tutorial An Overly Long Post Talking About Character Flaws (TM)

[McSpazz]

Hi there! I'm McSpazz! For those that don't know, I help @CrystalDragon teach the bi-weekly roleplay workshop. One subject that comes up during that workshop are character flaws and I never feel like I have the time to REALLY dig into them. Why they're important, how impactful a flaw might be, and, most importantly, when a flaw really isn't a flaw.

 

So I thought...HEY! Why not post something to the forums that probably no one is going to read and expand on what I'm never able to cover during class!

1. Brass Tacks

First, what exactly is a flaw? While on the surface it is any aspect of a character that in some way hinders them, I think it's important to really drill into a more important aspect of flaws as far as roleplay is concerned. See, a flaw can't just be something that a character struggles with. Needing to wear glasses can be a flaw, but lots of people wear glasses without issue. Velma not being able to see anything without her glasses? Now THAT is a flaw. It can't just hinder a character, a real flaw needs to be something that is actually present in character interactions.

 

But why are flaws important? Beyond making a character interesting, that is. I think everyone is fully aware that a character with no flaws is going to come out very flat and boring, but there is a bit more to it where roleplay is concerned. When a character gets involved in someone else's story arc, the person handling the story, no matter the scope or size, needs to consider where this new character fits into things. Not only that, they need to figure out how they can keep the narrative challenging and keep everyone involved even with this new addition. Flaws, in a way, give the director of the story a means of providing a challenge that requires somebody else's involvement to resolve. The last thing people want is for one person to basically invalidate any challenge a story might bring forward.

 

Flaws are that important limiting factor that ensures that you can keep everyone important to a story without forcibly making that the case.

 

2. It's not enough to just HAVE a flaw.

Given the utility flaws serve outside of narrative, it's not enough that flaws exist. For example, a flaw that states that a character who is vulnerable to cold weather might be super impactful in Alaska, but it would be far less impactful in Paragon since they'd have no problems half of the year. Even less so if the roleplay was in Florida. A heavy alcohol addiction might have a big impact, but only if the character is actually shown to be struggling with it. Being vulnerable to the sun could be a huge flaw, but if most roleplay occurs indoors or in caves (ie: most of CoH's missions), it might be far less of an issue. There are also things like being stubborn which can be a flaw in certain situations, but your character would have to be that to an extreme in order for it to JUST be a flaw and nothing else.

 

What's more, a flaw needs to be accessible or exploitable. Otherwise it's just a character quirk. For example, if your character doesn't have a secret identity and also has civilian love ones, that could be a very compelling flaw. However, if at every turn, your character has made taking advantage of the flaw boarding on impossible, it's only a flaw in theory. If a character has an anger problem but only loses their temper when it's convenient, then why bother?

 

3. An ode to tabletops
One thing that comes up here several times as well as in general discussion of flaws is tabletop gaming and how flaws generally play out there. While it is true that the mediums are very different, remember what I mentioned earlier: flaws have utility outside of a narrative. In a tabletop setting, flaws are sometimes directly integrated into the game's mechanics and have actual, noticeable affects. For example, let's say your character had an addiction trait. In a tabletop game, you might be forced to roll to resist an offer of your addiction or take penalties to rolls if you have gone too long without it. While it is also important to have flaws that exist separate from pure mechanics, these flaws in tabletops offer a very visible and immediate output of results.

 

Obviously, we don't have that in MMO's. The reason why flaws in tabletops are often brought up (especially by people who play tabletop games) is, more often than not, an attempt to emphasize what I have gone over above. Flaws need to have an impact and be accessible/exploitable. In short, the flaws need to actually matter beyond when it's most convenient to the story. If a character constantly drinks and is constantly intoxicated, people expect that they aren't going to behave as if they were sober whenever it would be inconvenient for them to act drunk. If your character is deathly vulnerable to cold iron, they expect there to be a good reason why they are wielding a cold iron weapon themselves. If your character has a flaw, they expect there to be an actual cost. And since this is all self-enforced in an MMO setting, it's all the more important that attention is paid to it.

 

4. Flaws that Aren't Flaws

I want to touch on one of the most important things to avoid personally and look out for in other characters: Flaws that aren't really flaws.

 

I kind of touched on them already, but these flaws either only matter in theory, are invalidated by a character's other traits, or are only flaws if you don't think about them for two seconds. This gets a little bit more complicated, so I'm going to break down a few examples separately.

 

1. I Care Too Much
   I'm sure people have heard this old gem before outside of roleplay. It's kind of a meme before memes were coined; usually at job interviews. While this can theoretically be a flaw, it's generally a placeholder when nothing else can be mentioned. What does it actually mean to care too much? How is that expressed? By the time this is elaborated, there is generally a better way of expressing it than just "they just care too much!" In short, it's generally not a flaw because it doesn't actually mean anything.
   How to fix it
   As I said, the ultimate issue here is how vague it is. Is your character overly possessive of their loved ones? Are they too dogmatic in their ideology? More often than not, the best way to resolve this is to simply flesh it out and narrow it down some. What do they care too much about? How intense is their fixation?
    
2. They're super paranoid
   This could be a great flaw, but it comes with one major precondition: they can't always be right. A common issue I see with "paranoid" characters is that it's less that they're paranoid and more so that they just go to completely unreasonable lengths to gather information on everything and covering all of their bases but only in ways that are actually helpful. Basically, the 'paranoid' flaw ends up turning into, "they have contingencies for everything." Always bear in mind for every adventure story where the paranoid nut job with a bunker in his back yard ends up having all of the tools the heroes need to succeed, there's the reality that the vast majority of paranoid preppers end up creating more trouble for themselves than they need to.
   How to fix it
   There's a reason paranoia is considered a flaw. It makes you see things that aren't there, prepare for things that will probably never happen, push away people that just want to be there for you, suspect things of others that aren't actually the case. If your character is going to be paranoid, actually commit to it and have their accusations and beliefs actually turn out to be wrong more than you might expect. The point is that Pepe Sylvia doesn't actually work here. Follow through on it.
    
3. Fear of Thyself/God Complex
   One of the most eyerolling flaws you can encounter is the fear of a character's own powers even as they are using their powers in front of you. While this can be done well, these kinds of characters only really work when they actively go out of their way to not use those powers. That is pretty difficult to do in City of Heroes roleplay where using your powers is half of the setting. This flaw is especially cringeworthy when it is being held by characters with god like powers that constantly say they don't use their powers as to not interfere with mortal lives...only to then interfere with mortal lives. The Hulk feared his powers, but it worked because he didn't seek out trouble. Trouble found him. The crux of the issue here is that player characters are very active in the lives of others and frequently encounter problems where their powers could make the difference. Not using those powers is just going to piss people off and the excuse of "but your free will" isn't going to mean much to someone who just lost their loved one to some horrible illness. When the crux of your character not acting starts to bring to mind things such as the Epicurean Paradox, you are probably making a character too powerful to have regular interactions with Joe from down the street.
   How to fix it
   First of all, don't play a god. To clarify, I mean a god in the Abrahamic sense. Many pantheons had gods who were, in short, far more in line with how we view super heroes today. They were powerful, but not all powerful. Extremely wise/knowledgeable, but did not necessarily know everything. Formidable, but, in some cases, were actually put down by determined mortals. These kinds of gods are entirely capable of existing in an MMO roleplay environment as while they still have authority over their domain, their power is not so extreme that only other god characters could really oppose them.
   
   If the crux of your character's fear is what would happen if they lose control, consider the ramifications. If losing control means the sun is destroyed and all of reality as we know it collapses, it's very unlikely anyone will take your character seriously because while that is a legitimate fear, it places not just a great deal of importance on your own character versus even established canon characters, but also implicitly outlines the upper limit of what your character is capable of which can be a pretty naked truth as to how broken your character actually is. Keep the ramifications of losing control relatively localized. The best balance is that your allies could stop you, but at a significant emotional or material cost.
   
   If your character's fear is the the corruption of power as a metaphorical concept...just don't. It's a legitimate concern, but that isn't a flaw that is unique to your character. It's true not just of physical power but also of soft power (government officials for example). You can have that be a concern, but it's not strong enough on its own to be a flaw. I'll also discuss how these not-flaws can be fixed and turned into genuine flaws. Think of this as "don't do this, but here's something similar you could do."
    
4. Addiction Without Consequence
   Addiction is sadly one of the most commonly misused flaws, in part, because many of the people writing them don't understand addiction. For example, if your character is addicted to a drug, in reality, using that drug would psychologically feel as necessary as breathing. This is why addictions can be such a compelling and heavy flaw for a character to carry. However, there is something worse than an addiction only coming up when it's convenient. Even worse than it barely coming up at all. It's when there's really no consequence of indulging that addiction. If your character's powers or the methods they obtain them not really disadvantageous, then being addicted to using them is likely barely going to register as a problem.
   How to fix it
   Put simply? Have the addiction mean something. If your character is drunk all of the time, have them mess up because of it. If your character is a chain smoker, have them get twitchy and irritable if they can't get their fix. Most importantly, if your character's powers themselves are addictive, actually have using them yield direct negative consequences that don't reset at the end of every scene. Most importantly, actually do serious research into what addiction is like. This flaw most often falls flat because the people using it don't actually understand what having an addiction is like. Just watching an interview with an addict talking about it can really put into perspective how this flaw should be operating.
    
5. Nearly impossible to kill until the fighting's done
   I once knew of a character who could take on another form and, while in that form, was basically unstoppable. Nothing could kill it or stop it...but a portion of all the damage they took would be passed down to them after they reverted to normal. While that might sound like an extreme flaw, consider that by the time they turn back, people will be able to aid them. There is no more threat to speak of. Focus can now be put on stabilizing them. Who says they have to revert immediately after fighting? The flaw gets even more trivial if there's some kind of immediate healing mechanism or, for example, the existence of some kind of technology that can teleport you to a hospital and get you stabilized super quickly (like mediporters). There's also the fact that everyone else has to trust that, should some arbitrary amount of damage occur, you would be willing to actually apply long lasting medical complications if not death onto your character.
   How to fix it
   There are three approaches to this. The first is, if a fight was particularly messy, actually put your character out of commission for a period of IRL days based on how bad it was. While that does mean you might miss out on more butt kicking, this is the price you asked to pay with this flaw. Actually showing your character recover and vocalizing the pains of recovery is important to show other players that you are actually taking the concept seriously. The second is to take on an additional flaw that negates many of the issues I mentioned above: resistant to accelerated healing. Even if your character heals faster than normal already, the fact that external healing cannot make your character heal or stabilize much faster means that everybody including your character are going to be mindful of where you stand as the fight goes on.
   
   As blunt as it is, the third way is to...just not do this. In short, part of the reason this flaw can be frustrating is that it comes off as if you wanted your character to be invulnerable, but didn't want the baggage that came along with it. If you want an invulnerable character, actually play an invulnerable character and figure out flaws that help balance it out which aren't easily resolved.
    
6. No! Trust me! If this happens, they'll be TOTALLY screwed!
   Some flaws rely completely on trust. For example, #5 would likely only be seen as a flaw if everyone else believed you would actually follow through on it. While everything this might touch might not necessarily fall under "not really a flaw" on its own, if these make up the bulk of your character's flaws, then your character's flaws are all hypothetical. Not really something that is actually currently present. An example of this might be that your character has an evil family member that hates them and wants to kill them. While that is a flaw, it's only a flaw in so far as other people believe you are actually going to do something with it. Even then, the flaw only really presents itself when you decide you want to do things with that evil family member.
   How to fix it
   Because of how weak these flaws are, you should never rely on them as your primary flaw nor make up the majority of your flaws up with them. Feel free to use them, but use them in addition to other flaws.
    
7. Don't worry guys! They have a weakness...
   Bit coy with the title, but if your character's primary weakness is something extremely niche that other players would have to bend over backwards to include in a story, your flaw is so weak it might as well not be there. For example, a character that is totally invulnerable unless exposed to sunlight produced by druidic power would basically be unstoppable to 99% of the planet. Every storyline they were involved in would need druidic sunlight included in order to maintain any sort of tension. While that might be a serious flaw in a world inhabited mainly by druids, it's kind of meaningless in a setting like CoH. Even Superman's kryptonite, something that was theoretically hard to come by, was frequently utilized by his enemies as if you could just buy it off the black market for a quarter.
   How to fix it
   From my experience, many people who have flaws that are so niche they barely exist don't actually realize how niche they are. As I mentioned in the impact section, vulnerability to sunlight can seem like a really big deal until you break down how it would actually work out in a setting like City of Heroes (where most roleplay is probably going to happen indoors). I believe the best way to figure out if your weaknesses are too niche is this: Imagine you are making a story arc for other people. You have the entire thing worked out to some extent and have balanced it based on a balanced party of standard super heroes of approximately your own character's power level. Now imagine that somebody else is suddenly introduced to your story arc playing your character. How much would you have to bend over backwards to ensure that there was a threat that could oppose them?
   
   Now do that thought experiment again, but this time with a different theme. Was the initial story tech based? Make the next magic based. Was the initial story on the moon? Now imagine them under the ocean. While different characters are going to excel in different environments, what matters is that final question: how many concessions need to be made simply to allow your character to interact with the story without completely invalidating it?
   
   Going back to the Superman example, while Kryptonite might be niche initially, it's not difficult to imagine a villain of any origin or creed getting their hands on some if you, the author, wanted to give it to them. Even if it would be hard for them to do, a good writer could figure something out. Back to the sunlight example. If your character is vulnerable to sunlight, artificial sunlight being something that could still at least hurt them would be a good means of providing an obtainable threat that a villain could procure. However, if you were to exclusively limit that sunlight to only being natural sunlight or sunlight created with magic, suddenly a story centered around a tech based villain is made redundant and the only way to resolve it is for them to also utilize magic or work with someone who does; a concession for your character that, while required, might not make sense in the context of the narrative. If your character had another weakness that could be exploited by a tech based villain (ie: sunlight might be out of reach but silver isn't), then the flaw would no longer be a problem.
   
   This isn't to say you should make your character super weak to every foe, but your character shouldn't have a common scenario where they are unstoppable.
    
8. Jack of all trades; Master of none; okay, well, pretty masterful actually.
   There's a danger in making a character who's the jack of all trades and master of none: someone else is likely going to be better at it than you. While that is part of the flaw of being a jack of all trades, some people forget that being a jack of all trades means that you aren't really great at everything. If a character truly is a jack of all trades but approaches them as a master, the important flaw angle of this character trait is truly non-existent.
   How to fix it
   First, REALLY understand what you are getting into if you're playing a jack of all trades. For every situation you can contribute to, there will be many others that other characters can contribute to better. Also consider the complexity of what they are knowledgeable on. It's going to take far longer to become minimally competent at rocket science than automotive repair. Muscle memory takes time and there are some weapons that take longer than others to become good with. Not all locks are created equal. The list goes on. Second, recognize that you really have to show that your character isn't a master with all of that they know. This flaw/trait is very much reliant on trust and the best way to build that with other players is to show you are actually giving your characters active limits to their skills and abilities.
    
9. I am completely unable to drive a car. Now, please, hop into my motorcycle!
   This is a fairly important one and something that I am going to bring up again in my overly long post talking about power levels (TM). Some flaws are pretty massive, but are actually pretty easy to circumvent or clearly only exist to act as an excuse to justify the character having some insane ability. For example, if a character is totally unable to interact with magic but keep on utilizing technology that achieves the exact same result as a spell they are unable to use, all you really did was inconvenience your character. If your character is incapable of using anything but a sword but then whips out a gunblade, are they REALLY incapable of using anything but swords? Or are you just looking for loopholes in your own system?
   How to fix it
   First, don't create flaws and then seek out to circumvent them or create flaws that are easily circumvented. If your character is mute but can speak if they cast a spell, then they aren't really that mute. If your character has to rely on battery power but can draw electricity from the environment around them, the entire world is a recharge station. So on and so on. You should also enforce your flaws when other people try to "fix" them. For example, if your character starts out with the flaw of being deaf, fixing it shouldn't be as simple as shoving bionic ears onto their head when another character offers them. if your character is huge, finding affordable clothes shouldn't be as simple as someone dragging you to an Icon. If your character has cancer, you should probably side eye anyone who claims their character can cure it. If you believe a flaw helps define and/or balance your character, don't make it an easy fix. If the flaw is fixed then, and this is important, either derive a new flaw from it or introduce a new flaw in the near future to help keep things balanced.
    
10. CRAWWWLING IN MY SKINNNNNN
    This can range from annoying to obnoxious. This flaw often takes the form of, "I'm such a monster," or something similar. An example of this concept falling flat is Edward from Twilight standing in the sun, glittering like a unicorn, living his best "vegetarian" vampire life, and proclaiming that he is a monster. One example I encountered a while back was when a succubus who did everything she could to avoid the stereotypes proclaimed herself to be a monster because of who her father was to my nightmare entity. Who once killed/tortured people for fun. And ate babies. You can imagine his incredulity. This can also be found in characters who possess a trait that is harmful to others, but that trait is easily negated (see #9) but they consistently refuse help all the while complaining that the problem still exists. This flaw mainly exists to make a character more edgy and less to add depth to them. Also, while an evil character who does horrible things could be considered a monster and might even call themselves a monster but not care, it's not much of a flaw if they never interact with polite society or people that really care how they act (ie: doing horrible things to accomplish your goals will be frowned upon more in Paragon than the Rogue Isles).
    How to fix it
    First, recognize that, generally speaking, people look towards a person's actions to determine if someone is a monster. If your character does have a trait that makes people's first impressions to be negative, harping on how people presume they are a monster to the very people who accept them is going to get very old, very fast. Most importantly, if your character has to remind people that they are a monster, they probably aren't a monster be it in their morals or appearance and the more they scream that they are, in fact, a monster, the more people are going to get sick of the character's attitude both IC and OOC.
    
    Consider your character's attitude towards their existence to be a journey that is, in large part, affected by how people see and interact with them. Perhaps they might start at internalizing how the world sees them, but maybe they grow frustrated with it and lash out. Maybe they come to hate those that are repulsed by them. Maybe they outwardly accept it but still struggle with it internally. What's important is that their struggle with their identity doesn't remain one note and evolves as they interact with others. If literally everybody they meet argues that they aren't a monster or don't have a negative first reaction to them, actually have the character struggle to figure out why nobody else can see what they're seeing. Explore that.
    
    Yes. This does eventually mean that, if your character is given love and emotional support, they might overcome this flaw. That's good. It means your character is growing like a person.
    
    As to monstrously evil characters surrounded by other evil characters...honestly, there's not much I can say to it. Your flaw is only a flaw when trying to cooperate with normal people. That's still a flaw, but if the only characters you interact with are fine with you, that flaw is only going to start coming into play if they start to doubt their own actions and ethics.

5. Some Classics

A commenter mentioned that this post was extremely negative. Lots of what not to do and no ideas for what you could do. So I want to spend some time going over some classic flaws that, if executed correctly, can have great outcomes for the narrative.

 

1. Amnesia
   This might be a bit cliche, but there are tons of different potential stories you can tell with it. I would recommend you figure out what type of amnesia your character has, as not all forms of amnesia are the same. What's more, keep in mind that muscle memory, language, and other similar skills are often unaffected by memory loss. Also keep in mind that, eventually, you'll be all caught up memory wise and there won't be any meat left to the flaw.
2. Big mouth, no filter
   A character who always says what's on their mind regardless of the consequences can have fun results especially if the character actually doesn't want to upset anyone. Note that this isn't an excuse to be unnecessarily cruel without expecting people to react in turn. If you act like an asshole, people are going to treat you like an asshole. ESPECIALLY if you use this as an excuse for your character to be mean to others.

 

Some additional reading from responses I found were also helpful!

On 2/21/2022 at 11:43 AM, chase said:

I thought I'd extend this conversation by my own take on flaws: 

1.  A Flaw Becomes A Quirk Without Good Self-Control:
 I think about how they'd play out in a traditional pen-n-paper system.   You might define something that just comes up when you want it to come up (a "quirk") or something that's gonna make you roll the dice at times that you normally wouldn't (or add a penalty to an existing die roll (a "flaw").  With in-game mechanics and no RP die rolls, you're stuck using an on-your-honor system to reasonably bring a flaw fully to life, affecting you when it's not convenient and letting foes really make it have an impact.

As an example, here is one of Tabby's negative effects: 

 

 

 

If I was GM'ing a pen-n-paper game, everything above would just be a "quirk" because it's largely just flavor-text that comes up when the player wants and disappears otherwise.   However, if we put rules with real negative impact to the gameplay- penalties to fine-manipulation rolls, this becomes a more costly weakness.  If Tabby tried to grab a downed officer's gun to stop a baddie, but her failed manipulation roll means one of the one of the gel-caps got cocked and jams in the trigger guard, that's a flaw.  It has a tangible negative impact. Or if Tabby was unable to call for help with a mouthful of the caps... or could choke on a critical failure... again, more impact.   It's not a Kryptonite-level impact, but it has an impact.

 

Now, back in-COH, I'm playing both the character and the GM enforcer that brings up a "would a die roll be needed here? Would I succeed?"   

 

2.  Quirks Are Fine (and fun)- Just Be Honest With Yourself.

 

Quirk-level play can still be engaging play, but be honest with yourself if it isn't a true weaknesss.   Tabby has an intolerance of furries-  She protests the stereotypes people impose on catgirls when it affects herself, but she reflexively assumes those same negative stereotypes are true for every other crittergirl she meets.  She can be downright rude to them, blaming them for the way others perceive her, while totally blind to the fact she's doing the same to others.   

If something like this gets resolved quickly- if it's gone with a moment of revelation, "oh, you're not like that either!"  it's barely a quirk, and I do tend to play it that way during chance encounters when I don't know how the PLAYER would take persistent bitchiness, but in a more established player-relationship, I can really dig into it. Tabby has quite the love-hate relationship that borders on dysfunction with my wife's catguy, Rascal. )

3.  Your Flaws are Your Own- Don't Make Them Your Team's.

This is a tough balancing act.  Some of the best uses of Flaws is to enhance the team narrative- what makes you great is not just what you can do, but the people around you that help you when you're down.   That's a GREAT narrative element.  I'm not discouraging that.

 

In pen-n-paper games, the 2 most common "Flaws" abused by powergamers are "dependents" and "enemies".  Terms and rules change based on game system, but generally speaking, the player takes on these limiting factors as a trade-off for more points to spend elsewhere on the character.   It's a great way to boost your character up- they're still inherently great and their flaws are all external.    There's a built-in incentive system to take more powerful foes (or more-dependent dependents) that have a high frequency of appearing each game session. When they do show, your whole team will help take them down.  You've made your own character stronger while making the whole team have to work harder.

 

I need to state again, though- there are GREAT STORIES that can arise from this.  Batman's great in part because of the extended bat-family.   You just must avoid abusing it.  Make sure that although the entire team may need to step in and help, the cost of that enemy or dependent really rests on YOU.  The risk of failure should fall on your shoulders- even if a friend falls in battle helping you save your dependent, there is a weight YOU must carry.  

An active and powerful enemy can also take away from others' own personal narrative. If you're taking cycles upon cycles of game-time having the team address YOUR issues and you're not in a prearranged pseudo-campaign-gm-role, assure others have cycles to include their own narrative- collaborate, even -- if they have enemies or dependents too, what happens when they both come gunning?

 

4. Don't Be Quick To Judge Others' Flaws as Misplayed

 In roleplaying, people will often telegraph their flaws early on in benign ways that just seem to be quirks.  They have no impact, save for the color they provide at that moment.    They might just be that- but they may also be subtly letting you know that these can have a bigger impact later in play if opportunity arises.   Be prepared for that, but don't punish them if it doesn't.

If an opportunity for that flaw passes later on and nothing happens it could be that they were more concerned about disrupting a dramatic moment for another character.  They may not have wanted to draw a spotlight onto themselves.   Perhaps they missed the opportunity but don't want to backpedal.   There may be reasons.   Now, if you're roleplaying a conflict and were relying on exploiting that flaw just to have it handwaved away, don't assume the worst.  Engage constructively, they may have real reasons you cannot see.  Don't make a pattern out of one encounter. 

5.  If You Really Trust Your Team...

I mean really trust your team.  Factor in the odds that they're playing while drunk when you decide on that trust.  Then factor in the odds that you're drunk, too. This is something that can go horribly wrong OR horribly right depending on your team:
 

Don't rely on your own personal moderation for when your flaws come into play- invite your teammates to introduce these moments as well, then react to them.

Some of the most fun I ever had with Tabby was letting others introduce flaw moments.  I love reacting to the unexpected and scrambling for the appropriate response.   I've also seen such moments devolve into nothing but a missed opportunity for a "yakity sax" soundtrack, with everyone triggering everyone else's flaws in the virtual equivalent of a free-for-all pie fight, so some moderation is necessary.    It's still fun, but you're all left with the RP equivalent of a hangover hoping that everyone will embarrassingly agree that the last session should be retconned away....

 

 

This is part of a series of tutorials regarding roleplay! You can find the full list of tutorials here!

Edited February 26, 2022 by McSpazz
Added a link to the master list

[chase]

I thought I'd extend this conversation by my own take on flaws: 

1.  A Flaw Becomes A Quirk Without Good Self-Control:
 I think about how they'd play out in a traditional pen-n-paper system.   You might define something that just comes up when you want it to come up (a "quirk") or something that's gonna make you roll the dice at times that you normally wouldn't (or add a penalty to an existing die roll (a "flaw").  With in-game mechanics and no RP die rolls, you're stuck using an on-your-honor system to reasonably bring a flaw fully to life, affecting you when it's not convenient and letting foes really make it have an impact.

As an example, here is one of Tabby's negative effects: 

 

 

Quote

 

Bad Grip-
The last digit of Tabby's fingers take on the role of retracting her claws.  This makes her hands almost a knuckle short when the claws retract.   This gives her a worse grip on things than even a typically small-handed person.  She also has a tendency of wearing little "prosthetic" gel-caps over her claws that lock them in the extended state and gives her hands more "natural" proportions.   It's more an aesthetic choice- she doesn't feel anything in those fingertips, so fine manipulation still suffers, and sometimes the things snap off (or refuse to snap off) at the worst times.
 

Finally, with Tabby's lack of pockets, removing the fingertips always proves a conundrum- does she squirrell them away somewhere nearby?  They're not expensive, but for a girl that can barely afford ramien in her food budget, every penny counts, so if she's not planning to return to an area, she may just shove 10 marbles in her mouth.

 

 

If I was GM'ing a pen-n-paper game, everything above would just be a "quirk" because it's largely just flavor-text that comes up when the player wants and disappears otherwise.   However, if we put rules with real negative impact to the gameplay- penalties to fine-manipulation rolls, this becomes a more costly weakness.  If Tabby tried to grab a downed officer's gun to stop a baddie, but her failed manipulation roll means one of the one of the gel-caps got cocked and jams in the trigger guard, that's a flaw.  It has a tangible negative impact. Or if Tabby was unable to call for help with a mouthful of the caps... or could choke on a critical failure... again, more impact.   It's not a Kryptonite-level impact, but it has an impact.

 

Now, back in-COH, I'm playing both the character and the GM enforcer that brings up a "would a die roll be needed here? Would I succeed?"   

 

2.  Quirks Are Fine (and fun)- Just Be Honest With Yourself.

 

Quirk-level play can still be engaging play, but be honest with yourself if it isn't a true weaknesss.   Tabby has an intolerance of furries-  She protests the stereotypes people impose on catgirls when it affects herself, but she reflexively assumes those same negative stereotypes are true for every other crittergirl she meets.  She can be downright rude to them, blaming them for the way others perceive her, while totally blind to the fact she's doing the same to others.   

If something like this gets resolved quickly- if it's gone with a moment of revelation, "oh, you're not like that either!"  it's barely a quirk, and I do tend to play it that way during chance encounters when I don't know how the PLAYER would take persistent bitchiness, but in a more established player-relationship, I can really dig into it. Tabby has quite the love-hate relationship that borders on dysfunction with my wife's catguy, Rascal. )

3.  Your Flaws are Your Own- Don't Make Them Your Team's.

This is a tough balancing act.  Some of the best uses of Flaws is to enhance the team narrative- what makes you great is not just what you can do, but the people around you that help you when you're down.   That's a GREAT narrative element.  I'm not discouraging that.

 

In pen-n-paper games, the 2 most common "Flaws" abused by powergamers are "dependents" and "enemies".  Terms and rules change based on game system, but generally speaking, the player takes on these limiting factors as a trade-off for more points to spend elsewhere on the character.   It's a great way to boost your character up- they're still inherently great and their flaws are all external.    There's a built-in incentive system to take more powerful foes (or more-dependent dependents) that have a high frequency of appearing each game session. When they do show, your whole team will help take them down.  You've made your own character stronger while making the whole team have to work harder.

 

I need to state again, though- there are GREAT STORIES that can arise from this.  Batman's great in part because of the extended bat-family.   You just must avoid abusing it.  Make sure that although the entire team may need to step in and help, the cost of that enemy or dependent really rests on YOU.  The risk of failure should fall on your shoulders- even if a friend falls in battle helping you save your dependent, there is a weight YOU must carry.  

An active and powerful enemy can also take away from others' own personal narrative. If you're taking cycles upon cycles of game-time having the team address YOUR issues and you're not in a prearranged pseudo-campaign-gm-role, assure others have cycles to include their own narrative- collaborate, even -- if they have enemies or dependents too, what happens when they both come gunning?

 

4. Don't Be Quick To Judge Others' Flaws as Misplayed

 In roleplaying, people will often telegraph their flaws early on in benign ways that just seem to be quirks.  They have no impact, save for the color they provide at that moment.    They might just be that- but they may also be subtly letting you know that these can have a bigger impact later in play if opportunity arises.   Be prepared for that, but don't punish them if it doesn't.

If an opportunity for that flaw passes later on and nothing happens it could be that they were more concerned about disrupting a dramatic moment for another character.  They may not have wanted to draw a spotlight onto themselves.   Perhaps they missed the opportunity but don't want to backpedal.   There may be reasons.   Now, if you're roleplaying a conflict and were relying on exploiting that flaw just to have it handwaved away, don't assume the worst.  Engage constructively, they may have real reasons you cannot see.  Don't make a pattern out of one encounter. 

5.  If You Really Trust Your Team...

I mean really trust your team.  Factor in the odds that they're playing while drunk when you decide on that trust.  Then factor in the odds that you're drunk, too. This is something that can go horribly wrong OR horribly right depending on your team:
 

Don't rely on your own personal moderation for when your flaws come into play- invite your teammates to introduce these moments as well, then react to them.

Some of the most fun I ever had with Tabby was letting others introduce flaw moments.  I love reacting to the unexpected and scrambling for the appropriate response.   I've also seen such moments devolve into nothing but a missed opportunity for a "yakity sax" soundtrack, with everyone triggering everyone else's flaws in the virtual equivalent of a free-for-all pie fight, so some moderation is necessary.    It's still fun, but you're all left with the RP equivalent of a hangover hoping that everyone will embarrassingly agree that the last session should be retconned away....

Edited February 21, 2022 by chase

[Crasical]

That's a big list of how to do it wrong, can you give some examples about flaws done right?

A lot of this seems to build on flaws 'as seen in a tabletop rpg', and CoX as an MMO is a different medium.

[McSpazz]

1 hour ago, Crasical said:

That's a big list of how to do it wrong, can you give some examples about flaws done right?

A lot of this seems to build on flaws 'as seen in a tabletop rpg', and CoX as an MMO is a different medium.

Both very good points! I will edit this document to include more examples of good flaws and add some clarification as to why I keep coming back to tabletops. In regards to the latter, the basic reason is that in tabletop games, flaws often have some kind of enforced mechanical influence. Since we don't have any enforcement mechanism, it's worth considering, metaphorically, what kind of influence this might have in a setting where such a thing was enforced.