Off-topic - choosing a 'flaw' for your character

[Stofsk]

I wrote this list up ages ago, and I thought I'd share. It's not really tied to any system, as it doesn't give a stat bonus or penalty, but they're there to give a character more nuance rather than just a collection of stats and skills etc. The idea is to give a quick and easy personality trait and ideas for role-playing that can be expanded at the player's discretion however they see fit.

List of flaws for characters
Addicted/Recovering – you are either a current or recovering addict of some sort of substance or activity. If addicted, you fear it might affect your abilities. If recovering, you are always on guard against temptation. Both can and often do affect your interpersonal relationships.

Arrogant – you have a superiority complex, and are quite convinced of your own greatness while scornful of others.

Avaricious – you covet wealth or items and appear quite miserly to your peers. You have a mercenary outlook on life.

Bashful – you are shy, passive, meek, mild-mannered, or lack self-confidence. You are self-effacing and modest of your accomplishments. You are sometimes more concerned with other people's needs than your own.

Craven – you are passive aggressive socially and 'overly cautious' in violent encounters, or you 'freeze' in such situations. Some consider you a coward. (I might split this in two, I dunno)

Crippled – you have sustained an injury and do not have the funds or means to employ corrective surgery, or such surgery is impractical, or it has been tried with little success. Or such surgery was successful, and you are no longer physically disadvantaged, but the scars (mental as well as physical) still remain.

Cynical – you question the motives of others, remaining sceptical of those who perform altruistic acts – such people, in your eyes, always have an ulterior motive.

Dullard – research and study aren't your forte. You're a 'doer' not a 'thinker', and you feel contempt for the latter. (I don't like the term 'dullard' though)

Enemy – you have had a nemesis appointed against you. This enemy seeks and plots your ruin. There might be a personal connection or a totally random sleight made against the wrong person, or some other motive.

Fatalist – you are possessed of a downright pessimistic point of view. Others think of you as depressing.

Hatred – you have an unabiding hatred for a particular individual, group or organisation. This hatred can be rational or not, and can be based on events that occurred to you or to people you care for in your past.

Honourable – you possess a strong and inflexible code of honour that governs your choices and actions. This code might make others admire you, but it can make others view you as a 'boy scout' and view you with suspicion. Do things right or don't do them at all.

Inferiority Complex – you are marked with crippling self-doubt despite your achievements to date. You are never good enough to reach the standards you have set for yourself, and you are hard on yourself whenever you fail.

Judgemental – you are quick to judge others for their perceived faults, even if you hear only one side of the story. You are highly defensive when judged by others.

Lothario – you are a cad. You seduce women and then leave them, demonstrating a total disregard for their feelings, or you are a woman who does the same to men.

Obsessive – you are obsessed with something in particular, and go to extreme lengths towards achieving an end. Others might look on you and be disturbed by your actions, but you are oblivious to their concerns. Only your goal matters.

Prideful – you don't easily back down when challenged nor do you take insults lightly. You are stubborn in debate, and sometimes belligerent.

Reckless – you leap before you look; you go where angels fear to tread. You eschew patient planning in favour of quick, bold action, without necessarily thinking of the costs it could entail.

Rival – a fellow peer has a rivalry against you and he will seldom pass on any opportunity he has in humiliating you or causing you to fail at a task, especially if it means advancing his own career or goals.

Ruthless – you will get the job done – no matter the cost. If it's between you and your goal, you will go through it quicker than a chainsaw through matchsticks. All's fair so long as you come out on top.

Shameful Secret – you have done something in your past that haunts you to this day, and you fear the possibility that someone might uncover your secret. You will go to great lengths to keep this secret hidden, or you will act to atone for your misdeeds – out of shame.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Critique?

[frigidmagi]

I never liked how Honorable was a flaw but there's never a dishonorable flaw, does that mean being a Honorable person is some kind of personality defect but being dishonorable isn't? Let me try and offset that with a few flaws in my list, see if you can spot them.

Anyways here's a couple:

Bloodthisty: The only good enemy is a dead enemy. You are incapable of letting an enemy live if they are in your power or pulling your punches in a fight against a foe.

Allegery: You are Alegeric to a substance, depending on the severity it can ether make you sick, incapacitate you or even kill you.

Chronic Liar: You're simply unable to tell the unvarnished truth, and have to "improve" any story you tell.

Flamboyant The idea of blending in? You've never heard of it. You have to stand out and be the center of attention. Your outfit has to be the most colorful and daring, your speech has to be loud and impossible to ignore, you want to be the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral.

Backstabber You hate confronting people, but delight in kicking them when they're down. The best target is someone's back and a fair fight's for suckers. You'll tell folks exactly what they want to hear and be good as gold... As long as they're looking at you. When they're not, you go for the kill.

[Stofsk]

I never liked how Honorable was a flaw but there's never a dishonorable flaw, does that mean being a Honorable person is some kind of personality defect but being dishonorable isn't?

Good point. The reason honourable is put in as a 'flaw' is the inflexible part of it, which can lead some to be antagonistic towards someone with a code of honour. So it's not a personal 'flaw' as such, but rather it colours people's perceptions - most will find it positive, some will find it annoying, others will find it offensive (but they're not going to be particularly nice people though).

The other idea though is sometimes the character has to make a decision they find distasteful but feel forced to make. This can be extended to people who were 'just following orders'.

But a separate category for dishonourable can be made, or merged with Craven. I dunno.

Another one I thought of is 'Maverick' - someone who doesn't care for the rules and is borderline insubordinate.

[B4UTRUST]

I'd add insane to the list but that's somewhat of a broad and general term that has tons of subcategories and hues that just adding one broad word for it wouldn't be good.

But you could add a few of these:

Phobia - deep-seeded psychological fear of something. Claustrophobia, agoraphobia, acrophobia, etc.

OCD - You're obsessive compulsive. You have to do something and if you don't, or someone prevents you from doing it, it can have negative impacts on you. Whether it's counting the cracks in the pavement, opening and shutting a door 3 times before you go through it or washing your hands over and over.

Emotionally Disabled - This can range from being detached and remote to being complete divorced from all emotion what so ever.

Schizophrenic - Things you experience in your day to day life aren't always really there. You hear things, sometimes see things and experience things that aren't always really there. This might be a bit disturbing when you realize that the girl you've been hitting on at the bar doesn't really exist and the cell phone that keeps ringing is turned off...

Of course there are loads of other mental disorders you could play with and I will openly admit that using insanities for your characters isn't always the best move in a game as it can quickly go from interesting quirks or experiences to outright stupidity. Emotionally disabled could go to the extent where you've got someone playing a character who could go off, kill a Wal-mart full of people and not feel even the slightest twinge of humanity. But then you've got the Hannibal Lector type characters that utilize that flaw and make it interesting. It's a fine line...

[Simon_Jester]

Good point. The reason honourable is put in as a 'flaw' is the inflexible part of it, which can lead some to be antagonistic towards someone with a code of honour. So it's not a personal 'flaw' as such, but rather it colours people's perceptions - most will find it positive, some will find it annoying, others will find it offensive (but they're not going to be particularly nice people though).

The other idea though is sometimes the character has to make a decision they find distasteful but feel forced to make. This can be extended to people who were 'just following orders'.

It's a flaw in many contexts because it forces the character to act in ways they would normally avoid. The point of a flaw/benefit system is to make sure characters stay balanced by forcing them to make trade-offs. An "honorable" flaw will give them a mechanical advantage (points or whatever) in exchange for roleplaying weakness (in-game, they will be forced to accept limits).

It doesn't mean "Raah honorable people are objectively inferior!" It means that their adherence to an honor code can be used as a weapon against them, whereas a lack of honor code cannot (at least, not directly).

[Cynical Cat]

Games with social merits and flaws place a premium on being perceived as honourable and having a dishonourable reputation as a flaw. No one in the Game of Thrones thinks the Frays have any honour at all after the Red Wedding and that shows.

As for being honourable, games with morality code systems that have actual effects (Vampire being the example that leaps to mind) being honourable (under whatever code you follow) has very important implications and costs.