Question for a character

[Devora]

I'm trying to create an MC character for my novel, but i'm a little "iffy" with a detail i've came up with.

For example: My MC is a highly skilled warrior that wields a sword similar to a Katana. He's similar to a Samurai in Fighting style, philosophy, and social class.

My problem is in this little piece of back story I'm making for him: When he was a child, he was stricken with a disease that was a plague that had spread through the kingdom he lived in. He survived the ordeal, but the sickness impaired him.

Problem: I don't know what impairment to use.

I came up with a few ideas for what his impairment would be: Eyesight, hearing, motor skills, immune system, and even breathing problems (i.e. asthma).

I don't know which to choose. (I also, at the same time, want to be realistic about the impairment in correlation of his ability to fight.)

Which do you think sounds like a better idea?

 

[Dr.Dorkness]

I like your ideas. I also have a character with something like that. It's not the type of story I usualy write. I based the Character on myself. Since I have Diabetes and it took me a long time to get used to it. Writing that story helped me alot back then.

From your Ideas I like Immune system the best. with motor skils as a close second. Why? Because I think those would be the most challeging to write. But that is just my opinion. You should write with what you like best and have fun with it. I look forward to hear more about your story and what you have chosen in the end.

 

[Penpilot]

Which do you think sounds like a better idea?

This depends on the story you're telling. Make this impairment significant to the plot. If his fights never last more than ten seconds then asthma isn't really a impairment. Does he have to hide this impairment? Does he have to overcome this impairment? If the latter applies, then give him an impairment that will put him in the worst possible situation for the world he lives in when it kicks in or is exposed. The greater the challenge to overcome, the greater hero the character will be. A pianist that has to deal with the loss of a leg isn't as compelling as a marathon runner who has to.

 

[Anders Ämting]

I'm trying to create an MC character for my novel, but i'm a little "iffy" with a detail i've came up with.

For example: My MC is a highly skilled warrior that wields a sword similar to a Katana. He's similar to a Samurai in Fighting style, philosophy, and social class.

My problem is in this little piece of back story I'm making for him: When he was a child, he was stricken with a disease that was a plague that had spread through the kingdom he lived in. He survived the ordeal, but the sickness impaired him.

Problem: I don't know what impairment to use.

I came up with a few ideas for what his impairment would be: Eyesight, hearing, motor skills, immune system, and even breathing problems (i.e. asthma).

I don't know which to choose. (I also, at the same time, want to be realistic about the impairment in correlation of his ability to fight.)

Which do you think sounds like a better idea?

I don't know what works best for your plot, but my impression is that (the occasional blind swordsman aside) the Japanese often consider eyesight to be the most important sense in martial arts - if you have "good eyes" you can pick up on your opponent's movements, read his intentions and react faster. So I would leave his sight intact unless you want to go the full Zatoichi route.

On the other hand, Takehiko Inoue masterwork manga Vagabond, which concerns the life of Miyamoto Musashi, actually makes Sasaki Kojiro a deaf-mute. Because Kojiro has never been able to hear and in fact doesn't even think in terms of words or sounds, he has both very good at seeing his enemy's moves and has developed a keen sense of feeling his own body. Hearing is mostly treated as a distraction in this case.

This depends on the story you're telling. Make this impairment significant to the plot. If his fights never last more than ten seconds then asthma isn't really a impairment.

Something like very poor stamina might be interesting, though - on one hand, it forces the swordsman to use a very economic fighting style with few and small motions. On the other hand, it makes prolonged battles a weakness, so it would be important for him to finish his battles fast. It also makes running away less of an option.

 

[wordwalker]

Something like very poor stamina might be interesting, though - on one hand, it forces the swordsman to use a very economic fighting style with few and small motions. On the other hand, it makes prolonged battles a weakness, so it would be important for him to finish his battles fast. It also makes running away less of an option.

In fact, the absolute samurai ideal --at least to many filmmakers-- was the one-second duel. A character who lost most of his edge if he couldn't win by then... intriguing. (Plus, it gives him an easy weakness enemies can exploit if they know about it, but a great one to bluff to hide.)

 

[Ayaka Di'rutia]

Have you ever thought of having him impaired mentally from the disease? It doesn't have to be complete retardation, but something that affects him enough as a weakness. I have a character that has a mild case of autism, and though he's an awesome warrior and is quite smart, he sometimes gets too focused on things, and can have difficulty connecting to/communicating with people. This makes him quite different from many characters in the stories.

Anyway, just a suggestion

 

[Devora]

This depends on the story you're telling. Make this impairment significant to the plot. If his fights never last more than ten seconds then asthma isn't really a impairment. Does he have to hide this impairment? Does he have to overcome this impairment? If the latter applies, then give him an impairment that will put him in the worst possible situation for the world he lives in when it kicks in or is exposed. The greater the challenge to overcome, the greater hero the character will be. A pianist that has to deal with the loss of a leg isn't as compelling as a marathon runner who has to.

His impairment isn't really significant to the plot, but is more so, for lack of a better word, a "character trait".

 

[Penpilot]

His impairment isn't really significant to the plot, but is more so, for lack of a better word, a "character trait".

If it's not significant to the plot then it doesn't matter what you choose. But I'd question how bad eyesight wouldn't affect the plot for a sword fighter.

 

[Rullenzar]

If it was a comedy I'd do something like his limbs randomly twitch in odd directions while fighting. How he mastered it to work in his favor and even though it looks funny to his enemy he's actually learned to control his limbs to twitch the way he wants.

Eyesight would be my top choice because you say he is like a samurai ninja type. Using your senses and learning to use your senses to kill as a warrior effectively would be a good basis. Maybe he is a good warrior but when it comes down to say a dark room he falls flat. This plague was a curse but with it and through it he is forced to take senses seriously and learn to use them proper if he means to survive.

 

[Devora]

I put a poll to make it easier to sort through the opinions, but give a reason still. much appreciated.

 

[Chime85]

Personally, I would go for Asthma. The other three, eyesight, motor skills and hearing would likely effect his ability as a profound swordsman. Eyesight of course would effect his skill at judging distance or narrow his vision. Motor skills would seriously hinder his ability to wield his sword. Hearing, while swordplay mostly relies on vision, there is the matter of hearing an enemy approach from behind. Also, the ears are where our sense of balance is kept, think of it as a very tiny ruler which measures if a surface is straight and level (one of those rulers with the bubble.) We each have a very tiny one of those in our ears, keeping us from leaning to one side or the other when we move.

With asthma, he has the room to use his sword and use it well. However, I imagine his ability to wield a sword for long periods of time would serious come into question. His greatest enemies would be those who keep him fighting for longer periods of time.

 

[SeverinR]

Problem: I don't know what impairment to use.

I came up with a few ideas for what his impairment would be: Eyesight, hearing, motor skills, immune system, and even breathing problems (i.e. asthma).

I don't know which to choose. (I also, at the same time, want to be realistic about the impairment in correlation of his ability to fight.)

Which do you think sounds like a better idea?

Instead of giving the answer, I will brainstorm the options:
Eyesight; I assume poor eyesight not blind. MC might not be able to hit with an arrow if nearsighted, far sighted usually isn't much of a problem, since most didn't read back then. Map reading might be a problem.
hearing; people would need to speak louder, and he could have people accidently sneaking up on him. Deaf would be a severe disability, with no ability for others to give him directions during a fight, including time to flee.
Motor skill; a minor extremity problem, a limp, a weak arm, would be a big handicap to someone that survives by being able to fight.
Immune system; sickly, allergies, would be annoying to friends and would make it more common for scratches and cuts to become infected, which would need treatment.
Breathing problems: asthma- stress usually makes the problem worse, so it might be a severe handicap. Low lung capacity, would severly limit a fight, if you have to catch your breath after a few swings of a sword, then strength would be lost, because he wouldn't be able to do a good work out. Push yourself to hard and you black out form lack of oxygen.

I think it is much better to offer you information, then to pick one that I like.

 

[Rob P]

Plagues come in different styles and sizes and perhaps one thing to consider is if this plague left a legacy amongst a generation of people where similar traits were common. Thus his heritage would pre-determined the possibility of an impairment in the eyes of opponents knowing his race. This could work to his favour, ie has overcome the issues or against because it still impinges heaviliy on him.

I would favour some kind of nerve damage. Unable to feel/touch - lacks intimacy in his life but could be unreponsive to pain also. It would be something that could manifest in a multitude of symptoms.