Character Strengths and Weaknesses: A Guide for Your OCs

This is part of our design series on How to make an OC! – the ultimate guide to character building.

If you've been creating OCs for a while, you've probably heard this advice: give your character strengths and weaknesses. Strengths are the easy sell – a cool OC needs cool abilities. But weaknesses seem like a way to hand them a loss, and nobody wants to see their favorite OC suffer.

However, a character with no weaknesses isn't strong. They're boring. Every character is chasing something. A strength makes that goal easier to reach, while a weakness makes it harder. And if your character is constantly winning, it can make for a pretty uninteresting story.

Here's the twist, though: the same trait can be a strength or weakness, depending on the goal. A character's stubbornness may motivate them to get through a tough time, and exactly what wrecks them in another.

Then there's realism. Nobody is good at everything. And a character who is often reads flat or untrustworthy. The mix of strengths and weaknesses isn't a compromise, it's what makes your OC worth rooting for.

Now let's get into some examples to bring your character to life.

Social Strengths and Weaknesses

These traits 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 Look – 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: Rumor Magnet – Your OC has tons of negative rumors swirling around them.

Physical Strengths and Weaknesses

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.
• Strength: Able-Bodied – Your OC doesn’t suffer from any chronic pain, doesn’t need glasses, and has all 4 limbs.
• Weakness: Out of Shape – Your OC works a desk job and doesn’t go to the gym.
• 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. 💙

Mental Strengths and Weaknesses

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 favorite plush.

Other Traits

Not every trait fits neatly into physical, mental, or social categories. They may come from your character's world. Maybe your OC is a supernatural creature with strengths and weaknesses based on what they are. Or they have a superpower that comes with an allergy to water.

• 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.
• Strength: Animal Friend – Your OC gets along great with animals.
• Strength: Special skill – Maybe your OC can draw or make their own OCs, or maybe they can play piano or embroider.
• Weakness: Cursed – Maybe your OC can only tell the truth to questions, or maybe they spill toads out of their mouth when they talk.
• Weakness: Unusual Diet – Your OC might survive off of electricity, blood, or other substances that most people don’t.
• 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.

Community OCs

I’d like to use this chance to show off OCs with disabilities on Unvale. Go favorite 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.

• Kai, by user enbetweeen
• Maya, by user Artsyarmy
• Amelia, by user KwestiaCzasu
• Ezra Wayne, by user HeyItsVanilla (CW: eye injury and scarring)
• Jamie Sterling, by user GlitchKat
• Regina of Siora, by user MusaMusix

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.