Hey, what are some of the great descriptors people are using?
I have to share this, because it shows how simple yet versatile this system is:
My 9 yr. old made these for her elf - Excellent horsewoman and dislikes humans.
Gotta love this!
I'm out of town on business and she just called to ask if we could play when I get back - my kids are too cool :)
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ShadowStalker,
That's great to hear! The son unit prefers sci-fi over fantasy so we play a lot of Flash Gordon, Star Frontiers and Star Wars (depending on the mood).
I've been playing Thom Little who is half the height of a halfing.
Wears exotic feather caps (Fun to play keeping his hats from harm)
Always showing off his prowess (Gets in trouble trying to show off too much)
Thief of hearts
sycophant
Caregiver
Visionary
Narrow Minded
My daughter's four now, and already wants to play minis games with Daddy. I'm gonna end up buying her a bucket of army men. :D
At many Walmart stores in New Mexico and Texas you can find plastic packages in the $1.00 toy section that contain one to two dozen army men.
Always Hungry
Trustworthy
Overly Trusting
Dour
Negative Nancy
Simply must taste new things (food, unlabeled potions etc.)
Always buys the rounds.
Can't get enough Lorewine
Bad sense of direction
Preoccupied with thoughts
Always forgetting the 10' pole (and always finding uses for it)
I can do that! (way overconfident)
Me Too! (always wants to do the same skill roll as another character)
Fastidious to a fault
Clothes-horse/Dandy
Casual racist
Collector of X (Ivory scrimshaw, intricate jewelry,Gnomish Blueriver Clay pottery etc etc)
Hoarder
Miserly
Broods at the drop of a hat
Spendthrift
Obsessive Journal entries/mapmaking
Hates an enemy/rival
Distrust of (Race)
Distrust of (Class or profession)
Obsessed with/enjoys emulating Specific Race or culture
In love with(specific person)
Sentimental
Protective of women or children(Papa Bear syndrome)
Protective of 'helpless' men (Amazon Princess Syndrome)
Insatiable curiosity
Hyperactive
Listless and bored
Addicted to danger
Addicted to pipeweed
Sucker for a pretty face
Constantly but genially competitive
Insists on preparing meals for friends or lovers-loves to cook.
Compulsive grass weaving/ paper origami when waiting
Collects accents (Henry Higgins Syndrome)
Thinks he can sing-but can't
Wants to leave a lasting legacy before she dies
Still plays in the rain/mud
Donates to cause of choice, in money or effort
Beware the wrath of a Good Man
Seeks out and enjoys a friendly argument/debate
Flighty and easily distrac-Oooh, a pretty butterfly!
Liberally quotes favorite book/song/play
Enjoys quiet, lazy days like a fine wine
Mutters constant monologue to self under breath when alone
Chronic Wanderlust/born explorer
Incessant gossip
Dark Secret that she is terrified/ashamed of(even if it isn't really THAT big a deal)
Wanted for past crimes
Marked by Demons/Gods/Fair Folk
Family legend or curse(may or not be real)
Has one of those 'familiar faces'(strangers think they might have met him)
You guys have a great thing going here... Some people have a hard time picking their descriptors during character creation and it would be neat to have 100 of 'em set up in a table to give some nifty imagination boosting to newbies. Anyone want to tackle that task? I know my kids could have used it. My son STILL after something like 9 gaming sessions has one of his 3 human descriptors left blank haha
Must always disturb sleeping monsters
Another fun way to have descriptors is to have a tag line. You can usually come up with a way to slide your tag line into game play, and it makes a memorable character. Here are a few fun ones to consider:
tagline: "Let's poke it with a stick!"
tagline: "What's in it for me?"
tagline: "If you want something done right, have a [character's race] do it."
tagline: "And THAT, my friends, is how it's done."
tagline: "It's not MY fault I look this good!"
tagline: "Planning is for the lazy."
tagline: "Done is better than perfect."
tagline: "I didn't do it. If I did, you wouldn't be able to prove it."
tagline: "Outnumbered? Just the way I like it."
tagline: "I've got a bad feeling about this."
My son Noah made a character who had a descriptor "doesn't believe in halflings" - we laughed all night about this. He said his character thinks they're just skinny little dwarves who THINK they're a separate race and he doesn't buy into the myth. Fun.
LOL I had an wizard in a D&D game who probably should have had the descriptor "Drinks ANYONE under the table." She was something of a drunk, and I had the most uncanny luck with rolls for her to not pass out or become inebriated past 'tipsy.' She once won a drinking contest with an orc tribe...
Greets the morning sun with a smile
Sleeps until Noon
Has a 'lucky color'
Has a 'lucky talisman'
Stickler for 'traditional methods/practices'
Considers herself 'an innovator in her field'
Favorite War Cry
Constant but Harmless Flirt
Quiet but intense Romantic
Adores a particular Season
Adores a particular Holiday
Follows a strict diet
Dogs are awesome! Cats are evil!
Cats are Awesome! Dogs are evil!
Personalizes armor/weapons/clothing
Sacred Hymns invariable devolve into drinking songs
Drinking Songs invariably evolve into Sacred Hymns
Needlessly Complicated Schemes
Never plans ahead
Has Innovative plan to transform society forever
Ferrets out secrets as if they were precious jewels
Talks nonstop and fidgets
Laconic and placid
Master of Shadow Puppets
Outrageous regional accent
Daily Beauty routine
Okay - check this out... I threw this together by listing every descriptor everyone said so far, and putting a D00 table to it. Of course, maybe some of these are a bit redundant, but it is a fun way to loosen up someone's imagination if they're stumped. I don't see why we shouldn't keep going. Imagine if we could get ten tables like this... each on its own page... roll 1D to determine which page to go to, then D00 to roll a descriptor.
This is great!
I love free pdf's
Allergic to horsehair.
Hate cats. They have agendas.
Hate hats and people who wear them... what do they have to hide?!
Can't speak around pretty girls [or handsome boys].
Whistles when nervous.
Always wears a cape.
Distrusts men in dresses (and thinks all robes are dresses).
Very superstitious.
Won't eat anything he didn't personally cook.
Believes he's being watched by a secret brotherhood of assassins.
Chews on a pipe (but never smokes it).
Always walks with a limp (to force foes to underestimate him).
Likes to get the last word.
Shakes his head slowly in disappointment and walks away.
Doesn't believe in dragons.
Uncomfortable in enclosed spaces.
Hates odd numbers, finds them unlucky.
Hates clowns. Freaking creepy.
Farts when nervous.
Laughs at danger, too loudly.
Oh no, you got the first of those last two wrong. It should be:
Farts when laughs
Laughs at danger.
Speed work toward 1000+ options tonight. The similarities work okay for an automated random generator not so much for a pure table but the document should provide some inspiration.
Google Doc
Google Doc
Holy cow! Need to turn these into tables...
Flatulent. Which depends on who you talk to about whether this is a good Quality.
Descriptors are both good and bad, right? I'm already working on the next 1000.
Yep, they're good and bad. Or just identifying. They're just a roleplaying tool. You can have a descriptor that just says "Likes to smile a lot"
That would be an example of a descriptor that has a bad effect. Smiling at inappropriate times could be really bad.
Alexander: (With disdain) "What are you grinning about?"
Guy: (In denial) "I'm just jazzed to be on the show."