Forums » RP Discussion » RP Etiquette - Multiple Storylines for One OC?

Hey,

So, I've only been roleplaying for about a year, so I'm still working out the general RP etiquette thing. Considering it changes from site-to-site, likely, I figured I ought to clarify something.

Is it generally frowned upon to have multiple storylines and relationships for one character, written with different people? So, for example, if my character, A, was in one RPG, and had a separate arc and relationship with character B, but at the same time I was writing a different RPG, with a different arc, and A was in a relationship with C, would that be akin to 'cheating?' This is if both B and C were unrelated characters who don't know each other, most likely written by different players.

Hopefully that mess of thoughts made sense.

I was wondering because I was concerned that plots, particularly romance-related, effectively 'bound' your characters together, forbidding them from engaging in other, alternative storylines. So, I thought I would clarify - though I understand this likely varies from person-to-person, I don't want to do anything regarded as a blunder to the majority.

Thanks, and hopefully this isn't a silly question,

Zenaida

With the example you gave, I'd say it is absolutely nothing like cheating. You can write your characters in as many separate storylines as you want. The closest it would be to cheating is if you consider every story canon and part of the character's timeline, and the character knowingly enters a romance while they are already in one, but that'd be your characters bad, not yours. And if all of the stories are unconnected and not canon to each other? Definitely not cheating-adjacent.
If you, personally, aren't comfortable using a character in more than one RP, you of course don't have to, but no-one should tell you that it's wrong, because it's not. They're your characters, and your stories.
For me personally, I have some characters who exist in their own universe, and I only RP with them in that universe, with the person who I share said universe with. They do have a canon timeline and canon relationships. But, the other person who owns this universe uses one or two of her characters outside of it, for non-canon shenanigans, and there's nothing wrong with that.
As for the rest of my characters, I will use them in as many stories as I want. I don't generally consider them canon, but rather alternate timelines within a character's life.
So, you can do whatever makes you happy. Only use each character in one story? Okay! Use them in multiple stories that are all part of one timeline? Cool! Throw them into a bunch of stories that are unconnected and have no consequences on each other? Yeah! Have different rules about this for each individual character, rather than all of them? Of course! Whatever you want to do! They're your characters, your stories, your choice!

What Lorekeeper said.

Personally I have some characters I try and keep to a consistent timeline. Nina for example, I placed an RP ad for a simple 'neighbor' sort of RP, and had six RPs open up. I have managed to edit all the storylines into one consistent flow, but it wasn't easy to do. Some characters are created for a specific RP/relationship. Some are what I call 'free agents' and are used in a lot of different situations.

Whatever you feel happy with is the way to go. It isn't cheating' unless it happens in-character in a story, which is them part of the story... if that makes sense.

Different people do have different storyline preferences.

For example, my characters have a singular storyline. Let's say that one of them goes on Adventure A and gets injured. When they later on go on Adventure B and meets a new group of people, they will have the injuries/scarring and experience from Adventure A, as well as any they gain in the new adventure. And, repeat.

It is the playstyle that I strongly prefer.

Thanks all, it was good to hear everyone's opinions on the subject. I was slightly concerned that, if I wanted to explore different aspects/versions of my character's stories, I would be committing some sort of RPR etiquette violation. As I said, I'm pretty new

So, definitely comforted now!

IMO, I honestly don't have a problem with this. I just decide if I want that specific RP in my chara's lore. If I do, then I work out when it can take place.

From my perspective, there is a strict separation between player and characters, and characters are just fictional figments of my fantasy. The universes they are in do not overlap. So, I don’t see a problem with this at all.

I want to say that my characters have multiple AUs but I usually do lean to keeping them consistent for some reason. It's more of a habit than a preference on my part, I think.

I also don't think there's any taboo associated with playing your character as though they exist in multiple AU at once, at least, I've never run into any partners having a problem with this. (Unless they're the type to struggle with IC and OOC separation, in which case, yikes. )