Making Characters: Generate or Recycle?

[Holeypaladin]

I only recycle characters if I'm using them in the same universe, such as with sequels or prequels or paraquels.

But I generate an original cast of characters for every universe I get involved in. And try to make them different from my other characters, in some way.

[Brovo]

That's my answer to the poll.

[Mairzy Doats]

For the most part, I make a new one each time. There are a small group of characters that I just seem to understand better, or who fit in especially well with certain plots or genres. This is a small percentage, though.

[Janduin]

Generate. I think its more fun to make something new rather than recycle the same character you've used a half a dozen times.

[Omega]

I do not think I have ever recycled a character.

[SilverRain]

I reuse characters where they fit and maybe tweak their motives a little. And for RPs where they don't fit, I create new ones.

The reason I reuse my characters is because the more I use them, the more of a unique personality they get. My characters aren't just in an RP to do a job, they are there to live and interact and they are at their best when they have a sou. My new characters feel sort of flat to me, but with existing characters, they have traits, styles and memories. Their emotions are also much more developed - they have likes and dislikes as well as very good reasons for them. They have secrets that drive them from within. They have dreams and fears.

I also experiment a little and in some cases, I have variations in each reincarnation of my characters. I improve them as I go along.

[MorningWood]

Partially recycling. Each character is pretty similar to the previous one, but there's always some different touches. But sometimes the cycle requires fresh blood and sometimes it's just better to create a new character from scratch.

[Hagazussa]

I almost always generate a new character for the specific roleplay I am joining, I sometimes reuse old characters as NPCs and a very few times as player characters, but I love creating characters so I usually create new ones for each game.

[SilverLine]

I usually make new characters for each game I'm in. It makes sense to me to build a character who is from that world. But, I have played a few games whose express purpose was to get players older characters back and see how characters from different games interact with each other. That's actually a lot of fun, and it's nice to bring some of the classics out of retirement for a little while. Otherwise, new game, new character.

[Mammoth]

It's a bit of both, to be honest. At this point, I've been doing this for long enough that I have a crapload of characters. Most of their back stories can be altered around as needed for the thread, but mostly it's just whichever personality I'm aiming at using.

Each one has a personality that I can sort of "jump in" and think as how they'd react in the situation. Some of them are fun. Some of them are difficult. It just all depends on what I'm going for, but I think part of the reason I find this fun is creating a person, in whole, not just a part to be played.

But sometimes I want to try something new or I want to mix things up and not change a certain character as they act in my brain. So I make something new.