Aspects of Roleplay: The Dreamer

The Dream may just be one of my personal favorites, at least in concept. This character is drafted with heavy roleplay in mind. They can be very versatile and are limited only by your imagination, or the quirks that you build into them. When playing a dreamer, you will be allowing the character to grow however THEY want to. I stress this point, because the dreamer should always be generating new and fantastic ideas based on their experiences.

Who is the Dreamer? I'm sure you have met one in real life. Their concept for "What I want to be when I grow up" is constantly shifting. Some much so that in college they had bounced between 4 different majors before settling on one, only to change gears just as they were about to complete the one they were working toward. Commonly we stereotype these kind of people as flighty, or non-committal. That is where we would be wrong. They are still looking for their identity; trying to find the things they truly enjoy, rather than just picking one, sticking with it, and then hoping for the best.

When playing the Dreamer, you need to be ready to just let them wander and transform on their own. They might hold some of the same tastes as you, but it is likely you will discover that they might want to explore options that you normal wouldn't. I should also point out that in the course of their adventures, they might learn that their heart isn't in there for combat. They might want to settle down and just stay in an area (if this happens, it is ok for you to retire a character). More likely the spirit of adventure will keep driving them onward. When one mission is done, they will seek out another, especially if it seems to align with their personal goals.

In a campaign or adventure, the Dreamer can be a GMs nightmare, or salvation. I like thinking of them as the latter. A Dreamer is the character who will create hooks for your game without trying. They will prompt adventure that goes outside the scope of what you had in mind. It can be grueling, as most of the things they will want to do will put you on the spot. Be ready to adlib at a moments notice.

Any character can be a Dreamer, and some may develop into one for a short time if it suits their personality. Overall, the Dreamer is a personality concept that you can add on to your character to add depth (as are most of the aspects, and as such, I will cover combinations of aspects in the future). If you are looking for something to broaden your roleplaying experience, give this concept a try and see what becomes of it.