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Our group switches off campaigns to give our various DMs a break from gamemastering. The original campaign that started this group, back when my husband had just returned to NJ from the Marine Corps, will turn 10 years old this coming September. So I have spent 10 years off and on playing one character, Red, who is now 12th level. I have converted her from 2E to Skills & Powers to 3E to 3.5E. I have adjusted her class history to be more inline with new prestige classes while keeping true to the things that have occurred within the campaign. I have adjusted her known spells to keep in track with what spells were available at the time.
The biggest changes I've seen in working with theis character for so long are in her personality. It's a very difficult thing to roleplay a static personality, it tends to change along with yourself and the changing needs of the party and gaming group.
For some background, Red is a Wild Elf from a tribe based loosely off the Wolfriders from Elfquest, who had been framed for the murder of the master bladesinger who trained her. She started out as a growling, uncharasmatic, foul-mouthed, heavy-drinker, who seemed to get along much better with dwarves than with elves. Over the years she has mellowed a lot, a process that happened slowly but surely, and has been reflected in 3E by an increase in her charisma score from 7 to 9. In its place has grown a great sense of honor and duty, and a seriousness that is reflected in her decision to give up the life of a bladesinger (since she was betrayed by a group of elves) and become a member of the Blade Knights, a bladesinger-like religious order that fights for truth in all forms. She's still more at home with dwarves than with elves (she has actually just been adopted into a dwarven clan), and incredibly passionate in battle, but the growling witty banter has left. Considering that her best friend is leaving the party for family obligations, I'm wondering where this seriousness will lead. Especially since she is now required to avenge the death of her adopted father, Rocky. Her new wolf cub, I think, may play a part in coming out of her shell. While my swashbuckler Opal has a journal here, Red will probably not. She just isn't a journal-writing sort of a person.
The point of it all is that I have no idea where the character as a personality will go next. I can attempt to shape and mold her, but I've found that such things generally don't work in the long run and the character becomes what it will. A good Character Questionnaire helps keep me on track to what I was thinking the last time I played her, about a year ago.
Previous characters I have played, such as my all-to-optimistic-and-sweet fire priestess Rahne have said things that have made me (and the rest of my group) cringe with the sugary sweetness they offered, while other characters like my haughty and ambitious necromancer Lheeha have offered great sourness. But they were completely in-character and I generally had little control of what came out of my mouth. IMHO that's roleplaying at it's finest, and is the kind of thing that a gaming group will remember for years to come. The interaction between the group members, the interaction with NPCs, and the gradual evolution of a character's personality are things to cherish about this game, things that I think a lot of people who play RPGs never get to experience. There's life behind the roll of the dice. I look forward to what lies ahead for Red.
The biggest changes I've seen in working with theis character for so long are in her personality. It's a very difficult thing to roleplay a static personality, it tends to change along with yourself and the changing needs of the party and gaming group.
For some background, Red is a Wild Elf from a tribe based loosely off the Wolfriders from Elfquest, who had been framed for the murder of the master bladesinger who trained her. She started out as a growling, uncharasmatic, foul-mouthed, heavy-drinker, who seemed to get along much better with dwarves than with elves. Over the years she has mellowed a lot, a process that happened slowly but surely, and has been reflected in 3E by an increase in her charisma score from 7 to 9. In its place has grown a great sense of honor and duty, and a seriousness that is reflected in her decision to give up the life of a bladesinger (since she was betrayed by a group of elves) and become a member of the Blade Knights, a bladesinger-like religious order that fights for truth in all forms. She's still more at home with dwarves than with elves (she has actually just been adopted into a dwarven clan), and incredibly passionate in battle, but the growling witty banter has left. Considering that her best friend is leaving the party for family obligations, I'm wondering where this seriousness will lead. Especially since she is now required to avenge the death of her adopted father, Rocky. Her new wolf cub, I think, may play a part in coming out of her shell. While my swashbuckler Opal has a journal here, Red will probably not. She just isn't a journal-writing sort of a person.
The point of it all is that I have no idea where the character as a personality will go next. I can attempt to shape and mold her, but I've found that such things generally don't work in the long run and the character becomes what it will. A good Character Questionnaire helps keep me on track to what I was thinking the last time I played her, about a year ago.
Previous characters I have played, such as my all-to-optimistic-and-sweet fire priestess Rahne have said things that have made me (and the rest of my group) cringe with the sugary sweetness they offered, while other characters like my haughty and ambitious necromancer Lheeha have offered great sourness. But they were completely in-character and I generally had little control of what came out of my mouth. IMHO that's roleplaying at it's finest, and is the kind of thing that a gaming group will remember for years to come. The interaction between the group members, the interaction with NPCs, and the gradual evolution of a character's personality are things to cherish about this game, things that I think a lot of people who play RPGs never get to experience. There's life behind the roll of the dice. I look forward to what lies ahead for Red.
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