Why do people make their oc's over powered then the most powerful characters

[Side Bird 565]

Uh... What're you talking about?

Controlling nature and being older than Celestia, and being twice as powerful and also being an alicorn, is not overpowered.

It's just unique. 

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,298]

Did I forget to post here? xD

 

Why does anyone complain about other people making their OC "overpowered" when it doesn't actually affect them in the slightest?  Why do people think they've any say whatsoever in what someone else does with their own character?  The fandom is all about creativity right up until they see an OC that doesn't mesh with their idea of what an OC should be.  Then you've got the folks who ceaselessly regurgitate "overpowered" and "Mary Sue" as though quality control and OC creation ever had anything to do with one another in the first place.  You're missing the whole damned point.

 

I think it's sad that you've got people needlessly shitting on the creations of others and people who feel they must adhere to the stringent parameters set by the fandom when creating their own.

[Shanks 10,811]

An OC being that powerful dosen't automatically make them a Mary Sue/Gary Stu but doing this without giving valid, believable reasons why that is the case does make the character a god mod sue. As for why people do it, a lot of people do it due to simple wish fulfillment because being more powerful than say Celestia would be kind of cool actually but others use it to make a sort of foil for another character to best them which actually can be a valid reason depending on how it is done. If anything we saw this in cannon in the episode Wonderbolt Academy where Lightning Dust was clearly the faster flier than Rainbow Dash.

 

If done wrong this could have made Lightning Dust a Mary Sue but the way it was done made it to where not only was she a relatively effective foil but also raise the important point that talent and hard work while they are important dosen't give you license to recklessly endanger ponies the way Lightning Dust did.

 

Simply put what makes a character including an OC "overpowered" is not always necessarily that they are more powerful than certain characters but that if they are more powerful than makes sense for the story, their role in the story ect... which depends on a lot of factors including how they got that powerful, their role in the story ect... Any character no matter how powerful must have some kind of weakness or flaw in order to not be a Mary Sue/Gary Stu.

Edited July 2, 2015 by EarthbendingProdigy

[Aurora Rains 164]

I could care less how another person makes their oc.  Mine is simply addicted to coffee and has some cosmetic effects with how her magic works.  Supper strong in the force so to say or anything like it?  Nope.  She isn't about to move mountains with a wave of her horn or prevent a natural disaster with an impervious god like shield.  Best she could do is blind you for a second with multi colored lights (no better than a smoke bomb ) and run the flip away.  She is a personality based character not a power heavy character.  But that is my style.  Some people prefer the powers and flashy moves.  That is what draws their eyes so that is what they want to play with.

[Randimaxis 8,643]

*sigh* I'm certain to ruffle some manes with this, but I'll try to keep it civil:

 

I have been a gamer for quite some time.  I have had incredible fun playing in many different games all across the spectrum.  In most of those games, there were times we ran across powerful individuals, but they were rarely SUPER powerful, and if they were, there was usually a quest involved to make them defeatable...

 

Then, there was one game I played where the DM (Dungeon Master, for those of you who don't RP) also has his character in the game, which was "supposedly" not an NPC (Non-Player Character, again for non-players).  This character was INCREDIBLY overpowered, and the DM used every opportunity he got to remind us that we were NOTHING compared to him.  When he wasn't playing his "PC NPC", it was a great game; when he did, it turned into crap-on-a-stick.  I eventually left the game because of it.

 

Characters who are all-powerful are not fun for OTHER players.  They vacuum the fun out of a story, and leave you feeling as if you might as well not even have participated in the first place.  Part of the idea of RP is to tell a story with MORE THAN ONE CHARACTER; if the OP OC has all this phenomenal cosmic power, when why the HELL are the other characters necessary?  It's exceedingly rare to find a story that has only ONE character in it that is truly fun or worthwhile to read.

 

Plus, flaws can be FUN, believe it or not.  I was in a different campaign than the one above, and everyone in it was playing some fantastic race, with multi-class characters.  I CHOSE to play a regular Human Rogue.  No fantastic races.  No three-or-four classes.  Just. A. Human. Rogue.

 

That character started at the bottom of the group Totem Pole, so to speak, having started at level 1 while the rest of the group had made it to level 7 at least.  The foibles & tribulations that character had to endure made for some FANTASTIC RP, and eventually he became famous throughout the realms.  And all he ever was, no matter how powerful he became (25th level), was simply a HUMAN ROGUE.  He is STILL my favorite character ever.

 

Bottom Line: Overpowered characters may be fun to play, but they are NOT fun to play WITH.  

 

Flaws can help define a character, too - Fluttershy, for example, would be just another pony if she wasn't plagued with shyness... she'd be "Flutter".

 

Thank you for your time.

[Sapphire Lightning 784]

*shrugs* I would guess it is to just have fun with power?

 

My OC (really hypno-ponisona) doesn't even have a cutie mark. She hasn't even figured out where to focus in life yet...

[Aurora Rains 164]

I can feel ya Randimaxis.  There is such a thing as to op.  During a Marvel Classic game I was running a bit back one of my players decided She was going to make a god.  Literally a god.  Ok fine I let her try it out.  But I also set down some rules.  Basically I told her that her power level would depend on her popularity rating.  People had to know she existed and had to be offering her prayer.  I figured that doing this would offer some interesting roleplaying for the group.  The woman never tried to get followers only made appearances in front of news vans.  Then got mad at me when I wouldn't up her power to god levels as she had wrote it.  It was so hard to get it threw her head that people knowing who she is and people offering prayer to her are two different things.

 

[Shikilicious 69]

I believe that bad OCs are a form of art.

 

When you have a really overpowered one in front of you, it is like watching a really old and shabby building during an earthquake; the fascination is that you always wonder when they can't absorb any more energy, start tremor in terror and collapse into a giant firework explosion.

Edited July 2, 2015 by Shikilicious

[Justin_Case001 4,863]

I really don't see why anyone cares what other people do with OCs anyway.

 

*sigh* I'm certain to ruffle some manes with this, but I'll try to keep it civil:

 

I have been a gamer for quite some time.  I have had incredible fun playing in many different games all across the spectrum.  In most of those games, there were times we ran across powerful individuals, but they were rarely SUPER powerful, and if they were, there was usually a quest involved to make them defeatable...

 

Then, there was one game I played where the DM (Dungeon Master, for those of you who don't RP) also has his character in the game, which was "supposedly" not an NPC (Non-Player Character, again for non-players).  This character was INCREDIBLY overpowered, and the DM used every opportunity he got to remind us that we were NOTHING compared to him.  When he wasn't playing his "PC NPC", it was a great game; when he did, it turned into crap-on-a-stick.  I eventually left the game because of it.

 

Characters who are all-powerful are not fun for OTHER players.  They vacuum the fun out of a story, and leave you feeling as if you might as well not even have participated in the first place.  Part of the idea of RP is to tell a story with MORE THAN ONE CHARACTER; if the OP OC has all this phenomenal cosmic power, when why the HELL are the other characters necessary?  It's exceedingly rare to find a story that has only ONE character in it that is truly fun or worthwhile to read.

 

Plus, flaws can be FUN, believe it or not.  I was in a different campaign than the one above, and everyone in it was playing some fantastic race, with multi-class characters.  I CHOSE to play a regular Human Rogue.  No fantastic races.  No three-or-four classes.  Just. A. Human. Rogue.

 

That character started at the bottom of the group Totem Pole, so to speak, having started at level 1 while the rest of the group had made it to level 7 at least.  The foibles & tribulations that character had to endure made for some FANTASTIC RP, and eventually he became famous throughout the realms.  And all he ever was, no matter how powerful he became (25th level), was simply a HUMAN ROGUE.  He is STILL my favorite character ever.

 

Bottom Line: Overpowered characters may be fun to play, but they are NOT fun to play WITH.  

 

Flaws can help define a character, too - Fluttershy, for example, would be just another pony if she wasn't plagued with shyness... she'd be "Flutter".

 

Thank you for your time.

Okay...um...yeah, I get your point, and I agree...except, I think I'm missing something.  Are FIM OCs being used for D&D or something?  I thought they were just...like...y'know for art and fanfics and stuff.  If people are using OCs for complex roleplays with each other, then I agree that it's a bit lame to make every character godlike.  Then it just becomes a game of power creep until you're playing Warframe.

 

Now, I never got into this whole OC thing, but if I were to make one, she'd have osteogenesis imperfecta, just cuz.  Just to be interesting.

Edited July 3, 2015 by Justin_Case001

[NebuLord/Starburst 32]

What is Mary Sue/Gary stu

[Hocus Pocus 636]

Most of the time it's a result of insecurity. There's nothing wrong with having a low self-esteem, but people with low self-esteem do tend to make characters deliberately better than everything else in order to compensate for the lack of their own sense of identity. It's a "Hey, look at me!" call, not always because they feel they aren't getting enough attention, but because they feel that they aren't important enough as they are. So they make a character that IS important. And what better way to make something important than to give them ridiculously overpowered abilities?

 

In other, much rarer circumstances, it's either narcissism, or incredibly inexperienced writing skills

[RavenholmZombie 1,329]

They make their OCs super overly-powered because it gives them this theoretical "Get out of Jail Free" card which they can, and often will use, to turn Roleplays over to their advantage while screwing everyone else over in the process. It's like using a God Mode cheat code in a game. Same stuff, basically.

 

"You can't kill me! I'm God!!!!!!111ONEONEONE" ~Shit OC made by someone with no imagination.

 

I also think they do it because they can't be bothered to write a decent backstory for their OCs.

`

[I used to be a stranger 7,989]

Let me think of the OCs I've invented (officially or otherwise)

 

A Rootbeer Brewer

Leader of the Official Opposition party in the Equestrian Parlaiment

Minister of Science and Education in the Equestrian Parlaiment

The Lord Mayor of Canterlot

An Admiral

Several flight researchers and the first Astronaut, who all interact with the Mane Cast briefly, several decades after FiM canon

A Sculptor

A Giraffe who goes to school with little Twilight

Several political activists in favor of the 'Citizen Changelings' movement, including a Moose

 

Honestly the self-awareness to test my characters for Over-power'dness was there long before I knew My Little Pony was a thing.

Edited July 16, 2015 by Blue

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

There are many reasons, but I will say the one I think is the primary one.

 

To compensate for the inadequacies in their life. 

 

Life is tough, and most of us don't feel special. We all blend in a sea of billions of others who would not even notice us if we died, due to how connected this entire world is. So others may do this to stand out or just so that they can feel special in their own worlds. I myself create elaborate fantasy worlds to deal with my displeasure with the state of my life and how little control I have over external events. Having something that you CAN control is a coping mechanism. You can control this overpowered character, and they can do anything you want. 

 

If they're not in a roleplay and not creating a story with anyone else, then let them keep doing that. It is all in the name of good mental health, and even if I may giggle at it privately, they are enjoying it. And I won't say anything to them to ruin their fun. Besides, for me, it's fun to see over-the-top characters and giggle at them anyway. Everyone wins!

 

Of course, when I create a character, I feel absolutely disgusting when I make them too perfect. So I tend to go down the "self-degrading" path. 

 

There's also the other reason, which people will say if they think you're overthinking things: "Because it's fun." These people aren't really trying. They're just doing it for entertainment and as a side thing unlike more serious writers.

 

It really isn't fun to me because I find crazy unique flaws and origins to be more original and interesting, but hey. different tastes. 

[Discordian 6,013]

It's a god complex thing. They want to feel powerful so they make their character unbeatable. It's a power trip more than anything.

 

I do the same thing but I don't write fanfiction. Power trips 4 lief.

[SanityNotIncluded 335]

The simplest answer is that people like to picture themselves as perfect. While I don't have a problem with this for pure escapism purposes, I understand why it's annoying for RP-ers.

[Windseeker 546]

Making your OC stronger than anything in canon, is one of the traits of a Mary Sue, and makes your OC garbage.

 

Most of the time, people do that, because for some stupid reason, they think limitations are bad...when GOOD characters, have limitations...that's what makes them GOOD characters.

 

Same shit applies to alicorn OCs...

Not necessarily true.

 

I knew this one brony on another website who frequently pisses people off with his overpowered characters, yet we all had to give him credit for the sheer amount of creativity he placed into them, like his fictional planet of bio-engineered anthropomorphic ponies led by a completely omnipotent goddess.

 

Of course it sounds absolutely ridiculous when I say it, but you had to see his ideas for yourself. What I am saying is that there's typically a small chance that ridiculously strong characters will compensate for their stereotypical Mary Sue strength with a very in-depth and amazing storyline.

[Alphys Hedge 671]

Because people think they are the most powerful thing in the world. Some of then anyway, making your OC extremely powerful Iguess isn't that much of a problem, at that point I don't really care. But you cross the line when you make an Alicorn OC, and/or claim to be related to the princesses.

[TerribilisScriptor 107]

remember that kid on the playground that had a "everythingproof shield" during pretend-games?

most people who make such OCs are basically that but older and with a MASSIVE defecit in some way that they think they have to compensate for.

[Chaton 3,765]

It's basic human nature to want to excel and be best at anything we can be. During the creation of OC's this part of the mind, if not held back by maturity or logic, can take over and make the OC as powerful as possible.

[Xeltor23 704]

I won't be a hypocrit, I'm planning on making an OP Oc (blame my childhood's shows, go on my profile and you'll understand). I'm thinking about him for months now, but I think I found some ways to limit him to an extreme. If an OC has some merit in obtaining his power, and decided to not use it,  I don't have a problem like that, I'm thinking of mine like that actually; however, if an Oc can destroy universes "just because", then no.

[They call me Loyalty 1,941]

It's often a reflection of need, a power fantasy.

When child, I made a character. He was in coma the entire story. A secondary character, barely noticeable by the others, till he was euthanized.

There was something to be learned about his life and dreams. Something no other character really understood. Once he was gone, everyone's life started going into worse.

The story shortly ends after his death. Being the main character, even without the lector noticing it, till the end.

My teacher was smiling, from a human level, like... "that was actually good"
 

 

I like weak characters better. There's so much potential and space for development.

[Floofie 799]

Because people think that less flaws = better character. It doesn't. Steven Universe taught me that characters flaws make good characters.

 

What is Mary Sue/Gary stu

 

A Mary Sue (or Gary Stu for male characters) is a perfect or near-perfect character with little or no flaws.