Character Theory Feelings Regarding Playing Premade Characters

[logos]

So, I was browsing and saw ashen.eidolon 's post about premade characters, but the context was different. Ashen referred to players bringing in their own premade characters, which is very common. However, I wondered how people felt about selecting a premade character from the writer. For example, in an oversimplified fantasy game, you have three characters: John Johnsmith the Knight, Velma Vanquish the Rogue, and Clarence Chance the Cleric. Each has a fleshed-out background, special abilities, unique interactions, etcetera. Would you participate in a roleplay like this or refuse to participate?

As far as my standpoint, I don't like this concept. I would really have to trust the writer(s), and more often than not, I can't do that. It takes all the wind of roleplaying, especially if the premise is exploring the world and a "choose your own adventure" style. This question came to mind while watching the new gameplay snippet from Ubisoft's Star Wars open-world RPG "Outlaws." In Outlaws, you play Kay Vess, a bounty hunter(?) with a droid companion, ND-5. Either way, I will buy the game because I'm a Star Wars zealot. However, I won't be as excited about it as I am with Bethesda's "Starfield" which is saying a lot because, again, I am enamored by Star Wars. In Starfield, it's very traditional in its roleplayability. Like Elder Scrolls and Fallout games, Starfield allows you to "completely" customize your character, except for choosing from pre-selected backgrounds that place specific points within particular skill sets/unlock unique interactions.

What are your thoughts?

 

[ashen.eidolon]

In a group roleplay setting I like having basic roles laid out. It doesn't work for every roleplay but it helps a lot of them and it gives people kind of an idea to build upon so they don't feel like they have to completely start from scratch.

I don't know how comfortable I would be with playing a character that fleshed out. I guess it's sort of like you said, I'd have to really trust the other writers and all. I'm not sure I would feel very motivated to play a character I had nothing to do with creating, though. Basic guidelines are fine but if I have no creative liberty it would get boring fast, I think.

 

[nerdy tangents]

So I think it defeats the purpose of an original roleplay to essentially ask players to play canon characters the GM has created.

If I wanted to play a canon character I would just do a fandom roleplay where there is a solid foundation for be to build off.

If I am doing an original roleplay it is because I want to have a much more active role in interpreting the lore and adding my own spin on it, which I can’t do if I’m just writing out a premade fiction the OP has created in their head.

 

[Onmyoji]

Basic roles or "character types" is fine because you could fit whatever you want into that role.

Fully pre-made character would probably be a no for me, since it's essentially the same as playing a Canon character in a fandom rp. Unless I have a good knowledge of lore and personality of the character I wouldn't roleplay them. I would essentially know nothing about someone's pre-made OC and it would be hard to fit in the image the author had. And unlike fandoms where the author will never see how you interpret their characters, roleplaying with the author of the said character directly would be a whole different thing. What if they don't like your interpretation? I wouldn't want the roleplay to turn into a minefield.

 

[Jannah]

Huge nope for me. I won't even play canons in fandom RP's so definitely won't touch original settings where the GM expects me to play some character of their creation.

 

[Idea]

It takes the worst parts of cannon characters and original characters and mashes them into one, with a nice sprinkling of doubling pairings but without the part where you get the pairing you favor. It's expecting to play a character I had no means of knowing about prior to the offer, in which I have no prior interest in, isn't my own creation or at any rate a reason to come to that roleplay for and it has undoubtedly expectations attached to it as to how that character will be portrayed, both implying constraints in various forms on my RP from there on that I didn't choose for myself (aside from hypothetically agreeing to play that character). All in all, playing the character I want to play, the character I made, is far too tied to my motivations to allow them to survive me roleplaying someone else's premade character.

I'm not even sure I would want other people playing a character I came up with in that way, because I'm fairly certain even if someone were to accept that I'd either be unhappy with their portrayal of that character or the player would be the type to just try to make everything a sea of roses instead of providing any form of serious contribution from their own interests and preferences.

Quest RPs are a thing, as is writing your own stories. Even if you want very specific characters and scenarios, therefore, you have ways to do it that are more fitting. Quest RPs even still have that side of involving other people. I think a regular roleplay where you play a specific premade original character is asking the other person to play a part with an unspoken/unwritten script. I'm not gonna sit here and say you can't do it, and like with just about anything there's bound to be some people who would agree to it, though I can hardly if at all imagine a situation in which that would remotely be the appropriate format for any of the objectives involved. The nail on the coffin is that it really comes across like the other person hasn't stopped for a moment to consider the perspective of the person on the other side, something which can be a fatal error even for much more reasonable requests.

I should note, however, that I am mostly talking about playing a premade character for a place like this one, a roleplaying forum, or for some RPG campaign, or anything else with a greater deal of time and effort. I probably won't be as invested, but I can agree to it for like a family tabletop game for an hour or two (though those don't really usually involve any roleplaying I guess, but hypothetically I suppose), and playing through a character in something like a video game is far more acceptable given the medium.


As for character roles, I can accept and often even enjoy them. Heck, my own plots for 1x1s don't often involve roles, but they do involve details about the other character. I think each person will have a person threshold on where the line is drawn between defining a whole character and just introducing a character's place in the story and letting people make their own characters that fit into that, but in either case, there are cases that are much more obvious and in those I think it makes very little sense to associate the two things - character roles and premade characters.

 

[waterskine]

Playing somebody's completely premade and fleshed out character sounds like a nightmare. Not only can I not be expected to be as immersed in somebody else's character as I would be with a character I wrote myself, but as someone who is already constantly worrying about whether my portrayal of my own characters is to my partner's liking, why would I subject myself to the stress of making sure I'm portraying another person's character accurately, right in front of them?

Of course, this isn't any shade to people who have found success in having other people play their premade characters. I have next to no qualms with character roles or character skeletons — I find that giving players a foundation to work with whilst giving them plenty of room to carry out their own interpretations and ideas turns out pretty fun. However, I wouldn't personally roleplay a fully fleshed out character as someone who struggles with even playing canons. At that point, it sounds more efficient to write a book/visual novel/interactive fiction/so on and so forth.

 

[Edric Blight]

I’m flexible so it’s an interesting thing to think about.

I’ve personally never selected a premade character that I didn’t make for an RP.

But I’d be down to try possibly.

 

[Solivagante]

Like OP, I'm not even that fond of this in video games, though I'll do it in that context - I just end up with a crap-ton of headcanons to make 'my' version of the character distinct. I am willing to take an archetype as a starting point (though I think that's less than ideal in forum RP, mostly because I've seen too many threads with a set number of archetypes that never get filled), but I'm here to exercise my creativity, and I need some room to do that.

 

[TwistedEverAfter]

As somebody who RPs fandoms and canon characters only, I would still say "no" to RPing as a premade original character for an original RP. I don't know the character through some medium I've been exposed to with all of their traits and background (movie, anime, TV series, book, etc), I'm not familiar with them, and a third party hasn't written them for us, so really I'd just feeling like the other person is waiting to tell me "no, that's not how that character speaks/behaves/thinks" or something like that. It's probably better for that person to write a book or a fanfic than pre-making all of the characters and asking others to play them. If I did original RPs, I'd prefer to make my own. It's less stressful and restrictive, that way. My palms are a bit sweaty just thinking about it. Kudos to those who can do and have fun or don't mind, but for me, it'd be a hard pass.

 

[Yunalescaa]

I think having a basic role and maybe a short descriptor is fine in group RP settings, and even in 1x1's where it might call for it (I see a lot of Muse A and Muse B type plots where the setting is kind of laid but there's still wiggle room). Anything beyond that is a turn off for me personally. I think if you need to write that much of a character out before someone can play them you may be better off writing a novel instead of writing collaboratively with others. And I've just in general had bad experiences with those types of groups. "It's not original enough" homie you wrote the entire backstory for the character? How am I supposed to be any more original at this point?

 

[Sorin]

I dislike playing in settings or worlds where there are too many rules restricting my character(s), so I'm definitely out when it comes to pre-made characters to any extent. Sometimes I will play fandom characters, which are technically "pre-made characters", but even then, I'll attach a ton of headcanons to them. That said, I've never played Roleplays where players are expected to fill specific roles, but I am open-minded to them.

 

[Perpetual Zen]

Just as a general response. I've done both and been perfectly okay with it. As long as I'm able to implement my own idea's and create a story. I'm pretty much okay being compliant to some character facts. I truly enjoy writing and if it takes me swallowing some pride for an idea ; if its good enough, I'll do it. It can be done successfully. I've fully replaced characters with histories who have left role plays before on different platforms. It went okay
Although, not many people like it.

 

[nerdy tangents]

That’s interesting Perpetual Zen . I don’t think I have ever been in a roleplay where you were expected to take over someone else’s character when they left. Usually that character was just written out of the narrative by the GM or (if they are plot relavant) the GM turned them into a NPC.

I actually think I might be more upset about that then just being asked to play the GM’s canon characters to start with. As at least if the GM created all the characters I know from jump they are meant to be played by someone else.

But if a player leaves and their character is just suddenly up for grabs? I would be pissed.

A.) you don’t know the original player isn’t coming back.

B.) as mentioned above you can just write the character out of the story or make them an NPC.

C.) it sets a bad precedent with the remaining players, that the GM is going to hijack their characters. Which I can’t see going over well with anyone really.

I dunno I feel like I would not want to write with that GM.

** to be clear not saying you personally did anything wrong. I’m just side eyeing the GM that put you in that position in the first place. **

 

[Perpetual Zen]

That’s interesting Perpetual Zen . I don’t think I have ever been in a roleplay where you were expected to take over someone else’s character when they left. Usually that character was just written out of the narrative by the GM or (if they are plot relavant) the GM turned them into a NPC.

I actually think I might be more upset about that then just being asked to play the GM’s canon characters to start with. As at least if the GM created all the characters I know from jump they are meant to be played by someone else.

But if a player leaves and their character is just suddenly up for grabs? I would be pissed.

A.) you don’t know the original player isn’t coming back.

B.) as mentioned above you can just write the character out of the story or make them an NPC.

C.) it sets a bad precedent with the remaining players, that the GM is going to hijack their characters. Which I can’t see going over well with anyone really.

I dunno I feel like I would not want to write with that GM.

** to be clear not saying you personally did anything wrong. I’m just side eyeing the GM that put you in that position in the first place. **

If you have a communication before hand that a character may be up for grabs if they up and leave. It's totally fine. You get permission from both parties so there isn't really much animosity. Sometimes characters become key and can't be removed or turned into NPC. Especially if they have a core component to the story. It gets lack luster for gm and party involved

I mean, role playing is different everywhere and the beauty of it is you don't have to cater to anyone. You can find your own hub of people who fit your wants and needs

It's why I love writing in general

 

[nerdy tangents]

Perpetual Zen I think we are misunderstanding each other.

I didn’t understand you were talking about a pre-estabilished rule. I thought you mean the GM was giving out discarded OCs like party favors. Which seems baffling on a multitude of levels.

 

[Perpetual Zen]

Perpetual Zen I think we are misunderstanding each other.

I didn’t understand you were talking about a pre-estabilished rule. I thought you mean the GM was giving out discarded OCs like party favors. Which seems baffling on a multitude of levels.

There are pre made roles. Members take them. Establish an understanding that if they leave they will be open for others to apply for. Or others will double.
It's not baffling at all, Nerdy Tangents. Role playing is a discipline. Generally if I were to ever do this in a role play, I'd communicate right away at the beginning. So no not baffling, Nerdy. It's just a different way to role play and on that platform it was just sort of a norm and an un written understanding at times.

Even today, if I was in a role play, and someone wanted to take my character which I had dropped. I had created an inconvenience for the group and the gm who had put time and effort into a story. Yeah. I would totally allow someone to take my character to keep the story going. It's just an integrity thing to me. My characters are not my life lines and I don't make money off them so like have at it everyone! Keep your hobbies very much alive

 

[mahousouzou]

I think it sounds like fun! It sounds like an interesting writing challenge to get into the skin of a character. I do think it would depend on some details, like, how much of a stickler is the GM that you match their expectations on how the character "should" be played. Otherwise, I'm open to it!