Puppet198463
My rules for writing OC’s
They can’t be badasses
No over-the-top, unstoppable warriors. They should have vulnerabilities and limitations.
They can’t be the cool punk guys or perfect
No effortlessly cool, edgy, or idealized characters. They need depth beyond just looking or acting "cool."
They have to have one disability
Whether it's physical, mental, or neurological, each character must have some form of disability that impacts their life.
They need to have realistic emotions and reactions
They should get scared, frustrated, overwhelmed, or break down when things get tough—no emotionless tough guys or unrealistically calm characters.
They should struggle and fail before succeeding
No instant mastery of skills or sudden victories. They need to earn their achievements through trial and error.
They should have a personal motivation beyond the main plot
Whether it’s protecting someone, overcoming personal fears, or proving something to themselves, they should have a goal outside of just "stopping the villain" or "saving the day."
They should already be in an established relationship
No "will they/won’t they" romance tropes. If romance is involved, the character is already in a stable relationship instead of playing into drawn-out romantic tension.
-_TheSun_And_Moon_-
About the already be in a relationship thing: some people like it when it builds up to the relationship as it builds more to the oc and the characters they’re paired with and in future rp’s it works out more as they’re now in a relationship. I have a rp friend who has an extremely built out oc family and relationship and it’s crazy but fun— so far in the story they have children with the relationships they have, they’re pretty grown now.
Also— depending on the fandom, emotionless tough guys or unrealistic calm characters is a normal thing, but it’s also normal for them to break out of that mold when they snap or something— actually in cookie run, a usually calm and nice character literally snapped twice and it scared me—
Aquilanstoryteller
@Puppet198463 To a certain extent my OC Mr Dukes fits most of these. The reason why he acts like a cool, rebellious good guy is because years prior he had to kill someone he held close. He was forced by others to do horrendous things for their respect. In an altercation that same amount of years ago, he got a deep scar on his eye so he wears aviators. His deep emotions I haven't gotten around to writing yet as the chapter that delves into his psyche is in development. This was brought up in the first section. I guess I could say that he wants to avenge his favourite student Tracey [who he was forced to murder] and redeem himself. Miss Emily already confessed to him during a game of drink. I just now need to now ease him into it somehow.
MageKnight44
@Puppet198463 Correct me if I'm wrong but I think your confusing being badass with being OP a character can be badass without being OP
