A question for long time RPers

[Kimikimi]

I imagine even you guys get tired of the same characters and wanna try something different. My question is how do you keep going, how do you stay strong if something in character doesn't go to plan?

 

I am only reaching a year on my character, but sometimes I just feel like pulling the plug on her and starting over. How do I avoid making a mistake I am sure I will regret.

[Qwynn]

A lot of OOC communication, honestly.

[Oyuu]

Well, I usually don't have a 'plan' for my character since it usually leads to disappointment for me. Characters I made where I envisioned them being a something or another after a few months, or where I established they would be in a relationship and married by a certain point grew quickly stale because it was predictable or... I got frustrated when it didn't go to plan. I could never win, lol. Now, I just start with a solid backstory and rough personality and let things fall into place through roleplay. 

 

Oyuu is my main character that I've had for over a year now, and another character for over two years, but I have many alts too and I hop on those when I need a break from Oyuu. Doing a short Skype RP with a different character usually gives me enough time to get motivated to play him again, and the fact I have a really awesome roleplay partner, friends, and FC where I feel there's plenty for Oyuu to do and many ways for him to grow. 

 

To avoid making a mistake, look at your resources around you. Are you satisfied with your roleplay connections? Maybe a new FC or LS would help. Are you actually getting the type of RP you like? What can you do to get it? 

 

If you decide to change your character, do not kill them off if you are unsure. Retconning is a bitch if you want to bring them back. Have them go off on an adventure, or go visit their parents etc. or maybe put them on an alt whilst you try another character out. Anyways, that's my two cents, good luck with your roleplay!

[Virella]

People change over time. Most well written characters do as well. If they don't? It is most likely a hell of a flaw the writer of said character enjoys roleplaying. Even if my characters hardly budge and get all that much character progression, I find the key not so much the character, but the people you roleplay with.

 

An alt on the other hand might be a nice get away for you. That's what I do from time to time myself.

[Kilieit]

1. Alts. I have lots of alts I can go to when I'm like, "Ugh, my W character wouldn't go to this event-- oh, but I have an X I can take!" or "I'm so bored of playing an X, I wanna try a Y for today!" or "the Y RP scene is really dead tonight, I wanna play a Z or something until my friends come back tomorrow!" or "So-and-so's story is pretty stagnant right now, but someone's advertising one that's perfect for Whatsisname!".

 

2. Knowledge of good ways to shake things up without, like, killing anyone off, lol. Any resources online that work for "unblocking writers' block" will usually work for this. I like the one where you start off by listing everything that won't happen next, and in doing so, often end up with - either by process of elimination, or hmm, actually that could happen if - your actual inspiring solution. NaNoWriMo dares might be fun, if you can find some that don't assume you're solo-writing.

 

3. Knowing how to recognise burnout. The best cure for burnout is to recognise it early, before the "doing thing = misery" association really begins to burn itself into your mind, and take a break. This is where having ideas for how to shelve or fridge your character without permanently taking them out of the equation can be useful. While you're taking a break, it's generally best to focus on something that's nothing to do with RP on your main character. Get that PvP mount you always wanted, or roll an alt on a new server, or something; until RP becomes something you miss and look forward to doing again, and not a dreadful chore.

 

Because at the end of the day, this is a hobby we do for fun.

 

Whatever you do, as Qwynn said, make sure you communicate OOCly with your group. Especially if your character is important to the storyline. Obviously, it's a dick move to leave them high and dry, even if it is important to your enjoyment of the game. But talk to them anyway, even if taking a break isn't on your table of considerations! Especially if you feel bored or frustrated with how the storyline is progressing! They might agree with you and want to change how things are going, or they might have no idea you weren't enjoying it and agree to redirect things, or anything. You won't know until you tell them.

[Kimikimi]

These are actually helping, so thanks guys.

 

I don't think I will take a break anytime soon, but I may shelve this character soon. Causing a new or existing character to reemerge. That said where my shelved character will go is kinda unknown. Maybe they will be indefinitely shelved till a day where I think back and say "Hey they would be perfect for this"

[SapphireSkylines]

I might be repeating some of the things these people have been saying. First and foremost, you should have an outline for your character but at the same time be open for change and to go with the flow. I had a character back on Warcraft that I had RP expectations for, when they never got to fruition, I got incredibly disappointed and retired the character. You want to try to avoid that and remember that you're not the only one writing the story in RP, so things just might not work out the way you want them to. 

 

Another thing a lot of people have been mentioning is alts! Alts are a great way to create an assortment of chracters to play on so you always have different kinds of RP. The only downside to getting alts on Balmung is that it's extremely hard to create a new alt on the server for free. Most people have to create a character on a low pop server and transfer for $15+ dollars.

 

Also another guy mentioned this, but when you're in a small group or 2 person RP, OOC communication is great. If a RP is not going the way you were envisioning, talk to your group or partner about the situation and see what they want or what they think on it. I know this is extremely hard to do - especially in romance RPs, but if the relationship RP is just not working for you for whatever reason, break up, tell your RP partner that you're sorry and move on. You don't want to be stuck in a RP you're bored with or unhappy with.

[Valence]

Take that from someone that is really scarse on alts and tends to focus almost everything on a single character - not that I could not make more alts, I just don't have the time nor the motivation to play them, and also I feel like I would only play one for long periods of time before switching to the other when I start prefering playing the other instead, which is not super cool for my RP partners. 

 

So, while I think alts probably help for a lot of people, I don't think it's necessary all in itself. In my case, I'm doing perfectly fine without. You might find that I'm possibly weird in that I tend to actually enjoy my characters more and more over time. I grow attached to them as I flesh them out, make them evolve struggle and change.

 

I find that the important part where everything will be decided often happens early for me, after one month or two of roleplay where I just finished polishing out the base concept and start seeing what works and what doesn't, and what I actually like and dislike. It's pretty much impossible to get a clear cut and exhaustive concept that will prove to work on the long run, AND please you. And I guess I'm extremely picky when it comes to the characters I play so the smallest thing that eventually makes me "meh" about the character tends to get reworked pretty quickly. 

 

And I feel that it's a big part why a character stops being fun to play. You have to proud of the result.

 

There is another thing too. As said above, I shy away from pre scripted plans for character development. I'm more about doing outlines. Rather than saying that "This is what will happen to my character and I'm going there", which just puts a lot of constraints and eventually frustration when something different is trying to awkwardly force your character in another direction, I prefer to find short, medium and long run goals for the character to strive with. If they never realize? It's fine, a goal can be a success, or a failure, or somewhere in between. Goals are here to provide hooks for everyone and yourself to play around. It gives the character drives to progress and move ahead and so, creates stuff and prevents stagnation.

 

It is also important never to rush any plot. Taking the most famous example, if you rush a long lasting romance story in 2 or 3 or even 10 RP sessions, it not only feels clunky and rushed, but it will also mean that you character will soon start living the equivalent of several lifetimes in a year. And eventually, it feels super disappointing because the amount of "ommpf" you get out of it is ridiculous compared to the expectations.

 

( this is also a shameless plug to playing FLAWED average and modest characters, gives you a lot more leeway in that regards considering the long lasting impact and the margin you have to work with progression wise )

[Syranelle Ironleaf]

I've never been very good with alts.  I tend to be a "one hit wonder" when it comes to characters, since I've always felt that having alts dilutes my overall character narrative because I'm trying to spread my creativity too thinly.  

 

Being a die-hard single-character player, I'll share my advice on coping.  

 

Don't let RP become routine.

 

The things in our lives that become routine become mundane and things we take for granted.  They're things we do because, well, we've always done them.  When RP starts becoming routine and your character goes to the same places and has the same reactions to situations, they start to stagnate.  Shake things up, go somewhere different, meet someone new!

 

All good things in moderation.

 

Yes, even roleplay.  You don't have to RP every day and every hour that you're logged on to be considered a good or dedicated roleplayer.  You don't have to try to attend every event to get exposure.  Find a comfortable level of participation that works for you without you feeling overwhelmed.  If you start feeling overwhelmed, then cut back and do some PVE things for a while or do some things you've been meaning to do.

 

Sometimes, characters just run their course.

 

Every story has an ending.  As much as we love the characters we breathe life into, they hit a point where there's really nothing more we can do for or with them.  They've grown all they plan to grow and pushing them in any other direction feels forced or contrary to who they've grown into.  And that's okay.  It's okay to realize that a character has hit a point where they can safely "retire" and let someone new step into the limelight.

[Kimikimi]

Just a small update, I have changed my character, or shelved my main. I have alts yes, but I do not feel the desire to play them, maybe briefly. So I have renamed and fantasiaed my main to a new character I can play with and hopefully come up with something I feel is a little more to my liking. The one downside to this, is I have never met all those people on my friends list, which causes me to re engage with all of them. Unless I say something like "Hey, this is a new character, I want you to delete my off your friends list?"

[Lydia Lightfoot]

Late to the discussion, but better late than never!

 

Regarding old friends, I'd say try to stay connected with the ones you care about (let them know about your IC character change, and ask them if they'd like to RP with your new character so you can form a new IC connection), but the ones you don't care about... well, just move on, I suppose. Just like you've changed your character and focus, others will too, so if that person never really connected with you anyway maybe it's not meant to be.

 

If you're looking to get some new exposure, my FC is hosting a tavern night tomorrow night and you're welcome to swing by and meet some people.

[Kimikimi]

Late to the discussion, but better late than never!

 

Regarding old friends, I'd say try to stay connected with the ones you care about (let them know about your IC character change, and ask them if they'd like to RP with your new character so you can form a new IC connection), but the ones you don't care about... well, just move on, I suppose. Just like you've changed your character and focus, others will too, so if that person never really connected with you anyway maybe it's not meant to be.

 

If you're looking to get some new exposure, my FC is hosting a tavern night tomorrow night and you're welcome to swing by and meet some people.

Maybe I will drop by, dunno how busy I will be. But we will see.

[Oyuu]

Just a small update, I have changed my character, or shelved my main. I have alts yes, but I do not feel the desire to play them, maybe briefly. So I have renamed and fantasiaed my main to a new character I can play with and hopefully come up with something I feel is a little more to my liking. The one downside to this, is I have never met all those people on my friends list, which causes me to re engage with all of them. Unless I say something like "Hey, this is a new character, I want you to delete my off your friends list?"

 

When name-changing a character, I usually put a note in my search info just to let people know who my character used to be.

 

Good luck with your new character, may your roleplay be fun and fulfilling! 

[SapphireSkylines]

Have fun with the new character! I'm usually pretty picky about who I put on my friends list, so most of my friends consist of FC mates, and people I've RPed with frequently. I would say let the people you hang out the most know, I'm sure they're still going to want to RP with you, despite the character change. 

 

For the friends you just don't hang out with anymore or haven't talked to much, maybe consider removing them, but that's just general stuff you do with your friends list, dump the ones you don't talk to and add the ones you do.

[Delilah Scythewood]

Hey there! Been RPing 16-17 years m'self and I have a lot of characters I've either used for years or are for select games and settings only.

 

It gets hard sometimes. You have a character you love and adore but things aren't working out for whatever reason. Lack of RP opportunities, your old RP partners are playing other games, your guild/FC is stale, you have no motivation to progress the story, etc etc etc.

 

What I sometimes do is I work on/focus on a new character. Maybe you have an alt concept that you never nurtured into fruition or there's a character type you want to try out that you may have never done before. Whatever the case, give it a try whatever it may happen to be! In a few weeks or so, go back to the old character. See how you feel about them after some separation and time apart while you did something different. If at that point you still feel blah about them? Turn them into something else!

 

If all else fails and you want to come back to the character later, there's always fantasias and name changes for that

[Chidori]

Personally, I like my alts. I was name changing my second character a lot - but it got to the point it was expensive >.>;;

 

My main will always remain as she is the half of the head to my FC. The Wandering Tonberry is "owned" by a married couple. So unless my partner and I decided to go a different route, she will remain as is.

 

My first alt came about as I had two people interesting in doing the bonding. I talked it over with them, decided Ritsu suited Flynt best. But I agreed to make a character for  my IRL partner. First I made Mokuren, which ended up not working out. Then I made Chidori, which has so far worked out for the most part. Chidori I also consider my main as I put in a lot of work for her. I still liked Mokuren, so I ended up making her as well. And then I have a villain character I pull out as needed. I kind of have one random one. Still on the fence what to do with her. I like the concept, she already has a 60 under her belt.

 

Anyways. Either route you choose should work, doing something fresh I find helps. The only thing I have seen with the name changing is it can get kind of confusing (and for some addicting). I have one friend that would do it every few months so it was really hard to do anything long term with them because you never know what whim might strike them and they change. Currently they are stuck to a degree since they told me if they change again within a year I get 5 mil :3 But we also worked out something where it is the same character, but she changes from time to time.

[Kellach Woods]

I don't. I actually have 8 characters on Balmung at this point in time, and most of them with a backstory.

 

This game's chat system essentially makes it fucking impossible (LSes not shared between characters, 128 characters only in a LS, etc.) to do so unless I plan everything in advance and I literally am not good at that kind of plan. So I just keep at it on Kell.