I'm entirely uninterested in RPing canon characters, myself. Much of the joy of roleplay, for me, is to be found in creating and exploring a character of my own. This is not to say I'm unwilling to create a character within the bounds of a certain setting (I have done so, in some cases); but, in the end, the character itself is still my own brainchild.
A friend did once ask me to play a character of theirs, in a scene. It was certainly an interesting experience, but somewhat uncomfortable for me, all the same.
As for RPing with canon characters; my feelings are mixed. I do have to admit that my initial reaction to canon characters wandering about is... general disinterest. I'm unlikely to approach them. But I won't necessarily turn one away, should their player approach me. There are certainly good canon players out there. I've run across and played with more than a few.
A friend did once ask me to play a character of theirs, in a scene. It was certainly an interesting experience, but somewhat uncomfortable for me, all the same.
As for RPing with canon characters; my feelings are mixed. I do have to admit that my initial reaction to canon characters wandering about is... general disinterest. I'm unlikely to approach them. But I won't necessarily turn one away, should their player approach me. There are certainly good canon players out there. I've run across and played with more than a few.
I actually have to say I don't have a problem with the idea of RPing canon characters. While I don't do it myself (except sometimes controlling a canon character as an NPC), I believe if it helps someone who wants to get into roleplay get comfortable with it before moving on to their own characters, why would that be a bad thing?
The reason for this is, I started making movies by making Star Wars fanfilms. While I made a point to make sure none of the events in my stories conflicted with the movies and media, some of those early projects are terrible. Just like someone RPing a canon character might take them on a journey that's totally against the way that character would act.
Despite their low quality, those early films were learning experiences and it taught me everything I needed to know to be able to move on to original projects. Without those fanfilms, many of the videos on this list would not exist.
So if playing with an established world, or in this case, an established character, helps encourage people to be creative, then I'm all for it.
The reason for this is, I started making movies by making Star Wars fanfilms. While I made a point to make sure none of the events in my stories conflicted with the movies and media, some of those early projects are terrible. Just like someone RPing a canon character might take them on a journey that's totally against the way that character would act.
Despite their low quality, those early films were learning experiences and it taught me everything I needed to know to be able to move on to original projects. Without those fanfilms, many of the videos on this list would not exist.
So if playing with an established world, or in this case, an established character, helps encourage people to be creative, then I'm all for it.
Darth_Angelus wrote:
Without those fanfilms, many of the videos on this list would not exist.
That has to be the best reason to play canon characters I have ever seen!!
This actually reminds me, I think way way WAAAAY back when I was first roleplaying I did some canon RP myself. But much as others say, it never felt right.
So I never did it after that. To each their own though, if you love that sort of thing, I say go for it. 
I have to say that without my background in playing around with premade characters, I probably wouldn't have the characters that I do today. Not that any of them are a blatant--or semi-blatant ripoff of any character in particular, but the experience I got from messing around with someone else's characters and finding the limitations within the setting and the 'verse really helped me to establish my own characters and setting for the future.
They say that imitation is the greatest art of flattery and it's no secret that many writers copy off each other. So for us (well, me) having done that, I got to try my hand at creating stories that didn't require the stages of creating setting and background. I could just throw characters into trouble and write the outcome as I felt the characters would react.
Now, however, I've come a fair ways from that. I don't like playing canon characters mostly because I've "lost" my feel for them. And I don't write fanfiction anymore now that I have my own characters to write. In a sense, it's a bit of maturing that lets us release our hold on what someone else has made up in order to grasp what we ourselves would rather create and thus profit from. When you realize that all the time and effort gone into writing (and promoting) someone else's work when it could have easily gone into your own and making you money, you quickly learn to switch gears, I think.
But that's just my two cents worth.
They say that imitation is the greatest art of flattery and it's no secret that many writers copy off each other. So for us (well, me) having done that, I got to try my hand at creating stories that didn't require the stages of creating setting and background. I could just throw characters into trouble and write the outcome as I felt the characters would react.
Now, however, I've come a fair ways from that. I don't like playing canon characters mostly because I've "lost" my feel for them. And I don't write fanfiction anymore now that I have my own characters to write. In a sense, it's a bit of maturing that lets us release our hold on what someone else has made up in order to grasp what we ourselves would rather create and thus profit from. When you realize that all the time and effort gone into writing (and promoting) someone else's work when it could have easily gone into your own and making you money, you quickly learn to switch gears, I think.
But that's just my two cents worth.
I prefer not to play with canon characters. A long time ago I was in a place, L'Opera Populaire and someone played The Phantom of the Opera and that was cool. They did a good job. I don't really have a problem with others, and could see how it might be fun to try it but I think I would only with friends.
If you are playing a character that is already well known and well loved, your freedoms seem pretty limited before it just becomes an OC with a ripped off image and history. So, while it could be fun with friends I don't really like to play with someone who is being.. oh.. I don't know, a Final Fantasy or Dragon Age character because chances are I will be dissapointed only because I have expectations and unfair standards from the start.
If you are playing a character that is already well known and well loved, your freedoms seem pretty limited before it just becomes an OC with a ripped off image and history. So, while it could be fun with friends I don't really like to play with someone who is being.. oh.. I don't know, a Final Fantasy or Dragon Age character because chances are I will be dissapointed only because I have expectations and unfair standards from the start.
I thought about it more, and now that I'm more awake and not so sickly I wanted to add to this.
I believe that at some point or another most (not all) role players will go through a phase where they play canon or pre-made characters. It allows a player, new or otherwise, to develop with something familiar and well thought out. In many cases, as can be seen by these comments it allows those players to feel ore confident about themselves as a role player and to move into the stage where many on RPR are of creating new and original characters to work with.
I don't think playing canon can be discounted, and I don't look badly upon those that do. I no longer delve into canon because I am confident that I can create OCs that I love and cherish and will fit into the world I toss them upon.
It's hard to play in worlds we love so much at first without gravitating to the canon characters, take Supernatural for instance. Several users here have characters in this verse (including myself) and I'm sure there is a Dean or Sam running around here somewhere, and that's fine. The world is fascinating and brilliant, and the canon characters do play a huge role in that world. Will I play Dean or Sam? Gods no, I couldn't do it. But kudos to someone who believes they can give that character their all and "live up" to the story line.
Every writer has to start somewhere, be it a sentence a paragraph or by working with someone else's idea just for fun. We've all done it in some way or another, even if by accident taking traits from this canon or that canon and pushing them into our own characters. And there is nothing wrong with that. As long as your having fun and you are enjoying your characters then by gosh golly gee willikers I'll enjoy 'em right with you.
I believe that at some point or another most (not all) role players will go through a phase where they play canon or pre-made characters. It allows a player, new or otherwise, to develop with something familiar and well thought out. In many cases, as can be seen by these comments it allows those players to feel ore confident about themselves as a role player and to move into the stage where many on RPR are of creating new and original characters to work with.
I don't think playing canon can be discounted, and I don't look badly upon those that do. I no longer delve into canon because I am confident that I can create OCs that I love and cherish and will fit into the world I toss them upon.
It's hard to play in worlds we love so much at first without gravitating to the canon characters, take Supernatural for instance. Several users here have characters in this verse (including myself) and I'm sure there is a Dean or Sam running around here somewhere, and that's fine. The world is fascinating and brilliant, and the canon characters do play a huge role in that world. Will I play Dean or Sam? Gods no, I couldn't do it. But kudos to someone who believes they can give that character their all and "live up" to the story line.
Every writer has to start somewhere, be it a sentence a paragraph or by working with someone else's idea just for fun. We've all done it in some way or another, even if by accident taking traits from this canon or that canon and pushing them into our own characters. And there is nothing wrong with that. As long as your having fun and you are enjoying your characters then by gosh golly gee willikers I'll enjoy 'em right with you.
Making legitimately good characters - the kind that people who've never met you will genuinely care about - is not trivial. Most of us could work day and night for the rest of our lives and never come up with another Drizzt, or Phoenix Wright, or Grissom, or Samurai Jack. Personally, I've been through a couple dozen or so separate concepts, each more terrible than the last, and have come to terms with the fact that I'm just not great at characters.
On the other hand, playing canon characters is the opposite of hard. So long as you leave your ego out of it, and are sincerely dedicated to the character you're playing, you should be fine. Just keep in mind, the temptations that lead to mary sue original characters are the same that lead to immersion-breaking canon characters.
On the other hand, playing canon characters is the opposite of hard. So long as you leave your ego out of it, and are sincerely dedicated to the character you're playing, you should be fine. Just keep in mind, the temptations that lead to mary sue original characters are the same that lead to immersion-breaking canon characters.
I personally don't enjoy roleplaying any sort of canon character. For me, it just doesn't seem to spark my creativity. You have to act a certain way ICly, and it just gets boring after a while.
Of course, I have nothing against people who play Canon characters, as long as they stick to the way the character is supposed to act. I hate it when they change the persona of the character just to fit their personal projects.
Of course, I have nothing against people who play Canon characters, as long as they stick to the way the character is supposed to act. I hate it when they change the persona of the character just to fit their personal projects.
This is something I've done extensively in the past, but I haven't in years now and doubt I ever will again. It once made for an interesting learning tool, but in the end was a creativity stifling responsibility. I feel it's quite difficult to do a character justice when they're not yours to begin with and can be difficult for a number of reasons. While not impossible, it requires a very dedicated fan who really cares about the character remaining true.
I used to do this when writing solo, aka fanfiction, but it becomes quite different in roleplay when you must narrate for them from a slightly deeper psychological standpoint. It challenges you to respond 'true to character' and without all the insights of their creator, this can turn into more of a chore or even encourage a gradual lack of concern for complete accuracy.
I've purposefully chosen to roleplay (highly) minor characters, hoping that all the holes in their characterization would make for fun hypothetical exploration, but in the end that just led to them developing into entirely new characters. I had added more than was originally given and they wanted to break free and be their own individuals. I decided it wasn't fair for me to try and squash them into a dying shell and I haven't touched a canon character since.
It's a very hard place to try paying homage when you chose to be behind the wheel. I think for most of us it's wiser to stick to fan art and fan fiction. There are those, of 'course, who feel that certain characters are needed in certain settings and play them as true as they can regardless - props to those who do it well.
I used to do this when writing solo, aka fanfiction, but it becomes quite different in roleplay when you must narrate for them from a slightly deeper psychological standpoint. It challenges you to respond 'true to character' and without all the insights of their creator, this can turn into more of a chore or even encourage a gradual lack of concern for complete accuracy.
I've purposefully chosen to roleplay (highly) minor characters, hoping that all the holes in their characterization would make for fun hypothetical exploration, but in the end that just led to them developing into entirely new characters. I had added more than was originally given and they wanted to break free and be their own individuals. I decided it wasn't fair for me to try and squash them into a dying shell and I haven't touched a canon character since.
It's a very hard place to try paying homage when you chose to be behind the wheel. I think for most of us it's wiser to stick to fan art and fan fiction. There are those, of 'course, who feel that certain characters are needed in certain settings and play them as true as they can regardless - props to those who do it well.
I personally haven't done much in the way of canon role play. I once, in Lily's redone X-Men Evolution forum RP was greenlit to play The Kingpin but that was mainly because I wanted to integrate an original character into the story with using an existing Marvel canon organization.
One thing that strikes me though, especially in comics but a bit in TV, is the differences in opinions and views of different characters depending on the artist, writer, and continuity... and then things like the writer's strike way back in the day.
Supernatural for instance was one show that started off just before the strike and then got hit a season or two in. Who's to say the writers used in a popular TV show during the strike would have encapsulated the characters, for better or worse, than the people who otherwise would have been working on the project?
TV shows and comics change writers so often, either episode to episode (which can be telling... say Moffat as opposed to Davies in Dr. Who or that one episode written by Neil Gaiman), or from arc to arc (Killing Joke vs. Cacophony, both in the same continuity but different)
Characters may stay relatively the same but writers do appear to have the right to tweak things as they see fit... to a point. If you know how a character will act given certain situations then you can effectively write/play out what a character would or would not do.
In summary: if you know a character background and motivations and leave your own biases out of it a person can reasonably rp a canon character... how else could these franchises operate otherwise?
One thing that strikes me though, especially in comics but a bit in TV, is the differences in opinions and views of different characters depending on the artist, writer, and continuity... and then things like the writer's strike way back in the day.
Supernatural for instance was one show that started off just before the strike and then got hit a season or two in. Who's to say the writers used in a popular TV show during the strike would have encapsulated the characters, for better or worse, than the people who otherwise would have been working on the project?
TV shows and comics change writers so often, either episode to episode (which can be telling... say Moffat as opposed to Davies in Dr. Who or that one episode written by Neil Gaiman), or from arc to arc (Killing Joke vs. Cacophony, both in the same continuity but different)
Characters may stay relatively the same but writers do appear to have the right to tweak things as they see fit... to a point. If you know how a character will act given certain situations then you can effectively write/play out what a character would or would not do.
In summary: if you know a character background and motivations and leave your own biases out of it a person can reasonably rp a canon character... how else could these franchises operate otherwise?
I don't like playing canon characters for the most part unless I'm in a game where that is the main point/goal kind of like interactive fan fiction if you will. I personally find custom characters more interesting most of the time. However, I do find RP in general easier if my character is from a canon world/setting even if only loosely. I RP on Redwall MUCK which is based off a book series and while my characters aren't very loose at all to the characters in the books having a pre-made world works well for me.
I did briefly play Asante the hyena pup from one German Lion King audio drama cassette in one story with sub-canon world (that was all retconed by the second movie) in a Lion King RP at a place that's now closed and most of the others played canon characters which was the point of the game though it borrowed from sub-canons and a meshed them together for the game. It didn't play the character very long and some people had original characters as well. Since my character was sub-canon and not very well defined I had a bit of freedom with what I could do with her.
I did briefly play Asante the hyena pup from one German Lion King audio drama cassette in one story with sub-canon world (that was all retconed by the second movie) in a Lion King RP at a place that's now closed and most of the others played canon characters which was the point of the game though it borrowed from sub-canons and a meshed them together for the game. It didn't play the character very long and some people had original characters as well. Since my character was sub-canon and not very well defined I had a bit of freedom with what I could do with her.
I'm probably biased since I happen to roleplay a lot on Livejournal/Dreamwidth (where RP characters are about 90% canon characters) but I don't see much of a problem with them. The point is to not make the character your own, but to explore them as a (hopefully) well-rounded character and develop their personality further by roleplaying them within different or similar environments. If the character can be adapted into the appropriate setting while still retaining that essence that makes them the character they were from their original canon, then there shouldn't be too much problem.
I think it's important to remember that just because someone plays a canon character, it doesn't make them a bad RPer or discredit their original characters. Just as there can be RPers who write horrid canon characters, there can also be RPers who wright bland, lifeless, lackluster-as-heck original characters.
I think it's important to remember that just because someone plays a canon character, it doesn't make them a bad RPer or discredit their original characters. Just as there can be RPers who write horrid canon characters, there can also be RPers who wright bland, lifeless, lackluster-as-heck original characters.
Smile wrote:
I dislike canon characters in roleplay. I don't have faith in the idea people are able to play the character as the original creator/author intended. Nobody can look into my brain and understand fully what makes Smile tick the way she does even if I give a good description of her, therefore nobody will ever be able to roleplay the way I designed her to be. I don't believe this is different for other people's creations. It just doesn't feel the same. I also can't wrap my head around the idea of roleplaying a storyline with a canon character. Does it start where the book/game/movie left off, does it start in a different world, does it start in the storyline itself? I wouldn't know where to put them and it would be awkward all around.
No, canon roleplay is definitely not for me. If it makes you happy then that's good for you, though.
No, canon roleplay is definitely not for me. If it makes you happy then that's good for you, though.
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