Viewpoint roleplayer polls #1: original or fandom?

[Astrologer]

hi!

i'm the astrologer and i find it fascinating to discuss my interests. for that reason, i'll be throwing up a poll every few days or so about roleplaying and discussing it! this time around, i'm curious to know what is the more popular "type" of roleplay here: original or fandom? are they shared? does it depend on certain factors? feel free to vote and/or comment!

looking forward to seeing what feedback folks have!

 

[Bacon is fluffy]

As much as I adore fandom rp's, they can be hard to get into. I understand the mc was weak for 10 years of real life, but I dont have ten years to write posts before I am able to do the bare minimum.Other times there are aspects of canon universes that are hard to translate to rp because there are a lot of different opinions about different parts of a universe, so it can cause friction when trying to rp with said universe.

example: I dont think anyone will fully agree on everything regarding lotr, because even small characters like Tom bombadil not being in the movies is a debated topic. and so if you take a very specific fandom with years of research into it is rp'ed...it can be difficult.

and this is coming from a guy who loves the pellenor fields. finding out the unknown things scared the balrog under moria. and the poetic moments theoden usually has. I still would not try to rp this verse because of the standards involved with it.

 

[Idea]

I do both fandoms and originals, and gun to my head I prefer original roleplays, but really it’s an opportunity based thing rather than an obligatory preference. I would be happy with all fandom or all original, really I just need the roleplay to captivate my interest and other needs. If I’m the one making the roleplay, I just have more original ideas or ideas I want to explore in an original setting than I do fandoms I want to specifically engage with for roleplay, but I still do both.

I generally find original roleplays that I join to be more developed and interesting to tackle, as well as having more leeway to what can be put into them and how they can develop. Both in terms of my own interest and how they are handled, fandom roleplays just rely more on the interest in the pre-existing material (that’s kind of why they exist after all and it shows). This can really come to show when the aspects one is interested in about a fandom don’t align with someone else’s. Furthermore, while this is not anyone’s fault, fandom roleplays are frequented by newer and lesser experienced roleplayers, as well as those which are overly attached to certain cannon or original characters, than original roleplays. Naturally original roleplays have their own issues too, and boy knows I’ve had my issues with the kind of GM who worldbuilds something hyper restrictive and yet refuses to give you any information, but these are more or less the reasons for my general preference for original over fandoms.

My preference is also impacted by not just my interest once in a roleplay but by the fact that fandom roleplays face unique restrictions originals don’t when it comes to capturing anyone’s interest , naturally including mine. Fandoms will only be able to appeal to people already familiar and fans of the fandom in question. Furthermore there’s the question of the inclusion and use of cannon characters, which is something I don’t engage with save for very rare exceptions. And lastly some fandoms are really more about their story and plot, or the way certain characters evolve or are explored. This can make a problem in combination with the previous aspect, which means you’re either making an OC just re-hashing something or you need the setting to give you fertile ground to make something of your own. In other words, the kind of fandom roleplaying I do tends to work a lot better with some kinds of settings than others.

 

[Maverick Six]

Original honestly. In a lot of cases, I have bad experiences with fandoms and fandom characters. A bit of it is just isolated incidents of people being snobs and some of it is just me also finding some people's interpretation of certain canon characters jarring (particularly whenever romance is involved.) Though I'm sure good fandom RPs exist (particularly saw one for RWBY that seemed tempting/appealing) and I'm not too aware of the fandoms on RPN -- only other sites.

 

[Astrologer]

Original honestly. In a lot of cases, I have bad experiences with fandoms and fandom characters. A bit of it is just isolated incidents of people being snobs and some of it is just me also finding some people's interpretation of certain canon characters jarring (particularly whenever romance is involved.) Though I'm sure good fandom RPs exist (particularly saw one for RWBY that seemed tempting/appealing) and I'm not too aware of the fandoms on RPN -- only other sites.

i find it really fascinating that it's not uncommon to hear about how people have bad experiences with fandom roleplays. i'm right there with you and it's for the reasons you listed, mainly that I'm burnt out of folks trying to tell me how to write canon characters. i also find doubling oc x cc rarely goes well too, but that's based on my experiences.

 

[Caroline1539]

I'm an outlier in the fact that I enjoy fandom roleplays the most and exclusively play canon characters from them for the most part! I like seeing how OCs adapt to the circumstances of the canon setting, and how the canons in turn react to the new face getting involved in their business. XD It leads to really interesting moments of furthered development and action/reaction from everyone involved!

 

[Solivagante]

Original > fandom for me, 100%. For the rare fandom RP, I'd rather the canon characters barely even appear at all, too. If I wanted to write canon characters I'd write fanfic; I want more flexibility from RPs.

 

[Bacon is fluffy]

This said original isn't without faults. Imagine going from "established lore and power systems" to...nothing. you not only have to build up the world but you need to translate from your head to others in terms of culture lore qi mana etc

And that has made me fail before as a gm

 

[Abyss]

I prefer original. However I think some of my favorite RP concepts are those openly based on a Fandom, but modified to make it unique from the original setting.

For example, having a HTTYD RP, but the GM has created a new island with its own lore instead of using Berk.

 

[SenoritaPerfecta]

I definitely prefer fandom roleplays myself. It's what I started with, and what I'm most comfortable and familiar with. Although it is painfully hard to find others who share the same fandoms, especially the niche ones that I have as my hyper-fixations/special interests. It's also hard to find people who do OC x Canon doubling-up as well. I put a lot of thought and effort into my fandom OC's and treat them almost like my children.

 

[BuggaBoo]

Hi!!

I love original RPs soooooo much more than Fandoms for the very reason of how I craft my charries: I base them on people I know. Even ME! I like to mix n match personas and rn it tickles me to toss a gf insert in there and give her superpowers and like have her beat things up or like get chased by monsters lol

That said I dont know many fandoms anymore but have a soft spot for some fandoms BUT pref OCs only as mains in them for reasons already mentioned. And I pref AU and no one plays Canons or have playable canon events cuz it feel like Member-Berries: "member when so and so did... Member in the show when... Member that time when big bad..." I mean feel it's borderline fanfic.

Or on the opposite end when rpers fight cuz 'youre doin it wrong! That's not what happened! Oh yeah well the wiki says! Nuh-uh! No you nuh-uh! *Table-flip*'

If I have to play canon MC now I'd only do in the multiverse mashup types cuz I find a kitchen sink ideas and genres reeeeeeally entertaining lol

 

[Onmyoji]

I do both. For a very long time I was mostly a Fandom roleplayer (for a very small number of specific niche fandoms), but lately been doing more Originals (it's really hard to find people for those niche fandoms).
So I'd say it depends on my mood and how invested I am into a certain fandom.

 

[Edythir]

Originals, exclusively with some exceptions of established universes which if you really stretch the term "Fandom" might cover. Such as MMOs or the world of TTRPGs such as DnD, etc.

A lot of the reasons are some that Idea mentioned. Fandom gets ugly and by far the worst part of engaging in any media is that some fans tend to be a bit... enthusiastic about their preferences and will not tolerate opposing opinions. Things can get ugly fast, arguments about canon, vague lore or interpretation of the media. I often have "Fandom inspired" which is a buffet of things I love from other sources of media. Picking and choosing my favorite parts from each thing, tweaking them a bit to work together before frankensteining it back together. It scratches my "fandom itch" and fits even better when I get to tinker and adjust a setting to my and my partner's liking rather than being constrained by it warts and all.

 

[nerdy tangents]

I'm an outlier in the fact that I enjoy fandom roleplays the most and exclusively play canon characters from them for the most part! I like seeing how OCs adapt to the circumstances of the canon setting, and how the canons in turn react to the new face getting involved in their business. XD

I actually am much the same. I only do fandoms with the very rare original roleplay to spice things up.

I like doing AUs of estabilished worlds and seeing how things change if you look from a new perspective.

Example - I’m doing a HP RP now set in the US during Harry’s school years. It deals with disappearances and “the Rapture” (ie a lot of people randomly vanish due to a magical ritual and the muggles think the Rapture has happened). So it’s kinda fun to think about what would happen in such a scenario and how witches and wizards would navigate it.

It also dodges the more common complaints around pairings because the story isn’t really based around a specific romantic pair.

The characters are meant to be romantically paired up but 1.) they’re both OCs and 2.) it’s not the main thing driving the plot.

Even when I do canons it’s usually not a romantic roleplay so much as a roleplay where the option for romance is open. It really removes a lot of the drama because people feel like they’re invested in the story not their characters having a specific relationship they built up in their head.

 

[Clair Obscur]

I have a preference for original roleplays. I do feel sometimes that I want to get back into a fandom but I haven't done those in years. I don't like playing canon characters, there's a lot involved in it.

 

[Jannah]

Almost always original, but I will delve into fandoms if it's only original characters. I don't do fandoms if canons are present. I prefer AU as well as it gives far more creative freedom.

 

[Kylesar1]

The only fandom I do is Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (not so subtle poke if any of you want that). Most are super lore heavy and most don't get it right. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon is great in that it's a human who became a Pokemon. No further explanation

For RP, it would be excellent to explore that as a concept, and go for that Pokemon to go back to the human world. That being the goal, unlike most anime Isekai where it's a one-way trip