Toopoxia wrote:Man, I just sent off a TG to one of the Mentors asking a question that'd be perfect here. Ah well, I can ask again here.
How can I introduce flaws into my characters and into my nation when this makes them imbalanced amongst others less willing to introduce flaws?
I'll give an example. If I wanted to introduce an inept, but passionate commander, in battle he would easily find himself amongst all the worlds finest military minds, those who nary make a mistake. Or on a wider scale, if I were to introduce a small, purely display, military, and had them held with my peers, I would find my military wanting, but not willing to remove the interesting element of either the commander or the military.
If you need other examples, I have issues with more than just the military, I can provide more.
From what I'm seeing of how your framed your question, it looks like you're finding for a way to effectively implement flaws without having it backfired against you. If I am misunderstanding your question, please clarify further - I would greatly appreciate it.
In a nutshell, when introducing flaws into characters, we need to wary of the circumstances of their position in the story and what makes them tick. This is a bit of vague advice, so I'll make it more specific by turning to your passionate commander scenario. Exactly why and how did he get into a position where he is able to challenge and butt heads with world class military minds? Was he thrust unto this position or greatness, or did he seemingly have a series of 'flukes' that allowed him to become what he is? How confident is he in his ability to implement it? Questions about his backstory will form the basis for his flaws, and on a greater whole, his personality. If we can figure out what lead to his promotion, we can see how he'll act, and more importantly, whether he knows about it. The major thing that's important about a character's flaws is whether he shows it or not. If a character does not show his flaws, then you have a case of a man willing to enclose and cocoon himself in either his own warped self-perception or something else like alcohol. It doesn't necessarily make bad, per se, but it does raise issues of confidence.
At that stage, you can easily cancel out the flaws with someone else - someone who is there to help and guide him through his path will be someone who can prevent you from having to deal with mistakes in the decision making, but also ultimately display a good character. For example, in one of the RPs I am in with New Azura,
Colossus Rising, my character Miriana is a semi-sociopathic, dry, coarse and elitist man, who believes others to be of lesser consequence to him. This has risen from not only his history at the hands of the Kraven, partially as a means to overcompensate for his lack of power by exerting it too much, but also from his position as a Jagite - an ethnicity hardly taken seriously in some parts of the world - to 'fit in' with the others by acting in a position of power. Such a volatility, of course, can be problematic, but he's tempered by his wife, Akreska, who is more of a managerial person with whom he seeks not a sexual relationship, but one of a counselling and solace position.
You can do the same with yours - your traits do not have to be a fault in themselves to the RP or the efficacy of whatever it is that you do, but you need to cancel it out somehow. Finding someone who is willing to be there for your character gives them not only a means to interact and thus display their weaknesses, but a moral and foundational crux upon which the reader can more readily appeal with.