Viewpoint What you cannot stand in characters?

[Abendrot]

I notice some rpers will list weaknesses and character flaws on their cs, but they’ll either be too insignificant to matter (oh, she has mild acne sometimes), or they’ll just never come up in-game. Typically the kind of thing that people using Mary Sues try to staple onto their characters to make them seem flawed when they actually aren't.

 

[BackSet]

That's why I rarely bring up weaknesses on a character sheet. They never actually show up.

 

[zippy]

I think what I dislike the most are what I would call “safe characters”. Characters that fail to push the envelope in anyway. They’re super nice and gentle and soft and uwu. Now I don’t mean flawless, mary sue characters. Just characters who wouldn’t even matter if they were removed from the roleplay. I see them as the ultimate RP killer. They are a sign of a writer who is purely reactionary, with nothing of their own to bring to the table

 

[Idea]

That's why I rarely bring up weaknesses on a character sheet. They never actually show up.

Why not?

 

[BackSet]

Why not?

I dunno. I've just never been in an rp where anyone has actually used the weaknesses on their cs. And I've certainly never used mine.

 

[Idea]

I dunno. I've just never been in an rp where anyone has actually used the weaknesses on their cs. And I've certainly never used mine.

Surely you use other flaws at least?

 

[SP3CT3R]

I notice some rpers will list weaknesses and character flaws on their cs, but they’ll either be too insignificant to matter (oh, she has mild acne sometimes), or they’ll just never come up in-game. Typically the kind of thing that people using Mary Sues try to staple onto their characters to make them seem flawed when they actually aren't.

I could go on for hours about properly writing flaws. People will use combat weaknesses in place of personality flaws and vice versa, only display their flaws in situations where they're beneficial, and give their characters flaws that are actually advantageous in most situations.

I even saw one character whose weakness was that all of his friends were holding him back because he was too powerful compared to them. How does someone write something like that and not notice how egotistical that sounds? Not only that, but the character was also one hell of a pollyanna and treated everything like a game, which would've been a much more interesting trait.

That's why I rarely bring up weaknesses on a character sheet. They never actually show up.

Maybe you should do it to set an example for the people who don't. Or rely on a positive descriptors/negative descriptors format.

 

[BackSet]

Surely you use other flaws at least?

I didn't put it as a flaw but recently I have a character whose main flaw is that she has some anger issues and will probably punch you in the face if you so much as say something she thinks is wrong (for example, the mere suggestion that she's afraid of needles will probably 100% result in you getting yelled at at best and physically harmed at worst).

Oh yeah, and she lives in the world of Pokemon. What dissonance.

 

[Abendrot]

That's why I rarely bring up weaknesses on a character sheet. They never actually show up.

Then get on top of it so you can stop being a bad rp partner.

 

[Idea]

I didn't put it as a flaw but recently I have a character whose main flaw is that she has some anger issues and will probably punch you in the face if you so much as say something she thinks is wrong (for example, the mere suggestion that she's afraid of needles will probably 100% result in you getting yelled at at best and physically harmed at worst).

Oh yeah, and she lives in the world of Pokemon. What dissonance.

Well, that's certainly a relief.

 

[BackSet]

Then get on top of it so you can stop being a bad rp partner.

 

[Idea]

In my RPs I have this concept called a "serious flaw". A serious flaw is a "Negative behavioral pattern or tendency that is universal, significant, and which could reasonably cause the character to fail at an important moment".

Negative and behavioral just make it a personality flaw, rather than a handicap (like a physical weakness, lack of skill etc... or things like "being too good" which aren't flaws in any sense of the word).

Being "universal" means that they are a constant influence on the character's goals and behavior, even if not the dominant trait for each specific action or choice. A character has a serious flaw of being extremely greedy and stingy with money will normally be trying to save every penny or trying to get more, but on occasion they might give away some to a poor kid because they also have this huge soft spot for kids. One with a serious flaw of being a huge coward might likewise act really brave when extremely drunk, but the moment they're sober they'll return to their senses.

"Significant" is arguably the most subjective one here, as it's mostly just saying it must have a legitimate impact and gravity for the character's personality. Being "a little shy" ranges from someone who always stays in a corner to somone who needs a second before engaging with people on their own, in practice it doesn't say anything about the character, at least not to the degree that such a character-defining thing like this should. WHere the line is drawn though is a bit blurry.

"Could reasonably cause a character to fail at an important moment" is perhaps the most crucial part of a serious flaw, as it is pretty much half their purpose (the other half being giving the character legitimate potential to develop through a character arc). These flaws help create tension because as the name implies they are serious enough, undeniable enough in a character that when the chips are down they could legitimately spell the character's downfall. They can be exploited by enemies or just triggered by circumstances or even the characters themselves, from conflicting goals, to disabling them from being to act or causing them to act in a way that compromises the goal.

I always mandate that players have at least a couple of serious flaws in their personalities, and of course, stick to them.

 

[Crayons]

That's why I rarely bring up weaknesses on a character sheet. They never actually show up.

Character flaws and weaknesses are not only the sign of a decent character; they are the driving force of a character. Characters need development. How can they develop if they have no weaknesses? What is left for them to develop into? Flaws are what gives your character something to overcome, or something that provides resistances towards them achieving their goal. Character flaws are what drives your character to progress. What's the point of playing a character that has no possible progression? Is there any point in participating in the race if you start a metre before the finish line?

Honestly it annoys me that people see flaws and weaknesses as some kind of afterthought. They should really be what your character is built around.

 

[SpectrumCrow]

tw: small mention of violence, like very small but it could still bother someone

This relates more to DND and is based off of an experience I had with another players character, but I feel it still applies as it is a form of role play and character development.

Small note: This guy was a good friend (we just drifted apart, nothing happened really), I have no ill feelings towards him over this and don't think he actually meant harm; it's just frustrating and hard to deal with.

His character was AGGRESSIVE, and while that by itself isn't a bad thing and can make a character very interesting, he took it too far. His character would constantly threaten important NPCs for basically no reason at all and almost follow through on those threats before the rest of the party stopped him. Even the DM got frustrated with this, as when myself and another asked if we could look at something the NPC mentioned she had this relief and "THANK YOU" tone in her voice. Again, you could argue that this is just a part of the character which I'm willing to forgive to some extent.

What I can't forgive in terms of this character, is how he treated the rest of the party. He constantly threatened another players character, going as far as to brutally kill a shapeshifter that had turned into player 2's character and look the character right in the eyes as he did so. If this was pre-planned drama, I wouldn't care. But it wasn't. It made all of us, including the DM, pretty shocked and left us feeling not great. The campaign ended up dying because of this.

What I'm trying to get across here, is that I can't stand when people play characters that don't account for the other player(s) enjoyment and safety. Of course, if it's discussed between the parties involved beforehand, I'm all for it! It's just when you do that stuff without making sure it's okay BEFORE you do it is when I take issue.

I won't deny our fault in it as we should have spoken to him about it directly, but it was still very unfortunate and I wish it could have gone better for everyone involved.

 

[BackSet]

Character flaws and weaknesses are not only the sign of a decent character; they are the driving force of a character. Characters need development. How can they develop if they have no weaknesses? What is left for them to develop into? Flaws are what gives your character something to overcome, or something that provides resistances towards them achieving their goal. Character flaws are what drives your character to progress. What's the point of playing a character that has no possible progression? Is there any point in participating in the race if you start a metre before the finish line?

Honestly it annoys me that people see flaws and weaknesses as some kind of afterthought. They should really be what your character is built around.

I meant a specific weaknesses section.

 

[Crayons]

I meant a specific weaknesses section.

If they never show up what difference does it make if they are in a separate section or in the main text? XD

Actually I agree with you, having a specific section for weaknesses seems weird to me, since it should be part of the character's personality. Having it as a section encourages players to think about it as something different and unrelated.

 

[BackSet]

For some reason there'll be weaknesses like "he's scared of sea creatures" and it's like, what sea creatures? This entire roleplay takes place in a forest. There's no ocean!

 

[Zipper Man]

Overly vague wording regarding the character's abilities. You know, stuff like "he might be weak towards [x]" or "examples of her abilities includes [y]".

 

[natsukashii]

No genuine flaws.

Okay, so this one might be a bit of a broad one, but as a writer, I pride myself in giving my characters their fair share of flaws. Maybe there's not enough to give them something to work towards come character development, but I don't know if they have too much than it might be impossible for them to gain the reader's sympathy. Then, in that case, you give them the right amount of strengths and weaknesses.

Some people don't and it gives me great ire that which not even the Gods can rival.

Okay, I'm done being dramatic. I just like layers in my characters. Mary Sues/Gary Stus just don't do it for like they used to.

 

[heartshapedeyes]

Honestly, I'm pretty lenient and tolerant on characters. The only thing I can't stand is if someone tries to make their character the center of attention all the time, but I guess that falls more on the player than the actual character itself.

 

[Crayons]

[QUOTE="Seven07, post: 9929485, member: 70193]

It's one thing to have an attention-seeking character, but it's another thing to actively try and get everyone to focus solely on your character alone.
[/QUOTE]


Attention seeking characters are super annoying, but it's often really hard to tell they will be like that from the CS.

 

[Idea]

Attention seeking characters are super annoying, but it's often really hard to tell they will be like that from the CS.

It's not a 100% prediction method, but there are certain clues one can take about these things. Common indicators of attention-seeking players will often include:
*Characters described by how others perceive them rather than how the character is
*Comparison-based description from the other character (the best at X, better than Y at Z etc...) being the most emphasized
*The Trope I mentioned in my own post, the jack of all trades master of all, a character which seems to have to be good at everything
*When the character's backstory seems to bend over backwards to either reward the character and praise them or make them as miserable as humanly conceivable
*GMs who put a CS for their own character in their interest check.

Not infalliable indicators to be sure, but they often will reflect someone whose goal falls under attention seeking. One can learn a lot from how someone types and what they choose to focus on.

 

[Xx_AceaFire]

When you have a mile long list of powers and abilities but refuse to actually describe your character or put effort into the story/roleplay

 

[Xx_AceaFire]

It's like my biggest pet peeve; for those of you who don't understand:

Imagine an ocean, That's the Power/Abilities list!......................................Now imagine a ladybug in the middle of that ocean...you'd never be able to find it now would you? that's the effort!

 

[Crayons]

It's not a 100% prediction method, but there are certain clues one can take about these things. Common indicators of attention-seeking players will often include:
*Characters described by how others perceive them rather than how the character is
*Comparison-based description from the other character (the best at X, better than Y at Z etc...) being the most emphasized
*The Trope I mentioned in my own post, the jack of all trades master of all, a character which seems to have to be good at everything
*When the character's backstory seems to bend over backwards to either reward the character and praise them or make them as miserable as humanly conceivable
*GMs who put a CS for their own character in their interest check.

Not infalliable indicators to be sure, but they often will reflect someone whose goal falls under attention seeking. One can learn a lot from how someone types and what they choose to focus on.

I'm taking for granted that those characters are already in the sin bin. XD

The worst is when the CS looks fine, but as soon as you are in the RP it's all constant attention seeking. "Oh my character got kidnapped, again!!!" "Oh my character needs help or they'll die!!!" "My character is gatecrashing your scene because you're not paying attention!!!" etc.

Disclaimer: Being kidnapped or in need of help is totally fine within reason. Character vulnerability is great. If it's always happening then the eyerolls get prompted.