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I'm surprised I hadn't though of this yet, in a more serious manner.
I consider myself quite good, no credit there, but others consider me to be quite good as well. so there's credit right there. I've been doing this for seven years, and it's taken maybe three out of those years to not suck horribly. Of course, last year was sort of hiatus, except I was doing most of it in my head anyways. Book plotting an everything. :3

Rather than just spew bullshit about how good I am, or of my various characters and stuff, I'm going to set up this thread to help other people. I'm not very good at guide making, so I've choosing instead to answer any question someone might have, that MUST be about roleplaying.

I'd rather not just, rate characters and stuff like that; I'm not too good at critiquing. I can do it though, if you ask how to make a nice character/plot/intro stuff like that. I won't critique anyone from this forum though, I'll most likely just be pulling things from parts of the internet to show what to do and what not to do.
Basically, just ask me something you don't know about roleplaying, and I'll answer it as best as I can.

If you want, I can properly describe such things like; Godmoding, Gary/Mary Sues, and in general, things that will piss off most roleplayers.

Protip: Angsty pasts leading to angsty characters are way too cliche now. Characters who have had absolutely perfect pasts were always just a big NO. Apparently, these two type of characters are now considered Gary/Mary sues. :/ Find the equilibrium.

How do you have a character that wasn't adopted/abandoned/had parents killed, and also not have to worry about dealing with the character's parents in some way down the line?

How do you deal with an RP consisting mostly of over powered characters with angsty pasts?

What are some good character flaws that won't bug the other RPers?

I would like to have these answers reviewed by Haru as it is not my thread, and these probably aren't the best.

If your character is an adventurer, maybe they come from a line of them? Not dealing with parents at all may make your character seem like an uncaring son/daughter. Maybe they correspond through letters?

In RPs where my human character has to deal with demi gods, demons, vampires, animal people, giants, and the like, I like to make my character have information they need, or some other way to make him indispensable to a team. That way you can make fun of their angsty past and talk about how much you love your living parents you write letters to, and they can't lay a hand on you because they need you, no matter how much they miss their dead parents and hate you.

I think most importantly don't make your flaw a strength. A character that's only flaw is that they are a rageaholic, but they become super overpowered and demon possesses them when they are mad, is the kind of character that really bugs me. Give them the flaws a normal person would have, nobody is perfect. And in a world full of people imagined to be perfect that might be enough.

I agree mostly with what Owwin says. Although, there are some things I want to say to it as well.

For the first question, a problem that comes up is that a person will have the death of parents be the excuse for the behavior or flaws a person might have. These usually come in spades, or are done in such a bad way that they com off annoying.
Of course, to answer the second part of Dragn's question, have the character worry about the parents if they are alive. Worry is a natural human emotion, so it'll make your own character much more realistic.

So, I mostly avoid parents, or have them come from a different country. Worry abounds of course, as well does homesickness.

Owwin, that approach would be fighting fire with fire, and honestly, I find that okay. You don't have a lot of options when roleplaying with these characters since they are made up by people who are new to roleplaying. They don't know better, and if they do, they don't know how to change it.
A second option is to leave. There's not much you can do, I mean, you can try to tell the person off, but they either won't listen, or are unable to change quickly. It's more of a realization, because roleplaying is your literary skills at use. It changes as you change, I mean, you have to crawl before you walk, before you can run.

I usually choose to leave a forum, or try to ignore the person who doesn't exactly know. OF course, there are trolls who absolutely love to do these kinds of things.
Like I said, you can't do much but leave or temporarily join their ranks.

Flaws, this is a touchy subject. Either you don't have enough, or you have too many. Then there are different kinds of flaws you can have.
I think anger can't really be used as a flaw since it's a regular human emotion.
An example of a flaw is temptation towards power, or corruption, or inability to accept other people. Flaws aren't emotions, they're what make up a personality.
Another example could come from a typical superhero, except that they pretty much hate small things and torture them; gerbils, hamsters, mice.

Yes, don't make your flaw a strength, that's completely wrong. A strength is something you're good at, or something like enhanced strength when raging. Flaw is a personality trait, of course, it's all perception.

I use flaws in a way that I am not quite sure is right. My characters either enjoy the ability to cause pain to others, or they're state of mind isn't 'normal', or they have no ability to comprehend commitment.

I think I answered those properly.
Good questions, really.
Thank you Owwin, for providing some opinions. :3 I'll actually like for some people to include theirs. More opinions will contribute to a more fleshed-out, informative guide.

@LPS: Damsels in distress are usually okay. xD I mean, if nothing wrong is going on, chances are the beginning of the roleplay will be boring. Therefore lacking in creativity and activity.

True.

Of course, too many flaws and then you become angst-ridden. Not everyone's totally ******** up.

A balance is needed, and it's mor eperception really.

I'll try to pull up some proper characters flaws....

Phobias are considered a flaw. o.O Fear shouldn't be considered a flaw, it's an emotion.
Unless, fear that causes an unwanted reaction could be considered a flaw.

I hate to quote Wiki, but here:

Quote:

A character flaw is a limitation, imperfection, problem, phobia, or deficiency present in a character who may be otherwise very functional. The flaw can be a problem that directly affects the character's actions and abilities, such as a violent temper. Alternatively, it can be a simple foible or personality defect, which affects the character's motives and social interactions, but little else.

I suppose some emotions can be considered a flaw if they can cause a limitation or an imperfection in a character. Massive hatred of a certain ethnicity can be a flaw.

Quote:

... the action hero who is afraid of heights...

There are three types of flaws, now that I'm reading the article, and they are; minor, major, and tragic.

Minor: Examples of this could include a noticeable scar, a thick accent or a habit such as cracking their knuckles.

Major: Examples of this type of flaw could include blindness, amnesia or greed.

Tragic: Examples of this could include hubris, misplaced trust, excessive curiosity, pride.

Tragic flaws usually happen in a villain whose death happens at the beginning of a story.

I have an example of a Tragic Flaw. Adolf Hitler's flaw was that he wanted too much too soon. He was greedy, and a huge a*****e. Theses caused his death.


Yeah, so flaws can be used to distinguish between characters.

All right cool.

Adding more questions to the thread now!

How do you deal with a person that is a somewhat decent RPer (not great, but not so terrible that you want to kill off their character), but doesn't follow basic rules of grammar, such as spelling, or they make run on sentences? You've tried talking to them about it, and they steadfastedly refuse to change their style of writing in any way.

All right, but what if one of their friends, who does roleplay and spell well, defends their friends crappy grammar? Then, you're the one being singled out, but you're enjoying the RP you're in, so you don't want to leave. But the bad spelling is getting to be an issue for you.