[quote=Brovo]
Well. I can tell you a couple theoretical reasons... The God factor. We like to create things. We really, really do. I mean look at The Sims, it's wildly popular despite penny pinching you for every nickel and dime you have with DLC. Why? Because people like to play God. They like to create entities, ideal or otherwise, that fit something they imagine, something... Awesome, unique, cool, badass, pretty, etc. Because making a character is a lot easier than actually playing that character out to a degree that would be as satisfying. Example: Go make an Oriental anything, like a samurai. Now try playing that in a manner that is authentic to its culture. While creating it, it's easy to say that they would adhere to some code of Bushido or behave in X, Y, and Z manner that makes them sound cool, but then putting that to the test in actual scenarios where behaving in X, Y, and Z manner might get them killed , or where the code of Bushido prevents them from doing the right thing and you portrayed them as a good person, well...It's a lot easier to paint a portrait, than it is to have that portrait come to life and disappoint you when it never, ever quite matches the expectations you had of it.... Ironically, just like having children. 
[/quote]

I actually LOVE the idea of throwing my characters to the test!!! If they have a knights code of conduct, I want to follow through with said character to the bitter end, because it's THEM. It's who they are, and if who they are kills said character, all the more fun for the story!!! I have yet had this be a life or death situation for my characters, but I've done this in novels I've written--much to my surprise, I've had a few interesting things I did not intend in some stories I've put together. And it's ALWAYS fun.

Maybe some people might not want to risk their characters life to make them behave authentically to who they are, but I find it all the more exciting. That said, of something happens in the RP to make them change their behavior or attitude, then I'm not going to have them just ignore said situation either. I like portraying my characters realistically :)

I like BOTH making a character and RPing. I probably enjoy RPing more, but I can spend HOURS on a CS. I've found that I do this more and more lately, it started in the latter weeks leading up to the Guildfall when I got into more advanced RPs. It can be fun to really dig into your character, what they look like, [i]who they are.[/i] As for personality, I think that you can set up a baseline for your character, and then as the RP progresses they may or may not change. Nothing wrong with that, it's called character development and if anyone chastises you for slightly altering your characters personality, they obviously don't know much about writing in general. One of the first things you will learn about writing fiction is that character development and growth is VITAL.