The Harbinger of Ferocity

How do you feel about the level of character diversity you’ve experienced?

To be brief, while I do see many stock characters, more so with the way they are presented in art, I generally can only roll my eyes at it. They are archetypes and tropes for a reason, as unsuccessful as that may be. For my own characters, they all follow a central theme in many shades yet the largest issue is that they cannot be worked well into most settings or situations - their novelty or uniqueness would detract from the overall theme and setting or at the very least be worlds distracting. Because I am none fond of being that sort of player, I tend not to apply in the first place as a result. But when and where I do play purely outside my realm of comfort, I always envision those characters as average. Not ugly or repulsive, yet not attractive, at perhaps their best admirable in some caliber and capacity that way but certainly not because of appearance.

Yet while I do see a fair number of characters who are stock and bog standard in being individuals, as the "young but troubled master of the sword who is on an adventure" or the "mysterious creepy introvert" or "wacky, zany, 'funny' one", those tend not to last long or they tend to evolve with time. Not always, but it at least gains some ground as the plot goes forward. Likewise, characters with the dark, mysterious, unknowable and terrible past - the aforementioned likely orphan of some variety - contrarily do not because they lack interface with the rest. That leads me to believe there is more to do with how well they fit in, both with the character and writer, than what trope - irksome it might even be - they are. But I cannot say I definitively know that for certain, rather just solely from experience and observation that this outcome is more true than it is not.

Post a random fact about yourself.

A number of circumstances made my existence unlikely, not the least of which were that I was the only survivor or the very last because of that. Were things even so slightly different, for one reason or another I would not be here, in an odd way making me the first and the last of my entire line.

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

Here I was about to ask the exact same question but with answer already had, all I can add now is I eagerly await finding out just whatever this creature is. It certainly feels strange and out of place with dragons but then again, I haven't paid all the draconic leanings of the editions much mind.

Post a random fact about yourself.

Out of the many unusual things in life I have tried based upon purported benefits of culturally borne enlightenment or health, kombucha tea is one of those I simply do not find all that fantastic. It is best described for what it is, fermented, acidic tea, with large amounts of microorganisms and their mats in it. Now one can see how it is not all that appetizing although I can say I appreciate the experience.

Obscure RP Genres

One of the stranger ones that is seldom mentioned is "savage fantasy", something of the more traditional sword and sorcery variety that is grounded more in the nature of the world itself being mythic and massive, with the characters being comparatively small in the scheme of things. The narrative is more primal and earthly, with the mysteries and mysticism, the magic itself, not being elaborated upon or explained, rather a known factor but too ethereal and distant for most to master. Many monsters and creatures themselves are based upon those living beasts historic yet drummed up to exceptional levels of power and scale, almost a sort of Stone Age fantasy but bearing obvious tropes toward traditional fantasy - noble savages, heroic barbarians, useless peasants, mad wizards and the like.

The entire genre with an overtone of "wolves at the door" niche is not often found or paid much mind. It tends to be gritty and simple individually, really only larger in its scope due to the seemingly boundless nature of the world; the exact type of thing a "sandbox narrative" aims to be. Unfortunately, given high fantasy or its derivatives et all tend to be much more popular, especially from an individual character standpoint - more interesting to write for when each person seeks different outcomes and different forms of power - this subset is almost never seen.

Post a random fact about yourself.

Even in the world dreaming, I find that I am the same throughout. My bearing, my character, my demeanor, or my personification neither flags nor changes. Here I am in all of these strange places, reinterpretations of events or elaborations thereafter, and in all of them at first nothing is different to the observers. Yet, in short order, they begin to realize that not all things are as they appear and that I, the outlier, am to blame. They see through the illusion the dream sets up and quickly come to know that what they are dealing with is not what they thought it to be.

Were one to say, view it from their perspective, this would be fuel for a nightmare. But the nightmarish elements do not so much as strike me any longer and deflect harmlessly from the bulwark of mind. Even terrible things relived or fathomed in some new, twisted way, none of them affect me, but they affect these constructs, these entities of the dream. What a strange place to be grounded, somehow, among it all and not flinch. The tastes, the smells, the sights, the sounds, the touch.

Post a random fact about yourself.

I often spend my time reading and rereading, treading old ground in content from sources somehow left untouched and incorporating them into my prior understanding. How much can be missed, somehow, is always a point of fascination for me.

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

Turning the sword over in hand, the broad, striped pelt stretching the gauntlet it bore, a step back was taken and the rest of the body aimed, at moment's notice, to retaliate. The greatsword itself drew up with the motion of a single arm and set back with a menacing gesture. Whatever this thing was that seemed set to guard the dragon eggs, it might well need be dealt with too if the rest of it crept over the edge not far to the side of the bestial knight. Both burning golden eyes dared not leave it but the body they so belonged to stayed much by the path.

If this were an attack of trap of some variety, as it very much felt to be now, the huntsman man-beast stood ready to confront whatever else might come in this dank, wretched place. Something, some way, needed to answer this too, but for the moment it seemed like instant violence was not the wisest answer, at least not from this angle...

Effects

Brannor will take a five foot step back and keep to guarding the path that leads down to the depths, allowing the rest to deal with the wandering tentacles at the overlook.

@Hekazu@Ryonara@Zverda@Lucius Cypher@Norschtalen

Post a random fact about yourself.

The more I study philosophy and psychology as a hobby, all the more everything I interpret or experience becomes clear, particularly those things past. It is stranger still to note how familiar many concepts are and that, in many ways, unusual encounters for the greater populace. It provides a sense of realization, that contrary to the claims of some it is no more strange than it should be; if anything it is strange that people fret to look into the pool's reflections of themselves.

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

On a related note, could the party have a crude, or even well developed if one is so inclined, map to better represent the exact positioning of all things? I suspect that this might be mighty relevant with something that seems to have very, very long reach and is no kobold or dragon from the look of it, @Hekazu.