Low charisma characters and Tips for RPing them
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This was sparked off by some talk in IRC about the topic.
What're some ways /you've/ RPed low charisma characters?
Some concepts that come to my mind based off of real life people I've met:
The shy introvert who's brilliant about some topics but just can't express themselves unless they're physically doing that thing.
The soldier who's ability to function in society has been absolutely demolished by PTSD and anxiety about seemingly inconsequential things.
The person who, through no fault of their own, has panic attacks and is afraid of interacting with people. (I tried to play a paladin like this, got shut down immediately but I really enjoyed the idea)
Studious book worm who has no interest or time for someone's 'subjective opinions' when facts in books are clearly objective.Toss 'em in. What're some ideas and concepts you'd build on or use to portray low charisma?
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Based on my current concept: Act shady as hell, don't trust anyone, do shit (like keep a thieves diary) that makes people hate you.
= 8 cha.
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I've played a dour, grumpy old man who didn't know how to interact with the younger crowd due to an inability to connect with them, along with having every single one of his friends being killed along the way due to his mercenary career in the past.
He was afraid of connecting with people on an innate level, because he was so good at what he did he was afraid that they'd die and leave him alone, thinking it better to be alone always rather than a moment of happiness and then a shattered heart.I've played low charisma characters who are in absolute culture shock from the change of scenery, a tribal who couldn't quite wrap his head around the social graces, or couldn't speak the language properly.
I've played low charisma characters who are simply just short with everyone, every little snippy comment setting them off like their ass is a wick of alchemist's fire.
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I think there are many ways to interpret low charisma.
Very shy
mannerless
tactless
keeps insulting people and irritating them
rough around the edge
introvert
clueless and doesnt know how to lead people
cold and emotionless
the quiet, unimpressive guy who blends in the background
filthy disgusting looks or hygiene, or habits
saying the wrong things all the time
cowardly
socially awkward
a yes-man. -
Low Cha = best Cha
My low Cha PCs are usually foul mouthed and uncouth. Usually aggressive and over-confident.
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Not all dwarves are Shield Dwarves. Gold Dwarves don't have a Charisma malus. And the Shield Dwarf Charisma malus is most often explained as a tendency towards insularity and xenophobia. I think your view on it perhaps goes a bit far. They do create beautiful things for example (have you SEEN Thunderholme? Inside, I mean?) and grudges are not a very pronounced aspect of FR dwarves, that's more of a trait for Warhammer dwarfs.
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Imagine an unimpressive person, and then build on that. Blatant favoritism, racism, self uber alles sort of thing.
I tend to take isolationist positions. Religious or faction-centric dispositions. Etc. Or I just swear and fart a lot. I've also done that.
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I love playing awkward characters… I don't know why...
I made my character Wing Pelton strong, but she had 8 cha... And I wanted her to reflect that. So I thought about what CHA when compared to my other stats... And I came up with the conclusion:
INT
WIS
CHA
So I made Wing emotionally crippled until she became comfortable with a person. A new person is hard to figure out, what are they thinking? What do they think about what you just said? What's the right thing to say? Did I offend them? Since Wing couldn't figure people out, she would shutdown from the overload of emotional questions. She then did what any soldier would when loosing a battle…
"I-… um... I'm g-gunna... she points over at the door and slowly edges away from the group of people. I need to um... Y-ya... kay..."
Not having much else as a guide she would approach life like a soldier might… Scout out the enemy!
She would watch and study people trying to figure out their motivations, what they liked and what they didn't. She even went so far as to hire people to SPY on other people to figure them out. She would say it was to protect Eva but really she just wanted people to like her... And even though people don't like being spied on, it never once occurred to Wing...But it should be noted however that non-verbal communication is also very important. When called upon by name and brought into a social interaction with Wing her nervous ticks would show. She would avoid eye contact, constantly rub her neck, fidget about and rub her nose. Anything that might keep her moving and busy during awkward silent lulls in the conversations.
Wing was fun, I recommend roleplaying a crippling fear of social interactions.
~Lucky -
i tend to be a bit abusive, mild swearing, etc
i have also portrayed a low charisma character as socially inept deliberately misunderstanding others comments to be annoying, greedy, uncaring autistic type attitudes are appropriate too.
Currently i play Kuldar the charisma 4 dwarflike thing as inflexible, using a stock 7 phrases with a few additional words such as iron, bronze, silver, gold, hizagkuur and try to achieve getting his meaning across with appropriate emotes. Everything he does is determined by the litany he follows to the extent that he cares more for that than anything else, possibly you could define that as ultra lawful but it is quite antisocial as well.
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I have them say almost everything that comes trough their minds. Even if it'd hurt people's beliefs or whatever. IF I get people screaming at the character once in a while, I think I did good.
I also believe that CHA is tied to comeliness. If your character has 8 or 10 cha, don't come and tell me you look good, I won't respond to it as if you do. (Unless you hide to everyone that you have 8-10 cha of course >_>.)
So yeah.
-Blunt
-No mouth filter
-Abrasive
-Not a modelWhat I do -not- want to play though when I play a 8-10 cha character, is to just take the 8 cha opportunity to be boring. That's rather silly when you play a game with other people.
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Please note, 8 Charisma is not supposed to make you a social pariah. 8 is one modifier below average, just as 12 is one modifier above average. If 12 charisma can make leaders (and it does, all the time) then 8 shouldn't make fly-ridden gassy PCs.
The best way to RP this (from my experience, mind) is to consider the "vibe" of the character. Think to RL. There are some people who's body language marks them as socially inept (loud voices, unable to make eye contact, shifting and uncomfortable body language, etc) and those whose confidence oozes off them like honey.
A lot of things can contribute to this- being unattractive / attractive affects a first impression, so that's part of it; Hot people do tend to get more doors opened to them then non-hot people. Conversely, your confidence and conversational skills might be powerful enough to make up for that lack. Or, you can have both and be the kind of guy everyone hates for being so perfect. Etc.
Average out the aspects of charisma and put the average as your score. For example- A handsome, but uncouth, crass and redneck human. Handsome = 16, behaviour = 8, average = 12, which would be your charisma score. You're a pig, but your looks get you a better reception nevertheless. Or, it might be the other way round.
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Please note, 8 Charisma is not supposed to make you a social pariah.
Is it sad I had to look up Pariah? Because at first, I was thinking piranha…
Pa-ri-ah
NounAn Outcast.
"They were treated as social pariah" -
Well, here's a problem. Eagus Kamon has 8 charisma. He lacks social timing, is bad at connecting to people and struggles to establish a real dialogue. He speaks flatly, and is married to his job in such a way that its hard to talk about anything else. He can give orders well, because he has decent intelligence and is a battle-worn fighter; he knows how to assess a situation in combat, but that doesn't mean he's charismatic. He can lead a group to victory, but its unlikely they'll feel the same connection to him as they would a REAL leader.
Think more Boromir and less Sharpe.
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Okay fair enough I just really don't like Boromir. He always comes off as entitled and smug.
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@Vagabond3103:
Well, here's a problem. Eagus Kamon has 8 charisma. He lacks social timing, is bad at connecting to people and struggles to establish a real dialogue. He speaks flatly, and is married to his job in such a way that its hard to talk about anything else. He can give orders well, because he has decent intelligence and is a battle-worn fighter; he knows how to assess a situation in combat, but that doesn't mean he's charismatic. He can lead a group to victory, but its unlikely they'll feel the same connection to him as they would a REAL leader.
Think more Boromir and less Sharpe.
Boromir was beloved by his people, and his father, all of them seeing him as the knight in shiny armor, and their hope for the future. That is HIGH charisma, not low.
How you RP your low charisma as quirky, is up to you, whether he be butt ugly, or rude, or whatever. My main issue with low charisma characters is when they try to be "epic" leaders. If you pick low charisma, you get to “up” another stat, so you turn your 8 charisma in for more combat oriented superiority. Your reflex, will save, or damage output will be better, meaning you stand greater chance to beat a high charisma opponent in a duel. But if you suddenly take “control of the battlefield” on a quest, or push your way to the front to be the guy talking to the npcs on every encounter with a dm, you CHEAT the ones with higher charisma from earning THEIR benefit from their stats.I mention that here in this thread, because if you wish to impress at least me with low charisma, you need to not only “figure out a quirk or gimmick”, but you also need to take into account what having that quirk should MEAN for your character.
How often do you see a heavily scarred man, a man who SERIOUSLY stutters, or a man who cannot speak on the company of women, as the CEO of a company? How often does the FUCKING RUDE guy from the office get a promotion?
IMO, low charisma and the quirks you come up with, often result in people being afraid of conflict, meaning they rarely go for the “last piece of cake”, and they are definitely not the first to raise their hand when the Boss asks someone to take on that extra work.
Low charisma folk are awesome characters, but should refrain from leadership positions, and should instead, due to their disabilities, be drawn to the higher charisma leaders.
The leader on the battlefield is not often the best warrior. He is the one the best warrior serves. -
What about a burly no-nonsense non-com? He could be someone who's rose through the ranks given time and dedication who doesn't obviously take to leading naturally. That's still someone who can give orders but he might not care about the people doing their jobs, but only that the jobs get done. I firmly believe that's still 8 charisma. If they go down in a fight, he wants them back up because they have a JOB TO DO. Eight charisma is below average, I would not put it as that severe, and neither would I relate it to a company. He's not looking to become a leader like Joan, nor is he looking to lead permanently, but if people step up and look disorganized, he's going to tell them to form up.
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I honestly think that post by JoeKickAss is worth gold; that's exactly how I feel about low CHA. It doesn't mean you can never, ever lead, but it does enforce it being a pretty situational thing, and even then, always with some strings attached.
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Some great ideas here, folks.
I've never actually RPed a low (as in sub 10) charisma character but I think I do reasonably well with my 12 charisma ranger/mercenary/missionary. She's a decent squad leader (experience and charisma) and she can carry a conversation quite well about a variety of toptics (high int, lore and spellcraft) but she's also vulgar and tends to make small but often deliberate faux pas simply to keep things grounded. She doesn't take other people too seriously nor does she take herself too seriously… This has drawbacks, of course.
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My personal chart for my characters:
6 charisma: stop powergaming scrub
8 charisma: Not one to socialize, and generally comes across as uncomfortable when forced to
10 charisma: Has there high and low moments, but for the most part they don't really stand out in a crowd.
12 charisma: Good for military leaders, bullies (intimidate and bluff are charisma skills), and friendly sorts.
14 charisma: strong politically as well as militarily when it comes to being a leader, most people tend to like them. Great for evil as well, for the scary leader type.
16 charisma: Perfect for bards, since everyone likes bards. Great for paladins as well, since while they may be a bit stuffy for most people on the likability chart they do (or should) have a presence.
18 charisma: the type of gal who makes dudes steal for them, and the type of guys that could turn polaris gay.
20+ charisma: Now you are are just showing off how leet you are at rp since no one needs this much charisma. Get some strength will ya?
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What about unevens?
ALSO, something I noticed. Characters ingame don't react to low charisma like they 'should', because they are players and not NPCs.
I try hard to emote that my character doesn't look good, and yet, I get people hitting on her, which makes me think.. do these characters have weird tastes, or should I try to RP a 4 charisma instead of a 9, to get the results I should get with a 9.