Here’s a game idea from the DC archives: I’ve stumbled upon a rather odd true story, full of secret agents, (cyber)sex, and murder. According to the judge in the case, “Skilled writers of fiction would struggle to conjure up a plot such as this.” Since I don’t have the time or ambition to write a…
We all love Halloween, but except for those wacky Lovecraftian investigators who spend every October 31 trying to stop another evil cult from summoning up yet more Things Man Was Not Meant To Know, most RPG characters never get to celebrate the holiday. That’s just wrong, so here are a few ideas to help get…
The trickster (often called the shapeshifter) archetype is closely related to the fool, but tends to be a more subversive character than the fool. The fool is (whether he knows it or not) is the object of others’ laughter; the joke is on the fool. With the trickster, the joke is nearly always on someone…
The fool is a comic relief character who makes the audience laugh by consistently making bad decisions, ignoring social boundaries, and generally acting absurdly. While some fools actively try to be funny, many are blissfully unaware of their shortcomings and flaws. Most fools are good-natured or too inept to be a threat to anyone but…
Anybody can swing a sword and beat up bad guys, but the swashbuckler does it with panache. While the term was originally used to describe swordsmen, its current usage has more to do with a hero’s style than his weapon of choice. In addition to being incredibly skilled (and knowing it), the swashbuckler is…
Editor’s Note: Starting with this week’s exciting episode, new Archetypes of the Week will go up on Thursday instead of Wednesday. The fixer is a person who solves problems, often using methods that are not entirely legal. While most fixers deal in material goods (especially illegal or hard to get ones) to some extent, the…
The magician is, as the name suggests, a character skilled in the use of magic. The type of magic the character is able to use and the specific tradition that he or she follows depends on the genre and setting. The flash-bang style of magic found in most role-playing games, for example, has no precedent…
