The Kender/Warforged thread reintroduced a concept I'd heard mentioned numerous times in different contexts: that the players who choose to play certain races/classes/character types share a number of negative personality traits. So far I've seen this applied to elves, kender, gnomes( in D&D-style fantasy games), Malkavians and Pooka (in White Wolf games), and Ewoks (in WEG's Star Wars rpg.

Generally when this is mentioned, it is only vaguely alluded to as if everyone shared common experience with " those sorts of players". In many cases I haven't had any such experiences, so as often as not the reference goes right over my head.

So, do you have any such notions? Is this based on multiple experiences? What associations do you have with gamers who almost exclusively play a particular character?

If so, what type of player do you associate with...

Dwarfs?
Elves?
Half-Elfs?
Halflings?
Tieflings?
Warforged?
Kender?
Ducks?
*other fantasy races?
*races/occupations from modern/futuristic settings?

"Those sorts of players" are people with dickish tendencies who use playing a kender or a gnome as some sort of excuse for, basically, acting like a dick the whole time and annoying everybody. License to be a pain in the arse. I knew quite a few people like this at one time, but thankfully not since I was about 15 or so.

The only other stereotype I have is of people who play half-elves or half-orcs the whole time, if the game allows it. These are people who tend to enjoy being angsty, depressive, difficult-to-get-along-with outsiders at the table. Again, not met many of them since I was about 15.

The one guy I knew who always played elves was a big fan of Lord of the Rings and really, really liked elves.  I mean, to the point of having a thing for them.  As time went on I learned he had an elvish alter-ego he was rehashing with every character.

Adding injury to insult, he also ran an elf as a GMPC, with all the stereotypical problems attending.  :mad:

Similarly, the one player I've met who always played an anthropomorph (dragonborn or other animal-man) was a real life furry.

Unless I'm forgetting someone, those two are really the only players in 17 years who literally always played the same race.  What I have seen more often is people who vary race and class by game system, but always make the same character concept (sniper, stealthy assassin, etc.).  What I see there is they have a pretty rigid play style.  The sniper's built to snipe, and damn it all to hell if that's not all he's going to do, even if he spends the whole combat maneuvering to get a firing position out of melee.  Then he's frustrated when we pull out a win without him.

So I'm not opposed to any of these races per se*, but when people really want to play one thing and nothing else I consider that a warning sign.  I'm comfortable playing the odds that the guy who really wants to play a drow is in it for the pluses, the guy who really wants to play a Scorpion clan ninja in L5R is doing it to backstab other PCs in character, etc.

*Except Kender, on general principles.  Really, what is there to like in the writeup?

Quote from: Saladman;682947The one guy I knew who always played elves was a big fan of Lord of the Rings and really, really liked elves.  I mean, to the point of having a thing for them.  As time went on I learned he had an elvish alter-ego he was rehashing with every character.

Adding injury to insult, he also ran an elf as a GMPC, with all the stereotypical problems attending.  :mad:

Similarly, the one player I've met who always played an anthropomorph (dragonborn or other animal-man) was a real life furry.

I've met both of these sorts as well.  The first are a pet peeve of mine, to a point where I just don't want elves in games anymore.  It's not necessarily that the players are bad (they're often boring, and I suspect that they feel "Elf!" will spice things up or, possibly, that they can't think of anymore more exciting, so they just do the same thing over and over), but they just won't shut up about elves.

"I'm running a D&D game set in..."

"Can I play an elf?"

"I'm running Shadowrun with the premise if..."

"Can I play an elf?"

"I'm running Exalted in a game set in the Realm where..."

"Can I play an elf?  No?  How about a Fair Folk?"

"I'm running a Vampire game..."

"Can I play an elf?  No?  How about a Changeling Sidhe?"

"I'm running a WW2 campaign..."

"Can I play an elf?  No?  PLEEEEEAAASE?  Like, what if he got magically teleported into the setting?  Or maybe just a very pointy-eared soldier with a MYSTERIOUS past?"

Ugh.

The furry-types bother me less, though I'm not entirely clear why.  They seem a little more flexible, and what sort of critter they're willing to play changes, I suppose.

There's also, of course, the Orc/Minotaur/Ogre barbarian type.  The "Og SMASH!" sort of player who just wants to kill things and takes the least RP-oriented, most damage-oriented character possible.  You know, the "Charisma is a dump stat because I don't want to talk to anyone anyway" sort.

I used to play dwarves, especially Troll Slayers.

What does that say, Freud?

Quote from: Rincewind1;683043I used to play dwarves, especially Troll Slayers.

What does that say, Freud?

It says that you must like shortbread, Irn Bru, heroin, and deep-fried Mars bars. And that you are probably ginger.

Quote from: TristramEvans;682932The Kender/Warforged thread reintroduced a concept I'd heard mentioned numerous times in different contexts: that the players who choose to play certain races/classes/character types share a number of negative personality traits. So far I've seen this applied to elves, kender, gnomes( in D&D-style fantasy games), Malkavians and Pooka (in White Wolf games), and Ewoks (in WEG's Star Wars rpg.

Generally when this is mentioned, it is only vaguely alluded to as if everyone shared common experience with " those sorts of players". In many cases I haven't had any such experiences, so as often as not the reference goes right over my head.

So, do you have any such notions? Is this based on multiple experiences? What associations do you have with gamers who almost exclusively play a particular character?

If so, what type of player do you associate with...

Dwarfs?
Elves?
Half-Elfs?
Halflings?
Tieflings?
Warforged?
Kender?
Ducks?
*other fantasy races?
*races/occupations from modern/futuristic settings?

I think you have it backwards.

It is not that Players exhibit certain character traits based upon the races they prefer as characters, it is that certain PC races are preferred by lawncrappers to excuse their in-character dickishness by saying that they "are only role-playing their character race."

There is a type of Player that delights in pissing off everybody at the game table. It is a form of misanthropy that I don't try to understand, but I try to prevent, because it disrupts the game. These Players prefer races that are associated with poor impulse control (all) plus rampant kleptomania (Kender), buffoonish clumsiness (gungans), cute primitivism masking violent luddites (ewoks), or just plain old insanity (malkavians).

No psychoanalysis needed. These are just early warning signs that You Might Have A Lawncrapper At Your Table.

Quote from: soviet;683048It says that you must like shortbread, Irn Bru, heroin, and deep-fried Mars bars. And that you are probably ginger.

Accusing me of being a Scot, hrm?

Quote from: Rincewind1;683057Accusing me of being a Scot, hrm?

Of wanting to be a Scot subconsciously

Quote from: TristramEvans;682932Ducks?

I'd love to know what sort of Glorantha players were most likely to play Ducks.

I know in Gamma World wbw there were at least two Howard-the-Duck-based PCs I played with (not as). I always picked spiny echidnas and other obscure species when I didn't play PSH.

Quote from: Mailanka;682952"Can I play an elf?  No?  PLEEEEEAAASE?  Like, what if he got magically teleported into the setting?  Or maybe just a very pointy-eared soldier with a MYSTERIOUS past?"

Yeah, that syndrome's happened to me.  Not very often, and never for more than moments.

In joining my game, you're joining a campaign. It has a defined game system, a defined setting and a defined milieu. Characters are created within that setting, as natives to that setting, and exist within that setting. Players are expected to engage with that setting, with characters that conform to it, or else are encouraged to go find some other campaign better fitting their prejudices.

There are prospective players to whom I've had to give variations of the above.  In only a couple cases, over the decades, have I ever had someone who'd only stop wheedling and attempting to negotiate long enough for me to say "Never mind; I don't think this'd be a good fit for you."