Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Death Quaker's Big List of Character Archetypes

Analyst: Anything can be explained rationally, and you will explain it. Regain willpower when your rational/scientific method helps solve a major problem. (A)
Architect (aka Maker and Builder): You desire to leave a legacy, tangible or intangible. This could be anything from an artistic masterpiece to a successful organization you founded to a new tradition you started.. Regain Willpower when you create something of great importance and/or lasting value (G, WPG2).
Autist: You live inside your shell. Revealing the 'real' you could be the worst thing that could ever happen. Regain Willpower when you manage to keep someone entirely out. (WPG)
Autocrat: You must be in control in all times of all situations. RegainWillpower when you maintain control during a situation and success is guaranteed. (VPG2)
Avant-Garde: You must be the first to know everything. Nothing is established, no gossip is spread without you having known it first. A good nature for irritating Torries. Regain Willpower when you make an exciting discovery regarding the society in which you're involved. (VPG2)
Benefactor: You have a bounty of riches or some other resources which you feel compelled to share. Regain Willpower when you help someone by providing something no one else around you can.(MtSC)
Bon Vivant (aka Hedonist and Reveler): Live for today, 'cos buddy, tomorrow may never happen. Regain Willpower when you have a rock-n-rollin time, or manage to fully express your enthusiasm for life.(G, WPG2)
Bravo: You have little tolerance for weakness, especially in yourself. You could be a proud warrior or a just plain bully. Regain Willpower when you intimidate or physically force someone to do what you want or back down.(G)
Bureaucrat: You follow the rules no matter what. Regain Willpower when you solve a situation by the book, getting others around you to do so as well. (A)
Caregiver: You desire to take care of others, ease their pain, and heal them. Regain Willpower whenever you successfully protect or nurture someone else.(G)
Cavalier: You are the hero, the gallant defender of truth, justice, and all that is good. Regain Willpower when you accomplish a significant task for the better of the group (or the world as a whole, for that matter). (VPG2)
Child (aka Cub): Whether you are one or not age-wise, you haven't grown up emotionally and prefer to let someone else take care of you. Regain Willpower when someone helps you with no apparent gain to herself. (WPG2)
Competitor: There is no greater thrill than the thrill of victory, and you'll do anything to feel it. Regain Willpower when you win a contest, formal or informal. (Many)
Confidant: You like and understand people and like to give advice-and you're usually good at it too. Regain Willpower when someone confides in you on a personal level. (WPG2)
Conniver: You like to manipulate your way through the sticky bits of life, preferring to let some sucker do the dirty work for you. Regain Willpower whenever you trick someone into doing what you want. (G)
Crackerjack: Whatever it is you do, you're the best, and people can't help but be impressed. Regain Willpower whenever you pull off an impressive stunt in the face of incredible odds (this may include making a roll of 4 successes or more on something). (S)
Critic: Everything has a fault and you will find it. Regain Willpower when you point out a significant flaw in something that would have caused disaster if overlooked. (A)
Curmudgeon: You're irascible and cynical and vocally so. Joy and laughter? Bah, humbug! Regain Willpower when someone does something stupid, as you predicted. (WPG2)
Decoder: You thrive on puzzles and riddles, be they the obvious sort, found in books and games, or hidden within seemingly benign texts or even a person's face. Regain Willpower when you solve a particularly challenging puzzle or mystery. (As far as I know, I made this one up)
Deviant: Whether it's because of your ethics, beliefs, or general view of people and society, you just plain don't fit in. Regain Willpower whenever you blatantly defy social codes without getting punished. (G)
Director/Leader: You always know the best way to go about doing something, and it only makes sense that persons follow your lead. Regain Willpower when you are able to lead a group in accomplishing a significant task. (G)
Explorer: The world is full of wonder, and you've got to see it all. Regain Willpower when you make a significant discovery, such as finding a special place or artifact, or making a profound insight about yourself or a friend. (M, MtsC)
Fanatic: You have a cause, or maybe the cause has you... You live, eat, breathe this cause (of course, if you pick this one, you have to define what that cause is). Regain Willpower when you accomplish something that furthers your cause. (G)
Follower: You're happy to help the leaders accomplish their goals, and stabilize the group with your support. Regain Willpower when your group accomplishes something due to your support. (G)
Gallant: You are flamboyant as hell, and love to be the center of attention. Regain Willpower when you dazzle or impress another person. (Most)
Guardian: You have the strength, be it inner, physical, or both, to handle this hostile world, and desire to use that strength to protect the weaker folk around you. Regain Willpower when you successfully shield some worthy party from great harm. (MtsC)
Honest Abe: Honesty is the best policy; integrity is the greatest virtue. You are true to your values and to everyone around you- all the time. Regain Willpower when you remain completely honest through a situation where it seems dishonesty would have worked better-and then it turns out your way was for the best. (VPG2)
Jester: You are the fool, the comic, the smartass, always looking for the humor in a situation. Regain Willpower when you lift someone's spirits/ease their pain with your humor. (G)
Jobsworth: A bit similar to bureaucrat, you always stick to your routine. Routine is safe and efficient. Regain Willpower when your insistence on sticking to your routine turns out for the best. (VPG2) (What an insipidly boring Nature to play...)
Judge (Mediator): You are an arbitrator and peacemaker, acting as a fair voice in conflictual situations. Regain Willpower when you separate truth from lies (without supernatural aid) or successfully mediate a conflict. (G)
Loner (aka Lone Wolf): You have your own path and no desire to share it with anyone else. Regain Willpower when you manage to achieve a significant task without anyone else's help. (G)
Manipulator: People fascinate you, and you love to see the many ways they react to the situation you've so carefully set up for them. Regain Willpower when you gain some new insight about people from some "experiment" you've performed on them without their realizing it. (VPG2)
Martyr: You would rather suffer or even die than sacrifice your values or your friends' needs. Regain Willpower when you do that.(G)
Masochist: You're always trying to see just how much more trauma you can take before you collapse. Regain Willpower when you make it through a new and interesting painful experience. (VPG2)
Masquerader: You enjoy pretending what you're not, and may be doing so to hide from others-or yourself. Particularly, you try to hide your true supernatural identity. Regain Willpower when you resolve a situation without anyone finding out that you're a supernatural being (or, depending on the situation, the true supernatural being you are, rather than the one you're pretending to be). (M)
Monster: You are depraved, villainous scum. Regain Willpower when you manage to indulge in suffering that you've produced. (M3)
Optimist: You can always see that silver lining despite that icky dark cloud looming in front of it. Regain Willpower when your conviction that all will turn out for the best gets the group through-and it turns out you're right! (VPG2)
Pedagogue: You are the ultimate teacher, living to pass on your knowledge so everyone might benefit from the wisdom of your experiences. Regain Willpower when someone really learns a great lesson from you.
Penitent: What ever it was you did, it was bad, and you devote all your energy to atoning for your sin. Regain Willpower when you perform a feat that significantly alleviates your guilt or is a step in achieving the goal that will make up for your crime. If you roleplay out a feat that so frees you from your guilt that you are really no longer penitent, the ST may allow you to gain one permanent point of Willpower and then you must change your nature. (VPG2)
Perfectionist: Everything you do, say, are... must be without flaw. Regain Willpower when you do something without a hint of mistake. (VPG2)
Plotter: Everything you do must be planned out to the last detail. Regain Willpower when you/the group accomplishes something by following your plan to the letter. (VPG2)
Poltroon: Running away may be cowardly, but you're alive, aren't you? Why deal with something potentially unpleasant and possibly fatal when you can just avoid it? Regain Willpower when you manage to escape a particularly nasty situation without having to deal with it at all. (VPG2)
Praise-Seeker: You absolutely crave the approval of your comrades. Regain Willpower when you are praised genuinely for a feat you accomplished by yourself.(VPG2)
Predator: The fittest survive, and you're pretty damn fit. Regain Willpower when you single-handedly hunt and kill another creature to ensure your survival. (WPG2)
Rebel: You will do as you will, and ultimately desire freedom from unpleasant societal bonds. Regain Willpower when your rebellion against authority or the status quo turns out for the best. (G)
Recognition Seeker: The opposite of the Masquerader, you love being the supernatural being you are, and despite the danger, long to let other people know about it. Regain Willpower when someone realizes for the first time that you are more than merely mortal. (M)
Reluctant Supernatural: Garou, vampire, mage, whatever strange thing you are-you don't want to be it. You long for your "normal" life, before whatever changed you into this thing you can't understand. Gain one point of Permanent Willpower when you discover your place in the new world you've entered and found some kind of peace with yourself. Choose a new Nature after this epiphany. (WPG2, M, etc.)
Renunciate: For some reason, you want to leave your past far, far behind you; though as hard as you try to forget it, the past will forever haunt you. Regain Willpower when you shake aside someone/something that reminds you of your past, and do so without consequences. (S, MtSC)
Revolutionary: You hold freedom dearly and desire justice, and will do whatever is necessary to hold on to these precious liberties. Unlike the Rebel, your urge is not to resist ALL authority, but rather to fight corruption in the system where you find it. Regain Willpower when your questioning or resisting leadership or the status quo turns out to be best for you/your party/or those you are trying to protect. (Original; created for my Exalted character)
Rogue: Screw the world! You do what you need to look out for yourself and get done what has to get done. If someone else suffers in the process, that's just too bad. Regain Willpower when your self-centered methods gain you something of significant value. (M3)
Sage: Knowledge is your treasure and your joy, and you enjoy both learning as well as teaching others your wisdom. Regain Willpower when you help someone through your vast knowledge or uncover an obscure piece of lore. (S, MtSC)
Sensualist: Sensation is your addiction, and you'll do anything to experience a new one. Regain Willpower when you experience a new, exciting sensation and live to tell about it. (S)
Show-Off: You need approval and praise and will do anything to get it. Regain Willpower when your antics earn you that praise you so crave.
Supplicant: Whatever you do, it is in the service of the Divine Being which you honor, fear, and/or love. Regain Willpower when you significantly advance the aims of your Benefactor (M:tSC says, "Without endangering yourself in the process," but that doesn't really make sense to me...). Remember, of course, that the deity you follow does not necessarily have to be nice. (S, MtSC)
Survivor: No matter what happens, you'll pull through it somehow. You're one tough cookie, and don't understand it when others give up so easily. Regain Willpower when you survive a difficult situation by the skin of your teeth. (G)
Sycophant: You're the perfect yes-man, doing whatever you can to please the more powerful forces that be so they'll protect you. That silly Arab guy from The Mummy is a good example. Regain Willpower when you... I dunno, I didn't write it down. (VPG2)
Theorist: The world around you is something to try and explain, and your theories drive your purpose for being. Regain Willpower when an observation based on your theory comes to pass. This has to be a well-thought-out, complex theory, not something that's already blatantly obvious. (S)
Thrillseeker: The stakes are just never high enough. More adrenaline, please! Regain Willpower every time you willingly enter a life-threatening situation and then escape it. (Can we say, "ST Bait," children? I knew you could...) (A)
Traditionalist: Why change what's worked for ages? You're the ultimate conservative. Regain Willpower when your old-fashioned methods prove to be the best solution. (G)
Trickster: Your antics do more than amuse; your pranks and tricks have a point of teaching someone a lesson, or humorously but deftly reveal some wisdom. Regain Willpower when your acts reveal wisdom that would not have been realized by more traditional means. (M:tSC, which does not describe a Willpower award, so I had to make one up.)
Visionary: You have the drive and imagination to keep aiming for the sky and beyond. Regain Willpower when you convince others to believe in your dreams and follow your vision. (G)
Waif: Whether you are or not, you have the appearance of being innocent and weak, and you haven't quite learned to act on your own without relying on others' pity. Regain Willpower when you accomplish something important without anyone's help. (MtSC)
Wanderer: Settling down just is not your thing-whether you're running away from something or simply longing to see new places, the road is your home. Regain Willpower when you complete your purpose in one place and move on, leaving no loose ends or attachments behind. (M)
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List thanks to: http://www.deathquaker.org
*This is a compilation of character archetypes (Natures and Demeanors) found in the various original World of Darkness books. These are largely from 1st, 2nd, and Revised edition sourcebooks from what is now called the "old" World of Darkness. They will also work with Exalted; I am not sure how compatible they are with the "new" World of Darkness. I doubt the list is complete, but it does compile from quite a number of sources. Listed are the names (with alternates in parentheses), a brief description, and the willpower gain. If you want the full "real" descriptions, you'll have to read the sourcebooks. These archetypes have been found in one or more of the following books: Vampire: The Masquerade (V:tM); Mage: the Ascension (M:TA or M3 for 3rd Ed.); Wraith: the Oblivion (noted in the text as G); The Werewolf Player's Guide, 1st and 2nd Ed.(WPG and WPG2); The Vampire Player's Guide, 2nd Ed. (VPG2); Mage: the Sorcerer's Crusade (MtSC); WoD: Sorcerer (S); and WoD: Mummy(M). I also got a few from the ÆON (Trinity) Sourcebook (A).

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