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Character ReVamp


CovertSphinx
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Granted, this one is probably more for the Original Characters than the Canon characters.... but how often do you like to "revamp" and modify the characters you create, if at all. Do you change the character around a little bit for each site you use them on, throwing away quirks that didn't work in one in order to try different takes? Do you leave the character itself alone and only change what's needed to match them to the setting? Or are you known to completely re-invent the same character 10 times over the last decade? 

 

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My characters always end up changing a little bit, personality-wise, as I have them in play. But I don't actually try to change anything about them until I move them to another site. The skeleton of their history/personality/powers-if-any stay the same, but I tend to shift around some quirks, and take out anything that was put in specifically for the previous setting. Job, species society or hierarchy, mentions of a ship, etc.

 

I actually just revamped two characters to fit them to a board that's not yet open. And it was really interesting to see how they basically stayed the same, but there were still distinct differences. For example, this one character still lost his wife, but I changed it from it being an accident to her being killed by a supernatural creature. The short-term effects were the same for both sites characters, but on the upcoming one, it led him to become a hunter of supernatural creatures. 

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I change nothing except for what happens in their natural growth for plots. Revamps 'kill' the character for me cause they lose traits I built into them that greatly effect their story and personality. I like bringing my characters with me wherever I go, but when moving to different sites, I won't play a character if their full story and quirks wouldn't work on a site. I'll play my characters that do fit, or make a new character. (though generally I prefer my first character or two to be a carry over from another rp)

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I revamp characters basically any time I join a new board. I tweak them to fit the setting. If they go from being something in a totally normal world to something totally different, I usually think of it as an "AU" of my original character. I rarely totally rework characters from the ground up.

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I don't really recycle characters when I join new games; I generally create a new character from the ground up, customized to the site specifically. My characters tend to be so specific to each setting and I get all attached to the stories and relationships they build there that I can't really separate them from that in my head. They just wouldn't be the same character taken out of that context, but might as well be a brand new one.

 

BUT!

 

I do have a few exceptions. 8D

 

I have one character in particular that I played in a modern fantasy 1 x 1 over AIM, and after losing contact with the other player, well, I loved the character still so I revamped him for SotE. Then I played him in another modern setting over IMs. Then I revamped him for RotE. >_> He's an exception because he lost his roots early on and had to be transplanted, and for whatever reason I just find him to be a very flexible character that I can fit into any setting, and enjoy playing in any setting. 8D

 

I also revamp characters when their plot dies. If they were SUPER INTENSELY INVOLVED in an epic thread and story that spanned hundreds of pages and years, and then it dies...I sometimes have a hard time picking up the pieces after that, and find it easier to just scrap all that and start over fresh. It doesn't happen often; usually I can carry on where they left off. But in some cases I find it really difficult so I just do a rework instead.

 

And by difficult, I don't mean plot-wise. I could figure that out. What I mean is emotionally difficult. Like, one of my BFFs stopped RPing and probably won't ever again because he's got a lot going on, but my character (one of my faaaves) was deeply involved with his. Like, plots that go back a decade. I found it SUPER hard to just...carry on without his characters. (And I tried! I really did!) So, instead, I reset my character back to his original state. For me, that's less painful and more cathartic. New beginnings, rather than having that shadow haunting me.

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I always keep the personality and I adapt the history to the setting. So it isn't a revamp, just an adaptation.

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Every site that I put a character on they change a little bit. Whether that be that they grew, became worse, became better. It really depends. I actually start adding more details into them the longer I use them. So like I never had a last name for the mother of my character Alice but it became relevant in a game I play on and so she got the maiden name of Lightstone. Tiny details like that slowly creep into my characters as I play them.

 

I also started to realize that I made it to where Alice and her two brothers got most of their mannerisms from their father and when I play their father you can see the similarities in the way they stand and hold themselves etc.

 

I don't think I necessarily revamp (unless it's absolutely necessary for the setting) but they do grow per site/setting. I even start implementing friendships that they had on past sites for flair.

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I think the same as Elena?

 

Anytime my character joins a new setting, I want to revisit what makes them them. Isolate their defining features and then consider how those features interact in their new world. I tend to also tweak something about their history - beyond the needs of the setting I mean - just to play with a different aspect of their story. I hope that by isolating those features and considering how those features are perceived and un/accepted in the setting makes the character better embedded in the setting!

 

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I usually revamp per site that I put the character on. There's been times where I've created a character one way, but during the RP they've played out differently than I intended so I adapt those features the next time I make them. 

 

There's one character though, who've I've had about....7 incarnations of. Some of them surrounded by the same characters as previous incarnations. It's been an interesting exercise in exploring what makes her tick from different angles and different situations. 

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I do this a lot, but moreso with characters that didn't get much roleplay time or time to develop because the site they were made for closed all of a sudden or died. In these scenarios, if I'm particularly attached to a character, I'll carry them somewhere else and change them enough to fit the new setting.

 

But sometimes I just really frickin' love a few certain characters or types of characters and revisit them regularly. 😄

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I only have a few characters that I've played in multiple settings. When I do, it's because there was a concept there I liked but wasn't able to play out to fruition on the previous board. They keep their name and personality, like Elena said, but their history is written specifically for their new board. 

 

And I do have a host of characters that I moved off one forum to my current forum because my bff and I didn't see eye-to-eye with the admin. We didn't see why we couldn't continue to play our characters elsewhere though. We were going to just join a new board but by then, I had like 14 characters and I didn't want to overwhelm anybody (or get those judgey side-eyes from people who don't like people playing a lot of characters.) So I just made my own site and we transplanted our things there. Pretty much just went on as if they'd been there the whole time. 

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I try to keep them pretty true to their original incarnation, only tweaking small things in their history to fit whatever world they're in. But I tend to keep things that happen to them in other games, too. I only totally revamp characters I'm no longer feeling inspiration for to continue their stories.

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My characters all have a basic psychological core and demeanor - kind of like what you see in small children before they start to develop their "real/adult" personality. I also try to keep their family make up and baseline history as similar as possible. Beyond that the setting and their age at the start of play has a heavy influence on certain aspects of their personality. 

 

I would say that some of them change more drastically than others through various settings. Like Dag is pretty much always going to be a domineering dick and too aggressive in the wrong situations where Mykola could be a complete submissive type or a more natural leader. 

 

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I only tend to revamp histories based on the characters personality. I put a lot of thought into my character creations... if I've written it into bio it's usually there for a reason so if I tweak one thing I end up tweaking another. If I were to re-make a character for another site I tend to keep the charater's personality and am far more likely to change the history instead.... if I have to change the personality I'm just more likely to make a whole new character in general rather than that..

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