Everyone has their fantasy, whether it
is to play a hardened warrior or a charismatic thief, and
roleplaying games are the perfect platform. But often the best and
most interesting characters are made by the random dice throw.
For instance a beautiful, wise cleric ends up with a below-average intelligence, or
an intelligent, agile wizard is plagued by an unattractive face. I've
played both of those characters and the random attributes came to
define how I developed the character—which is reflective of life, because
often how we deal with and overcome our flaws is what defines us.
Sometimes
though, a player will plan for their character's weakness, only to be
betrayed by the dice in an unexpected way. In the Ignacium campaign this
happened with Laura's character Caranauba.
Laura wanted Caranuba to be
an elderly, frail Mage that needed to be escorted around by the younger,
more virile members of the party. But despite planning on rolling strength last, she rolled a 13 for
strength and Caranauba's entire persona shifted.
Rather than being a weak, elderly magic user, Caranauba is a strong, capable mage draped in secrecy. She still appears weak and is drawn around in a wagon by Willamina, but it's all a rouse. In the past three fights, Caranauba has dealt the killing blow with her magestaff.
Caranauba's
unusual strength is rationalized by the party as, "Well, she IS
magic," which I think helps cover up her true purpose in the story.
I've come to think of Caranauba as an extremely wise mentor whose purpose is to help the adventurers prepare mentally and emotionally for the great tasks they will ultimately encounter. Her taking soothsaying as a proficiency only enhances this image. It helps helps explain why an old lady would leave her home to go adventuring: to help a band of strangers uncover their strength so they can battle the darkness that is befalling the land. She is following the will of the universe.
In
comparison, if she had rolled low for strength than her personality
would not be nearly as unusual and compelling. The wise old wizard is a
common character, but the wise old wizard draped in secrets is much more
interesting and lends to a deeper experience.
I'm
very much looking forward to the evolution of Caranauba throughout the
campaign and the ways her phenomenal strength will influence the story.
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