(02-25-2015, 02:30 PM)Graeham Ridgefield Wrote: The biggest problem with powerful characters is that many role-players seek to embrace all the perks and none of the drawbacks that accompany such a role. An experienced soldier would realistically spend most of their time fighting their foes and would be exhausted during what little free time they actually have to piece together something resembling a social life.
Yet because of how frequently instant teleportation is embraced that eliminates the 'distance' drawback for many. You'll see people fighting in La Noscea one minute and then teleporting to Gridania shortly afterwards.
So what other drawbacks does that leave us with? Well, anyone who has actually been to a real battlefield will agree that it isn't something you just get over. It affects one's ability to connect with their friends and family due to the trauma that arises as a result of injuring and killing others for a living.
...and yet that is rarely exploited as a drawback either since the majority of powerful characters happen to be role-played as social butterflies who somehow manage to juggle everything at once.
Putting aside the mental trauma there's also the risk of physical trauma which, again, so rarely ends up being embraced as a realistic drawback. Instant healing is often embraced, eliminating much of the danger and potential for scarring. Thankfully some role-players are brave enough to go down the route of allowing their character to bear some lasting damage but it seems to be fairly rare from what I've seen in-game.
In short, I have no issue with powerful characters...assuming they're not just created with the intention of wanking off their creator's ego. If you're going to put your character on a pedestal above everybody else's then the least that can be done is to exploit some realistic drawbacks that are actually drawbacks and not just vague cop outs like 'he is too nice'.
I bolded the part I feel really nails the fear lot of people might have towards 'overpowered' characters.
We've all run into that one roleplayer who was essentially godmoding his or her character as being super strong, super rich, super fast, super skilled at everything - but it's all okay because he or she has flaws too! Like being too nice! Or too trusting! Or too strong for their own good! It kind of leaves you with the sense that they're not roleplaying a character and crafting a decent narrative so much as playing out some wish fufillment fantasies of being popular, rich, skilled, or well-loved by all.
Everything has to have balance. Even if you're playing a super strong/skilled/rich/etc character, there should be some reasonable consequences/drawbacks to that power that make them feel more like people than tropes. A lady who is a highly skilled and power soldier from participating in so many wars and battles might be struggling with some serious PTSD. A man who's an incredibly powerful healer capable of mending almost any wound might be completely socially inept from doing almost nothing else but studying conjury and communing with the elementals. There has to be a give and take, because the flaws and conflict they generate is not just fun for you, but for all the folks you interact with.
