What about the idea which at first looks pretty cool but end-up at worst not bringing anything to the game at worst being boring to play ?
What about the idea which at first looks pretty cool but end-up at worst not bringing anything to the game at worst being boring to play ?
the loner. People want to channel Aragorn at the prancing pony but it’s just annoying. It’s a group game. Play with the group.
the outsider. The one that doesn’t fit in. Like you’re playing a dungeon crawl so someone makes an accountant with no combat skills. You’re playing a game about vampire hunting in Louisiana and someone makes a character that doesn’t believe in vampires that’s from Spain.
related to the above: the absolute newbie. You’re playing a game of vampire focused on intrigue and plots. Someone makes a character that was embraced yesterday. They don’t know anything about anything. A constant stream of “we need to drink blood?? You can turn invisible??”". It gets boring real fast. Or, you’re playing a sci-fi future game and someone wants to play a 20th century man who was just unfrozen, and doesn’t know anything about the 23rd century.
The theme I’m trying to nail down there are characters that don’t really engage with the game’s premise. They’re characters that could exist in the world, but are for this game don’t really belong.
I think people see Bilbo from the Hobbit and want to channel that “party boy out of his element” energy but it usually won’t work. Or fry from Futurama. You’re playing a game not writing a book. Don’t take extra spotlight. Don’t be incompetent.
It makes sense that people would be drawn to the fish-out-of-water archetype. It is the archetypal protagonist for the “hero’s journey” monomyth. The whole idea of the character who is just learning about the world works great for that sort of hero-centric story. But RPGs aren’t meant to center around one character, they center on a party. And the stories tend to work better when the characters feel like they are part of the world.
This is done in movies and books to give the reader/watcher a chance to learn the setting without getting hamfisted about it, stuff is naturally explained to the character because they don’t know it either. That’s not necessary in TTRPGs, since the player can always ask out of character.
Also, it’s a way to get some character into the story the reader/watcher can identify with. This also is not necessary in TTRPGs, since there the players naturally identify with their character (at least in most games, some do that differently).
I dunno. Depends on the group. I played a babylon 5 where I was a doctor with unregistered psychic abilities and was trying my damnedest to be under the radar, low profile, and stay away from anything that might get the spotlight on me. Ended up being beaten and basically running off the station. The dms will find the ways.
People like to subvert tropes but don’t always understand those tropes and why the purpose they serve, so their subversions don’t necessarily serve a counterpurpose.
If you wanna see the newbie done well, watch LA By Night season 1. Erika Ishii’s character is brand newly embraced, while the other main characters are a fair bit more established.
Re: #3 - He doesn’t know about the three shells!?