My 3 PCs

Lately I've been thinking about the kind of characters I play in D&D. I'm starting to suspect that every PC I've ever gotten a kick out of falls into one of three stereotypes. First there's the Fighting Man, who wants every problem to be solvable with a straight-up throwdown. Osric, my current Alidor PC, is this kind of character, as was Bart Bolt, one of my all-time favorites. Osric and Bart have clear differences in personality, but when push comes to shove the only way they know how to overcome life's little difficulties is by whacking on them.

Then there's the Affable Scoundrel, who is usually some sort of multi-classed half-elf. Endric Greencloak, the world's laziest druid, and Randolph of Falcon, the bard who would rather train pokemon than be the messiah, are my two most recent examples. Despite noticeable cowardice these guys go on hair-raising adventures because working a regular gig is completely abhorrent to them. Few day jobs win you glory and fabulous treasures.

The third type of PC I usually play is the Wee Bastard, a right rotten little fooker who gets ahead any way he can. My most notable example of this type would probably be Razzak Gristlyguts, a renegade xvart witch doctor who traveled with an otherwise normal group of elves and dwarves and humans. Lord Munge, my half-orc assassin/cleric of Demogorgon, also falls into this category even though he was of average height. His heart was tiny and twisted, and that's what really counts.

Maybe there are some other types of PCs I can play and just don't realize it. I do the dungeon master thing a lot more often than I run a player character. But since hooking up with Jon's Alidor campaign I've fallen in to two of these three basic types without really considering any other possibilies. Maybe I play pretty much the same 3 characters over and over, but if Osric buys the farm now I have at least one idea for a replacement. I'm thinking a character modeled on Belkar from Order of the Stick would make a perfect Wee Bastard for Jon's campaign.