POTW: Different than the Design

[Diana]

Sometimes you start a roleplay with a character idea and design in mind. You write up their bio, know exactly who they are supposed to be, or at the very least have a really good idea how they are going to behave.

THEN IT ALL GOES TOTALLY DIFFERENT THAN YOU PLANNED.

This character seems to have a mind of their own, and nothing you wrote down or decided seems to be right. They have a completely different personality and nothing they do is what you thought they would do.


Have you ever had characters that turned out totally different than you designed once you started playing them?

 

[Serran]

This mostly happens to characters that I make on the whim. Brand spanking new kiddies who I've made for a couple of hours before I join a roleplay. This. Always. Happens. x_x They usually don't stick around me either - once the RP dies or something in the middle, the character dies along with it.

However, I try (as much as possible) to let this never happen to the handful of very few OCs that I've kept and developed for years. After staying with them so long and planning them out in my heads for days on end, I know exactly how they will act in different kinds of scenarios.

 

[Lady Sabine]

My characters are in a constant state of evolution. Think of it like a robot capable of modifying itself to suit it's environment. I'll stick it in with what I think it needs, but it will constantly run diagnostics, come up with better solutions, and change its characteristics to better tackle the challenges it faces. My older characters have pretty solid designs that hardly change, but the new ones are fairly plastic and shift a little every time I write (or even just think) about them.

 

[LogicfromLogic]

Oh yes;

My character Slade has changed from being this noble, kind gentleman like man to a lying, money grubbing pirate. He used to be a paladin. A few other characters I have had changed their faces multiple times just not as much as Slade has; he's really changed from what I originally intended.

 

[redblood]

I rather not write a character bio because they always change from how I wrote them in the bio. :/ They can keep to the age and appearance and backstory I gave them, but they don't respect what personality and likes/dislikes I give them.... They don't think I'm good at writing characters so they decide to change themselves everytime D': Whyyy?

They are even talking about doing a revolution against me T-T That's what happens if you have created 70 different characters that all dislikes you for doing one thing or another to them.... I'M SORRY I TORTURED SOME OF YOU, it was needed for the stories... And my amusement... ... They look angry now... I think I'll run away. *Runs* THIS WAS NOT HOW I WROTE YOU!!! YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE AGAINST VIOLENCE T-T

 

[Falcon]

My characters tend to grow up on me.
They may start out the way I intended, but if the RP lasts long enough they seem to slowly evolve.

Take my character Trevean from Saving the World for example. I originally designed him to be vain, arrogant, and a pain. Now he's somehow become somewhat responsible and on occasion even sweet.

I blame the other characters giving him a reason to change :)

 

[Cerulean]

It has certainly happened. Mostly through character development, but it's not uncommon.

 

[Noctis the Devious]

My characters have a mind of their own ^^ Even when I reuse character, and often I do, They change with the universe I throw them into. Though certain aspects will change/remain the same, the different, unsaid events they went through post-roleplay definitely shows and create an enjoyable experience :) It's even fun to sit back and watch how the characters they're interacting with and how the environment shapes them (if the roleplay even lasts that long). Their character development is not always the same, which makes it that much more interesting to start back at square one when a new roleplay begins.

 

[Sydney Incubus]

This is a tricky one. I generally design characters with fixed traits and attributes, so what they can do is static. On the other hand such factors as personality, appearance, background, and other minutiae may be less fixed and change rapidly.