An Exploration of "Reverse Stereotype" Characters in RPGs

Stereotypes and tropes are a big part of storytelling traditions, so it's no wonder that they're also a big part of our RPGs. Whether we're talking about traditional high fantasy games, gritty modern horror settings, or post-apocalyptic romps, everything comes with its own symbolic language.

A lot of us attempt to make our games and characters more unique by subverting these expectations. And while that's certainly a good idea (after all, my most successful series of articles on the subject is titled Unusual Character Concepts), a lot of us simply take the slider and push it all the way to the other end of the spectrum when we try to make unique takes on characters.

While this can lead to interesting results, what we often end up with is just a reverse of the original stereotype, which becomes a new stereotype in itself in many ways.

Contrarianism in Character Design

As an easy example of a reverse stereotype character, consider the paladin. Now, the traditional stereotype of the paladin is pretty well-known. You have your knight in shining armor who is here to act as a well-intentioned hero. They're strong, they're determined, they often refuse rewards or give said rewards away to charity, and they can sometimes be a little holier-than-thou when it comes to the rest of the party.

They're the ideal of an Arthurian knight, in a lot of ways.

To get away from that idea, many players attempt to do the exact opposite of what's expected. Instead of being chaste and righteous, their paladin is a hard-drinking, hard-partying warrior most likely to be found in the nearest brothel. Instead of wearing shining armor, they have old, grungy, or black armor meant to frighten their foes. Instead of negotiating and showing mercy, this paladin threatens, cajoles, and intimidates their foes. They're rude, crass, and vicious, and they're typically found under the rallying cry of, "lawful good doesn't mean lawful nice."

Those who read 5 Awful Paladins You Will Meet in Your Gaming Career likely recognize this as entry #3, the Grim Dork. However, part of what makes this concept feel like such a caricature is that it's less a true subversion, but more of a dark reflection. It's a knee-jerk reaction to just flipping a given stereotype on its head; you haven't truly changed shape, you've just turned the coin to its other face.

Subvert Individual Elements, But Keep The Core

Generally speaking, you get a lot more distance out of subverting individual elements, while still remaining true to the core of a particular aspect of the game. For an example outside of traditional fantasy RPGs, I'd like to draw from Vampire: The Masquerade.

A vampire rolls in, the exhaust from his hog alerting everyone to his presence. He's rough-looking, dressed in leathers and chains, studs in his ears and tattoos along his arms. Heavy rings decorate his fingers, and there's a gleam of chrome under each arm. He lights up a hand-rolled smoke, and evaluates everyone present at the meeting, before he dismounts and starts walking toward the meeting.

In an average game of Vampire, all of these trappings signify a member of the Brujah, the clan most associated with war, violence, and wrath. The biker aesthetic, and the outlaw lifestyle, map neatly onto what this clan is about, and it's one of the most common expressions we see of them in-game.

However, this same character with the exact same aesthetic, could be a Ventrue. This clan is most commonly seen as the businss-suit-and-power-tie clan. They're about dominance, about power, and about influence. They're the movers and shakers, thought of as kings and lords. That doesn't jive with a dirt-streaked rider with a gat in either hand... or does it?

What is more lordly than being the leader of the pack? The head rider to whom the rest of the gang shows deference and obedience? Who has more authority than the one who calls the shots, and sends out their road dogs to enforce their will? The one who sits at the head chair back at the motorcycle club's headquarters, who doles out the stacks of cash, and who inducts new members into the gang?

The character's appearance and approach are unexpected, but when you peer beneath the surface you find that the core pillars of Clan Ventrue are very much present in their makeup. To paraphrase a famous film, they might use a gun more often than a fountain pen, but at the end of the day it's just business taken to a more extreme expression.

To really create a unique twist, and to subvert a character stereotype, you first need to understand the core of what is behind the stereotype. From vampire clans, to character classes, you need to dig down beneath the surface to really get what it's about before you start tweaking the formula. It's a lot of work, but it often leads to more meaningful change (and more interesting characters), than just trying to stand existing tropes on their heads.

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