ghostmoon ([info]ghostmoon) wrote in [info]bad_rpers_suck,
@ 2008-06-26 22:55:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Current mood: confused

...they be hating

I found a community that looks good. The players are literate, and there are some interesting threads. The premise is very cool and the Mods are active and on the ball. I am liking this, already starting to think about a character for it. Then…. *Boom*   NO Original Characters!   Well, damn.

 

Now at the risk of sounding butthurt….  What's the deal?

 

 I can see saying “no characters who are raging Sues,”  but not every single OC is a Sue.  Why do so many RP communities just shut you down if you want to run an OC?  Is it really that hard to read an app of an OC and say “Sorry this doesn’t fit our role play right now.” and reject it if it is a Sue?  You can almost always tell within a few lines of an app if this is going to suck toads through straws and reject it.  Don’t fear the OC, folks!

 

Edit as per suggestion : This com stated in their rules that they weren't taking any OC apps because they were all Sue's anyway and they didn't have time to wade through the Sue-age.  Sorry, I shouldn't post when haven't had coffee yet!  ;)

(Post a new comment)


[info]poetesslaureate
2008-06-26 08:01 pm UTC (link)
Or... it could be that the game is a fandom game that wants fandom characters taken instead. There's no real bad/good rper issue here, just different rules. If you want to play an OC, find a place that accepts that.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]daqenue
2008-06-26 09:57 pm UTC (link)
IAWTC

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]syven
2008-06-26 08:10 pm UTC (link)
Many fandoms have a plethora of characters who are virtually unknown and many RP's would gladly consider an application for one of those.

I would suggest seeing if any of those could be molded to suit the characteristics of your OC. In many cases, the RP is not considering OC's because they have a serious lack of Canon characters that they want to fill roles for. If you want to RP in that universe, it would be less stressful for you to consider how to merge your ideas into one of their characters.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]izzyryu
2008-06-27 08:53 pm UTC (link)
Except for a lot of people that play OCs, that's not the point. I don't play fandom characters because I'm not interested in playing someone else's creation. Full stop. Because no matter how similar J. Random Fandom Character is to what I want to play, he/she is still not mine.

No slam on people who play fandom characters, of course, but I'm just not comfortable with the idea.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]ghostmoon
2008-06-26 08:10 pm UTC (link)
I was actually asking the community at large here why the assumption in so many RPs, is that OCs are "Bad Role Players". I totally respect that some RPGs are “Fandom Only”. To each their own, right?


and that is a good suggestion Syven. Thanks.

Edited at 2008-06-26 08:12 pm UTC

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]syven
2008-06-26 08:13 pm UTC (link)
You are assuming that RP's are denying OC's because of a view of them being bad RPer's.

We are pointing out that there are other reasons that come into consideration before the idea of an OC being a bad RP'er comes into play.

As an active mod, I don't ever consider OC/Bad player - I consider the roles we have available already to be filled.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]poetesslaureate
2008-06-26 08:19 pm UTC (link)
That. Or even the game setting. I play at one where the background story involves the characters from these different canons and fandoms being brought to the game location. It also involves alternates, potentially 2 of each person brought there. (Or more in the case of some CLAMP since they cross over and you could have 2 versions from each series they appear in, technically.)

This becomes a lot more difficult to work with and around if everyone's creating their own OCs instead of fandom characters. People won't know each other's "worlds" and alternates would become extremely rare.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]poetesslaureate
2008-06-26 08:14 pm UTC (link)
A more intelligent question would be if people have that viewpoint. I've played plenty of places online that only accept OC's. It would be very difficult to have that attitude there, I'd hope you'll agree.

Another good start might be to question why you've gotten this impression.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]glacial_phoenix
2008-06-26 08:17 pm UTC (link)
Well, possibly the mods have had some bad experiences. We've all seen the incredibly eye-burning applications of DOOM, and some people might have taken it a bit worse than others.

And, of course, everyone has to start out somewhere, and I'm thinking that just about everyone has created a Sue at some point. It's just a matter of whether or not you grow out of it - and whether or not the mods know how to accept that. If your experience with RP generally consists of being in the same room as Free Violet-Eyed Beautifully Criminally Dangerous Princess Sparklypoo of Love, Sweetness and Gut-Wrenching Sueness... you'd probably jump to that assumption too.

And if you didn't know how to deal with it (couldn't recognise the signs), that might be even worse.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]dreadnot
2008-06-26 08:13 pm UTC (link)
Your question does sound like "why won't this cool RP take OCs?" That may not be your intent, but your context definitely adds to the impression.

Some games are all fandom. Their right. In the game I mod, we turn away a far larger percentage of OC apps than we do of CC apps, but we do accept them.

They can be a PITA. If some mods don't want to deal with them, that's their prerogative.

(Reply to this)


[info]monack
2008-06-26 08:17 pm UTC (link)
I know that in one game that I am active on, we had tried to have non-canons in it, but the game itself is -very- tightly plotted around the canon characters. The non-canon characters complained that there was nothing for them to do - and there really wasn't, because of how tightly woven around the plots the chosen canons were. So the game relaunched and is now canon only.

I would do what Syven suggested if you really want to play in the game - get in touch with one of the admins and see if there is a way you can make your non canon character become part of the canon of the game.

OC players are not necessarily bad role players - they just sometimes do not have a character that will fit in well with a game. There is a difference.

(Reply to this)


[info]channonyarrow
2008-06-26 08:30 pm UTC (link)
Any situation in rp (as in much of life) that is presented as black and white is a simplification of a larger problem. I'm not speaking specifically to your post, as you haven't given us much to work with other than that you want to play an OC and the game only accepts CCs. Without asking the mod for a clarification, there's no way to call it one way or the other. (That said, in the fandom I've modded in, there are plenty of CCs to go around, many of whom have little-to-no canon about them and you could easily slap your OC's personality into what is technically a CC, and I would be more than fine with that, as there's now the appropriate reference structure for your character and they'll get play.)

All that aside, IF the mods are saying "No OCs, they're all Sues," that's not true. IF the mods are saying "Only CCs aren't Sues," that's also not true. But I believe, after years of playing, modding, and reading this board, that there's a section of the rp world that believes that some things are always Sues and some things are always not - they're wrong, but that doesn't stop people from believing that it really is that black and white.

Without a clarification from you of the reason for no OCs, that's all I can say about it. If you find out that it's because they believe all OCs are Sues, my mocking laughter will ring to the heavens, but if you find out it's because they're playing a game with a lot of empty canon slots and they want those filled first, I don't know what's stopping you from turning your OC into a CC and apping the game.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]izzyryu
2008-06-27 09:13 pm UTC (link)
I don't know what's stopping you from turning your OC into a CC and apping the game.

Some people, like me, are just not comfortable playing canon characters. It feels like I'm hijacking someone else's story, and I find it much more rewarding to make my own.

It's not so much "no OCs" I have a problem with, it's the "why on earth would you want to play an OC?" attitude that gets under my skin.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]ghostmoon
2008-06-26 08:32 pm UTC (link)
OC players are not necessarily bad role players - they just sometimes do not have a character that will fit in well with a game. There is a difference.

Yes! That was what I was trying to say. I just wish I could have stated it so eloquently.

and, also, yes, the rules stated that the No OCs was because they didn't want to have to wade through the Sues. And that was what put my dander up, the assumption that OC=Sue.

Edited at 2008-06-26 08:38 pm UTC

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]glacial_phoenix
2008-06-26 09:08 pm UTC (link)
Maybe you should edit your post to say so? It might help.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]kyalesyin
2008-06-26 09:12 pm UTC (link)
Game I'm in doesn't accept OC's because there are only a limited number of known mutants, and they're... known.

Might be more reasons than you'd think for not allowing OC's.

(Reply to this)


[info]elessar
2008-06-26 09:29 pm UTC (link)
While not every OC = a sue, it is also likely that at this particular game, they have had so many sueish applications that they decided to ban OC's altogether to prevent having to reject numerous OC applications just to find the few and far between genuine non-sueish OC. Just a thought.

(Reply to this)


[info]illuminategrey
2008-06-26 09:44 pm UTC (link)
Assuming there isn't another reason for the mod staff of the game to deny OCs wholecloth, it isn't really as easy as just saying "this doesn't fit our game". Many players will not accept that they've apped a character that doesn't fit. They will argue. And argue. And argue. It doesn't matter if they've apped a 17-year-old sparkly-eyed flying catgirl ninja psychic who is a fully trained Companion and captain of her own ship and was born in the gutter as a result of Mal Reynolds/Badger MPREG. Their character is sheer genius, and anyone who doesn't accept it is Meany McMeanpants, out to shatter their creative spirit and destroy their fun.

Some mods are willing to put up with this because there are also those OC apps that are outstanding. But I'd imagine that much of the time, it's just a lot simpler to say "no OCs, period" than to argue with the belligerent appers. You can point to a rule rather than having to explain why their "masterpiece" is unacceptable when that nice, unassuming family man who just happens to do a really, really nasty job really, really well got in.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]the_goren_show
2008-06-26 10:22 pm UTC (link)
IAWTC

And I sprayed coffee on the screen at your description of a very evil Firefly OC. Poor poor monitor...

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]the_goren_show
2008-06-26 10:19 pm UTC (link)
As admin of a forum that started out canon only, moved to accepting OC and right now have a moratorium on OC applications, I can tell you of our experience. Some of the reason we put a stop on OC was indeed, wading through the SueThor apps of doom with attendant SueZilla tantrums when they were denied that wore out the Admins patience. We also figured out that OC applications took three times as much of the Admin's time to vet and see if/how to fit the players into the story and given we're a pretty busy bunch with... you know... Real Life, we had to wonder if it was worth it.

In the end, we shut off the OC tap only because we were dangerously over balanced with OC students and needed more canon adult characters to balance them out.

We do hope to reopen OC applications at some point on our forums because our story will work with both OC and canon characters and let's face it, without fresh blood writing, things can get stale.

Though the first person to try and convince me an anthro unicorn belongs on a 'realistic' X-Men board is going to get shot, mounted and hung in Professor Xavier's study. You watch and see if I dont....

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]evilwildlex
2008-06-26 11:22 pm UTC (link)
I've found one rule that works well is insisting on a balance between canon and OCs - ie. a person MUST play at least one canon character before they will be allowed to app an OC.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]glacial_phoenix
2008-06-27 01:24 am UTC (link)
...wait, wait, an anthro unicorn in an X-Men game? Did I read you right? O.O

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]the_goren_show
2008-06-27 02:41 am UTC (link)
Yes, you read that right. One of my co-admins BRPSed about it because it blew her mind too.

She also came with the requisite was kidnapped, locked in a closet, and beaten (but still kind and loving to all things) Sue back story which I could just tell was never going to be written in a manner that would fit in with our board. When the three Admins stopped slamming our heads on our desks, she was nicely told her concept would not suit the board and promptly threw a fit.

It was far more epic considering even our players were asking us "WTF?"

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]glacial_phoenix
2008-06-27 03:32 am UTC (link)
I'm thinking anyone except the apper of the anthro unicorn would have gone 'WTF'. When I read your initial sentence, I went '...anthro unicorn? Oh dear' - and then I saw the 'X-men board' and my mind just died.

Admittedly, certain fandoms are asking for Sues - and X-Men is, IMHO, one of them. Not that they can't be played well, or that they're bad, but Suethors love the OMG I HAVE SUPER SPESHUL POWAHS thing, and well, mutants... considering that a good few of them don't exactly have the prettiest, sweetest backstory, courtesy of said SUPER SPESHUL POWERS - it's probably a Sue-magnet.



(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]the_goren_show
2008-06-27 04:06 am UTC (link)
I totally agree that X-Men is definitely a Sue-magnet fandom and that Marvel is mostly to blame with their convoluted ret-cons and terribly soap opera-esque canon back stories and story lines. To that end, I don't mind traces of Sue in OC back stories because that's canon. That being said, there are some flavours of Sue even a great writer couldn't make palatable.

Our board is also decidedly AU in that we downplay any alien storylines where possible because none of us really liked the whole deus ex machina of everyone's a Skrull! (Here a skrull, there a skrull, everywhere a skrull-Skrull!) We tend to encourage players to focus a little more on the human side and cost to the character of being a mutant while we send them off to play with OMGZ YAYZ LETS BLOW SHIT UP WIF OUR SUPER SPESHUL POWERS!

None of which answers why the applicant thought our board was a good place for her sparkly super speshul anthro unicorn.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]charisma
2008-06-27 01:52 am UTC (link)
Bah, bad game.

Original characters > fandom characters.

It takes a lot more creativity to play your own creation than it does to just puppet someone else's work.

As long as it's not a Sue, why shouldn't it be welcome? I hate games that discriminate against OCs.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]gao
2008-06-27 03:27 am UTC (link)
Yeah. You know what else I hate? Those games where you're not allowed to play supernatural characters. Like it's really hard to play a normal person or something. Everyone knows it takes way more creativity to get inside the head of a vampire.

Every game should have the exact same concept and rules and also I'm smarter than a lot of you.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]charisma
2008-06-27 03:48 am UTC (link)
I'd say that was incredibly clever sarcasm, but I'd hate to lie.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]gao
2008-06-27 03:55 am UTC (link)
Ok, without the sarcasm: Games that don't allow OCs aren't "bad" and fandom RP isn't worse than OC RP. They're two different kinds of game and RP and not every game has to cater to every kind of play. You're arrogant and your opinion was stupid, which makes your arrogance even more obnoxious.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]charisma
2008-06-27 04:01 am UTC (link)
This com stated in their rules that they weren't taking any OC apps because they were all Sue's anyway and they didn't have time to wade through the Sue-age.

Sounds like a bad game to me, Sparky.

And I'm entitled to my opinion- which is that it takes a hell of a lot more effort and creativity to play your own original character than it does to play a fandom character. I've played fandom and original characters and found this to be true for myself as well as anyone else.

I've played in fandom games and run games in canon worlds - which always allowed OCs.

I also find that I'm bored with this argument now, so have fun with your resorting to ineffectual sarcasm and name calling. Hope that works out for you in lieu of constructive conversation.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]gao
2008-06-27 04:06 am UTC (link)
At least allow me to congratulate you on the supercreative, "I'm bored with this now!" exit.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]nikcool
2008-06-27 04:10 am UTC (link)
erm... I really don't get you, or why you posted this comment. Was it sarcasm? Were you bored, and needed to post something?

If so, then good for you.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]gao
2008-06-27 04:18 am UTC (link)
Yes. It was sarcasm. I disagreed with [info]charisma, so I posted a comment pretending to agree with her, and linking her opinion with my (fictitiously held) opinion, which (I thereby implied) was similar, yet clearly ridiculous, thus reflecting ridicule back onto [info]charisma's comment.

Then I succumbed to laziness and resorted to outright stating what I considered to be the subtext of [info]charisma's comment, which may not be properly considered sarcasm. It's not a carefully defined field.

It's really odd that you asked me this, since [info]charisma subsequently identified it as sarcasm, and I responded by restating the opinion veiled by the sarcasm in plaintext. I would have thought it would be pretty clear what was going on.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]nikcool
2008-06-27 04:20 am UTC (link)
I interpreted what she said differently than you did.

And I'm an odd person, so you never know what I'm going to ask!

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]gao
2008-06-27 04:24 am UTC (link)
There's not really anything to say to that, but I totally forgot to use this icon at any other point, so I'm taking my opportunity.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]nikcool
2008-06-27 04:40 am UTC (link)
Where is that from?

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]gao
2008-06-27 04:44 am UTC (link)
The West Wing, image and quote both.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]nikcool
2008-06-27 04:47 am UTC (link)
ooh, I remember that show.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]hauntermooneyes
2008-06-27 03:26 am UTC (link)
The belief that all OCs are Mary Sues stems from the idea that no one is mature enough to play a deep, well-rounded character. There is no one trait that makes or breaks a Sue: it's all down to the player. There are some traits that are really corny, like color-changy eyes, but they're not even necessarily Sueish on the right character. Characters that come from an entire world that can change their eye color, for example, wouldn't really be all that abnormal. Played right, they wouldn't even be Sues.

So--that being said--I don't understand why so many people adhere to this belief. I'm terrified of playing OCs because people react to them in such a way. I actually play an OC in a Harry Potter game--I know, I know, but she's an adult--and I'm proud of her, but I constantly worry about her characterization and how I play her. I don't think I'd ever take her to a new game, because I trust the people I play with now to warn me if she's being too Sueish without being cruel.

The mindset, in short, is very discouraging, but I'm not sure why it's so rampant. Maybe it's because so many mods see bad apples that those bad apples spoiled the bunch, but that's not quite fair.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]hauntermooneyes
2008-06-27 03:26 am UTC (link)
*a deep, well-rounded original character

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]glacial_phoenix
2008-06-27 03:38 am UTC (link)
It's not fair, but people get warier after each bad experience, especially if you're new. Say Person A is modding for the first time. It's a game from a popular fandom - say Harry Potter. Person A opens apps for OCs, and is instantly swamped in a deluge of Sues who are distantly related to major canon characters. After s/he rejects the Suepplications, the poor thing gets swamped by a vicious wangstfest from rejected Suethors.

I know if I happened to be Person A, I'd be ready to shut out OCs in the next game. Not necessarily because I think OCs = Sues, but because the shitstorm is so particularly wanktastic that I wouldn't want to deal with it, even for the few gems that might come through. Especially if I felt unable to deal with it.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]the_goren_show
2008-06-27 04:13 am UTC (link)
IAWTC

I have a few wonderful, well thought out OC in my game (X-Men, which as discussed above, is prime Sue breeding grounds). I love reading about them as much as I love uncovering the new places our canon players take the characters.

However, dealing with the wangst from disgruntled Sues (including stealing the Admin ID on the cBox and threatening to close the game) is enough to make any Admin ready to dive for the protective blanket of fear at the first sight of an OC application.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]hauntermooneyes
2008-06-27 04:26 am UTC (link)
Feeling unable to deal with it is a valid reason to me. But at the same time, the whole atmosphere for OCs is so thoroughly tainted by Sues and people that assume all OCs are Sues that I'd be surprised if any mature, advanced roleplayers even bothered to try an OC. And that's sad, because I think there are a lot of people qualified to play them and play them well.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]maxineofarc
2008-06-27 02:43 pm UTC (link)
In the case of a Harry Potter game I mod, we discourage OCs because we stick close to canon in our storyline. It's possible for an OC to integrate into the known canon characters and find a place in the plot, but it requires a lot more effort on their part for them to do so, and most of the ones we've had so far simply haven't been able to make it work and have ended up disappearing. In this universe there are many characters whose sympathies or actions are known, but who aren't given much more than a name by canon; it's not hard to take any character concept you like and make it fit one of them, giving yourself an automatic in on the plot and still letting you play basically whatever character you like.

We don't rule out OCs, but we do ask that prospective players give some thought to taking one of those "orphan" canon characters instead.

(Reply to this)


[info]pnkbanana
2008-06-28 05:01 am UTC (link)
It's just part of the rules. Get over it and find somewhere else to play.

I myself play both canon characters and OCs.

However, I like to keep canon characters in canon land (Or AU land), and OCs in OC land. I really try and avoid mixing the two together. Usually the results are better that way.

(Reply to this)


[info]psychicsaphie
2008-06-28 05:27 am UTC (link)
Well for one of my games I Co-mod at, it's a Marvel game, and it's hard enough for writers actually working for Marvel to create a solid characters that stick, that can get involved in the goings on in the world, instead of just falling into limbo or only showing every so often as a bit character.

I mean, just THINK of the sheer number of heroes that have appeared in Marvel U and compare it to the number that've been able to integrate and become "regulars" in the universe. Not many as compared to the greater whole. OCs tend to face that same difficulty--integrating and becoming a regular part of goings on, so we limit OCs that game to someone who already has a canon they've played for a while, so they know how to get a character involved already from getting their canon involved (which is easier).

Now me, I STARTED the game with an OC based on Danny Phantom, before the rule was in place, and it took me a good year to really integrate him in.

So I think some games don't allow OCs in because of the inevitable 'halp, how do I get them involved?' since sometimes they just...can't be, if the player can't find a good excuse for them to get involved.

Also, if someone's playing a fandom game, they want to, you know, play with the characters in that fandom. Like I played an X-Men Movieverse MUSH once and there were more OCs than canons. Way boring to me. If I want to play an OC game--even an OC game based on a canon universe, I'll find an OC game. (I had a Marvel game once that specifically focused on OCs, for instance, and that was fun. OCs were its intent, I knew that going in, I played an OC, and all was well). If I'm playing a fandom game, I want to play with fandom characters. I don't care about five different mutants that I've never heard of, I want to have a thread with Spider-Man.

Another reason to exclude OCs--modwise, when going through apps, I tend to find it easier to judge if someone can play a fandom character well and get their "voice" rather than whether an OC will be any good. A fandom character tends to be less of a gamble. Some mods, I imagine can judge OC apps and peg that the characters will be a lot of fun from just the app, but I don't. I think if people have played primarily fandom games, when modding, they're better at judging apps for fandom characters and are unsure what an OC app really needs to have to let you know the characters will jive well with the game. So they want to run a good game, right? Want to make sure the characters work well. So they stick with the type of game they know, and the kind of apps they're good at judging.

Then there's just...

Sometimes people want to play with canons. Sometimes they want to play with OCs. You wouldn't let a fandom character into an OC-only game, would you? Because in an OC-only game, people want to play just OCs.

I tend not to LIKE most OCs. I find them flat. That includes my own. One of the OCs I'm playing now is only partly my creation, as she came from my best friend's webcomic universe, and was created by her, and I only helped flesh her out--and my friend is brilliant, so I largely equate that to being why I enjoy that character, because my friend is amazing at character creation. Another was developed with my siblings and was largely their brainchild as much as mine. I create characters all the time and some are less vibrant, some are moreso.

There are a LOT of good original characters out there, but very few that pop, that feel like they'd be on TV or in a published book, or something like that, and just haven't gotten there yet. Everyone thinks there's is one of the characters, but they usually aren't. They're good, just...not...


(cont because I wrote too much but I'm too tired from work to cut it down and make it more concise, sorry if it's repetitive)

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]psychicsaphie
2008-06-28 05:27 am UTC (link)
They're not Spider-Man. They're not Super-man, they're not Davey Crockett or Mickey Mouse or Peter Pan or Godzilla or Sherlock Holmes or Odysseus. They do not have the stuff it takes to endure time, and even if they somehow got published they STILL wouldn't, they just aren't that memorable. A lot canons aren't that memorable either, and that's why unless they're particularly clever-but-unknown many canons don't interest me either.

So I do think YES, it's a matter of OCs-aren't-good. They're not necessarily bad, they can be realistic and well written and not Mary Sues, but many of them aren't exactly memorable or compelling, and that's why people don't want to play with them and would prefer to play with Spider-Man. Or Iron Man. Or Tarzan. They pop. That's the only way I can describe it.

You have Mary Sues on one end, some very good compelling OCs that really stand out as characters, some really flat, boring ones, and a WHOLE lot of ones that range from mediocre to almost-something-pretty-special.

At our one game we're picky about canon apps, mainly character "voice," and we allow OCs, but the person has to WOW us. They have to sell the characters, like we're writing some kickass book and they're trying to convince us their character would fit in the story AND would be a really compelling character. Considering, that character needs to be compelling as compared to, say, Iron Man, and the Doctor, and Private Hudson from Aliens (he was a minor character, but who HASN'T heard some variation of 'Game over, man! Game over! It's the end, man!" It was a moment in movie history).

It's not a matter of Fandom characters > OCs. Remember, every canon character IS someone's OC. And a lot of them are better characters, not because they're published, but just because they're a more interesting character over all.

So personally, no I don't think most OCs are good enough to run with canons, especially in a pan-fandom game where you can get some really interesting canons. (Although I think some minor characters don't work so well either). I think a lot of people feel similarly. This includes most of MY OCs, and I write some pretty solid OCs. They're good, but every time I go to app one, I try to be realistic about it and have to ask myself: Could they EVER be as interesting as Indiana Jones? Samwise Gamgee? Hellboy? I only play the ones I could see my publishing them in a story and someone else LOVING enough to RP somwhere, and even then, it's the with the knowledge that I might be the only one that finds them so awesome.

Because, let's face it people, our OCs may be good, but are they REALLY as good as your favorite character ever from a movie or book that you love?

Most might be good, but just aren't that...GREAT.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Create an Account
Forgot your login or password?
Login w/ OpenID
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…