Characters: why do the always have to be dark, tragic, and/or ultra-powerful?

[alexterri]

[ArcticGalaxy]

[Hakumi]

I actually agree.
I guess the set mind is like, 'The More Powerful You Are, The More You'll Be Taken Seriously' sort of thing. Although there would be times that if the character has such a, as you worded, cliche history, then someone might start taking interest rather than the other way around. You can say, it's basically the norm.

One of my characters,  N y, is a bloodling who is insane beyond anything, yet... most would see them as a neutral character, not good and not evil but right in between.

But yes, although this could be a bit bothersome, it can also be a bit interesting to say the least, seeing how it all becomes common and how similar these 'cliches' can actually go. Maybe sometimes creators just have the creation block and they needed a base, a foundation for character development and that could be the easy way out for them so they won't have to be frustrated with it. Again, just my opinion, Lol..

[Kalaban]

My character suffers from a land where homosexuality is forbidden unless it is only for sexual acts. He is repressed, but that is part of the plot. He reacts in a way any homosexual wolf would to him.

Adding on that his upbringing was that of 'I am king wolf, I must make peasant wolf bow down to king wolf' he has possession and controlling problems. These, as well, are part of the plot.

My character has many weaknesses and strengths- hopefully well balanced out and realistic.

He hides his sexuality via that he emotionally and physically is attached to the same gender by flirting with the opposite gender.

He literally created the homosexual ban, might I add!



In a sense, he is a control freak that could be seemingly be a dark, bad, emo-wulf guy. But he's simply a normal wolf that has reacted to his surroundings like anyone else would in his position. <3




I believe people like myself love characters with problems. Because that spices up our characters, giving them something to overcome and balance out. If they were given the chance to be role-played out a long time, they would be normal, happy wolves like you said.

I guess people like to be realistic. (shrugs)

[alexterri]

My character suffers from a land where homosexuality is forbidden unless it is only for sexual acts. He is repressed, but that is part of the plot. He reacts in a way any homosexual wolf would to him.

Adding on that his upbringing was that of 'I am king wolf, I must make peasant wolf bow down to king wolf' he has possession and controlling problems. These, as well, are part of the plot.

My character has many weaknesses and strengths- hopefully well balanced out and realistic.

He hides his sexuality via that he emotionally and physically is attached to the same gender by flirting with the opposite gender.

He literally created the homosexual ban, might I add!



In a sense, he is a control freak that could be seemingly be a dark, bad, emo-wulf guy. But he's simply a normal wolf that has reacted to his surroundings like anyone else would in his position. <3




I believe people like myself love characters with problems. Because that spices up our characters, giving them something to overcome and balance out. If they were given the chance to be role-played out a long time, they would be normal, happy wolves like you said.

I guess people like to be realistic. (shrugs)

Okay but  a character doesn't need to be dark and edgy in order to be realistic or interesting. I do agree that dark pasts and the such spice characters up a bit, but they dont ALL have to be that way, is what Im saying. Variety is awesome c:

[Siarczek]

I'm personally a big fan of "evil" characters, but super cliche, edgy antagonists that lack any real complexity to their character are the worst. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that a lot of FH users are younger individuals, therefor beginner writers who don't know how to properly develop a well-written, believable character. I've been there myself back in the day, haha

[Kynvuu]

See, this topic has me in a mumble jumble of feeling because it honestly depends for me. Its when a role-player can really pull off a dark or tragic character that I find it acceptable. The melodramatic, dark and tragic character, while indeed cliche and attention-seeking, can have both its ups and downs. Now, I'm not saying, "Oh, these types of characters are so overrated and annoying, nobody should play them", I'm saying something more along the lines of, "If you're going to play this type of character, make sure you can do it the right way." I'm very open-minded, since RP is an art that really doesn't have a per say, right way, but in this case, if you want to make sure you're not being that overly cliche person that people drone on about, then you have to play this type of character in the right way. Invest time into the character, just don't spit out a tragic backstory or an evil personality. Lay out the backstory in a chain of cause and effect, or perhaps give this said character some motivation or issues that would cause them to act in such a dark and evil way. Think of it logically of how some "evil" figure in today's time might have gotten that way.

Now, in addition to thinking out the character, you have to know how a character in said circumstances with said issues/motivations/goals would act. You can just say they'd go around, killing everyone, being gloomy, edgy, etc., because in reality, nobody actually does those things on a whim. To spice it up, have your character have an internal conflict, with more than one reason to do/not to do this evil deed. Also, character development plays a HUGE role in creating a successful evil character, as there is no such thing as a set personality since birth. Personality and ideology is something that is developed through life, which is likewise developed through RP.

I could probably drone on more about this subject, but I don't wanna drown you all out with an essay. xD I've been there and done that, as one of my most well RPed and most well rounded character is a psychopath, comparable to maybe, a character like Harley Quinn in order to give you more of an idea. But yeah, long story short, there's really nothing wrong with these types of characters as long as you put some time and care into them -deep breath, finally finished- xD

[DarkLustyHumor]

I feel like they do this because it's interesting to them. A lot of the time if you watch shows, the characters that have the most interest in them have some type of dark and tragic past. It's easier to build off of tragic events in the past or of characters with dark personalities over characters that are more "normal". I feel like it adds a bit of thrill to it when you add something dark to the rp, it also helps with plot twists and a way to get out aggression received from the real world. Sort of like using a stress ball.

[alexterri]

See, this topic has me in a mumble jumble of feeling because it honestly depends for me. Its when a role-player can really pull off a dark or tragic character that I find it acceptable. The melodramatic, dark and tragic character, while indeed cliche and attention-seeking, can have both its ups and downs. Now, I'm not saying, "Oh, these types of characters are so overrated and annoying, nobody should play them", I'm saying something more along the lines of, "If you're going to play this type of character, make sure you can do it the right way." I'm very open-minded, since RP is an art that really doesn't have a per say, right way, but in this case, if you want to make sure you're not being that overly cliche person that people drone on about, then you have to play this type of character in the right way. Invest time into the character, just don't spit out a tragic backstory or an evil personality. Lay out the backstory in a chain of cause and effect, or perhaps give this said character some motivation or issues that would cause them to act in such a dark and evil way. Think of it logically of how some "evil" figure in today's time might have gotten that way.

Now, in addition to thinking out the character, you have to know how a character in said circumstances with said issues/motivations/goals would act. You can just say they'd go around, killing everyone, being gloomy, edgy, etc., because in reality, nobody actually does those things on a whim. To spice it up, have your character have an internal conflict, with more than one reason to do/not to do this evil deed. Also, character development plays a HUGE role in creating a successful evil character, as there is no such thing as a set personality since birth. Personality and ideology is something that is developed through life, which is likewise developed through RP.

I could probably drone on more about this subject, but I don't wanna drown you all out with an essay. xD I've been there and done that, as one of my most well RPed and most well rounded character is a psychopath, comparable to maybe, a character like Harley Quinn in order to give you more of an idea. But yeah, long story short, there's really nothing wrong with these types of characters as long as you put some time and care into them -deep breath, finally finished- xD

I will say that I do agree with what you said: that dark characters that are evil and/or have a tragic past can be great if written well. I have several characters who fall under one or both of these catagories. What I'm saying is that I think people should also try and put effort into making interesting characters that are nice, and that when they make evil characters with sad pasts, they should put more thought into them and make them interesting

[barghosts]

It's all a part of evolving as a RPer in my opinion. 'Cause I mean, we've all been there once (I know I was amongst the cringe ranks), but I've grown out of it and I actually think out of the box of my characters' past lives... sometimes I do the overused ones when I'm too tired to care. But if someone can pull off a dark past and have justice served, then please go right ahead! There's nothing I hate more than someone throwing a dumb overused depressing past and not adding any form of repent or character development to it. You can't have a gloomy life forever.