Heather: RPG Characters
In a
roleplaying game
I can be people and live in places that simply
aren't possible in real life; but the characters are best if they
have lives, and reasons for what they do. In this sense, although
vicarious, they are more real than the heroes of film and books, for
it's my imagination that brings them life.
I have played:
- a young paladin (not very bright, but not dumb, nor very wise,
but not always foolhardy) delving through city dungeons with her sister
(a priestess of considerably more wisdom). We tracked villains down to
justice, befriended strange beings (a silver dragon and a Titan). I
learned that even in a world of magic there are battles one cannot win...
- a world's duchess, a military genius among the stars, whose
desire for plain and simple things caused her planetside trips to be
rather harried. It's no wonder she always sought space again rather
than the political honors that go with her titles by blood and by
warrior's might.
- a simple villager in a Bronze Age land, who heard the call of
her god to take the cloak of adventure and restore the true king of
her land to power. With divine aid she lived long enough to grow wise,
and teach others, though in truth, she has not died, and may one day
be seen again...
- a young nobleman, heart-torn between directly aiding his land, or
sending his family scattered so all could gain special skills and make
more alliances. Battles are not always won with weaponry.
- a dark young man seeking an answer to haunting questions... whose
asking aloud may bring dire danger. Does he dare trust his comrades in
arms enough to let them help? Or is the risk to them too great? Perhaps
his great hawk knows.
- Whether a penny-ante cynical young thief, or a lordly knight from the
14th century, fighting injustice is kind of tricky from the wrong side
of modern laws and morals.
- a mage with missing memories, whose return could change many lives,
perhaps the world. What could be so important that a corporate entity
was destroyed and dismantled in less than two days for it? Good thing
they don't know who she is...
- a winged priestess, and her undersized shimmering cat. She may
look frail, but the two of them have a flair for perfect timing of magical
tactics, and last minute rescues.
- a silver-haired elf with shadows in his eyes, magic in his spirit
and the wolves at his heels... as his packmates. Ain't NO-body frags with
the Wolves!
In my opinion the stories of these characters (and a few more, these are
just the coolest ones) are far more fun than the question of what type of
statistic system they are played under. But for trivia fandom out there,
they were, in order:
- Paladin and Cleric, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
- Imperial Navy 7 enlistments,
Traveller
currently published by Imperium Games, Inc.
- Orlanthi townswoman from Sartar, Glorantha by Chaosium
(RuneQuest II, actually, but it can't be called that since they sold
"RuneQuest"
to Avalon Hill, who mangled
a curious, non-Earthlike world into a cumbersome system for playing
vaguely Viking heroes. They say they've improved it... but Time
will tell.)
- Orlanthi nobleman from Sartar, Glorantha
- Ranger, D&D with some variant rules
- Magical focus transforms a woman into the Silver Knight, her ancestor.
Champions
by Hero Games
- custom archetype Mage with a strong scientific background,
Shadowrun
by FASA
- Wind Child from the Stormwalk Mountains, Glorantha
- custom archetype Wolf Shaman gang member, Shadowrun
(not ElfQuest, though I've
played that too)