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Nerdarchy > Roleplaying Games  > No Campaign for Old Men: Shout Out to Older Protagonists

No Campaign for Old Men: Shout Out to Older Protagonists

D&Dized Spider-Man build for D&D 5E
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Hey, nerds. Today we’re going to talk about character ages. Most people go for younger protagonists, younger D&D characters. Twenty-somethings tend to be the staple in most games I’ve been involved in, and that makes sense to a degree. Part of the allure is wanting to watch a character mature, play them from an early age and see them grow into someone else, especially if you’re starting at Level 1 and don’t have a lot of room for back story.

But not every campaign starts at Level 1 and that’s to say nothing for NPCs and other works of fiction. There’s a place for older characters; it’s something I don’t see done often, but I’d like to see it done more.

There’s a proverb: “Beware of an old man in a profession where men usually die young.” The meaning here is generally, “watch out for this person, they are a survivor.” They know how to do what it takes to stay in the game, they have a lot more experience than you do, they’re heckin dangerous.

So I’m going to toss around some shout outs to a few of my favorite older characters in media.

Ana Amari from Overwatch. She’s 60. She’s got loads of history. She has an interesting weapon and is really fun to play. Her connections to the back story of other characters as well as the history of the world she’s in make her an excellent opportunity to connect with things that happened before, and that connection to history is a good reason to use an older character.

People tend to get bored talking about history in real life, but in fiction the history of the world we’re in fascinates us. What better way to expose that kind of information than through a character who was there and saw it happen?

Madame Foster from Fosters Home of Imaginary Friends is another great example. She’s been around a long time, long enough she knows when something isn’t worth stressing out over. She’s funny, engaging, and downright crafty. At one point she straight up pickpockets the protagonist under the guise of a hug.

Hector Barbossa old older

Hector Barbossa (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Captain Hector Barbossa from Pirates of the Caribbean. Okay so he was undead for a long time, and I’m not sure how much that counts as being old, but he’s worth a mention here because he is intelligent in a way you wouldn’t expect an old pirate to be. The man’s vocabulary deserves its own wiki entry. It would have been so easy just to set him up as a cardboard cut-out, grizzled pirate, but his parlay skills make him memorable. Even likable, considering, you know, he was the bad guy.

Finally, let me take a moment to give a shout out to my favorite NPC in the Scarlet Sisterhood of Steel and Sorcery game, Lala Midge; she’s ancient, she’s wise, she’s still deadly, and she absolutely reads like a real old person would. She’s a little bit racist when it comes to Troll the Ogre, she’s definitely a meddler (“I just wish you’d make more halfling friends”), but there’s no question she commands respect.

There’s something to be said for more mature heroes, and plenty of stories to be told about them. Hands down, this is something I would love to see more of in the future.

Do you have a favorite older character in fiction? One that you’ve played or seen played in a game you’ve been in? Have some thoughts about this that haven’t been covered, or just want to babble a little about an older character you’ve been thinking about playing? Please let me know in the comments below.

Also, if you’ve got a need for advice with an undead problem, anything magical in nature or even just your daily personal dealings, please do head on over to Speak With Dead, or tweet out with the hashtag #SpeakWithDead for advice from Mid-Level Necromancer Maxillae the Mad!

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Robin Miller

Speculative fiction writer and part-time Dungeon Master Robin Miller lives in southern Ohio where they keep mostly nocturnal hours and enjoys life’s quiet moments. They have a deep love for occult things, antiques, herbalism, big floppy hats and the wonders of the small world (such as insects and arachnids), and they are happy to be owned by the beloved ghost of a black cat. Their fiction, such as The Chronicles of Drasule and the Nimbus Mysteries, can be found on Amazon.

3 Comments

  • Otookee
    August 22, 2017 at 2:50 pm

    I really like Clanless Mehen, a secondary character in the Brimstone Angels series by Erin Evans (he’s the adoptive father of the twin tiefling protagonists). (Like Chinese names, dragonborn names put the clan-name first and then the personal name – so every time another dragonborn addresses him by name, he’s forcibly reminded of his outcast status.) It’s hard for any father to let his daughters grow up and step out into the wide, dangerous world – but it’s extra hard for Mehen, for whom the twins are literally all he has – not only was he disowned by his family/clan for refusing an arranged marriage, but his lover caved to societal pressure and agreed to such a marriage rather than follow Mehen into exile, leaving him bereft of the very person for whom he had defied the clan in the first place. So Clanless Mehen has to struggle with not only his (over)protectiveness towards his daughters, but must also confront his own long-suppressed feelings of abandonment, loneliness, and distrust – especially when a sexy younger dragonborn shows up with an offer from the clan that *might* restore his good name…

  • Ben Clark
    May 24, 2018 at 11:43 am

    Nicomo Cosca from Joe Abercrombie’s series. The guy is awesome, and is just a fun character to be added into the adventure. Since I’m mentioning the “First Law” series I might as well mention Bayaz. Those two are some of the best older characters, with Cosca coming out as a bit more realistic as he isn’t a spellcasting nigh immortal.

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