I'm sure you've all heard this one many, many times. All the best DM's steal everything. I'm not sure how many will admit to that and I guarantee I know of at least 2 DM's who are fantastic and it doesn't seem like they've stolen a thing.
But isn't that the point?
In my honest opinon, it doesn't matter if you steal storylines, plot hooks, NPC's, anything from other sources as long as your players are enjoying it. I'll admit, I've happily borrowed a few ideas from various sources for my campaign as well as for characters I've created. It doesn't matter. All that matters is that your players are enjoying themselves and my players so far seem to have enjoyed every single session we've had (or so they tell me!).
But this is also true of tropes or stereotypes for your own player characters. It doesn't matter if you play a stereotypical Hill Dwarf Cleric, Goliath Barbarian, Halfling Rogue or anything else than immediately springs to mind when you think of classic fantasy. What makes the character, in my opinion, is the player behind them. Regardless of whether the character is entirely made up tropes and rolls from the PHB to select personality traits, they are still going to be unique characters. Why? Because the player is (hopefully) invested in that character and will play that character to their best.
So what's this rant all about? Well, many things but mainly; when it comes to DMing, lie, cheat, and steal everything. When it comes to playing, feel free to create whatever type of character you want, whether they're quirky or stereotypical. The most important thing, for DMs and players alike, is to enjoy the story you're telling as a group!
