Please Help Me Develop My D&D Character.
Hey guys, I've been a big fan of D&D for a long time, and now that I'm in college I'm with a group of people who will set up a D&D game with me. We're all supposed to create a character and I decided that I wanted to be a Specialist Mage (Necromancer) who worships Vecna.
The thing is, the DM I'm playing with isn't afraid to kill annoying players, so I have to be careful. I always wanted to make a D&D character that is interesting and a bit weirdish. Sort of crazy actually. I always pick Chaotic alignments, so I decided to make my alignment Chaotic Neutral.
My character's name is Errventius. He is a Human, male.
STATS:
STR 12
DEX 14
CON 17
INT 17
WIS 11
CHA 15
The DM said I could make a character like this but he doesn't know if it will work. He said that when I'm playing my character probably won't have the right motivation and have little to no reason to be apart of a party that goes around helping others.
I tried to improvise on the spot and say that he's a mage who values chaos above all else, and his reasoning for joining the party is just to fulfill his own ideals of spreading chaos which he sees as a perfect structure. It's going to be my first D&D party, and I need some help. I hardly know where to begin to be honest. I don't want to look like a fool playing a character if it is just going to inhibit other people's experiences, and if the character annoys the DM forget about it. Any suggestions? Please try to be as helpful as possible, I'm only a noob, and it's my first campaign.
The thing is, the DM I'm playing with isn't afraid to kill annoying players, so I have to be careful. I always wanted to make a D&D character that is interesting and a bit weirdish. Sort of crazy actually. I always pick Chaotic alignments, so I decided to make my alignment Chaotic Neutral.
My character's name is Errventius. He is a Human, male.
STATS:
STR 12
DEX 14
CON 17
INT 17
WIS 11
CHA 15
The DM said I could make a character like this but he doesn't know if it will work. He said that when I'm playing my character probably won't have the right motivation and have little to no reason to be apart of a party that goes around helping others.
I tried to improvise on the spot and say that he's a mage who values chaos above all else, and his reasoning for joining the party is just to fulfill his own ideals of spreading chaos which he sees as a perfect structure. It's going to be my first D&D party, and I need some help. I hardly know where to begin to be honest. I don't want to look like a fool playing a character if it is just going to inhibit other people's experiences, and if the character annoys the DM forget about it. Any suggestions? Please try to be as helpful as possible, I'm only a noob, and it's my first campaign.
0
Comments
A lot of people think CN means they are crazy, but that's not necessarily the case. They can be random and unreliable, but not so random as they'd attack a party member or themselves as opposed to an enemy, or jump off of a bridge instead of crossing.
If your good aligned party has you come along on their expedition, you will keep your word to party with them as long as you can benefit. Being the individualist that you are. They don't kill innocents (but may harm or torture)
When I think of Chaotic Neutral, I think a lot of someone like Captain Jack Sparrow. He doesn't define the alignment by any means, but he represents it very well in my opinion. All in all, as long as the adventure was geared toward your interests as a CN Necromancer worshipping Vecna, you'd be able to go along for the ride. But If they are overly good or overly evil, you might have to duck out at some point, and stash the character sheet away for another day. Before your DM kills you off.
You're going to make mistakes. Understand this and understand its okay because you will learn from them. Test your limits in small amounts to see what the DM and party is comfortable with, ask for advice with spells especially. Vecna is the god of secrets, so you may want to ask your DM if you can work that in somehow with your character, and above all participate. Take an interest in the game, the story and the other players. If you do, it will take an interest back.
Where good and evil comes in is to determine what you view as perfect or imperfect. If the task the structure performs is anathema to you, then even if the structure performs that task perfectly, you will still view it as imperfect.
As far as doing good deeds, helping others can be done for reasons other than "it's the right thing to do". You may help people because of the reward (who doesn't like gold, or being treated like a hero by hot village maidens?) Maybe it just makes you feel good when you get praise and attention. Maybe you like the company of your fellow adventurers, who seem to be some of the few people who understand you, despite your differences in opinion.
Also, as other have already pointed out, chaotic doesn't need to mean completely crazy. There's certainly a chaotic neutral brand of crazy, but there are crazy people of all alignments (e.g., a lawful good character with a martyr complex who hears voices telling them to embark on suicidal quests to save the world). You could express your chaotic nature in other ways that are more conducive to harmony with your fellow players. For example:
-You're perpetually restless, and that restlessness is what drives you. You travel with an adventuring party because it allows you to be constantly on the move.
-You're an adrenaline junkie. Above all else, you need stimulation. You put yourself in danger to get that rush that makes you feel alive.
-You're an anarchist and a rebel. You're alright with order and routine on a much smaller scale(i.e., you're willing to make nice with your party members, partially because you're fond of them, and you may vocally disagree with their decisions but you will basically go along with the party's consensus). On a larger scale, however, you see the expectations of society as inherently oppressive and refuse to fully participate in society for that reason. You find that the life of an adventurer frees you from a lot of the obligations that others are subject to.
-In your mind, money = freedom. You're holding out for a big score--a dragon's treasure trove or an evil wizard's collection of magical artifacts--convinced that a windfall of gold will change your life forever. But somehow, it's just never quite enough...
One character is Chaotic evil in an orherwise good/neutral group. He has a hallucination/vision that allows him to function better as part of the party. "Play the Game" - it doesn't matter if you cheat as long as everyone thinks you're all following the same general set of rules. If generally you go along with party decisions they won't mind if you sometimes cause some havoc, but they will mind if you object to going on the quest in the first place.
Or, alternatively: "So, you're saying that if I can trick all of the other mindless drones into believing that I subscribe to their arbitrary moral framework, they'll just leave me alone?"
Personally, if you're having your first D&D game, I'd suggest against the chaotic neutral necromancer. I've had a bunch of players play Chaotic Neutral in their first game and it always ends up being Chaotic Evil who do cruel and horrible shit for the lulz, only with more randomness and saving a kitten afterwards. A death wizard who lives to spread chaos is a villain and unless everyone's comfortable with you, it'll lead to a lot of headaches because the rest of the party will have to do damage control for your wizard.
That said, if they're ok with it and you're really keen on playing the guy, go right ahead.
Playing him as 'an agent of chaos' might still not be the way to go though. It's unrealistic and borderline unplayable, as it would require you to cause strife and conflict whereever you went.
Instead, I'd suggest playing him as someone who does what needs to be done without regard for law or without looking too deeply into the morality. You'll be a hero, save a village from orcs but you'll do it by raising the corpses of slain orcs and have the zombie orcs destroy the orc camp with all its orc children as well. Because you need to root out the orc threat by the core and not pussyfoot around 'is killing evil children evil'. You recognise that Undead are Evil but you see their use as your tool and weapon outweighing any objections. After all, who needs their body when they're dead, and you'll use them to save more lives.
If your party is good, then there will be situations where they can't solve a problem bue to their inherent limitations as decent people. Your chaotic alignment (and thus predesposition to go against the group) and loose morality allow you to be free of their moral shackles and solve problems by any means necessary. They can be the heroes, you'll be the anti-hero.
You don't have to be good to want to help people. Every insane dictator believes he's helping his people, despite lacking anything close to a good (or even neutral) alignment.
"The D&D Players Handbook v3.5 has a great description for CN alignment. Specifically because it doesn't say anything about being insane, stupid, random, or generally a meta-gaming dink.
It reads as follows;
Chaotic Neutral, "Free Spirit": A chaotic neutral character follows his whims. He is an individualist first and last. He values his own liberty but doesn't strive to protect others' freedom. He avoids authority, resents restrictions, and challenges traditions. A chaotic neutral character does not intentionally disrupt organizations as part of a campaign of anarchy. To do so, he would have to be motivated by either good ( and a desire to liberate others ) or evil ( and a desire to make those different from himself suffer ). A chaotic neutral character may be unpredictable but his behavior is not totally random. He is not as likely to jump off a bridge as to cross it. Grimble, a bard who wanders the land living by his wits, is chaotic neutral. Chaotic neutral is the best alignment you can be because it represents true freedom from both society's restrictions and a do-gooder's zeal.
This is a GREAT view of the CN alignment and much more adult/sophisticated when compared to the previous edition texts, as used in the original Baldur's Gate.
Frankly, I think this should be adopted and overwritten into the game
To me, chaotic neutral is capable of being good or bad, depending on their whims and attachments. They have no standards or driving morals, simply doing things as they please. This doesn't mean they won't help those they care about, but it does mean they need a reason to care.