Just My Type.

My friends and I have taken to remotely playing our tabletop RPG together. While it’s not the ideal way to play, it’s nice to be able to continue our game while we’re forced to remain far apart. The last few days, the wake of these new remote game sessions, I’ve begun to reflect on the types of characters I like to play in tabletop RPGs.

D&D and Pathfinder have been my go-to games for tabletop RPGs for years, so this list mostly consists of concepts and classes based on typical fantasy settings.

The flirty Bard. This one is my favorite. Not only have Bards been my favorite class of character for years, it’s just fun to play the fantasy of being a charmer. I enjoy it, and I feel like I’m really good at it. That’s not to say I think I’m charming, but more because I play Bards that don’t derail games with their antics. Will I manipulate hapless NPCs with my legendary charisma? Absolutely. Will I delay games with my attempts to sleep with everything in sight? No.

The Paladin. The knight in shining armor. Tabletop RPG or not, this is the earliest fantasy role I can remember. A brave warrior in pristine armor defending the innocent, swearing allegiance to a noble cause, and fighting for the honor of their beloved. Paladins have represented that lofty childhood ideal of the fantasy warrior, and I jump at the chance to play one. I also feel like I play Lawful Good characters really, really well.

The bumbling Wizard. From Merlin the Magician of Sword in the Stone to Ergo the Magnificent of Krull, the concept of the disheveled practitioner of powerful magic has always been amusing and appealing to me. There’s no pressure to play these characters as cool. The more you screw up the better it is for your character concept!

The gruff Fighter. I play this character when I want to turn my brain off and have fun. This character is good with weapons and just wants to get paid for their work. I usually don’t attach complicated hooks or lengthy backstories to these characters. Sometimes the party just needs the member who’s good with a big ol’ sword and shield, and this character wants nothing more than to be just that.

It’s fun to mix these up, too. A bumbling Paladin, a flirty Wizard a gruff Bard, and so on. Like so many things with tabletop RPGs, the only limit is your imagination.