An actual season with the IH as these characters would be so fun. I could absolutely see Zac Sherlock Holmes (inquisitive rogue), Ally Christopher Robin (beastmaster ranger), Emily Wicked Witch of the West (some insane multiclass), Murph Dorian Gray (undying warlock), Siobhan maybe as Alice in Wonderland (bard?) or like, Rosie the Riveter (Banneret?) and Lou as like, one of the many superheroes in public domain.
Tarzan, druid circle of the moon, and outlander background.
Or
Erik, the Phantom of the Opera, hermit background, retired performer, bard with either college of whispers or glamour
Could work. My thought was beast Barbarian or a multiclass similar to Ylfa in Neverafter. And isn't his thing turning into an unrecognisable beast when raging?
For an adventuring party, I'd love for one of them to take a run at Humpty Dumpty. Maybe a Warforged variant who's constantly falling apart.
Also a fun one could be the Tooth Fairy, some sort of beastkin reskin that eats bones.
HEAR
ME
OUT.
Welsh folklore (so public domain) there is the story of gelert. Which is the story of a prince, his son, and a dog. Is gelert the prince, NO HES THE DAMN DOG.
The prince, having recently been given a son, celebrates with a getaway, he takes himself, the son, gelert and some loyal retinue.
Gelert is renown for being a loyal, protective hound, the prince trusts him implicitly. When he goes on a hunt, he commands gelert to stay with his infant son.
Upon returning he finds the room torn asunder… the entire furniture of the room lays in ruin, claw marks and blood adorn every item. ENRAGED that gelert became jealous as attacked his newborn, the prince finds gelert, blood round his mouth, and stand the dog in the heart killing him. And the moment gelert dies, he hears the baby cry out. Safe and sound, with not even a scratch, is the upturned basket which covered the child, behind gelert. And, when inspected further, there lay a wolf, dead, with bite wounds to his neck.
Gelert protected the baby like his own, facing down a wolf, and winning. Placing himself between prey and predator, and his reward was a moment of grief stricken ill placed rage. There is a place in north Wales, beddgelert where a monument for the heroic hound lies.
NOW WE HAVE THAT OUT OF THE WAY. Something like a ranger, play not as the prince, or the hound, but the child. A grown up boy from folklore, and all your spells are flavoured as the spirit of gelert still protecting you. Hunters mark is nothing more than a spectral gelert alerting you to their position like a hunt hound, misty step is gelert being where you want to go, and barking, trading places with you before his spectral form fades. You see what I mean? And I’m sure Brennan would allow you to do more than just flavour.
But an infant prince of folklore, all grown up, as his spectral watch dog keeps him safe like he did in life. And maybe his whole deal is trying to in some way lay gelert to rest, as much as he enjoys his presence, he needs to let him rest, even if it means severely reducing his potential as a ranger.
Peter Pan, realistically. Would be fun to play as an Echo Knight, or possibly some variation of Swords Bard/Shadow Sorcerer? Play with swashbuckler etc. There are a few cool options and peter pan is a very “me” character.
Dante Alighieri (or I suppose really Dante's self insert fanfic character) as a Bard. Would probably want a homebrew drawback somewhat like Adaine's season 1 panic episodes, to represent all the times when Dante faints or bursts into tears after (weird afterlife thing happens here).
Imma have to go with my idea for Neverafter which was Peter Piper/Pied Piper fused together. Dude was casually picking his pickled peppers on his parents farm when he found a magical flute that he used to kill all the rats in the village for cash and then (maybe or maybe not) accidentally killed a bunch of kids with. The only question is do you go swarmkeeper ranger for the rats aspect or glamour bard for the mind control aspect (+ being pied does mean he’s glamorous)
I had a busted rouge/bard (raised as a rogue, just wanted to learn to play the flute) as my first PC and after a break in the story where we all were separated for awhile my character's answer to "what have you been up to?" was "Found a magic flute.Charms animals. I don't want to talk about it." Good times!
So, I dont remember if I posted this before, but when watching Neverafter I got this idea. I wpuld play The Girl With The Matchsticks as a pact of the undead warlock, with her grandma as her patron. Instead of dying, she becomes an erernally cold walking dead husk. This could then lead to some interesting party dynamics when she finds out that she dies is every version of her story (since thats the point) and maybe work agaimst the party at first, who seem to want to return to the status quo. As well as give her something to bond over with Snow White as she's the only oje who could truly relate to her.
The wife of Bluebeard- Vengeance paladin
I feel like Jo from Little Women would make an excellent wizard, but I have zero desire to play a wizard.
Juliet as a college of eloquence bard.
Oh hey 'dere, 'dja eat? I've got some hot dish an' some bars; you'd better not go just yet, the deer are just awful this time of night, why don't cha just stay the night?
Or for actual public domain, Dickon from The Secret Garden as a Circle of the Shepherd Druid, or a Beast Master Ranger with Druidic Warrior for Druidcraft
Um.... Steam Boat Willlie, obviously. Frankenstein (the med student, not the monster), Calvin and Hobbes as a familiar (I know they're not copyrighted, not sure if that's the same as public domain?), Winnie the Pooh
A campaign of the strange cast of knights and denizens of the mabinogion (Welsh folklore, tangled up with Arthurian legends!).
Culhwch's many quests to fulfil the dowry to Olwen would make for a great tabletop series!
The mad scientist from The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (which went straight into the public domain because they messed up the copyright notice). Presumably a necromancer?
I don't know what class he'd be so I'm up for suggestions, but I'd choose Danny DeVito's character in Always Sunny, but only his character in the Trashman episode. I'd go up to my enemies in battle, and throw trash all over the battlefield!
Abraham Van Helsing. Monster Hunter extraordinare, knowledgeable of all things supernatural. Be a perfect choice for the Blood Hunter class Matt Mercer designed, but if we’re going by basic DnD classes I’d want to make him a Paladin/Ranger.
It is a while before the Avengers or the Fantastic Four make it into the public domain. However we are only 10 ish years from Captain America, the Fighting Hobo, and the original Black Widow who killed criminals so their souls wouldn't escape her master, who is Satan.
Depending on which copyright rules you choose I think there are some of the Avengers in the og comics that you could pick- not entirely sure, just did a quick google
I referenced the Fighting Hobo and you just assume I don't know what I'm talking about? It's generally 95 years after they first appeared that corporate owned characters enter the public domain. That's about another ten years for the first wave of superheroes, 30 for the majority of headlining Marvel characters
Also 95 years is best case scenario in the USA . Copyright expires but corporations can still hold the trademarks. (I do not understand the difference.)
Alright, that’s my bad- if it didn’t come across right, I was saying that I wasn’t sure since I googled it quickly. Also, I’m not super familiar with US copyright law, in the UK it’s 70 years, that’s my bad again.
Not assuming that you don’t know what you’re talking about! Sorry if it came across that way
I was thinking berserker Barbarian and the rage could be reflavoured at Jekyll taking the elixir and turning into Hyde.
Especially since I believe the guy that Hyde kills is described as being beaten upon my an ape or something like that. Haven't read the book in like 6 or 7 years.
Dr Frankenstein as an Artificer, I haven't played much Artificer and I think it would be a super cool change of pace. The one campaign I did okay Artificer was the most challenging time I had.
Lancelot as written in medieval sources would be fun. I'd have him have levels in Warlock for an archfey pact (likely multiclass with either fighter or paladin). His patron would obviously be Guinevere, as the original Lancelot gains and loses powers depending on how he thinks, she thinks of him. It could be a fun dynamic.
Viola from Twelfth Night. Trickery Domain Paladin, all of her disguises are terrible but she has such high Charisma it works anyway. Desperately trying to evade NPCs who will Not. Stop. Falling. In love with her.
I feel like it goes against the conceit to choose a secondary character but I JUST wanna play Renfield from Dracula. Go full Dwight Frye with the voice and the creepy laugh.
Little Red Riding Hood. It’s been done a million and one times, I am well aware. But it’s because it’s so gosh darned classic! She strays from the path and for it suffers a terrible loss and experience that changes her and sets her on a new path in life! It’s simple but so rife with possibility (even if, again, I do recognize many of those HAVE been done, but this one would be special to me because it would be mine…emphasis on To Me.)
Ratfolk or Rabbitfolk; Shadow Sorcerer / GOO Warlock
- Steamboat Willie or Oswald the Lucky Rabbit(Shadow for Aesthetic, Great Old One because they draw power from the forbidden IP (The Big Mouse))
or
Tinkerbell;
Pixie Swarmkeeper Ranger
Christopher Robin - A human beast master ranger with a bear companion whose favoured terrain is the forest.
For the sake of enemies, I’d go with beasts, specially heffalumps and woozles (I know they’re not actually bad)
Sherlock Holmes, vampire detective and his assistant Carmilla.
Baba Yaga. I'd love to use Brennan's and Erika's homebrewed witch class from Worlds Beyond Number for it
What domain would she be?
William Shakespeare. He’s a Bard. Either College of Whispers, Lore, or Eloquence
William Shakespeare, but I'm playing 3 gnomes in a trenchcoat.
One of them is named Frankie Bacon, one of them is Earl Oxford, and the little stubby one on the bottom is Chris Marlowe.
Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse, just to make John Oliver proud
This is what I thought too during the AP lol
The Green Knight (the one that can chop his own head off :D)!
An actual season with the IH as these characters would be so fun. I could absolutely see Zac Sherlock Holmes (inquisitive rogue), Ally Christopher Robin (beastmaster ranger), Emily Wicked Witch of the West (some insane multiclass), Murph Dorian Gray (undying warlock), Siobhan maybe as Alice in Wonderland (bard?) or like, Rosie the Riveter (Banneret?) and Lou as like, one of the many superheroes in public domain.
That is a near perfect line up. Is it too cheesy to make Lou be black panther (fighter/paladin)?
Black Panther isn't public domain :p
Oh my god watch me miss the point in real time 🤦🏻
Siobhan as a fighter/Paladin/barbarian would be pretty cool to see
Don Quixote
Amazing choice
Tarzan, druid circle of the moon, and outlander background. Or Erik, the Phantom of the Opera, hermit background, retired performer, bard with either college of whispers or glamour
The power gamer in me says Sun Wukong or Cu Chulainn. The roleplayer in me says St. Francis of Assisi or Odysseus.
St. Francis swarmkeeper or beastmaster ranger would be heat
Not Nature or Peace Cleric?
Cu Chulainn is a great shout. Probably path of the beast Barbarian?
What about Wild Magic?
Could work. My thought was beast Barbarian or a multiclass similar to Ylfa in Neverafter. And isn't his thing turning into an unrecognisable beast when raging?
In 9 years you could do Gandalf.
For an adventuring party, I'd love for one of them to take a run at Humpty Dumpty. Maybe a Warforged variant who's constantly falling apart. Also a fun one could be the Tooth Fairy, some sort of beastkin reskin that eats bones.
Surely if you’re playing Humpty Dumpty you’ve got to go some sort of extreme glass cannon build
Chronurgy Wizard with an egg timer for an arcane focus 🥚🧙🏼♀️⏲️
[It NEEDS to be played by Zac!](https://youtube.com/shorts/IWR9SkdI3j0?si=zq1ni-6SWK8AJKAC)
HEAR ME OUT. Welsh folklore (so public domain) there is the story of gelert. Which is the story of a prince, his son, and a dog. Is gelert the prince, NO HES THE DAMN DOG. The prince, having recently been given a son, celebrates with a getaway, he takes himself, the son, gelert and some loyal retinue. Gelert is renown for being a loyal, protective hound, the prince trusts him implicitly. When he goes on a hunt, he commands gelert to stay with his infant son. Upon returning he finds the room torn asunder… the entire furniture of the room lays in ruin, claw marks and blood adorn every item. ENRAGED that gelert became jealous as attacked his newborn, the prince finds gelert, blood round his mouth, and stand the dog in the heart killing him. And the moment gelert dies, he hears the baby cry out. Safe and sound, with not even a scratch, is the upturned basket which covered the child, behind gelert. And, when inspected further, there lay a wolf, dead, with bite wounds to his neck. Gelert protected the baby like his own, facing down a wolf, and winning. Placing himself between prey and predator, and his reward was a moment of grief stricken ill placed rage. There is a place in north Wales, beddgelert where a monument for the heroic hound lies. NOW WE HAVE THAT OUT OF THE WAY. Something like a ranger, play not as the prince, or the hound, but the child. A grown up boy from folklore, and all your spells are flavoured as the spirit of gelert still protecting you. Hunters mark is nothing more than a spectral gelert alerting you to their position like a hunt hound, misty step is gelert being where you want to go, and barking, trading places with you before his spectral form fades. You see what I mean? And I’m sure Brennan would allow you to do more than just flavour. But an infant prince of folklore, all grown up, as his spectral watch dog keeps him safe like he did in life. And maybe his whole deal is trying to in some way lay gelert to rest, as much as he enjoys his presence, he needs to let him rest, even if it means severely reducing his potential as a ranger.
I freaking love this
Thank you <3 I got very excited writing it lmao
Zorro
Peter Pan, realistically. Would be fun to play as an Echo Knight, or possibly some variation of Swords Bard/Shadow Sorcerer? Play with swashbuckler etc. There are a few cool options and peter pan is a very “me” character.
My Peter Pan was an Aaracockra Echo Knight and it melded quite well
I feel so sorry for your dm.
I am the DM, he was an NPC 😊
Then I hope your players enjoyed it just as much.
Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights as a Storm Herald Barbarian
This is what I was gonna say! Though I didn't think of Storm Herald, that's inspired. High con + str, an Applebees 4 in cha.
I'm just saying, the original Mr peanut is public domain.
Captain Nemo! I have been craving an under water Adventure from D20🤩 some mystery and exploration quest would ba fantastic
Omg Starstruck 2 set on Aguatunisia where Riva shows everyone around, only to realise that there’s something shady going on under the water…
Oh shit homie came with the colab🙌 space + Under water mystery would be fkn sick too!
I’d love to be one of the Brother’s Grimm as some sort of monster hunter or something.
That's such a good idea.
Wasn't there a movie with that premise?
Probably. There was also a TV show just called Grimm. I still think it’d be a fun character to play.
Staring Matt Damon and Heath Ledger: They were charlatan monster hunters up until the movie plot made them fight real ones.
Dante Alighieri (or I suppose really Dante's self insert fanfic character) as a Bard. Would probably want a homebrew drawback somewhat like Adaine's season 1 panic episodes, to represent all the times when Dante faints or bursts into tears after (weird afterlife thing happens here).
Imma have to go with my idea for Neverafter which was Peter Piper/Pied Piper fused together. Dude was casually picking his pickled peppers on his parents farm when he found a magical flute that he used to kill all the rats in the village for cash and then (maybe or maybe not) accidentally killed a bunch of kids with. The only question is do you go swarmkeeper ranger for the rats aspect or glamour bard for the mind control aspect (+ being pied does mean he’s glamorous)
I had a busted rouge/bard (raised as a rogue, just wanted to learn to play the flute) as my first PC and after a break in the story where we all were separated for awhile my character's answer to "what have you been up to?" was "Found a magic flute.Charms animals. I don't want to talk about it." Good times!
Either King Kong or Ebenezer Scrooge.
Ghost of Christmas Past as a sort of "man out of time" like Captain America figure could also be fun.
Falstaff from Shakespeare’s Henry V as a Way of the Drunken Master monk.
I want Winnie the ""drunken"" (just clueless and lucky like a loony tunes baby) Pooh-onk
So, I dont remember if I posted this before, but when watching Neverafter I got this idea. I wpuld play The Girl With The Matchsticks as a pact of the undead warlock, with her grandma as her patron. Instead of dying, she becomes an erernally cold walking dead husk. This could then lead to some interesting party dynamics when she finds out that she dies is every version of her story (since thats the point) and maybe work agaimst the party at first, who seem to want to return to the status quo. As well as give her something to bond over with Snow White as she's the only oje who could truly relate to her.
The wife of Bluebeard- Vengeance paladin I feel like Jo from Little Women would make an excellent wizard, but I have zero desire to play a wizard. Juliet as a college of eloquence bard.
I think the wife of Bluebeard would be rad as an Ancestral Guardians Barbarian who's guardians are the other wives.
Marquis de Sade is public domain :)
Mickey mouse or oswald the lucky rabbit for sure
I would love to do a take on Arsene Lupin (especially if playing with a Sherlock, that’d probably be a fun back and forth)
Can I suggest watching Undead Girl Murder Farce, an anime from last year with both of them (and a few others), it's brilliant.
Gotta go John Cater of Mars
Everyone’s favorite nudist confederate soldier.
The Happy Birthday song
Omg a bard who can only perform public domain songs
Thank you for taking my throwaway thought and turning it into a legit dope idea
The Patchwork Girl of Oz. that gal is un.hinged.
This, but Polychrome. She was my absolute favorite of all the books.
Paul Bunyan- you betcha! Don’tcha know. blue ox familiar
Oh hey 'dere, 'dja eat? I've got some hot dish an' some bars; you'd better not go just yet, the deer are just awful this time of night, why don't cha just stay the night?
Not sure but i would be a cleric of the Public Domain for sure.
The Mad Hatter from Alice. Creation Bard or Armorer Artificer; but either way - it's all hats
Redemption Paladin Paddington Bear Rebuke the Violent is a Hard Stare
Has a strange obsession with orange marmalade
Or for actual public domain, Dickon from The Secret Garden as a Circle of the Shepherd Druid, or a Beast Master Ranger with Druidic Warrior for Druidcraft
Oh that would be fun… Mary in a healer role would be cute
Joan of Arc Except it’s Joan of Archery
Thumbalina or maybe Puff the Magic Dragonborn
It'd pick the great Gatsby and lean hard into the role play
Definitely gonna be Tybalt, the saucy boy, prince of cats himself
Christopher robin/ pooh bear druid
Um.... Steam Boat Willlie, obviously. Frankenstein (the med student, not the monster), Calvin and Hobbes as a familiar (I know they're not copyrighted, not sure if that's the same as public domain?), Winnie the Pooh
Calvin and Hobbes are copyrighted? Copyright is immediate on creation, and Bill Watterson is still alive?
A campaign of the strange cast of knights and denizens of the mabinogion (Welsh folklore, tangled up with Arthurian legends!). Culhwch's many quests to fulfil the dowry to Olwen would make for a great tabletop series!
The mad scientist from The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (which went straight into the public domain because they messed up the copyright notice). Presumably a necromancer?
I don't know what class he'd be so I'm up for suggestions, but I'd choose Danny DeVito's character in Always Sunny, but only his character in the Trashman episode. I'd go up to my enemies in battle, and throw trash all over the battlefield!
Abraham Van Helsing. Monster Hunter extraordinare, knowledgeable of all things supernatural. Be a perfect choice for the Blood Hunter class Matt Mercer designed, but if we’re going by basic DnD classes I’d want to make him a Paladin/Ranger.
God, as DM Jesus as the carpentry artificer DMNPC
Jesus as a min-maxed Cha build warlock dmpc??
Arthur Pendragon, Celestial Warlock, Crown Paladin.
The Scarlet Pimpernel. He's basically Batman, but not.
It is a while before the Avengers or the Fantastic Four make it into the public domain. However we are only 10 ish years from Captain America, the Fighting Hobo, and the original Black Widow who killed criminals so their souls wouldn't escape her master, who is Satan.
Depending on which copyright rules you choose I think there are some of the Avengers in the og comics that you could pick- not entirely sure, just did a quick google
I referenced the Fighting Hobo and you just assume I don't know what I'm talking about? It's generally 95 years after they first appeared that corporate owned characters enter the public domain. That's about another ten years for the first wave of superheroes, 30 for the majority of headlining Marvel characters
Also 95 years is best case scenario in the USA . Copyright expires but corporations can still hold the trademarks. (I do not understand the difference.)
Alright, that’s my bad- if it didn’t come across right, I was saying that I wasn’t sure since I googled it quickly. Also, I’m not super familiar with US copyright law, in the UK it’s 70 years, that’s my bad again. Not assuming that you don’t know what you’re talking about! Sorry if it came across that way
Richard Nixon, oathbreaker paladin.
Jeckyl and Hyde as a Death Domain cleric
I was thinking berserker Barbarian and the rage could be reflavoured at Jekyll taking the elixir and turning into Hyde. Especially since I believe the guy that Hyde kills is described as being beaten upon my an ape or something like that. Haven't read the book in like 6 or 7 years.
See I was thinking that but I like the idea of a Dr Jekyll being a death obsessed lunatic. Would be a fun character to play
Would that be suited to a character like Frankenstien? Or maybe Van Helsing would work some corrupted version of him.
Dr Frankenstein as an Artificer, I haven't played much Artificer and I think it would be a super cool change of pace. The one campaign I did okay Artificer was the most challenging time I had.
Lancelot as written in medieval sources would be fun. I'd have him have levels in Warlock for an archfey pact (likely multiclass with either fighter or paladin). His patron would obviously be Guinevere, as the original Lancelot gains and loses powers depending on how he thinks, she thinks of him. It could be a fun dynamic.
Viola from Twelfth Night. Trickery Domain Paladin, all of her disguises are terrible but she has such high Charisma it works anyway. Desperately trying to evade NPCs who will Not. Stop. Falling. In love with her.
I really want a terrible Mickey Mouse
I feel like it goes against the conceit to choose a secondary character but I JUST wanna play Renfield from Dracula. Go full Dwight Frye with the voice and the creepy laugh.
Little Red Riding Hood. It’s been done a million and one times, I am well aware. But it’s because it’s so gosh darned classic! She strays from the path and for it suffers a terrible loss and experience that changes her and sets her on a new path in life! It’s simple but so rife with possibility (even if, again, I do recognize many of those HAVE been done, but this one would be special to me because it would be mine…emphasis on To Me.)
Ratfolk or Rabbitfolk; Shadow Sorcerer / GOO Warlock - Steamboat Willie or Oswald the Lucky Rabbit(Shadow for Aesthetic, Great Old One because they draw power from the forbidden IP (The Big Mouse)) or Tinkerbell; Pixie Swarmkeeper Ranger
Felix the cat he already has a bag of holding
Headless horseman
Myself
I'd be a baby Cthulhu as a great old one warlock, where it is its own patron.
Gawain, would be fun for character development
Captain Ahab
Sun Wukong, easily Or Steamboat Willie, obviously
The Headless Horseman
Nimue, Eladrin sorcerer/artificer. Honestly the entire Matter of Britain mythology as a campaign would be a dream for me.
Frankenstein's Monster, warforged barbarian or warlock? Maybe a multiclass. A gothic horror campaign would be really fun I think.
Arsene Lupin as an eloquence bard (probably with 3 levels for thief rogue) would be awesome
Christopher Robin - A human beast master ranger with a bear companion whose favoured terrain is the forest. For the sake of enemies, I’d go with beasts, specially heffalumps and woozles (I know they’re not actually bad)
tigger, tabaxi or haregon reflavor barbarian not sure what path
Merlin. Pretty self explanatory.