The Dresden Files > DFRPG

Lets all try to be a little more original

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blackheart:
Part of the issue might be that the Dresdenverse by it's very nature does not lend itself to black and white characters.

Even Murphy, the closest thing to a lawful-good paladin (excepting Michael Carpenter) has a history of relationship issues and hit a really rough patch after Kravios' ghost ran her over.

If you want a "let's be HEROES" game, I salute you. Sometimes I want to be the clearly good knight slaying the clearly evil dragon to save the clearly in distress princess.

But the Dresdenverse is rarely clear-cut and easy to navigate. Kinda like life. Which is part of it's appeal.

Jaroslav:

--- Quote from: srl51676 on March 25, 2010, 07:58:27 AM ---@Jaroslav: As far as Thomas goes his motivation is an excuse for him to be likable. He is exactly like spike its just that his monster period is not covered much by the books. He was no virgin when he met Harry in "Grave Peril". Do you think he wasn't eating before that? And now he has reverted to what he was. Just ask anyone who has been through AA or NarcAnon just because you stop drinking does not mean you aren't an alcoholic.

--- End quote ---
I don't think Thomas ever had a monster period. (click to show/hide)Even now when at his worst he still doesn't want to go around killing people. I think the only time Thomas ever killed someone by feeding was when he first transformed. Since then I see him as struggling with what he and his family really are. (click to show/hide)Until his recent transformation that is.
I just want to say the main reason I'm defending Thomas is that I think it's possible to play a white court vampire that doesn't fall into the "I'm evil but not really" cliche, and I think Thomas is a good example of that.

srl51676:
I'm sorry but I have to disagree no matter how conflicted he is about it he is still character wise no different than Angel or Drizzt Do'urden he is an excuse to play a dark sexy bad guy with out having to deal with all the negative social repercussions. I am not say that these characters are not playable they are I just think that they are way too popular for the reasons I have listed before. I would like to see gamers, myself included, work a little harder in coming up with an idea. If people are going to be derivative, which in a license game is inevitable, why is no one on this board emulating Murphy, Michael, or even Harry no what we have are a bunch of Thomas, Kincaid, and Cowl clones. Again I am guilty too my first character idea was a white court caster. I'm just trying to encourage all of us to stretch a little bit more.

iago:
So, in one of my earliest playtesting games, I had a guy playing a dude in a trenchcoat who was cagey and didn't talk much. You'd think this was a stereotype, right?

Well, he had some reasons for being that way.  Maybe it was the fact that he had a talking ancient mask stashed in his (enchanted) overcoat that was the source of much of his power. And that mask insisted on staying hidden whenever other ancient (or not so ancient) powers stood nearby.  (Another player's theory about that mask is what lead to the notion of an Autumn Court that crept into the book's text just a little.)

And he also wasn't going the loner route. As I recall, he was a bodyguard by trade, and that had bound him closely to the other PCs.  He might be a very private person, but he had plenty of reason to hang around other people, to be part of a group -- even if it was "just a job". (Or was it? His mask's attitude towards the work he did was unusually encouraging.)

So, this is something I wanted to point out because I think it breaks the loner paradigm neatly and clearly.  Loners, for me, are people who actively work against being a part of the group.

I don't think Thomas qualifies, there.  Family is important to him, whether we're talking about his brother or his sister.  He's a joiner.  He might have lots of reasons to lie, to put off airs like he doesn't care, but he does.

As to "I'm evil but not really" side of things: I think the other posters have got it right. There are very few examples of unalloyed goodness in the Dresdenverse. So that's not an escapable paradigm.  We can't all be Michael -- nor should we.  If Michael Carpenters were frequent, they wouldn't stand out as such an important, vital part of the mortal struggle against the supernatural.

Saedar:
I have a character idea based on the character of Ezekiel "Zeke" Stone from the Brimstone series. A little more magic, a little less guns, but then, I've always had a huge crush on magic  :D. Would you say this falls into the category of "evil but not really?"

Can you explain a little further about what you mean with these categories? For example: Drizzt and Angel are two VERY different characters. They both have a "tortured history" (ASPECT!) but they manifest differently. Drizzt is a truly good individual who is trying to fight back against the stigma placed on him based on his racial identity. Angel is trying to cope with the horrible and LONG history of his own.

Also, for Lawbreaker, if this game is set to take place at the height of the Vampire-Wizard war, it might make sense for there to be more and more talents popping up that don't have the guidance to avoid breaking the Laws that they might have had with the White Council before the war broke out.

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