In our most recent episode, we decided to tackle a thought-provoking question from one of our listeners: “What is your take on players wanting to play knock-offs of famous characters. Example: Drizzt or, more recently, characters from Critical Role?”
As I stated in the episode, I wasn’t even aware that this was an issue for DM’s and, truth be told, I’m oftentimes flummoxed by what people seem to get upset about with TTRPG’s. But, as DM Tony says, I digress …
I was intrigued by the question and it got me thinking about the characters I create. The reason I didn’t realize this was an issue for some people is because of the way I get inspiration for characters – which is exactly what the question points to.
All the characters I’ve created have a line that can be drawn, directly or indirectly, to other characters, or amalgamations, from books, television and movies.
I thought this was a great time to open up my character binder and bring you all along as we delve into building or reskinning characters that have already become legends for your brand new campaign.
The Inspiration
Coming hot on the heels of our Halloween adventure through Weird NJ, I decided to use my human paladin, Aeron Pendragon, as our example.
As some background, Aeron was built for the campaign that my girlfriend, Bonnie’s, nephew, Jake, started running for her family. This is the same one that I had written the Black Pines adventure for. Jake had decided that he was going to set the campaign in the modern-day world, with the starting point being King of Prussia, one of Philadelphia’s edge cities.
Jake explained to the group, via a text-based Session Zero, that there had been some sort of explosion in the atmosphere that had rendered all technology obsolete. With the explosion had come “powers” allowing for the varied abilities of the classes.
The first adventure would start near King of Prussia. Our backstories would explain: 1) where we were coming from and how we arrived at the survivor’s camp near King of Prussia and, 2) how we came upon our weapons and equipment (which I thought was a great way to build player investment and imagination in something that seems very straightforward.)
Jake allowed a certain amount of leeway beyond what is normally available for the class and background, if you had a good reason for having obtained it.
This very different D&D setting, a modern-day Dying Earth-style campaign world, got me thinking about the type of character I’d like to play, and on my drive home one night, it came to me in a flash. I am a huge fan of The Dresden Files book series by Jim Butcher – great writing, excellent world, memorable characters – and I always loved the character Michael Carpenter. For those not familiar with the series, Michael is a deeply religious carpenter (pun obviously intended), raising his large family in Chicago. He also happens to be a Knight of the Cross, a sect of holy warriors who each wield one of the Swords of the Cross – a set of three swords made magical by having one of the nails from the Crucifixion worked into the hilt.
Oh, he also happens to be descended from Charlemagne. I mean, that’s a pretty awesome build for a paladin, am I right?
But, that character doesn’t exist in the campaign world crafted by the DM. He exists in Butcher’s fictional “Buffy the Vampire Slayer starring Philip Marlowe” Chicago. So, what do you do?
Making It Your Own
I drew a huge amount of inspiration for the character build from Butcher’s Michael Carpenter. Not a problem, no different from wanting to make Conan or Drizzt or Grog Strongjaw or Caleb Widogast. But if that specific character doesn’t exist within the campaign you’re playing in, you can always “kit-bash.”
I thought about the basis of the existing character. What really made him memorable? He’s a seemingly normal man in a modern-day Chicago who happens to be descended from royalty and is, for all intents and purposes, a modern-day paladin with a magic sword (more on this magic sword later).
First: A normal man. This fits perfectly into the campaign world I’d be playing in. I wrote Aeron’s background as a former police officer who, through some hanky-panky with the captain’s daughter, was dismissed from the force and currently works as a security guard at a local New Jersey hospital. This helps to create some level of martial training for someone who will become a paladin.
Second: Descended from royalty. Michael Carpenter was descended from Charlemagne, but Aeron would be a character with a, seemingly, more local line of nobility because Aeron Penn was descended from the founder of Philadelphia, William Penn.
Finally: How could a modern-day paladin get a magic sword without being a Knight of the Cross? How about if Aeron’s father was involved in genealogy and had brought back a sword from his recent trip to England? And further, what if Aeron’s father had discovered and further revealed in his journal that their last name, Penn, was actually shortened from Pendragon?
Well, now we have an archetypal paladin, don’t we?
Tricks and Treats?
We still have the issue of the magic sword, especially for a character coming in at level one. Even with the DM’s leeway in gathering our adventuring gear and weapons, announcing you have found a magic sword is a bit of a dick move.
With this understanding, I put Aeron together in a way, through his backstory, that he had a beautifully crafted longsword – completely doable with the class build in 5e. With that, I opened the possibility that the sword might be equally descended from the King Arthur myth and Excalibur. I approached Jake, the DM, with this and asked what he thought. Thankfully, he loved the idea and the whole character concept. We worked out that the sword would level with me, unlocking abilities as I began my new career as a knight.
What this enabled was complete player agency while still giving the DM the complete freedom to decide what was and wasn’t possible in his world at any given time.
As Aeron leveled up, I decided to play on the Excalibur myth in a way that was reminiscent of The Swords of the Cross. I began to co-create, with the DM, a legendary artifact that was inspired by existing stories and myths but, was it still singularly its own creation – what I feel is the hallmark of great writing.
So, what did we create? I’m so glad you asked.
As Aeron leveled up, the sword began to gain power. Beginning with modifiers to attack and damage and then morphing into more powerful abilities. Again, this came through co-creation – the DM and player working together to craft a great story rather than just give out Halloween candy to one particular player. This really grew with additional backstory I wrote as Aeron leveled to give lore to the sword – things he found out on his “Quests.”
Legend Lore
Much like the Sword of the Cross and Excalibur, I wanted to craft lore around the sword that Aeron wielded. With that in mind, this is a portion of what I sent to our DM that allowed him to play with it as he saw fit. This scene starts as Aeron arrives at the ruins of the Philadelphia Museum of Art …
As he entered the room, the quietness in the museum was deafening, as if the Universe had decided to collectively hold its breath. In front of him was what his Father had described, under a giant exhibit banner that read CAMELOT: JOURNEY THROUGH THE MISTS, the giant tapestry known as the Nine Heroes Tapestry depicting King Arthur in decidedly religious garb. He immediately noticed that there was no sword depicted in the painting, no Excalibur. Just the regal countenance of Arthur Uther Pendragon alongside other historical luminaries. Surrounding the giant tapestry were several other medieval art pieces that were part of the exhibit.
Several pieces caught Aeron’s eye as he scanned the room for clues to what he was meant to find here. One painting depicted the famed Lady in the Lake, who bequeathed Excalibur to Arthur and reclaimed it after his death.
A second depicted the Sword in the Stone, also sometimes referred to as Excalibur.
The third, and final, piece showed Arthur and Lancelot seemingly gifting the sword and a bouquet of flowers to Guinevere.
The thought struck him like a thunderbolt… none of the swords were the same! His eyes immediately drifted down to settle on a plaque placed underneath the display:
Much has been written about King Arthur’s famed sword Excalibur. Originally called Caledfwlch in Welsh, it was said to be the magical sword that Arthur drew from the stone to symbolize his rightful claim to the throne of England. Many legends have been told and written of where it was forged. Some say on the Isle of Avalon, some say bequeathed to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake and yet others claiming the original owner being Merlin himself. Scholars have long held that all these swords were actually different. Excalibur being the sword drawn from the stone and marking Arthur the sovereign King of England while the Claiomh Solais, or Sword of Light, being the one granted by the Lady of the Lake. The third sword is the one most shrouded in mystery and the one supposedly rendered in the tapestry above being gifted to Lady Guinevere. This sword has held many names in the past, but the one most often rendered was Morthwyl o Duw – The Hammer of God.
Aeron’s eyes wandered back up to the tapestry. Morthwyl o Duw was most definitely the sword currently held in the scabbard at his side. Morthwyl o Duw … The Hammer of God.
Epic. I know. So what were Morthwyl o Duw’s growing powers you ask? Thanks to Homebrewery, you can see for yourself … will this artifact appear in your world as well? (Feel free, please. And tell us about its exploits!)
Final Thoughts
Nothing in this article should preclude a player from building, or a DM for allowing, a character from legend. A quick Google search will show character builds for every TTRPG system of existing characters from books, movies and television. Building those characters can be an incredibly enjoyable experience, seeing how the system supports their unique abilities. One needs look no further than many of the class archetypes in 5e itself that are completely inspired by existing figures from fiction.
However, as I stated in the episode, the reason we want to play characters like Conan and Drizzt is because of what they’ve done and who they’ve become. What we love about them is not the destination of their legend, but the journey that led to it. That’s what we really want to play. In this same way, starting with the inspiration and working to create a story that will lead to its own lore. A story that will shape the world you are playing in and have you talking about for years to come. A story that will become legend.
Until next time, heroes … LIVE THE ADVENTURE!