Viewpoint What do you do with old characters?

[BloodThunder27]

Save them and then possibly use them for future RPs.

 

[Vordak]

As a roleplay fighter, i rarely make make setting specific characters, so if one ever goes into archive, it's because either their concept/backstory/personality aged poorly and ask for improvement, or because the same happens with their powerset, making it feel clunky to use, as it no longer answers to my general combat strategy and tactics.

If i find wanting for a different or more fleshed out person behind the character, then i usually work from scratch - even if parts of an older character's personality/backstory appear, it's usually a natural evolution of the basic concept, happening over time rather than through any sort of intentional redefining. Usually though, it's just a few tweaks and additions to the already existing roster, as it's been solidly established by now and fine tuned to my preference.

When it comes to specific moves and powersets though, i almost always strictly categorize their purpose, intent and mechanics so i can re-use the ideas later. Once a character's powerset goes into archive, it sooner or later will be contributing to a new-gen concept; sometimes it's several abilities at once that have good synergy, sometimes it's just one, but taking on a fresh new role when put into an entirely remodeled powerset. My general playstyle hasn't changed for years, so it's mostly about shifting around and modifying the building blocks rather than developing novel ideas.

 

[kevintheradioguy]

What I usually do is turning my old characters into NPCs. Though for me it's much easier (or harder, depending on how you look at it), because it's hard for me to come up with characters to play as on the spot. What happens is, usually, I get the idea for the character, I develop him or her, play out a few scenarios in my head, realise I don't "feel" the character, and scrap them. Rinse and repeat ten times before getting one I actually can feel. This creates a rather small roster to use and switch between with much ease. When I want to bring back a forgotten character from a roster just a little, I make them an NPC for a scene or two, or make them some sort of a figure in the world, like "Oh, but don't go in that part of the county - haven't you heard there's a robber town led by someone called The Grinner" and "They say The Grinner and his gang attacked the mills to the south, no one survived", and so on. Sometimes when I narrate something I leave trail of my old characters for new ones to follow For instance, if in some game my character slayed a dragon, new characters might find half-destroyed city and that dragon's skeleton nearby, and can recreate the scene like a band of Sherlocks.

 

[Ganryu]

Ya'll have no idea how many characters from past RP's I get to murder in new RPs. Filicide at its finest!

Mostly I make new chars but occassionally I reuse a concept I wanted to explore more fully. Most of the time though I save them in a bin, and when I inevitably end up GM'ing another game and need NPCs, I have entire bin I can draw from and don't have to waste time coming up with enemies, got a bin full. I, of course rewrite parts of these old characters every time, but yeah...

So I guess final answer is I get them all murdered with every new RP I make and am a monster?

 

[BackSet]

I put them away in case I need them again.

Usually for reboots.

 

[Delinquent]

Imo, not reusing old character is a bit of a waste. I've put a fairly large amount of work into my favourite characters and I'm not going to throw that away because the rp I used them in died after a month.

 

[readfoxes]

I recycle them! Sometimes, if I didn't get a chance to develop the character well, a few different concepts get Frankenstein-ed together for the new RP. I keep a directory of characters that lists out the different genres and types of AU they work in.

 

[AnonyMouse]

I'm amazed at the number of people who simply "forget about" a character and move on. How do you cut the chord so easily? I suppose we all RP for different reasons, so I can't/won't judge, but I find it difficult to wrap my head around how someone can roleplay as a character without having some attachment to that character or motivation to see their story find closure. I mean, I kind of 'get it.' The average RP on this site seem to die faster than any I've ever seen, so I can see why someone might say, "why invest time in something that might not last a week." But isn't that mindset kind of the problem? I treat it like a true commitment; joining a group RP is like entering into a social contract to see this through to the end, so people who half-ass it kind of rub me the wrong way. *sigh* Maybe I'm taking this RP thing too seriously...

Anyway, when it comes to characters, I don't get attached to the window dressing, but I do feel strongly about their spirit, their modus operandi, the essence of what they are. They are usually on my mind loooooong before the RP ever appears and long after it ends. I'm not a spur-of-the-moment, spark-of-inspiration guy. I let things marinate in my skull a long time before they ever see the light of day. So, you can bet your ass I won't brain-bleach a character just because the GM flaked out after a week. They'll be back. Their race, appearance, powers, name, and other superficial stuff might change, but the concept will return, in some form or another.

 

[baggysack]

A lot of character recycling feels unconscious, too, especially if we're just talking "modus operandi." I think a lot of us know (or are) the player with that same spunky anime girl, haha. So I think old characters see new life regardless if most people actively reference their oldies.

 

[PunkPrince]

I reuse most of mine, but I also have a tendency not to make new ones for specific roleplays. Generally if I make a character I get attached to them and I feel like I have an easier time writing them if I’ve already grown fond of them. I’ll tweak them here or there but that’s about it. Every so often I’ll get inspired by something and make a new one.

I also have a huge chunk that are all vaguely linked in some way, so generally even if someone isn’t the main character they might pop up as a side character at some point. I haven’t made a new one who wasn’t somehow linked to another in a while. Even the newest one I have now, I originally made her as a background character that frequented the bar another of my characters owned and then eventually decided I wanted to develop her.

The first batch I made back in late middle/early high school don’t realky see the light of day anymore even as background characters, but they weren’t particularly well rounded to begin with.

 

[Rowlin_Sarkaan]

I reuse some characters, when I'm unsatisfied with their ending. Such as if an RP falls apart and I won't be able to continue with them, I'll likely port them somewhere else.

 

[Corrosion]

 

[Levaenen1011]

I have 4 characters I use a lot.
My main characters are mostly the same but I intend to "upgrade" them sometimes if I think it fits their personality.
others stay the same for years


Others I invent along with the story.

 

[Roboticways]

I tend to write short stories about them. The enjoyment I find in RPing is mainly just practicing for my love of writing and character development.

 

[Idea]

(Should this be 'Character Theory'? Does anyone make 'Character Theory' threads?)

Anyway, I like these poll-type threads. Here's anotha one.

We know by now that roleplays die, and that players get busy/demotivated and drop before then. What do you do with those characters you never got to use, or who didn't finish their arc? I tend to get attached to all the characters I end up apping but I also like the feeling of making new ones. I save all my guys but I don't end up re-using them, though I think I'd like to.

Do you re-use characters? How, and for what; in the case that you did, was it worth not making a new one? Would you rather just archive everything? How much thought do you give it?

Alternatively, how do you make characters with the perspective that the roleplay in-question won't last forever? Do you just make characters on the fly, or have some kind of process, or what?

For starters, I have a principle, to make what I make- characters, plots, worlds, posts... have value regardless of whether a story reaches a conclusion. It’s my own way of dealing with the knowledge that many RPs just don’t last: I want to be able to look back proudly at the work I made without ever feeling like I was just wasting my time.

Of course, this isn’t to say that there was never a case where I put in this less effort because it was rather obvious that the RP was going to die very early or because I just wasn’t as interested in the roleplay itself... but in general I build my characters as if the roleplay will last.

That said, I am also someone who makes a new character for any roleplay he is in. A lot of roleplays attract me because of the character ideas that I have when I consider their set up. Furthermore it just makes more sense to me, as someone who cares a lot about setting and worldbuilding, to add a character that actually originated from it. Plus, I myself feel a bit cheated when I put all this work into making a character and coming up with this awesome setting with a partner, only for them to decide to half-copy-paste a character they are recycling. It’s not a deal-breaker per se, but it does feel pretty bad and I don’t want to put people through that.

Again, while this is the general rule, there are exceptions. I do re-use some old characters, namely fandom characters whom I didn’t get to fully use but see no reason to throw by the wayside, or characters that seem to fit really well with the particular setting or plot offered.

Regardless of whether I plan to use the character again or not, I generally store those characters in a thread.

 

[M.J. Saulnier]

I take characters and the stories that make them who and what they are, very seriously. I never treat characters as interchangable. When we create a canon together, it becomes a canon to me, in every sense of the word. To take one of my characters from our story and just throw them into something else; It simply doesn't sit well with me.

I love my characters, so much. Ones like Ana Maria Grace, Owen Thorne and Samuel Blithe, have become part of me in a funny kinda way. I still couldn't bring myself to pry them from their respective worlds to plug them into another RP. It just wouldn't work or feel natural. The stories they were created for are perfect for them.

They don't need anything more, because I have planned to optimize that initial experience/series of experiences. I think that's the key here.

But going even deeper into it; I like to create characters for stories. It's out of respect for the story first and foremost. Now if you were doing a multiverse melting pot type of RP, bringing your favorite OCs to the table is kinda fun. But if a GM has created a unique mythos as the basis of their RP, I can't help but feel as though it deserves unique characters that represent it authentically. Characters designed around and fitted for that setting/plot specifically.

So what do I do with old characters?

• Try to tell the best possible story with them the first time around.
• Reboot the RP if I feel it's time/necassary at all.
• Do a spin-off provided there is a solid premise to facilitate it.
• Cherish them.

 

[PauciloquentPumpkin]

(Should this be 'Character Theory'? Does anyone make 'Character Theory' threads?)

Anyway, I like these poll-type threads. Here's anotha one.

We know by now that roleplays die, and that players get busy/demotivated and drop before then. What do you do with those characters you never got to use, or who didn't finish their arc? I tend to get attached to all the characters I end up apping but I also like the feeling of making new ones. I save all my guys but I don't end up re-using them, though I think I'd like to.

Do you re-use characters? How, and for what; in the case that you did, was it worth not making a new one? Would you rather just archive everything? How much thought do you give it?

Alternatively, how do you make characters with the perspective that the roleplay in-question won't last forever? Do you just make characters on the fly, or have some kind of process, or what?

I leave my unused or abandoned role play characters to die in the void. I don't reuse characters, I prefer making a new one, hand tailored, for every new story. I find that this also helps with not getting too attached to characters. I actually enjoy killing off my characters. Not for any sadistic or masochistic reasons, but I find it rare that someone kills off their characters, and I feel it can help add to the story.

 

[EmWiley0816]

I definitely recycle my old characters. I love each character that I create, and it breaks my heart to not be able to use them in some way. So, I often re-use my favorite bits from their personality or in general for new characters. I have the main few that I use for almost everything, but oftentimes an RP calls for a new character.

 

[MechanicalSnake]

I am a terrible person in that I get very attached to my characters. Which means when an RP dies, I mourn them like one might mourn losing a pet and I feel a similar gaping hole. (Unless I've only played them a couple of weeks, which is too little time for me to accept them as part of my mental family). Needless to say, they get reused a lot. Out of maybe 50 characters I might have had in my life (haven't counted them tbh), some got reused once or twice; the favorites got reused up to four times. As I also play DnD type tabletop roleplay games, sometimes my written characters end up being used in a live game and vice versa. I find it very interesting to write a character I've previously played, or see how a written character interacts with a group of actual people. There is a catch, though, because a character you've played very long with someone particular (or multiple someones) doesn't always work well in a different RP, because you've already gotten used to their story being developed in a certain way, and mainly to the interaction with your old partner(s). It has happened to me that my expectations of the new story with my old character were too high, meaning I wished for things to be the same, which they naturally couldn't. And it has also happened that, even if the setting was the same (steampunk detectives), my character that I brought from one group of players into another absolutely didn't fit in, because I was used to the way the old group worked and they expected me to change my style, which I found myself unable to do with -that- character and had to go and create a new one.