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And then there's the "consistently inconsistent" types, such as Fornis, the queen from Richard Adam's "Maia."
She was deliberately inconsistent, her methodology known only to herself, for the express purpose of confusing the masses and giving her an aura of power she might not have exuded otherwise.
The trick to that is, you have to actually be MORE in control of your character's every thought than if you played a consistent personality. Every arched eyebrow, every walk to the park, every morsel you eat - and even so far as -how- you eat it - has to be carefully planned in advance. It's my opinion that the "consistently inconsistent" personality type is the most difficult to play.
But the key to all roleplay, in my opinion, is consistency. To make your character believable in the eyes of other players, there's absolutely no way around it. If you give your character a flaw, it has to be played flawlessly, seamlessly, without giving any indication of effort.
Spontaneously played "perfect" roleplaying is nearly impossible to find, so don't sweat it if you mess up, and don't lose sleep trying to figure out how to do it. Chances are, it won't happen anyway. Expect your character to get into situations that *you* have no idea how to get him out of. In fact, embrace those moments and learn from them. Your own experiences are your best teachers.
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