I wouldn't worry too much about being cliché when it comes to the big ideas. All characters can be reduced down to simplistic archetypes if you strip enough detail away. I would instead focus on asking yourself what details or mechanisms will make your character unique. Some of the best characters I've ever met were creative twists on standard personality tropes.
If it helps, think of designing character like playing with a bag full of legos. It's not about the pieces themselves but which ones you choose to use, and how you arrange them.Â
I'm sure that comes off as a bit oblique, so let me bring it back down to earth by working with one of the characters you're considering. "Muscle scholar"is already a combination of two stereotypically conflicting tropes. The irony and conflict between those two ideas is sure to create a lot of interesting and hilarious roleplay. But it definitely is a juxtaposition present in modern culture, such as your cited examples.
I think beyond that, it's all the small details that will make your character unique, as well as how you play it out. What type of history spawned this type of character? What type of personality do they have? With those two questions alone you can create an infinite stream of extremely unique characters, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. You could have a whole army of muscle scholars and each person be a unique individual.Â
tl;dr I like the muscle scholar idea, but freelance privateer is just as viable. Don't worry too much about types of characters being overdone; in the big picture everything has already been overdone.Â
Hope that makes sense.
If it helps, think of designing character like playing with a bag full of legos. It's not about the pieces themselves but which ones you choose to use, and how you arrange them.Â
I'm sure that comes off as a bit oblique, so let me bring it back down to earth by working with one of the characters you're considering. "Muscle scholar"is already a combination of two stereotypically conflicting tropes. The irony and conflict between those two ideas is sure to create a lot of interesting and hilarious roleplay. But it definitely is a juxtaposition present in modern culture, such as your cited examples.
I think beyond that, it's all the small details that will make your character unique, as well as how you play it out. What type of history spawned this type of character? What type of personality do they have? With those two questions alone you can create an infinite stream of extremely unique characters, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. You could have a whole army of muscle scholars and each person be a unique individual.Â
tl;dr I like the muscle scholar idea, but freelance privateer is just as viable. Don't worry too much about types of characters being overdone; in the big picture everything has already been overdone.Â
Hope that makes sense.
