Edgy Should Not Only Mean “Antisocial”

Reading guide: 

(W: for Webby FR; D: for Danny)

What exactly makes an “edgy” character? 

If H&M dressed Moon Knight

Many players are interested in playing some kind of dark, brooding, or criminally minded character to explore some more mature topics or just f*ck around on some thug sh*t. That can be very fun. HOWEVER, sometimes these characters can really derail the collaborative nature of TTRPGs and the social dynamics of a party. Having someone be like “my way or the highway” in some morally or socially questionable situation like killing a non-violent npc or taking some other kind of drastic action can really cause unpredictable conflict. 

D: I’d insert something here about your personal experience playing an edgy character who makes these dumb decisions (Ice) or having seen it occur (a character whose name will not be revealed to protect the names of the innocent) and what it does to the party dynamic and therefore what it does to the player. Think like, “oh everyone hates my character bc i make these stupid decisions…. why am i suddenly depressed?” 

W: Nah, I like just keeping your note on what I should do and just letting it rock. It gets the point across. 

Edgy characters by being too different and drastic can really become the main character in unhelpful ways. It can become the “g*ddamn it, edgy character” show too much. HOWEVER, edgy is fun and playing with certain tropes of darker emotions, gruff situations, and frankly, proximity to violence is a big reason people play TTRPGs. It’s fun to knock the hell out of a dragon. All of this to say, I feel that there is a better way to go about it. We here at GenZDMG are here to help you with that. 

So, here are some (patent pending) tips on how to make sure your edgy character is not an antisocial pain in everyone’s ass. 

TIP 1: Edgy Does Not Mean Antisocial!

W: Antisocialness? antisociality? Antisocial qualities are something a lot of edgy characters have in common. What’s antisocial? Look up a f*cking definition. 

Sorry, that was aggressive. I’ll give you one. For the purpose of our argument, let’s go with antisocial as, “being averse to socializing in chill ways and unable to form bonds based on respect for others which leads to a greater difficulty resolving conflict.” In other words, someone who can’t commit to the bit, get silly or get a bid to join a fraternity, that seems like a pretty good jumping off point. Maybe a bit too general. Maybe too ambiguous with the idea of chill. Or maybe, just maybe, we rock with it and see where it takes us. I’m writing this. We’re rocking with it. 

Now, here is where I’d differentiate “edgy” from antisocial. Edgy, is kinda more of an aesthetic, an attitude, an effect. Edgy pretends to be antisocial when edgy feels the need to assert some control over a situation. Self-preservation, avoiding self-reflection, whatever. However, on the inside, I think being edgy is a pretty emotionally and sometimes rationally pointed thing. It takes effort to get into that habit. Antisocial stuff is more of a developed thing, edgy is an explicitly chosen deviation. It IS a phase, mom. That’s good. 

That doesn’t mean I want your edgy, shadow-loving, and salaciously scared half-elf to be all butterflies and butterscotch by the end of their story. That can be boring. I want the edge of their social sword to be pointed more out at what threatens the party than inside the group to sus out the party. You see? 

If you play an edgy character and you want them to grow and be in the party, you need to explicitly identify things you want your character to come to trust. These are the things this character will protect and advocate for. Edginess can be a negative thing, meaning it is an effect showing what you are kinda against. Give your character something to be for, be caring and involved with not only out of necessity, but out of personal connection and care. They should have good reasons to care about something, and that makes them social with the party. They find a shared interest, quality, something with at least 1 party member. Give edgy a friend.

Tip 2: Edgy Is Not Only About Wearing All Black and Being a Lil Depressed Shadow Boy 

W: I enjoy Batman. Don’t just play Batman as the default for an edgy character. Edgy, to me, invokes a moral grayness. Or MAYBE, “grayness” is not the right word. I like the idea of an edgy character having the correct diagnosis or at least a reasonable concern like “X kingdom is evil” or “My revenge for Y in my backstory is justified” and then have the methods they use to achieve this, be a source of question for the player and the party. Maybe the PC wants to kill some noble, but that noble has an innocent family who would now be without a loved one and that's something the player has to consider. That’s interesting. That’s kinda real. That can be a really interesting and kinda no-brainer way to play with the idea of moral proximity and situation being factors that make like an action maybe worse, or at least, harder to stomach. 

D: When I hear the word “edge” I automatically think of a sword. Now, a sword is really cool and all, but if the edge isn’t sharp, it’s not going to be worth a whole lot. It won’t “keal” as they say on Forged in Fire. Edge isn’t everything, and instead is just a tool at your disposal to make a character have more depth and more to build from. Batman is a character that people would classify as edgy, but that’s because he is a mentally ill depressed former socialite who believes in this code of living irregardless of who the criminal is - i.e. if you do bad things, Batman is going to beat the s**t out of you and make you go bankrupt in medical bills.

W & D: Playing a depressed shadow boy is cool and all, but what if we took your shadow boy and gave them this code of ethics to live by? Maybe that noble who has an innocent family but they also for whatever reason started a holy war against your people and you want revenge. Now THAT’S an interesting choice to have to make and use your edge (once again, a tool at your disposal) to take a stand and make a choice. If you’ve read anything on our blog, you’ll know that we promote anything and everything to get players and GMs to make more and more choices, because that’s where the intrigue and fun of TTRPGs comes from. Being a sad loner, dressed in black, bad Batman clone isn’t really fun AND has been made fun of incessantly. Don’t be that guy.

Tip 3: Think Bigger, Edgy as an Unexpected Worldview

W: Don’t just wear black. You could. It goes hard. But, they don’t have to be in the brooding gimp suit we all can conjure in our head. Some of the hardest m*therf*ckers I’ve ever met have been in cardigans and like clogs (talking about you Danny (W: Danny wrote that)). Edgy in this case, can be a worldview. A perspective that goes farther into exploring what is right and wrong in the given bounds of the fantasy world. 

D: To keep up with our superhero comparisons, I want you to think about Deadpool, and not the live action Ryan Reynolds one because highkey Ryan and Blake Lively suck and we shouldn’t support them. No, I'm talking about what he portrays from the comic books, games, and any other media surrounding Deadpool you’ve ever heard about. This character is one of the edgiest mfs I’ve ever seen, but it’s not because he has black on his costume and is sad because he has cancer. Yes, that’s part of the deal, but his edge comes from his humor and his beliefs on what the world is. Deadpool works because he subverts your expectations of what a hero is. Compare Deadpool to Batman from before. Batman increasingly believes in the power of a better future and dresses up like a bat to beat up guys with medical marijuana cards because he wants to clean up the streets (W: Real). Edgy. Deadpool has often been classified as a nihilist, or someone who believes there is no meaning in life and he can act however he wants, whether it’s messing with the time stream, shooting a mafia boss, or breaking our perception of comics and heroes by breaking the 4th wall. Edgy, but in a more profound way than others.

D: What does all of this mean for you? The way I read it and understand my own off-the-prozac ramblings is that you can create an edge, and grind it in like a sword (ha, forged in fire reference) even if you were playing a unicorn who had the powers of making everyone happy on command. Edge is about how you play a character and the views surrounding that rather than simply how a character looks and is observed. 

W: Maybe your edgy character could be a lil cottage core hobbit ass thing that wants to side with dragons over people in a territorial dispute and like, for understandable reasons. Could go crazy. Maybe your pc’s selfish desire for power makes it so they become a hotheaded champion of a downtrodden group and since your fates are tied together, you seem to be morally good; but in actuality you’re kinda just doing it for clout. BUT, you’re actually effective. What matters more? How do and can intentions change? Another, interesting take on an “edgy” character. 

Conclusion:

W: Being edgy is not only gothic, being edgy should not be bigoted, and being edgy is about pointing the tip of your sword at the soft underbelly of the polite/normal social life and whatever is acceptable in your fantasy world of choice. In grimdark, edgy is kinda Mr. Rodgers, just give him a strap. 

Real ones get it. Put these in a sock and that'll power something up, brother.