Character Ideas

Just some brainstormed character concepts for future PCs and NPCs. Each of these concepts makes little use of Prestige Classes, though they might note useful ones, because the concept is just a baseline for a unique personality.

Table of contents

• Dungeons & Dragons
  • Barbarians
    • Urban Barbarian
    • The Felon
    • Demon Possessed
  • Bards
    • Master of Disguises
• Mutants and Masterminds
  • Heroes
    • Nanite-based

Urban Barbarian

Raised on the streets and without an education, he turned to a life of crime. He started out as a hired muscle for protection racketeers. Over time, his thug duties included assault and disappearing people. The urban barbarian tends to wear little armor as to better blend into a crowd when fleeing the scene and to display his impressive physique for intimidation. Life has been difficult, and he has learned to channel his past experiences into explosive rages when necessary. He also learned to be quick on his feet to chase down a fleeing shopkeeper or to escape the police.

ALT: For a good character add--after being assigned to kill an innocent, the thug turned away from his former life and has tried to redeem his past.

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The Felon

Unjustly sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit, he found it necessary to harness his anger at the injustice to protect his life. In prison, there are few weapons and armor available for use and he has learned to do without. It was difficult, be he has survived the experience. He is not the same person who entered the prison, a harder and angrier person remains. Perhaps they escaped, learning to run faster and longer than a normal person.

ALT: This concept works the same with a former slave instead of a criminal.

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Demon Possessed

She was born a sickly child, barely clinging to life. A traveling priest offered to heal the child at no cost. Overjoyed, the poor farming couple eagerly accepted the offer. Little did they know, the priest was a servant of a demonic master. He lived up to his promise, but instead of healing the child--he fused her soul to a demonic spirit. Since it was accepted willingly, even though it was deception, the spirit has been permanently fused to the girl's soul and cannot be exorcized.

As the girl grew up, she grew to be exceptionally stronga far cry from her previously frail form. Her parents' happiness allowed them to ignore the girl's angry, hateful sidefor a time. Feeling betrayed by her family after they forced her to leave, she didn't understand why they would claim that she savagely beat her older siblings when she knew that she could never do such a thing. In the years since, she has learned the truth of her condition, and tries to use it for good.

This concept works really well with the Frenzied Berzerker PRC from the Complete Warrior handbook.

ALT: Instead of being posessed by a evil spirit, the she is has a split personality. Perhaps she was abused and developed a second, angry personality that takes over when times get tough.

Master of Disguises

Either as a means of making money or operating as a spy, this concept makes use of the bard's jack-of-all-trades attribute. Being able to cast healing spells, the bard can act the part of a priest. He can also act as a light warrior, wizard, or theif. Other disguises can include diplomats, merchants, and nobility as they carry little armor and equipment. The character is constantly changing roles as necessary, even inventing different personalities to go with each disguise. The bard's knack for social skills, especially bluff and disguise, make each disguise believable.

Combined with the Chameleon PRC from Races of Destiny, this concept becomes an even more formitable master of disguises.

ALT: Another possibility is a multiple personality character. Each day, you don't know which personality will show up.

Nanite-based

Experimental nanites were designed to augment super-soldiers in combat. They were primarily designed to spread through the body and heal injuries rapidly. They can replicate as needed to complete their task. Perhaps also have the ability to help adapt the soldier to extreme conditions, such as desert heat and arctic cold.

Accidentally exposed to the nanites during a lab explosion, the hero was too badly wounded for the nanites to heal him. Instead, the nanites self-replicated until they replaced every cell in his body. He is now made entirely out of nanobytes. His main powers would include the ability to change shape and heal rapidly. Physical attacks would have little effect as the hero can alter his density and allow the attack to pass right through, like punching air. Additional abilities can include the adaptation ability, changing powers as necessary for survival. Imagine this like Star Trek's borg, initially vulnerable to many forms of attack, but slowly adapting to remove that vulnerability. Also the hero has some control over machines, due to the ability of his nanites to communicate with nearly electronics.

A potential weakness can be an electro-magnetic pulse, which would disrupt the ability of the nanites to communicate and remain cohesive--resulting in the hero crumbling into millions of tiny pieces. Other kinds of electronic interference can have a similar effect, though the recovery time would be vary by the duration of the interference.

ALT: For a villain, have the person be the lead scientist who's project was about to lose funding due to frequent malfunctions of the nanites. In his arrogance, the villain injected himself to prove the concept. The nanites malfunctioned, determining that every cell was flawed and needed to be replaced. Driven mad by the painful experience, the villain now uses his powers to get revenge against those who slighted him and to gain power in the criminal underworld.