What do you think makes a good role play character?

[JayTheCreator]

Just curious of people's opinions..


(Don't forget to mention negative traits, too.)

 

[call me rae]

Well it varies depending from roleplay to roleplay but in general here's a good checklist for a decently well-rounded character.


1. Make sure the character fits the tone of the roleplay.


Example - if the tone of the roleplay is going to be a comedy then making a hyper realistic character kind of takes the fun out of it. And vice versa - if your roleplay is hyper realistic and your character is a over the top carton caricture than they're not going to fit with everyone else.


2. Make sure your character fits the setting of the roleplay.


Example - if this is a fantasy setting than playing a punk rocker obssessed with video games is probably not going to fit. If it's a historical setting playing a person who defies the gender norms of that time period without consequence would like wise not fit. I.E. If you play a flaming homosexual in regency england chances are they're going to be ridiculed if not outright shunned.





3. Pick a tone for your character and stick to it.


Now again make sure your character's tone matches the roleplay but once you have that tone you stick to it. If that tone is over-the-top comic relief than you keep the slap stick coming. If it's brooding loner with a chip on their shoulder - than keep the snark train rolling.


Now obviously your character can be more than one dimensional - and your welcome to have them grow as a person but we'll get more into that below.


4. Give your character believable growth.


Say your character starts out as a loner and you want them to grow into a more personable person over the course of the story. That is absolutely fine as long as their is a logical progression of their character. I.E. They have to have a reason to change and that change has to feel organic.


Speaking as someone who used to be very introverted and suffer from extreme social anxiety. You do not overcome something like this in a day or a week or even a year. It is a gradual process. You have to become comfortable with the people around you and learn to slowly work beyond your comfort zone.


Now depending on the exact scenario your portraying - and the tone of the roleplay - this can be simplified. But again whatever the progression is it must make since within the context of that roleplay.


In a comedic roleplay your character can swap personalities on a dime and that's fine because the object is to keep things light-hearted and fun. But if your doing a more realistic or grounded roleplay random personality changes would be seen as the mark of either a personality disorder or a manipulative person.


4b. Give your character believable access to knowledge.


Again this varies on the rules set up within the roleplay itself but most people aren't going to be all-knowing or professionals in their chosen field when their teenagers. I can't tell you how many times I've come across this idea of a "genius prodigy" and in all actuality it's just a short cut for the player not to have their character learn anything.


Now one or two of these tropes is fine ( provided they fit the setting and tone ) but everyone in a roleplay can't be a genius in everything ( again unless it's some kind of over the top drama or comedy ). That just makes it unrealistic and hard to relate to the characters.


For that matter when giving your character knowledge about other people in the roleplay always ask yourself - How does my character know this information? If the answer is ever - because it's in their profile or because the player behind them said it in the ooc - than that information should not be something your character is privy too.


There must be a logical in world reason for every bit of information your character possesses.


5. Character should be engaging and somewhat relateable.


This is often overlooked but it is the mark of a fantastic character. Someone that keeps you hooked through their actions, motiviations, charisma, etc. Someone you want to know more about and your eager to interact with in the roleplay.


For that matter they should be somewhat relateable in someway as it helps keep people interested in their struggles and story. If you make your character perfect or one-dimenisonal then they become boring to read about because there is never any since of suspension or conflict.


They are just doing whatever they're doing because that's what's needed to progress the plot and that's not going to make for someone that is memorable at all.


Now some optional tips for people who do powered characters. ( i.e. magicians, superheroes, mutants, monsters, etc. )


P1. Read through the rules to see what are the acceptable powers and abilities of this roleplay.


Seems like an obvious move but you'd be surprised at how often people just make a character off the top of their head - or try to shoehorn an established character into a roleplay where they don't fit.


P2. Describe how your character uses their special ability.


You don't have to put this anywhere anyone else can see but somewhere you should write out a brief description on how your character actually uses their power in a day to day / combat setting.


This will help you with the next step and show your roleplay partners that you put some thought into whatever special abilities your character possesses.


P3. Ask yourself how your characters powers could be defeated - give them at least one weaknesses from this list.


So what you do here - again you don't have to do it where anyone else can see - but you come up with all the ways your characters powers can be gotten around. Whether that's with the powers from the other people in the roleplay, some kind of emotional blockage, or even just simple physics it doesn't matter. You need to go over all the weakpoints over your character's particular ability. And from that list pick at least one ( or possibly two ) personal weaknesses.


If you can't think of a single way to get around your character's ability that doesn't involve a literal act of God than you most likely have made your character too powerful and you need to re-work your special ability.

 

[Idea]

Just curious of people's opinions..
(Don't forget to mention negative traits, too.)

Well, in my opinion, as vague as it mind sound, a character must first and foremostt be itself. Second, it must be natural.


The first point can also be put like this : "is the character independent of where it is inserted?" If yes, then good job. If not, you are forcing it. Please nite, this first point applies only to things like personality, general history traits and appearance. Say, your character exists in a vampire roleplay. If you have him have an unexplainable hate fir vampires, it's not a good character, as long as it goes beyond taste. Not liking the taste of lemons is one thing, wanting to stab them multiple times while laughing maniacally is another. The first doesn't need to be explained. The second does.


Another case of this rule being broken is, say, if your character is the leader of a large rebel force and EVERTHING about him is made around that, although he only become the leader (or even a member) of the rebels a while ago. His cunning and a strategist with a deep hate fir authority of all kind, a genius with explosives, an expert on military commands, who know everything about guns and knows the royal palace inside out. All of that explained by weird tastes as a child. *coughs* metagaming anyone?*coughs*


The second rule is a tad more complicated to explain, but it goes like this: "every cause has an appropriate effect and every effect and appropriate cause". When making a character, not everything has to be one-dimensional. In fact nothing should be. Your character shouldn't be "the guy who's grumpy" And nothing more. However, character that are made of enteriely of contradictions aren't any good either.


When making a character, considering the consequences of what is stated and the causes for those things is important. Like climbing a tree through the branches, you need to keep moving, while staying on the same tree.


The otherer bit of the issue here would be realism vs reasonability. Your character doesn't have to be complete and utterly realistic, in that, our world's rules don't have to apply to the character. But the character still needs some internal logic or it falls apart.

 

[Gilzar]

Well it varies depending from roleplay to roleplay but in general here's a good checklist for a decently well-rounded character.
1. Make sure the character fits the tone of the roleplay.


Example - if the tone of the roleplay is going to be a comedy then making a hyper realistic character kind of takes the fun out of it. And vice versa - if your roleplay is hyper realistic and your character is a over the top carton caricture than they're not going to fit with everyone else.


2. Make sure your character fits the setting of the roleplay.


Example - if this is a fantasy setting than playing a punk rocker obssessed with video games is probably not going to fit. If it's a historical setting playing a person who defies the gender norms of that time period without consequence would like wise not fit. I.E. If you play a flaming homosexual in regency england chances are they're going to be ridiculed if not outright shunned.





3. Pick a tone for your character and stick to it.


Now again make sure your character's tone matches the roleplay but once you have that tone you stick to it. If that tone is over-the-top comic relief than you keep the slap stick coming. If it's brooding loner with a chip on their shoulder - than keep the snark train rolling.


Now obviously your character can be more than one dimensional - and your welcome to have them grow as a person but we'll get more into that below.


4. Give your character believable growth.


Say your character starts out as a loner and you want them to grow into a more personable person over the course of the story. That is absolutely fine as long as their is a logical progression of their character. I.E. They have to have a reason to change and that change has to feel organic.


Speaking as someone who used to be very introverted and suffer from extreme social anxiety. You do not overcome something like this in a day or a week or even a year. It is a gradual process. You have to become comfortable with the people around you and learn to slowly work beyond your comfort zone.


Now depending on the exact scenario your portraying - and the tone of the roleplay - this can be simplified. But again whatever the progression is it must make since within the context of that roleplay.


In a comedic roleplay your character can swap personalities on a dime and that's fine because the object is to keep things light-hearted and fun. But if your doing a more realistic or grounded roleplay random personality changes would be seen as the mark of either a personality disorder or a manipulative person.


4b. Give your character believable access to knowledge.


Again this varies on the rules set up within the roleplay itself but most people aren't going to be all-knowing or professionals in their chosen field when their teenagers. I can't tell you how many times I've come across this idea of a "genius prodigy" and in all actuality it's just a short cut for the player not to have their character learn anything.


Now one or two of these tropes is fine ( provided they fit the setting and tone ) but everyone in a roleplay can't be a genius in everything ( again unless it's some kind of over the top drama or comedy ). That just makes it unrealistic and hard to relate to the characters.


For that matter when giving your character knowledge about other people in the roleplay always ask yourself - How does my character know this information? If the answer is ever - because it's in their profile or because the player behind them said it in the ooc - than that information should not be something your character is privy too.


There must be a logical in world reason for every bit of information your character possesses.


5. Character should be engaging and somewhat relateable.


This is often overlooked but it is the mark of a fantastic character. Someone that keeps you hooked through their actions, motiviations, charisma, etc. Someone you want to know more about and your eager to interact with in the roleplay.


For that matter they should be somewhat relateable in someway as it helps keep people interested in their struggles and story. If you make your character perfect or one-dimenisonal then they become boring to read about because there is never any since of suspension or conflict.


They are just doing whatever they're doing because that's what's needed to progress the plot and that's not going to make for someone that is memorable at all.


Now some optional tips for people who do powered characters. ( i.e. magicians, superheroes, mutants, monsters, etc. )


P1. Read through the rules to see what are the acceptable powers and abilities of this roleplay.


Seems like an obvious move but you'd be surprised at how often people just make a character off the top of their head - or try to shoehorn an established character into a roleplay where they don't fit.


P2. Describe how your character uses their special ability.


You don't have to put this anywhere anyone else can see but somewhere you should write out a brief description on how your character actually uses their power in a day to day / combat setting.


This will help you with the next step and show your roleplay partners that you put some thought into whatever special abilities your character possesses.


P3. Ask yourself how your characters powers could be defeated - give them at least one weaknesses from this list.


So what you do here - again you don't have to do it where anyone else can see - but you come up with all the ways your characters powers can be gotten around. Whether that's with the powers from the other people in the roleplay, some kind of emotional blockage, or even just simple physics it doesn't matter. You need to go over all the weakpoints over your character's particular ability. And from that list pick at least one ( or possibly two ) personal weaknesses.


If you can't think of a single way to get around your character's ability that doesn't involve a literal act of God than you most likely have made your character too powerful and you need to re-work your special ability.

That was an extremely enjoyable read that was very informational. Might I suggest you write a guide on this in the tutorial section?

 

[Idea]

Well it varies depending from roleplay to roleplay but in general here's a good checklist for a decently well-rounded character.
1. Make sure the character fits the tone of the roleplay.


Example - if the tone of the roleplay is going to be a comedy then making a hyper realistic character kind of takes the fun out of it. And vice versa - if your roleplay is hyper realistic and your character is a over the top carton caricture than they're not going to fit with everyone else.


2. Make sure your character fits the setting of the roleplay.


Example - if this is a fantasy setting than playing a punk rocker obssessed with video games is probably not going to fit. If it's a historical setting playing a person who defies the gender norms of that time period without consequence would like wise not fit. I.E. If you play a flaming homosexual in regency england chances are they're going to be ridiculed if not outright shunned.





3. Pick a tone for your character and stick to it.


Now again make sure your character's tone matches the roleplay but once you have that tone you stick to it. If that tone is over-the-top comic relief than you keep the slap stick coming. If it's brooding loner with a chip on their shoulder - than keep the snark train rolling.


Now obviously your character can be more than one dimensional - and your welcome to have them grow as a person but we'll get more into that below.


4. Give your character believable growth.


Say your character starts out as a loner and you want them to grow into a more personable person over the course of the story. That is absolutely fine as long as their is a logical progression of their character. I.E. They have to have a reason to change and that change has to feel organic.


Speaking as someone who used to be very introverted and suffer from extreme social anxiety. You do not overcome something like this in a day or a week or even a year. It is a gradual process. You have to become comfortable with the people around you and learn to slowly work beyond your comfort zone.


Now depending on the exact scenario your portraying - and the tone of the roleplay - this can be simplified. But again whatever the progression is it must make since within the context of that roleplay.


In a comedic roleplay your character can swap personalities on a dime and that's fine because the object is to keep things light-hearted and fun. But if your doing a more realistic or grounded roleplay random personality changes would be seen as the mark of either a personality disorder or a manipulative person.


4b. Give your character believable access to knowledge.


Again this varies on the rules set up within the roleplay itself but most people aren't going to be all-knowing or professionals in their chosen field when their teenagers. I can't tell you how many times I've come across this idea of a "genius prodigy" and in all actuality it's just a short cut for the player not to have their character learn anything.


Now one or two of these tropes is fine ( provided they fit the setting and tone ) but everyone in a roleplay can't be a genius in everything ( again unless it's some kind of over the top drama or comedy ). That just makes it unrealistic and hard to relate to the characters.


For that matter when giving your character knowledge about other people in the roleplay always ask yourself - How does my character know this information? If the answer is ever - because it's in their profile or because the player behind them said it in the ooc - than that information should not be something your character is privy too.


There must be a logical in world reason for every bit of information your character possesses.


5. Character should be engaging and somewhat relateable.


This is often overlooked but it is the mark of a fantastic character. Someone that keeps you hooked through their actions, motiviations, charisma, etc. Someone you want to know more about and your eager to interact with in the roleplay.


For that matter they should be somewhat relateable in someway as it helps keep people interested in their struggles and story. If you make your character perfect or one-dimenisonal then they become boring to read about because there is never any since of suspension or conflict.


They are just doing whatever they're doing because that's what's needed to progress the plot and that's not going to make for someone that is memorable at all.


Now some optional tips for people who do powered characters. ( i.e. magicians, superheroes, mutants, monsters, etc. )


P1. Read through the rules to see what are the acceptable powers and abilities of this roleplay.


Seems like an obvious move but you'd be surprised at how often people just make a character off the top of their head - or try to shoehorn an established character into a roleplay where they don't fit.


P2. Describe how your character uses their special ability.


You don't have to put this anywhere anyone else can see but somewhere you should write out a brief description on how your character actually uses their power in a day to day / combat setting.


This will help you with the next step and show your roleplay partners that you put some thought into whatever special abilities your character possesses.


P3. Ask yourself how your characters powers could be defeated - give them at least one weaknesses from this list.


So what you do here - again you don't have to do it where anyone else can see - but you come up with all the ways your characters powers can be gotten around. Whether that's with the powers from the other people in the roleplay, some kind of emotional blockage, or even just simple physics it doesn't matter. You need to go over all the weakpoints over your character's particular ability. And from that list pick at least one ( or possibly two ) personal weaknesses.


If you can't think of a single way to get around your character's ability that doesn't involve a literal act of God than you most likely have made your character too powerful and you need to re-work your special ability.

I'd like to respectfully disagree on some points here.


First, the idea that a character must somehow "fit" into a roleplay's tone. It is my belief such is an unecessary step, that while common, is not always beneficial. In fact, the more contrasting the characters are to the tome, the more vairety they provide. For example, you could take many of the "average Joe" characters. Often we see characters getting pulled off their own comfortable little worlds into these amazing new and unexplored ones, and it is precisely from the misfit that we get to feel how things are different and amazing. It is the mix between high and low contrast with the setting that gives the first step into immersion, and it is necessary to have a fair share of both.


I also have to say, the characters don't have to be relatable to be good characters. I once thought they did, but later found out that thet the case. Proactivity and Effiency are also factors that can make a great charactar enjoyable. I'd explain better right here, but I think you'd get a better view of it directly from the source, so PM me if interested.


Lastly, I think finding ONE weakness to a power is never enough. I can tell that everyone (myself included perhaps) will show a tendency to get carried away during a fight and use the powers in the most effective way possible, even if that is not sensitive within the character or good for to rp. In other words, the power itself is never what matters in practice, but rather it's potential results. Thus, not only must there be weaknesses that actually CAN be found (no need to make it obvious, but don't conceal them so much your fellow rpers could never figure it out or it's the same nothing) but also limiters set to prevent an ability that is not overpowered from becoming (take elemental powers, such as controlling water. I've seen people in one moment slicing thoroats, the next flying, the the next forming a thick shield, then making some kind of a tusnami...You get it. Unbeatable, not cause there is no weakness (remove water), but because there is an unlimited range if what can be done.)

 

[call me rae]

I'd like to respectfully disagree on some points here.
First, the idea that a character must somehow "fit" into a roleplay's tone. It is my belief such is an unecessary step, that while common, is not always beneficial. In fact, the more contrasting the characters are to the tome, the more vairety they provide. For example, you could take many of the "average Joe" characters. Often we see characters getting pulled off their own comfortable little worlds into these amazing new and unexplored ones, and it is precisely from the misfit that we get to feel how things are different and amazing. It is the mix between high and low contrast with the setting that gives the first step into immersion, and it is necessary to have a fair share of both.


I also have to say, the characters don't have to be relatable to be good characters. I once thought they did, but later found out that thet the case. Proactivity and Effiency are also factors that can make a great charactar enjoyable. I'd explain better right here, but I think you'd get a better view of it directly from the source, so PM me if interested.


Lastly, I think finding ONE weakness to a power is never enough. I can tell that everyone (myself included perhaps) will show a tendency to get carried away during a fight and use the powers in the most effective way possible, even if that is not sensitive within the character or good for to rp. In other words, the power itself is never what matters in practice, but rather it's potential results. Thus, not only must there be weaknesses that actually CAN be found (no need to make it obvious, but don't conceal them so much your fellow rpers could never figure it out or it's the same nothing) but also limiters set to prevent an ability that is not overpowered from becoming (take elemental powers, such as controlling water. I've seen people in one moment slicing thoroats, the next flying, the the next forming a thick shield, then making some kind of a tusnami...You get it. Unbeatable, not cause there is no weakness (remove water), but because there is an unlimited range if what can be done.)

In fairness these were meant to be general outlines to help people who struggle with character creation - not the Word of God according to Raebow.


I was trying to come up with some helpful tips that could assist people that struggled with character creation in fleshing out their ideas more. I was in no way saying that you had to follow that list exactly in order to make a good character.


As I'm sure your aware making a good character relies just as much on inspiration and a good roleplay as it does on whether or not they fit a tone or you have some idea of where all their skill set comes from.


Now power-players are especially difficult which is why I left that section as general as possible. As you said yourself most people use the idea of magic/superpowers to essentially make their character God.


They don't spend enough time thinking on how their powers are utilized and what their limitations are. I went with one or two weaknesses for a reason though.


One - a single weaknesses is better than none. To use a famous example - Superman and Kryptonite. Most people will tell you that's Superman's only weakness but that doesn't make it any less effective as a writing tool. Even if it is in fact not the only weakness he has ( he has quite a few actually including sunlight exposure, lead, magic, psionic attacks, and a strong moral compass. )


But if all you put was Kryptonite you would still at least be giving the other people in the roleplay a fighting chance if you had Supes mind controlled or just wrecking stuff in general.


Two - Weaknesses are actually directly proportional to strength. What if your characters special ability is doing multiplication tables in their head or making their skin glow? Saying that you need three to five well thought out weaknesses in response to that would be ludicrous.

 

[Idea]

In fairness these were meant to be general outlines to help people who struggle with character creation - not the Word of God according to Raebow.
I was trying to come up with some helpful tips that could assist people that struggled with character creation in fleshing out their ideas more. I was in no way saying that you had to follow that list exactly in order to make a good character.


As I'm sure your aware making a good character relies just as much on inspiration and a good roleplay as it does on whether or not they fit a tone or you have some idea of where all their skill set comes from.


Now power-players are especially difficult which is why I left that section as general as possible. As you said yourself most people use the idea of magic/superpowers to essentially make their character God.


They don't spend enough time thinking on how their powers are utilized and what their limitations are. I went with one or two weaknesses for a reason though.


One - a single weaknesses is better than none. To use a famous example - Superman and Kryptonite. Most people will tell you that's Superman's only weakness but that doesn't make it any less effective as a writing tool. Even if it is in fact not the only weakness he has ( he has quite a few actually including sunlight exposure, lead, magic, psionic attacks, and a strong moral compass. )


But if all you put was Kryptonite you would still at least be giving the other people in the roleplay a fighting chance if you had Supes mind controlled or just wrecking stuff in general.


Two - Weaknesses are actually directly proportional to strength. What if your characters special ability is doing multiplication tables in their head or making their skin glow? Saying that you need three to five well thought out weaknesses in response to that would be ludicrous.

I understand that those were tips, meant to help. Your opinion, like I have mine. Then again, this IS the discussion forum. Besides, what good is an opinion that can't be defended? Not that yours can't (as, in fact, you just demonstrated).


Now, for those reasons...


1-I actually think kryptonite is a common example, but also one of the worst possible ones. It doesn't take much thought to realize just how out of place it is. It has nothing to do with superman, except perhaps that hr is from another planet. Then, it's a super -rare ROCK. A rock.


I mentioned this, but a weakness to a power is no weakness at all if it's impossible to use it against you. I think, in fact, even you mentioned this as well. Now, to use the example given, if there was a superman to, as your character happened to fight him without having previously having that intention (as you know in rod each other's character don't tend to be the centre of one's lives) , they would be dead, unless they JUST HAPPENED to have stumbled upon a super rare rock from space.


Fighting someone with only one weakness , 99% of the time, is like trying to pull a teeth from a lion's mouth. With a ton of preparation, and external factors to fix the edge, you may just have a decent chance of doing it. But without forcing the results, the odds are around zero.


Two-You have two interesting cases there. The first, doesn'tsn't need a weakness. Doing multiplication tables with their head, as many other powers IS weak.It's crawling with weaknesses that you don't even need to mention. The said limiters, I mentioned. The amount of things it can't do, is enough to estabilish it as a weak power, which doesn't even need a balancing weakness.


The second example, actually is lacking exactly the opposite. Saying "the skin glows" can have wildly different interpretations and while naturally it is a weak power like the other, unless the means to make glow and the intensity of the glow are explained, this power can very easy be abused. One thing is a little faint firefly glow, another is turning into a sun-skinned giant.

 

[call me rae]

I understand that those were tips, meant to help. Your opinion, like I have mine. Then again, this IS the discussion forum. Besides, what good is an opinion that can't be defended? Not that yours can't (as, in fact, you just demonstrated).
Now, for those reasons...


1-I actually think kryptonite is a common example, but also one of the worst possible ones. It doesn't take much thought to realize just how out of place it is. It has nothing to do with superman, except perhaps that hr is from another planet. Then, it's a super -rare ROCK. A rock.


I mentioned this, but a weakness to a power is no weakness at all if it's impossible to use it against you. I think, in fact, even you mentioned this as well. Now, to use the example given, if there was a superman to, as your character happened to fight him without having previously having that intention (as you know in rod each other's character don't tend to be the centre of one's lives) , they would be dead, unless they JUST HAPPENED to have stumbled upon a super rare rock from space.


Fighting someone with only one weakness , 99% of the time, is like trying to pull a teeth from a lion's mouth. With a ton of preparation, and external factors to fix the edge, you may just have a decent chance of doing it. But without forcing the results, the odds are around zero.


Two-You have two interesting cases there. The first, doesn'tsn't need a weakness. Doing multiplication tables with their head, as many other powers IS weak.It's crawling with weaknesses that you don't even need to mention. The said limiters, I mentioned. The amount of things it can't do, is enough to estabilish it as a weak power, which doesn't even need a balancing weakness.


The second example, actually is lacking exactly the opposite. Saying "the skin glows" can have wildly different interpretations and while naturally it is a weak power like the other, unless the means to make glow and the intensity of the glow are explained, this power can very easy be abused. One thing is a little faint firefly glow, another is turning into a sun-skinned giant.

Well again I was using these as examples and your using specifics. As I said coming up with a specific list of weaknesses kind of requires you to know what the strength is in the first place. Because otherwise you and I could go back and forth for days and get nowhere. Because unless I'm actually writing out a full description of my characters strength as they would be used in the roleplay there is no realistic way for me to go.


Well your strength is X so you should have ## many weaknesses in relation to that.


Which is kind of hard to do when I'm giving general advice.


Superman is a good example not only because he actually does have multiple weaknesses that people don't usually write out in a profile because they either didn't do their research or they just think Kryptonite is enough. Now again your being too literal - does Kryptonite automatically fall from the sky when it's needed? No. But then again most of the time when your doing a Superman roleplay your in a situation where everyone KNOWS that's his weakness so forethought and planning would mean that at least one person in the roleplay would have the Kryptonite.


Not only that but assuming this is a DC universe roleplay using Canon characters - Batman, Flash, Wonder Woman, and Martian Manhunter can all go toe to toe with Superman regardless ( granted Batman would need Kryptonite but he's also pretty famous in the comics for having it on hand all the time anyway )


So therefore boom one obvious weakness doesn't not mean that Superman is God. Nor that others can't take him down if needed.


Now again I'm not saying that only having one weakness is going to win you any favors if your playing a Superman knock off. But at the same token if your playing a Superman knock off chances are the person who is working to accept your character sheet would have mention the fact that you need more weaknesses themselves.

 

[WanderingJester]

@readingraebow


Hey guys, great job on the discussion and putting out thought provoking logic. At the risk of committing the straw man fallacy, I'll just pop in real quick. I know this is just being used as an example and not really the point, but I couldn't help myself in at least interjecting to clear the air a bit here, and not trying to be a wise guy or anything (probably just a nerd though).


Kryptonite is actually really common. Like a bunch of characters from DC, had some on hand and Lex Luthor had a crap ton just laying around everywhere given his vendetta against Supes. Here's a list of some of them.


Kryptonite (Object) - Comic Vine


As you can see, they aren't all even rocks that came from some planet in outer space. Some can be artificially created through a process, which I would argue makes it at least more common than just a bunch of guys sitting around a camp fire looking up at the sky for the right falling pieces of rocks while evil Supes (or some equivalent) is going to town on the rest of the planet.


Also Doomsday beat Superman to death.


With his hands and feet.


So I wouldn't say he only has one weakness, but Raebow already touched on this point, so by all means, carry on .

 

[Idea]

Well again I was using these as examples and your using specifics. As I said coming up with a specific list of weaknesses kind of requires you to know what the strength is in the first place. Because otherwise you and I could go back and forth for days and get nowhere. Because unless I'm actually writing out a full description of my characters strength as they would be used in the roleplay there is no realistic way for me to go.
Well your strength is X so you should have ## many weaknesses in relation to that.


Which is kind of hard to do when I'm giving general advice.


Superman is a good example not only because he actually does have multiple weaknesses that people don't usually write out in a profile because they either didn't do their research or they just think Kryptonite is enough. Now again your being too literal - does Kryptonite automatically fall from the sky when it's needed? No. But then again most of the time when your doing a Superman roleplay your in a situation where everyone KNOWS that's his weakness so forethought and planning would mean that at least one person in the roleplay would have the Kryptonite.


Not only that but assuming this is a DC universe roleplay using Canon characters - Batman, Flash, Wonder Woman, and Martian Manhunter can all go toe to toe with Superman regardless ( granted Batman would need Kryptonite but he's also pretty famous in the comics for having it on hand all the time anyway )


So therefore boom one obvious weakness doesn't not mean that Superman is God. Nor that others can't take him down if needed.


Now again I'm not saying that only having one weakness is going to win you any favors if your playing a Superman knock off. But at the same token if your playing a Superman knock off chances are the person who is working to accept your character sheet would have mention the fact that you need more weaknesses themselves.

@readingraebow
Hey guys, great job on the discussion and putting out thought provoking logic. At the risk of committing the straw man fallacy, I'll just pop in real quick. I know this is just being used as an example and not really the point, but I couldn't help myself in at least interjecting to clear the air a bit here, and not trying to be a wise guy or anything (probably just a nerd though).


Kryptonite is actually really common. Like a bunch of characters from DC, had some on hand and Lex Luthor had a crap ton just laying around everywhere given his vendetta against Supes. Here's a list of some of them.


Kryptonite (Object) - Comic Vine


As you can see, they aren't all even rocks that came from some planet in outer space. Some can be artificially created through a process, which I would argue makes it at least more common than just a bunch of guys sitting around a camp fire looking up at the sky for the right falling pieces of rocks while evil Supes (or some equivalent) is going to town on the rest of the planet.


Also Doomsday beat Superman to death.


With his hands and feet.


So I wouldn't say he only has one weakness, but Raebow already touched on this point, so by all means, carry on .

Superman remains a bad example. I could go on and on about why, but if we are to keep that discussion going, I'll suggest (as I often do) that we do so in a new thread or PM forr that topic.


Now, the general bits, as requested. I was actually trying to use the examples to convey them, but I guessed I failed. So, here:


You cannot design powers for your characters, as a rule of thumb, that need people to force the situation to be beatable. Having a weakness that requires people to dedicate characters to actually getting to use it is like saying "well, if God intervienes, maybe my character can be beaten". That's not a weakness.


Some powers will have other, inherent reasons. Some, even if they seem weak at first glance, are actually capable of being explored and will be, to an extreme.


One weakness is not enough, cause it forces the hands of the rpers.