Staffing Overpowered and unbelievable character, what to do?

[Anonymous 234]

There is a member who has recently applied for a second character after their first got denied. The reason that they got denied the first time is that the character over all was very unbelievable and overpowered. The weaknesses that were given, were not actually weaknesses. When explaining a weakness they would explain that this was not always the case and basically counter the weakness in the same statement. 

On top of that the character was the child of a famous person, yet the fact that they were missing did not appear in the media. On top of that they were semi famous themselves, yet when showing up in New York he wasn't recognized at all and no one asked questions.

Now for this new character, once again the power this character has is a lot. Instead of starting with one like was suggest they started out with three while recently having gotten the abilities. They can manipulate emotions, sense emotions and through that predict action and on top of that overload people’s emotions rendering them unable to defend themselves. The weakness for these are mainly the lack of control, yet at the same time the character can manipulate up to 5 people at a time, can over load people’s emotions and pinpoint what someone is feeling in a crowd. 

This character also has a musician for a dad, somehow there is no mother in the picture yet it is not explained. They got kidnapped while on the way to a venue where the characters dad had to play, yet somehow their car wasn't found for a week and they don't explain why it took so long to find the car. After that the kid got experimented on, why is unclear. On top of that the businessman paying for the experiments treats the character like their own adoptive kid. All in all, it is a lot and in our opinion too much. 

Last time we wrote a lengthy pm explaining that it was too much for one character. There was more to the story than this, but it’s the basics. 

How would you deal with this situation and explain this to this person that they are not a good fit for this board? 

Anonymous poster hash: f46e0...397

[Morrigan 1,826]

I would be direct with them and tell them that you feel that their characters are too extraordinary and vague to fit in with your setting.

  

I would ignore the issues with the previous character and simply bullet point a 3-5 thing list of the issues.

• Too many powers
• History plot holes
• Doesn't fit within the setting provided.

  

If you are not willing to give them a final chance then tell them outright, "We do not believe you are a good fit this site and wish you luck on your site journey" but that's personally how I would do it if I really didn't get the vibe that they would fit.

  

[VirusZero 176]

I wouldn't spend a lot of time. I mean they've already had one character rejected for similar reasons (so they've already had this explained once and they didn't listen...) so I'd keep it short and sweet. Something like:

 

Quote

 

Dear <member>

Because of your recent applications, we do not think you are a good fit for this board. As a result we think you would have better luck and more fun on another site. Please understand that this is non-negotiable and not up for debate.

 

Thank you for your understanding,

<Site name> staff team.

 

 

Then if they put up a fuss, ban them. 

[Lusitano 0]

I don't even need the full story to come to the conclusion that if that were my site, I'd be frank with them and explain to them that their characters have just been plain too much and because of this and the fact that they continue doing it that the staff doesn't feel they're a right fit for the board as a role player. I mean at this point it's not even flaws in the character, as it is in most cases I've ever come across. At some level that's mean and I understand that, but unfortunately that's the hard reality.

[Orchid 12]

I'm with @Morrigan and @VirusZero on this one. Don't sugar coat. Be blunt. To the point. Tell them why the character won't fit. Point out the holes, and how that wouldn't mesh with the setting of the board. Apologize to them, offer them access to their application (they may want to save the character?) and let them know you wish them the best of luck on finding a home for [Character Name] but unfortunately it doesn't look like your site is that home. Be blunt, but be polite about it. Looks best for everyone involved.

  

If they start trouble, IP ban them.

  

This sounds suspiciously like a writer I had to deal with on my site rather recently. For your sake I honestly hope it's not.

[Seravian 50]

I'm on board with everyone here: Just be to the point. Tell the member their character simply will not work, and politely send them off if they give you trouble. 

 

You could try to work with the member and compromise in order to get the character to a point where it will work but, honestly, that might just lead to more crap and a headache you don't need. At least that's how I'd feel if I were in your shores. 

[Rune 1,099]

Everyone else summed it up well. If you are determined to help the person, you could offer ideas on things to change or simply lay out what would have to change before you'd even consider accepting them. 

  

 You could just lay out a list and deny it, no further work involved. Then if they complain a grand shrug of "I gave reasons" could be enough.

[Death Kitten 200]

4 hours ago, Sil said:

You could try to work with the member and compromise in order to get the character to a point where it will work but, honestly, that might just lead to more crap and a headache you don't need. At least that's how I'd feel if I were in your shores. 

I had a player I tried this with. We spent a lot of time working together to help his character fit in with my game's setting, and in that end, despite the adjustments made to allow the character to mesh, he still played her very much like the original pitch and ignored all the efforts made to allow her to fit in.

 

So, yeah, maybe you can help them through adjusting their app, but have a plan of action in place in case they play the character they wanted to originally anyways, despite what their app says.

[CovertSphinx 710]

On 6/22/2016 at 1:48 PM, Death Kitten said:

So, yeah, maybe you can help them through adjusting their app, but have a plan of action in place in case they play the character they wanted to originally anyways, despite what their app says.

In such a case, typically I would give the member 1 PM warning that the changes were non-negotiable and could not deviate without punishment. And then out comes the ban-hammer with no further explanation (if they didn't leave on their own once the "threat" line was drawn in the sand). 

  

 To the original question, I'd go one step further with the application: If the member accepts the rejection, but tries it a third time, I wouldn't bother wasting typing skills on a nice "I don't think you fit letter" and just outright throw the ban on them.