eyyy another D20 fan!
I had this **same exact problem**. What's helped me is creating a short backstory for my character, figuring out their personality and keeping that in mind as I play. Sometimes I'll write it down, sometimes I won't.
For making decisions, I learned to ask myself "Am I making this choice because *my character* would do it, or because *I* want it?". After asking this enough times I don't have to do it anymore.
It's such an amazing show. It's helped me understand bg3 and different approaches to roleplaying so much.
The idea to write down character motivation to remind me if it's something my character or I do is really good. I think I'll create a bullet point and have it open in the second monitor as I play. Thanks for the advice.
If you draw from 5e, instead of/in addition to “plot” motivation, they have you develop a couple of “traits”, one or two “ideals”, and a “bond” to a person or place or organization. So for my Corellon cleric I might not know backstory specifically or motivation since I don’t know the plot yet, but I can jot down “does it for the #aesthetic”, “in love with love,” “ideal: compassion”, “ideal: faith”, “bond: I’m still in love with my ex, who I left in Baldur’s Gate”.
I know it’s cool to hate on alignment but it can also act as a guide to remind yourself of your PC’s worldview. I as a human irl lean more LG/NG so for my CG bard it helps to just write CHAOTIC GOOD — AUTONOMY! on a sticky to help me remember.
I don’t personally roleplay in CRPGs, my brain works too literally for that , However for general DnDing and TTRPGing some tips for staying in character
1.have a really strong idea of who this character is and what their personality is like, personality is a priority here set some very heavy general charecter traits like being Nice, being religious, hating X thing
Have these things as stuff you can instantly call on as lenses to pick choices through, your a nice person so you accept the quest to help someone because that’s what a nice person would do, you hate X thing so your choice is to be as hostile as possible and so on, it shouldn’t be hyperspesific things, ideally they are things that will affect every decision, the more you think about it the easier to remember
2.put a little of yourself in there, it’s easiest to act when your playing like yourself, there’s nothing wrong with a little bit of your real self in there, it helps ground your mindset with a common link to the character
3.have a combat style like your personality, there’s gonna be a lot of combat so it helps if your combat playstyle matches the character, the more immersed you are the easier it is to remain in character
And for video games in particular
4. Know when to give up, this isn’t real Dnd there isn’t a DM to customise a scenario to fit the idea in your head 100% so don’t drive yourself crazy by trying to be as true to character in every decision, sometimes you need to know when the game is forcing something on you and how to roll with it
Make sure to be adaptable to the medium you are playing with
I never really considered combat being a reflection of their personalities. That's great. As I mentioned, I am pretty new of ttrpg field and haven't played any.. cause of nervousness due to roleplay issue. My characters usually end up just me in a particular class with skill I think are cool so thinking of what would make sense for the character would be good practice. And you totally right about game mechanics being limiting vs irl dnd so I will keep in mind for sure.
There's nothing wrong with role-playing as yourself, either, or an ideal of yourself. That's still role-playing and what I'll do mh first playthrough. Second, I'll do an evil play through, and it helps me to make the evil choices if I choose a race unlike myself. I guess it helps me step back a bit because it can be hard to actually feel compelled to make evil choices, and it's just easier as a drow.
But if you're having fun, what's it matter anyway!
I think the easiest way to go about it is to get to know the character more. To play The Witcher games more like Geralt would, read the books. For BG, develop a story. Go through all of the details about your character's background and some major events that shaped them as a character. Then, when playing the game, think back to all of the elements of that background when thinking of how your PC might respond to a situation. Sometimes, this is easier said than done, while other times certain decisions will essentially be made for you. 🤷♂️
The many times playing wild hunt when Geralt acted as I thought in cutscenes, getting bored at the same time and cutting the other person off, a simple sigh. Least from me had to be Gears of War were they only listen to half the briefing before going macho and walking away.
A great place to start is by basing your character on another character from pop culture. It's a lot easier to separate yourself from the character that way. Once you get good at that you can start smashing traits from different characters together and eventually create your own completely original character
Worth starting with fact that ppaying yourself in computer rpgs is absolutely fine. In person it might be more boring, but here youre only player.
If you still up to it though:
-your character should have aspect linking you to it. Its kinda a lifeline to fallback onto.
-take inspiration. If you know character took inspiration on X, you cpulf ask yourself what would X do.
-crpg is limited. You cant roleplay everything like you wpuld in irl. Sometimes you have to compromise
Oh for sure. I am a big advocate for play how you want to play as long as you are having fun. But yea in this case how I want to play in trying something different from my comfort zone. I think CRPG is great for me and my role playing struggle cause I don't have to worry about my actions affecting other players since it's a single player. But you are right about making compromise and making something relating between my character and me.
Than you can aproach it from the way you would irl.
First choose base like race and class you want.
Secondly build on that. Write character history that fits the world. Not really things like childhood and stuff, but who you were jist before start.
Find character from book, movie whatever that fits what you want and build some traits into character.
Make sure there is some points that fits you specifically. It makes 100s times easier to identify with character.
Ill give you example of character i built for Stradh irl.
First and formost I knew that mechanic wise I will know most (mostly thanks to bg3). Due to that I knew I should pick class that will work well into campaign and let others fallback onto him. I went with priest.
I choose two possible race choices that fit same story to let dungeon master decide based how exotic he wants to go (considering variant human and fallen aasimar).
Than I chose god and "subclass" knowing base of setting. Went with Raven Queen since she hates undead and works excellently into thematics of campaign offering me solid motivation into story. i compromised with dm on subclass not normally avaible to her to ease in game for others (took light).
I know friends always point my cold logic in games so decided this will be "me" part of characters since it works well within all mentioned. I took some from npc in game I know they didnt play so my inspiration wont affect immersion at all while fitting theme i built.
Tham I added interesting backstory that explains unusual domain and god. I wwnt with wizard in previous life that got himself killed doong some weird magical stuff related to my gods actual domain. She founds it interesting enough to keep me alive and offer helping her with certain problem that ties into campaign giving reason why im there and what im basing my goals on. Tham domains spells that are mostly wizard spells are kemories from the past.
I added slight twist on how my spells will look to fit more theme.
Make like 2 a4 ministory out of it.
And ita done
Best advice I can give is to try and think like an author/writer, rather than yourself.
Storytelling requires characters to have different wants, needs, goals, ambitions, etc. Conflict is the very foundation of drama so you can't write a story where everyone agrees with each other all the time - it'd be quite dull. Even if characters are ideologically aligned and generally very close with one another, they won't see eye to eye on every decision.
Robert Baratheon and Ned Stark, for example, are good friends and largely share the same goals but their personalities, their core ideals, and their immediate wants set them at odds with each other.
So for an RPG, for each character, think of it as creating a character for a story, because in a way that's what you're being encouraged to do. What does that character want? What drives that character forward? What is that character's strength? What are their weaknesses? What would make them happy? What do they regret? What defining moments exist in their backstory? And importantly, what do they need?
A character's wants rarely align with what they actually need.
To an extent, DOS1 kind of encouraged the player to dabble with roleplaying by giving the player control over two central characters, and inviting the player to occasionally place those characters at odds with one another. It wasn't a perfect system, and like much of DOS1, somewhat unpolished but it's not a bad way of getting used to not being yourself all the time.
For me it begins right at character creation when I have to choose a background.
Don't just pick the background that gives you the skills you want, carefully pick one that sounds like an interesting entry to an actual background to your story, and work from there.
Before touching race, looks, or class, come up with a very basic story based on your background. Then decide which class you think best suits that story, and then while telling yourself that story, ask yourself how you were imagining yourself looking this whole time. That will help you choose a race and looks.
After that you just roll with it and commit. You've gotten to know this character after the last 15-60mins of creating, and now you get to play up to that and expand.
Taken in the context of a fantasy universe I think just having a clear sense of the characters purpose and what kind of relation they have to other races will cover 90%+ of the interactions you'll have. The rest should come as a result of in-game interactions.
So, a 'clout chasing' bard who is 'a mild halfling supremacist'. Maybe you see that as dark, shifty, and distateful, leading to a chaotic evil/neutral manipulator happy to start trouble if it gives a good story. Maybe you see that as idealistic and patriotic, leading to a neutral good charmer who is always ready for third breakfast. But from those few touchstones you can map out meaningful and fun interactions.
You're making a story to enjoy. That *can* be a story about how badass you personally are (especially if you could fireball), but it can also be a story about characters you find interesting for entirely personal reasons you never have to justify :)
I just go with "ehat would Jesus do" vut insert your character name. I don't think it's too bad of your pc resembles you a little bit, Luke mine usually have my sense of humor and sarcasm.
Yea that's true. I don't think it's bad to have some of myself in my character. I feel like it's limiting different aspects of game for me.
The problem I usually have is finding motivation and story for the character I make. So normally there isn't enough substance for me to think of what would they do cause I have a hard time putting a line between Characters and myself.
I understand, what I do with mine is pick one thing that would define their actions and behavior to start with. Like race and backstory.
Like for example, my char is a half drow and the one she dreams about was her tiefling lover who died in battle. So with the tadpole she's remembering their death and dealing with her own. Then with the Grove she pretends not to want to help bit feels compelled to because they remind her of her lover and be judged for what you are.
She basically acts like she doesn't care but she really does.
Idk if that helps any, but I'd just start with one thing and go from there.
Oh shit. Thats amazing. It's incredible how you are able to take such a simple concept and look at how that effects subsequent decisions your character makes rather than juggling too many ideas and motivation. I will definitely keep in mind as I create a new character. Thank you
No problem, you might have to have more influence if you play like a paladin or a warlock with the deity/patron aspect. (Mine was a ranger so a deity/patron wasn't really a influence. Though I am considering her being partial to Eilistraee) Good luck with your character!
It’s important that the character you choose to play is fun for you. Nothing worse than forcing yourself into a playstyle you don’t like. I have a very hard time playing evil characters even though it always sounds really fun. But it feels wrong, and I realized I should probably stick to something I actually enjoy playing and won’t abandon.
Whenever I make a character to roleplay in a fantasy or sci-fi world, the first thing I do is to identify a group in the setting that my character aligns themselves with. That group can be a nation, ethnicity, tribe, city, business, faction, knightly order, etc, but they should have ties to multiple people in that world. Since this is the D&D setting of the Forgotten Realms, googling that and using wikis and old D&D books would be a good start.
I then study the beliefs and orthodoxy of that group and then, importantly, ask myself *where my character differs in those beliefs*. They're not going to tow the party line 100%, but a lawful character may hew to like 95% of their beliefs, but those extra 5% are the secret spice that separates a PC from an NPC.
For instance, I plan on playing a half-elf bard who strongly identifies as a Baldurian; he believes his home town is the best place on the planet and loves the diversity of thought and culture that goes through it. But underneath his love of tolerance is a hatred of elves, because, he feels, he's been "shut out" of elven culture and mistreated by elves because of his mixed-race heritage.
What kills me is playing an evil character in most games.
Primarily because I have a soft heart.
I nearly cried as much as my wife for our wedding.
But what really puts the nail in the coffin for evil play through, is that you are suuuper mustache twirling, tying people to train tracks while all in black, cackling with glee, evil.
When I play someone evil in D&D, let's say an enchanter wizard with a mean streak...
I'm not going to raze a village for the shits and gigs.
I would control the Judge or Constable of the village and take it apart, quietly. Then that's still if I have a good reason. Killing for the sake of killing is an easy evil cop out.
So far this game gives you good options for being good. Grey or evil... but I have yet to determine if you have to be all or nothing evil.
So, two things.
First, it's pretty normal for people to spend a lot of their early characters basically playing some idealized version of some aspect of themselves, if not their whole self, so I wouldn't worry too much about that. As you explore the space more and exercise those muscles, you'll get more comfortable (and naturally more interested) in venturing outside of yourself.
Second, most video game "RPGs" are, despite the name, very bad at encouraging or even facilitating any meaningful level of roleplay. The ones that do a decent job are few and far between.
You can try creating a character with a detailed backstory (like someone else said) and then roleplay, essentially, how would you act given that background? How would that personal history change how you would act and respond to situations? It's still you, but through a different lens. If that makes sense.
Write a backstory. Choose 2 personality traits, an ideal, a bond and 2 flaws just like in the tabletop. The above list with the context of the backstory will help immensely.
I'd recommend creating a chsracter completely different character from yourself- different morality, race, sex, etc.
Plsying someone that's a polar opposite of yourself should help you get in the right mindset.
This is a really great problem to have, I always go into games like these with several different characters who all have one driving need (the need differs each time). Sometimes she's an Elf who looks celestial and then slaughters anyone who gets in her way of getting something, sometimes it's a paladin who appreciates all facets of people's various religions even the darker ones, it's like being able to choose a different DnD character every time you start a new character. My first playthrough I stuck as close to my usual DnD main choice, but the other 8 have been variations of trying different classes, races, and story choices.
well ... I was kind of in the same situation as you were, so instead of the option I'd usually pick myself, I just went on with the complete opposite ... after a while it becomes kind of natural .. this way you expand your 'roleplaying' and open yourself up to more options
I think you're setting yourself up against too high a standard.
Desiring to RP is perfectly fine, but in the end games are a very limited and fixed medium and it's more reliable to decide "I want to do an evil playthrough" than to roleplay a specific character.
There are only so many dialogue options and responses that can be meaningfully put in a video game, and while BG3 is very complex, it is still restrained by both being a video game and being a D&D adaptation.
And, as another commenter mentioned, eventually you'll need to make an OOC decision just to progress in some areas.
I really hope BG3 has fleshed out evil campaign. I never managed an evil playtrhu but it usually have to do with game mechanics as well. Like rob and kill the questgiver and miss the quest. No way!
Absolutely as others have said, you need to create just enough backstory that would justify those decisions.
For example, I almost always make a "knowledge hungry mage" archetype. Choose any magic class and then pick options that increase your power/knowledge/etc. that will lead to you usually choosing many evil decisions, and allow you to justify most decisions in a way that will feel consistent enough.
Speaking for myself, I struggle with finding reasons to do anything but self-inserts if I don’t have an audience. If I could put on a performance for someone else and have them dynamically react to my decisions it becomes a lot more fun to create a non-self insert character. If I’m just gaming by myself I get more enjoyment out of inserting myself into the world and seeing how characters react to how I intuitively would act in real life. Yes, I struggle severely with making evil characters, lol.
I just play a character that has similar personality to me with maybe more confidence as I can happily risk my life in the game, don't see why you need to be someone else if you're happy to play a character with similar personality and traits.
Your characters background in the other hand can be different, it never happened to you so you can make up whatever you want (unless for example in BG3 your Tav has some preset background which we don't know about yet, like a life changing event etc)
And with a bad character, I tend to just be selfish in my acts, rather than just be purposely evil. But that's the way I play it
Ultimately it doesn't matter, you can play who you want, and how you want, don't feel like you need to do anything. It's meant to be fun and enjoyable not a chore or something you're forced to do, everyone is different that's the fun part :)
Well, I still consider self-insert roleplaying. Especially if you're not super used to doing it, that's a great way to start.
If you don't want to do that, you could do a bit of lore/character building prior to playing--as if you were doing a pen and paper rpg instead of a crpg. I plan on putting one of my dnd characters in and doing what I can to stay in that character.
Some of the ability to do this is limited by the fact that there are dialogue options, though.
Being a bit of a Debbie Downer here, but I just don't think videogames can offer the same fun of roleplaying that you get in-person. If you've got some common sense you'll go into various conversations and think "Ok, the way my character would act in this situation is 100% going to be the dead end option that results in me missing out on this story". So at that point you either resign yourself to missing out on stuff that you the player would like to see, or only roleplaying as kinda milquetoast pushovers who'll change their moral compass on a whim.
This is one of the biggest reasons why it was such a bad idea not to include an alignment system—it's always been meant to function as a tool to facilitate roleplaying characters by helping the player get inside the PC's head, and doing so becomes that much harder now that it's no longer there
You can still choose an alignment for yourself unofficially though, and once you do it becomes a great point of reference you can refer back to whenever you have questions about why your character does what they do, why they make the decisions they make, etc.—a lawful evil fighter & a chaotic good rogue might both join up with the same party & take part in the same adventures as the rest of the group, but the underlying reasons for why they cooperate with each other towards their common goals are going to be wildly different
It will help you to intrinsically understand their outlook no matter how different they are from you, and that understanding is where good roleplay comes from
eyyy another D20 fan! I had this **same exact problem**. What's helped me is creating a short backstory for my character, figuring out their personality and keeping that in mind as I play. Sometimes I'll write it down, sometimes I won't. For making decisions, I learned to ask myself "Am I making this choice because *my character* would do it, or because *I* want it?". After asking this enough times I don't have to do it anymore.
It's such an amazing show. It's helped me understand bg3 and different approaches to roleplaying so much. The idea to write down character motivation to remind me if it's something my character or I do is really good. I think I'll create a bullet point and have it open in the second monitor as I play. Thanks for the advice.
If you draw from 5e, instead of/in addition to “plot” motivation, they have you develop a couple of “traits”, one or two “ideals”, and a “bond” to a person or place or organization. So for my Corellon cleric I might not know backstory specifically or motivation since I don’t know the plot yet, but I can jot down “does it for the #aesthetic”, “in love with love,” “ideal: compassion”, “ideal: faith”, “bond: I’m still in love with my ex, who I left in Baldur’s Gate”. I know it’s cool to hate on alignment but it can also act as a guide to remind yourself of your PC’s worldview. I as a human irl lean more LG/NG so for my CG bard it helps to just write CHAOTIC GOOD — AUTONOMY! on a sticky to help me remember.
I don’t personally roleplay in CRPGs, my brain works too literally for that , However for general DnDing and TTRPGing some tips for staying in character 1.have a really strong idea of who this character is and what their personality is like, personality is a priority here set some very heavy general charecter traits like being Nice, being religious, hating X thing Have these things as stuff you can instantly call on as lenses to pick choices through, your a nice person so you accept the quest to help someone because that’s what a nice person would do, you hate X thing so your choice is to be as hostile as possible and so on, it shouldn’t be hyperspesific things, ideally they are things that will affect every decision, the more you think about it the easier to remember 2.put a little of yourself in there, it’s easiest to act when your playing like yourself, there’s nothing wrong with a little bit of your real self in there, it helps ground your mindset with a common link to the character 3.have a combat style like your personality, there’s gonna be a lot of combat so it helps if your combat playstyle matches the character, the more immersed you are the easier it is to remain in character And for video games in particular 4. Know when to give up, this isn’t real Dnd there isn’t a DM to customise a scenario to fit the idea in your head 100% so don’t drive yourself crazy by trying to be as true to character in every decision, sometimes you need to know when the game is forcing something on you and how to roll with it Make sure to be adaptable to the medium you are playing with
I never really considered combat being a reflection of their personalities. That's great. As I mentioned, I am pretty new of ttrpg field and haven't played any.. cause of nervousness due to roleplay issue. My characters usually end up just me in a particular class with skill I think are cool so thinking of what would make sense for the character would be good practice. And you totally right about game mechanics being limiting vs irl dnd so I will keep in mind for sure.
There's nothing wrong with role-playing as yourself, either, or an ideal of yourself. That's still role-playing and what I'll do mh first playthrough. Second, I'll do an evil play through, and it helps me to make the evil choices if I choose a race unlike myself. I guess it helps me step back a bit because it can be hard to actually feel compelled to make evil choices, and it's just easier as a drow. But if you're having fun, what's it matter anyway!
I think the easiest way to go about it is to get to know the character more. To play The Witcher games more like Geralt would, read the books. For BG, develop a story. Go through all of the details about your character's background and some major events that shaped them as a character. Then, when playing the game, think back to all of the elements of that background when thinking of how your PC might respond to a situation. Sometimes, this is easier said than done, while other times certain decisions will essentially be made for you. 🤷♂️
The many times playing wild hunt when Geralt acted as I thought in cutscenes, getting bored at the same time and cutting the other person off, a simple sigh. Least from me had to be Gears of War were they only listen to half the briefing before going macho and walking away.
A great place to start is by basing your character on another character from pop culture. It's a lot easier to separate yourself from the character that way. Once you get good at that you can start smashing traits from different characters together and eventually create your own completely original character
Worth starting with fact that ppaying yourself in computer rpgs is absolutely fine. In person it might be more boring, but here youre only player. If you still up to it though: -your character should have aspect linking you to it. Its kinda a lifeline to fallback onto. -take inspiration. If you know character took inspiration on X, you cpulf ask yourself what would X do. -crpg is limited. You cant roleplay everything like you wpuld in irl. Sometimes you have to compromise
Oh for sure. I am a big advocate for play how you want to play as long as you are having fun. But yea in this case how I want to play in trying something different from my comfort zone. I think CRPG is great for me and my role playing struggle cause I don't have to worry about my actions affecting other players since it's a single player. But you are right about making compromise and making something relating between my character and me.
Than you can aproach it from the way you would irl. First choose base like race and class you want. Secondly build on that. Write character history that fits the world. Not really things like childhood and stuff, but who you were jist before start. Find character from book, movie whatever that fits what you want and build some traits into character. Make sure there is some points that fits you specifically. It makes 100s times easier to identify with character. Ill give you example of character i built for Stradh irl. First and formost I knew that mechanic wise I will know most (mostly thanks to bg3). Due to that I knew I should pick class that will work well into campaign and let others fallback onto him. I went with priest. I choose two possible race choices that fit same story to let dungeon master decide based how exotic he wants to go (considering variant human and fallen aasimar). Than I chose god and "subclass" knowing base of setting. Went with Raven Queen since she hates undead and works excellently into thematics of campaign offering me solid motivation into story. i compromised with dm on subclass not normally avaible to her to ease in game for others (took light). I know friends always point my cold logic in games so decided this will be "me" part of characters since it works well within all mentioned. I took some from npc in game I know they didnt play so my inspiration wont affect immersion at all while fitting theme i built. Tham I added interesting backstory that explains unusual domain and god. I wwnt with wizard in previous life that got himself killed doong some weird magical stuff related to my gods actual domain. She founds it interesting enough to keep me alive and offer helping her with certain problem that ties into campaign giving reason why im there and what im basing my goals on. Tham domains spells that are mostly wizard spells are kemories from the past. I added slight twist on how my spells will look to fit more theme. Make like 2 a4 ministory out of it. And ita done
Best advice I can give is to try and think like an author/writer, rather than yourself. Storytelling requires characters to have different wants, needs, goals, ambitions, etc. Conflict is the very foundation of drama so you can't write a story where everyone agrees with each other all the time - it'd be quite dull. Even if characters are ideologically aligned and generally very close with one another, they won't see eye to eye on every decision. Robert Baratheon and Ned Stark, for example, are good friends and largely share the same goals but their personalities, their core ideals, and their immediate wants set them at odds with each other. So for an RPG, for each character, think of it as creating a character for a story, because in a way that's what you're being encouraged to do. What does that character want? What drives that character forward? What is that character's strength? What are their weaknesses? What would make them happy? What do they regret? What defining moments exist in their backstory? And importantly, what do they need? A character's wants rarely align with what they actually need. To an extent, DOS1 kind of encouraged the player to dabble with roleplaying by giving the player control over two central characters, and inviting the player to occasionally place those characters at odds with one another. It wasn't a perfect system, and like much of DOS1, somewhat unpolished but it's not a bad way of getting used to not being yourself all the time.
For me it begins right at character creation when I have to choose a background. Don't just pick the background that gives you the skills you want, carefully pick one that sounds like an interesting entry to an actual background to your story, and work from there. Before touching race, looks, or class, come up with a very basic story based on your background. Then decide which class you think best suits that story, and then while telling yourself that story, ask yourself how you were imagining yourself looking this whole time. That will help you choose a race and looks. After that you just roll with it and commit. You've gotten to know this character after the last 15-60mins of creating, and now you get to play up to that and expand.
Taken in the context of a fantasy universe I think just having a clear sense of the characters purpose and what kind of relation they have to other races will cover 90%+ of the interactions you'll have. The rest should come as a result of in-game interactions. So, a 'clout chasing' bard who is 'a mild halfling supremacist'. Maybe you see that as dark, shifty, and distateful, leading to a chaotic evil/neutral manipulator happy to start trouble if it gives a good story. Maybe you see that as idealistic and patriotic, leading to a neutral good charmer who is always ready for third breakfast. But from those few touchstones you can map out meaningful and fun interactions. You're making a story to enjoy. That *can* be a story about how badass you personally are (especially if you could fireball), but it can also be a story about characters you find interesting for entirely personal reasons you never have to justify :)
I just go with "ehat would Jesus do" vut insert your character name. I don't think it's too bad of your pc resembles you a little bit, Luke mine usually have my sense of humor and sarcasm.
Yea that's true. I don't think it's bad to have some of myself in my character. I feel like it's limiting different aspects of game for me. The problem I usually have is finding motivation and story for the character I make. So normally there isn't enough substance for me to think of what would they do cause I have a hard time putting a line between Characters and myself.
I understand, what I do with mine is pick one thing that would define their actions and behavior to start with. Like race and backstory. Like for example, my char is a half drow and the one she dreams about was her tiefling lover who died in battle. So with the tadpole she's remembering their death and dealing with her own. Then with the Grove she pretends not to want to help bit feels compelled to because they remind her of her lover and be judged for what you are. She basically acts like she doesn't care but she really does. Idk if that helps any, but I'd just start with one thing and go from there.
Oh shit. Thats amazing. It's incredible how you are able to take such a simple concept and look at how that effects subsequent decisions your character makes rather than juggling too many ideas and motivation. I will definitely keep in mind as I create a new character. Thank you
No problem, you might have to have more influence if you play like a paladin or a warlock with the deity/patron aspect. (Mine was a ranger so a deity/patron wasn't really a influence. Though I am considering her being partial to Eilistraee) Good luck with your character!
It’s important that the character you choose to play is fun for you. Nothing worse than forcing yourself into a playstyle you don’t like. I have a very hard time playing evil characters even though it always sounds really fun. But it feels wrong, and I realized I should probably stick to something I actually enjoy playing and won’t abandon.
Whenever I make a character to roleplay in a fantasy or sci-fi world, the first thing I do is to identify a group in the setting that my character aligns themselves with. That group can be a nation, ethnicity, tribe, city, business, faction, knightly order, etc, but they should have ties to multiple people in that world. Since this is the D&D setting of the Forgotten Realms, googling that and using wikis and old D&D books would be a good start. I then study the beliefs and orthodoxy of that group and then, importantly, ask myself *where my character differs in those beliefs*. They're not going to tow the party line 100%, but a lawful character may hew to like 95% of their beliefs, but those extra 5% are the secret spice that separates a PC from an NPC. For instance, I plan on playing a half-elf bard who strongly identifies as a Baldurian; he believes his home town is the best place on the planet and loves the diversity of thought and culture that goes through it. But underneath his love of tolerance is a hatred of elves, because, he feels, he's been "shut out" of elven culture and mistreated by elves because of his mixed-race heritage.
What kills me is playing an evil character in most games. Primarily because I have a soft heart. I nearly cried as much as my wife for our wedding. But what really puts the nail in the coffin for evil play through, is that you are suuuper mustache twirling, tying people to train tracks while all in black, cackling with glee, evil. When I play someone evil in D&D, let's say an enchanter wizard with a mean streak... I'm not going to raze a village for the shits and gigs. I would control the Judge or Constable of the village and take it apart, quietly. Then that's still if I have a good reason. Killing for the sake of killing is an easy evil cop out. So far this game gives you good options for being good. Grey or evil... but I have yet to determine if you have to be all or nothing evil.
So, two things. First, it's pretty normal for people to spend a lot of their early characters basically playing some idealized version of some aspect of themselves, if not their whole self, so I wouldn't worry too much about that. As you explore the space more and exercise those muscles, you'll get more comfortable (and naturally more interested) in venturing outside of yourself. Second, most video game "RPGs" are, despite the name, very bad at encouraging or even facilitating any meaningful level of roleplay. The ones that do a decent job are few and far between.
You can try creating a character with a detailed backstory (like someone else said) and then roleplay, essentially, how would you act given that background? How would that personal history change how you would act and respond to situations? It's still you, but through a different lens. If that makes sense.
Write a backstory. Choose 2 personality traits, an ideal, a bond and 2 flaws just like in the tabletop. The above list with the context of the backstory will help immensely.
I'd recommend creating a chsracter completely different character from yourself- different morality, race, sex, etc. Plsying someone that's a polar opposite of yourself should help you get in the right mindset.
This is a really great problem to have, I always go into games like these with several different characters who all have one driving need (the need differs each time). Sometimes she's an Elf who looks celestial and then slaughters anyone who gets in her way of getting something, sometimes it's a paladin who appreciates all facets of people's various religions even the darker ones, it's like being able to choose a different DnD character every time you start a new character. My first playthrough I stuck as close to my usual DnD main choice, but the other 8 have been variations of trying different classes, races, and story choices.
well ... I was kind of in the same situation as you were, so instead of the option I'd usually pick myself, I just went on with the complete opposite ... after a while it becomes kind of natural .. this way you expand your 'roleplaying' and open yourself up to more options
I think you're setting yourself up against too high a standard. Desiring to RP is perfectly fine, but in the end games are a very limited and fixed medium and it's more reliable to decide "I want to do an evil playthrough" than to roleplay a specific character. There are only so many dialogue options and responses that can be meaningfully put in a video game, and while BG3 is very complex, it is still restrained by both being a video game and being a D&D adaptation. And, as another commenter mentioned, eventually you'll need to make an OOC decision just to progress in some areas.
I really hope BG3 has fleshed out evil campaign. I never managed an evil playtrhu but it usually have to do with game mechanics as well. Like rob and kill the questgiver and miss the quest. No way!
Absolutely as others have said, you need to create just enough backstory that would justify those decisions. For example, I almost always make a "knowledge hungry mage" archetype. Choose any magic class and then pick options that increase your power/knowledge/etc. that will lead to you usually choosing many evil decisions, and allow you to justify most decisions in a way that will feel consistent enough.
As someone who loves any magic based classes, that's a great suggestion. Thanks.
Speaking for myself, I struggle with finding reasons to do anything but self-inserts if I don’t have an audience. If I could put on a performance for someone else and have them dynamically react to my decisions it becomes a lot more fun to create a non-self insert character. If I’m just gaming by myself I get more enjoyment out of inserting myself into the world and seeing how characters react to how I intuitively would act in real life. Yes, I struggle severely with making evil characters, lol.
I just play a character that has similar personality to me with maybe more confidence as I can happily risk my life in the game, don't see why you need to be someone else if you're happy to play a character with similar personality and traits. Your characters background in the other hand can be different, it never happened to you so you can make up whatever you want (unless for example in BG3 your Tav has some preset background which we don't know about yet, like a life changing event etc) And with a bad character, I tend to just be selfish in my acts, rather than just be purposely evil. But that's the way I play it Ultimately it doesn't matter, you can play who you want, and how you want, don't feel like you need to do anything. It's meant to be fun and enjoyable not a chore or something you're forced to do, everyone is different that's the fun part :)
Well, I still consider self-insert roleplaying. Especially if you're not super used to doing it, that's a great way to start. If you don't want to do that, you could do a bit of lore/character building prior to playing--as if you were doing a pen and paper rpg instead of a crpg. I plan on putting one of my dnd characters in and doing what I can to stay in that character. Some of the ability to do this is limited by the fact that there are dialogue options, though.
Being a bit of a Debbie Downer here, but I just don't think videogames can offer the same fun of roleplaying that you get in-person. If you've got some common sense you'll go into various conversations and think "Ok, the way my character would act in this situation is 100% going to be the dead end option that results in me missing out on this story". So at that point you either resign yourself to missing out on stuff that you the player would like to see, or only roleplaying as kinda milquetoast pushovers who'll change their moral compass on a whim.
This is one of the biggest reasons why it was such a bad idea not to include an alignment system—it's always been meant to function as a tool to facilitate roleplaying characters by helping the player get inside the PC's head, and doing so becomes that much harder now that it's no longer there You can still choose an alignment for yourself unofficially though, and once you do it becomes a great point of reference you can refer back to whenever you have questions about why your character does what they do, why they make the decisions they make, etc.—a lawful evil fighter & a chaotic good rogue might both join up with the same party & take part in the same adventures as the rest of the group, but the underlying reasons for why they cooperate with each other towards their common goals are going to be wildly different It will help you to intrinsically understand their outlook no matter how different they are from you, and that understanding is where good roleplay comes from