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Playing against Type: 101 Paradoxical Characters

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Thu, 2010-07-29 13:50
#1
Surreal Personae
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Playing against Type: 101 Paradoxical Characters

One of the things I like about Planescape is that with many of the fantasy character archetypes and philosophies, it's easy to twist them and turn them on their head yet have them still make sense. So one can make a real paradox of a character, yet have it make sense. For example,

1. The Altruistic Solipsist
This is a Signer, who naturally believes she imagines everything into existence, but also feels very responsible for the well being of others. Why should she if all the people she knows are fictional? Well, the fact that characters are fictional never stopped a lot of real people from identifying and/or caring for them. So logically, if a body imagines the multiverse into existence, she might also take responsibility for what happens to those in it. Empowered by making up for her harsh imagination, the Altruistic Solipsist takes to working to the someday when she'll be able to imagine a brighter world.

That might be one such an example of a paradoxically unlikely but logical character/belief twist, this one on the typically selfish Signer/”I believe the universe into existence” mentality. Let’s see how many more we can think of.

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Thu, 2010-07-29 14:56
#2
Yemeth
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Re: Playing against Type: 101 Paradoxical Characters

2. The Faithful Atheist(?)

A typical Athar factioneer who does not believe in the divinity of the powers.
What he DOES believe in though is the Great Uknown.
In fact he does not just believe in the Great Unknown like most Athar do.
He preaches about it to anyone who would hear.He builds shrines in it's name.His faith is so strong that he puts to shame even the archpriests of the so-called ''powers''.
In fact many Athar high-ups are starting to get peery about him and his strong faith and want to kick him out of the faction or worse...put him into the dead-book.

Thu, 2010-07-29 16:05
#3
Palomides
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Re: Playing against Type: 101 Paradoxical Characters

I've actually always treated the Xaositects this way. While it is fun to play random-speak I never saw much of a compelling motivation for someone (aside from a totally chaotic slaad) to join the faction.
.
So, I tried to place a method behind the madness. I had the Xaositects act the way they did in order to:
1) Confuse the overly Lawful - because that's just fun
2) To allow a deeper wisdom to bubble forth from their subconscious. This is somewhat in line with the theories of surrealism.
Literature is filled with examples of the muttering madman or iconoclastic jester who expose deeper truths than can be seen by those who are stuck in their mental ruts.

Thu, 2010-07-29 16:36
#4
Palomides
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Re: Playing against Type: 101 Paradoxical Characters

Just sticking with the standard factions for now; I’ve broken down the concept into three groups
--Obvious twists
*Bleak Cabal
They already do this as the faction that doesn’t see the point, cares for many others
*Harmonium – usually played as intolerant people pushing their agenda.
They can also be played as a caring person who tries to convert with intelligent debate promoting a message of brotherhood
*Sensates
Hand of Tantalus - cult that feels being deprived enhances sensation [you can find this somewhere out on the net]

--A Kernel of an Idea That Might Be Used
*Believers of the Source
Godsman who fears ascension as he is certain he will fail if tested? Or he fears ascension as he is certain he will become an evil god?
*Doomguard
A Sinker is trying to nuture and protect something because he secretly believes that it will become an engine of tremendous destruction?
*Fated
A Taker that is also part of a hive-mind? So he cannot separate his own betterment from the betterment of his collective unit; thus he comes across as an “compassionate Taker” (at least with regards to his own people)
*Fraternity of Order
A Guvner that goes “rogue” like a modron? Was he driven insane looking for patterns (ala “A Beautiful Mind”)? Or is he trying to tap into a new area of thought (like non-Euclidean geometry was a whole new field that hadn’t been explored)
*Free League
Indep who is trying to organize the faction but not to push any particular agenda. Sort of like a person trying to start up a labor union solely to resist outside united forces trying to manipulate them
*Revolutionary Leauge
Someone who is supporting another faction just so that the absurdity that that faction is trying to promote will collapse upon itself (think of the most absurd scenarios imagined by political pundits when they think the political party they DON’T support is too powerful)

--Ones that I Just Couldn’t Work Out
*Dustmen
Dustman who wants to feel? Or to bring things to life? [Perhaps he wants to bring inanimate things – rocks, chairs, etc. – to life so that they can die and increase the amount of death in the multiverse?]
*Mercykillers
Mercykiller who wants to let the guilt go free? Perhaps placing all of the guilty in one spot (within a sphere in Carceri or in a prison demiplane) where they are are all free to commit whatever attrocities against one another although they can’t leave?
*Transcendent Order
A Cipher that contemplates?

Any other ways to twist these? How about paradoxes that don't involve factions? (E.g. Fell is the non-dabus dabus)

Fri, 2010-07-30 00:47
#5
Surreal Personae
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Re: Playing against Type: 101 Paradoxical Characters

Palomides wrote:

--Ones that I Just Couldn’t Work Out
*Dustmen
Dustman who wants to feel? Or to bring things to life? [Perhaps he wants to bring inanimate things – rocks, chairs, etc. – to life so that they can die and increase the amount of death in the multiverse?]
*Mercykillers
Mercykiller who wants to let the guilt go free? Perhaps placing all of the guilty in one spot (within a sphere in Carceri or in a prison demiplane) where they are are all free to commit whatever attrocities against one another although they can’t leave?
*Transcendent Order
A Cipher that contemplates?

Any other ways to twist these? How about paradoxes that don't involve factions? (E.g. Fell is the non-dabus dabus)

Dustman- The Player's Guide to the Planes (2e PCCS) states that a Dustman must know where his position in "life" is and how it relates to truth, even as much as to "explore it to its fullest" before moving on to true Death. That could be read as something that a Sensate might agree with.

Now, if we taken into consideration that the more a person experiences a given sensation, event, or emotion, the more likely he'll be to become less influenced by it (through habituation) Following this paradoxical line of argument, if you experienced enough emotion and passions, you might eventually "burnt out" on them. Thus, by embracing an overload of passions and sensations in the short term, the would-be enlightened Dustmen would hopefully aid his reject of these frivolities in the long term.

Mercykiller: A Mercykiller in the literal sense. Punishment is used not out of a desire to "get back" at criminals, but rather out of a sense of true "compassion". That is, criminals by their very nature do themselves a disservice by inflicting worse and worse spiritual perdition upon themselves. So, the most merciful thing to do to a criminal is punish the lawbreakers now, and punish them hard, rather than letting them continue to damn themselves even further.

Transcendent Order- This character, during types that demand it, will respond instantly and without hesitation. The time for ruminating and dealing with feelings only comes after the crisis has been resolved. In this way, the Cipher is on her toes when she needs to be and can save the other stuff until a safer set of circumstances has been reached.

Mon, 2010-08-23 19:04
#6
Anetra
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Re: Playing against Type: 101 Paradoxical Characters

I did actually create a compassionate Taker a few years ago, though sadly she didn't see much play. She was an Aasimar born in Ankhwugaht, who ran away to Brightwater when she was 12 or 13, spent several years gambling and piling up debts until she was eventually brutally beaten when it was time to pay up and she couldn't.

She thusly came to dislike money lenders as well as those who would spend what they don't have. Her view of the Fated is that they are, all told, generous; it will only be harder for others if they become dependent on anyone but themselves, and so by denying them this dependence, you are doing the only truly good thing you can for them.

Character was chaotic good.

Wed, 2010-08-25 15:06
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Azure
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Re: Playing against Type: 101 Paradoxical Characters

In my PS campaign I fleshed out 2 gate-towns; Plague-Mort and Bedlam. In both I had a few paradoxical and semi-ironic NPCs. Some may not be so against type, I let the reader be the judge -

Plague-Mort;
- The Hounds are the Arch-Lector's authorities, such as they are, murderers and scum with badges. They are split into three factions; - The Takers have the best gear but restrict their membership. They have ties to the thieves guild (a loose confederation of smugglers that runs only a tiny fraction of total crime). - The Dead are evil dustmen who lend their strength to the Arch-Lector. They are the most distant, often pursuing their own goals related to the Abyss. - The most numerous are the Doomguard, who control the walls and gates. They try to keep the town dangerous and chaotic, judging by who they let in or out, yet remaining on the Outlands side of the gate.

- An Evil Monk/Cleric Cambian Cypher tuning in to the Cadance to further his own martial and personal power. He is one of the Arch-Lector's principal advisers, and was a primary PC's nemesis.

- The Hospice, the Bleak Cabal's safe-house just inside Bedlam Gate. The Cabal have their own agendas, perhaps, but everyone is allowed inside the Hospice's entry hall. Successive rooms require debating a succession of barmies who hold the keys.

- The Merchants' Association are three business owners who do not pay the Arch-Lector's taxes (or protection money), but are too individually powerful to be taken down; - Devi is a powerful celestial and (former?) proxy of the Hindu Power of Fire. She is a godsman, working with visitors and locals to serve the balance and keep the town from shifting into the Abyss. Being seen leaving her tavern is an invitation to be attacked by most locals. - Vile Crocodile is a minion of Set who runs a potion/poison shop, Vial. Due to his skills and his patron, the Arch-Lector dare not move openly against him. - The Iron Monger is a huge Iron Golem possessed by a mage's soul. For whatever reason he blames the Tanar'ri and has set up shop in Plague-Mort to outfit bands of adventurers. He is huge, angry, and made of iron, so tieflings and fiends stay a few blocks away from his forges.

- A Sensate artist using corpses, animated and non-, for works of art. He became a primary party ally, with his studio a base camp, because he was a worm who knucked under to the party Sensate.

Bedlam - *Spoiler Alert* This will be updated at a later date, provided a particular game proceeds, and that I receive positive feedback on my Plague-mort NPCs.

Thu, 2010-08-26 11:36
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Chaotic_Goth1431
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Re: Playing against Type: 101 Paradoxical Characters

In Asylum Seekers I am currently playing a delusional githzerai Signer who believes he is the personification of the last thought of a dead god-isle. He is very compassionate and often tries reassuring his fellow inmates in the Gatehouse that they are not mad, just 'different'. However, any kindness and nobility he displays is somewhat negated by the fact that he cannibalizes his enemies in order to 'absorb their evil and erase it from the multiverse'.

He is thoroughly convinced that when he dies, he will either be thrown into a cycle of re-incarnations until he has gathered enough knowledge to satisfy his creator or his soul will immediately revive the dead deity and become the god itself.

These thoughts depress him considerably if he dwells on them for too long: "I wish I had never known of my destiny. Would that I could return to my foolish ignorance, for I am broken and I have no peace, not even in meditating upon Zerthimon's teachings. My flesh is a lie, my past is a lie and I am ever doomed to perpetuate this lie, for none would dare call me sane otherwise."

__________________

So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss. If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose. If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself. - Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Fri, 2010-09-17 11:59
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Surreal Personae
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Re: Playing against Type: 101 Paradoxical Characters

Azure wrote:
In my PS campaign I fleshed out 2 gate-towns; Plague-Mort and Bedlam. In both I had a few paradoxical and semi-ironic NPCs. Some may not be so against type, I let the reader be the judge -

Plague-Mort;
- The Hounds are the Arch-Lector's authorities, such as they are, murderers and scum with badges. They are split into three factions; - The Takers have the best gear but restrict their membership. They have ties to the thieves guild (a loose confederation of smugglers that runs only a tiny fraction of total crime). - The Dead are evil dustmen who lend their strength to the Arch-Lector. They are the most distant, often pursuing their own goals related to the Abyss. - The most numerous are the Doomguard, who control the walls and gates. They try to keep the town dangerous and chaotic, judging by who they let in or out, yet remaining on the Outlands side of the gate.

- An Evil Monk/Cleric Cambian Cypher tuning in to the Cadance to further his own martial and personal power. He is one of the Arch-Lector's principal advisers, and was a primary PC's nemesis.

- The Hospice, the Bleak Cabal's safe-house just inside Bedlam Gate. The Cabal have their own agendas, perhaps, but everyone is allowed inside the Hospice's entry hall. Successive rooms require debating a succession of barmies who hold the keys.

- The Merchants' Association are three business owners who do not pay the Arch-Lector's taxes (or protection money), but are too individually powerful to be taken down; - Devi is a powerful celestial and (former?) proxy of the Hindu Power of Fire. She is a godsman, working with visitors and locals to serve the balance and keep the town from shifting into the Abyss. Being seen leaving her tavern is an invitation to be attacked by most locals. - Vile Crocodile is a minion of Set who runs a potion/poison shop, Vial. Due to his skills and his patron, the Arch-Lector dare not move openly against him. - The Iron Monger is a huge Iron Golem possessed by a mage's soul. For whatever reason he blames the Tanar'ri and has set up shop in Plague-Mort to outfit bands of adventurers. He is huge, angry, and made of iron, so tieflings and fiends stay a few blocks away from his forges.

- A Sensate artist using corpses, animated and non-, for works of art. He became a primary party ally, with his studio a base camp, because he was a worm who knucked under to the party Sensate.

Bedlam - *Spoiler Alert* This will be updated at a later date, provided a particular game proceeds, and that I receive positive feedback on my Plague-mort NPCs.

I find the Doomguard interesting- they would walk a fine line in keeping the place chaotic over all but not so much as you push it into the Abyss. After all, if the town sunk it would most likely be torn to shreds and completely destroyed. Then you wouldn't have anymore entropy. So it could be interesting seeing the Doomguard switch sides in order to properly "cultivate" entropy to make it last longer.

I"m also curious about Devi and what's her story. Who are her clientele? Does she protect those who stay there?

Chaotic_Goth1431 wrote:
In Asylum Seekers I am currently playing a delusional githzerai Signer who believes he is the personification of the last thought of a dead god-isle. He is very compassionate and often tries reassuring his fellow inmates in the Gatehouse that they are not mad, just 'different'. However, any kindness and nobility he displays is somewhat negated by the fact that he cannibalizes his enemies in order to 'absorb their evil and erase it from the multiverse'.

He is thoroughly convinced that when he dies, he will either be thrown into a cycle of re-incarnations until he has gathered enough knowledge to satisfy his creator or his soul will immediately revive the dead deity and become the god itself.

These thoughts depress him considerably if he dwells on them for too long: "I wish I had never known of my destiny. Would that I could return to my foolish ignorance, for I am broken and I have no peace, not even in meditating upon Zerthimon's teachings. My flesh is a lie, my past is a lie and I am ever doomed to perpetuate this lie, for none would dare call me sane otherwise."

This is a great paradoxical character on many levels. Besides the altruistic solipsist thing, this character also believes himself to be an imagined idea paradoxically and recursively dreaming up more ideas!

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