The One Character Limit?

[Dudel]

I, personally, limit people to 1 because it is then easier to keep track of stuff. Otherwise, I don't really care... though the more characters in a game (with less players) can confuse things... That's just me.

[Aaron Weaver]

I think limits should be minimal. When I RP on WoW I occasionally dualbox (use more than one program to log in as more than one character) to create interesting conflict, facilitate character development or just give people a villain to beat up and rob. This is a much easier trick to pull on forums, and I don't like having the possibility closed to me.

That said, I'm not particularly adverse to rules that say players should keep one or two main, invested characters, and that they can have characters of lesser importance on the side for the reasons stated above. It's good to keep a few interesting characters with depth and relevance to the plot rather than drowning in showers of throwaways with a name, a face and some intentions.

[Gowi]

I think I'm split between two sides, because I can see the problem of multiple characters within a roleplaying concept as that's all I did when I was 12-14 was make anywhere from 1-6 characters in each concept, my friend Josiah labeled it as "excessive character creation disorder" and it sort of stuck. That said, I know it gets overwhelming and if you aren't careful you can lose focus and time when doing this. However, it can also bring a lot to the roleplay as well to have a player who brings several different personalities to the table. So really, I think it depends on "can the player do it without failing" is the ideal question when it comes to the subject matter.

[SgtKlum]

I usually limit it to one character per player at the start of an RP and gradually open it up as people come up with legitimate reasons why they want to play more. Far too often have I seen an RP fold in half because there were six players playing up to four characters each, getting things confused, leaving plot-lines midway because they got bored with a particular character, etc etc.

It's just a lot more hassle than it's worth. Start with one, see how it goes from there.

[Holeypaladin]

In my current RP, I allow as many characters as the writer wishes to contain. This is largely because of the scale of my RP. Since it is a galactic-scale RP with empire-building and character-focus, every single story arc that the writers wish to convey requires a character through which to convey it.

I find character-focus to be better when it comes to galactic-scale RPs, as the writing is generally higher quality and flows better. It also really makes it easy to fulfill the post requirements of the Advanced section. When you are posting the actions of five different characters furthering five different plots, meeting the length requirements in Advanced is extremely easy.

That said, if a character wishes to play only a single character, that is also perfectly acceptable. Just because a large portion of the writers enjoy running factions and empires doesn't mean they are required to. Running a single independent character who gets tangled in plots of galactic scale is a perfectly acceptable and viable way of RPing, as far as I'm concerned.

While I am grateful for all the people who decided to create and run various interstellar empires, I would like to see a few more independent characters with their own private motivations and objectives, as well. I fear that people who prefer running a single character may think that my RP is just a typical NRP with no room for individual characters, which is simply not the case.

As for the poll... I'd say it really depends on the type of RP. Truly. Although I'll disagree with the leading poll results... to me trying to "prove yourself worthy" of multiple characters sounds entirely too cliquish, and I prefer allowing everyone an equal opportunity for full enjoyment of the RP, whether they are personal friends of mine or not.