47 Quirks and Personality Traits for PCs and NPCs

       Tark glanced over at his companions with an uneasy look. None of them knew how the barbarian would react to the merchant’s taunting. Two times before they had witnessed him pull a man’s arm out of socket over little more than a misinterpreted phrase. This time, the merchant had insulted him directly.

       None of them were close enough to stop whatever was going to happen next, and several of Tark’s companions looked towards the door of the tavern. If the barbarian started in on this man, they would once again be forced to flee from the law – a habit they were sadly becoming accustomed to.

       Staring down at the indignant merchant, the barbarian suddenly threw his head back and let out a deep, bellowing guffaw, giving the man a playful but firm smack on his chest. Tark shook his head – a gesture of equal parts relief and exasperation. Their barbarian companion was as unpredictable as a winter storm, and twice as loud. He’d get them all killed one day, and none of them would have a moment’s notice as to when.

       Personality traits are as many and varied as the people who possess them. At their very heart, RPGs are based on the notion that the various PCs and NPCs in a game are imaginary creations, given a semblance of life and form by their various stats and abilities.

       Just as important as stats and classes to determining who and what a character is are his or her personality traits. These are what truly make a character or NPC come alive, from the taciturn, abrasive northern warrior, to the focused and cautious leader or the plucky but courageous bard. They turn our avatars into vital, living creations with emotions, goals, and motivations.

       The 47 personality traits and quirks below are roughly divided into Negative Traits (those that impair or even present distinct in-game challenges to the PC or NPC), Positive Traits (those that are generally considered to abide by the definition of a ‘good’ person), and Neutral or General Traits (those traits and quirks that are neither specifically ‘good’ nor ‘bad’, but are nuanced and fall into the vast grey area in between). You might feel that some of these traits fall into the wrong categories or are, at best, murky in their assignment – if you want, feel free to ignore their current assignments and move them where you like.

       As always, feel free to pick and choose, ignore, or combine any of the traits you want!

Enjoy!