Huh?

[RPGnet Columns]

Post originally by RSC at 2005-05-22 03:46:52
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"The idea that one character is naturally talented, gifted, or even broken in some way for no other reason that the player wants them to be, seems terribly to ham-handed to me."

People getting to play the character they want seems ham-handed to you? I really do not understand the crazy moon logic in this article.

[RPGnet Columns]

Post originally by bob the fighter at 2005-05-22 11:24:18
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"crazy moon logic" -- is that a Tick TV show reference?
that aside, i think the author could have phrased this idea better. zhe goes on to explain the larger concept: that flawless, stainless-steel characters who are masters of their trade will simply ... succeed.

if your character is totally top-notch and you're playing a game, it's only a matter of time before you win. that can be boring, unless you as a player are the real reason your character wins. if anybody with your character could totally kick butt, then that character doesn't really ask anything of you. lame!

if you have a totally bad-ass character and you're creating a story (rather than a game), then flaws help to make the character mean something to the story going on. take Ranma 1/2, the anime/manga series by Rumiko Takahasi: many of the main characters are excellent martial artists, but they are all complicated by at least two flaws, one relating to personality, and one relating to physical stuff.

Ranma Saotome, the title character, has both of these flaw-types in abundance: he turns into a girl when splashed with cold water (hot water turns him back), and he's really stubborn and plays the tough-guy attitude whenever possible. his magical curse of sex-swapping complicates his abilities as a fighter, given that a rainstorm will suddenly change his ability to defend himself (his female form provokes very different reactions in other people than his male form does). but his pig-headedness gives Ranma a flaw that's more than a "fun factor"; it means that when he has a goal to accomplish, his attitude problem can stand in the way of winning.

as fans of the manga series in particular can attest, Ranma's stubbornness and his little-kid-like aversion to his fiancee are a huge part of what makes the series interesting. the sex-swapping is good for laughs (and lots of 'em; cheers to Takahashi), but it's really Ranma's personality traits that keep the series fresh and complicated.

i can provide a different example if this one is obscure or unknown or something (or if it's just plain unhelpful!)

[RPGnet Columns]

Post originally by RSC at 2005-05-23 07:03:04
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Yea, yea, "personality = good".

I fail to see how this is either an interseting or profound notion. Nor do I see what it has to do with advantages or disadvantages being bad.