In an effort to learn and possibly brainstorm a bit, I pose a question; what are your characters’ flaws and how do you portray them? In what way do they affect your RPing and what do you think is a good portrayal of these issues?
Ryoshun was a Sethrak slave and was dragged down beneath the earth to work in their mines (hence the mining skill) and not shorthy before his escape (well actually it was an escape atempt, that went wrong) there was a cave-in and he was burried alive, trapped and almost died under the rocks. My little Vulpera developed a claustrophobia and intense hate toward small, closed spaces and underground.
When he could he try to avoid such situation, becasue to’ he try to keep it under check, when confined in a cave or similar situation, the claustrophobia slowly gnawing his mind getting worse and worse to the point its almost cripling and even temporarily immobilizing
As an added “bonus”, when he do something bad - against his code of honor - its subconsciously aggravate his claustrophobia to such a debilitating severity, that even by Ryosun’s own admission, spaces he found tolerable, such as a ship’s cabin and other areas, could induce panic attacks untill he somehow comes in terms what he has done.
Obviously Azeroth is a bit lack of psychiatrists and counselors, so its not that easy. The best he could to do is to travel back to Vol’dun to seek out old and wise Vulpera shamans (tho’ since the Vulpera joined the Horde, finding some help became a bit easier) and elders to talk and somehow “get better”.
Not long ago he was forced to kill another Vulpera - wich is a big no and against everything he belives - and the situation became so dire, he had to retreat to the open fields of Pandaria. Only with working on a ranch (sunsong maybe? ^^) and talking with the wise Pandaren elders he was able to treat his psychological difficulties to a manageable degree… but not yet enough to go back to his “work” - piracy on the (open) seas
2 Likes
Difficult to say.
But I have one, whose entire personality is a hinder to a lot of things.
He is uneducated, just trained by profession.
He was married to a wife who was bossy - Told him what to think, how to act etc.
His only son was very close to his wife but not to my char. He doesn’t know what his son does for a living or where his son is now. His son took off in a campaign years ago.
When his wife died, he ended up alone. His wife was the center of his social life.
And the only living creature he has a close relationship with is his dog.
He lives from hand to mouth, and most of his social enteraction comes when he does his daily chores.
He will never join any bigger events, he doesn’t like things that are bigger than mediocre daily events.
He doesn’t even know any of the major events in the faction battles.
He know who the king is, and he knows when something good happens, good deals comes in town and often celebration food in shops - this is one of the things that makes him happy.
Because of his personality, he will not approach people unless it has something to do with his daily routine, and RP’ing is very random and most of the times only in shops and taverns when he comes to sleep (me going AFK) or to sell his things.
His personality progress is extremely slow, he is not a social creature and since his wife was the main talker, he has to learn how to socialize.
I created him almost 2 years ago, and he has gone from a silent clam to being able to do small talk with shop owners, and casual greetings with others (players).
(And only lvl 29)
I don’t think I will ever get him into any big events, or get him in a huge circle of friends - I don’t want to push his personality to fast, it doesn’t feel right for him.
I don’t have any idea about this.
I don’t play with addons, so I can’t portrait these things in TRP or the other one.
Since he isn’t a social bird, he can’t announce things through talk like others do. And he would certainly not emote them out, in case someone looks at him - he does not like being looked at.
I can only imagine it looks strange to others when he crawls beside the walls of the houses 
((I’m sorry for the wall of text))
1 Like
I actually encourage this as the whole point of the thread is to share things about your character.
2 Likes
Guilt: Around the time Garrosh took over Ogrimmar. Erah worked alongside Vol’jins resistance, upon the Siege of Ogrimmar for the final assault on Ogrimmar. He met a close friend(A brother figure) who was by profession a shaman turned dark shaman and was kinda like Erah older brother but not blood-related. long story short, they both fought Erah killed his friend leaving his wife a widow and daughter without a father. the wife for months, of course, blamed Erah but eventually forgave him and understood and doesn’t blame Erah but the daughter knows nothing about how her father’s death, Erah only telling her he died an honorable man saving a comrade. So one of Erah fears is that this girl he cares for will learn the eventual truth of what he did to her father and it eats away at him. not just for the daughter, but the act he killed a dear friend. he knows it was for the better, but it still weighs on him “What kind of orc kills his own friend. I should’ve found another way! a better way!” even though there was no other choice. Eventually, this guilt drags him down that even in the most crucial moments he second-guesses himself so that no one will die on his watch. Sometimes Erah would say something like “I would sacrifice myself and even my friends for Azeroth!” but deep down he knows if the time ever came he would be like a child with indecision.
Egotistical/ Selfless: not to an obnoxious degree, but when it comes down to things Erah always thinks he can do everything himself. be it with the Elements or without and sometimes he bites off more than he can chew. this was mostly seen when a druid and a shaman offered to help him deal with A MOLTEN GIANT but Erah in all his wisdom brushed them off. thinking he could do it alone and not wanting to let anyone die on his watch. but by this stupid mistake, he nearly died, and the only reason he escaped and defeated the molten giant. was with the aid of the Draenei shaman and a Night elf druids.
Around the time of WoD he eventually tries to forgive himself and count on others. this was only due to his encounter with Merah(his worg) and Nerazh(a white wolf) these two became stalwart companions as they wander the land and aid Erah in his duties.
2 Likes
Marinya is of course an elf and that has its own baggage but as a person she gets lost in her own world too often, 102% devoted to her tasks, thoughts and troubles. Truly eccentric at times, she struggles to be properly social. Partly out of a fear of loss and rejection stemming from the unimaginable trauma of the scourging of Quel’Thalas.
As a warlock, she naturally has an ego in a subdued, subtle sense that’s a twofold burden. She believes herself capable of wrangling the worst of powers to make war on the worst of enemies and is convinced that she has to do it in order to make a difference; detrimentally self sacrificing in a desperate gamble. Certainly, this is intensified since her exile given how the new ren’dorei must prove their worth and loyalty to survive.
Related to this, she personally distrusts the Arcane as it failed her in protecting Quel’Thalas from the Scourge and she is highly reluctant to depend on it through the skills of others. Mages as such aren’t going far enough to do what’s necessary and she ironically considers them the ones struck with short sighted hubris when they’d say the same of warlocks. Beyond generic distrust, the failure of the Arcane being a personal one, some part of her hurls itself at further warlock studies to make up for the guilt, wanting to somehow accomplish something good to balance the scales.
As has been hinted and sometimes stated in her poetry and speech, she’s constantly coping with the horrors of the twisted world in which she finds herself. While strong willed enough to command demonic entities, she is vulnerable to her own mind with minor events and phrases easily reminding her of the horrors of the scourging. The greatest recurring frustration is the sound of scratching on wood with the way the scratches at her door turned from the desperation of the living to the mechanical, ceaseless scratching of the wailing dead, still wanting to get inside. She simply can’t stand it.
6 Likes
I tend not to give my characters specific weaknesses, but rather dial down the awesomeness that accompanies the player character.
I usually let my characters know all the spells and abilities their class would know, but to a lesser degree than the general overpoweredness that our player characters exhibit.
When meeting player characters who can ‘in character’ “one-shot” anything their character can one-shot, I try to hold on to the “RP fact” that none of my characters are strong enough to one-shot the Lich King, or an Old God.
1 Like
I’m gonna reply to this so I don’t forget that I still need to reply in depth to this.
I like the topic.
1 Like
Im naive young female, who is easy to manipulate and which cant even remember people names.
Im not stupid! Well at least i think so, but thats not because im blond, stop judging me.
It does not affect my social life even a bit, i just avoid goblins for a reason and humans because im too nervous around them, heh.
Okay, so, I return.
Character flaws, the way I see it, are far more important than the positive traits, because they’re harder to portray.
Most people would want to play their characters when they’re at their highest, when they’re confident, and doing what they’re skilled at.
And obviously, unless you play someone incompetent, and that’s your cup of tea, those moments will probably come by themselves.
But the moments when your character is feeling down, depressed, or they fail at something and have to deal with the consequences, are the moments that shape them far more than the positive experiences.
Characters learning from their mistakes and failiures is, in my book, imperative for good development. If you don’t have any flaws for your character, they’ll rarely develop throughout RP.
To answer the question, Lyth, my main RP character can be a complete jerk if he decides he doesn’t like someone at first glance. He’s not just outspoken, he’s also loudmouthed and his behaviour is erratic at best, straight up crazy at worst. His actions very largely depend on just his mood.
There’s a minor inside joke in the guild he’s a part of about him basically going yolo and triggering all the traps because he’s impatient and just goes in.
Him acting instinctively instead of rationally got the group into a fair bit of trouble several times, and he doesn’t really learn and continues brute forcing everything he possibly can.
I could reveal a big spoiler about why he’s doing that, but I won’t. Enough to say he gives very few craps about most situations he’s in.
It’s hard to explain how I portray it, but it basically gives me space to ICly meme a little - within reason, of course - because it’s rare for people to go “What? Lyth wouldn’t do that.” because he’s just so random all the time.
I made him to be good for walkups and easy to build up friendships for. He’s likeable for his reactional and often self deprecating humour. He doesn’t shy away from putting his own hide at risk for a good laugh, or to try something bold and I’m aiming for it to give him a charm that makes just being around him regardless of situation, enjoyable.
So, to end that little rant and sum it up, I’m aiming to give flaws that are interesting and entertaining to interact with, and that can make him the RP generator instead of the RP consumer.
Now, moving on, I’ve three more characters to elaborate flaws on. 
Xanah/Feylendris:
Oh, boy, but is this gal just full of them.
First and foremost, her stalvart machiavellianism. She’s cold, manipulative, calculating and completely lacking of empathy on the inside. And she’s kind, warm, caring and loyal on the outside.
Now, from the lines above, one may have already guessed that she’s a bit of a bish. Which is true. There’s obviously redeeming traits to her, but we’re not here to talk about those. She also has an intense fear of death, that’s only countered by her loyalty to a said someone. And she’s very much blindly loyal to said person. If he decided to try giving Azeroth over to the Void Lords, she’d be all game without question.
Sometimes, I do feel like I’ve gone overboard with her, but after a while portraying her cold and calculating personality goes far smoother than when I started playing her.
She basically has three categories for people she interacts with.
People she tries to lick the boots of, who she thinks are extremely beneficial to be on the good side of, people she doesn’t care about and very rarely even acknowledges or addresses, and people she doesn’t particularly wish to please, but still uses them for her own ends.
If you manage to find which category she picks for which character she interacts with, you can easily change and customize her speech pattern and behaviour accordingly.
So, people she loves, people she doesn’t care about and people she tolerates. And then a few individual differences depending on how she thinks they would like for her to act.
This character is a bit of a special snowflake, but people seem to enjoy interacting with her. I think she’s fun because she brings something unorthodox to the table in a still believable way.
Khalyndriel:
Okay, after my two mini rants, Khaly’s is going to be an easy one. She’s immature. She acts childish, she doesn’t like being told what to do, or having the feeling of being sheltered/protected, she gets moody when she’s proven wrong and she’s stubborn a lot of the time.
I have no idea how to explain portraying that. It’s just an integral part of her character. She’s definitely not completely sane, considering how old she is, but her goofiness can be lovable and when she’s really sad, it can get heartbreaking.
She’s a simple character, after simple things.
So, I might finish later with Thayne in an edit, but my overall point, is that I’m trying to make my characters’ flaws interesting to interact with.
It may have looked like I’m gushing over them, if so, I apologize, but basically, the intent is that their flaws can be starting points for RP that can be used either by me, or by other people, either knowingly or unknowingly.
1 Like
My rogue:
lack of ability to forgive. He holds grudges forever, if you dont pay for your wrongs on him he will make sure you do one way or another.
Drinks way too much.
Obsessive about people who he does care about, this has shown up in him snapping at others, getting blatantly jealous and being a complete jerk to people who get in the way of that. The guy does care, a lot , but his worgen side makes him possessive “my pack back off” to outsiders sometimes
It somewhat depends on definition and circumstance. Talraea’s belief that the ends ultimately justify the means has lead her to do awful things to awful people, and while she’s never yet done awful things to good people, she’s also never had any real reason to. (“Because Garrosh said so” was not a good reason, even when she was in the Horde.) If the time comes, that ruthlessness can be terrifying.
As for a flaw more likely to undermine her, Talraea tends to believe that anything can be mastered. Dark, spooky magic is dangerous, certainly, and she’s nothing if not cautious, but she’s cautious and determined. She believes the Void can be mastered, and, well, we’ll see how that goes for her. So far she’s been exiled, transformed and stuck with a magical case of schizophrenia, but the day’s not over yet, so to speak.
Laurenn does have a plenty of flaws. One of them is the inexperience in anything that’s not her field of work (the magical studies of both void and the arcane). That may include anything related to engineering, non-magical means of combat, geography (she used to think Uldum is a part of Pandaria!) and any sorts of military strategies. She will hold her ground in a fight against one or even many enemies attempting to attack her due to the magical capabilities, but she would quickly get overwhelmed on a larger-scale battlefield and wouldn’t know what to do.
Although, probably her biggest weakness would be… lack of trust in others, especially those affiliated with the Alliance. The trust issues and paranoia are caused partly by the void whispers inside her head and partly by previous bad experiences related to betrayal and such. This often causes her difficulties with opening herself on others, team-working or putting any sort of trust in some one unless she already knows them well. When she’s in a place filled with people she distrusts (most Alliance land qualifies), she feels the need to remain focused and observant at all times just in case they attempt to attack her.
In addition, she’s arrogant and over-confident in her skills like most elves are.
Can’t spoil everything, but two of Uruk’s biggest flaws are that he’s extremely arrogant and power-hungry.
Salarya, for a long time as a character has been a sad sociopath who steps on other people to feel better about herself. This, fused with her arrogance and insecurities make her a generally terrible person
This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.