Forums » RP Discussion » Intentionally Unlikable Characters: Yes or No?

Hello, I'm Sir_Grey. I normally pop up in the Games forum, and RP anonymously quite often, and I've been struggling with a concept that I'd like community input on: an intentionally unlikable character. As in someone who's flaws outweigh their strengths.

Of course, this sort of character would be difficult to pull off, and most "unlikable" characters aren't intentionally irritating, but the question remains, is it something that is in the spirit of good RP? Or is it just being irritating for the sake of being irritating? Is it good writing or bad RP? Is it good RP but bad writing? Is it both? Is it neither? And how can a character be made unlikable? Just saying OOC "I don't want you to like this character," is a bit strange and awkward to deal with, but at the same time, you don't want to appear to be a toxic member of RPR.

So, questions, thoughts, comments? Is this a valid question to ask the community? Or is this an idea that should remain buried?

It's perfectly possible to have a successful RP with a heavily flawed character. I can think of a lot of characters in media which I'd despise as real people, but love as characters. Just try to define what it is that you're aiming for with any partners beforehand. A plot where one character helps the other to manage their flaws (or each other's flaws) can be very enjoyable, for instance! As with villains, it may also help to think about what makes that character relatable despite those negative traits. Each flaw will stem from something, perhaps those root causes are things we can empathize with, or at least use to connect the dots. Even if you want them to have no redemption, providing enough logic behind how they got to where they are now and what motivates them in life keeps them compelling.

If you're concerned about it reflecting on yourself then a disclaimer stating the character's views are not representative of your own is an extra layer of prevention, but as long as you communicate your RP goals clearly prior to jumping in, and continue to run ideas past the other players whenever you think a flaw might be about to toe a line, there's really no need to fear.

Well, the difference here isn't a flawed character. Any good character is flawed. Mary Sue flawless characters are boring for everyone except the Suethor, but flawed characters can be fun for everyone. I don't mean an evil character. Antagonists can be interesting and have redeeming qualities.

I mean someone you just hate. Just imagine the nastiest, most shallow, petty, spiteful person you can. Just an obnoxious, toxic individual with few, if any redeeming qualities.

Edited my post just before you replied as I realized I hadn't fully covered that aspect! At least in my eyes, as long as there's enough reasoning behind the character, and you establish a goal the other players can work towards, they can be enjoyable to play with while being a despicable person. It provides a great catalyst for drama and a strong contrast for other characters to bounce off.

One of my favourite characters to play is a total jerk. Like oh man he's just horrible to people. Those around him either want to punch him, or laugh it off.
But he is very fun to write and I enjoy his deeper aspects that are all covered up by his aura of jerkishness (it's a defence mechanism)

I've always enjoyed those charismatic jerk characters in media, people you know are terrible horrible people but dang they're amusing to watch.

I also have a few genuinely evil characters and yep, that can be a challenge but also very fun. Villains are fun to write, so long as you accept that they aren't going to be loved by people.
I've had rps where someone has played a really awful, horrible villain and then tried to ram a redemption arc in there which would be fine, if they didn't ooc constantly insist that he's "a good guy really! deep down!" after he's kidnapped and tortured people for his own sick amusement. Just.. how about no?
Accept your character is a terrible person, don't be offended when people say they're a terrible person and you'll be fine.
After all, we kinda NEED antagonists and bad guys in stories don't we?

I have characters who are racist, who are homophobic, who are violent minded, selfish or just plain cruel. They aren't me, they're never supposed to be me, their actions are not actions I in any way condone and they're SUPPOSED to be wrong and unlikable, that's kinda the point. So long as you as a player can detatch from a character enough to accept people hating them and wanting bad things to happen to them, you'll be fine. The problem often comes, I find, in people not being able to detatch their own ego and getting insulted when people don't see their character the way they do.
Sometimes, even characters we think are good people deep down will do things that other characters hate them for, or will have a personality that grates on another player or character. This is fine, that's realistic. Not everyone likes everyone else right?
One of my characters is a self absorbed spoiled brat. He's not a bad person, he's just really flawed as an individual and some people absolutely DETEST him for this. I have some players who genuinely hate him as a character, while other players really enjoy playing against him.
Likewise another seems to get people either enjoying how blunt and rather unpleasant he is and others who want horrible things to happen to him at any opportunity. Two of my MH ocs are terrible with people and offend people quite regularly. One because he's socially inept and just screws up, the other because he's a grumpy misanthrope who wants most people to just go away and leave him alone already. I fully accept that some of my characters are not likable, but they're not supposed to be everyone's friend.

Unpleasant characters create a dynamic for other characters, they allow for interesting interactions and honestly, the drama of some people not getting along is, imo, way more interesting than everyone being bffs.

tl;dr everyone needs motives, and your intentinally unlikable character shouldn't be unlovable or ununderstandable. just unlikable, otherwise they're not believable or dynamic or any of that good stuff. make sure that they're good people that have been messed up and twisted into bad people. the age at which the twisting happened is a factor on how evident their good is.

i've got a character that's a generally bad person. he uses people, he actively tries to corrupt them, he's ____phobic, all of that. no one that i rp with has ever said he's too much, though, because i've balanced him. execution is everything with unlikable characters. they have to seem genuine, and they have to be understandable. no one likes things that they can't understand. that's why i, for one, don't like math. also, if they're not executed well, there's really no reason for them to be bad - good happens for a reason and bad happens for a reason and without motives, there's no reason. no substance.

what's very important to remember, though, is that bad people have good qualities and vice versa. humans aren't just bad or good and they're only considered bad when the bad that they do have is the wrong type. humans generally have a scale of what negative effects are worse or better - by the strictest of accounts, they're equal (1=1), but we've generally got a scale. stealing a pie from a windowsill because you like the look of it is worse than stealing a pie from a windowsill because you're homeless and you haven't eaten in days.

people aren't bad because they want to be unless they've been injusticed. humans are naturally generally pretty calm, content creatures that are content to eat, socialize, and be fine; if they're doing anything else, there's a reason. if someone's acting out - doing drugs, rebelling against authority, anything of the sort - it means they feel as if they've been wronged by someone. for instance, some kids act out during their teenage years because they start to realize that their parents aren't filling an emotional need for them. people get mad when you hurt them. your friend gets hurt if you go back on your word. skewed morality is the same.

if you give the character a sense of entitlement, then everything in the world will fall short of their expectations - that's a great reason for them to act out. they're hurt by that, so they're protecting themselves from feeling the hurt with anger, and they're acting on their anger in ways that aren't kosher. that's good character building! where'd they get that sense of entitlement, though? were they coddled in their younger years? are they gullible, and their mother told them over and over in their youth that they could do whatever they wanted to? i don't know! you decide!

if you want a character that enjoys ripping people apart, then you'll need to go through a more complicated process. people don't naturally like violence; it ends in death, and that's contrary to our want of survival. no one's going to be violent on their own, and they're not going to do it unwarranted. it brings bad responses, and unless they're acting out, that's not what they want (even if they were acting out, they'd have to have a mentally skewed way of looking at things to be truly violent without any obvious warrant).

my best example of this is a character i have that's a really old vampire who controls everything around himself and loses his crap if it's not just so, or if someone interrupts the process of doing so. when he was young, he had no control over his surroundings, or over the people around him. ever since, he's been on high alert; trying to get into positions of power, trying to feel safe, trying to fill that childhood hole. he controls the people around him with the literal flick of his hand, and he immediately teaches people around him how to cater to him and punishes them if they don't. if power is taken from him, he reacts very violently due to a short temper. however, he also makes sure people that he's decided he's going to treat well are comfortable. he prefers lilies to roses and roses to petunias. once someone has his loyalty, they have his loyalty - whether they know it, like it, or even care isn't of his concern. he makes sure he treats people how he says he's going to treat them, and he gets them to agree on his treatment of them before he solidifies it. he's a giggly drunk and has big opinions about small things. he will not lie to his people. he doesn't go back on promises. he's a hell of a gift giver. his standards are impossibly high and he holds himself to them like they're federal law - and he can never get away with anything because he is both the criminal and the law enforcer.

make sure you balance your character. bad people exist, but they're not just bad; good people exist, but they're not just good, and they probably wouldn't be perceived as good by every person that exists. someone who's a good person while working a librarian job in a peaceful society may turn into someone that betrays those that depend on them in an apocalypse. do you want the bad on the surface? then put it there. otherwise, put it elsewhere.

There are reasons why people can connect or understand villains. Just because someone has terrible behaviour, is outright evil, or even has the worst attitude towards socialization, doesn't mean that person can't have a substance about them that makes them interesting and awesome.

I've written quite a few villains in my life, and they're generally horrible people. Sexist, narcissistic, and down right hateful people because they just are who they are and that's that. I like them for being realistic in their concept. Graideds also has a very good point that your character must also have a balance to them. While they may have an extensive amount of flaws, they should also still have different quirks and motives. Your character must have a life built with reason, because people don't become who they are without reason. Some reasons might be absolutely shitty excuses to one person, but could be substantially gigantic and valid to another. IT'S ALL IN THE CHARACTER'S PERSPECTIVE.

Don't be afraid to write a character that's an absolute shit, okay? Just remember that motive and meaning are very important.

First, a piece of honesty: I only skimmed.

I saw a lot of "any character can be likeable so long as x." I saw "charismatic jerk." I saw stuff about lovable villains, and characters we'd hate as real people but enjoy in fiction. I saw lots of assurances of how a "bad" and flawed character can be great.

But I thought the question being asked was concerning characters who, even as characters, are unlikable. That regardless of what sort of character they are, seeing and interacting with them is grating. They aren't evil. They aren't charismatic. They aren't fascinating. They aren't fun to watch. They just make you personally feel wholly unpleasant. Something like how most people feel about Jarjar Binks, or how a parent feels seeing a minion after having to watch their movies for the thousandth time. That urge to stamp the thing out of existence and bleach it from your mind.

Yes indeed. But then again, in an RP, I have no problems OOC of having nasty things happen to said character. So theoretically it could be cathartic to set a jerk on fire.

So long as their being unlikeable contributes to the overall enjoyment and/or engagement of all parties involved, then it's perfectly acceptable. That's a very difficult thing to do, though, but you'll know when you accomplish it, because everyone will still be having a good time and want to play a more. Simple as that.

I've "given" a couple of my nastier characters to a friend for that. He needed that catharsis with the crap I put him through in our games.

I agree with a lot of what was posted here and I don't have a lot more to add aside from the fact that I love flawed characters. It makes them likeable sometimes, but unrealistically flawed characters bug me.
One of my favorite characters is Walter, and his flaws greatly outnumber his strengths, yet me and others still love him.