Are Player Characters Exceptional?

[*Miraie]

Uncommons sounds like a good way to describe it. Not the norm, but not Big Damn Heroes either. Your character concept is as special as you make it, of course. You could be a normal level 1 human struggling with a bad temper despite her kind nature. That could be an unique and interesting character.

(Although events may alter this a bit. I prefer low key things, but there are also events where the fate of entire Primes is at stake.)

[*Mander]

No Drizzts

This is a good thing.

[*Miraie]

No Drizzts

This is a good thing.

Arguably so. I'd prefer us all to be level 3, but that might be a tad extreme. Especially since D&D is not fun at all with low level characters. A rogue who fails more often than not is not really a professional at the pocketing of picks. Alas! Being level 15 in canon and getting access to level 30 builds is nifty in a Planescape setting. Probably. : o

[*coyotesage]

No Drizzts

This is a good thing.

Well, a good chunk of the characters, from a level and ability perspective, are WAY better than Drizzt. I was simply speaking from a 'specialness" pint of view. I don't share your love of the old school concepts of characters. You know, like, Drow must all be plotting villainesses, or all Gold Dragons are cantankerous forces for good. I general dislike most stereotypes, other than the "exception to the rule" stereotype, which I love.

Different strokes for different fokes.

[*Mander]

kk.

[*Alersia]

If you start to play in such a lore heavy realm you have expectations to this realm. You expect the lich in front of you to suck your soul away if you do something wrong. If he/she instead hands you a flower and invites you to a drink you will be dissappointed because its not what you were looking for.

I think its a good thing to have alignment restrictions on outsider. I even would go further and restrict Undeads and Aberrations to Evil only and Giants to evil and neutral.

However as example: if someone wants to play a Baelnorn (good lich) the player should be allowed to do that but has first to whrite a detailed character biography to show that she is well aware of her doing. ;)

And secondary, we have EM/DMs that shift your alignment based on your actions. So you start evil but might turn to good someday.

A roleplayed alignment shift is a good thing I think.

[*Verdana]

I don't think it says anywhere that when an outsider changes alignments they change in appearance.

Fall-From-Grace for example is a Lawful Neutral Succubus, not a would-be Modron.

Buuuut, there is evidence that the plane you reside in, changes you over time.
One example is the Shade race that were humans (or humanoids) that have merged with the Plane of Shadow.

Also, Mephistopheles and Asmodeus (among other Archdevils) that were Angels, as it says in Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells, that throughout the centuries or millennia of constant fighting with demons, they started to become fiendish themselves.
Fighting demons in the Abyss.

Erinyes is another example of angels that fell, becoming Lawful Evil, and since they followed the Archdevils, they slowly turned into devils as well, since they resided in Baator.

Malkizid is another example of a Solar that fell, turned Lawful Evil, and became an Archdevil in Baator, taking fiendish traits but keeping his general angelic form.

Then we have Graz'zt that has been described as an Archdevil that was also changed a bit as he moved to the Abyss.

[*MimiFearthegn]

Not so much in appearance, since it notes that Erinyes still have their more humanoid appearance from being angels (same with others), but stats do change. So its not fair to classify an outsider of drastically different alignment as the same race anymore. Otherwise, Erinyes would all look exactly like shiny angels.

[*Ariella]

No not really, remember the ability to smite comes from your god as does your ability to detect evil, the mind set is my deity has decided you are evil and given me the power to smite you down. A true paladin does not really have free will they are bound by the code of their faith first and their personal code second.

[*cryptc]

When the exception becomes the norm, making a very focused and lore friendly character becomes special. Use the opportunity to find interesting non-exceptions and create deep fulfilling rp that way. And just assume for each special character you see there's 100 000 others that are more closer to the norm.