>make complex, balanced, realistic character >boring as

>>50705347
what system?
some of them punish you for playing complex, balanced, realistic characters instead of following the class template.

>>50705395
Superhero GURPS and DnD 5e.
What scares me the most isn't the realistic characters being boring, but the edgy ones working so greatly. Maybe I'm just comic relief but everyone loves me at the table now.

>>50705445
It's not so much edgy characters being great, as edgy characters being easier to fit into a game.

It's easier to plan an adventure around Naruto McGoku the traveling swordsman who wants to fight and fuck bitches then it is to fit in a serious character with real motivation.

>>50705347
It likely depends on how effective the motivations are expressed- Edgy McKatana is easy to play effectively and express effectively, but the "realistic/complex" can be hard to hit home.

>>50705550
>>50705488
Pretty much what this guy said. It's hard to roleplay complex characters. Edgy characters are easy if you're playing a system that rewards murderhobos - you'll have plenty of time to shine without putting in much effort.

The OPPOSITE, however, is also very hard to play without coming off as a nofunallowed carebear.

>>50705603
these guys*

Perhaps it's the 'balanced' part that makes the 1st character not work. I don't think there's anything wrong with being complex or realistic, but that stuff takes time to get used to, and people form lasting impressions very quickly.
What an 'edgy' character lacks in depth, he makes up for by having an interesting surface.

Try making characters with other extreme traits that they shoehorn into every interaction. Then you could even slowly tone it down, until you end up with the kind of beige melodrama that you think you like to play.

>>50705347
Part of it's probably because on some level you're not really acting edgy. The fact that you're aware of it grants it a level of self-awareness that makes it easier to swallow because chances are you're over the top and tongue in cheek about it.

>>50705347
You probably like your edgy characters more and feel more involved when you roleplay, hence it is fun and everyone loves it.

>>50705347
People like charicatures.

>>50705347
People like characters that are ridiculous and exaggerated because they're easy to understand and you can fill in the gaps yourself.
Moviegoers don't come to see Anakin Skywalker, the slave-born child who's illiterate and overwhelmed with all the attention he's getting for being 'the Chosen One', is too shy to confess his feelings for the Princess of Naboo and loves to tinker with machines. They come to see Darth Vader, the mysterious and unshakable dark lord of the Sith who Force-chokes the fuck out of anyone who gives him lip and is an ace star pilot and masterful lightsaber duelist.
Build an easily-understandable character with exaggerated strengths and flaws, then fill him or her in over time. It's easier to add onto a simple character than it is to simplify a very complex character.

>>50711600
To be fair, the prequels were super poorly written/acted/directed

>>50705347
Because hilariously poorly written all-flash no substance characters are fun as shit.

>>50705347
Anon, remember that RPGs are group activities. Your character will be getting a sliver of the other player's attentions. You can't expect people to put the the time and effort to focus on your deep and meaningful character study.

>>50711699
I feel sorry for the guy who played Anakin, Hayden Christenson or something. As far as I know he's a reasonable actor who just had poor direction, from the cast interviews it looks like the entire cast knew the thing was a fucking trainwreck.

>>50705347
Probably because you actually played the game with the edgelord character.

>>50705347
It might be that the complex characters lacked a coherent core concept. It's good to have a basic idea of what a character is like with nuances that fit in around it; without the simple core, all you have are details that don't really work together well, and it's easy to get caught up in the complexities at the expense of fun.

>>50705347

It's a game you play with other people, OP.

Does your complex balanced realistic character create a good story for other people?

>>50705347
This is the irony of art. You try to create a masterpiece, and you wind up with garbage. You get mad and create something ironically, it turns out to be pure gold. Then, you try to nonironically emulate your angry irony and wind up with people calling you a phony for being disingenuous.

>>50714541
I've seen him in a couple other movies. He's not the world's greatest actor, but he's not nearly as wooden and immovable as he was in those movies. Fuck, if the guy from Jumper was on screen during Attack of the Clones, I'd like it a lot better.

>>50714541
He's a pretty decent actor, actually. One of the problems came from the way Lucas put together the final cut. He would splice together dozens and dozens of takes using CGI and shit. That's why Anakin's expressions and demeanor seem really dumb at times.