Disturbing Character premises...

[AdamLeisemann]

Have you, as a GM, faced a character concept that has disturbed you? Or have you, as a player, ever disturbed your GM, the other players, or yourself with a creepy character concept? Or has the GM ever disturbed the group with a character idea?

 

This thread for for all the character ideas that have gotten shivers and quivers in your group (or just out of yourself). Have fun posting the ideas.

["V"]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

One player in my group (many many years ago) came to me with a request to play a supervillain. He'd noticed the strange mystical sense that player characters in the campaign had to spot other player characters and treat them differently to NPCs- basically an amateur roleplaying blindspot.

 

So he made up a despicable character called Necromancer - a disfigured evil sorceror in effect with an array of Drains and similarly unpleasant magical spells. Out of character he talked to the other players about wanting to play an anti-hero type for a change. In character he just played the guy as... well, sinister. And sure enough the other players never really challenged him, despite the fact they'd give any similar NPC a pretty rough time.

 

Off camera, Necromancer was up to some pretty atrocious stuff, gathering components for a highly unpleasant ritual. In game time the character team came across the remnants of his activities and given Necromancer's openly stated occult background they relied upon his advice to "crack the case" - needless to say he was leading them a merry dance. In the meantime there were plenty of normal plots going on with the "Ritual" being a longer story arc.

 

I really enjoyed the session where, halfway through the evening after discovering yet another scene of occult carnage I could just tell from the expression on the face of one of the other players as he looked at Necromancer's player that the penny had finally dropped.

 

"It's been you all along!"

"Of course. And I couldn't have done it without your help."

 

Classic moment.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

I made a character one time who was a stretchy guy whose body was a living chemical factory. He could make adhesive to stick to walls, and he could exude a quick-setting epoxy to entrap enemies. I didn't think it was creepy, but the other players were kind of grossed out by plastic from someone's body.

[jkwleisemann]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

Man, I love it... that's the sort of thing that could be *really* touchy, depending on the group, but I adore the way it worked out.

 

Though... did they end the Player Blind Spot after that?

 

As for disturbing concepts... I'm a Tragedian at heart, so I've tended towards a number of them. It's not necessarily that they're disturbing, so much as disturbed... but when played right, they tend to *get* disturbing fairly quickly.

 

Just not necessarily in a bad way.

 

Probably my Top Five for disturbing char's are as follows:

 

1 - Magna Mater, AKA Mater: Played in Chad McMinis' "Knights of New LA" (dystopian future Champions), Mater is one of a line of 'Mole People,' (kinda like Morlocks; technically, underground dwellers of the sort encountered in C.H.U.D. or Reliquary) who survived the nuclear blast that devastated LA by virtue of being far enough below ground to live through it. Over the decades, they developed powers that let them defend the people who came to live in their territory in exchange for supplies.

 

Mater, in particular, has the ability to manifest things she imagines/wants. In practice, this works out to relatively meager Mind Control and Mental Attacks... except in one area. Her daughter was taken away by Child Protective Services from Hell during a raid on the underground, something that rather unhinged the poor woman. She has focused her pre-existing abilities to focus on being able to "create" children out of her psyche - children who can best be described as homicidal midgets from Hell. That's her primary ability, and so far her Children (which have been affectionately dubbed the Little Bastards) are proving fairly effective, at least against lower-scale threats.

 

For the record: Inspired by David Cronenberg's "The Brood."

 

2 - Razor: I've got a couple characters by this name, I'm afraid, so being more specific, it's the Razor who's featured in a few WWYCD's of mine (like most of my char's here). Her powers aren't that disturbing - telekinesis, other mental powers, things of that sort. But her *concept*... well, her main power is telekinesis as it affects knives for a reason. When her powers came in, she was in the clutches of a guy who'd have made BTK proud, and he'd just finished with her sister.

 

Thanks to the aftermath of that little fiasco, not only do her powers have an unsettling tendency to go off uncontrolled while she's asleep (everybody living in her wing of the dorms learned to keep anything sharp in a locked drawer at night *real* fast), she's also somewhat suicidal (perhaps predictably, a cutter) and has sleepwalking issues.

 

And she's out of a Teen Champions game....

 

3 - Outsider: He's Wilbur Whateley raised by the good guys. Destined to eventually unleash one of the Kings of Edom during a battle with Doctor Destroyer, after the bad Doctor finally pushes him too far and he unleashes his full power. In the meantime, he's part mentalist, part mage, and part tentacle demon. Yeah... that's usually read as being more than a smidge disturbing by folks.

 

4 - Huntress: Her concept disturbs some people more than others. Basically, she's your garden variety powered-armor designer... with an addiction to Desoxyn that's slowly breaking down her grip on reality and leading her to become increasingly paranoid about (1) her work and (2) making sure she's got enough of her prescription methamphetamines to keep her fix.

 

5 - Sparky the Wonder Dog: Not that he's all that disturbing, but ever since a supervillainess who was obsessed with conceiving a litter of puppies on national television showed up, he's gotten that way pretty well.

[Weldun]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

Done the "villain in a hero's cape" bit myself on occasion.

 

As for disturbing, most people who've played in games where I've played Whisper have found him to be disturbing. So he's a soul-eating demon who is only a "hero" because the 12yr old girl, called Bethany, tells him to.

 

Oh, and somepeople find the idea of a superhero who's body is composed of 500 living rats to be disturbing to for some reason.

 

Me, I've only been distrubed by the Care Bears, and the fact that they're considered suitable for children to watch.

[Badger]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

Badger: CARE BEARS!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

 

 

*sticks head in a deep fryer*

 

 

Umm, yeah they are pretty creepy:nonp:

[AdamLeisemann]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

Badger: CARE BEARS!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

 

 

*sticks head in a deep fryer*

 

 

Umm, yeah they are pretty creepy:nonp:

 

Just out of curiosity...

 

What makes the Care Bears creepy?

[AdamLeisemann]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

Well, here's a super-team I came up with that creeped me out. I have yet to play these characters in any Champions game (primarily because I refuse to.)

 

Keep in mind that one of my friends is something of a studier on the subject of kinks and fetishes. He's got an interest in what turns people on. I have, admittedly, developed a more academic wondering of "why" myself.

 

So presenting, an as-yet-unnamed team of kinky supers.

 

Liberty Lash is a dominatrix with a patriotic bent. She used to be in the military, but when it was revealed that she liked her men tied up, she was discharged from the service. Her "powers" come from the various used for the whip (not just the bedroom uses)

 

Pet Rock is The Thing as Liberty's lover. 'Nuff said.

 

Latex is a stretching-type who formerly worked at a PVC factory until during a factory heist, he was thrown into the chemical mixture that then reacted with his own body-chemistry. He has all the powers you'd expect of a stretcher.

 

Golden Flame is an energy Projector, and that's more into than he's worth.

 

And as much as I dislike the branding of "Furry" as a fetish, I must admit some folks like to sexualize anthropomorphic animals (I will never stoop as low as to give material to zoophiles, though). Vix-N is a gynoid made to resemble an anthropomorphic fox, hailing from a distant planet (presumably where the natives are all like that). Her powers are mostly back-up for GF's Energy-blasts (from her hands) and Pet Rock's strength. She still does not understand the strangeness of the others, for her people "have seen many cultures and lifestyles, thus they do not judge."

[Weldun]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

Just out of curiosity...

 

What makes the Care Bears creepy?

Hmm, let's see.

 

We have a group of individuals who have taken it upon themselves to make the world a more "caring" place. To this end, they spy upon the earth seeking out anyone who they feel is "uncaring".

Creepy point #1 - They can spy into peoples homes.

 

When they identify a target, they assemble a strike team and decend to earth, seeking out the targeted individual to ascertain the cause of their unhappines and what led them to be uncaring. This is all well and good. But when that indicidual chooses of their own free will to remain uncaring, but basically keep to themselves, this doesn't jibe with the Care Bear ideal, so they whip out the "Care Bear Stare", which forcibly alters the subjects persona to one more in keeping with their world view.

Creepy point #2 - Brainwashing is perfectly okay.

 

Basically, we have self-appointed thought police that can and will rob you

of your free will if you step out of line.

 

This is what we subject children to? We're telling them that it's okay to forcibly reprogram somebody because their outlook doesn't conform to somebode elses worldview.

 

The Care Bears.

The Cute And Fuzy, Mind-raping Comformity Police.

 

You can't tell me that that isn't creepy.

[Blue]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

Liberty Lash is a dominatrix with a patriotic bent. She used to be in the military, but when it was revealed that she liked her men tied up, she was discharged from the service. Her "powers" come from the various used for the whip (not just the bedroom uses)

In City of Heroes when you get to the high levels, you run across the Praetorians, which are basically the other-world equivalents of the big-named heroes of the game world. My character in game is/was Teen Anthem, who idolized Ms. Liberty. Imagine her disgust when she ran across the alternative universe equivalent of Ms. Liberty, who wore black leather and had an army of men and women who look like the Gimp from Pulp Fiction. I kid you not. It's a post level 40 mission.

 

As for my game, I think a lot of my own NPCs have had some creepy powers though I haven't used them in that way. The Black Pope's pool for baptisms would convert heroes in to the flipside of their nature, corrupting them. Didn't get to use it on a PC, but it made some funky NPC heroes. Muse became the slutty and disturbing Magdalene.

 

In my oversexed teenage years I didn't need to have disturbing characters with disturbing powers to run a bizarre game.

[Vestnik]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

 

3 - Outsider: He's Wilbur Whateley raised by the good guys. Destined to eventually unleash one of the Kings of Edom during a battle with Doctor Destroyer, after the bad Doctor finally pushes him too far and he unleashes his full power. In the meantime, he's part mentalist, part mage, and part tentacle demon. Yeah... that's usually read as being more than a smidge disturbing by folks.

 

 

I really, really like this idea. I may steal it, ahem, it may heavily influence my next character.

[AdamLeisemann]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

Hmm, let's see.

 

We have a group of individuals who have taken it upon themselves to make the world a more "caring" place. To this end, they spy upon the earth seeking out anyone who they feel is "uncaring".

Creepy point #1 - They can spy into peoples homes.

 

When they identify a target, they assemble a strike team and decend to earth, seeking out the targeted individual to ascertain the cause of their unhappines and what led them to be uncaring. This is all well and good. But when that indicidual chooses of their own free will to remain uncaring, but basically keep to themselves, this doesn't jibe with the Care Bear ideal, so they whip out the "Care Bear Stare", which forcibly alters the subjects persona to one more in keeping with their world view.

Creepy point #2 - Brainwashing is perfectly okay.

 

Basically, we have self-appointed thought police that can and will rob you

of your free will if you step out of line.

 

This is what we subject children to? We're telling them that it's okay to forcibly reprogram somebody because their outlook doesn't conform to somebode elses worldview.

 

The Care Bears.

The Cute And Fuzy, Mind-raping Comformity Police.

 

You can't tell me that that isn't creepy.

 

Understood now.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

Disturbing?

 

What aboout a guy whose whole life is wrapped around an obsession with revenge for a wrong done to him in early childhood. He dresses like a flying rodent. Oh, and he takes in young boys in similar circumstances, dresses them in colourful circus tights and takes them crimefighting with him.

 

But a character like that could never last, right?

[OddHat]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

Disturbing?

 

What aboout a guy whose whole life is wrapped around an obsession with revenge for a wrong done to him in early childhood. He dresses like a flying rodent. Oh, and he takes in young boys in similar circumstances, dresses them in colourful circus tights and takes them crimefighting with him.

 

But a character like that could never last, right?

 

Orphan raised by his Aunt and Uncle, smart kid whose low self esteem leaves him a target for vicious bullying. Gains super powers, briefly tries to make a life for himself, then the death of his uncle adds overwhelming shame and self hatred onto his problems. He ends up submitting to more systematic bullying at school despite having the physical power to stop it, keeping company with his high school tormentors even in his college days, turning away from potentially great careers his intelligence or physical abilities could have led him to, and lives hand to mouth while spending his free time wandering the city looking for violence.

[Pariah]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

My character ColdFire's story:

 

Sometime in her 2nd or 3rd year of college, Abby went to a seance with a friend who thought it'd be 'a lot of fun'. During the ceremony, the medium, who actually had some kind of mystical power (unbeknownst to either herself or anyone else), accidentally opened a door to another dimension. Fomri, an Ice Spirit Demon, snuck through for just a moment, took Abby, and snuck back.

 

On the other side, Fomri rendered Abby unconscious, then transformed her into something that would be genetically compatible with his physical manifestation. His plan was to mate with her, take the resulting child, and use it to open a permanent Gate to Earth so that he could conquer the place.

 

As I had written it, Abby's captivity ended when she awoke and escaped before Fomri could consummate the deal. However, the GM complicated things when he started to let me know that Abby (now operating as the heroine ColdFire) could now begin to feel kicking in her womb.

 

Which, depending on exactly what happened, makes her one of two things:

A) The victim of demonic GHB, or

Some variety of Infernal Madonna.

 

Is that disturbing enough for ya?

[TheRealVector]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

This is what we subject children to? We're telling them that it's okay to forcibly reprogram somebody because their outlook doesn't conform to somebode elses worldview.

 

Well, parents do it to their children while they're at home and their teachers do it while they're in school and thier peers do it while they're on the playground.

 

Aaaah!! The Care Bears are everywhere!

 

 

 

On topic: We had one player who wanted his next character to be a little old man mentalist in a mech.

[OddHat]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

We had a player who wanted his character to be a giant slug that couldn't talk.

 

In an online game, one player wanted to be an autistic midget, but he may have just been taking the piss.

[Weldun]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

Well, parents do it to their children while they're at home and their teachers do it while they're in school and thier peers do it while they're on the playground.

 

Aaaah!! The Care Bears are everywhere!

It's one thing to apply social pressure, it's another to do so forcibly.

 

It's the matter of choice and free will, ne?

[TheRealVector]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

It's one thing to apply social pressure, it's another to do so forcibly.

 

It's the matter of choice and free will, ne?

 

LOL! Stray too far outside accepted norms and social pressure will morph into the use of force in hardly no time at all.

[Weldun]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

LOL! Stray too far outside accepted norms and social pressure will morph into the use of force in hardly no time at all.

This is the Disturbing Character premises thread, not the Distubing Reality thread. Not that I disagree with your assessment, mind.

[Susano]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

I made a character one time who was a stretchy guy whose body was a living chemical factory. He could make adhesive to stick to walls' date=' and he could exude a quick-setting epoxy to entrap enemies. I didn't think it was creepy, but the other players were kind of grossed out by plastic from someone's body.[/quote']

 

Yeah, he bukkakes for justice....

[TheRealVector]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

This is the Disturbing Character premises thread' date=' not the Distubing Reality thread. Not that I disagree with your assessment, mind.[/quote']

 

 

Sounds like I owe the thread another on topic post.

 

We had a player play a shape-shifting type character called Shyft. Not inherrently disturbing but he would too often use terms such as "tendrils" or "tentacles" where simple stretching or extra limbs were needed. We thought we were getting a Mr. Fantastic clone but instead got a frik'n H. P. Lovecraft reject.

 

We weren't disappointed when the player changed characters.

[Doc Samson]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

Yeah' date=' he bukkakes for justice....[/quote']

 

Wow...just, wow...

[Susano]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

Wow...just' date=' wow... [/quote']

 

That's how we felt.

[AdamLeisemann]

Re: Disturbing Character premises...

 

Sounds like I owe the thread another on topic post.

 

We had a player play a shape-shifting type character called Shyft. Not inherrently disturbing but he would too often use terms such as "tendrils" or "tentacles" where simple stretching or extra limbs were needed. We thought we were getting a Mr. Fantastic clone but instead got a frik'n H. P. Lovecraft reject.

 

We weren't disappointed when the player changed characters.

 

Sounds like Mr. Fantastic got caught in a Hentai Flick whilst clad in a japanese girl's uniform there...

 

3...

 

2...

 

1...

 

*ducks any projectile vomit from the mental image.*