Roleplay Cliches

[Idea]

I hate it when evil characters have killed their parents/entire family in their background and there's absolutely no emotion, no feeling, no reaction at all. They're just evil and unappreciated and hate their family so they kill them and move on with their lives. It adds nothing to the character and is seriously so cliche.

pure evil characters are beyond cliché, all one-sided conflict is either fruit of perspective or just outright bad writing.

 

[StoneWolf18]

I feel like someone way to sensitive to be on the Internet is going to find this thread and be all like "Mods, they're offending me because I do all the stuff they're hating on. Can you close the thread?" X3

 

[LegoLad659]

I personally find the reverse a lot worse: for characters to act differently cause their player feels in different that day. Or because it´s not so "convenient". Like, metagaming when a character gets "a hunch" of something they couldn´t possibly know, like someone trying to set them on a trap and the other character magically finding out about it cause "hunch".

There's a reason I avoid giving away details that the other characters aren't supposed to know yet ( ) I don't like having to do that, but it's become a safety mechanism at this point.

 

[Phantom Thief of Hearts]

@LegoLad659 knows this... when someone takes the spotlight from you in a scene or Oneshot a villain for the sake of keeping the RP more sandbox than anything...

 

[RedneckLurves]

There's a reason I avoid giving away details that the other characters aren't supposed to know yet ( ) I don't like having to do that, but it's become a safety mechanism at this point.

I hate this too, but it's something I do all the time as well. It's an automatic response at this point, because I've been in way too many situations where people take IC advantages due to a phrase written in my post. It's kind of sad that you have to censor your posts just so others won't take advantage, but it's been an issue in my own experience enough times that I just do it regardless.

 

[Username]

Guys I'm offended and butthurt and I do all of these and I think it is okay so please stop now. LOL jk. I hate it when people do this shit too and boy oh boy do I have the story to tell. Ladies, gentlemen. Boys and Girls. Hermaphrodites and Gender Fluid Hermit Crabs, put on your reading glasses and prepare for a tale of serious Internet Retardation.


So me and my friend joined this Fallout Equestria RP on another site (hey don't judge) and since it was apocalyptic, we made are characters essentially their version of Metro. We were careful in making our characters fair and able to compliment each other well. The dude who was running it had his guy only use a scythe and go buy death, and he never showed any of his body. In his first post, he is walking away from a burning building that he just cleansed of life. I should've been thinking, but I wasn't. Now I have a million questions such as: How did you defeat armed gunmen with a farming tool, or how the hell did you set a building on fire with a farming tool. For a while things are uneventful since our characters have yet to meet. Me and my friend go about doing our thing, being tactical and cautious about everything, like survivors would. Then we run into him. He rushes to me in the blink of an eye from 40 meters away, and cuts my gun in half with his scythe. I immediately OOC ask him how the hell he did that and he said his scythe is "made of black steel".


I look that shit up and it turns out that black steel is a firm of Steel that is lighter than stainless but weaker. I send him the article and he says "well I made it up so it can cut your gun in half". Well shit. There goes my RPK, a gun I can't replace. A little later on, my friend and him are talking about something in character, and my character brings up the dark ones (for those of you that haven't played metro, they are very tough mutants that can affect your mind and give you dementia and psychosis, and pretty much everyone is scared shitless of them), and the guy says that they aren't scary compared to him and they are only the strongest things they because he isn't there (that humility though), and he then proceeds to talk about his tragic past that no asked about.


Later, I am attacked by another player who is an Assassin, and I kick their ass. The guy then "beats up" my character for hurting this person. I respond by kicking them back and firing my handgun into his knees. He instantly heals all wounds and headbuts me. By now I really want out and I immediately found an a way. I was wearing a steel riot mask and hitting me hard enough to knock me out would probably cause whiplash on me and break my neck. Now he tries to take control of my character and have be okay so his character now did not murder an "ally". But I tell him no, I am dead. I then proceed to make a new character, a gelatinous blob made of pure communism, and make as many Russia puns as I could .

 

[Demonhunter]

omg the dead parents thing xD WE AINT ALL BATMAN!

 

[Ronan]

Dead family ( or blaming bad behaviour on parenting ), overpowered and can somehow slaughter 1,000 people in 0.2 seconds, purposeless backstory to be used for said character's inner turmoil to garner sympathy, "It came to me in a dream"; Cute Lolita Girl, Hot Sexy Flawless Man, The Chosen One, hyper-sexuality, forced one-sided romance that just appeared, and more.


Chances are—we've all seen one of the aforementioned in some way or another. It isn't uncommon when building a new character to give your """brand""" a new personality or something special. Something that makes them really stand out.


I highly suggest reading this article on character originality and tropes. It's somewhat lengthy, but a good read nonetheless, and whether you agree or disagree with it, it sheds a much needed light on the struggle between original characters and overused tropes/archetypes in role-playing or in any piece of literature.


Also something to think about, too: a majority of role-players are new or are under the age of 18 ( think: when did YOU first start? 10, 12? ). It's always possible that the older or more experience you've had writing, the more rounded your character(s) will be, and it's because you've had time to experiment with tropes to see what works and what doesn't.

 

[Idea]

Dead family ( or blaming bad behaviour on parenting ), overpowered and can somehow slaughter 1,000 people in 0.2 seconds, purposeless backstory to be used for said character's inner turmoil to garner sympathy, "It came to me in a dream"; Cute Lolita Girl, Hot Sexy Flawless Man, The Chosen One, hyper-sexuality, forced one-sided romance that just appeared, and more.
Chances are—we've all seen one of the aforementioned in some way or another. It isn't uncommon when building a new character to give your """brand""" a new personality or something special. Something that makes them really stand out.


I highly suggest reading this article on character originality and tropes. It's somewhat lengthy, but a good read nonetheless, and whether you agree or disagree with it, it sheds a much needed light on the struggle between original characters and overused tropes/archetypes in role-playing or in any piece of literature.


Also something to think about, too: a majority of role-players are new or are under the age of 18 ( think: when did YOU first start? 10, 12? ). It's always possible that the older or more experience you've had writing, the more rounded your character(s) will be, and it's because you've had time to experiment with tropes to see what works and what doesn't.

I read over the article and your comment, and I have to say, I deeply disagree, though I have to concede a few points: Yes, doing things with the sheer purpose of being "unique" is nonsense. Yes, in reality, less experienced roleplayers tend to rely more on tropes than more experienced ones, possibly due to not having been able to try them yet and know what does or not work for them.


That said, the idea of relying on tropes to convey information is nonsense too. Yes, it is possible to do so, but that argument is only valid for people who use tropes as means to parodize them or who purposely pick a trope and announce they are following that trope. However, that is not only not the general case, it is not the case in discussion in this thread. Most people who annoy aren´t using the trope on purpose as a trope, but try to just stuff it into their characters.


Furthermore, if we are going into definitions here, may I remind you a cliché can´t be good? A cliché is, by definition, something that is so overused it "loses it´s original meaning or intent". Even if we don´t follow the definition, though, this is still an evident case. A lot of the "dead parents" cases are annoying people aren´t choosing them because it fits the style of character they have in mind, but simply because it´s commonly used, or because they didn´t want to bother with anything better. There are many, many ways to know that, but that is not the point: The point is, these tropes are usually either just there to be, to fill gaps easily, or are the only thing constituting the character.


For example, in a recent group thread we made, we had this character who went to a normal highschool, was cheerful, kind, nice, everything, but then had two then parents and several abusive ones. Why? Cause yes.


Now, you may be thinking "but that is only one case, that proves nothing". Which would be true, but the "their hiding their feelings excuse" is actually extremely common and often used for this kind of scenario.


Of the top of my head in almost every case I find the usage of the trope I mentioned before "the arbitrary character", they also end up being the people who stagnate the plot by metagaming, who make posts without even a bare minimum of content, among other things. On the other hand, people who strive to be original, even if it is somewhat pointless, tend to be more dedicated in actually being in their character´s shoes. Why? Because even if you can´t be 100% original, the fact that you were trying means you will generally put a lot more effort and dedication into making your character than someone who is majorly relying on tropes.


Now, this leads to the question: Aren´t these actually cases of people who are just unexperienced? Yes, that is true. But it is still bad. And if it´s gonna turn out bad either way, why not try to make something that is more your own? Even if we are never 100% original, there is always a distinctive trait or mark from the creator to the creation, except when the creation isn´t even their own. Extensively relying on the work done by others isn´t good for anyone to learn, trying hard yourself is.


Tropes aren´t always bad, but even more than originality, they require experience, because the bar is much higher. Íf it´s been done well before, that means that to do a good job with it, you need to at least go close to it, it means you need to understand what you´re doing inside out.


As such, this reliance on tropes, and what makes them so annoying, is how people use these without thinking, just pouring them out because they have to fill a gap they don´t wanna rack their brains to do so. THAT makes a cliché.

 

[LegoLad659]

I read over the article and your comment, and I have to say, I deeply disagree, though I have to concede a few points: Yes, doing things with the sheer purpose of being "unique" is nonsense. Yes, in reality, less experienced roleplayers tend to rely more on tropes than more experienced ones, possibly due to not having been able to try them yet and know what does or not work for them.
That said, the idea of relying on tropes to convey information is nonsense too. Yes, it is possible to do so, but that argument is only valid for people who use tropes as means to parodize them or who purposely pick a trope and announce they are following that trope. However, that is not only not the general case, it is not the case in discussion in this thread. Most people who annoy aren´t using the trope on purpose as a trope, but try to just stuff it into their characters.


Furthermore, if we are going into definitions here, may I remind you a cliché can´t be good? A cliché is, by definition, something that is so overused it "loses it´s original meaning or intent". Even if we don´t follow the definition, though, this is still an evident case. A lot of the "dead parents" cases are annoying people aren´t choosing them because it fits the style of character they have in mind, but simply because it´s commonly used, or because they didn´t want to bother with anything better.

In the words of the Trope site itself, "Tropes are tools, not cliches". They're only as good as you're able to use them, but the majority of them aren't inherently bad.

 

[Ronan]

@Idea: To quote you, '—but simply because it's commonly used, or because they didn't want to bother with anything better,' yes, this is true and I agree that it's just lazy writing or poor characterisation. However, the idea of true originality is moot. In fact, I would go as far as saying that there is no such thing as a 'true' originality.


Whether the tropes/archetypes used in said character are obvious or not, almost every character whether it be in books, role-playing, theatre, is created from different sources. You can make an argument about J.K. Rowling's good v. evil trope in her books, The Legend of Zelda's damsel in distress trope, and even Marvel's overused tropes of antihero/villain and corruption.


Tropes are everywhere. And it's used because it works as a tool—even if it's cliché. It's how you use the tool.


edit: I'm enjoying this! You're all making fantastic arguments/agreements and it's a good learning experience!

 

[Idea]

@Idea: To quote you, '—but simply because it's commonly used, or because they didn't want to bother with anything better,' yes, this is true and I agree that it's just lazy writing or poor characterisation. However, the idea of true originality is moot. In fact, I would go as far as saying that there is no such thing as a 'true' originality.
Whether the tropes/archetypes used in said character are obvious or not, almost every character whether it be in books, role-playing, theatre, is created from different sources. You can make an argument about J.K. Rowling's good v. evil trope in her books, The Legend of Zelda's damsel in distress trope, and even Marvel's overused tropes of antihero/villain and corruption.


Tropes are everywhere. And it's used because it works as a tool—even if it's cliché.

That is true, however, everyone has their way of going about things, of typing. On another site, for example, I once made a completely different account for roleplaying with a completely different character, you get my point. Then by mere chance, I ended up in a thread with someone I had roleplayed with before and they instantly recognized me. What did they recognize me for? According to that person, my writing style.


Now, when it comes to character making, there surely is a mark of each person, which even if there are tropes in it by chance, there is still some uniqueness. The problem comes in when you try to adjust something that is not your own nor do you know enough about it to make it work, and try to mesh with it "because it might be fun" or something. That doesn´t work.


Yes, everywhere, there are tropes, and they even do constitute most of any single character, regardless of effort to make it original. But effort in thinking greatly improves the quality of characters, and the attempts to be original actually may make a character far more consistent and immersive (necessary qualities for getting into a character´s shoes).


And one final note- if it works AS A TOOL it´s not cliché. Only while meaningless can something be a cliché, by definition. Something can be worked out of being a cliché, but that is not the cases that ever annoy people, and what´s in discussion in these thread is mostly those cases.


and let´s not forget: These tropes, every single one, first came from an excellent attempt at an "original" idea. They are used because those worked. Trying new things or attempting to do so is always more reliable in terms of quality, than copying something when you don´t understand WHY it worked, or what makes it so special, rather than just being there.

 

[Username]

Honesty if i do the dead family thing, it is because i don't want to deal with them later or make characters for them, not because i want it to affect my character in any way shape or form. or even come up. it is just an excuse for me to be lazy.

 

[Ronan]

@Idea: Well said. c:

 

[Idea]

it is just an excuse for me to be lazy.

precisely

 

[Idea]

@Idea: Well said. c:

thank you. And while I know you already got my point, there is one more thing I need to say because I just can´t hold it in:


There is a big difference between using a trope and building upon one. Relying on tropes is laziness, building upon them is what makes them work.


That is all, sorry to bother.

 

[Username]

i honestly don't care about tropes so long as everything doesn't come easy to the character and they aren't invincible gods. Even when i was a kid, i honestly thought it was cooler to be one of the guys on the front lines than the action hero. In halo, for example, i thought the ODSTs and Marines were way more badass than the spartans.

 

[Idea]

i honestly don't care about tropes so long as everything doesn't come easy to the character and they aren't invincible gods. Even when i was a kid, i honestly thought it was cooler to be one of the guys on the front lines than the action hero. In halo, for example, i thought the ODSTs and Marines were way more badass than the spartans.

there´s nothing with that. To each their own, I suppose.

 

[Username]

so i saw someone here playing as gilgamesh....let me tell you....the most cliche thing ever

 

[Demonhunter]

the thing I can't stand most is mary sues. mary sues bug the hell out of me. the occasional cliche can be gotten away with if executed right, but no more than like 1 or 2. This guy goes over it best. (this thread has gotten awesome real quick)


[media]



[/media]
My biggest pet peeve is is somone knows somthing their character shouldn't like that character wasn't near the conversation or better yet the character hasn't told anyone yet and their character suddenly knows! or knows a weakness instantly. I have a character that is horrificly weak to silver... but not everyone knows about the whole silver issue... having characters that can look at her, identify her as a horseman/demon without being told, and then knowing exactly her short but lethal list of weaknesses are is just way to crazy to be realistic unless theyre demonologists, angels or other demons.

 

[Username]

i just leave that kind of info out so they can't metagame like that

 

[Marianne]

Role Play Cliche that i've dealt with:


When there's always these female characters that are introverted and victimized, so they're always timid and always twitchy. Then, when they capture whomever they like's attention they victimize themselves and wound up making the entire RP about themselves because they're the only one pouring their heart out. Then you wound up with 2-3 pages of nothing but their posts. Oh, and the female typically acts cute.


Another Cliche would be when the male is always some buff, masculine, hunk of a man with a dark past and tattoos. He has mommy or daddy issues and snaps all the time. That's what I typically notice, and they're nothing but gorgeously buff and mysterious.


An issue that I notice is that people don't know how to put their character's personality together in a post creatively, in my opinion. But people have their styles, and that's awesome sauce, but I feel like girls should do better if the girl is supposed to be cute. There is always that one 'Nyan Cat' cutie. Not many people, in RP's i've looked at, want to have a 'less observant' character.

 

[Marianne]

Honesty if i do the dead family thing, it is because i don't want to deal with them later or make characters for them, not because i want it to affect my character in any way shape or form. or even come up. it is just an excuse for me to be lazy.

Exactly.


Man I am two months late.

 

[Idea]

but I feel like girls should do better if the girl is supposed to be cute

I don´t understand what you meant by that-

 

[Marianne]

I don´t understand what you meant by that-

Most 'cute girls' in RPs only giggle and squeal, at least the ones I used to be in, and it's disappointing. You can be cute in more than one way, yet they go by the typical 'cartoon character', 'anime character' book.