Today I'd like to encourage you to think outside the box. Tabletop RPG are set up with all kinds of rules and parameters that make it easier to create unique adventures that challenge us as players as well as game masters. But the limitations imposed by the rules should be there to enhance the game, not restrict it.
I often ask players to consider any action they take as a character to be a choice. It's not written in stone. No character should be so simple that their actions can be predicted one hundred percent of the time. It's all about how the player chooses to justify their character's actions, which is up to their own discretion. A 'good' character might do something unethical in a moment of weakness, a 'smart' character might do something foolish based on an emotional impulse.
I implore anyone who enjoys tabletop adventuring to think of the narrative elements of gaming as something organic and subject to change. Characters grow, fail, or challenge their own values. They contradict their original intentions from time to time. It's natural, it's human, and it makes for more interesting and three dimensional storytelling. If a character reaches a crossroads, faced with two choices, I challenge you to do this... imagine a way to justify either option that they might take. Imagine a way to explain their reason for taking Option A, and then do the same for Option B. It might be hard at first, but it will help you develop as both a player and story teller.
Imagine Luke Skywalker falling to the dark side during the climactic battle with Darth Vader. Think about the possibility of Tony Stark keeping his identity a secret. Someone could make a pitch for a fascinating alternate sequence of events spanning from these choices. The same goes for your own stories, there is always the potential of the path not taken. Understand that it is your choice between these paths, not something carved into stone.
When it comes to the practical points of characters and worlds, apply the same philosophy. Don't pigeonhole yourself into restrictive ways of thinking. Don't decide that a character needs a high charisma to try their hand at singing, or that an elf can't be a buffoonish comic relief. Use the statistics and established details of your character as a way of informing and defining their characteristics, but don't let the numbers be the sole arbiter of their identity. Get creative and keep on exploring narrative adventures that you and your friends will remember for years to come!
Happy ventures!
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