Personally, I tend to see a lot of the same types of characters over and over again. Not in every RP but in a lot of them. Sometimes it really feels like a contest to out-angst each other with tragic backstories/upbringings/abuse in an attempt to create depth and empathy. I mean they’re classic tropes and popular for a reason, and there’s nothing wrong with them, and I’ve used them too. I’d just like to see more variety. Where are those characters who had a perfect childhood and then turned out evil anyway? What about a disabled character navigating the difficulties of whatever setting/time period they’re in? What about a character who is not a minority/loner/last of their kind trope? 

I’m not saying I never see these kinds of characters but they do seem to be a bit more rare. Also, I’m not knocking anyone’s preferred style of character. You do you. I feel like I used to play the same style of character in every RP and only recently started playing around with characters more outside of my comfort zone and less “romanticized.” I love character creating and stepping outside of what I was comfortable with actually turned out to be a lot of fun.

What do you guys think? Do you feel like you encounter a great variety of characters in RP or are they all pretty similar? What style of character do you like to play as? Are your characters very diverse in their traits and personalities or do you prefer to follow a similar structure for them? Discuss.