History Main / TheRealMan

Despite the name, these players can easily be female. No necessary relation to RatedMForManly, or to [[TestosteronePoisoning extremely manly characters]], though the Real Man's character might fit that bill. See ThudAndBlunder for this player's ideal type of campaign.

** A Small Arms optimized one can be too if a player prefers [[BoomHeadshot blowing the enemies heads easily]], and not to mention [[CoolGun the Chinese Assault Rifle]] and [[ShotgunsAreJustBetter the Combat Shotgun]]

* Gourry Gabriev from ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' is the only non-mage in the core cast, and something of a LeeroyJenkins. His only available tactic when facing the assorted sorcerers, demon lords and {{humanoid abomination}}s that they're typically pitted against is a straightforward charge with his InfinityPlusOneSword.

* Jim of ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids''.
** And Pete is the {{Munchkin}} variation, although he tends more towards the "pilot a starfighter with big guns" rather than the "personally wield a laser sword" approach to combat.
* Bob and Dave of ''ComicStrip/KnightsOfTheDinnerTable''.
** And biker turned gamer Crutch who's priest is named Friar Swayze.
* Fighter from ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'', though he's somewhat combined with TheLoonie (Swordchucks, anyone?).
** But thanks to the RuleOfCool they work very effectively.
* Ben from ''Webcomic/FuzzyKnights''.

* Mary in ''Webcomic/KnightsOfBuenaVista'' (a CampaignComic about the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon). When playing ''{{WesternAnimation/Frozen|2013}}'', she insists on playing Anna as a [[GratuitousNinja ninja class]], and when [[SubvertedTrope told the setting doesn't have those]], she goes for the closest thing. She makes sure that Anna's [[PimpedOutDress coronation dress]] has loads of pleats on the skirt, just so that she can do a RoundhouseKick with [[KickingAssInAllHerFinery no impediments]]. And Anna's even more willing to get in a fight than in the movie.
** When the next campaign is ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'', she plays ActionGirl Calhoun.

The Real Man is the TabletopRPG player who plays the game for the visceral, action-packed experience. Any character played by this guy will invariably be a badass whirlwind of death -- rarely do they play any sort of sneaky or supporting character. If by chance they have to play a [[SquishyWizard wizard]], he'll either be [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill loaded to the gills]] with [[StuffBlowingUp fireballs]] or decidedly [[MagicKnight non-squishy]]. The real man may do some MinMaxing (though not to the insane heights of the {{Munchkin}}), but he's just as likely to select abilities based on [[RuleOfCool "cool factor"]] [[AwesomeButImpractical alone]].

The real man is handy to have around when a fight breaks out. He'll support his teammates when it counts (unlike the {{Munchkin}} who typically looks out for number one), and usually has a grasp on basic combat tactics. However, he's not as adept in situations where violence is not the answer. While some 'real men' are also skilled [[TheRoleplayer roleplayers]] (who just happen to enjoy a good brawl), others tend to stay silent when it's time for talking, relying mostly on well-worn archetypes (the [[BadassLongcoat trenchcoated]] [[TheStoic stoic]], or the taciturn BarbarianHero, for example), rather than the more original characters of the typical [[TheRoleplayer Roleplayer]]. Player characters optimized for combat at the cost of having no distinct personality or connection to the game world are known as "murder hobos" in some circles.

* [[{{Munchkin}} The Munchkin]] hybrid: Maligned as he is, sometimes the {{Munchkin}} may simply be a Real Man who stopped caring about the action alone and fixated on "winning" at any cost. This may be why most Real Men hate him so much; because of the fine line between them (some [[FanDumb especially extreme]] [[TheRoleplayer Roleplayers]] may see little difference between the two, equating any love of combat [[StopHavingFunGuys with munchkinism]]).

The real man is handy to have around when a fight breaks out. He'll support his teammates when it counts (unlike the {{Munchkin}} who typically looks out for number one), and usually has a grasp on basic combat tactics. However, he's not as adept in situations where violence is not the answer. While some 'real men' are also skilled [[TheRoleplayer roleplayers]] (who just happen to enjoy a good brawl), others tend to stay silent when it's time for talking, relying mostly on well-worn archetypes (the [[BadassLongcoat trenchcoated]] [[TheStoic stoic]], for example), rather than the more original characters of the typical [[TheRoleplayer Roleplayer]]. Player characters optimized for combat at the cost of having no distinct personality or connection to the game world are known as "murder hobos" in some circles.

Despite the name, these players can easily be female. No relation RatedMForManly, or to [[TestosteronePoisoning extremely manly characters]], though the Real Man's character might fit that bill. See ThudAndBlunder for this player's ideal type of campaign.

Despite the name, these players can easily be female. Or to [[TestosteronePoisoning extremely manly characters]], though the Real Man's character might fit that bill. See ThudAndBlunder for this player's ideal type of campaign.

* TheLoonie hybrid: When a Real Man fixated on badassery gains elements of a Loonie, namely their penchant for over-the-top antics. Well executed, it can create some incredibly bizarre and awesome scenarios. Poorly executed, it may veer into {{Munchkin}}ism as the Real Man-Loon ends up doing ridiculously overpowered stunts, or into the Leeroy Jenkins due to collaterally damaging the rest of the party as well. Perhaps the most difficult and dangerous is the Real Man Loonie whose "humor" almost exclusively takes form as an InsultComic, with the purpose of antagonizing NPCs until social encounters turn into combat encounters.

* TheLoonie hybrid: When a Real Man fixated on badassery gains elements of a Loonie, namely their penchant for over-the-top antics. Well executed, it can create some incredibly bizarre and awesome scenarios. Poorly executed, it may veer into {{Munchkin}}ism as the Real Man-Loon ends up doing ridiculously overpowered stunts, or into the Leeroy Jenkins due to collaterally damaging the rest of the party as well.

Despite the name, these players can easily be female. Or to [[TestosteronePoisoning extremely manly characters]], though the Real Man's character might fit that bill.

* In ''Videogame/{{Borderlands 2}}'', Brick takes this role in the fourth DLC, ''Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep'', which focuses on the Vault Hunters playing a Tabletop RPG. His first, last, and only reaction to anything the group encounters is to punch it (which also tends to be his only reaction to anything he encounters in real life too). Unfortunately, he also tends to be the one to initiate diplomacy, so this attitude causes problems, such as choosing to punch the Dwarven king, thus killing him and turning all dwarves hostile to the players.

* In ''Videogame/{{Borderlands 2}}'', Brick takes this role in the fourth DLC, ''Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep'', which focuses on the Vault Hunters playing a Tabletop RPG. He loves solving problems by simply punching them. Unfortunately, he also tends to be the one to initiate diplomacy, so this attitude causes problems, such as choosing to punch the Dwarven king, thus killing him and turning all dwarves hostile to the players.

Despite the name, these players can easily be female. Not related to TheMan. Or to [[TestosteronePoisoning extremely manly characters]], though the Real Man's character might fit that bill.

* The Real Man Roleplayer: After becoming more comfortable with the more creative aspects of tabletop [=RPGs=], the Real Man may "evolve" towards The Roleplayer. Positively, they retain their facility for action when it is called for while bringing to the table an interesting character who can be a wealth of story hooks in its own right (The ProudWarriorRaceGuy is a good launchpad for this type, though some might take a touch of Loonie and build an action-oriented character from [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch a race typically viewed as pacifist and weak]]. Done poorly, they bring the flaws of both: focusing everything on combat to the point of turning role-playing into combat "because that's what my character would do" and expecting their view of their character (in this case, as the badassiest badass to ever badass) to be a fundamental truth no matter what the ''rules'' might say.

* The Murderhobo: Similar to the Munchkin variant of the same name. This is a Real Man who puts so little effort into the irrelevant portions of his character (like parents, siblings, friends, education, childhood, ''home address'') that they exist in the game world only as some kind of intensely violent vagabond. Usually the mark of a more immature version of this archetype (hence its overlap in Munchkin), as the player doesn't yet realize that FeaturelessProtagonist isn't quite as compelling in a tabletop RPG as it is in a video game, even if you're trying to PlayTheGameSkipTheStory. It probably goes without saying that this is the Real Man variant the Roleplayer likes the least, since they have ''no'' personality or backstory (even the minimal one other Real Men come up with is ''something''). Game Masters can find it difficult to work with this character as there's very little to compel them to participate in an adventure, and indeed some Murderhobo players may declare that their character is not interested in a particular adventure and sit out the session if it seems like it will offer insufficient opportunity for carnage. The Loonie may enjoy endlessly needling him about his homicidal homelessness, and the Murderhobo Munchkin is likely to be driven to outperform the Real Man Murderhobo. A frequent target of derision in most tabletop RPG circles, it tends to remedy itself as the player in question gets more comfortable with the more creative aspects of the game.

Despite the name, these players can easily be female. Not related to TheMan. Or to [[TestosteronePoisoning extremely manly characters]].

* [[{{Munchkin}} The Munchkin]] hybrid: Maligned as he is, sometimes the {{Munchkin}} may simply be a Real Man who stopped caring about the action alone and fixated on "winning" at any cost. This may be why most Real Men hate him so much; because of [[NotSoDifferent the fine line between them]] (some [[FanDumb especially extreme]] [[TheRoleplayer Roleplayers]] may see little difference between the two, equating any love of combat [[StopHavingFunGuys with munchkinism]]).

* TheLoonie hybrid: When a Real Man fixated on badassery gains elements of a Loonie, namely their penchant for over-the-top antics. Well executed, it can become CrazyAwesome personified. Poorly executed, it may veer into {{Munchkin}}ism as the Real Man-Loon ends up doing ridiculously overpowered stunts, or into the Leeroy Jenkins due to collaterally damaging the rest of the party as well.

* [[https://gemofwonder.livejournal.com/357.html Hobbits and Hole Dwellers]] Has Ted, who is desperate to just go and fight. Unfortunately, the GM and Bailey have other ideas...

* The Meta Game Hunter- Eventually, a Real Man may begin to want something more from the game. Sometimes they learn to appreciate the roleplay aspects, and grow out of their combat obsession. Others find satisfaction in {{Self Imposed Challenge}}s and not-entirely-murder-centered action as TheLoonie. But then there are those who turn to TheDarkSide, and realize that they have been ignoring several extremely challenging foes. [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame Foes sitting around the same game table.]] This form takes TheLordBritishPostulate to an entirely new realm: they've moved on from monsters to hunting the rest of the party, and sometimes even target [[OffTheRails the plot itself]] as a way to take on the GM directly. Unlike munchkins who do this, it isn't about "winning"- it's about the challenge of creating as much chaos as they can without the rest of the party resorting to murder...or just killing off their character. While some hunters can pull off a {{Magnificent Bastard}}'s balanced ratio of "LovableRogue" to "ChronicBackstabbingDisorder", most simply become ThatOneGuy who plays a Dwarf Lumberjack when the rest of the party consists of elves and druids.

* The legend of Fanfic/OldManHenderson from [[Website/FourChan /tg/]] -- a player character from a ''TabletopGame/TrailOfCthulhu'' campaign whose player got royally pissed off at his KillerGameMaster to the point that, instead of just walking out of his table, he proceeded to create a character specifically designed to piss the GM off until he [[FlippingTheTable Flipped The Table]] and called it quits -- can be best described as a Loonie-Real Man hybrid. Just one of his antics was blowing up an entire building with cultists by rigging a half-filled fuel truck with high explosives [[CrazyPrepared he packed just in case]] and rigging the detonator to the airbags, jamming the throttle with a knife, jumping out of the door with minimum damage because [[RollerbladeGood his boots were Heelies]], and [[UnflinchingWalk calmly walking away from the resulting explosion without looking at it]]; that was after killing some time while chaperoning a high school prom by [[LouisCypher smoking a cigar-sized blunt that was rolled with a page from the Necronomicon]].

* The legend of Fanfic/OldManHenderson from [[Website/FourChan /tg/]] -- a player character from a ''TabletopGame/TrailOfCthulhu'' campaign whose player got royally pissed off at his KillerGameMaster to the point that, instead of just walking out of his table, he proceeded to create a character specifically designed to piss the GM off until he called it quits -- can be best described as a Loonie-Real Man hybrid. Just one of his antics was blowing up an entire building with cultists by rigging a half-filled fuel truck with high explosives [[CrazyPrepared he packed just in case]] and rigging the detonator to the airbags, jamming the throttle with a knife, jumping out of the door with minimum damage because [[RollerbladeGood his boots were Heelies]], and [[UnflinchingWalk calmly walking away from the resulting explosion without looking at it]]; that was after killing some time while chaperoning a high school prom by [[LouisCypher smoking a cigar-sized blunt that was rolled with a page from the Necronomicon]].

* TheLoonie hybrid: When a Real Man fixated on badassery meets a Loonie fixated in over-the-top antics. Well executed, it can become CrazyAwesome personified. Poorly executed, it may veer into {{Munchkin}}ism as the Real Man-Loon ends up doing ridiculously overpowered antics, or into the Leeroy Jenkins due to collaterally damaging the rest of the party as well.

* The legend of Fanfic/OldManHenderson from [[Websites/FourChan /tg/]] -- a player character from a ''TabletopGame/TrailOfCthulhu'' campaign whose player got royally pissed off at his KillerGameMaster to the point that, instead of just walking out of his table, he proceeded to create a character specifically designed to piss the GM off until he called it quits -- can be best described as a Loonie-Real Man hybrid. Just one of his antics was blowing up an entire building with cultists by rigging a half-filled fuel truck with high explosives [[CrazyPrepared he packed just in case]] and rigging the detonator to the airbags, jamming the throttle with a knife, jumping out of the door with minimum damage because [[RollerbladeGood his boots were Heelies]], and [[UnflinchingWalk calmly walking away from the resulting explosion without looking at it]]; that was after killing some time while chaperoning a high school prom by [[LouisCypher smoking a cigar-sized blunt that was rolled with a page from the Necronomicon]].