Create Engaging Character Flaws

Give your characters something meaningful to struggle against and conquer.
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It's challenging to choose the right flaw for your character. This is because character flaws range from a humorous quirk like hiding weapons around the office to a representation of everything they fight against like being afraid that they can't protect their loved ones. In this episode, we cover different types of flaws, what ties them to your character's story, and how to run them through a quick test to see if they're good for D&D.
To get into flaws we go to the Strategy Stateroom we take you through our flaw building process. Create your character's wants and needs, create a major flaw, create two minor flaws, and put them through different scenarios to flesh out how they'll work in gameplay. We also, in true brotherly fashion, blast each other for some disturbing personal flaws in the name of "giving examples". Then in the Temple of Inspired Hands, we highlight an interesting blog post by Grisly Eye Games at grislyeye.com/blog/flawed-mag.... It talks about flawed magic items, which inspires us to try our hand at attaching unique flaws to common magic items adventurers might discover.
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[@tracyfield-folch4865]

About to give one of my lot a bag of holding. The character is an uptight mage. The bag is pale pink with blue patchwork and tied shut with green yarn. It looks like a craft project by a third grade girl. Like in a handy haversack, an unseen servant delivers the item most wanted to the top. But this servant is effectively a bored third grade girl. It will doodle on his books, decorate his clothes and bedroll with flowers, etc. Nothing that can't be fixed with prestidigitation if/when he notices. It'll stop if he tosses in some toys with his stuff.

[@HookandChance]

Tracy this is such a fun, whimsical idea. Effectively no mechanical changes or effects beyond just great player engagement and rp flavour. Bravo 👏 👌

[@amancealexis7360]

I think I stumbled upon a hidden treasure.

[@HookandChance]

You're a hidden treasure! Thanks for commenting and joining us.

[@splergemellon1405]

They had me at the Gibbering Mouther reference. Such a creepy monster.

[@ericpeterson8732]

Yeah, my favorite character was Thaddeus "Doc" Brown. A swashbuckler rogue with the sailor background. I focused on a medical school dropout turned ship physician. Healer feat, expertise in medicine and persuasion. His flaw was he wants a cushy life and he's willing to do whatever it takes to get it. This "moral flexibility" led to some interesting scenarios. Like the time he broke the hippocratic oath to completely slaughter a bunch of wounded dragonborn ronin to help a friend recover her family's compound. Helping people and then stealing from them in order to build up his "stake". A mix of bravado and ruthlessness combined with a pride in his abilities, beit medicine or roguery. Sadly, he died while separated from the rest of the party, looking for a ranger that attacked us from the air for the past few days.

[@HookandChance]

RIP Thaddeus Brown. Taken too young. Gone but not forgotten. He always said, "never split the party". That's a cool concept of a ship healer tho, what did you like most about them? Any weird behavioral quirks?

[@l4dfanatic11]

idk how long this channel has been around, but i only found it like 2 days ago...not even 1k subs...but the visuals/sounds are all very nicely done, the ...scripting?...idk how much notes you guys got but the flow of everything is very nice. i love it

[@HookandChance]

So happy to hear you are enjoying the show. We have lot's more coming. Please feel free to join us on our Discord if you haven't already!

[@extrovertjellyfish6631]

I just discovered this channel and I’m obsessed with you guys now, I’m recommending it to all my friends

[@HookandChance]

Well, we're actually going to shut it down now because we have achieved our goal. We set this podcast up to accomplish our dream of one day befriending a Jellyfish. We have met a few but most have been introverts so they are hard to get out to the clubs. But here you are! Let's gooooooo 😜 Thank you so much! Also, worry not, we aren't going anywhere! Great to have you, keep up the comments and hope to see you on our Discord.

[@trevynlane8094]

Superman's flaws are a lot more subtle than a lot of people think. He does not trust others to do dangerous things because they are all squishier than he is. He is a horrible team player and always thinks he is right.

[@HookandChance]

This is definitely true. 💯 Do you think writers use this well when writing Superman? We dont read the comics anymore. Does he struggle against this flaw all the time or is it overlooked for more punchy more often than not?

[@trevynlane8094]

@HookandChance it definitely gets overlooked in favor of "edgy" evil Superman takes that are not usually that interesting or all that groundbreaking. Superman is the subversion on the uberman, and so subverting him is playing the thing straight.

[@IFledFromKansas]

This channel is soo good! I can't believe i just started finding these videos! Thanks guys!

[@HookandChance]

Awww. Thank you so much! We're happy they're valuable to you. Please feel free to share publicly and let us know what topics you want to hear

[@elizabethw7698]

I want the immovable rod discussed at 41:00. It will get much use!😂

[@HookandChance]

Ahahahahaha! Oh no. Who needs batteries when you have MAGIC! We're certain a suppliment exists with these kinds of magic items.

[@mentalrebllion1270]

One flaw I gave a recent character of mine is that they take too much responsibility. That may sound like a job interview flaw but it really isn’t. The reason why is because this character is a compulsive caretaker, one of the worst people to have that type of flaw. Why? Because it leads to burn out. It leads to taking responsibility for things beyond your control. It leads to others taking the individual for granted because the individual doesn’t speak up about their limitations, and may not even know of those themself. So yes, it’s a flaw. And no, my flaw isn’t that my character is too nice, or that they are too naive, or that they are a doormat, or too bossy. It’s that they are someone who takes on too much responsibility. I justify this with the backstory I wrote in for them. Namely, my character is a parentified eldest child, meaning they have had to take on the responsibilities of others and their care since younger than they should have had to. It was expected so they never learned or understood what about this wasn’t ok. And this would continue to be a thing all through growing up, even long after they left home as an adult and are now with the adventuring party. It stuck with their through the survivors guilt they suffered during the incident that killed their fiancé and even throughout their career as a field researcher. It is an ongoing flaw I play into in the roleplay and storytelling of my character in the campaign. Personally I think it works very well for my group. It lends itself well to highlighting the other party members, their strengths and flaws and character arcs, and allows them to invest back into my own and help my character also grow from their flaws, turn it into a strength, and better advocate and care for themself too. And that’s why I built that character flaw into this character I play. It has consequences. It leads to clashes, but it also leads to change and evolution and a whole arc that is lovely to play into. Especially since I contrast it with the hypocrisy of my character advocating and trying to teach the rest of the party the lesson they themself need to learn. Because they are very very intelligent. They just also are so used to putting the needs of others ahead of themself, that they forget to recognize the need to advocate for themself too. And they carry a needless guilt that is exacerbated by the trauma and grief of a loved one too. Mostly, I just wanted to create a journey of healing to be honest. It’s why I chose this flaw for my character.

[@HookandChance]

We love that your flaw feeds the rest of your party roleplay opportunities. Bravo!

[@mentalrebllion1270]

@@HookandChance Much appreciated! Honestly that is the part I have fun the most fun with anyway. I’m as much the audience to their character’s story as they are to mine and it just creates a more amazing overall story if we can contrast and complement our fellow party members. Also I was a later addition to this campaign so that sort of helped when building since I had more knowledge to work with when asking them about their characters, the story thus far, and what the dm said about the themes and story beats. Helps me weave together my own character to better suit the campaign. The character I mention here is also one of my current favorites to play in all honesty because I really get rewarded for the details and roleplaying I do for them. It’s not an area I get to explore often in my more casual and teaching tables. I try to stay adaptable to the play style of the table and whatever campaign we are playing. I’m a caretaker personality myself and I just enjoy taking care of others. This is just another way I do so. I really appreciate your comment! Much appreciated! I look forward to listening to more of your videos!

[@giraffedragon6110]

My favorite flaw I ever made was for my Thief Rogue, Dr. Alexander Hampton. He lost a loved one (and business partner) to a malady he could’ve cured but lacked the ingredients he couldn’t afford, everyone he pleaded with turned him away. His flaw is “when I hear screaming? I run towards the danger” because of 2 words *Never again*

[@HookandChance]

Ooooof. Right in the feels. Hats off to you. Any flaw that gets you more into the trouble that makes games tense and exciting is a great flaw in our books. 👏 We need to hear more about Dr. Hampton. Does he now steal from the kind of folks that turned him away?

[@giraffedragon6110]

@@HookandChance he died in the one shot he was in: his final turn was healing someone with his Asclepius scapel (he can use is sneak attack once per day to heal someone) then he used his healer feat to bring them to near full hp. He died prioritizing someone else’s life over his own. So I think he’s content.

[@HookandChance]

Love this so much.

[@Toasty_Britches]

Man this was fantastic. Definitely going to listen to more.

[@HookandChance]

Thanks! We'd love to hear what you think. What's working, what's not?

[@Toasty_Britches]

@@HookandChance Oh man, not gonna lie, I can only think of what works because that's what I latched onto the most haha but I love y'alls dialogue, your back and forth is great and genuinely enjoyable. Content wise: I actually write fiction as a larger hobby apart from the occasional table top game I play in and participate in, so the understanding of character flaws and how they realistically function, in a nuts and bolts sense, was immeasurably helpful for understanding how to build characters that function like people. Plus the breakdown of the concepts behind it was flawless with depthful and accessible examples.

[@HookandChance]

Thanks man! 😊 that means a ton! These kinda comments keep us going. Especially coming from a writer. Super happy it's helpful. If you're not already, hop into our Discord. There is a lot of writerly like-minds in there.

[@tonimojo5859]

Wow, well done guys this was done so well. This is great for anyone creating characters in stories or games.

[@HookandChance]

Well Thanks Toni! Are you a writer or gamer or both?

[@tonimojo5859]

@@HookandChance both

[@samaelkrieg]

As an answer to Smoking as a character flaw, I would say it requires skills to use it as a flaw, but look at Constantine in the Constantine movie, and you see a pretty successful use of it that actually adds to the charm of the character while being a clear flaw. In an RP game, I would suggest Smoking as a flaw to have a certain % chance of getting a coughing fit that will disrupt their spell or attack, break Stealth (imagine a Rogue who ever-so-often get a coughing-fit and alert the guards), and so on. Or perhaps he has lung-cancer and can't quit, and is on the quest to seek some magical master who can heal him --perhaps if he's smoked something magical he shouldn't have, and no regular healer can heal him. (Works best in a comedy setting.) It takes skills to make it interesting rather than annoying, but it CAN be done.

[@HookandChance]

Certainly true for many flaws like that. Something we always need to keep in mind though when we come to our suggestions is the rest of the table, with everyone having an equal stake in entertaining eachother, it makes it that much harder to suggest ideas that add to the table shenanigans. Flaws that are hard to bounce off of as another player are tricky ones to recommend. It a pain because it negates half of our ideas. 😜 but we think it's a good litmus test. If a dozen ideas about how each other character at the table would react then it's a good flaw. If it can be used in a dozen more situations the game might but you in, then it's a great flaw. But you're right, a skilled player can make almost any flaw a good one. 👍

[@wesbeuning1733]

Non-apologist Superman's flaws: I'm sure seeing a whole lot of nasty, horrible, evil happening in the world that Superman sure ain't stopping on page. Batman is.

[@HookandChance]

This feels like the low-key reason superheroes were separated into tiers. Someone needs to give Darkseid a beat down, but that isn't the same guy that stops a bodega robbery because Supes just lazed his gun into slag while on his way to fight Doomsday. No tension exists on the bodega without some damn good character writing.