Presenting Special Character Types (CSC)

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Elves will act and react differently than dwarves, who will react differently than monsters, who will react differently than humans and so on. A rich man might react differently than a poor one. Not all beings will have the same perspective as a human adventurer (or DM for that matter). When acting out his character portrayals, the DM may wish to factor in the distinct backgrounds of some special character types.
==Mundane Folk==
There may be a tendency for the DM to role-play his "everyday" folk as if they were all adventurers, or at least ex-adventurers. They seem oblivious to the fact that they live in a world of monsters and magic and take the exotic in stride:
"Dang dragon's in the backyard again Maw, go call us an adventurer ta get 'im outa the cabbages. Do it m 'self? Lissen woman, I'm sortin 'out .spell components for market, I cain't be bothered! Git yor ass back in tha outhouse and clean me scrubbages."
Mundane folk are the way they are because the fantastic is not a part of their everyday life (if it was, it wouldn't be fantastic). It's hard to make monsters frightening or have great magics seem awe-inspiring if farm folk and townspeople treat such things as commonplace.
As a rule, make everyday folk in the world either suspicious, fearful, or unbelieving of the fantastic. Magic and monsters are the province of far away lands, ancient legends, or princes and wizards. Such things should be outside their normal experience and therefore something that they cannot deal with (otherwise there would be little need for heroes).
==Children==
Few towns in any world will be devoid of children, whether they be the runny nosed Miller's kids in a character's home town or the bugbear brats in the monster camp. Children are quick to point out the obvious, even when adults are pretending to overlook Something (remember the tale of the emperor's new clothes?). If one must resort to shame to motivate a group of PCs into action, state their shortcomings through the perspective of a child. Local lads can provide innocent hero-worshiping companions to would be heroes while jaded, sharp tongued street urchins might be foils to adventurers lost in the big city (imagine the Artful Dodger from Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist showing the PCs around while he subtly relieves them of their valuables).
==Persons in Power==
When players encounter powerful NPCs, such as wizards, patriarchs, or nobility, the DM should keep in mind that personality quirks and eccentricity add a great deal of character to beings who have attained any degree of personal power. These characters provide a treasure house of fun for the DM to develop. While a stable boy might not differ much in personality from a hundred other stable boys, each of the rich and powerful are apt to have a definite and distinct set of personality traits. Even if the characters will have little direct contact with the movers and shakers of their world, the DM may want to develop these personalities in more detail. Considering that players often want to rub shoulders more with the rich and powerful than with ordinary folk. Even if the characters do not directly encounter these powerful NPCs, they will experience the imprint of their personalities. An eccentric or insane ruler will run his land much differently than a sane one (whether for the better or the worse).
Although its perfectly acceptable for rich and powerful folk to be benign, loving, and caring, the truly altruistic personality should be as rare in a fantasy world as it is in our own. Money and power are notable corruptors of lnen and great compromisers of even the highest ideals. They like their power. Even once-good beings who have become corrupt feel that they can do more good for the world than "lesser men. II In any case, this leaves the door open for any variety of merciless or deviant personalities. Deception and evil go hand in hand. Very seldom will an evil personality try to appear as evil to the general public (very few willing subjects or potential victims are attracted to obvious evil).
==Demihumans==
Nearly every DM has elves, dwarves, and halfings in his campaign, or similar races that fulfil the same function—elder, exotic peoples who are both more and less than human. Unfortunately, these same DMs (and their players) tend to role-play demihuman races as humans with odd physical characteristics. They overlook the fact that these beings are cultural aliens-they are not human. They do not think or react to situations like humans.
Elves, with their incredibly long life spans, will have an unusual sense of time perception, possibly with an inability to feel any sort of urgency. Dwarves place unusual emphasis on things of value, particularly things made of metal and stone. Regardless of the wonderful dexterity that makes Halflings good thieves, they have a racial tendency to be stay-at-homes. Bringing spicy mustard on a picnic lunch may be more than enough adventure for the average halfling.
As a part of his world design process, the DM may wish to consider the attitudes of his demi-human races. Ask questions about each race. Does the race like or dislike other races? Do they have a particular enemy? What cultural quirks do they have? What do they wear? What do they eat? What do they do with their dead? What or whom do they worship (if anything)? What is their technological level (sticks and rocks? bronze smithing? iron forging? steel working? perhaps something more exotic?) Do the people interact with other cultures or are they isolated? Do they respect others' views or is there just "one true way?"
By establishing the cultural personality of demihuman race, the DM has established the basic personality for most characters from that culture. Later, when creating a demihuman NPC, he can decide whether this being follows the attitudes of his race or is a maverick, going against accepted tradition. From there, the DM can continue to round out the character.
==Monsters==
All too often, a DM will place monsters in his adventures in order to give the characters something to dice into hamburger (or vice versa). Horrible monsters reveal their inner personalities and motivations by instantly attacking the pes. If the DM does give a personality to a monster, that being will obviously be a friend or ally to the PCs. The players quickly learn that if something doesn't talk, kill it.
Yet monsters are a wonderful source for intriguing NPCs. With a little thought, the DM can make his monsters more than ravening murder machines. Sentient monsters have personalities and a reason for existence, just like the player characters. Maybe that ogre would rather be left alone and is so frustrated that she breaks down in tears when the PCs invade her lair. That evil, but lonely dragon might prefer the pleasure of talking to someone who doesn't immediately run away or try to stick a sword in his eye.
Like demihumans, monsters are usually the product of an alien culture. More often than not, monster cultures consider hwnans and demihumans as little more than animals. Thus, they do not see a problem in eating humans or using them like beasts. Monsters may have a hefty selection of personality quirks, particularly ones that make them even more unacceptable to society.
Remember that intelligent monsters will act in an intelligent manner before, during, and after encounters. They will use their environment to their advantage, including known traps, hiding places, and other monsters.
==Magical Items==
Not all NPCs need to be living beings. Try giving intelligence and personality to some lnagical items. Talking swords are a familiar example, but how about swords whose unusual personality affects their performance? A sensitive sword could refuse to be drawn from its scabbard if spoken to harshly. A timid sword would be afraid to fight (regardless of its magical capabilities) and an aggressive sword might exert its will on the mind of its wielder to press for constant combat while a rude or tactless sword will blurt out impolite comments at inopportune moments.
Inanimate, but intelligent objects can be a source of hilarity as they interact with the pes in their single-minded fashion. Imagine a weapon that detects danger, then warns the party by sneezing (loudly of course). Another magic item might gossip, revealing a character's innermost secrets to anyone who will listen. A hack-and-slash player might find his character's style cramped by a weapon that demands formal decorum in combat. An ESP Medallion could transfer thoughts garbled by a thick Scottish brogue and interject its own opinions as well.
Obviously such magic items must have a value that more than compensates for their quirks, otherwise they will end up in the nearest pawn shop faster than one can say "Melf's Miniature Meteors." I On the other hand, such items may have a wee bit of a curse that keeps their owners from disposing of them.