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On Playing Multiple Characters...

I think I’ve said it before I myself love playing multiple characters, absolutely love love triangles where a couple is going through a hard time or just out of the blue they become swingers etc.
 
Multiple characters are for me, the most important thing when I want to keep a rp interesting over time. They can be used to add drama, laughter or to just advance a situation. They are like a fresh breeze of air after the main characters spent too much time with each other.
 
In theory while I love the idea of playing multiple characters, I find that in my (limited) practice multiple character RPs have a greater chance of crashing and burning.

Even though I'll honestly say 50% of those crash and burn RPs have been on me, it's something I'd love to try again with a chill writing partner!
 
I really enjoy playing multiple characters for a sort of wide array of reasons. The best thing that comes from this, in my opinion, is when a side character gets their own story, becomes something bigger, and maybe even spins off an entirely new RP with that partners! I have run the gamut from RPing in the GM style against one persons singular character, or have run multiple main characters against a partners main character, or been in worlds where we both RP a large number of characters! For whatever reason though I think it tends to drift towards me actually writing the majority of these characters, though I don't really mind it. It can be quite fun!
 
Me too. Most people who "demanded" I play two ran. I do it only with someone I trust.
 
I can't think of an RP where I haven't played a minimum of two characters, and quite a few where I've played at least two in smut scenes, as well. The issue mainly comes in when my RP partner isn't capable of that. I'm pretty imaginative, but it takes a lot of creative energy to play every single character in an RP besides one. I usually RP because I enjoy the surprise and novelty of what another person comes up with. When they're limited to just one person, I tend to get burned out trying to generate enough idea to keep me interested. If I only wanted to write on my own most of the time, I'd just write what I wanted and skip all the hassle of trying to generate ideas that keep my partners interested.

However, I have developed a newfound fascination with playing crowds. A group of people has a different dynamic and character than an individual, which can be a challenge to model realistically. Knowing which details give the crowd verisimilitude without getting distracted from the focus of the RP can be a challenge.
 
Multiples - hands down. Friendships, family, enemies - there are so many more aspects to a character than simply their romantic interest and it feels... empty and two dimensional trying to pretend that isn't the case. I was a (fan)fiction writer as a before I was a roleplayer (though I've been a roleplayer literally the majority of my life at this point) and development of other relationships is something I've taken with me from day one.

When it comes to roleplaying, I tend to stick with one or two main characters per story - the ones that my partner is explicitly pairing with. Generally two as I prefer to double up and explore multiple storylines at the same time instead of narrowing down on one character and one relationship and one scope. When it comes to the background characters there are some that I prefer to keep to myself as I'm the one with more in-depth knowledge of how that character would interact with my main character, some that are my partner's primary background characters, and others get passed in between myself and whichever partner that I'm writing with with ease. While the primacy characters should definitely be the main focus, there are times where outside interactions are just as crucial for development.
 
If I get into a roleplay, well... I tend to end up with multiple whether I like it or not >.<
 
I'm not usually one for playing multiple characters, it's often outside my comfort zone, at least playing them at the same time in the same scenes. I'm currently pushing myself to get better at it, playing triplets that are sharing most scenes each with distinctly different personalities. It is a challenge for one not used to doing it, it takes longer to write my posts than it usually would, but I am most definitely enjoying the roleplay an awful lot.
 
Multiples between me and partner or nope in general to a RP.

I mean, how else you going to tell a story with just two people? Multiple roles allows various cast to come in and fill in whatever gaps, be they mains(which I play two at most,) side characters(also known as 'supporting cast,') or general NPCs(fillers for everything else.) Since I am keen on world building dynamics, multiple characters are a must for me. I get bored otherwise and lose interest if it is a story where me and partner are just playing one character and nothing more. I also quickly lose interest if partner wants to play just one character and expects me to play an entire gang.

I believe a good number of people are normally turned off by the multiple, role concept since they most likely feel, with multiple roles, you have to play them all out in same scene. Even I do not do that, as that gets hectic. I use them in a 'revolving,' cast way to keep the story going; usually by alternating between mains point of view and/or supporting roles when it calls for them. That way you still have singular pairings going on(less you involve supporting cast/NPCs in mix) while you and your partner's other characters still wait to be used elsewhere when you find a good pausing point for said scene, before moving on to the next.
 
Oh when I say I don't play multiple characters often I do mean mains, side characters are a must in almost any roleplay, just two alone can get terribly boring. Not impossible, but it's nice to have others you know?
 
As a GM and a GM styles roleplayer, I am used to playing more than 10+ characters...
 
Similarly, I have enough experience playing multiple guys that I don't have objections to doing that anymore.
 
Tazreale said:
Multiples between me and partner or nope in general to a RP.

I mean, how else you going to tell a story with just two people? Multiple roles allows various cast to come in and fill in whatever gaps, be they mains (which I play two at most), side characters (also known as 'supporting cast,') or general NPCs (fillers for everything else.) Since I am keen on world building dynamics, multiple characters are a must for me. I get bored otherwise and lose interest if it is a story where me and partner are just playing one character and nothing more. I also quickly lose interest if partner wants to play just one character and expects me to play an entire gang.

I believe a good number of people are normally turned off by the multiple, role concept since they most likely feel, with multiple roles, you have to play them all out in same scene. Even I do not do that, as that gets hectic. I use them in a 'revolving,' cast way to keep the story going; usually by alternating between mains point of view and/or supporting roles when it calls for them. That way you still have singular pairings going on(less you involve supporting cast/NPCs in mix) while you and your partner's other characters still wait to be used elsewhere when you find a good pausing point for said scene, before moving on to the next.
Click to expand...
I was going to post to this but in reading the comments, I found Tazreale said basically what I was going to say. I myself love bringing NPCs into stories. Sometimes they become something more as the story goes, becoming characters of mine in their own right and going on to a sequel RP or another story on their own.

My experience with only two characters in an RP is it eventually grinds down to one- or two liner posts which really causes drag and can cause me to lose interest. Also, I've written a good RP with one writer who only had one character with an occasional side one, but I ended up with a dozen side-characters in the story to their one. It got to be a bit of a strain but because they were a good writer, it worked out for a long while.
 
Playing multiple characters honestly makes everything better in a sense when it comes to constantly pushing the narrative of the plot or scenario at hand. What I love doing, as weird as it sounds, is allowing for shared background characters like an antagonist or few that are shared between the two people here and there. Could be discussed in OOC as to what the next objective or scenario should be and how the antagonists could play a part. The only reason I enjoy the idea of sharing these NPC's or side characters is cause it could get pretty grueling and tiresome having to ensure you include everyone at play in one go, in every response. What's frustrating, personally, is playing a "harem" cause that's so much pressure on one person to keep up multiple different personalities going without having them just mesh together into one heap. That's an annoying situation to be in. But I concur that adding multiple characters to a story rich RP does a lot more good than bad, every time. The only "bad" really being the post lengths might turn astronomical in size but that's usually more favorable than grinding to a halt of 1-3 lines being bounced between one another back and forth. Good discussion topic though! Was starting to feel like I was a weirdo for liking to play multiple characters in one RP at a time :D
 
While I actually believe two people can be a world unto themselves if the story is set up to be such there will of course be extras, people who pass through the world built around the two players' characters, some of whom they two players may interact with briefly. It can be anything from a bar maid serving them drinks, a police officer pulling them over for speeding, a neighbour or neighbours and so on but the main world and plot is still built around the two players' characters.

That said I do love playing multiple characters, main and supporting alike, and to be honest one of the best and easily longest running roleplays (on another site) began with me playing six characters against a single character and now after 2 years 9 months, and almost 1500 multi-paragraph posts, of more or less regular roleplaying we are both now playing a multitude of characters, some we share and in at least one case I have mostly taken over playing a character created by my collaborator and while we may be nearing the end game we still have a long way to go.

Now this and another multi-character roleplay on the same site has now given me confidence to set up a group roleplay here where I act as narrator and play one main character and every NPC against four other players and while I have found it to be a lot more work than I first anticipated I find it to be a very satisfying experience.
 
I'm not afraid to play multiple characters in a plot/scene, but too many and it becomes difficult to keep everything straight/organized. I do enjoy when a partner is capable of playing multiple characters for me but I always ask and try to work with them as much as possible if they are in regards to managing things so as not to overwhelm them.
 
I never do a roleplay without playing multiple characters. In the rps that I'm very enthusiastic about, the most I have played was around 15+ characters. Some of which are minor characters that ends up being major characters later in the plot, in my opinion it makes the rp a lot more interesting.
 
Honestly, it depends on my drive. Sometimes I can play multiple characters in a scene without feeling like I'm neglecting others and other times I kind of forget characters exist and kind of have them disappear from a scene. I love playing more than one character, it's just it's gotta be the right time to do it or otherwise I'm gonna be messing up. I still love playing more than one character though.
 
Unless you're playing 2 people stranded somewhere (which I've done), someone or both is going to have to play some NPCs or at least mention them. That shouldn't be an issue for anyone.

Playing multiple main characters isn't for everyone. I like it. I think it deepens and broadens a story. However, most of the time, the longer the list of characters we create for a big big story, the quicker my partner ghosts. I don't know if there's a causation with that, but there's definitely a correlation for me. So, I don't advertise or push playing multiple main characters unless it's for a restart of a game that I already have my roster made for. Contrary to what anyone who stalks me might think, I don't actually enjoy filling my mental graveyard with RP character abortions in rapid succession.

So, yes. I like playing and like games with multiple main characters or a primary and secondary characters who are also well-developed. I also like making a NPC list for us to pick from when the need or whim arises.
 
Multiple characters through the use of NPCs or secondary/tertiary protagonists, or those related to the main protagonist: always. It's basically a necessity for me, since I have a need to populate the world my characters reside in. It's also just a good tool for characterization and exposition, as I can create a conversation between my main character and an NPC all in the same post. :^). I like giving my NPCs their own time to shine too, since it's a nice change of scenery.

Playing multiple characters as main characters is a bit trickier for me. I'd definitely do it, but only under certain circumstances. Like, if my partner and I both agree to create a cast of characters then I'm down to do it. But I'm less enthusiastic about having my characters part of another singular character's harem (or similar relationship dynamics).
 
Certainly! Though at most it would be a few 'main' characters, a nucleus, paired with a host of side characters. I'm game to make them more if they become more prominent, but ideally not before then. After all, even selling two unique people can be a lot of work...
 
To throw in my two cents. I think just having two characters works when you're doing a sex scene, or any other that only requires two characters at that point in time.

Otherwise, it's better to have multiple characters, if only to flesh out the setting. Though, I've heard people complain about having to manage more than one character is being too stressful, draining, etc.

Though, I tend to look at it as like writing a book; What are the other characters doing? How are they reacting to what's happening, etc.
 
I enjoy writing multiple characters but only for a partner that is willing to do the same when the time comes. If you can only play one character but expect someone to play four or five for your benefit, hard pass.
 
So I’ve played multiple characters before, lately it has become necessary to my muse to do so. Generally I want a thinker and a doer/sweet and a spicy. I enjoy starting out with the differences and bringing them closer and closer into a even circumstance and more rounded characters.

That said I notice it brings me more fappers; my term for people who smut rp primarily to get off which is a whole other convo on workable versions for me and not. Some people are just interested in the harem element and a good example is a story now where the co-writer only has the excitement to build new faces vs building out the character.

? for the crowd - if there are multiples in the story. How about the convo on who controls who?

I like to define a main 1-3 as “my” characters. And if there is more we switch back and forth power of them as we need them.
 
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