Similar Characters

So you've got this character. You've had them a while and they are well established on the board. Someone else comes along and makes a character and their personality is similar to your character. What is your first instinct? Are you inherently bothered by this fact?

I wouldn't be. I have friends who share a similar personality with myself (probably why we're such good friends!) so why can't two characters have similar personalities? Or would the question rather be how ordinarily average is your character that someone else can come along and create a character with personality traits similar to yours?

I've got a member crying foul because they feel like their character was copied. But I'm a laidback administrator who doesn't judge much by the personality written in profiles because playing them is an entirely different story. Writing styles vary, interpretations vary, how you execute things vary. So my instinct is basically to be like 'suck it up' (I mean I wouldn't say it rudely and it would be entirely professional but what else can you do? I have never asked someone to change an aspect of their character that had no bearing on the setting).

So to get another perspective, how would you feel?

I'd think suck it up, pal. If you did it first, and the person's legitimately copying you, you have the upper hand. The idea was originally yours. You had the creativity to come up with it, you claimed the niche first, and you already have an established character of that type. You probably have all sorts of connections and plots with your character. Having this new rip-off probably won't harm yours, especially if it was made by someone who can't come up with his/her own ideas.

. . . Ya know? I put this out there any time this sort of topic comes up.

Good luck to copycats when it comes time to deviate from the source info, whether they're copying a character, a plot, or a whole game.

Granted, I really don't think it's all that likely that someone would truthfully copy a character already in the game in making their new character. It's stupid, and when you make something so completely like another character, you're making it harder for yourself to find things to do with that character. You're better off finding a unique place for a character, so you don't have to compete for opportunities with a very similar character. I like to think most people are smart enough to realize this. . . and then there's the issue of it being so easy to end up with similar characters without intentional copying.

With that said-- sure, I've had someone copy a character of mine in a way. The character was different, but it was very obvious that the player who made the character was trying to piggyback off of a character of mine, going so far as to try to connect the character with mine and make comparisons between the two. The idea was clearly, "Hey, if it's working well for her, I should try to do that, too."

Needless to say, that didn't work out, but I didn't have to make a fuss about it to keep my character going. It didn't destroy my character or interfere with my ability to continue going about my business. It was just a bit awkward and a little annoying at times.

If you're talking about The Draft, there's so many characters on there, there is likely already overlap in personalities between characters. There's only so many archetypes.

Unless things have been stolen word-for-word or their personality is exactly alike, including their background, then the member complaining really needs to stop being so protective against 'threats' to their character's 'uniqueness.'

There should be enough room for both of them.

Yeah that's something I mentioned to them. Not lying, I've seen this particular kind of personality I know 50 times at least in the history of approving characters. One of my own characters even has a similar personality. But I'm not particularly sensitive over issues like this cause no one plays my characters like I do. But I wanted to make sure I wasn't just cold-hearted and being horribly insensitive over what someone else considers a big issue. Hopefully I've smoothed ruffled feathers and given peace of mind.

There is unintentional copying which is not something to really be worried about and then there is the definite copy. This does not extend to just OCs though.

I've seen the green eyed red hair telekinetic with some telepathic powers named Jane. I've seen the Alliance trained Reader named Autumn. Doing a dead on copy except for name or very small descriptive changes to a canon and then renaming does not fly in my book as an Admin.

Accidental or incidental/unintentional copying happens, it is when it becomes evident that it was done on purpose there is a problem.

I think it depends on how it is. There have been times where chars reminded me of my own, either due to the personality, name, ability, etc. However, only one time that it really bothered me, because I felt he had copied.

It was in a Star Trek roleplay, and I applied with a joined Trill (a host and symbiont species). Another player, already part of the crew, had a character who was a copy off a human canon character (same name even). Soon after I joined, the character suddenly joined a symbiont and became Trill (which is not how it works in the canon universe).

I didn't say anything because I was shy, and it was the first roleplay I had ever joined. As time passed, he copied other people as well.

ETA: There was one time where I had a species created for others to be. In an application, a few members copied the strengths and weaknesses word for word. It amused me, though in one case, I told the player to fix her pronouns.

I agree with others on here. It definitely depends on exactly how the character is copied. When I first started roleplaying, I had created a character that was very similar to the most established character of my friend. I had copied certain aspects of my friend's character such as her child companion and her control over fire. My friend commented that our characters were very similar, but she did not cause a hissy fit and complain to the admin of the site, probably cause she knew that I was relatively new to roleplaying. Yet, even though our characters were similar, there were enough differences to see that I had not intentionally copied.

If someone did that to me, I probably wouldn't care just as long as there are enough differences between the characters. I think the thing that would actually upset me and cause me to complain to someone is if they copy my descriptions, changing things here and there. Because that just wouldn't be copying, but plagiarism and that right there is a BIG NO-NO.

With a board as ability-centric as mine (yes, I did just make up that technical term) there are going to be overlapping abilities... I've had some members angry about this when the abilities are similar but not exactly like the member's character, while I personally think that it's inevitable that some abilities will overlap.

However, when I see an app and I know there's a pretty blatant overlap of ability, I'll try to nudge that person in another direction, just for the sake of a more unique character writing experience.

With personalities I really don't care all that much, since it was stated earlier in this thread that there are only so many archetypes... I mean I'm looking right at a book on my shelf that says "the 45 master characters"...

It may depend how the character is being ripped -- copying is the sincerest form of flattery, but when it's downright plagurism, then it's different. That being said, I am more than confident that I am capable of playing my characters better than anyone who wants to try and have a stab at them on their own.

That being said, I remember one time on a forum I created an original characters and submitted her for approval. The character was rejected and, when I asked the admins why, I was sent a private message by one staff member who said because their were aspects that were similar -- which was nationality for her background and the fact she was an anti-social personality -- to the staff member's prized character, that she had chosen to reject the application. I didn't find this professional at all, and it was something I found out later had happened before, and it was 'niche-guarding' rather than trying to stop copying. I was pretty upset to say the least.

That's bush league!

I had one small thing happen that was kinda similar to this. I played someone raised in a crime family, trained as an assassin who quit and became a merchant. She was an assassin, so not the greatest of fighters when it didn't involve poisons, but after a few incidents she started learning how. Her reputation as a trader was earned by her ability to deliver whatever was requested of her.

A few months later, a trader who is also a killer joins the site. Don't think it was intentional, and I even set up a thread with her. Did worry me, thinking that she'd play the character better than me, but she actually left the site after a while. Not sure why, but I do know that I was getting more trade threads than her (slight competitive streak)

Mehhh I don't bother them about it but I've snickered it before. On a forum I was on, I was rp'ing with a buddy of mine and people started reading our threads. My character was a submissive gay boy and the other was a vampire and all of the sudden someone made this gay boy and tried to roleplay with the vampire. They were a bit upset when the same things didn't happen, mainly because the vampire isn't typically 'involved' in gay boys but it was the special circumstances surrounding my character and the "similar" character didn't cut it.


So what others have said, the original usually wins out over the imitation. However I've had people RIP OFF my characters word by word and that stuff is not okay.

If it's intentional it's annoying. Like, you know the person reviewed your character and ran their bio through a thesaurus swapping out words to make it proof readable as original. If a player does that though, it's actually pitiful... if not morbidly flattering. I mean, they really needed to rip your character? They must think you are awesome.

If it's a coincidence, then that's typical. You can't exact to own certain traits or own a certain type personality.... after awhile, despite our best efforts, offering up 100% originality in the guise of a character is overrated. You can make a character your own through play, and that's part of good role playing, but you can't expect to be only player who plays 'insert type' of character.

I have to kinda agree with the sentiments of the OP... I think it's pretty difficult for one player to ever clone another player's character portrayal. Even if a character sounds similarly described, or shares traits, it's unlikely to find ICly the characters act in unison. It's like different actors playing the same role... each one will bring something different to the role, no matter what the script calls for.

I will add to the 'it depends', not just on the extent of overlap, but also the size of the board and how many characters there are. On a smaller board with fewer characters it is just nice to have more diversity, I think. When we started out, someone submitted a biography for a new character that was almost a complete copy of a female character turned into a male. It just did not make sense, because they female character already was an exception; to have two such exceptions would make it a rule. Made no sense.

Other than that, overlap can be nice, if it ties characters together. If it results in a competition, or a race, then it depends on the writers how they handle it. Sometimes the 'copier' just wants to write exciting stories but has no clue how to do that. That is annoying. But if it evolves into a sort of relationship or either friends or nemesis type, it can work.

I don't really worry about this sort of thing.

We have over 400 characters on SotE and almost 200 on RotE, so there's bound to be some overlap here and there. Besides, it's all in how the character is played, because a character is so much more than just their personality--it's a collection of experiences; their experiences shape and develop them, and how they respond to situations will differ. Also, the player will influence how a character is written. :3

So, ultimately, no matter how similar the character, they're gonna be played differently because they're played by different people and will have different experiences in the game.

That and if someone has really ripped one of my characters, I doubt it'll last. You're just not as attached to thing that aren't yours, and they'll have no idea what my goals and aims were for the character. I created them, I have ideas for them...they don't have those ideas. They'll lose steam once the shiny novelty wears off.