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Common Strengths and Weakness to Give your OCs!

Solar

• 5 min read
Light and regular blue gradient background. Text reads "Common Strengths and Weakness to Give your OCs!". A doodle of Solar mixing up a pot of OC soup.
Every single character flaw I can get my hand on is going into this soup…

When creating a new OC, more experienced creatives will usually suggest you add strengths and weaknesses (or ‘traits’, which will be the short form for this article) to develop your OC even further. Maybe you understand why strengths are important (after all, having a cool OC is important), but not why you should add weaknesses. After all, weaknesses might make your OC lose in a fight or seem less awesome! So, 

let’s make it clear: you don’t have to add strengths or weaknesses if you don’t want to. But here’s why I think you should.

As you might remember from my article on 5 BIG Development Questions for your OC, I briefly touched on strengths and weaknesses, but also character goals. When it comes to creating a character that will be in a story, that character will always have a goal; they want something to happen. Think of it like this: a strength makes it easier to achieve the character’s goal, while a weakness makes it harder to achieve the goal. Sometimes what you and your character think is a strength might turn into a weakness when it comes to that specific goal, and vice versa.

Besides that, being good and bad at a variety of things makes a character feel more real. Not everyone is good at everything; and if they act like they are, they’re probably hiding their real weaknesses. If you want to make your OC more realistic and easier to empathize with, adding a variety of traits will always help. So, let’s get into some examples of strengths and weaknesses!

”I’m Unvale’s special little princess!”

Social Traits

These strengths and weaknesses stem from your OC’s place in their society, and how people around them interact with them. Social traits are easily improved or lost, making them an interesting character trait to play with as a creator. 

  • Strength: Pretty Privilege. Your OC has a pretty face, which makes people more likely to treat them well.
  • Strength: Family Ties. Your OC is part of an influential family, which lets them wield that influence themselves.
  • Strength: Important Job. Your OC is in a position of power through their job.
  • Weakness: Thuggish Face. Your OC has the face of a tough thug, which causes people to be scared of them.
  • Weakness: Social Outcast. Your OC has been shunned by their community for some reason.
  • Weakness: Rumour Magnet. Your OC has tons of negative rumours swirling around them.
I’m tough as heck!

Physical Traits

Like social traits, most physical traits can be easily gained or lost, whether by working out or being injured. However, physical traits are never a sign of moral failings or successes; some people simply can’t go to the gym due to chronic pain, some people lose limbs or senses later in life, and others are simply born a bit different (myself included). These might be considered “weaknesses” when it comes to achieving a person’s goals in a story, but they’re a fundamental part of us as humans in reality. 

Like I usually say in my articles, if you want to portray a disabled character in your story, research real people! I encourage you to explore and represent real human experiences in your work. And of course, these are my opinions and experiences as the (able-bodied) writer of this article. Everyone has their own way of implementing these themes and conveying certain experiences; one of the best things about Unvale is our user’s diversity and respect for each other, so as always, do your best to show others that Unvale is a safe and kind place!

  • Strength: In Shape. Your OC does parkour and backflips, and is in peak physical condition beyond the average human.
  • Weakness: Out of Shape. Your OC works a desk job and doesn’t go to the gym.
  • Strength: Able Bodied. Your OC doesn’t suffer from any chronic pain, doesn’t need glasses, and has all 4 limbs.
  • Weakness: Disability. Whether your OC can’t see without their glasses, struggles with an invisible disability, or needs a cane, your OC represents a variety of wonderful humans through their existence. 💙
This blog writer has the status affliction called “ADHD”.

Mental Traits

Mental traits are more immutable than physical ones. While modern medicine can be used to help treat disorders and syndromes, a person’s basic personality doesn’t change without recognition, understanding, and effort. Additionally, sometimes positive and negative personality traits can become weaknesses and strengths respectively depending on the situation. 

I should also mention that a character can potentially have all the listed strengths and weaknesses at once! Learning disabilities don’t prevent a person from being naturally brilliant, and even if you have healthy coping mechanisms, that doesn’t mean you’re free from past trauma.

  • Strength: Natural Intelligence. Your OC has a natural inclination to learning, and thinks quickly and thoroughly when needed.
  • Strength: Strong Empathy. Your OC has a strong sense of empathy and can understand the emotions and behavior of others.
  • Strength: Healthy Coping Mechanisms. Your OC has done the work to make peace with themself, and can handle stressful situations.
  • Weakness: Social Anxiety. Your OC struggles in social situations and would rather avoid conflict than face it head-on.
  • Weakness: Learning Disorder. Your OC has ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, or another disability.
  • Weakness: Traumatic Backstory. Your OC is haunted by the burning of their village, the murder of their family, and the loss of their favourite plush.
What other traits are on Solar’s list that haven’t been mentioned…?

Other Traits

This is the lightning round for other strengths and weaknesses, so let’s go!

  • Weakness: Allergies. Whether it be pollen, peanuts, or kryptonite, your OC is defeated by exposure to a thing that doesn’t affect the average person.
  • Strength: Superpower. Your OC can do something outside the norm! Whether it’s laser eyes or the power to fly, your OC’s got an advantage.
  • Weakness: Cursed. Maybe your OC can only tell the truth to questions, or maybe they spill toads out of their mouth when they talk.
  • Strength: Special skill. Maybe your OC can draw or make their own OCs, or maybe they can play piano or embroider.
  • Weakness: Unusual Diet. Your OC might survive off of electricity, blood, or other substances that most people don’t.
  • Strength: Animal Friend. Your OC gets along great with animals!

Thanks for reading! I hope you can think of some new strengths and weaknesses for your OC, and some strengths that can become weaknesses in certain situations; and the opposite too! 

Since the topic was mentioned, I’d like to use this chance to show off OCs with disabilities on Unvale. Go favourite and leave a comment on these characters if you like them! If you want to share your OCs with disabilities with other users, use #disability, or other similar hashtags.

Regina of Siora, by user MusaMusix