It’s been a while since I wrote a LARP / DnD inspiration post, so I feel this is overdue. Also I’ve been doing some musing as to why my characters at LARP and at the ttrpg table have a particular flavour, and this is where my brain took me. So please bear with me (typical “There is a Castle”/craft content will return, I promise).
I have found I have a type of character (especially in ttrpg) that keeps turning up. Even when I try to play something different I still come back to my core values, which made me wonder what sort of literary characters have inspired me with my storytelling/imaginary life. I came to the conclusion that these characters embody the values I try to uphold, and I would like to share these as something to look back on in the future.
At LARP I enjoyed characters that could be the defence of others, who sought truth or to uphold honourable causes. Even when they were terrified they were still trying to do good things. In ttrpg I have found this continues and I keep playing knightly types (Paladins, knightly orders, mages or bards trying to fix the world around them etc) or storytellers trying to keep the world from falling apart. Clearly this has to come from somewhere …
Alanna (Song of the Lioness; Protector of the Small; Tortall etc ~ Tamora Pierce)
My oldest companion and the first person I thought about when writing this blog post. She’s a fighter, a knight, bound to a code of honour she occasionally bends. Alanna struggles through a lot, fighting her corner, fighting to be seen to belong. When she’s finally recognised and praised for her efforts it feels like such a victory, which is why I loved encountering her again in later books as the hero and mother and seeing her “grown up”.
Ayla (Earth’s Children ~ Jean Auel)
Ayla has a rough time of it too, but is a survivor who embraces her changing world and thirsts to learn more. She also has a winding and twisting love story that can’t be ignored and I am a firm believer in true love. A lot of her grit and determination comes to the ttrpg table.
Sabriel (The Old Kingdom ~ Garth Nix)
Who doesn’t want to go from being a normal teenager to the hero of the realm, fighting off the darkness several times and rescuing one’s true love (again, multiple times!). She grows into her power and is a force to be reckoned with by the end of the books, as well as being a parent struggling to balance work and home life (which hits the feels more now I’m a working parent than the last time I read these books).
Hermione Granger (Harry Potter ~ J.K. Rowling)
I always wanted to be Hermione Granger when reading these books, with her thirst for knowledge, logical solutions to problems and her ability to out think the boys around her. I don’t think I’d be a Griffindor (Hufflepuff all the way I suspect), but her determination and fiery sense of justice and fairness always sticks in my mind when thinking about her. Plus she had to struggle with curly hair, which I really felt as a youngster.
Takeo (& Kaede) (Tales of the Otori ~ Lian Hearn)
Takeo from the Tales of the Otori falls through some awful things to rise into his power in these books (and his wife Kaede too), but it’s his sense of honour and duty and his love story that captures me. Plus I suspect this is the origin of my interest in feudal Japan and the Japanese culture in general.
Faramir (The Lord of the Rings ~ J.R.R Tolkien)
Knightly, noble, quietly understated and willing to do what he must for his country and his family. Plus his love and patience when he finally finds the girl of his dreams. When I play knights I’m probably channelling Faramir. He’s probably my earliest impression of the code of Chivalry (with a bit of Aragon thrown in for good measure).
Renn (Chronicles of Ancient Darkness ~ Michelle Paver)
I didn’t like her originally, but as I’ve grown older I see how she matured through the stories and she’s the character that sprang to mind when thinking about influencial characters. She knows herself and trusts in Torak, but doesn’t let him push her around. She loves fiercely – both for her partner and for her people, which leads her into trouble but also gives her the strength to face the dangers of her world. Plus she’s amazing with healing and magic and who wouldn’t want that?
The Dread Pirate Roberts (The Princess Bride)
With excellent swordsmanship and witty banter – who wouldn’t want to be influenced by this mysterious man in black? Also he fights for his love and is willing to brave death for it, I’m a hopeless romantic.
If these were my influences growing up, I had no hope! No wonder these are the things that creep into my imaginary lives as reflections of my core values.
What about you? What do you find yourself bringing to the table again and again?
Wolfish Written 
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