Monstrous PCs on Thain

Thain’s story is one of challenging survival in which the people (Humans, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, half-orcs, and elves) of the island are ever beset upon by the many arrayed monstrous forces of the world. On Thain, monsters are played as truly dangerous, and it is the victims of monsters who are victims, not the monsters themselves.  Monstrous PCs can provide a great jumping-off point for certain kinds of stories, creating great antagonism and bringing new depth to creatures that are otherwise just boring AI-driven mobs.

Within this context, many players decide they eventually want to play a monster, or find themselves invested in playing out a story from a non-human perspective.  We support this by application, but with some caveats.

• As one of the most frequently played versions of a given monster, a Monstrous Player Character has a large impact on this monster is viewed by the playerbase.  One or two frequently played Good-Aligned Drow can ensure that 90% of the interactions players have with drow are with Good Drow.  As such, we expect MPC applications to provide a fair representation of the monster in question – this means no good drow seeking acceptance, no mind flayers with hearts of gold, or other characters who feel setting-breaking.  A MPC might be an exceptional example of their race in many ways, and they may have personal pathos and struggle distinct to them, but an encounter with an MPC should feel like it supports the world’s narrative about that type of monster instead of conflicting with it.
• Monstrous PCs are inherently conflict-heavy.  Good PCs may choose to attack them without warning, and most MPCs who are visibly monstrous will find themselves unable to join in events with goodly folk. You should not play an MPC if you are not comfortable with some level of conflict, and being able to run your own events and stories is highly recommended, as you may not be able to easily join in on the stories of others.
• Monsters on Thain are dangerous creatures.  A monster should have a reason why they cannot co-exist with humans beyond the humans cruelly not choosing to accept them.  There should be something innate about a monster that would prevent them from peacefully living in human society.  The exact nature of this will depend on the monster and their story.

Dragon Disciples and Wildshapes

On Thain, achieving nine levels in the Dragon Disciple Class (The emergence of wings) makes a player an obligate MPC (Monstrous Player Character).

MPCs are by definition hostile to many of the factions of Thain, and Dragonkin are no exception: There are factions that as a result of Thain’s long historical relationship with Dragonkin will accept certain types of Dragonkin (Metallic or Chromatic) and others that accept none at all.

Dragonkin are expected to adhere to the idea of monstrous characters as being challenging and outright antagonistic – even metallic Dragonkin have monstrous attributes to the minds of many ordinary people.  We  strongly encourage those who wish to play take 9+ dragon disciples to play out their monstrous nature and represent their dragon blood in-world as the danger that it is.  The story of a perfectly heroic and human-like dragonkin seeking to correct societies unfair racism against them has played out a few times on Thain, and we generally find it not to be a great fit for our world as currently written – it plays too strongly against the expectation of Thain as a place where the monsters are  intended to be dangerous.

For those who do wish to play out the story of a good dragonkin seeking acceptance, we recommend the Colorless RDD Option described on the Classes page.  Contact a Staff member if you have more questions about the Colorless kin and their lore.  

Druids in Wildshape and Shifter characters who show their powers publicly have traditionally been accepted as lite-monstrous characters: town guards attack them on sight, and even NPCs who know their true forms often regard them with distrust and suspicion befitting a creature that can wear a difference face or skin at will. s

Monstrous PC Applications

The staff accepts any applications for monstrous PCs.  You need only PM an active staff member if you have a monstrous concept you want to pitch, and we are happy to give suggestions on ideas in progress.

If you decide to apply, PM a staff member with your application. Include, at minimum, the race you want to play, what you would need from the Staff (ie: appearances, model replacements), and a description of your character. The staff will vote as a whole, taking into consideration whether we feel the MPC as described will enhance the vision of those kinds of monsters on Thain.  However, note that we generally expect a player to be around for at least a couple of months first.  We will be voting based on your application and what we’ve seen in-game, and we’ll want to know that you’re someone we can trust to manage this character type well.

If possible, your application should explain not only what the character is, but who they are. Why do you feel this character would be fun for others to interact with, and why the character needs an NSS slot to work. We try to avoid approving applications that only want visual fluff and attention. We’re looking for characters that would contribute to the server and that need to be a monster in order to work. Telling us about your character and the kind of stories you have in mind can only help your chances of getting approved. Questions that may be useful to think about:

• Why does this character need to be an MPC versus a non-MPC character interested in the same things (for example, what about the character makes it necessary that they be a devil rather than a human interested in the study of devils)?  Knowing that this will likely reflect on other monsters in the module, how do you feel your PC will best represent this monstrous race?
• What are the clear differences in personality for your MPC compared to most non-MPC characters? How are they going to react to things differently than a more traditional character?
• The life of an MPC, especially early on when they are finding their footing, is often quite lonely. Many MPCs burn out within a few months as players find it difficult to find RP without being able to use places like the Crossroads to meet other characters. How do you plan to tell stories with your MPC that don’t rely on other players/DMs, especially while the character is still new and gaining a reputation?

Note that “monstrous” creatures are almost always set hostile to guard factions on creation, unless their monstrous nature is kept carefully hidden. 

We do not provide stat changes for MPCs.