I really appreciate your ending. I 100% agree. The only thing I think is specifically a negative player trait is being inconsiderate of other's time at the table, and that can be part of any playstyle.
As a forever DM I wholeheartedly agree. You will spend all of your time figuring out and gaining the capability to one-shot a tarrasque. And then you will decide not to kill the tarrasque because "it's really just misunderstood" convince the temporary DM to let you tame it and rampage across the forgotten realms gloriously.
This is the first time I've seen a list built entirely around expressing the positive traits that each archetype brings to the table, and for that you get my sub. Very mature.
Exactly, that's why this excellent. Many a video will go on about the problems with these types of players (which is also fair, sometimes DMs need help managing a certain play style if it doesn't fit their own) but it's good to see the positive aspects highlighted.
I agree. A Superhero can be a whiny b*tch when things don't go their way. An Actor can be an attention hog to the exclusion of all others, possibly even the DM. A Storyteller might even want to force their interpretation of the setting on the DM. If the group is playing a pre-made campaign, they might read ahead to know what's coming, and prepare accordingly, even though the Character wouldn't know to do so in-game. A Minmaxer might ignore the setting, the rules' intent and even basic physics and common sense to push through their "perfect" build. A Scientist may not see things like the Peasant Railgun, the Hulking Hurler, the Omniscificer, or Pun Pun, the lvl 1 ascended god, as a fun thought experiment, but as a challenge to pull off in-game - and be surly when the DM won't let them do it. An Instigator may derail campaigns by doing random sh*t "for the lulz". Often the excuse "but I'm Chaotic Neutral" will be used. A Socialite may actively sabotage a campaign just to get the group to play something else.
I'm a combination of The Scientist and the untold 8th type, The Forever DM who has a list of over 100 characters that they would love to play if anyone else would DM for a change
Most people are terrified of playing the DM. You should ask them to do a one-shot set in their characters background-story.The other players will behave nicely, because nobody wants to break the game/continuity.
I've played with a DM who played a character that wasn't part of the party but played as NPCs (such as merchants, innkeepers, etc) and as certain enemies including rolling their own checks and things like that as well as personality & morality type. In fact he even created a separate character that became a boss type enemy.
I like being a player, but I also want to DM every once and a while. I may be VERY new to actually playing DND, but I would be happy to DM a one shot, or even a campaign for you. 😁😁
I had a really sweet moment during this video where the last archetype rolled around, and a player at my table who I thought wasn't really into it suddenly made a lot of sense. They're there, truly to hang out, play when its turn and otherwise vibe and enjoy the game just as much as the rest of us. And that brought a smile to my face and warmth to my cold, dead forever DM heart.
That's what I would call a quiet or calm extrovert person. Someone who loves being surrounded by people/friends, but won't bother taking most of the initiative, but will enjoy the vibe regardless.
I had a similar sweet moment but I think all my players might be the last Archetype. They all want to play but each doesn't do a lot of playing... it's a strange group but I love em
I have three players who are like this, I don't play the same campaign with all of them, and they all love me and give me feedback, and allow me to improve my dungeon master skills comfortably.
Addressing the “bad player” part at the end: Honestly, the only “bad player or DM” is someone who doesn’t respect or care if the others at the table are having fun. Whether an edgelord, murder hobo, emo-abuser, attention hog or other it all boils down to “as long as they are having fun or feeling powerful, who cares about anyone else”. Thanks for keeping it positive!
Dang mate you reminded me of one of my "young" friends, he would always want to be the leader and seeks attention and NEVER wants to lose a fight, very frustrating sometimes, but i still enjoy playing with him and my friends, since he is the only attention seeker so its fine i suppose...its a game after all
@@theladyivy I would say that “if they are a player who’s sole mission is to break your campaign” they “don’t respect or care if the others at the table are having fun”. I as the DM certainly wouldn’t be.
@@Quietu @theladyivy Ive been in a party where it felt like the sole purpose of the DM was to kill everyone in the party and/or not care about the players at table. Then Ive alslo had other players try their best to annoy, break, or purposely try to go off and do their own thing what the DM clearly had in mind. Also the ones that really didnt care about others in the party or having fun by trying to take all the gold or items etc.
Obvious, most players will be a mix of several of these archetypes! When I was thinking about players, I came on the idea of grouping players based what they aim to find in a game of D&D. Essentially, their motivations and where they find the fun. That seemed a lot easier than basing it on allignement or stereotypes, but what type of player do you think you are?
I think I'm a Min Maxer; But I feel like the Socialite at times cause while I do enjoy making my character good at their job. Its not the be all end all as that is something I've learnt from watching other dnd groups/channels like you. :D I wouldn't mind hearing your take on some of the Other DnD 5e type TTRPGs out there. Which ones you like and which ones you don't ect.
I think I'm mostly the scientist, but with a touch of most of the other things too. I absolutely love using a combo of magic items with spells and abilities to make crazy things happen, such as having my shadow monk activate a daern's instant fortress over the head of a lich so it fell on him and crushed him instantly. Or when I used a chime of opening to unlatch the saddle of someone we were pursuing so he fell off his horse, before then shoving a potion of fear down his throat and casting detect thoughts on him in order to interrogate him. Being a scientist is so much fun for me.
With the last one shot I played I was absolutely the min-maxxer. The DM was not happy. But you were right about hexblade paladins, hell of a multiclass.
Being cursed as a perpetual DM, I love the Min-Maxers... it allows me to really get creative with the encounters and even adjust the narrative based on the massive strengths/weaknesses of those characters.
Same here. I have just found that I have to be careful to not get too focused on those to the exclusion of others nor to make encounters so difficult that only the min maxer can do anything.
Thanks for your service as forever DMs. I wonder if I’m a unique blend of player that y’all may have not encountered. I am the type of player who is a cross of a min maxer that makes sure both DM and players utilize all bonuses or detriments to every roll no matter the situation. I only maximize things that allow my party to survive and not on my individual ability. If you have encountered this type of player at least somewhat then I would like to hear y’all’s thoughts on them.
as a DM i do, as a player, i feel like min/maxers tend to have bad main character syndrome and it sometimes feels like your "fun character" gets put to the sidelines when you have a 30AC 50avg damage level 1 player at the table.
I'm starting to become a forever DM for both groups I play with. I'm sad I don't get to be a player, yet I do enjoy being behind the screen. Optimizers (which was the term I first learned to call Min-maxers) help me think outside the box to test if an encounter is too hard or not. It also teaches me how specific builds work as I learn faster by listening than by reading.
I think i would add "The Agent of Chaos" - They just want to watch the plans of others (The DM, The NPCs, The other PCs) burn. Whilst often problematic, if given a formal antagonist role by the DM (Secret spy, Agent of the Big Bad, or even secretly the Big Bad themselves) they can be a magnificent addition. They differ from The Actor because, whilst they will often create characters that lend themselves to chaos, their chaos extends to non-character interactions.
I think this is me, but a mildly controlled chaos. I have some experience as a DM, so when I play as a character I ask the DM if it's OK to push their boundaries and if not, then that's fine and I'll go be the storyteller player. The controlled chaos allows me to push the rules and the DM's creativity. I of course would also allow it in my game! I made a Twilight Human Cleric for a Strahd campaign and she messes with the balance of the game a bit haha. I try to not step on the toes of my fellow players though. The DM threw me into a doppelganger role for a few weeks and it was way too fun to scheme ways to kill the party. I almost succeeded with one death, but no dice as of yet. The doppelganger did poison a cask though, so that will probably come up eventually. :x
The thing with flesh to stone and stone shape happened to me a couple years ago. We fought against a medusa and she petrified my character, then after the rest of the party beat the medusa they got a scroll of stone shape, which they used to shape my character as a stone shield and then they cast greater restoration on him. I got turned into a meat shield.
This was one of the best play type videos I've seen. And the sponsored content jingle is absolutely one of the best executed ads I've ever seen! My compliments to the creator on a job very well done indeed.
There are two types of minmaxers. The one focusing on having the most damage and the one trying to help the party. The hexblade warlock/divine soul sorcerer might outdamage the whole party but he can be the one who keeps a few slots for revivify.
I have a strong minmaxer streak in me, and several of my fellow players are much more story/RP driven, i had to adapt my play to make my minmaxing support the group RP so as not to become a bad player. I've found a fun solution to adapt is to minmax BAD ideas, my dwarven sorcerer focused on buffing his familiar in combat was comedy gold, AND when it worked it felt amazing (it often didn't work :P ).
Being a minmaxer can be a great way to engage the party if you go for combos that require other characters. I know that won't always work, but when it does it means you and your partner get to be amazing at the same time.
I would add 1 more type of player: the Helpful Evil, a player who wants to explore something that nobody can do in real life, the intrinsically evil man/woman who becomes a reluctant hero trough circumstance, helpful to the team but with a hidden second agenda which is not easy to notice. A player who thinks morality is the enemy of a truly free choice. This kind of a player may offer, in accordance with the DM, the possibility for a bad ending to the campaign, where the team replaces the evil they know with the evil they don't. Usually this kind of a player is also partially a storyteller (aiming for a long term plan) and a min/maxer because when the time comes he needs to be ready for a 1vs all (if he is discovered or is the final act).
I really appreciate the respect you showed to all the player types. There can be toxic expressions of each type, but ultimately there is no wrong player type to be if the group is having fun.
I am definitely an instigator. Spending a half hour planning our attack is boring, let's just attack and hope for the best! I'm also a bit of a forever DM so... instigation is kind of necessary in that role 😅
I love min max players, it’s so fun to try and challenge them, since they always know so much about the game that you almost HAVE to use homebrew to surprise them
I used to love them as well... Until I got a party of 4 of them (and 1 Storyteller) And, each of them specialised in a different aspect of the game And 2 of them got upset if they didn't get to do any of their big things, and 1 specialised in combat with no social, and the other specialized in social with barely any combat Got to a point where I had to pull out litteral Tanks to threaten the Combat character (sci fi setting) And the Social character, bassically couldn't fail any social rolls
As a DM and a borderline minmax player myself, I would say they are not a problem UNLESS they are put at a table with non-minmax players who don't care about things like DPR, action economy, etc... It can create a lot of tensions because they don't want the same thing out of the game. Some minmaxers don't understand that other players might do "sub-optimal" choices. Players who don't want to optimize their builds might not like that there is a dude able to pull out more than the rest of the group combined, and feel like all the math take them out of the story.
@@kharnthebetrayer8251 I LOVE that type of stuff. It turns it into a fun co-op but also competitive thing. I don’t think a DM should try to kill the players, but being able to know that you can afford to make mistakes because they’ll find a way to do it all anyway is great. Also I just like seeing how creative they are. Artificers are terrifying once they hit level 2
At first. Yeah. 100% was great. But It quickly got to a point that anything short of an anti-tank weapon, wouldn't even be physically able to hurt the combat player. Not even Exaggerating (Game has Soak armour, and he was at close to 20 against weapons that do d10+modifier dmg) And the social player was squishy enough that a regular gun could put him down in like 3-4 shots
I am very much the storyteller. I always am super into my character's journey, their motivations. Details, why they do what they do, and how they will respond to any given sotuation.
I heartily applaud your adaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan's "I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General." It was unexpected, surprising and had me laughing so loud my wife had to come in and squeegee my monitor. Well done, Sir. Well done. I raise a beer to you!
Great video!! I kind of think of minmaxers as often "multiclassing" with other archetypes. Like, a minmaxer with a bit of scientist in them is terrifying to a DM but a miracle worker for a party of actors. A minmaxer with a bit of storyteller can actually be a fantastic roleplayer contrary to the trope of minmaxers. I think the dangerous combo comes from a minmaxer dipping into the superhero. That can make for a powerful aid as in the minmaxing scientist, but it also has the trap of being more likely to either skip out on roleplay or develop main-character syndrome, which are the primary complaints aimed at minmaxers. This is far from inevitable, but much like the instigator-to-murderhobo pipeline, it is a trap that many can fall into.
Been playing once a week for almost two decades with roughly the same group of people. I can say that in that time, each and every one of us has had traits from each and every type on this list and each of us exist with varying degrees of each time in them.
As someone organising their first DM campaign with completely new to the game players, this list is great, it helps me figure out a starting point to think about my players, their goals, and how to crave spaces for their interests in the story.
I feel like my characters have always had at least some sort of defining flaw. My first was a swashbuckler who was a compulsive liar. He couldn’t even be honest with those closest to him. (the other members of the party) He acted as party scout but often, the in-character way to decipher his reconnaissance, was to take almost the exact opposite as the truth.
I like how you avoided focusing on negative player types, and I agree with you, that no player has to stay a negative player forever... same with DMing, a lot of players require practice and help to become better. PS. I love your commercial sponsored shorts, sometimes I listen to your stuff because they're just so great.
I have aspects of most of these, except the Instigator. I love story/roleplaying and like to create effective characters--and I don't see any conflict between those two passions, Back in 3.5, I was playing a Rogue, and one of our other players was definitely an Instigator. Show him a door, and he would barge through it. This actually worked out great for my combat-oriented Rogue--the Instigator would charge into a room and take a bunch of attacks, and my Rogue would dance along the periphery Sneak Attacking foes. I didn't really appreciate his value--in fact, I found him rather annoying--until he quit the game, and the party members stood there at an open door, all staring at each other as if to say, "Are you gonna go in first?"
I believe that the "problem" with the minmaxer is that they don't mesh well with storytellers, actors and superheroes unless they share some of the traits of these roles. A "true" minmaxer or munchkin always feels like a detriment to a narrative-focussed group because a lot of their comments tend to be immersion-breaking or harmful to the atmosphere. In a more dungeon-crawly campaign they really start to shine, though. "Soft" minmaxers that try to optimize within the narrative framework of their character tend to be much more accepted than their more mechanically aligned counterpart by these other roles.
@@williamwontiam3166 Most definitely. I'd also say that minmaxers can mesh well with scientists and socialite as long as all parties are respectful to each other. The scientist and minmaxer especially can learn a lot from each other. Scientists can learn how to make their weird ideas work better by optimizing their execution within the design space of their idea. And minmaxers can learn from scientists how off-meta choices can be just as viable, giving the right circumstances and potentially broaden their horizon in the long run.
@@williamwontiam3166 it can, but that's why I try and weed out min-maxers. That and they usually tend to also be rules lawyers (and as someone who still doesn't know a lot of rules I just don't want to deal with them) and meta gamers. I want all my players to have fun and feel like they have something to offer, more often than not min-maxers just suck all the fun out of the room.
I feel a lot of the people bitching about min-maxing never actually ran a game with one on the table. Its a social game, fucking TALK TO THEM if its that much of an issue
The last one could be explained as Twitch Chat. They are just happy to be there enjoying the show everyone else is performing, while being allowed to affect it and support the performers.
One of my favorite ideas in D&D is testing how fast tenser's floating disk can move. Sure you can look at things like magical steeds loaded with enchantments and magical gear BUT those will hit limits- very fast limits, higher than you'll ever need, but limits nonetheless. A gnome on a wooden boom lift with a counterweight to hold them just outside of the follow range of the disk has no hard limits. The only questions are "how fast will your DM let you go, and how quickly will they let/force you to reach that speed"
I think I understand how you would want to do it, but the last sentence in the spell description kills that, I think: If you move more than 100 feet from the disk (typically because it can't *move around* an obstacle to follow you), the spell ends. (Emphasis added) If you would try to constrain it in a contraption like that, it would simply not move at all. The question would remain, however: If you trap a disk, move 90 feet away, and release it, would it instantly catch up to within 20 feet of you?
@@Smilley85 By follow range I meant the 20 foot distance between the caster and the disk, that the disk tries to stay within. Outside of weight reduction enchantments, I don't think it would be possible to hold a gnome past the 100 foot limit of the spell, not that it useful in the first place. As long as you don't try to enclose the disk with the crane/boom lift it should not regard the items placed on it as being different from any other heavy load within its carry capacity.
Yes, I did notice that you didn't talk about any "bad" archetypes. I was curious about that. After a moment to reflect, I realized you had a point. All the archetypes are just different ways to have fun; different players with different priorities when playing the game.
I'm a Storyteller/Instigator.... which, as our current DM pointed out, tends to be the role I take on no matter what type of character I play. We have an actual instigator in our group as well, but this takes off the murder-hobo edge just a tad bit.
This kind of reminds me of a character I made. She is incredibly smart, charismatic, and witty. In order to win, she relies on manipulating the minds of her enemies, and she isn't afraid to even use her allies to achieve her goals. However, she is terrible with physical combat, and is incredibly vulnerable to physical damage. Her biggest flaw is in her martial capabilities, which is where she will use her allies to defend her if the need arises. She is basically my own version of the villainous mastermind, with several changes, and with a really long backstory.
I really thought were going to end up with the "rules Lawyer" - the one player type who can single-handedly destroy a game faster than anything else - except maybe the "no-show" player.
I play multiple characters, each entirely different, I love rp. I make sure every character isn't perfect, flaws make characters more realistic and fun. I'm the actor, ye..
I do the same but for the long game... I made a Reborn Shadow Sorcerer who's a total superhero and proudly claims to be an Devil Lord. But now I am making a Death Domain Cleric who simply wants to help as many souls find peace...
Definitely actor/scientist. And you're spot on with the classes. For years I would only play bard/wizard/artificer. Lately I've been specifically trying to move out of that and have been having a lot of fun staying an actor/scientist but playing barbs/paladins
Spirit shroud or summon fey are better options IMHO - that's what I went with. Also took dispel magic & counterspell - invaluable. I actually didn't take fireball, but that's probably for the best because I ended up taking gravity sinkhole instead later.
@@slywolfe Not saying they’re not great choices, but the utility that you gain from Haste is undeniably strong. +2 AC, always useful especially for being nigh un-hittable. Advantage on Dex saves; yes please. Double bladesong movement of 80’ before dashing, check. Need to keep/out pace a flying dragon? Check. Stop an important NPC/creature from running away? Done. Stop the BBEG from throwing that switch/completing that ritual/etc., On it. Still make attacks/cast a powerful spell at an opportune moment AND down that potion of superior health? You betcha. Make that extra attack round over round, all day every day. Those can absolutely out dps haste, but you don’t take it for the dps. 👍🏻
@@chrishardy3439 the drawback is too high. Even slow is better to be completely honest. If you want something similar to haste but don't like mind whip, slow, or expedious retreat, I recommend ashardalon's stride. Or take the mobile feat, it's awesome. But it's hard to compete with vortex warp & mind whip, especially if you have meta magic adept for quickened & twinned spell. Hitting with mind sliver & mind whip or vortex warp in the same turn, or hitting two enemies with mind whip & moving two allies or enemies 180ft with vortex warp is amazing.
@@slywolfe Again; all those are great spells in specific circumstances, slow is a great spell and I keep it and haste prepared on my Bladesinger for use depending on the given situation. Mind whip is a great pseudo slow that deals damage as well, as long as the target fails the save.. and only lasts one round… and is a debuff to the enemy instead of a buff for you. Expeditious retreat is fine if all you need is speed AND don’t have need of your bonus action. Ashardalon’s Stride is also great; if you have a lot of enemies to use it against and no one/thing you need to avoid. Like I said in the original comment, Haste is a great spell overall for a lower level Bladesinger, that shouldn’t be overlooked. That’s it.
I was once in a party where 2 players were hero players, one was a story teller, and one was a super amazing actor but also instigator. The actor hated combat in dnd however, which led to frustrations within the group, seeing as there were also players who lived for the combat.. I can't believe the group existed as long as it did.
As a Lizardfolk rogue, i definitely relate to "the actor" since i have high charisma (even if its very broken english) at the same time we've become "the hero" type as well. We've saved the others a few times by biteing the face off the enemies with sneak, flank, and hungry jaws. Godsdamn being a rogue is awsome!!
Best trio in dnd: Superhero, Actor and storyteller. Like honestly, superhero: I wanna punch that fcking dragon Storyteller: but no, that’s against the plot!!! Superhero: whoops, too late Actor: screw the dragon, anyone remember to pack birth control??? (And yes, the actor is playing a bard) Edit: the superhero can be replaced by the instigator if you want
This is great! I can really see myself in a few of the classes you mentioned, (often actor/storyteller with certain characters inspiring superhero) However, thie also reminds me that you would be a perfect person to answer a question I had: what is the difference between the divine classes? (Cleric, Paladin, Divine Warlock, and Divine Soul Sorcerer). And by that I mean in things like roleplay, interests, etc.
Cleric: worships god, god gives power. Paladin: swears an oath and follows it, a entity takes notice and gives them power for that oath (they don't worships that entity). Celestial warlock: makes pact with angel in extange for power (think devil pact but with angle) Divine Soul Sorcerer: a family member banged an angel so you now have angel power in your blood.
@@matan8074 please continue, cause the magical classes is where I get confused. Added Paladin cause people would complain, but what would drive a character to make a pact with a God or become it's priest?
@@Maninawig added the rest. Cleric: same as any real world priest but the god might give them magic. Warlock: Making a pact with angel will probably be the same as making any other pact, typicly power/ wealth/ love or some other worlds gain (selfishly or selflessly).
@@matan8074 I think you are missing something. If clerics a priests given powers, then why are they not divine soul sorcerers? If they are gifted powers as a boom, then why are they not divine warlocks (as a Warlock pact can be made without concent)? And for that case, if a priest makes an oath to uphold a god's will, do they become paladins or are they still clerics?
@@Maninawig TLDR is at the end. Think of the sorcerer more like you've inherited the magic; you may not believe in anything or know why but that divine blood is still in there giving you your magical powers. In terms of the difference between the warlock and cleric it's a but harder so bear with this. You could certainly argue that one could exist without the other and vice versa (it is D&D after all (e.g. why does ranger exist when you could just multiclass fighter and druid? (as a note I really like the ranger class))) but there is a subtle difference between them; this is who provides them their power. The cleric receives their power from a literal god; whilst the warlock receives it from a Celestial being like an Empyrean or Kirin (Celestial beings tend to be good, so enforced one sided deals, like you mentioned about, are less likely). You should work with your DM for whichever you feel is more appropriate for the character you wanted to play, there is no hard and fast rule in a roleplaying game as to how you must act because character logic, class and background (you could be a character who thinks they are a trickery domain cleric but actually made a pact with an archfey who was just looking to have some fun...). TLDR: Cleric- gets powers from literal god's (would have to work with DM for a game without god's) Celestial Warlock- gets powers from a celestial source (rather than divine). Divine soul sorc: inherited blood (usually) Most importantly have fun with your character ideas. Thank you for reading.
I feel like I fall somewhere between the Storyteller, Scientist, and Socialite. I really enjoy telling and taking part in the story. I have lots of fun figuring out what is and isn't possible in each world and at each table. I love just chilling and playing the game with friends. I don't know what you'd call it, but I definitely multi-class in these three player types.
About minmaxing. I’ve never actually played it but I told the two people I play with (they take turns dm/dmpc-ing) about this: thri-kreen 2 main arms holding shields, 2 sub arms holding rapiers, dual wielding feat. In my defense I wasn’t planning to play it I just wanted to see how broken I could make a character. They both still threatened to kill me if I actually tried playing it though. I have begun planning my counter attack!!!
when i was heavy into being a minmaxer, i used potatoes to harvest potassium nitrate and built a hydrogen bomb. we worked out the damage by comparing it to a stick of dynomite which did 2d12. the end result was 1200d12 force damge by dm's ruling. The group got a laugh but still banned me from buying potatoes ever since. i then did it once again that same game to kill Tiamat's Avatar but with bananas, which made it nuclear
Not to be nitpick, but you forgot the 8th type. The Hyper puppy, new players who don't fully read their items and or abilities and will go a mile if you give them an inch. And tend to accidentally pee or poo all over the floor. While chewing on everything that isn't a chew toy. >.> Just saying it has happened....
I love the energy of this overview, man. I totally agree with your take on there "not being a bad player-type". We need more of this in the community :)
Him: "and now The Instigator; the Leroy Jenkins of D&D" Me: Ohhh Now I underestand Erland, his totally an Instigator. Thanks to instigators like him we get to see funny and unespected situations that otherwise wouldn't happened.
And then there’s the one who’s TOO SMART FOR HIS OWN GOOD AND FIGURES OUT MY, I MEAN THE DMs PLANS AND PUZZLES TOO QUICKLY AND ALSO MEANS EVERYTHING IS EITHER TOO EASY FOR HIM OR TOO HARD FOR THE REST OF THE PARTY
DnD shorts, Let me just say that I absolutely love your videos not only on RU-vid but as well as Instagram I think your information that you provide is brilliant and honestly more than anything just wholesome. Keep up the great work everything that you put is golden and I thoroughly enjoy it
You put Worlds of Warcraft as the game, Not DnD. You should probably fix that before copyright gets you, (I think that's how it works). Regardless, Great Video :D
I think I've been a Storyteller for 90% of my time playing this game. At first I tried to be a Superhero, and just dropped a fighter into a campaign with a horse-riding motif that I thought would be fun to play, but I didn't think about his personality or backstory at all. In the end, I quickly realized that my the D&D campaigns of my family circle are *mostly* roleplay. I went into the game thinking I was going to play Final Fantasy, but it wasn't like that at all. There are so many players in my family group that the game moves at a snail's pace, and I got so mind-numbingly bored that I considered just quitting. My character also wasn't as good as I thought on paper, which led to me cheating in desperation and getting caught. Now, every time I create a character, I think of a detailed backstory and playstye that gives me stuff to do outside of combat. I often choose races and backgrounds that gave me a complicated ancestry or home-life, which gives me a good baseline to start making their personality and story arc. Most of all, I love playing around with spells and races. I love seeing the cool stories I can make as a player in this fantasy world, and playing a character who's just as enthusiastic to explore it as I am.
Don't forget the ones who want to tame any creature they can get their hands on....which is me and I try to not be annoying about it, just ask out of game and go with whatever answer the dm gives you!
I am a proud storyteller. I am here for story in dnd, the combat is just the cherry on top. It's so much fun! I've finally joined a proper campaign where roleplay and character arcs and backstories come up and it's the most fun I've ever had! My poor dm has to deal with my constant theorizing and in-world prodding for answers and always being a step ahead and it's too much fun, especially because he always has answers and doesn't ever seem unpreparedxD I figured out BBEG's rough plans about 4-5 sessions in and went down a whole rabbit hole on the group chat and I'm 99% certain I either got it right or was on the right track even a few sessions later. I take notes like my life depends on it and whenever the party forgets a detail, I'm quick to have the answer. It's so much fun and I wish my players that I DMed for were more like this sometimes😂😭 (although I have to admit, min-maxing is kinda fun xD It's for one-shots only since story doesn't matter in most of them and we're there just for a fun adventure and difficult combat)
Personally, the "Socialite" gets on my nerves. This is due to the following: 1) they break immersion mid-roleplay 2) take forever for their turn because they aren't ready and weren't paying attention 3) haven't read any rules, nor read what a single one of their spells or abilities do 4) make terrible battle decisions and get the healer killed 5) flake out regularly and/or come hours late (and interrupt a moving/tense sense with inane real-life chatter when they DO finally arrive) 6) are usually the DM's friend and when you call them out on wasting everyone's time the DM gets mad at you
There's a difference between someone who actively wants to be there versus one who doesn't care. Yes, it's true that they are not usually the best players, but if the Socialite is there just to be there, they'll want to participate. You're just talking about some univested guy who doesn't care, and is just there because they have nothing better to do. That CAN work, but the player he was talking about WANTS to be there. They WANT to hang out with their friends and play, even if they don't play the best. I think you may need to break away from the Storyteller role for a moment and remember that some people just play to have fun. The dude that just vomes there and doesn't even bother to participate is not a real player, just a person who apathetically waits for things would wrap up until they go home and smoke their weed or fall asleep. Or perhaps the DnD table is their refuge away from chaos in their life. You never know.
As a scientist(the archetype, not profession) I can say that when my friend said if I join his campaign he will give a magic dagger that makes a 60ft wind blade, I was so close to becoming unkillable
I’m a combination of instigator and the storyteller. I started DnD with friends about a year ago, and it really means a lot to me now. I also love to play my favourite character and feel a bit empty when I’m not playing as her. Yes, I am DnD addicted.
I don't even have a problem with your break down of what a Superhero is, but we are 1 in and you are already wrong. Everyone has played a Super Hero? Really? Everyone? How about me who not only builds all my characters with flaws, but makes all their Core Personality Trait a Flaw. From a guy who's such a coward he adventures tirelessly to find a way to become immortal so he can stop being afraid, to a guy who cant use magic but needs to satisfy his ego by making everyone believe that he can, to a Noble Knight who is so stupid he constantly commits felonies because remembering ANY laws is too hard. It is fair to say that all my characters are Deeply Flawed, and I don't get the appeal of playing an Unflawed character. The flaws are what makes them fun.
To date this is my favorite of your videos... This is one of the neatest "Types of Players" Videos I have yet seen, and the first one I am aware of that mentions what you call the Scientist. Very well done... very funny and well... Subscribed!
The only thing I have to say is that I have recently started my first character and they are far from the superhero, instead, I have a goblin artificer that is addicted to weed. He has a pseudodragon pet named berdy that talks to him via telepathy and is cursed with invisibility. The only thing that is remotely close to being smart and strong is that he has gauntlets of oger strength and a intelligence of 17.
My min-max character: A level 3 Veldalkan with 2 levels of barbarian and 1 level of cleric. We were going into death house for a one shot and I thought "how many d&d shorts can I fit into a single level 3 character, excluding Hexblade stuff because Hexblade is my current main" so I went with survival King and life domain with druid magic Adept (because my DM gave us a bonus feat) and I picked up goodberry and SHILLELAGH! So, I had a magic stick for dealing damage and magic berries for healing people. And I could rage, which I put to great use against a Grick, a horde of zombies, and a mimic in the basement all in one fight.
My Superhero character: A ridiculously strong level 30 earth Genasi weapon master back in 3.5. Carried 4 custom made bastard swords, all of which were +3 and named and did sonic damage, but otherwise had slightly different enchantments on them 2 tower shields, 3 suits of full plate, had power attack, improved power attack, expertise, improved expertise, cleave, great cleave and whirlwind attack. Take into consideration that he had items that gave DR and Regeneration, and this guy was a beast. He once had a duel with an Arcane Archer that lasted a good 5 or 10 minutes. That's game minutes, not IRL minutes, so 50-100 rounds. His shield looked like a prop from that scene in 300.
It's wonderful to be a fan of a creator that actually enjoys The Hobby well done sir exceptionally fun to watch I think this is one of my favorites you've ever made
With my current main I'm taking both a storyteller and scientist approach. Playing a Shadar-Kai Hexblade/Divine Sorcerer and I'm constantly thinking, "if I combine this ability/spell from one class or my race, with this other ability/spell from one class or my race, what will happen?" Well, the first thing that happens is a whole lot of the DM and other players asking "You can do that?" Teleport to injured party member, heal them, then run back to protect the noble we were escorting only now I have resistance to everything for a round, and I don't take a single attack of opportunity? Yes, I can do that. As for the storyteller part, the SHORT version of the backstory is still a good two pages in length, starts with the previous incarnation of my character dying on his quest to retrieve Blackrazor for the Raven Queen, fast forwards to his current life as a child living in the gutters outside of the Fortress of Memories, managed to kill a dire rat at a young age using only a very large sharpened raven talon, promptly proceeded to eat it the rat uncooked and accidentally anoint himself with its blood, and at that point the Raven Queen took interest seeing if my character had the potential to finish what his previous life could not. What followed was about 110 years of physical and mental training, conditioning, and borderline torture, with the occasional boon or lesson. My character, of course, has no idea about the deeds or missions of his previous life, but in his quest to find Blackrazor, the soul drinking sword, has managed to find himself in Barovia...
I think I’m a mix of a scientist and a story teller. I come up with a vision for my character and I come up with the most optimal way to make that character the way I envisioned him, even if that archetype isn’t optimal itself. I also love having flaws! I love super unbalanced stats with lots of 18s and 3s! I’m also a 3.5 player because 3.5 is much better for my style of play. 5E is just too restrictive.
I analyzed myself honestly... and found myself in multiple archetypes... generally represented by WHAT character I am playing with... lol Example: Bard: Scientific MinMax'er Fighter/Barbarian: Hero/Instigator Paladin: Socialite But in light of this, I have to admit... as a DM of old, turn PC in 5e... I tend to think outside the box for LORE... an example of this is when I played a Bard in The Curse of Stradt; Stradt literally was reduced to 1HP (naturally) just before my turn. What did I do? I'm a Bard with a FRYING PAN for a weapon. To make sure that I was remembered in history, as all bards must be, I charmed a pack of wolves to come and urinate on Stradt. Why? Because he is weak against running water, and flowing urine... qualifies. Thus I defeated Stradt, by urinating on him (or having animals do so through 'animal handling'). But I tend to do this with more than just a Bard. I had a druid wildshape into a hatchling dragon, because it was a female dragon, and rather than killing us, she was preoccupied with shielding and protecting the helpless hatchling, thus allowing the party to escape. I dont know if DMs LIKE my playstyle, but I rarely have complaints (except from BY THE BOOK players). I believe it is SUPPOSED to be FUN, and that everyone should have a unique story to tell afterwards. *in case you missed it* A min-maxing storytelling actor... lol
I'm part-scientist, part-actor. This explains why I always play wizard. My bad habit is trying to solve every problem by myself bc I wanna be helpful - I have to make a conscious effort to shut up and let other people have a shot, or invite them to try and solve things.
I know that my Big Brother and I like to do different roles. My brother prefers a simple job - be the tank to protect, be the smasher to damage, although, his first guy, which I built for him, using his own preferences, turned out to do Tank, Striker, and, funny enough, Face - Fey Wanderer Variant Human Merchant Ranger, with Expertise on Persuasion (Charisma was the dump stat!), and he must be able to easily relate to the character, mainly because make-believe is a little tricky for him to do. That being said, Big Brother has listened to an important piece of advice - treat the NPCs as if they were real people - as a PHB/Tasha's Ranger in the Acquisitions Incorporated adventure, his Favorite Enemy was Goblinoids - the party encountered a number of them during the campaign - he was able to talk his way out of every fight, because he knew their language and understood them. Currently, he's an Orc Soldier Fighter, and again, wants to pull Tank duty - I plan to make him a Cavalier, so that he can pull it off very well. Me, I'm willing to try any role - I've done Tank as a Champion Human Soldier fighter, some Magic/Face as a Draconic Bloodline Noble Human Sorcerer, Tank again, as a Yuan-Ti Pureblood Criminal Vengeance Paladin - Now I'm doing Sneak/Face as a Noble Dhampir Tabaxi Rogue, hopefully as a Swashbuckler.
I feel like a combination minmaxer/storyteller/instigator with the most integrated character I have ever built. This feels cheap, since she's for a GURPS game, tho. Madeline Meteion is a rebellious runaway princess (Wealth: Comfortable) with time magic in her blood, and that time magic manifests in some subtle ways, including seeing the world in slow-motion (Enhanced Time Sense). She has received mock training from members of her extended family (Trained By a Master), and even learned enough spellcasting rituals to be able to reasonably extrapolate to other similar rituals (Magery 3). She is also minmaxed for combat, with an 18 in Rapiers and a 15 in Fast Draw. She also has enough spells to justify having Magery 3, including a 15 each in Minor Healing and Major Healing. However, she is *loaded* with disadvantages to compensate and develop through, and I made sure that most of them make sense for her. She trained in those two healing spells to compensate for how persistently her wounds bleed (Hemophilia). Her Enhanced Time Sense leads her to be impatient (Short Attention Span / Impulsive). Her noble upbringing leaves her more than a little sensitive to insults (Selfish). Even her experience training with her similarly-superpowered uncle left her with a hard-to-shake impression that such overwhelming power and defense is the standard, not the exception (Overconfidence). So she is frequently disappointed in everyone else's combat capacity while not fully grasping how much of an advantage she actually has in that regard. Hell, I even gave her a Rival in the form of her brother Gautier, who is basically medieval Homelander. He's pursuing her, hoping to bring her back home.
Have never seen the first one in my decade plus of playing TTRPG's. And my go to mix is a combo of the other 6. This sounds like a basic bitch list. The only people I've seen that only fall into one of these are people who don't have the temperament to play.
The big brain take here is all of these in turn all the time. Be all of these as the seasons change in game. Min max when the stakes are high Experiment when your looking to expand, act always, storytell always, socialize always and never ever hold back even if right now not holding back ooc is holding back ic.
I would say I am Half Instigator, Half Actor. I love the combat AND the roleplaying aspect of D&D the most and if there is anything I hate it is travelling. Unfortunately right now I am in only one campaign in a homebrew setting and it is 90% Travelling. This is because so far our party have to literally traverse an entire continent, not even knowing if this will reach their end goal. It is always "Go to this place which is weeks away" just to learn that we then have to go to another place, also weeks away. And this sometimes makes my group think I am pushy and impatient but in reality I just seek the thrills of combat or the antics inside a town. Within the first 10 sessions of my first campaign my character already managed to wipe out an entire religion, one of the most feared pirates of the seas, drink 10 poisonous potions at once AND SURVIVE while also being by far the most talkative person of the party who always strikes up conversation with most people they encounter. Why? because I love to just pull through and smash my heads through walls while basically having hour long conversations with my DM while he portrays all kinds of NPCs.
The Scientist is absolutely me, though in my case it's flavored to be more like The Engineer. I love seeing what exists and finding a cool, innovative way to use it. I've had hours-long discussions about the intricacies of FTL drives in a sci-fi system because I wanted to build/buy a device that lets me store excess items on a ship and access them at any time. Complex plans are my favorite, and I more often than not derail the game by doing something the DM never expected me to. (Once I tried to hand-make gunpowder to blow someone's steel door down because I needed to talk to them about something. The DM was not a fan.) This extends to my DMing, too; most often, I make fictional technologies by defining a thing that is possible and/or a law of reality, and then engineering a device based on that. And then I end up with shockingly easy to make superweapons that are really difficult for governments to deal with.
I'm Superhero and Storyteller. My best character ever was a Pathfinder Dwarf Blacksmith. He did have a flaw though; too much of a people-pleaser. He was absolutely terrified of failure and being rejected, so he would take on tasks way bigger than he could handle. He was also easily the strongest single-target melee fighter in the party. Slow, but absolutely going to obliterate whatever he swung at. So I deliberately limited him to 1 attack per turn (instead of the 4 he was actually capable of by level 8) so he didn't hog all the fun.
I first played D&D back at university, and during some of those first games, we had someone of the all-negative eighth type: the Manipulator. She asked if she could join the game, so we welcomed her. But it turns out she didn't care about the game, she didn't care about hanging out, or any of it. All she wanted to do was seduce people, both in-game and IRL, until she got her hooks into one of our friends at the table. He basically became her simp slave and was constantly being used by her, and we tried to talk to him about it, but he wouldn't listen. Eventually we kicked her out of the game, but it was too late. Last I saw of that friend, he'd gotten kicked out of school for poor grades while simping over her; two years later she was in one of my classes and had basically ghosted him when he left, and tried to seduce me. I walked TF away. So, "using the game in order to manipulate the actual people playing it" is apparently a thing some people do. The Toxic Manipulator.
I am a Storyteller type player at heart, but I have yet to play in a group that's as strongly into RP as I am, so I keep much quieter during games than I'd prefer and end up being more Socialite. I end up coming up with backstories, travel stories, motivations, and conversations for my character to have in my own head that never get mentioned in game 😅 I tried playing the same character in 4 different campaigns (all of which didn't last long) because I never got to explore his story in any of them. Maybe one day I'll find an RP-loving group and go wild!
I've never had the chance to truly play a 'Superhero' character sadly enough, as I am still DYING to try it one day. Due to the DM'ing style of my first DM and lack of experience I kind of fell instantly into a bit of a mix of the 'Story Teller' and 'Actor' types with a small mix of 'Instigator' type mixed in. (Should add as well that there is a good layer of 'Socialite' there too, but only in the sense of really enjoying when I see others in their element as much as enjoying the spotlight on myself.)
I'm a good mix of Actor & Socialite. With just a sprinkling of Story Teller. 11:17 is exactly how I feel most of the time. I need to write things down otherwise I will forget, & I'm not the smartest player either. But I love getting into & developing a character while having a laugh with good people. If I can carry a hook through & plan ahead for something that I believe will be worthwhile, I will do. But I don't actively seek them out. I'm also happy to kill off a character if I believe its best for the group or will make for a memorable ending for the character.
"The next type of player is the one...that challenges DMs the most. People, we finally need to talk about..." I was expecting you to say murderhobos there, but minmaxers are good too. Also, why does the Element song sound like Modern Major General? (the tune, not the lyrics obviously)
i think im a combo of storyteller and socialite tbh. i love the narrative, but fundamentally im just here to have a good time with my buds :3c on the one hand, i might've dipped a toe into superhero with my first character, who was a totem warrior half elf barbarian who did bonkers damage, but on the other he was also dumb as a fucking rock sjdgsh i think i managed to skip directly into storyteller because ive been making characters for stories since middle school, so dnd wasn't my first experience in making well rounded characters! one of my recent ones, a teenage undead warlock, actually had a satisfying ending! his whole goal was to break his "curse" (actually a botched possession) that was brought about by a series of bad decisions involving a hag and a demilich. he did break it! .......by making a poorly thought out deal with a mummy lord and subsequently being turned into a mummy himself. after literally everyone else in the party died (and his ship was destroyed) thanks to a tussle with an ancient black dragon, he decided that managing to survive that was a sign to gtfo before things got worse. so he ditched the material plane entirely, disappearing into the night with his coptic jar never to be seen again. it had the added benefit of letting us start fresh, rather than dragging mr unfortunate into yet another party dynamic! incidentally, he's also the first dnd character ive had whose story didn't end in his death lmao (I had a tiefling spirits bard that somehow managed to survive the entire curse of straud campaign, but i don't consider his story "over", per se)
I can see a little of myself in all of these, and I’ve certainly progressed through phases where I’ve solidly been in one of those types over my 25 years of D&D. I think I most closely align with the Scientist at this point. With a healthy dash of socialite and a minor dash of instigator. Especially if I’m in a game of younger or inexperienced players who are unsure about instigating roleplay or combat.
Nice video. What is the footage you used from what looks like an animated version of Drizzt? The barbarian charging comically all the time. Looks like it might be a good watch NVM I found it: D&D Dark Alliance (game)
