Experiences Do You Reuse Characters in Roleplays?

[DatCorn]

A mix of recycle and new. Sometimes, you want to keep playing the lovable idiots you make.

 

[carbonite]

Definitely guilty of this, my favorite guy is just a breeze for me to write after years of developing him but still interesting every time because of how interactions and connections with other characters or the environment affect him. He can be a little difficult to use in threads where the plot is optional because he would honestly just rather go home (lol), but inevitably when the right plot forces him to look life in the face and work with others it's always fun and satisfying to me. Any connection even close to friendship that he makes is a huge huge deal due to his nature, my friends who know him well treat it like some kind of challenge. Gonna be wringing this pathetic little cringe man (gender neutral) till he's dry

 

[StrawberryAvalanche]

I used to create a new character for every roleplay that I was in, but as of late I have been recycling characters. Because sometimes roleplays end, or I never get a chance to develop my character in more than a few scenes that I was given with an RP partner. So, I like to reuse my characters to get a chance to get to know them better as well as sometimes I do become very attached to them.

 

[GrumpySwallow]

I've done it.

I've reused my D&D character because games kept dying and I spent time on art and money on a miniature, so I'm using them, dangit!

 

[Onmyoji]

Speaking of that, my DnD character is probably the only one I might reuse without any changes (aside from backstory ofc, to fit the new campaign). I spent so much time creating it and figuring out all the stats, not sure I'll want to go through that process again lol

 

[StuartAnderson]

i've reused some of my favourite characters. I don't mean they are the exact same but I have adapted them to fit the roleplay so use them as a kind of template. Only if they are a good fit for the roleplay though, I wouldn't shoehorn them in, just to use them

 

[Shawdios]

I tend to be picky with my rps because if my current hyperfixation or motivation doesnt find it worth it to write for, i cant get myself to write for it. Because of this i tend to stick to essentially being a Game Master that controls the setting and side characters, with me switching between my characters as a main focus when one goes “off screen”. But where does this apply to reusing your ocs? I hear you ask. Well, typically, i use a setting i came up with, and characters i came up with and write with in solo writing. i adjust the setting and characters to each RP, and use the RPs to build my world and characters! So, its a symbiotic partnership every time i RP.

i like presenting this open world you can adventure in and have characters your character can meet and interact with. I like seeing how the characters interact and build eachother as the RP goes on. i like having a RP be an experience where you and your character(s) get to experience this world ive crafted through the many RPs before it.

And if you dont find that interesting or fun to have as a partner, thats just your preference and you’ll find someone else to RP with.

 

[ManicMuse]

I enjoy writing a new character for each RP or DnD game I do. I normally like taking inspiration from the storyline to decide what I will make.

I dislike the niche-reused character. I have a few friends that I play with that always use the same character. Even if some things are changed, over all the character acts, speaks, and otherwise is the same. I do find that they tend to limit themselves in a story by doing this. Often the character does not quite fit into the storyline at hand because they have carved out the details of this character so much so that the character is no longer fluid with the story and can even derail the story.

Fresh slates give room for fresh ideas in my mind. But to each their own. I do not shy away from playing with my friends that reuse characters. But I do take internal bets on their character acting the same way in situations in different storylines.

 

[Yunalescaa]

The one RP friend group I have is about the only group where we will recycle OCs. At the very least their name, age, gender, and face claim. I try not to do it anywhere else because it's a lot of work. But because we're a group of chronically ill and neurodivergent individuals, it's really easy for us to throw some ideas up, get a few posts in and realize it ain't it. We don't mind but it means characters we worked really hard on will never see the light of day. Hence the recycling LOL.

 

[Pokeking]

I prefer to reuse characters because I have a roster of characters for use in different genres. Considering that I gravitate to the same genres, the same names pop up. I do employ variants, usually with different names, if they are outside of their usual genre.

Some of my character do cross genres sometimes. My OC Shane Marconi, for example, has been used in futuristic stories but has been seen in a superhero storyline once. Currently, I am using a character named Brett. He is a high school quarterback and a mage in some continuities. However, I translated facets of his interests and backgrounds to create a medieval fantasy version.

 

[Chimney Swift]

Yes. I usually won't have the same character active in several RPs at once, but I tend to have a small stock of characters that I reuse again and again.

Coming at RP from the perspective of also being in the performing arts, one of my favorite things is watching how characters grow and evolve as I become more in-tune with them and writing their actions/reactions becomes more instinctive and improvisational. When I've been writing a character for a long time across many different settings and scenarios, their mindset becomes second-nature.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Yeah, I do reuse character a lot. Especially when I really enjoy writing them but the didn't get enough to chance to grow because the RP dies first. I also sometimes just strip them down just to their core concept and use it to construct new characters.

 

[silket]

i consider my characters my OCs and they exist outside of RP for me, so yes, i reuse them a lot! i occasionally create a new character for a RP if i feel like it or if i don't have someone who is suitable, but after i make new ones they live in my mind rent-free and i usually draw them or think about AUs, what other antics they'd get up to, and so on. even during times i'm not actively RPing, i create new characters just because i enjoy it, and i have characters who i don't ever plan on actually RPing. i'd have a hard time creating a new one for each RP just because i feel like the more i use the character, the more i deepen my understanding of them and my connection with them.

i have a character i've been playing as for almost 10 years at this point and writing him feels so natural, he's seen a variety of different settings and scenarios & i find that super fun!

 

[Idea]

For almost every roleplay, I make a new character unique to that roleplay, and I tend to expect my partners to do the same (less so for fandom roleplays than original settings, but I’ll get to that). I am very much someone who very much enjoys planning and structure and so tailoring a character precisely for that roleplay and their role within it is what makes sense to me. Furthermore, a lot of the time my interest in a certain roleplay comes precisely because the premise gave me a character idea, to the point that one of the most common reasons for me to quit a roleplay I joined is if the core concept of my character is rejected.

As for my partner’s characters, pre-made characters are not only less tailored to the RP by necessity (they may be adapted to the RP, but they will often bring baggage that doesn’t quite fit in powers, backstory or personality, and even if they somehow don’t it will be harder to make them really fit the role intended by the premise) but they carry a risk of excessive attachment much more so than the alternative. The work of making a character is also a certain level of commitment to that particular roleplay that is not shown if you just import a pre-made.

That being said, there are exceptions. As I mentioned before, one of them is fandom roleplays. Since they have a common setting, one could perfectly have a pre-made OC that fits that setting and the role, given the right plot. Same goes for other roleplays that share a setting, like sequels. I myself have also re-used certain characters I made before or nearly copied them because they were some of my favorite and it happened to be a group where they fit, though I did give them a serious update. When doing the same plot or an extremely similar one for my 1x1s, I often found myself just kind of “re-skinning” the same character. There was also one time I was asked to essentially play the same character in a different setting.

Lastly, in dice systems I may be more forgiving of the practice of re-using characters than usual, though so far I didn’t personally do it as far as I remember.

 

[teluhtubby]

I often reuse characters, but I sometimes will make different ones depending on the roleplay. Usually, I'll keep a connection with a character I like the most I spent much time developing its plot and other things to make the character its own person. But if I join or create a roleplay that has nothing to do with that character that is desired for me, than I'll spend some time making a new one to fit the plot of said roleplay.

 

[Kveykva]

generally my go-to is to use one of my dozens of characters i already have. that may seem bland, but 90% of said characters have never seen the light of day because the rp they were originally made for never got more than a page or two, if any at all. in instances where i have the same character in different roleplays with different partners, i treat them pretty much as an AU since they're separate from the main canon anyway.

i have seldom found long term partners whose rps i have adapted into a specific character's backstory, which is the reason why i'm not on the train of making sure every character for every roleplay is unique to one another. that said, i'm not against creating new characters - i just have so many already that i'd love to try and develop some of the ones i already have before deciding to create yet another completely from scratch

as an example, i joined a group rp a while back where i made a college student named spencer who had a love for the idea of cryptids, but didn't think they actually existed. the rp didn't last longer than a couple weeks, but when another of a similar genre came up on another site, i was ecstatic to give writing for spencer another go, given that he was a character a whipped up originally from a one off prompt unrelated to the first rp.

 

[Sugarnaut]

I just use the same 24 characters on rotation but try to blend them into the plot hook of the rp.
The only time I make a new character in groups is when the premise is original enough to get me hyped.

 

[esoteric]

I used to create a brand new character for every rp and I'd be in around ten at a time (oh to be a teen again), because the character building process is probably my favorite part of rping, but that's changed a bit over the years. Maybe I'm just older and more mellow now, but I enjoy seeing my character grow and develop more than making them from scratch. I fall in love with my characters now and have a hard time leaving them in the vault, never to be heard from again. I almost always make new history/background and change up things like hobbies, but keep the core of who they are. I also tend to keep them within a certain genre (which is kind of obvious—if you have a wood elf character, they're only going to fit in specific worlds).

I can sort of see why a GM or partner might not like you using a character that's not made specifically for their plot, but I think of it as a compliment. It means I saw your premise, thought of my well loved character who I think of as my precious child, and I wanted to fit them into your world.

 

[N30NL4Z3R]

For some reason, never. I like to make new characters even though it is a pain and really tears me down since I don't want to use characters that were not originally intended for the plot or genre I'm RPing at the moment.