As part of an ongoing discussion surrounding Shadow Points and the acquisition of Flaws, what are your opinions on their impact on characters? Do you think Flaws should be avoided at all costs? Are they something that adds flavor to a character without a severe impact?

I know there are a couple of strong opinions, but I wanted to give others a chance to chime in so I can get a consensus.

They are bad but not to be avoided at all costs. Otherwise, why even go adventuring if not to risk the Shadow to fight for what you believe in?

Flaws are a good part of a well developed adventurer. Wandering through the unforgiving wild without acquiring a flaw or two seems unlikely. I thing that one of the main points of JRRT's stories is to show that none among the living is without flaws but that flaws also can be overcome. Neither 'The Hobbit', LotR or Silm are stories about absolutely flawless protagonists of goodness.

Rule-wise I think that the great classic prince in not very shiny armor in LotR, namely Aragorn, had at least acquired the flaw of resentfulness on the lure of power weakness path before he met the hobbits. A flaw he struggles with during much of the story. The great deeds performed by the hobbits he first resented was a great help in overcoming his weakness. The resentful flaw is clearly written with Strider in mind:

I think that few characters in LotR are rule-wise flawless throughout the story of LotR.

I think that there might be relevant to invent a new shadow weakness connected to fatalistic despair.

One of my favourite characters in the books is Turin, he's got quite a lot of shadow points (rule-wise), and he's story is of great tragedy and despair.
All the family fell to daspair (and terribly coming short of Hope points), so I agree with vidugavia, maybe Francesco&Co. will devise a new calling in an upcoming release with a new caling with "Fatalistic Despair" as the flaw path.

Vidugavia, once again I find myself in complete agreement with you. Well spotted that Strider possesses the resentful flaw.

I personally prefer characters who are flawed, both as a player and as GM (haven't ran TOR yet so can't say Loremaster). So many adventure hooks and little side plots come from the flaws of characters.

I think too much is being made of the accumulation of Shadow. It's part of the game and very much part of the setting. The characters will gradually accumulate shadow, including permanent shadow and flaws, as they progress. As long as the players understand that this is part of the game from the start, I can't see a problem. If, however, they are expecting a heroic campaign like in D&D, then there may be a problem. It's all about setting of expectations. After all it's generally accepted that, when playing Call of Cthulhu, your characters will either go mad (Sanity loss) or die horribly. This is accepted as part of the setting and the game. Shadow should be accepted as part of The One Ring.

Another element is that the character you start the game with may not be the same character you end the game with. It may be a son, cousin or relative. This is a longe duree kind of game which has long story arcs in it. At some point your character is going to get to old weary or won out to continue the fight against the shadow.