What a lot of Mary Sues don't realize is that the flaws of a character tend to be more defining than their strengths, because the flaws will define which situations end up being tense and dramatic as well as giving them a hurdle to overcome. Let's consider for the moment a skilled warrior facing off against a mounted opponent. The warrior is at a slight disadvantage, but since he's a PC, he has that PC edge, so after a long fight with a few close calls he prevails. Now consider that same warrior, except he has a crippling fear of horses (or chocobos) because he was thrown from one as a child and broke his leg. Now, in addition to having to face the challenge of the mounted combatant, he has to find a way to conquer his own fear or flee the fight. Depending on how he overcomes the situation, there's potential for real character growth.
The balancing act comes in picking the right flaws. As an example, I made a character once in an MMO with amnesia. Trying to meet new people to RP with generally went something like this:
"Hello, I'm Flavius McRoleplayer. Who are you?"
".... I'm not sure."
"..... Okay. What do you do?"
"I seem to be pretty good with a sword, so I guess I'm a warrior."
.....
.....
That character didn't last long in my roleplay efforts. Googling "character flaws" will lead to quite a few resources with lists of examples as well as a little bit of advice on what makes generally good or bad flaws. It's best to pick one or two, as more than that can become debilitating or unrealistic.
Another good idea is to pick out a quirk. This isn't a flaw, per se, just a peculiar characteristic of your character that can make them more memorable. There's a ton of websites with suggestions for these as well if you need inspiration. One or two will make your character feel a little more human, because we all have some little things we do that are unique to our personality. For example, in real life I always need to have something in my hand. If my hands aren't occupied, I'll reach for something nearby to roll around or manipulate without even realizing I'm doing it (just realized I'm doing it right now with my glasses while I reread what I've typed). Much like flaws, any more than one or two quirks and your character risks becoming a caricature.
The balancing act comes in picking the right flaws. As an example, I made a character once in an MMO with amnesia. Trying to meet new people to RP with generally went something like this:
"Hello, I'm Flavius McRoleplayer. Who are you?"
".... I'm not sure."
"..... Okay. What do you do?"
"I seem to be pretty good with a sword, so I guess I'm a warrior."
.....
.....
That character didn't last long in my roleplay efforts. Googling "character flaws" will lead to quite a few resources with lists of examples as well as a little bit of advice on what makes generally good or bad flaws. It's best to pick one or two, as more than that can become debilitating or unrealistic.
Another good idea is to pick out a quirk. This isn't a flaw, per se, just a peculiar characteristic of your character that can make them more memorable. There's a ton of websites with suggestions for these as well if you need inspiration. One or two will make your character feel a little more human, because we all have some little things we do that are unique to our personality. For example, in real life I always need to have something in my hand. If my hands aren't occupied, I'll reach for something nearby to roll around or manipulate without even realizing I'm doing it (just realized I'm doing it right now with my glasses while I reread what I've typed). Much like flaws, any more than one or two quirks and your character risks becoming a caricature.
I'm a tinker! Tinkerer? Hrm.... I'm an artificer! - Myxie Tryxle | Impressions and Memories
