Who Cares If Your Character is Cringey, Silly, or Basic? Play It Anyway!

For people who have never met me in person, I have a very particular look I tend to go for. From my combat boots, to my army surplus field jacket, to my beret and belt pouches, to the patches, pins, and innumerable numbers of skulls, I've often been mistaken for someone in cosplay at conventions. I have since been informed that this fashion choice is referred to as Warcore, and it is something I've embraced wholeheartedly. While it sometimes causes me minor issues (see my article I Was Never In The Military. Please Stop Thanking Me For My Service), it's both practical and aesthetically pleasing to me.

I also got sexy new masks for con season!

When I was younger I occasionally had people ask me why I chose to wear BDUs, or why I bloused my pants into my boots, or why I had a purse on my belt. Those questions became fewer and fewer as I got older, and the opinions of random strangers mattered to me less and less. Now during the time of Covid I've become the strange, wasteland wanderer that I always read about in comic books and saw in post-apocalyptic films.

What does that have to do with RPGs, though?

In short, a lot of us get self-conscious about the characters we bring to a table. We worry about whether a concept is too derivative, or too edgy, or too dark, or too silly, or too whatever. So we play something acceptable, or which has an element or two of what we want, but is really a watered-down imitation of what we would like to do. Like how a lot of us will wear something fun underneath our business casual when we go to the office, but we lack the confidence to show up with a cloak over our shoulders.

This week I wanted to deliver a clear message. RPGs are the playground of your imagination... go wild on that shit!

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Seriously... Why Are You Trying To Be Normal?

I want to start this with a caveat; I am not suggesting that people reading this go and play a monkey wrench (a character who deliberately does not fit into the game everyone else is trying to play). Your character has to follow all the agreed-upon rules of the game, and they should still fit the agreed-upon tone and theme of the campaign you're playing. Don't bring a thunderously grim concept to a light-hearted game, and don't try to shoehorn in a happy-go-lucky concept into a game that's meant to be dark and serious. Don't try to bring in themes and topics that will make the table uncomfortable, or that people don't want to be part of. Don't bring characters who weigh down the party while making everyone else work harder.

With that out of the way... you should go absolutely nuts when it comes to what you want to bring to the table!

Seriously... sky's the limit!

RPGs are meant to tell stories, but more importantly they're meant to tell our stories. If you want to play an old-fashioned knight in shining armor as a paladin who is Disney hero levels of uncomplicated, that doesn't make you a bad gamer. If you want to play a dull-witted bruiser barbarian complete with Hulk-speak (or who is actually the Hulk if you follow my conversion guide), you shouldn't feel that you're being lazy if you're having fun. If you want a ranger with murdered parents and a vengeance-flavored chip on their shoulder, have a blast with it! A good-hearted member of a traditionally monstrous species who's out looking to prove themselves? Go for it!

Too often we look at the characters we want to play (thematically, at least), and we tone them down or change them because we think this or that concept is too immature. Or it's been done too many times. Or it's too similar to something that already exists in a different game, or a piece of pop culture, or whatever. Whether it's skull-painted vigilante with a full-auto crossbow, or a literal magical princess with animal friends and an enchanted voice, we tell ourselves that we shouldn't play these characters.

As someone who has had a lifelong love of grimdark characters, bleak settings, and harsh storylines, which are all things that get me the side-eye from people who consider those the ear-marks of an underdeveloped gamer, I'm here to tell you to free yourself from this judgment. Don't ask whether something is too immature, or has been played too many times, or is too silly or edgy for you to be allowed to have fun with. Instead, talk with your GM (and your fellow players if necessary), strap on that brace of daggers, and play that "ridiculous" character that would make you happiest to put on the tabletop!

And if you need character conversions for folks from John Wick, to Iron Man, to Ghost Rider and more, don't forget to check out my Character Conversions page before you go!

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That's all for this week's Fluff post!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my alley cat thriller Marked Territory, it's sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my recent short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

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