Character Theory Do you have a "type" of character you're most drawn to?

[cirrostratus]

That said, I've always wanted to play the SCUMMIEST, most DISGUSTING, TWO-FACED, CHAOTIC EVIL snake to ever exist in an rp. Unrepentantly evil, self-serving, and just slimy in general, the character is a walking, talking slimeball that makes everyone uncomfortable by just existing in the vicinity, not because of how they look, but how they behave in general.

However, most RPs do not enjoy this sort of thing, because everyone wants to be friends, and eventually all supposed 'evil' characters end up on the shipping/flanderisation block, where their vile behaviour is turned into a parody.

Next to that, I do enjoy morally grey characters. Even then, not much discussion on that end because unless it's spelled out letter-for-letter or the character literally yelling out 'I'M MORALLY GREY I'M SITTING ON THE FENCE ABOUT donating a dollar to the homeless shelter OR KILLING INNOCENT BABIES, WITNESS MY ANGUISH AAAAAAAAAA', that grey behaviour is going to be lost between the glaring shades of black and white. RP really isn't a place for subtlety.

I KNOWOWWWWW I made an arrogant intelligent girl and she was just thrown aside in a 1x1 because she was arrogant but I JUST WANNA HURT PPL FEELINGSDHHDHD

And ikr? All I could do was make morally grey backstories because it's either good or bad in roleplay.

 

[Gowi]

Arrogance does not an evil character make. Sounds like your partner was just not being fun.

 

[Charles Cheese]

I.. I admittingly have a soft spot the Bad Boy™ archetype, but it's rightfully got a bad rep with authors who use it as a crutch to romanticize abuse. Looking at you, Fifty Shades of Grey.
In summary, Bad Boys™ are great but only when they're redeemable bad boys. Please don't throw a murderer in my face and expect me to empathize, unless your point is I'm supposed to be disgusted.

 

[MizuHi]

Let's see. So far my favorite character archetypes are:

• Innocent characters with zero malice who are also a bit off in their thinking, the moral version of uncanny valley. They usually will turn out to be not fully human or straight up eldritch abomination taking human form. Made my day if someone pointed out 'they are kind yet give me creep'
• The complete opposite of above, characters who are blatantly alien but all of their problems align stupidly well with human's everyday stuffs ("I can't find one part of my eight-legged shoes!")
• Really kind or gentle characters who were slowly revealed to have committed serious atrocities (done on purpose with malice, in full consciousness, and no outside influence) in the past that they regretted. So a bit like redemption story, but told backwards.
• The genius mad scientist type that build cold fusion reactor in their spare time and have the most absurd solution to mundane everyday problems. Cliche? Yes. Fun? Also yes
• The skeptic, deadpan type who is so done with everything. I place them in comedic settings for their extra suffering. May make meta commentary from time to time.
• Characters with tunnel vision that are hellbent on revenge and choose to go down the path of destruction that will burn down everything including themselves. Okay, I actually haven't had a chance to play this type yet, but I would love to

Wow most of my favorite types are basically "They're nice, BUT..."

 

[Gowi]

I also really really like deconstructing the "child prodigy" trope a good deal. A lot of my female protagonists don't really know how to socialize in a healthy manner because of this and kind of result in being socially awkward jerks. Some of them its deflection, but for the real fun ones they just didn't learn it.

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

i think i overuse the "the fuck is this? the fuck is that? the fuck're you doing?" kinda trope, since it never stops being funny to me to have a character gawk at the insane shit that tends to happen in rps rather than posing like a cool guy.

moreso than that, though, if I wanna get HEADY, I think I've noticed that I always end up enjoying characters the most if I have to spend anywhere between a few, and a handful of posts translating the way they think and react to things into a practical sense. i tend to start with more of an impression of what I think a character should be, rather than a hard script, so they tend to only actually take form once an rp has hit its stride, not in their character sheet. because of that, the characters that I understand quickly usually end up being BORING and LAME because I probably just pulled their thoughtform out of the oven too quickly or some shit, while the ones I don't actually understand for like seven posts end up SICK and RAD because they're cooked to medium-rare juiciness.

 

[Riwa Firestone of Saba]

1. Apocalyptic creature that punished Humanity: Usually an entity that believes it was chosen by God to cause punishment and judgment on earth to save the believers and punish the sinners.

2. Character that always fights naked and is usually the only naked character in a story like to a point where everyone is getting used to her appearing naked often in battle but without being sexual but just funny and also someone you can take serious: This characters represents the true spirit of humility so someone that can easily humiliate themselves and also expose everything but still remain cool headed which to me is that she shows all her weaknesses and makes them to her strength. It can be both an enemy and also ally character to the main character depending on the story and circumstances.

I also like to play the female character that is like in her 30s and often tries to be proper and normal and somehow she is always unlucky and ends up naked in the adventures with her friends or other stuff and first complains about it until she ends up accepting it and then becomes the naked person in the team

And then I also like a male version of a man in his 20s that usually is actually very funny and clumsy and that thinks he is supposed to be the non playboy type and more proper but then he has a secret side where he feels like he would like to get naked around dresses women however he also is first in denial with that

3. The guy in a team that always backstabs people for the sake of hurting someone and is a total dougebag but he has a backstory that may not redeem him but at least show people why he is that evil

4. Tyrannical Leader that wants justice by trying to supress needs of other people and who is radical in trying to achieve order in the world. He is tyrannical but still has a kind heart but it is very difficult to socialize with him. He is often in danger of being corrupted himself in his way of justice and faith. He also potentially is a main Antagonist of a big and great Arc

He is also a man who is obsessed with reading scholars and work and usually also is the man who speaks the most about politics and conspiracies all the time so it is not easy for everyone to hang out with him. He usually spends his time with other scholars.

5. A pure carnivore that is hunting and all about meat and the strong survive

6. A character that always narrates and comments everything

7. An animal that is just funny and really curious about the world

8. Usually a character that is as myself currently and usually deals with mental illness and self esteem issues and usually who searches for love and thinks of fate, God, heaven and blessing all the time

I have even more types but these are my most perfered ones

 

[stranger]

I’ve always like playing Detective and Explorer roles. Their personalities vary, but role/profession-wise, it’s been satisfying to try to figure out the mystery or find new places to explore.

 

[pha5ma]

If I was to say what characters I was most drawn to, it would probably be the kind of heroine-style character that presents themselves as naïve, and almost air- headed, but has hidden depth.

For example, the type of character who is genuinely forgettable at first glance, perhaps even annoying. A little too nice, but also pushy and without boundaries, usually there are two routes I like with these characters.

The first is when they reveal themselves to be strategic, clever and talented at whatever their main interest is, where they become a great asset to the team, or group they are a part of, it also leaves room to confront the struggles of growing tired of something you used to love, or being acknowledged for solely your surface level interests.

Secondly, I like when the character turns out to be intelligent and philosophical, trying to find their place in the world. Usually these characters are masking their inner state of existential crisis with a bubbly personality and a ton of narcissistic humour.

Also when the character turns out to be an evil genius, but that's pretty self explanatory.

 

[Adelais Schaffwolle]

i’ve found most of my enjoyment with the witty, darkhearted charismatic conversationalists that stop at nothing to achieve their goals. unfortunately, those are usually villain traits, and i’ve found it a bit difficult to think of an arc structure to go along with those types of characters as my “main” characters.

in addition to the witty darkhearts, i find just as much fun with characters whom are made with the purpose of making people think “ew that’s creepy”—body horror, lack of common sense, and lack of mental stability is something that i’ve found to be extremely fun to work with. still, they’re characters i leave for villainship, and it’s incredibly fun for me to think up scenarios to work with them alongside write descriptions of them.

 

[Murdergurl]

Violent Femme Fatale. My absolute favorite type of character to RP as. This can come in a variety of categories, of course.
But my favorite is to play them in an antagonistic angle.

 

[ChasmOfOrganicMatter]

Guerillas, insurgents, ideologically motivated militants. The people we'd see as boogeyman from strange, foreign places on the late night news and the living antitheses of what we see as functional democracy.

 

[Stale Biscuit]

Into the stoic stressed out elder archetype. Seems to be an ass at first, but is actually looking out for your well-being while also working their ass off to make sure the world don't fall into chaos.

Comic relief characters. I just like goofiness. No other reason than it's funny. However, if said character has a reason for why they're so devoted to being the class clown, now that makes me happier.

Doom and Gloom. The characters that are cynical and pessimistic who pushes people away as a means of not hurting themselves. Hachiman Hikigaya always comes to mind. Might be an edgelord, but damn if I don't like making them.

Merchants, merchants, merchants. I love these snake-tongued sellers. Some are nice and some are slick, but just know that both are out to make money quick.

 

[scorpiodragon]

Villains. I love them, both playing and reading about them.

 

[Henery]

I like playing a quirky goofball with a dark secret. This sort of character gets caught up in their childish antics, makes friends and enemies quick, and avoids conflict when possible. Of course, they are deeply broken, they just happen to be particularly good at hiding it.

 

[Henery]

I adore this dynamic and my character type is RED GUY! XD

I thought you were talking about British Surreal Dark Comedy Horror Puppetry Animation Parody TV Thrillers for a minute XD. (DHMIS)

 

[PrinceChaikka]

I love playing morally grey people, especially when they're doing something they know is wrong, but they feel the need to power through it for the sake of their goals. Bonus points if they feel like the consequences of their actions will come in due time and be wholly deserved, but they still maintain an absolutely horrid exterior personality and drive people away with it. They can be either calculating and smarmy or just blatantly rude, but I do prefer them to have a soft spot for a select few close frends. I've tried to play just regular, fully self-justified villains before, but I can't get into it with the same passion.

The only other archetype I usually drift towards is someone really kind and outgoing, but just a little stupid or ignorant. They mean well, are open to new experiences, and are usually incredibly smart in one area, but they're also so very very dumb.

 

[bastion]

Okay so my type tends to fall under one of these categories:

• Chaotic idiots with no impulse control, but care about helping people
• Wholesome sunshine beans, focused on helping others
• Charismatic as all hell, using that charisma for personal gain or, you guessed it, to help others

I feel like I tend to have a rather broad range for personality and story, but almost never play a character that wouldn't go out of their way to help others.

 

[Motherlode]

I always have a soft spot for the optimistic (yet still realistic) dreamers who believe and fight for a better tomorrow, in spite of the choking misery and misanthropy of the world around them. Either through their own hands or through their superior intellect, they find a way to overcome the situation and succeed.

But I like to see them struggle as well, to see their ideals put to the test against the harshness of reality. Will their faith fall apart and break into cynicism? Will they rush headstrong with naïveté into a brick wall? Or will they adapt their views and methods, and move on stronger than ever? I especially relate when their supposed good will clashes with themselves: to struggle against the will of one's own flesh and egotistical desires, and the word's you utter about selflessness suddenly become hypocritical of you. Maybe it is because I aspire to be more like these characters and struggle with these things, but at least they can teach me never to give up on my attempts.

Honourable mention: the wise (and optionally old) tutor who guides their pupil through life, forming an unbreakable bond between each other.

 

[kibou]

Looking back at my character's there's obvious trends. All a little weird in some way, though I feel like dumb quirks and humor really help to balance out and might even be the most important thing to making tragic or edgy characters feel rounded, human, and relatable vs no edge pizza cutter.

I'm really into morally grey characters and villains, people with complexes and ways of thinking that I would hate irl but love in fiction and have this slow exploration of "how does a person become this way? How can a person do or justify these things?" Compartmentalization, military indoctrination, and denial in one to justify his actions; grief, self-blame, bitterness, desperation, and a bit more denial in another that leads to a downfall from sweetest dude in his community to being exiled and eventually performing live human experimentation in another oc! :v People who think what they're doing is wrong but the end justifies the means, people who know it's wrong but don't care anymore, people who choose to convince themselves that it's right, or buy into the fallacy that because they've done too much already that they can't stop now or the hurt they've caused would all be for nothing, etc.

Found family is a big theme, probably because my own family issues just makes writing a normal happy family feel almost uncomfortable- they're either not the happiest, or not traditional families, though some of them do have happy nontraditional families!

Nearly all my ocs I've created and used in the past few years seem to have some type of interpersonal issues- either mistrusting and cynical, or fearful of getting close to either be either abandoned later or rejected for showing their true self, fearful of getting close only to lose someone to death, etc. I gotta stop because it makes character interactions become a puzzle I have to solve in order to get their backstory out.

I love comic relief too. My latest oc for a new campaign is tons of edge, but a total himbecile, and just a way for me to get my desire for a super campy, over the top villain out, though he's totally incompetent and not actually bad- he just wants to be bad, so badly, and constantly gets into petty arguments with the henchman that's actually running the show.

I play a lot of healer and support types when any kind of powers are involved. Even the villains. No particular reason, just what I tend towards.

 

[salem.]

Hmm, looking through what characters I’ve played the… What now, 6, 4 years of roleplays to date my favourite “type” as to say is…

THE ALLMIGHTY EDGELORD (Insert thunder.mp3) (Insert thunder2.mp3)

The one I remember most vividly playing is this skellie guy called something like ‘Jex’ or anything along those typical edgelord lines. It was back in the days of pet/villager browser games with a forum stuck in there, held together by tape and that hasn’t been updated in a good while.

I think the site’s name was Furvilla? Remember having like 4 accounts in there because I used to get bored of my villagers and also wanted to be someone new. (And… Passing old and rare as hell items from my old account to my newer ones each 3 months or so… I’m pretty sure that’s cheating.)

But I’m getting offtrack, right. Jex was this fully skeletal wolf with a BAD case of Putting-One-Leg-On-The-Wall-And-Crossing-Your-Arms-While-Groaning-And-Insulting-Other-Characters-itus.

Ooh, the time I remember the most was where… He almost beat the two goody-two-shoes characters (Who were about the ‘main’ characters) to death for getting angry at his rudeness?

Damn. Young me was wild.

But yeah! There you have it, edgelords are pretty cool, with moderation, of course.

 

[nerdy tangents]

I’m drawn to characters who do not need external validation. The kinda people who are comfortable in their own skin and keeping themselves

 

[SpazTheButcher]

There is three main archetypes I typically roleplay as:

1. The Cowboy: The kind of guy who helps everyone regardless. He follows his own laws and rules, not typically those created by society.

Theme: "Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys" by Willie Nelson

2. The Marine: This one is directly inspired by characters such as Corporal Ray Person(Generation Kill) and Private First Class Bill Hudson(Aliens). The kind of I-don't-give-a-shit attitude jokers who despite often being claimed by their friends to have joined the Corps to make fun of it, are actually the best of the best and always willing to help their friends.

Theme: "Call a Marine" by Toby Keith

3. The Veteran: This one is harder for me to find a home for and finds very little use on the website, but is essentially my PTSD-positive depiction of combat veterans. I try my best to stick to my own experiences for this one(I have not served but most of my family has) and do my best to give the role justice.

Theme: "I was only 19" by Redgum

 

[Vinegar3]

Characters like this guy:



Although I should be more specific. I love edgelords. I find myself gravitating towards creating edgy characters. But they need to do something to earn their edge. They need to have a past that is tortured, but not to the point of comedy, and valid reasons in the present to be as moody as they are.

The reason Guts here works as not only an edgelord but a legitimate character is that his edginess is completely validated by not only his past, but the setting it takes place in. I've tried to take note of that, and it really gave me perspective on edginess: when I was younger and newer to the game, I used to completely dismiss edgelords as characters who were trying too hard to be cool (ex: Dante from the DMC Reboot), but the problem with them is that they weren't real characters. They were characters created with the expressed purpose of being cool, but in the end nothing really justified their coolness and they became one trick ponies. There are such a thing as good edgelords, edgelords you can sympathize with and actually root for, edgelords which you can think are legitimately root for, and edgelords whom, ultimately, are cool. The trick isn't to write them with the aim of making an edgelord. The trick is to write them as characters first and foremost.

 

[Jewel]

A lot of really interesting takes in this thread. I thought I would share my own take in the form of this visual depiction (see right).

Role Elaboration:

Spoiler: Role Elaboration

Caregiver/parent:
This role refers to characters that take on a comforting, nurturing role. In a character relationship they are typically older, wiser, and/or more responsible.

Lovable dumbass:
The kind, thoughtless idiot with unending optimism and a resilient positive attitude.

Funky little scientist:
A funny little scientist. (Scientist as a broad term encompassing also: wizard, magician, alchemist, engineer, nerd)

Boy/Girl
The naive, innocent, free-spirited youth. Most often paired with the Caretaker role or another Boy/Girl. May be outspoken, bashful, and free-spirited. May be unaware of the harsh realities of the world.

Plain Jane:
Characters that are just normal people. They have their vices and virtues. They're balanced, but not always that interesting.

"Morally Dubious"
This description is just as ambiguous as the characters under the umbrella term. The term is extremely relative-- what may seem morally dubious to one roleplayer is not at all "dubious" to another. Sometimes this term is used as an excuse to justify playing downright evil characters. The Morally Gray Protagonist is a trope rarely done well.

Overpowering female lead
She's feisty, cunning, witty, and she knows everything. She's proficient in every weapon and she knows all the lore. All of it. All of the lore. Society hates her because she's right and society is wrong. She single-handedly carries the entire plot. (Doesn't have to be female, but I've only seen this happen once or twice with male characters).

Literal children
Characters that are literal children. (I'm talking like, 12 and under)

Asshole Characters
Not to be confused with Morally Dubious characters. These characters are ambitious, mean, and extremely hostile. Takes a tremendous amount of stamina to keep up with an asshole character. Mad respect to those who do it well.

Placement Elaboration:

Spoiler: Placement Elaboration

Caregiver/parent:
These characters are hardly ever evil. It's their true nature to be loving/supportive. Lawful Good.

Lovable dumbass:
A clumsy fool who means well. True Good. CAN be less than good, but I'm referring to himbos/bimbos here.

Funky little scientist:
Not talking about evil scientists. These funky little dudes may have a sour attitude, but they serve a greater good-- science! Chaotic Good.

Boy/Girl
While they do not abide by the laws of society, they are hardly lawless or evil. They're reckless lovers! They're not wildcards. Lawful Neutral.

Plain Jane:
Normal people. True Neutral.

"Morally Dubious"
Chaotic Neutral because you never really know what you're gonna get when someone says that their character is "morally dubious". Much uncertainty.

Overpowering female lead
Characters who confidently dominate the plot are a good match for some-- but they can be a handful! The most disastrous consequence of being matched with an overpowering character is that while they may be in complete control, you will be at a complete loss for control/influence. Lawful Evil.

Literal children
This is extremely dangerous territory. Has the most potential to go poorly. Makes people wonder about you. Why are you writing from the perspective of an 8-year-old? Are you okay? True Evil because that is the only morally correct placement for playing a child (unless you are also a child, in which case, you are exempt from criticism).

Asshole Characters
Chaotic Evil. Amazing or horrible, no in-between. Maybe they soften up and something beautiful happens. Maybe they're just rotten to the core. Hardest character to play well and maintain. (Only counts if the roleplayer knows their character is in the wrong. If they think their character is right, see Overpowering Female Lead).

I think any character can fall under one (or more) of these broad categories! I think I most often find myself playing dumbasses, but I'd be lying if I didn't have characters that I'd classify as "morally dubious" (as horribly subjective as that is).

Anyone agree/disagree? Thoughts?