I have a pretty interesting idea for a character but I need advice on how to best make it work.
My idea is for a character based on Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde (the names will obviously be different in game but for simplicity sake I’ll refer to the character as Jekyll for the good scientific side and Hyde for the evil wild side). I have 2 potential ways this idea could go, the traditional and the unorthodox (which I’m even more mechanically confused over, lucky me! 🤣).
A: Traditional
This is the classic way Jekyll/Hyde is portrayed. I’m envisioning an artificer/barbarian dip for a couple levels (perhaps Githyanki race for the strength and intelligence proficiency but I can figure that one out another day) with the Barbarian Rages being his Hyde form. That part all makes sense to me. But there’s a few mechanics I’d like to include if possible.
1. I’d like for the Hyde form to be present after the battle is over. What would be a good way to determine how long Hyde is in control? My thinking here is having to roll a wisdom check with a DC of 15 to determine if Hyde stays in control or reverts back to Jekyll. If this is what’s done, how often should a check be rolled?
2. I want there to be a real risk of Hyde taking over for good. My thinking so far is if Jekyll rages too much, put a tally on a counter and when he crosses a certain number, he becomes Hyde fully. Thoughts on this?
3. Is there a fair and balanced way to have proficiencies change when he’s in different forms (like Jekyll: history, medicine, etc and Hyde: intimidation, deception, etc)
B: Unorthodox
In this approach, it takes the original idea and flips it on its head. Instead Hyde is the main form, but he’s a chaotic but well intentioned barbarian. In his Jekyll form though, he’s a brilliant but evil schemer.
Obviously this one presents a few different problems than the traditional idea. 1. So barbarian rage shifting him into a sociopathic genius obviously doesn’t work. What would be a good way for Jekyll to take over Hyde then? 2. what classes would work best with a setup like this? I’d like to at least keep the artificer class for Jekyll, but I’m more flexible with Hyde’s side since Barbarian rage isn’t as instrumental to his character.
Any advice that can be offered would be greatly appreciated!
Most people would probably advise caution when you make a character who's concept is semi-based on real world illnesses, such as dissociative Identity disorder. There is a way to do it right/respectfully, but it's a very fine line to tread.
Outside of the IRL implications, having a character who has two sets of anything (ability scores, class, subclass, proficiencies, etc) will be overpowered compared to the rest of the group. If you're committed to doing a character like this, it's best to keep it to roleplay only. And even then, I'd probably recommend against it.
I know that's probably not the advice you want to hear, but I'm willing to bet it's the advice many will give you on here.
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I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
Thanks for your advice. My intention is purely homage to a classic literary character, never to disrespect/belittle anyone with DiD. Jekyll/Hyde is one of my favorite classic characters and I was curious how Jekyll/Hyde could be incorporated into my favorite game.
Thank you for the advice regarding the 2 sets. I do want him to be a balanced character.
As VZ indicated, there's really no mechanical way in 5e to have a character with different sets of proficiencies, ability scores etc., so you're better off approaching it from a roleplay perspective and not a mechanical one.
That said, there are other class/subclass options to consider beyond barbarian to reskin as a Hyde-like transformation, mainly Undead warlock's Form of Dread (which gives you temp HP, so you're harder to kill and ways to make people frightened of you) and Rune Knight fighter's Giant's Might, which allow you to grow a size bigger and get advantage on STR saves and checks. The different forms of a Circle of Stars druid are also very flexible when it comes to reskinned transformations on characters (I played a Sailor Moon-style Magical Girl using that subclass) but probably don't quite fit what you're looking for, even with the inverted B version of the idea.
Any 'Hyde stays in control' checks can be done with a homebrew mechanic you work out with your DM, if you really want one. There are plenty of examples out there of things you could adapt, including some famous live-play ones like Adaine's "panic attacks" from D20's Fantasy High and FCG's triggered murderbot mode from the current Critical Role campaign.
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Honestly, if you truly want to homage the classic Jekyll and Hyde as opposed to the pop culture image, integrating significant transformations into the character is the wrong approach. In the original story Hyde wasn't some trollish looking thug; he looked a bit younger than Jekyll and didn't have any obvious physical indicators of his nature, simply leaving those he encountered with a strong but illusive sense that there was something "wrong" to him. And, in point of fact, Jekyll and Hyde weren't so much Good and Evil as restrained/repressed (depending how you view Jekyll refusing to act on his unspecified "base urges" as himself) and impulsive/uninhibited. Really, in terms of reflecting it under the current system, I'd say just take the Faceless background from Descent into Avernus; it's not so much about Hulking out at certain moments as it is taking off or donning the mask (notably, Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III from Critical Role/Legend of Vox Machina can provide a decent example of this, complete with an actual mask at times). If you want to tie it some mechanics, then really any "mode" you switch on for a few rounds or even just a single turn can work; to twist the inherent archetype a bit a Samurai using this model could have their uses of Fighting Spirit reflect drawing more on the Hyde side of things, striking with such viciousness and/or power that the blows are harder to shrug off and becoming slightly inured to counterattacks.
Which is not to say the Hulk approach is without merit, just discussing another possible iteration of the archetype, and one that's less dependent on integrating a transformative aspect that tends to steeply narrow your class options.
I did this recently with a NPC I played. Just make two character sheets and swap them as you go. Unorthodox for sure but it was fun. A young farm hand finds a enchanted sword that has the possessor soul of a dead barbarian king. The kid could barely lift the sword but when the barbarian spirit takes over...all hell breaks loose. I had the character roll constitution checks to see if he could hold back the spirit. The barbarian was the balanced "Normal" character build. The farm hand was actually at a big disadvantage with some negative modifiers on his physical stats.
I have a pretty interesting idea for a character but I need advice on how to best make it work.
My idea is for a character based on Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde (the names will obviously be different in game but for simplicity sake I’ll refer to the character as Jekyll for the good scientific side and Hyde for the evil wild side). I have 2 potential ways this idea could go, the traditional and the unorthodox (which I’m even more mechanically confused over, lucky me! 🤣).
A: Traditional
This is the classic way Jekyll/Hyde is portrayed. I’m envisioning an artificer/barbarian dip for a couple levels (perhaps Githyanki race for the strength and intelligence proficiency but I can figure that one out another day) with the Barbarian Rages being his Hyde form. That part all makes sense to me. But there’s a few mechanics I’d like to include if possible.
1. I’d like for the Hyde form to be present after the battle is over. What would be a good way to determine how long Hyde is in control? My thinking here is having to roll a wisdom check with a DC of 15 to determine if Hyde stays in control or reverts back to Jekyll. If this is what’s done, how often should a check be rolled?
2. I want there to be a real risk of Hyde taking over for good. My thinking so far is if Jekyll rages too much, put a tally on a counter and when he crosses a certain number, he becomes Hyde fully. Thoughts on this?
3. Is there a fair and balanced way to have proficiencies change when he’s in different forms (like Jekyll: history, medicine, etc and Hyde: intimidation, deception, etc)
B: Unorthodox
In this approach, it takes the original idea and flips it on its head. Instead Hyde is the main form, but he’s a chaotic but well intentioned barbarian. In his Jekyll form though, he’s a brilliant but evil schemer.
Obviously this one presents a few different problems than the traditional idea. 1. So barbarian rage shifting him into a sociopathic genius obviously doesn’t work. What would be a good way for Jekyll to take over Hyde then? 2. what classes would work best with a setup like this? I’d like to at least keep the artificer class for Jekyll, but I’m more flexible with Hyde’s side since Barbarian rage isn’t as instrumental to his character.
Any advice that can be offered would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!
or C:
As a DM I've had one player at my table do this. The way we did it is make two separate Character sheets.
The Dr Jeckle was a Caster Class and had a with their stat focus on Wisdom (Druid) when they flipped ironically to the main personality The (Barbarian) or Ms Hyde if you will, Her stat focus was Strength and Dex. (Note the Barbarian ate something that created the secondary personality) The second sheet used the same rolls as the primary only weighted to the new class. The change between personalities was both random and equal, and the two sides had no memory of the other personality. BTW the character was a Harengon Barbarian. Think a Female Buggs Bunny with a massive axe... and who randomly ate something she shouldn't have. Insert a massive Role play arch of her finding a new balance in her life.
I'm running Curse of Strahd at the moment and one of my players is doing the Jekyll/Hyde thing partly because it fits the gothic horror vibe but also because she couldn't make up her mind what class she wanted to play. Like Aaron and Gothic suggest we've done it as two separate character sheets with separate names and different classes. She switches any time one is reduced to 0 HP, the other character takes over at half their normal HP (little OP as having basically 1.5x your normal HP but it's worked so far and it only works once before she's on death saves) or any time she rolls a Nat1 we do a skill check with a DC15 and switch on a fail. So far it's worked really well and has created some nice "oh sh*t" moments as the players realise that some skill or ability they're relying on has suddenly vanished because she's switched from the Bard to the Warlock or vice versa
In Ravenloft 5e there was a "dark gift" as "second skin".
Any suggestion? Play as one player controling alternating two PCs, with separate leveling up, but sharing the same hit-points pool. If the doctor loses all the hit-points, he turned automatically to the "beast", until he recovers at least one hit-point.
I still recommend against using two character sheets and two sets of Class / Ability Scores / Proficiencies / etc, because it will be straight up better than the other players. It might not feel like it, but having the options of two full classes when everybody else has one (even if you don't control when you change) is inherently OP.
I'm not saying it will never work, as clearly in this thread there's people saying that it's worked for their group. I just advise caution, that it probably won't work for every group.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
While its a pop culture interpretation of the character, the mechanics of the one in League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen might be the easiest to implement and bypasses any issues of mental illness, etc.. Dr Jekyl drinks a potion which transforms him into Mr Hyde. But Mr Hyde fights the return to the weak Dr Jekyl. Lots of roleplay potential with Dr Jekyl's reluctance to take the potion and release Mr Hyde's evil into the world vs Mr Hyde's hatred of Dr Jekyl's weakness.
The only way i know of, is 2 character sheets. But that was for a different concept ultimately, though the player did say they came up with it based on us both reading Jekyll and Hyde. Her concept was 2 people from the same adventuring party that were cursed to fuse into the same existence, while being distinct from each other. A Die role would determine which it would be when the switch was triggered. It was played intentionally silly, because The Dwarven Priestess suddenly Turning into a Human male Rouge while in a chapel of Berronar Truesilver while in the middle of a sermon, knocking him cold as his head hit the chapel ceiling was pretty funny, and the entire reason she made that character choice.
For a true Jekyll and Hyde thing, things become a lot more sticky, because it is the same body and would share the same damage across both. Not to mention the discomfort some people have with mental illness coded RP characters.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player. The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call To rise up in triumph should we all unite The spark for change is yours to ignite." Kalandra - The State of the World
RP it. Hyde was supposed to be smaller, slighter, ugly and menacing opposed to the tall, charming doctor. There wasn't anything mechanically different about Hyde, just his attitude and behavior. Choose a human Wizard, take Tough, get Tavern Brawler and you can absolutely go on rampages against townsfolk while remaining the good 'Doctor" when Jekyll is in charge.
Although this might be a little less true to the typical depiction of the character, a paladin who switches between one of the “good” subclasses like redemption or devotion into Oathbreaker could be a way to minimize the need for a ton of character changes, and could represent better the internal struggle of good vs evil instead of the outward theme of man of science vs monster. Pairing and correlating it with the Second Skin dark gift could also be a good way to pull it off and balance it a bit more. Also, especially if it’s redemption, the material change from a semi-support/tank to a full aggression dps could be a way to draw the rest of the party into the story, where they feel the tangible loss of a support character they might previously have relied on. Also, also, the redemption oath’s philosophy about evil being something you can drive from a person is very much aligned with Jekyll’s philosophy. Thoughts?
If you want to go for flavor, I'd go for an alchemist artificer. For race it could be either shifter or changeling. You can build him a bit of strength on the melee side to be efficient with weapons (for when the beast takes over) and that can be accompanied with the shapechange.
If you go changeling, I'd use the shapechange as usual, but when the beast comes out to play, have a specific creature in mind, so everyone recognizes the change. This way you only use one character sheet, but from an RP point the character changes.
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Hello,
I have a pretty interesting idea for a character but I need advice on how to best make it work.
My idea is for a character based on Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde (the names will obviously be different in game but for simplicity sake I’ll refer to the character as Jekyll for the good scientific side and Hyde for the evil wild side). I have 2 potential ways this idea could go, the traditional and the unorthodox (which I’m even more mechanically confused over, lucky me! 🤣).
A: Traditional
This is the classic way Jekyll/Hyde is portrayed. I’m envisioning an artificer/barbarian dip for a couple levels (perhaps Githyanki race for the strength and intelligence proficiency but I can figure that one out another day) with the Barbarian Rages being his Hyde form. That part all makes sense to me. But there’s a few mechanics I’d like to include if possible.
1. I’d like for the Hyde form to be present after the battle is over. What would be a good way to determine how long Hyde is in control? My thinking here is having to roll a wisdom check with a DC of 15 to determine if Hyde stays in control or reverts back to Jekyll. If this is what’s done, how often should a check be rolled?
2. I want there to be a real risk of Hyde taking over for good. My thinking so far is if Jekyll rages too much, put a tally on a counter and when he crosses a certain number, he becomes Hyde fully. Thoughts on this?
3. Is there a fair and balanced way to have proficiencies change when he’s in different forms (like Jekyll: history, medicine, etc and Hyde: intimidation, deception, etc)
B: Unorthodox
In this approach, it takes the original idea and flips it on its head. Instead Hyde is the main form, but he’s a chaotic but well intentioned barbarian. In his Jekyll form though, he’s a brilliant but evil schemer.
Obviously this one presents a few different problems than the traditional idea.
1. So barbarian rage shifting him into a sociopathic genius obviously doesn’t work. What would be a good way for Jekyll to take over Hyde then?
2. what classes would work best with a setup like this? I’d like to at least keep the artificer class for Jekyll, but I’m more flexible with Hyde’s side since Barbarian rage isn’t as instrumental to his character.
Any advice that can be offered would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!
Most people would probably advise caution when you make a character who's concept is semi-based on real world illnesses, such as dissociative Identity disorder. There is a way to do it right/respectfully, but it's a very fine line to tread.
Outside of the IRL implications, having a character who has two sets of anything (ability scores, class, subclass, proficiencies, etc) will be overpowered compared to the rest of the group. If you're committed to doing a character like this, it's best to keep it to roleplay only. And even then, I'd probably recommend against it.
I know that's probably not the advice you want to hear, but I'm willing to bet it's the advice many will give you on here.
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
Hi Van,
Thanks for your advice. My intention is purely homage to a classic literary character, never to disrespect/belittle anyone with DiD. Jekyll/Hyde is one of my favorite classic characters and I was curious how Jekyll/Hyde could be incorporated into my favorite game.
Thank you for the advice regarding the 2 sets. I do want him to be a balanced character.
As VZ indicated, there's really no mechanical way in 5e to have a character with different sets of proficiencies, ability scores etc., so you're better off approaching it from a roleplay perspective and not a mechanical one.
That said, there are other class/subclass options to consider beyond barbarian to reskin as a Hyde-like transformation, mainly Undead warlock's Form of Dread (which gives you temp HP, so you're harder to kill and ways to make people frightened of you) and Rune Knight fighter's Giant's Might, which allow you to grow a size bigger and get advantage on STR saves and checks. The different forms of a Circle of Stars druid are also very flexible when it comes to reskinned transformations on characters (I played a Sailor Moon-style Magical Girl using that subclass) but probably don't quite fit what you're looking for, even with the inverted B version of the idea.
Any 'Hyde stays in control' checks can be done with a homebrew mechanic you work out with your DM, if you really want one. There are plenty of examples out there of things you could adapt, including some famous live-play ones like Adaine's "panic attacks" from D20's Fantasy High and FCG's triggered murderbot mode from the current Critical Role campaign.
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Honestly, if you truly want to homage the classic Jekyll and Hyde as opposed to the pop culture image, integrating significant transformations into the character is the wrong approach. In the original story Hyde wasn't some trollish looking thug; he looked a bit younger than Jekyll and didn't have any obvious physical indicators of his nature, simply leaving those he encountered with a strong but illusive sense that there was something "wrong" to him. And, in point of fact, Jekyll and Hyde weren't so much Good and Evil as restrained/repressed (depending how you view Jekyll refusing to act on his unspecified "base urges" as himself) and impulsive/uninhibited. Really, in terms of reflecting it under the current system, I'd say just take the Faceless background from Descent into Avernus; it's not so much about Hulking out at certain moments as it is taking off or donning the mask (notably, Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III from Critical Role/Legend of Vox Machina can provide a decent example of this, complete with an actual mask at times). If you want to tie it some mechanics, then really any "mode" you switch on for a few rounds or even just a single turn can work; to twist the inherent archetype a bit a Samurai using this model could have their uses of Fighting Spirit reflect drawing more on the Hyde side of things, striking with such viciousness and/or power that the blows are harder to shrug off and becoming slightly inured to counterattacks.
Which is not to say the Hulk approach is without merit, just discussing another possible iteration of the archetype, and one that's less dependent on integrating a transformative aspect that tends to steeply narrow your class options.
I had this idea a while ago based around Path of Beast Barbarian: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/story-lore/108587-rob76s-unused-character-idea-2-dr-jack-hell
I did this recently with a NPC I played. Just make two character sheets and swap them as you go. Unorthodox for sure but it was fun. A young farm hand finds a enchanted sword that has the possessor soul of a dead barbarian king. The kid could barely lift the sword but when the barbarian spirit takes over...all hell breaks loose. I had the character roll constitution checks to see if he could hold back the spirit. The barbarian was the balanced "Normal" character build. The farm hand was actually at a big disadvantage with some negative modifiers on his physical stats.
or C:
As a DM I've had one player at my table do this. The way we did it is make two separate Character sheets.
The Dr Jeckle was a Caster Class and had a with their stat focus on Wisdom (Druid) when they flipped ironically to the main personality The (Barbarian) or Ms Hyde if you will, Her stat focus was Strength and Dex. (Note the Barbarian ate something that created the secondary personality) The second sheet used the same rolls as the primary only weighted to the new class. The change between personalities was both random and equal, and the two sides had no memory of the other personality. BTW the character was a Harengon Barbarian. Think a Female Buggs Bunny with a massive axe... and who randomly ate something she shouldn't have. Insert a massive Role play arch of her finding a new balance in her life.
I'm running Curse of Strahd at the moment and one of my players is doing the Jekyll/Hyde thing partly because it fits the gothic horror vibe but also because she couldn't make up her mind what class she wanted to play. Like Aaron and Gothic suggest we've done it as two separate character sheets with separate names and different classes. She switches any time one is reduced to 0 HP, the other character takes over at half their normal HP (little OP as having basically 1.5x your normal HP but it's worked so far and it only works once before she's on death saves) or any time she rolls a Nat1 we do a skill check with a DC15 and switch on a fail. So far it's worked really well and has created some nice "oh sh*t" moments as the players realise that some skill or ability they're relying on has suddenly vanished because she's switched from the Bard to the Warlock or vice versa
In Ravenloft 5e there was a "dark gift" as "second skin".
Any suggestion? Play as one player controling alternating two PCs, with separate leveling up, but sharing the same hit-points pool. If the doctor loses all the hit-points, he turned automatically to the "beast", until he recovers at least one hit-point.
I still recommend against using two character sheets and two sets of Class / Ability Scores / Proficiencies / etc, because it will be straight up better than the other players. It might not feel like it, but having the options of two full classes when everybody else has one (even if you don't control when you change) is inherently OP.
I'm not saying it will never work, as clearly in this thread there's people saying that it's worked for their group. I just advise caution, that it probably won't work for every group.
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
i was thinking of more like artificer /rouge-like from DnDark
While its a pop culture interpretation of the character, the mechanics of the one in League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen might be the easiest to implement and bypasses any issues of mental illness, etc.. Dr Jekyl drinks a potion which transforms him into Mr Hyde. But Mr Hyde fights the return to the weak Dr Jekyl. Lots of roleplay potential with Dr Jekyl's reluctance to take the potion and release Mr Hyde's evil into the world vs Mr Hyde's hatred of Dr Jekyl's weakness.
The only way i know of, is 2 character sheets. But that was for a different concept ultimately, though the player did say they came up with it based on us both reading Jekyll and Hyde.
Her concept was 2 people from the same adventuring party that were cursed to fuse into the same existence, while being distinct from each other.
A Die role would determine which it would be when the switch was triggered.
It was played intentionally silly, because The Dwarven Priestess suddenly Turning into a Human male Rouge while in a chapel of Berronar Truesilver while in the middle of a sermon, knocking him cold as his head hit the chapel ceiling was pretty funny, and the entire reason she made that character choice.
For a true Jekyll and Hyde thing, things become a lot more sticky, because it is the same body and would share the same damage across both. Not to mention the discomfort some people have with mental illness coded RP characters.
He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player.
The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call
To rise up in triumph should we all unite
The spark for change is yours to ignite."
Kalandra - The State of the World
RP it. Hyde was supposed to be smaller, slighter, ugly and menacing opposed to the tall, charming doctor. There wasn't anything mechanically different about Hyde, just his attitude and behavior. Choose a human Wizard, take Tough, get Tavern Brawler and you can absolutely go on rampages against townsfolk while remaining the good 'Doctor" when Jekyll is in charge.
Although this might be a little less true to the typical depiction of the character, a paladin who switches between one of the “good” subclasses like redemption or devotion into Oathbreaker could be a way to minimize the need for a ton of character changes, and could represent better the internal struggle of good vs evil instead of the outward theme of man of science vs monster. Pairing and correlating it with the Second Skin dark gift could also be a good way to pull it off and balance it a bit more. Also, especially if it’s redemption, the material change from a semi-support/tank to a full aggression dps could be a way to draw the rest of the party into the story, where they feel the tangible loss of a support character they might previously have relied on. Also, also, the redemption oath’s philosophy about evil being something you can drive from a person is very much aligned with Jekyll’s philosophy. Thoughts?
If you want to go for flavor, I'd go for an alchemist artificer. For race it could be either shifter or changeling. You can build him a bit of strength on the melee side to be efficient with weapons (for when the beast takes over) and that can be accompanied with the shapechange.
If you go changeling, I'd use the shapechange as usual, but when the beast comes out to play, have a specific creature in mind, so everyone recognizes the change. This way you only use one character sheet, but from an RP point the character changes.