A lot of sites have "x character maximum" rules in which they limit the number of characters a single member may have. How many do you think is appropriate for a forum assuming that everyone can afford the time to handle the number of characters they choose to have?

As many as they bloody want! xD

I can understand having limits on canon characters (and by canon I mean CANON, as in Harry Potter, X-Men, etc. characters, not this silly canon definition a lot of sites have), because they're in high demand and it would suck royally to have them all being hogged by people and/or never being posted; that's not fair. However, when it comes to OCs...I say they can have as many as they want.

They don't even have to keep up with their characters. If they're OCs, I as an admin do not mind if people have a character listed in their signature that they have yet to post (and I have characters in my signature that I joined mooonths ago but haven't yet played. I WILL play them, though, eventually). I don't worry about whether they can handle their character load. I'm not a babysitter. :3 I let them decide what is enough for them and what they can handle; their threads are their own to keep up with.

Besides, I fully understand wanting a lot of characters. I don't want to be limited. Let me decide what I can handle, I'm a big girl. xP

That being said, I play over 40 characters across my two games. And I have fun doing it, too, and keep up with everything well enough! And I still have more characters floating around in my head but...I'm trying to have self control for the time being. :B

I can't imagine having more than five characters at once myself, but I'd never restrict anyone from having as many as they want. That'd be silly.

EDIT: Besides, if I have a great idea for a character but am already at the maximum number of characters, what am I supposed to do then?

I'm on the laissez-faire bandwagon. I think people should be allowed to have as many as they can handle. They should be trusted to have the common sense not to overextend themselves.

Because I've seen members create character after character without playing the existing ones, I have a requirement that to get a third character, the first two must have a minimum of 100 posts each. To get the fourth, the third must have reached 100 posts and so on. It just ensures people aren't creating characters for the sake of it, and that they put some effort into the game.

So it's a pretty open rule, if you can keep up with it, I have no problem with it. I don't think there should be a number restriction on OCs, some players can handle a dozen characters without thinking, others (like me) can barely handle three.

Well! I want to say as many as they want (and I voted it), but it would not be true. Some people I would happily allow free rein, knowing that they will do something with their characters at some point and that they aren't all just clones of each other made and discarded to have sex with various characters. Others I would suspect of doing exactly that and would want to limit their characters as much as possible.

A problem with many characters, too, is that the person owning them may begin to monopolise - having so many characters that their plots, their characters, their ideas begin to envelope the board and not let others do anything, because they are scared to go against this person and all their characters. And what if that person chooses to leave? What if they have plotted with everyone on the board and gotten most - if not all - of their characters into fairly vital plot points - and then they up and leg it (whether through fault of their own or not)? That would be terrible.

Because I can guess what this is in aid of, I suggest that all who feel like making seven million (or eight) characters actually find out what the board's opinion on these things is first.

As many as they want. Why? Because putting a maximum on the number of characters limits the amount of creativity. What if they have a sudden spur of the moment kind of idea that would be perfect for this particular site but you only let them have so many and they've reached their max? So long as a person can keep them all active, I don't mind. If they can't... Well that's where the issue comes in.

Ahh..Alright. First person to post about restrictions.

I'd say 2-3. MAYBE four, depending on the type of forum. If it's a post-apocalypse site, then yes. Feel free to have up to 5-6. But any other forum I'm particularly strict about, and most of the time only one character is mainly played by the people at my forums. So either way, I'd have to stick with 2-3. I do know what it feels like to be restricted and have an amazing idea for a character, because in all honesty, I run one forum that was handed down to me from a previous admin, and the limit is two. I feel odd deleting one of them because the first one is my signature character, and there's no way it would feel right erasing him, and the other has twins and a boyfriend. So it would feel...strange just making her disappear. On one site I have a lottery type game where members can win a third character slot, but other than that are restricted to two.

I have a very strict policy, and like to stick to it, though if my members request another slot, I'll more than likely modify the rules. ;]

3. I once knew somebody who had a double digit amount of characters, all made within the span of a month. Said characters were played actively...for awhile. Then this person lost interest. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal but because their characters were involved in so many plots all over the site, this persons apathy ended up crushing the entire site.

Limiting creativity is something we shouldn't do but as Red Queen mentioned, people can and will lose interest in one or some characters because:

a) they just don't have the muse for this character

b) they want to create another character


Giving members the freedom to X amount of characters almost assures Roleplaying ADHD :p
So telling them...rather, putting them in a box, so to speak, people are "forced" to get creative within said box and their characters will almost for sure be great because of the dedication put into them. You can have 4 characters to tend, giving each their deserved game time instead of 26 spread out lacking depth personalities. And let's face it, some of these 26 charries are but variations of one another.

So...I'd say...I limit the members to four. *nod nod*

As many as they want, provided they can use and play all their characters and that they aren't useless or become uninteresting. That's one of the rules on my board :)

I used to have a limit for myself on 5 characters, but now I sort of have 6 on my own board and considering one more... *addicted* but as long as I use them all, I don't see it as a bad thing...

I always say as many as you can handle. I always have at least four on a site, a few are more active then others, and sometimes one or two have more indepth plots. So as many as someone wants or can keep active. :)

I like limits, actually. I voted 3. I think with limits people can concentrate fully on the characters that they have, and really develop them and get them involved in things. I'm sure some people can handle more, but not a lot of people can have a bunch and really be involved with them to the amount I like seeing people involved with their characters... I think. I could be off base, maybe, but that's what I think.

I'm all for the 'as many as they want' choices when it comes to people and characters, but if it were up to me to run an RPG board and decide, there would be a limit to how many characters a person can have at once. I'm a person all about quality posts than quantity and I believe having too many characters in too many threads at once would greatly distract a person from concentrating. Just call it a bad experience, when I used to roleplay at one forum and two admins had about eight characters apiece, nearly all of them major characters. While they can post often enough, more than not they end up being hassled and rushed, and it shows in their character's post, making for boring or unbeleivable interaction.

The most reasonable amount would be two, three and even a fourth granted if the person is a member that has stuck around and is being fairly active in all that time. But anymore and that person would have to get rid of one to make a new character. If might force a person to choose between a character they love playing and a new one they think is great, but most of the time those spur-of-the-moment great characters lose their charm once hopping into the RP, so it gives members a chance to really rethink about using it before just slapping them in there and deciding to kill them off later cause they lost interest in them.

I say as many as they want because ultimately the best judge of how many characters a player can handle is the player themselves. They know their own limits. They know how much time they have each day to roleplay and they know how how many characters they can juggle. To assign some arbitrary number because it's what "most" people can handle just ignores everyone's individual threshold and preferences. It also narrows your potential member base down to only those players whose character count preference falls close to the limit you've set down. Allow as many characters as they want, and your potential member base expands to include players who's character count threshold goes all the way from just one up into the forties.

I, for instance, play 32 characters across two sites right now. 15 are active in threads. I don't anyone else telling me how many characters I can handle. I am the best judge of that.

And if someone joins more characters than they can handle and starts to lose interest in old ones while playing new ones...so what? It's their characters, they can thread with them or let them languish unplayed. The only time it might be an issue is if they control a very important character and are not doing anything with it, in which case all it takes is a nudge and they can start playing or choose to drop the character for someone else to play. :3

Initially 3 with no questions asked. If a player wants more, they can petition an Admin. I'd accept any request if they have demonstrated the ability to keep up with their current characters.