Persistent Characters vs Story-Specific Characters

Which style of character creation do you typically use?

  • Persistent Characters

  • Story-Specific Characters

  • Neither of these matches my style of character creation

  • I use both styles equally.

Results are only viewable after voting.
Nilum

Nilum

The Wanderer Returned
Benefactor
Just a curiosity. I've noticed some style differences between myself and several other users, and this is one of them.

Which style of character creation do you typically use?
Persistent Characters: You create characters independent of individual role plays, and then fit them to role plays when you join them--carrying them from story to story.
Story-Specific Characters: You create characters specific to a single role play, and when the role play ends, that character is left with the story they were made in.

As well, why do you use your particular style of character creation? What do you like about it? Do you prefer it over other options for character creation, or is it simply the style you're most comfortable with?
 
I like persistent characters. The way I make them, they tend to be able to fit most anywhere. I do I a fairly large cast of characters though, so I don't use the same character over and over again.
 
I thought I was going to have to change my vote, but actually, I think both fits and this is the reason why.

I start off making a character that is story specific characters. I see a roleplay I'm interested in, I'll create a character specifically for that story, and it stays there until the RP ends or dies. Sometimes I never use that character again, unless it's in that RP being remade but other times they morph into a persistent character where I see another RP, and I have a character that I enjoyed playing, and see that it can be fit into that world, so just edit the background to suit that story, and possibly carry it into future stories and RPs.

Now I have a lot of persistent characters rather than story specific characters. But I think they all pretty much start as story specific and then it depends on things to if they become persistent characters or not.
 
It usually depends on if I'm satisfied with a character's story. If the story they're in created a lot of character development and adventures for them, I tend to feel like their story is over. Their adventure is complete, they've moved on and probably retired. It seems very few RPs give an opportunity for a "high leveled" character to continue where the left off (as well as of course continuity issues), and if they grew a lot as a person during their previous adventure, resetting them feels bad because they've grown into a much different character than when they started. Of course if the RP ended prematurely without much character development, unless the character is very story-specific and modifying them might as well be a new character, I'll probably look for another place to use them.
 
For me it depends on what type of rp I am in. Sometimes I make new character and sometimes I use old ones. Really it depends what type of mood I am in.
 
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Poll votes: 22.
Date: 2017-02-18.

Three of the options take even 30% splits. Neither is a vast minority.
 
I use persistent human characters, though I make sure I don't carbon-copy them into every roleplay. I tweak minor things like their appearance or history that's appropriate to the RP's environment, and time period. Very few of my characters have complete backstories, but quite a lot of them carry over aspects from one RP to another. For instance, one of my characters had been betrayed by a friend in one story they were in, and now they have a harder time trusting people in my current RP, though you don't need to know about the previous RP plot at all to understand that.

My animal characters are usually a one-time thing, though.
 
I'll be honest, I prefer persistent characters, changing them as nessecary to fit in, I guess I just get attached to my own ideas easily. Though I only use story specific when I'm making the RP... for some reason.
 
Asshole Contrarian, voted neither.

Joking aside, it is probably slightly disingenuous to say neither fit my style of character creation. I tend to focus on broad-brush strokes when creating characters. I find an idea, a theme, a central value that defines the character and then build up who that character is, the plots that spring up around them, their connection to the greater setting. In one sense all my characters are potentially persistent by sheer virtue of the themes being universal or adaptable, allowing me to reuse characters. In another each are unique in that their stories affect who they are, and what they become, and no two stories are ever exactly alike.
 
I never reuse characters. This is especially true if they were a part of a completed RP, in which case I would imagine the character as 'retired'. I typically don't join more than one or two RPs at a time, so I become heavily invested in each of my creations' roles in that world. By virtue of applying all my resources and interest to a single character, I generally end up with a far more detailed understanding of them and their lives both in and out of the game setting, and to ever try and erase all of that in favor of remaking it somewhere else would feel pretty sacrilegious.

There are way more people voting for persistent characters then I would've imagined which is definitely really interesting since I figured they were something of a rarity.
 
Honestly, it depends on a number of things, but I tend to use both equally. One site I used to be on was dedicated entirely to one universe, so it was expected to have persistent characters that grew with each new thread/plotline before moving on to the next.
And then there were random RPs from my earlier days where I would make up characters on the spot.
 
I have a set of characters that I've kept throughout the years whom are persistent, but I've changed them to fit different roleplays or I've changed some of their memories. They all have developed stories and I love them immensely.

However, I have created characters specifically for certain roleplays or I've made characters for specific people.

If I really like the character, I'll keep them persistently. But for others, I keep them in that roleplay.
 
While I'd argue that archetypes make most players use persistent characters to a degree... Including myself, the majority of the time I create new characters specifically for seperate roleplays. If I use a persistent character, it is almost always a different version of the character. Alternate universe, so to speak.
 
I almost always use story-specific characters. Character development was always a big thing to me, and I don't like having the same or extremely similar character in different role-plays. If I did try to modify one of my existing characters for another role-play, I would probably change the entire character anyway.
 
I almost always use story-specific characters, and enjoy creating new characters even when the RP style is similar to one before. To explore multiple, unique personalities is the main part of the RP experience for me.

My only exception to this is (will be) my trusted magician Lorlen. Somehow he follows me around!
 
I am also a fan of story specific characters, I'm a cruel master. I enjoy killing them, maiming them and making new ones. Really I'm like a toddler with action figures... someone should take them away from me.
 
Heh. Even tho I just proclaimed in my introduction post to remain in-character in the OOC bits of this forum, it is very difficult to do so in this thread.
Ah well, time for another break from Lucy then.

I myself am, obviously, big on the persistent characters. Or, for me, mainly one character.
Now, this might seem limiting, but, I simply feel like I have a real touch for this char. I'm able to play others, too, and I at times do indeed, but this one just remains so fun to play as.
And, focussing a lot of my effords on him allowed me to further explore his lore, turning one character into an intricate world, filled with adventure, story and various twists and turns.

I'd advice you all to give it a try! Simply find a character you truly resonate with, and explore!
 
I usually go for persistence in character design, but for different reasons, main one being the fact that they see use in a collaborative universe setting. I maintain two canons of my own in that setting, and help with a couple others. I also love doing extended development of any kind, and characters are no exception.
 
I use persistent characters, but usually, I'll have to make a change to that character to fit in the roleplay.
Example: Luke is Pokemon Trainer in one. He's a wizard in another.
 
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