Awesome char = Scrab chow (thread)

[Malifaxis]

While reading the "How would you treat this character" thread (I think), it kinda tangented.  I'd like to continue this in a different forum and pose an additional question:

I'm sure many of us have had those uber wicked concepts who have become little more than dust in the wind within a few mere moments and maybe a scene or two.  I've lost one like this semi-recently (about 6 months back or so) and I would have absolutely loved to see how he played out.

To this end, I ask this:  If an awesome character comes in, bites it without being able to flourish, should it not be possible to get a second chance further down the road?

Before I get fifteen bajillion people yelling about the four hour rule, and no resurrections and IC information, I would like to clarify a few things.  I'm not in any way talking about immediately getting back up and mucking about.  I am talking about having a good, minimum three month period between when the char falls and when he gets back up, and it would only be possible if the character was a relatively low impact character with a non public death.

I just think it is a very sad thing to have an awesome idea that could completely enrich the world and lose them to such a simple thing as (to quote Jack Handey) "a pack of wild dogs."

I would really like to hear your views about it.  Code wise, wouldn't it be a relatively easy thing to do?  Even without logs of what the character did, it's a good bet that an awesome character concept/desc/background who only had twelve hours active before death got the short end of the stick.

-Malifaxis, the leading researcher in Idea Conservation Technologies.

Ive heard of people that come up with an awesome concept that dies soon, without even interacting with other people. I tell them that its fine to do that same concept again.

Now to clarify, the sdesc, background, and all that should be different, but I mean if alot of the 'concept' behind the character was on your end, there is no way anyone could know that you've done this before.

Have an idea for a great merchant that toughs it out on their own, and eventually takes over a merchant house? but only get to the 5 hour mark, before being mugged and killed with little to no interaction with other people? Well I see no reason you cant do this again. Maybe not right after, but unless your background laid out the exact plot for which you were going to achieve this, no one will even know its a '2nd try'. And if you have fun with it, go for it.

[Kankman]

While I agree with the concept I disagree with the method  you offered forward. What you propose is possible now, without any staff intervention. I think the answer you are looking for is as simple as recycling the concept. Sure that character might have been your idea of perfect and it sucks that you only spoke with one person and all that, but there is a much better solution than having the same character live again.

Change a few keys points in the other character's background. Names, perhaps ages, change locations of scars and other physical features.. Presto! You've got a character with that wicked concept you never got to fully play out. The thing about this is to remember to only ever do it with characters that died near immediately, without making any IC friends or enemies.

I tend to go through rashes of characters between the ones that stick around a while and perhaps have a 8-12 vague personalities that I cycle through. This is not a physical list but really more of a limit to my imagination  :cry:  When one of those personalities ends up living and getting to know people, building an active-time history and then dies.. That personality is left out of rotation for an undetermined amount of time. Sure I damn well loved it, but acting the same way with a different character doesn't feel right.

Woah.. bit off topic there..

My point is that if one of those really sweet concepts gets messed up by stepping over the wrong cliff, or a damn scrab that popped out of nowhere kills you before you even finish getting all the gear you meant to buy as the "I've had this forever" kind of stuff.. Make one similar.

PS. This may be Frowned Upon(tm) I've never asked.

[John]

I disagree that it should be coded. There are literally thousands of different backgrounds one single concept can have. There's no need to recycle the same background or description. I recycle concepts, but how the concept is interpretted can be a lot of fun, and it makes up completely different characters by making a new background.

Just my 2 'sid *plink plink*

[Cerebus]

I think this is fine. I would advise against making a character with the same concept in the same situation, or with the same people. I would suggest waiting a while (weeks, months or years), starting over, and reworking the idea with a whole new character.