassociate into a drow alter until she can get free. She loses her flight/gliding and gained blindfighting and disadvantage in diect sunlight, if that matters. The host doesn't know about the alter; she just thinks she blacks out until her party can get her free. The alter is aware of what's going on but not that the body is different.
I've only played her a couple of times and the group I play with didn't have an issue but I'm wondering if it's disrespectful to play her. She wasn't created as a joke or a gimmick but as what I thought was a realistic (considering the fantasy setting) character.
I'm legitimately asking for advice/information so please don't come at me just to be hateful.
How would it be disrespectful to play this character? Genuinely curious. Multiple personalities are a recognised mental health condition, I believe, and a lot of that is caused by stress.
As far as I'm concerned you wouldn't be offending anyone. For what that's worth.
Playing characters with mental conditions is always a thorny issue, particularly when it comes to ones that are as poorly understood as Dissociative Identity Disorder. But if you're not treating this like a joke, the other people in your group are okay with it, and you're not doing it as a public performance, you ought to be fine.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
"offensive" and "being offended" are two very different things, which highlight that nobody can truly define the first one. As such, what is offensive at one table may not be at another, and considering that you have no malicious intent here, you need to perhaps consider more whether it is "insensitive", not offensive. So ask the table beforehand and have a backup character in case anyone says they feel iffy about it. The character flipping mechanically is definitely homebrew so you will need to discuss it with the DM, rather than assuming it's ok! There's definitely a slight power advantage to a character who drops flying and gains superior darkvision when they are in an enclosed space (EG a dark cave).
I created a character over 30 years ago and I'm unsure if I should continue to play her. She's an avariel and, per the rules of the time, she has claustrophobia that, in her case, was severe. However instead of going catatonic when she lost a will save she would disassociate into a drow alter until she can get free. She loses her flight/gliding and gained blindfighting and disadvantage in diect sunlight, if that matters. The host doesn't know about the alter; she just thinks she blacks out until her party can get her free. The alter is aware of what's going on but not that the body is different.
I've only played her a couple of times and the group I play with didn't have an issue but I'm wondering if it's disrespectful to play her. She wasn't created as a joke or a gimmick but as what I thought was a realistic (considering the fantasy setting) character.
I'm legitimately asking for advice/information so please don't come at me just to be hateful.
How would it be disrespectful to play this character? Genuinely curious. Multiple personalities are a recognised mental health condition, I believe, and a lot of that is caused by stress.
As far as I'm concerned you wouldn't be offending anyone. For what that's worth.
Playing characters with mental conditions is always a thorny issue, particularly when it comes to ones that are as poorly understood as Dissociative Identity Disorder. But if you're not treating this like a joke, the other people in your group are okay with it, and you're not doing it as a public performance, you ought to be fine.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I agree. As long as no-one in the party has a problem with it, it is unlikely to be perceived as offensive.
"offensive" and "being offended" are two very different things, which highlight that nobody can truly define the first one. As such, what is offensive at one table may not be at another, and considering that you have no malicious intent here, you need to perhaps consider more whether it is "insensitive", not offensive. So ask the table beforehand and have a backup character in case anyone says they feel iffy about it. The character flipping mechanically is definitely homebrew so you will need to discuss it with the DM, rather than assuming it's ok! There's definitely a slight power advantage to a character who drops flying and gains superior darkvision when they are in an enclosed space (EG a dark cave).
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I agree that it cannot be considered offensive