System roles

host referred to as originals.
the first part of a system to emerge, and exists before all other parts. hosts are in charge of most aspects of daily life. But hosts do not have to be among the first and be alters who are deemed fit for the role

co-host is the alter who is frequently fronting, either as much or almost as much as the host. could also refer to any alters that "take over" by default when the host goes dormant or becomes inactive for any reason.

protector role describes an alter who protects the system from the outside. there are many types of protectors, such as physical, emotional, or passive protectors. each have their own methods and reasoning's!

physical protectors are alters that will try to front to handle physical abuse or confrontation. physical protectors may try to become aggressive in an attempt to defend the system from perceived physical threats.

amnesian protector is a system member who fronts in order to facilitate forgetting bad memories. they may or may not be aware of this role.

verbal protectors may attempt to front to take verbal abuse or lash out with harsh words in try and counter perceived verbal attacks.

emotional protectors may front to take emotional abuse or be more of a comforter to other alters, helping to soften and lessen the effects of the abuse.

sexual protectors will attempt to front to take any type sexual abuse and may or may not be hypersexual themselves.

pecuniary is an alter that manages money, purchases and finances.

drowser is a type of headmate who has the distinct ability to lull their system into sleep. they may also use their ability to induce sleepiness in their system's brain during periods of insomnia, or when rest is direly needed and not easy to attain otherwise.

guilt holder is a system role for system members who hold guilty feelings of the system regardless of that guilt being rational

persecutors are alters who harm the body / host / other alters / etc. persecutors often possess the peak of the host's trauma, acting out as means of self-defense or a negative outlet. do note that persecutors are not evil, don't treat them as such.

prosecutor is the same concept as a persecutor, although this alter expresses outwards aggression, towards those not in the system. a prosecutor can also be a persecutor, and vice versa.

insecurity holder is a system role for headmates who hold the feelings related to the systems insecurities, this could be considered a subset of a symptom holder role.

nightwatcher is a system member that takes over front at night exclusively. they front when the rest of the system is asleep.

stim holder is a system role for headmates who handles stimming for the system, they may help by processing things when the system is understimmed/overstimmed and making sure the system takes stim breaks when needed to stay regulated.

memory holders are alters that hold memories that are usually traumatic in nature so that other alters do not have to be confronted by the memories. in some cases, memory holders might hold memories of childhood innocence or of being loved by the system’s otherwise abusive or neglectful family.

a fragment is an alter that is not fully differentiated or developed. fragments may exist to carry out a single function or job, to hold a single memory or emotion, or to represent a single idea.

non-human alters are alters that see themselves as animals, fantasy creatures, dead or undead creatures, or nonliving objects.
may or may not be able to still communicate effectively.
more of a modifier label than a functional label.

child part is also commonly referred to as littles, occasionally middles.
parts that are mentally and functionally frozen in a childlike mental state. these parts often hold trauma or are clinging to the idea of living out an ideal childhood.

teen part is also commonly referred to as middles.
might have served as an internal authority figure of sorts when the body was younger, in lieu of an external one. also may have acted as more mature than most children to avoid danger.
may be mentally and functionally frozen in a stereotypical teenage mental state.

adult part is also commonly referred to as bigs. might have served as an internal parental figure of sorts when the body was younger, in lieu of an external one. also may have acted as more mature than most children to avoid danger.
may be mentally and functionally frozen in a stereotypical adult-like mental state.

age-sliding part refers to alters that present with multiple ages, slide between switch between several set ages, or slide within an age range.
may or may not be a subsystem presenting as a single alter.
more of a modifier label than a functional label.

ageless parts are alters that either does not identify with a set age or feel as if they are too ancient for the human perception of time to apply to them.
may or may not be a non-human alter. may or may not still identify with a broad age category.
more of a modifier label than a functional label.

gatekeeper are alters that controls fronting, memory access, or inner world access.

internal self helper also commonly referred to as an ish, manager, or observer. more aware about the system, alters, and/or memories than other alters.
may or may not be a gatekeeper, or work closely alongside gatekeepers.

the avenger holds the rage from childhood abuse and may seek retribution from the abuser. they tend to express the anger of the entire system and can be hostile.

npcs term means "none playable character" and is often seen in video games. as the name suggests they are not a normal alter but their role is to fill in gaps in the inner-world.

note some alters may or may not have more then one role which is normal

there is always the possibility you may see other terms not listed here. plenty of systems have alters with 'roles' that they assign their own name too

DID , OSDD , Vocab , Courtesy , Stereotypes

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Pub: 10 Aug 2025 08:14 UTC

Edit: 10 Aug 2025 08:26 UTC

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