Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 34

Thread: Character Clichés?

  1. #1
    Chapter Master
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Penola, Australia
    Posts
    1,725

    Character Clichés?

    Hello. I want to know what the worst Inquisitor character clichés are for some fluff I am writing for a 40k event. I've already got a "clichéd sultry gunslinger" and an "ex Imperial Guard hard-man and obligatory psychic blank".

    What are the character types that seem to come up most?
    Quote Originally Posted by The pestilent 1 View Post
    Did Apple kill your parents and burn down your village or something?
    My Brute

  2. #2
    Chaplain the_gobbo_king's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    A Land Down Under.
    Posts
    159

    Re: Character Clichés?

    Hey there,

    Some of the most common character cliches include:

    - The Cold Sniper (i.e Sorel in Ciaphas Cain)
    - The Ultra Smart Savant/Leximechanic (i.e. Savant Mott in Ciaphas Cain)
    - The Medic (i.e. Hawk Eye in *M*A*S*H*
    - The New Guy/Trooper (i.e. Private Polonsky in Call of Duty)
    - Captain/Sergeant Dependable (i.e. Sergeant Roebuck in Call of Duty)
    - The Tech Adept (IMO, the guy that will always insist on using the Dawn of War accent)
    - The Unconventional Guy (i.e. Han Solo from Star Wars)

    Honestly, just look on TV Tropes, you'll find hundreds of character cliches. I use the tropes to base some of my characters on...

    Scott.
    "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." - Abraham Lincoln

  3. #3
    Chapter Master DapperAnarchist's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    England
    Posts
    1,277

    Re: Character Clichés?

    Check the Dark Magenta site - "Oh To Be An Inquisitor Part 1" is an entertaining if occasionally cruel approach to the cliches and foolish choices in character backgrounds, like the deathbed promotion or the juvenile exorcist...
    Quote Originally Posted by MarcoSkoll View Post
    I think a revelation of that magnitude requires a "DUN DUN DUNNNN!!!!" to go with it.

  4. #4
    Chapter Master biggreengribbly's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Swansea
    Posts
    1,114

    Re: Character Clichés?

    I find death-row-recruitments a fairly common cliche to stand alongside the death-bed promotion
    Quote Originally Posted by Polymphus
    -"In my mind, you're a lictor sitting at a PC and making sarcastic comments to the family of rippers next door."
    -"I agree. PCs break and enter into places, commit many senseless acts of murder by slaughtering creatures for acting their nature, loot and pillage their fallen enemies homes, and then return to town and celebrate with a drink.

    Sociopaths wish they had it this good.
    "

  5. #5

    Re: Character Clichés?

    Fortunately the Thorian Sourcebook basically makes people who have had deathbed promotions "half-inquisitors" by making other Inquisitors able to revoke their status.

    Which is hilarious

  6. #6
    Chapter Master DapperAnarchist's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    England
    Posts
    1,277

    Re: Character Clichés?

    Good plot point though - "I'm an Inquisitor!" "No your not" "Well... I'll become one!" "Sure, whatever" - Cue vengeance.
    Quote Originally Posted by MarcoSkoll View Post
    I think a revelation of that magnitude requires a "DUN DUN DUNNNN!!!!" to go with it.

  7. #7
    Chapter Master MarcoSkoll's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Hertfordshire, UK
    Posts
    1,135

    Re: Character Clichés?

    Quote Originally Posted by DapperAnarchist View Post
    Cue vengeance.
    Cue Inquisitor shooting not-Inquisitor in the head for getting in the way and no-one giving a monkeys...
    -Inquisitor Marco Robert Skoll.
    GW's old =I= articles - the SG site =I= bulk pack

  8. #8
    Chapter Master DapperAnarchist's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    England
    Posts
    1,277

    Re: Character Clichés?

    But... but... vengeance! Please sir, can I have some vengeance?

    Though, yes, that's true.
    Quote Originally Posted by MarcoSkoll View Post
    I think a revelation of that magnitude requires a "DUN DUN DUNNNN!!!!" to go with it.

  9. #9

    Re: Character Clichés?

    Mmmmm... vengeance.

    And - on-topic - refer to TV Tropes. None of the archetypes described the_gobb_king are cliches, but they are tropes. That is, they are a perfectly reasonable starting point for any character (indeed, I think I have at least one of all of them!) but need to be handled with imagination to be fully-rounded characters.

    I'd add to the list the Mary Sue character: the one who bears a considerable resemblance to the creator but with all of their imperfections removed. Fortunately, the 40kverse tends to be unmerciful to Mary Sues - my long-time PC, Inquisitor Richard Nemesov, began life as a Mary Sue* (I was younger and more ignorant in those days) but later was captured by a daemon, infected with a horrible wasting disease and is now obsessed with sustaining his own life. He was last seen in the custody of Inquisitor Benedict Saussure charged with the murder of his former patron, the Inquisitrix Kang-Ju Ki.

    R.

    *In his previous life as Archimedes Vorn, Arbites Investigator.

  10. #10
    Chapter Master MarcoSkoll's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Hertfordshire, UK
    Posts
    1,135

    Re: Character Clichés?

    That's one form of the Mary Sue, but it often refers to a broader definition of a character without significant flaws, who is written to be be more special than everyone else and who the story revolves around unduly.

    Also, I'd stress that similarities to the author do not necessarily mean the character is intended as "Author v2.0".
    I wrote my namesake with a similar area of expertise to my own not because he's meant to be a version of me, but because I wanted to be able to write him as a character who actually knew his way around the subject.
    -Inquisitor Marco Robert Skoll.
    GW's old =I= articles - the SG site =I= bulk pack

  11. #11
    Chapter Master
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    England
    Posts
    1,019

    Re: Character Clichés?

    A very minor cliche, but one that is often used as a get out clause for justifying the rest of a character's background and training, is "orphaned" characters.

    Is it too much to ask that your character was brought up in a loving family for a good part of their childhood?
    "because necrons -can- be painted without chainmail"

    'even the best laid plans aren't animosity proof'

  12. #12
    Commander Ambience 327's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Fort Wayne, IN, USA
    Posts
    536

    Re: Character Clichés?

    Of course, characters raised by the Schola Progenium are (and should be) quite common in Inquisitor because the Schola Progenium is a prime recruiting grounds for the Inquisition, Arbites, Sororitas, Commissariat, Assassinorum and even the Storm Troopers. The fact that those raised by the Schola Progenium are the orphans of Imperial servants who gave their lives in service to the Emperor means that many such characters can realistically have orphan-hood as part of their background.
    *NEW!* Codex: Genestealer Cult (6th Ed) For the Father!
    *NEW!* Codex: Adeptus Arbites (6th Ed) To detect and to purge!
    *NEW!* Codex: Harlequins (6th ed) The Harlequins will have the last laugh!
    Codex: Spyrer Hunting Party Death leaves the Underhive!
    Codex: Exodites The Dragon Knights prepare to charge!

  13. #13
    Chaplain Ranger S2H's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    twente, the netherlands
    Posts
    183

    Re: Character Clichés?

    ok, so we have all the cliche's and tropes down, but what are the most unconventional/wacky ideas you've come up with?

    I was personally thinking about creating an exceptionally cowardly sniper :P

  14. #14

    Re: Character Clichés?

    My psychic wasnt really psychic...he just thought he was....until a game where he actually passed a psychic test and used an Impel to knock an Inquisitor round a corner....shockingingly true...

    kerby
    ok so looking for
    Leman russes
    Chimeras
    Valkyries

    Check out my "Get your backside in Gear" PLOG...please?

  15. #15
    Chapter Master Mr. Ultra's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Happyland, in a gumdrop house on Lollipop Lane
    Posts
    1,232

    Re: Character Clichés?

    @the_gobbo_king, thanks for that info, it's very useful to me!
    This is the war-ravaged world of Warhammer, and there's only WAR!... and hammers.

  16. #16
    Chapter Master Easy E's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    The Misty Mountain or Tower
    Posts
    5,930

    Re: Character Clichés?

    A feral-worlder who was terrified of guns.
    Cheapest. Army. Ever. - Armored Company or Stompa Tribe
    Varingyr (Neo-Squats) Threads- Background , Concept Art , 40K Rules Dev , and BFG Rules Dev .
    Aquanautica Imperialis- FREE, naval game for the 40K Universe. Here: http://www.box.net/shared/e2dmaf1zaj

  17. #17
    Chaplain the_gobbo_king's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    A Land Down Under.
    Posts
    159

    Re: Character Clichés?

    A Law Enforcement Officer who isn't a complete administrative tool...

    What?
    "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." - Abraham Lincoln

  18. #18
    Get your custom title 'ere! enyoss's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Posts
    2,289

    Re: Character Clichés?

    The maverick law enforcement officer who doesn't play by the rules?

    He's got a gun in every hand, and a girl in every spaceport... yadda, yadda, yadda.
    It has been brought to my attention that there is also a character called enyos in Buffy the Vampire slayer. Note that my username predates him by several years, not the other way around

  19. #19
    Chaplain the_gobbo_king's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    A Land Down Under.
    Posts
    159

    Re: Character Clichés?

    Ah, good point:

    A Law Enforcement Officer that actually strikes the middle ground - being neither a cowboy cop or an administrative tool.
    "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." - Abraham Lincoln

  20. #20
    Chapter Master DapperAnarchist's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    England
    Posts
    1,277

    Re: Character Clichés?

    And isn't a cynical worn out wreck, ruined by the impossibility of his job.
    Quote Originally Posted by MarcoSkoll View Post
    I think a revelation of that magnitude requires a "DUN DUN DUNNNN!!!!" to go with it.

Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •