No.420649
Do you allow them? Do you have certain stipulations on them? Have you played as one? What difficulties did you encounter from the gm/player side of things, and what did you observe about the playstyle?
____________________________
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.420651
>>420649
I don't allow most players to play them. A player that's not going to communicate at the table can e very disruptive. If a player can convince me that they can roll play the mute in a way that doesn't mean 4 hours of charades to leave the bar, I'll allow it.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.420662
>>420649
Have one, half drunk, half not giving a fuck and it actually works. After a while, had the basic ideas conveyed by basic sign language and considered understood by others knowing her
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.420689
>>420649
Mute characters will often spend more time explaining or describing the way their characters communicates their message and jumping through hoops to justify how their character can convey things, than if they had just had their character speak in the first place
<My character grabs yours by the sleeve and tugs to get your attention and then begins pantomiming a line across their lip and a wide shape over their head while squatting down and then gesturing towards a nearby street with urgency
>Hey, the halfling with the moustache and the big hat went that way. Come on.
As far as gimmicks go, it's not worth anyone's time to indulge that shit. All the talking that needs to be done to justify it adds nothing to the game, and because the player has to talk and explain exactly what they are doing, everyone at the table gets to hear the exact message and then has to pretend to be dumb for the next few moments to avoid metagaming.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.420693
>>420689
I second this. Fun as a guest PC for a session, shitty for a whole campaign.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.420730
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.420736
>>420649
>take off the bag
<mook takes off the bag
>ready to talk?
>put the bag back on! We can't let her talk
>she understands English, but won't speak
>nobody tried using pictograms, closed answer tests, open answer tests with a pencil, or a typewriter.
Bravo kojima.
Quiet is a perfect example how not to craete mute characters.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.420743
>>420730
Why does he have a messer if he's a ninja?
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.420744
>>420743
"Stealth is optional for this mission"
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.420748
>>420743
Because he's an "American Ninja: designed by an American comic-book guy who only had ever drawn Arthurian Legend and Conan comicx before being tapped to do GIJoe
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.420751
I made a character who is basically a mixture between a teddy bear and a moth, it eats magic, is very fluffy and it just stands around with its mouth semi open while following the party whenever they end up out of sight.
The only other emotion it showed during the campaign other than "smiling and fluffy" was "serious and with its hair standing up" when the party came closer to the lair of some otherworldly creature.
Mute characters that often show no emotion are the best way to convey a "oh shit" moment.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.420756
Had a one shot character that got cursed to become a Mute. A Haunted one Dex Fighter that got fucked over from an Elven Lady.
DM gave me a Blackboard around my neck, Chalk, and a Cloth to get messages across. I wanted to challlenge myself getting messages across but he insisted so I can have a voice which I did appreicate.
There was a joke at the bar where I played charades with the bartender to get my meal. The meal was a water and a rack of ribs. Bartender got water immedietly, waves, but my autism showed when for the ribs I put my hands behind my back and flapped them for "Baby Back Ribs" instead of Just showing off my ribs.
The other laugh my character got was when the female Dragonborn Bard, played by a male Poo with a thick accent flirted with my character. My character look suprised and wrote on the chalkboard "Sorry I'm Straight."
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.421084
YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.421093
>>421084
Wow. That was fucking terrible.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.421095
>>421093
not sure whats worst the animation or the accent.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.421114
>>420649
>Do you allow them? Do you have certain stipulations on them?
If you are running a traditional AD&D style campaign, muteness doesn't matter, because you don't have to act. A player with a mute AD&D character can say things like, "My guy goes to the door, puts his back to the wall, nocks an arrow to his bow, and keeps watch." Dialogue is not necessary in most of AD&D.
If you are playing World of Darkness then it will be trickier and is not advisable.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.421115
>>421114
>Dialogue is not necessary in most of AD&D.
Bullshit. It's not like NPCs are a post-AD&D invention.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.421601
>>420649
I don't see a problem as long as the player can divorce their role play from their decisions at the table. You can still say something like "My character gestures to open the door", or "I'd like to roll for intimidation" while rping as a mute.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.421670
>>420736
>>nobody tried using pictograms, closed answer tests, open answer tests with a pencil, or a typewriter.
They did, actually, she refused.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.421679
>>421115
Unless your DM is at the stage where all NPCs must have dialogue most NPC interactions is 3rd person.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.421684
Unless your player is willing to write down what he wants to say or play charades a lot, then no, it's probably a bad idea. That being said mute NPCs can be used very well.
IF you trust the player asking to play a mute, and he knows you still expect him to communicate non-verbally when needed, then I'd say give it a shot in a mini-campaign as a trial run.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.421699
>Not mute, but voice is mangled due to childhood trauma
>A lot of people assume I'm deaf because I rely heavily on writing and sign language
>Table has learned to work around it, and I like to think it's because I can clearly and concisely point out when there's something wrong with their character sheets within seconds of seeing them
>DM knows I can speak, but that it's not a pleasant experience for me
>Has picked up enough sign language for me to get across what I'll probably do, and lets me write what I know he won't understand
>Other players are weirdly in love with the idea that my characters have max Charisma and leadership skills, despite most of my contributions being given through a small whiteboard-and-dry-erase-marker medium
Trust me when I say that it's easier if you just make them play a Kenku with the Urchin background. Nearly everything you'll commonly say will have been heard by such a character, growing up on the streets and dealing with a shitton of people in an urban sprawl. If they can handle that without making any obviously "unique" dialogue, you can probably trust them to play a mute.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.421705
>>420649
Easy if the PCs and NPCs can converse in SL.
In Tolkien's Middle Earth, all elves know elvish sign language for long distance communication and all dwarves know dwarvish sign language for secret communication. In D&D all drow know drow sign language.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.421823
>let player play a mute character
>now he sits out of anything social
>talk to him about it
>"I play a mute because I don't want to talk!"
I'm not gonna force the issue and he's not disruptive but damn this kid bums me out.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.422218
Dragonbait the Forgotten Realms saurial paladin was mute because his language was olfactory.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.422260
>>421823
Nah just let it go.
>Might hate the sound of his own voice
>Might be anxious about speaking in public
>Might be really uncomfortable roleplaying
>Might be the ride for another player
>Not causing any "That guy" problems
>The fun of doorkicking without rping might be the only thing getting him through life
He's not really hurting anything, especially if you have a party face doing all the talking.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.422745
>>421823
>>422260
If he's still talking to the other players irl, it should be fine. That's the case, right?
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.422809
>>421823
At the very least he's fodder for your party.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.423593
Closest I've ever come to dealing with mute characters is those who are perfectly capable of standard verbal and written communication but speak an entirely different language than the rest of the party. And to be honest, that came out to be a bit more of a pain than I expected.
And even more unexpected was that the player who had the initial character with no linguistic overlap actively worked against the idea that his character would be naturally learning the local language through constant immersion. I was frequently suggesting he should know this or that word by now, but he generally pushed back. He seemed to really like being the uncivilized foreign monster that wasn't even considered to be a sapient humanoid and didn't want to undermine it by taking his linguistic skills beyond "really smart dog" level. To be fair his character sure didn't have the skills to fake ignorance, so legitimate ignorance was his only path to the occasional convenience of the enemy underestimating his intelligence in all regards, but still... You'd think it would have gotten old faster than that. It sure worked against him far more than it worked for him.
I can only imagine true absolute mutes would be even worse to deal with. Not to mention harder to work a solution for if you get tired of it, since language education probably isn't a solution at all.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.423594
>>423593
Having a language barrier would be interesting, but it would be something that you'd need to compartmentalize to side scenes where the player starts to learn new words or one of the other party members sits down and tries to teach them to read. Then, as the story progresses, you have them steadily building a vocabulary, able to speak more and more clearly. Everything else, when everyone is adventuring and fighting and doing the really important stuff, would force that language barrier to take a back seat, because the whole game can't grind to a halt just because one player wants to be an obnoxious dick and play a difficult character that ruins everyone else's fun.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.423598
>>423594
I wouldn't say he was being an obnoxious dick by any means, and the language barrier was part of my own lore for the setting. (Though I didn't really expect any players to want to play a small foreign slave monster.) He just really took a liking to how the language barrier related to his wildman character concept. But yeah, I would have thought the steady vocabulary building would have gone faster than he wanted. He didn't even chose to study in his downtime.
In any case, it was his character, he played what he enjoyed, and it worked, if not perfectly smoothly. With that said, eventually three more NPCs of the wildman's kind entered the story. And while it only made sense for them to start with the same language barrier, I made sure to have them learn Common or English or whatever as fast as I could reasonably justify them doing so. Just last session the party was ready for some good ol' language barrier trouble and found that two who'd been out of the plot a while were now functionally English proficient, thanks to knuckling down on study with the help of a magic empath. Maybe wildman will feel a bit silly when his archrival is around and being treated like a fellow human rather than a dog.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.423603
>>423598
>final confrontation
>wild-man vs. wild-man
>PC opens his mouth, his first human words
>"I was only pretending to be retarded."
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.423847
>>423603
That would be funny.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.423935
Had a guy run a weird mishmsh of Old WoD and Requiem. Basically we were playing a Sabbat game with the Requiem rules. And we were going to be starting in the late 18th early 19th century in America with a couple time skips to lead into modern nights. As soon as he said that I knew what I was playing. I made a Brujah/Deva inspired by Christopher Walken's Headless Horseman character. So yeah, I had a head and all, but I was the real monster that inspired the legends. And of course, no talking.
But I COULD do things like growl, scream, and cackle. And nod, or shake my head, shrug my shoulders... it was an interesting experience, having to really explore nonverbal communication and learn to emote in character. And since I was literate(as a mercenary when I was human I had to read contracts and have some business sense after all) if I ever needed to explain something complex I had to break out a notepad and write it down, which I did IRL.
It was bumpy at first, I kept just telling the other players what I was "saying" with my emoting, and I got too complex more than once, but once I started just physically acting out my characters "dialogue" it got to be fun. Obviously I wasn't much help during planning sessions, aside from weighing in on what I thought about a proposed course of action (frown, sneer, shrug, derisive cackle, grin and start sharpening by big fuck of sword) but I was combat monster so once we had rooted out those Camarilla pansies I always had plenty to do.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.425713
I've been running a mute with telepathy magic. He doesn't speak the local language, so he uses imagery to communicate. My party actually depends on me to be their story-teller, as I can read people's memories and then show them to people who would otherwise refuse to believe the magical crap we encounter. I still explain my actions irl, so it isn't a pain for my group. The biggest drawback is the energy cost to communicate.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.426252
>"My player is mute but they can communicate with sign language so the characters can still talk normally!"
Why? For what purpose?
Punish that player by reminding them that it takes a while to learn sign language and when they can't communicate to other players it's their own damn fault.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.