Just so we're all clear, the use of the word Ugly in the title refers to more than just physical repulsiveness. I'm asking your opinion on whether you would like to see a character that has any or all of these characteristics: has/will done/do horrible actions, hard-to-like personality, has a general vileness about themselves (demonic taint, creepy features, etc), or a deformity, as well as being physically unattractive.
This came to my mind because I've been playing D&D since I was old enough to understand half of the words they use. That's about 9 or 10 solid years I've been spending actively trying to scare off the opposite sex, and I've noticed a few patterns in the players (I'm usually the DM). To this day, only three characters I have ever had the pleasure of DMing with have had characteristics that make them less likable and sexy.
1. A white-collar worker who distances himself from everyone around him and is out of shape for his age (32) 2. A foul-mouthed dhampir prick with a number of almost-disfiguring tattoos and piercings on his face and body. 3. A cleric of the Pestilence God, who is covered in hideous pus-weeping boils, a face that's been forcefully rearranged several times, and who vomits maggots on his foes as a primary attack.
Everyone else has made an effort to keep their characters looking good and keeping their personalities likable, and I often get called out on how most of the NPCs the group runs into usually have some sort of personality or mental disorder that makes them hard to get along with (narcissist, barely reformed criminals, honor-less, brutally honest, misanthropic, etc.)
Thing is, I prefer characters to be ugly, be it on the outside or the inside. An unattractive/flawed character resonates with me because that's how us tiresome human beings are, and I've realized that I can care a lot more about the plight of Marv from Sin City or Markus Fenix from Gears of War than I can with Cloud from Final Fantasy. It's more believable, I can see some ugly son of a ***** having more of a problem in life more than a pale-skinned kid in dire need of a haircut, and I find myself drawn to characters with major personality issues that would make them hard to get along with. And when I say "major personality issues" I don't mean, "they swear a lot in between kicking ass and people don't like that" or "his father died in front of him as a child, so now he's a loner".
I'm talking full-fledged problems, like a guy saying, "I'm so fucking hard right now" after gunning down a bunch of enemy soldiers, or some fellow throwing his friend into a river after beating the shit out of him with a cane for some imagined slight.
I don't know. Maybe their defective personalities speak to me as a loner, but another player in my group refuses to find redemption or redeeming qualities in any character in any media, meaning we butt heads quite often, so I thought I'd ask the people about their opinion. You know, democracy and whatnot.
TL;DR: What's your opinion on ugly characters, and who's your favorite?
This came to my mind because I've been playing D&D since I was old enough to understand half of the words they use. That's about 9 or 10 solid years I've been spending actively trying to scare off the opposite sex, and I've noticed a few patterns in the players (I'm usually the DM). To this day, only three characters I have ever had the pleasure of DMing with have had characteristics that make them less likable and sexy.
1. A white-collar worker who distances himself from everyone around him and is out of shape for his age (32) 2. A foul-mouthed dhampir prick with a number of almost-disfiguring tattoos and piercings on his face and body. 3. A cleric of the Pestilence God, who is covered in hideous pus-weeping boils, a face that's been forcefully rearranged several times, and who vomits maggots on his foes as a primary attack.
Everyone else has made an effort to keep their characters looking good and keeping their personalities likable, and I often get called out on how most of the NPCs the group runs into usually have some sort of personality or mental disorder that makes them hard to get along with (narcissist, barely reformed criminals, honor-less, brutally honest, misanthropic, etc.)
Thing is, I prefer characters to be ugly, be it on the outside or the inside. An unattractive/flawed character resonates with me because that's how us tiresome human beings are, and I've realized that I can care a lot more about the plight of Marv from Sin City or Markus Fenix from Gears of War than I can with Cloud from Final Fantasy. It's more believable, I can see some ugly son of a ***** having more of a problem in life more than a pale-skinned kid in dire need of a haircut, and I find myself drawn to characters with major personality issues that would make them hard to get along with. And when I say "major personality issues" I don't mean, "they swear a lot in between kicking ass and people don't like that" or "his father died in front of him as a child, so now he's a loner".
I'm talking full-fledged problems, like a guy saying, "I'm so fucking hard right now" after gunning down a bunch of enemy soldiers, or some fellow throwing his friend into a river after beating the shit out of him with a cane for some imagined slight.
I don't know. Maybe their defective personalities speak to me as a loner, but another player in my group refuses to find redemption or redeeming qualities in any character in any media, meaning we butt heads quite often, so I thought I'd ask the people about their opinion. You know, democracy and whatnot.
TL;DR: What's your opinion on ugly characters, and who's your favorite?
OTATOES???????????????????????
