Archetypes

Over various roleplays, certain roles and themes tend to be repeated. Whether intentional or not, it is common for Game Masters to include elements that hearken back to things they've seen before. Whether creating characters, mechanics, or even themes, there is rarely ever anything that can be described as a fully original idea. Being aware of archetypes is useful, as it can give lenses in which you can examine your own ideas and guidance on how you can improve them.

Character versus Role Archetypes

Character archetype is a term that can actually be applied to two different concepts. There are the Role Archetypes that describe the character's role from a gameplay standpoint, and the Personality Archetypes that describe the character's role from a story perspective. For the sake of this page, we will be discussing Role Archetypes, rather than Personality Archetypes.

Role Archetypes are basic descriptions we use to group characters with similar goals, strengths, and behaviors in a roleplay. An archetype should not define the characters that reside within it, but instead the characters themselves should define which archetype they belong to.

List of Common Archetypes

This list is not meant to be exhaustive and covers only a common and noteworthy selection.

The Detective

One of the most common roles, as it suits a number of scenarios, the detective character is a seeker of truth within the space of the game, often defined most by their ability to uncover information others might miss. Characters within this archetype often have advantages towards investigation, leads to follow from the outset, investigative methods that can lead to unique clues, and/or information on other players.

The purpose of the detective in games featuring mystery elements is to give the group either a leader figure they can rely on, or at least someone who can cut through much of the baseless speculation that can easily dominate early sessions. Playing the detective can be a double-edged sword, because revealing yourself to be more useful than others may lead to those with something to hide targeting you. This could be other players or a game's Mastermind.

Examples of characters who fit the detective archetype well are:

• Alice Manfredini from KG13, a private investigator who invited herself to Archibald's mansion to investigate the man who she believed murdered her spouse. She has many great advantages, but these are offset by the fact that she became a target by showing up uninvited.
• Matsuda Minori from Gaines Game, the Ultimate informant who was unknowingly involved with the game he was looking into. He carried around a memory journal filled with information about the game, which he could spend time digging through to learn more about what was going on. He also had one of the highest investigation scores of the game. This all came at the cost of Matsuda forgetting everything he doesn't constantly remind himself about after five minutes due to his anterograde amnesia as well as the mastermind specifically targeting him for intruding.
• Maya Chizuru from KG14, a secretary for the company behind the game. While she overlaps heavily with other archetypes, her main goal is still to learn the secrets of other players, and she is one of the more capable players of achieving that goal based on the knowledge she goes into the game with.

The Gambler

The Gambler is defined by their interactions with luck. For the gambler, luck is the most vital commodity there is. They can only reach their full potential when favored by fortune, but they often risk misfortune when relying on their gifts. The gambler is unreliable, offering high potential rewards at the cost of taking heavy risks.

The role of the gambler in a roleplay can be to either add an unpredictable element to the system, or to improve the players' odds at influencing outcomes. Which job The Gambler fills is often determined by their abilities. For gamblers whose luck can swing wildly in either direction, they fill the first role. For gamblers who are incentivized into taking chances with abilities that let them determine how their probability is altered or re-roll certain acts, they fill the latter.

Examples of the gambler archetype include:

• Hiroki Yoshimoto from KG16, the Ultimate luckster. Hiroki is the perfect example of a character who fills both roles of this archetype: whenever he is in a situation based on pure luck, Hiroki will only ever get a critical success or a critical failure. He is also capable of selecting three non-physical actions per day to apply this 50/50 success/failure effect to, and outside of all of this, sometimes good things happen to him for no good reason. Finally, Hiroki's main bane is a depression meter that raises at random rates based on die rolls at the start of every session. If it hits its peak, Hiroki is forced to commit murder. Whether or not this meter will ever reach its peak is based on nothing more than luck, resulting in Hiroki's fate being partially outside of the hands of his player.
• Salvatore Lombardi from KG14, a full fledged gambler. Salvatore's luck makes it so that his critical successes are more effective than anyone else's, while his critical fails leave him totally luckless until his next critical success. For him, the peaks of what a roll can accomplish have been raised greatly in both directions. A natural 20 for him could win an entire combat encounter, while a natural 1 at the wrong time might leave him completely helpless. The lingering potential for any roll to win or lose him an encounter is always floating around. Salvatore is a perfect example of the first type of gambler, the one whose performance is based squarely on his luck.
• Sebastian Neumont from CC3, a luckster who has the odds in his favor more often than not. For Sebastian, he'll get the best possible outcome in luck-based scenarios five out of six times, but one out of six times, he'll get the worst possible result. This may seem unbalanced, but in a game such as CC3 where luck isn't too great of a factor, it's actually on the weaker end. There are ways for Sebastian to make use of his ability, such as directing the group through a dark maze where they have no clues which way to travel. Since his chances of being right are five-in-six, his guesses will always be more reliable than anyone else's, especially when there are more than two directions they can travel. Sebastian is a great example of the second type of gambler, the type that influences their outcomes rather than become a slave to chance.

The Leader

With such a natural ability to guide others, people are drawn to them and their commands.

The Brute

Some characters only speak in violence. Brute characters would be among them.

• Mikado Homura

The Normie

Average characters with average abilities. The normie is defined by their lack of distinguishing roles.

The Traitor

• Brent Wredden
• Orsat Lemphis
• Jin Yeong-suk

The Medic

• Evie Renelle

The Child

These characters are young — usually prepubescent — and bring an immature energy to the cast.

• Morgan Gaines

The Second-in-Command

They're there to support you — but mostly the leader.

The Killer

Born to kill, their prime purpose is to off other cast members as quickly and efficiently as possible.

• Jessie Buggay

The Pair

Twins, clones, star-crossed lovers, pet and pet owner: bonds like these are inseparable and frequently take advantage of that fact.

• Lars Holt and his dog, Wrench
• Robin Fénix and her falcon, Barrel
• Liú Xù and her pet mouse, Frisby
• Aimi and Akira Gemini
• Ivy and Iris Bray