Charisma & The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

She is a loner. Aloof at all times, and surly to everybody, she downplays her looks by wearing black make-up and rocking a variety of piercings. The large dragon tattoo on her back is grotesque, appearing to literally be bursting free from her body. None of it is appealing to anyone but the most die hard goth/emo puke. Most normal people on the street who have more than a passing encounter with her find her repellant. Yet after you see this girl in action, getting a glimpse into her private life, you find her fascinating and you cannot look away. Inner beauty reveals itself in the form of steel-trap intelligence, physical pound for pound power, and certain invincibility.

Lisbeth is the titular character in the amazing Swedish crime thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. In the film, this young woman, who already comes to us with half a dozen lifetimes of bad baggage, gets involved in one horrifying situation of another, whether in her own private life or in that of the famous journalist she is “cyberstalking” for the high end private investigation firm she freelances for. In a business monotone Lisbeth talks to a room of suit and tie professionals; fully out of place and almost bizarre in her macabre fashion statements. But the men in the room know her work, and have nothing but respect for her amazing computer research talents. These older, experienced private investigators look to her for the deep information that they cannot dig up on the streets. Lisbeth can find out anything about anybody.

Out in the urban jungle, Lisbeth is swift and canny, escaping one deadly situation after another, whether it be drunk punks in the metro looking to humiliate her for her appearance, brutal state imposed mentors who look to abuse her for sick pleasure, or even serial killers, Lisbeth comes out of each and every situation she enters on top. In the rare times she does not, she survives to return to exact brutal vengeance on any man who looks to harm her or the few people she is loyal too.

This weekend I saw the sequel to that great movie, The Girl Who Played with Fire, at an Academy of Science Fiction screening in West LA. Almost as great as the first, it got even deeper into the character of Lisbeth and her private world of violence and vengeance.

And it had me thinking about Charisma, in game terms, like it did when I watched the first film in the trilogy. This repellant and generally unattractive girl, so unlikeable on first meeting, actually turns out to have an almost irresistible, edgy charm. You only have to get a glimpse of her life to find yourself rooting for her in all of her misadventures. Those who see the true Lisbeth see an amazing and powerful charisma.

There are so many examples of repugnant individuals real and imagined who have big charisma, from Hitler to Hannibal Lector, who somehow have a strange magnetism. So many factors are involved. I think we have all hated somebody not knowing them at all, but after some acquaintance we change our minds completely about them.

Out of all statistics in a game like, say, D&D, I think charisma is the most difficult to apply in any kind of realistic manner. Even the somewhat abstract concept of Wisdom is easier to figure out in a real life way. In D&D, charisma helps you with how many henchfolk you can have, and give you a base reaction in encounters where it is appropriate. But let’s face it, that is more of a cartoony “winning smile” charisma. Tony Curtis in The Great Race flashing those white, gleaming choppers so charismatically that thrown pies won’t even dare sully him.

But how to make charisma more like it is in the real world? I’m guessing for a game like D&D it is just too much trouble. You’d have to take in both the persons speaking manner, their body language, looks, and actions. Plus you would have to look at any number of factors involved in the person we need a charisma related action from.

What can you do? I guess we’ll just have to keep charisma simple until a renowned gamer psychologist comes forward to put a better spin on it. Any out there?