Character Theory Favorite and least favorite personality traits to write against?

[Anamnesis]

As the title says! What are some of your favorite and least favorite personality traits in characters you're writing against?
I would say for me, one of my favorite traits to write with is a somewhat wild/reckless character because it can really be an amusing driving force for things to progress in the story.
On the other hand, quiet submissive characters are my least favorite because they often don't contribute that much to the progression and rather feel like they're just along for the ride.
What about you guys?

 

[cosowarrior]

I agree! I have a wild character who is super obnoxious. As a person, I can't really stand her, and if she were real, I would avoid her at all costs. But for playing as, she's so much fun! And my partners seem to enjoy her presence, too, for whatever reason.

I don't tend to like playing romantic characters, the kind who just kind of fall in love and have no sense of individuality outside of a relationship. I also don't like playing against these types, if my partner decides to use one. And I certainly don't like playing against bland, basic, 'beautiful' girls who are set up very obviously as a pretty face or love interest.

 

[Viper]

I don't have a set type of character that I enjoy playing against because it really depends on who my character is. I do like there to be some sort of foil though, my character should be the opposite of my partners... at least at first glance. They can have similarities but origins and first glance personalities should be different.

For example, if I am playing the lord of some estate then I enjoy playing against characters that are a bit more on the polite/law following side. But if I am playing some emotionless android then I hope that my partner chooses to play someone with a bit more of a dominant personality, not afraid to speak her mind or whatever.
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As for who I do not like to play against, the easiest answer would be the silent types. In order to RP there normally has to be back and forth dialogue, but if you literally 100% ignore my character every time we try to talk then I guarantee that it will not work out. Even if your character does not talk a lot, they do need to talk and then have a lot of physical mannerisms that my character can comment on.

I guess another type would be highly aggressive ones. Since I normally like to play the aggressive type, having two angry characters just makes the RP all fighting, all the time, which I don't enjoy.

 

[Idea]

Mhmmm.... this is a difficult question, mainly on account of the fact that more than the type of character, WHO is playing that character and how are just much bigger factors on whether the experience will be pleasant or interesting. Furthermore, as mentioned by Viper , what kind of character you're using (and I suppose one could broaden that up to just the roleplay circumstances in general) also play a fair role toward that.

So, what kind of characters do I prefer to play against? Well, for starters, the ones crafted with structure and humility. A character with good structure displays the thought that went into them with interconnected detail that keeps in mind both a consistent establishment of the character's identity and how it might interplay with the setting and other characters. In addition to that, the various elements of the character have to be well thought out and work off one another, which is kind of just paraphrasing I suppose. As for humility it's the simple fact that the character is built keeping in mind the player is one in a pair or even less and the character is part of a living breathing world. Characters whose design keeps in mind the good of the story and the good of the other players, that cares less about competing and more about adding something to everyone's experience.

Of course, that's all pretty vague and frankly seems obvious in retrospective (though it is a lot harder to pull off than one might think!). Characters I like to play against are generally characters that are more prone to bringing out things out of other characters or the plot- curious characters, naive characters... I especially love characters that love to tease or play pranks on others, because I am a big fan of comedy and many of my characters are designed with some humilating comedic element at the center. Similar reasons also make me love motherly characters (I often play children, so it happens to be pretty great for a character to go out of their way to care for them, even if I usually have a backup plan in case nobody does) and overly theatrical characters (so damm funny). I also just ADORE genuinely kind and understanding characters who are kind to EVERYONE all the time, always that sweet tender kindness (they still need to be properly flawed though).


What types of characters do I despise playing against? Unfortunately the answer is a lot broader and somehow clearer than before. I hate three things above all else in personality design: Flawlessness; eternal antagonising and half-hearted personalities.

Flawless characters are a very simple problem: They have no flaws and frankly, I only met some 3 people I could trust with something like that in my life, and not even I am one of them. It takes an absurd amount of skill to make them interesting, and often being interesting isn't the point, it's just a lack of sense from the person who wrote them, or an attempt at "winning" some imaginary subconscious competition or the half-hearted personality I will talk about ahead. They are just bad character design that leaves no real room for character growth or making the mistakes essential to making a charatcter interesting and often the writing for their posts reflects that.
Keep in mind though, I am talking about serious flaws here. Stuff like being "too kind" isn't a flaw, it's a quality that happens to be exploitable. Being "sometimes unable to act except one needed" is null as a flaw because when you're needed is exactly when the flaw is supposed to trip you up. Being "midly unsociable" is too minor to be a serious flaw. Having, like, OCD isn't part of your personality, so not a serious flaw either. A serious flaw is a persistent and consistent negative tendency of behavior that causes a character to fail at important times. Without it, the stakes for a character, and likelihood of actually sharing the spotlight go down tremendously.

Eternal antagonists are these characters (usually nihilistic, stubborn or just plain too paranoid or something) who generally refuse to go along with the plot nicely or who don't easily start interacting with other characters even if approached by them directly, but don't anything to make up for it either. They can also be the sort of character who seems to only be able to have conversations via arguments and makes every challenge a pissing contest. These characters stall the plot, plain and simple, not to mention when they are too antagonistic or too mean, they tend to just be plain annoying.

Lastly, half-hearted personalities. "They are shy, but once they trust they become really open and stuff". "Oh, he seems cold, but actually there is a heat of gold inside for those he trusts." "They don't give a damm, except when they are needed". Etc... this kind of indecisive personality that can't stick to so much as being clear about when it's pratically bipolar owner will be in what phase, but worse yet, so forget even being consistent. Even more irritating is just how common they are, you can't go one RP without at least one person jamming one in probably without even thinking. Then there are people who seem to refuse to share the personality "oh, I'll reveal it in RP" which is just... I'll stop here before I go on a giant rant.

As a sidenote, I do also have to complain (though it has very little to do with the topic at hand), about people using "realistic" and "logical" as personality descriptions. There is no such thing as a logical person. There is no such thing as a realist. If you think you are either of those, your ego has gotten the better of you (Or you have no idea what the words mean). People just aren't capable of such a thought process, thinking completely impaired of perspective or emotion is something people can't do, and thus you won't be able to portray it, it's too alien a way of thinking.



In any case, I hope you find this post helpful. Good luck, and happy RPing!

 

[smallnscrappy]

I cannot stand writing against edge-lords, depressed 'baggage' handlers, or aloof teenagers. If I get stuck in an RP where the characters are young people experiencing some kind of emotional storm cloud, I bail immediately. You know the type. The character sits in a corner, ignores your dialogue, and has an internal monologue with themselves about their backstory and how terrible their life is. Everything is laid out on the table for you, the writer, but your character has to continue on without rolling their eyes. Nothing is more frustrating that writing against a character who suffers not only immense apathy, but narcissism and a superiority complex to boot.

Additionally, playing against mean, aloof, superior, or emotionless characters is really challenging! I don't hate it per say, but I don't enjoy it. Writing against a Snape, a Christine (Phantom of the Opera), Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice), a Katniss Everdeen, or worst of all a Bella Swan makes me grit my teeth, but I keep typing to try and make the story work, or see if worthwhile character development takes place. If the character doesn't exhibit some redemptive qualities or development, I'm done.
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I love playing against characters that spoon feed their backstory and motives. They reveal JUST enough to keep me wondering what comes next.

Your soft spoken elven ranger won't go near horses. Why? When they whinny, she hears screams. Why? She can't look a horse in the eye. Why?

My favorites are characters with a lot of gusto and sass, but not a lot of direction. One of my friends is playing a young guy who comes from a remote village. He is brash, snarky, lazy, rude, manipulative, and holds grudges. Ultimately he is unlikable! But he is clumsy, naive, anxious, and dependent on my characters! He is illiterate, has never left the farm, and is in desperate need of a mother figure. Where does he find it? In a lady-knight (who has her own flaws).

As the story progresses we find out his mother died, his father is alcoholic, barely making ends meet, and the boy is overworked on the farm. There's a lot of material to delve into there, and although the character would fit the brooding teenager trope, the writer has thrown in realistic elements that make him awkward, and force him to talk to and rely on other characters. So long as a character is well written and well thought out, I guess I am okay with even the worst personality types xD

 

[Lord Aphrodite]

I love playing against characters that are literal balls of sunshine and positivity. I’m like that in real life, if someone has a kind smile and a good heart and is nice to me, I follow them like a lost puppy. Same applies to characters.

And sure, the character is a stereotype, but I don’t make fun of you, so buzz off.

By the way, I played against a character that was the ball of sunshine was nice to everyone, except she had an inner struggle with racism. It was so interesting seeing a character like that. Racism is always swept under the rug in RP’s and in the one I did, the subject came so fast in the one that I was enamoured with the character. It was interesting seeing the character taken on a spin with trying to love everyone, I do recommend playing or playing against a character like that.

Characters I hate playing against are the quiet, broody characters. I’m kinda sick of playing against a seventeen year old vampire wannabe, y’know? I played a few back in the day, but now, I’m done with Sonic the Edgehog.

 

[S h i s h a]

I dislike writing against loners or people who are often angry or bully others. Think like Sasuke/Bakugo/Haseo types. I just hate having to pry conversation out of a character and then get a crap response. I find loners to be agonizing. Male or female, either way I need characters to be open to working with others. Stubborn characters or ones who are cocky, are ones I avoid playing against.

I like playing against rather...normal, characters. Characters who are happy most of the time or at least content. Yes they can have their moods but they should make sense with the situation. To me, characters who progress a scene or conversation are great, so pretty much the opposite of what I'd hate to write against heh.

 

[BasiliskVeranda]

I don't like writing against / with damsels in distress. It really rubs me the wrong way. Passive characters are also not my fave. Neither are gigantic macho gun-toting guys with like 45 machine guns and a Duke Nukem outfit / haircut. There's something just really unsavory about those types, because I find many writers just make them so one-dimensional.

I like writing my asshole characters being nice to adorable jellybeans though, like a big brother type, or being a cool snarky dad.

I like writing against opposites, in terms of interests, personalities, or alignments. Morally gray asshole vs pious good-person. Because 10/10 times I'll try to make them go to the dark side, I usually win, and that's a royally fun time.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Favorites
I love playing against super Type A overachievers. I love playing against people who are obsessed with being the best of the best. Who are constantly stressed about how they measure up to other characters. I think the competition is fun for drama. And these characters always have the most fun arc as you can actually see them working at being better people.

Nightmares
Anti-Social characters are basically just taking up space. They don't do anything related to my character, the current scene, or the overall plot. They just sit in their own little corner and ignore everyone else. It's incredibly frustrating because I only do 1x1s. So if my partner's character isn't contributing anything than I'm basically writing original fiction by myself.

Forced Romantic Interests again just taking up space. They might at least interact with my character but it's purely through passive aggressive godmodding where their creator is trying to get my character to respond to them in a very specific way. Like nope. My character will act how I deem fit not how you want them to.

 

[Idea]

Favorites
I love playing against super Type A overachievers. I love playing against people who are obsessed with being the best of the best. Who are constantly stressed about how they measure up to other players. I think the competition is fun for drama. And these characters always have the most fun arc as you can actually see them working at being better people.

Do you mean the character being like that or the player? A player that is obsessed with competition and faring better than the others is a dream to you? Not criticizing just a little confused I suppose? Maybe that's not the right word, but hopefully you get what I mean.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Do you mean the character being like that or the player? A player that is obsessed with competition and faring better than the others is a dream to you? Not criticizing just a little confused I suppose? Maybe that's not the right word, but hopefully you get what I mean.

The character.

 

[cran]

I don't know if I 100% have a favorite character personality. The best people to RP with are obviously people who write very developed, three dimensional characters without hard personality traits that impede the story. Curiosity is what I like best I guess because it's whats best for the story, and characters with a good sense of humor are always a nice bonus as well.

The absolute worst kinds of characters I think are when a player decides they want their character to be a stubborn asshole who does things their own way no matter what. It's annoying if not nearly impossible to interact with someone who just seems to want to be alone, and it goes against everything the RP is for if you can't cooperate with others to build the story and make things more fun for everyone. I remember playing pathfinder once with this girl whose character's only defining traits seemed to be that he hated everyone for no apparent reason and it was so annoying it just killed it for me.

 

[Onmyoji]

I like to play against characters that have opposite personalities to my character. For example, if my character acts on emotion, I like to play against a character who is reasonable so it would balance out and allow some fun interactions and character development for both.

I don't like to write against characters that are evil and mean for no reason and would ruin all the fun by not cooperating (UNLESS it was mutually agreed upon for plot purposes).

 

[FreakshowFtW]

My favorite type of character to RP with are those who are more focused on a group effort when planning or attacking, but I dislike when characters distrust other characters without a cause.

 

[Sara Sidereal]

I don't have a set type of character that I enjoy playing against because it really depends on who my character is. I do like there to be some sort of foil though, my character should be the opposite of my partners... at least at first glance. They can have similarities but origins and first glance personalities should be different.

For example, if I am playing the lord of some estate then I enjoy playing against characters that are a bit more on the polite/law following side. But if I am playing some emotionless android then I hope that my partner chooses to play someone with a bit more of a dominant personality, not afraid to speak her mind or whatever.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
As for who I do not like to play against, the easiest answer would be the silent types. In order to RP there normally has to be back and forth dialogue, but if you literally 100% ignore my character every time we try to talk then I guarantee that it will not work out. Even if your character does not talk a lot, they do need to talk and then have a lot of physical mannerisms that my character can comment on.

I guess another type would be highly aggressive ones. Since I normally like to play the aggressive type, having two angry characters just makes the RP all fighting, all the time, which I don't enjoy.

Dual aggressive could be fun in some contexts, like if it was Ancient Greece and you were playing a couple of bros who constantly wrestled and debated philosophy with each other

 

[Viper]

Dual aggressive could be fun in some contexts, like if it was Ancient Greece and you were playing a couple of bros who constantly wrestled and debated philosophy with each other

in that case, I can see the appeal. However, that still implies some sort of friendliness and (pleasant) rivalry. I was thinking more along the lines of two characters never agreeing, always fighting over hate, and generally just being unable to interact without it ending in insults or tense silence.

Besides, I honestly just love playing opposites so two aggressive types still wouldn't work for me. Like, both can be fighters, I'm not saying one has to be a pacifist. For example, one needs to be a warrior and the other a rouge, or one of them fights out of blood thirst (aggressive) and the other for honor, etc etc.

 

[Sara Sidereal]

in that case, I can see the appeal. However, that still implies some sort of friendliness and (pleasant) rivalry. I was thinking more along the lines of two characters never agreeing, always fighting over hate, and generally just being unable to interact without it ending in insults or tense silence.

Besides, I honestly just love playing opposites so two aggressive types still wouldn't work for me. Like, both can be fighters, I'm not saying one has to be a pacifist. For example, one needs to be a warrior and the other a rouge, or one of them fights out of blood thirst (aggressive) and the other for honor, etc etc.

Oh yeah, aggression is fine, hateful petty bs isn't