Playing against type

D

Daviomac

Artisan
So, I was bouncing ideas for an alt or new character off staff this week (yeah, my main is in that much danger), when the question of "playing against type" came up.

Now, I know that the general ruling against that was to stop all the dark elf dual wielders, made infamous by <REDACTED TO AVOID LAWSUITS), but, if the rules actually have increased costs, etc, does that mean we should still not play it?

For example, Biata can't ever learn Read Magic, end of story. That seems to be pretty cut and dry that Biata will not willing use Celestial.

My concept was for a Celestial Barbarian (storm shaman, calling upon the elements and spirits to smite the foes of the tribe). Now, yes, Barbarians are supposed to be superstitious and distrustful of Celestial. However, they do have an increased cost listed for Read Magic. That would suggest to me that they *can* learn Read Magic, it's just rare, and you would probably face some sort of prejudice or discomfort by your people. Personally, I was going to create a bunch of superstitions based on him appeasing the spirits for calling upon their powers, but that's just RP.

So, how strong is the anti-"playing against type". Would something like that fly? It's just one example, but I'm sure there's others.
 
it depends on a) if there is a rule in the book saying "you can't do it" and b) if your chapter allows it. if plot allows it, go for it. prepare to be hunted and killed till permanent death by all other barbars, but it should be a fun year or so...
 
The key here is that there are some absolute "no" things (biata casting celestial magic, high ogres using necromancy, MWEs charming all their friends) and then there are gray areas.

Your local chapter and culture will have a lot to do with it so be sure to consult them first.

For instance, I know of some biata from other chapters who have celestial items and one that even claims to be invested in celestial circle. When they come to Ashbury, we tell them that if they do that, they will lose their ability to use any racial skills or receive any racial plot.

So check with your home chapter first.
 
A quirk can make your character interesting, but playing totally opposite of the recommendations is pretty much guaranteed to result in others of that race ostracizing your character at best, or them actively hunting the character down until permed at worst. I can't imagine either scenaio would make for a fun gaming experience.
 
so long as you have the blessings of your local plot, go for it. i have seen Celestial Barbarians played and to good effect, both in terms of chapter-unity and roleplay excellence. the line usually chosen is that any given tribe still fears/distrusts Celestial magic, but they are not so stupid to think it's not an extremely useful tool, especially when considering some of the Celestial only Formal Magics. so Celestial Scholars are allowed, but they are still fundamentally taboo. it's similar to the way people in American culture view the Executioner in states with Capital Punishment states or how some people view the Patriot Act: they are "evil", but they are deemed necessary to a functioning society (not looking for a political argument here, am just using these for the sake of metaphor). these Shamans are left to themselves, mostly discouraged, but when needed are begrudgingly abided. you'll still be playing a cusp character who is more tolerated than embraced and Barbarians will be within their "racial right" to haze and attack you, but it can be a really fun challenge to play a self-proclaimed pariah. but, above all, check with local plot first
 
The distinction as I have been told in and out of game between the anti Celestial sentiment for Biata vs. Barbarians. Is that for Barbarians the anti Celestial feelings are usually due to history and RP, like being enslaved by celestial magic for thousands of years. No matter how drastic your backstory you are going to have a racial hate for Celestial magic with that background. For Biata it is a physical limitation, and most Biata find it physically painful to deal with celestial magic and stuff. However useful they know it to be.
 
Agreeing with what was said above, this is largely going to depend on your local culture for barbarians. As someone that's played my barbar character in most chapters, I'm just going to recommend being aware of what you're getting into with this concept. As Michelle said above, it's incredibly likely that your character would not only be ostracized but hunted down and killed as a celestial-casting barbarian.

If, however, this isn't so fiercely hated in your local chapter and you don't intend to travel heavily with the character, it will likely work out less violently. :)
 
I know of a barbarian who had a big celestial war hammer. he used it a lot, but on occasion in the middle of battle, he would throw it on the ground and storm off in a fit of rage, usually realizing his error and running back to his love/hate relationship with his weapon. i think that it was a novel idea, but I couldn't play like that for very many events.
 
There is a high-level Celestial-casting Barbarian in the SoMN chapter, but I won't speak for his views on it; However, as a Barbarian in the same chapter that has not actually met that character in game yet, I was "warned" about him (IG), so I can tell you just from reputation that his character is seen by others an as oddity and appearenty treated as such.
 
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