Guide to Pre-Existing Character Roleplaying

[Flashlight237]

So yeah, here I am writing about pre-existing characters. I say this because I have mainly played as pre-existing characters, both for comfort and strategic purposes despite the recommendation of OCs in the roleplaying environment. I also had known a guy who liked playing as Fate/Grand Order girls on this forum, but he doesn't come around anymore. Pre-existing characters have ways in which they are easier to use and ways they are harder to use. Basically the pros and cons can be summed up as this.:

Pros and Cons:
+ Generally easier to use than OCs when familiarized
+ Character information and skillsets are readily available
+ Works for target practice
- Generally harder to use than OCs when not familiarized
- May be subjected to roleplaying "region-locks" (ex. pre-existing settings as Polyedit2000 described below)

That being said, here's what I got to say about using pre-existing characters.

Familiarity

The most important thing about playing with pre-existing characters is how familiar you are with a certain series. If you're coming across, let's say, a list of verses that features girls from verses you're not familiar with, then chances are unless you went out of your way to brush up on knowledge on those verses, you're out of luck. Usually you'll most likely use characters from your favorite verses. In my case, it's usually the Total Drama girls, but I also like the girls from the Super Mario Bros, Pokemon, Shantae, Warioware, and SMG4 series. 

Generally, the more you're into a verse, the more familiar you are with its oddities. For instance, with the SMG4 verse (which I've been with since 2014), I know that the series is mostly based around memes, with Mario being unusually stupid and Meggy being a cute little cuddlebun who used to be an Inkling prior to Francis draining Meggy of nearly her entire ink supply. That and the series had its own way of how the meme life cycle works (including why they sometimes resurrect).

I'd say if there was a single hierarchy for how likely you'll play around with a verse, it'd go along the lines of this.:

1. Your favorite verses/Verses you're most familiar with.
2. Verses you're modestly familiar with
3. Verses you're eh toward.
4. Verses you're not familiar with.
5. Verses you dislike.

But in reality, it depends on the person. The hierarchy listed above is only a general rule of thumb. I personally put disliked verses under unfamiliar verses because at least with unfamiliar verses you can go about them on your own time if you want to. Personally for me, I've lost interest in DC and Marvel stuff, so I stay away from any RP sessions involving DC or Marvel.

While verse familiarity matters the most, character familiarity comes in a close second. If you only know about, say, the Personality section of a character's wiki page, chances are you may come off as a noob when playing as a character. I've been down that road when playing as girls like Ochako Uraraka, for example, so I would know how that feels. On the other hand, if you had first-hand experience with a character, like say you've watched the show they're from or played the video games they're in, chances are you're pretty good to go. For example, as a Total Drama fan since the first season, I am familiar with details about Lindsay and how dumb (if cute and cuddly) she can be.

Skillsets

When it comes to skillsets, I think skillsets matter most in terms of how fair a character would be within a certain world or game. I would say if it's within their native setting, then you can ensure that you needn't try and figure out how fair the characters you're playing as within the environment. Typically I would use Total Drama girls whenever I got involved in a thread in one of these forums because they are the safest human-equivalents I could use in that regard. Granted many of them have feats of strength (like Emma pushing an 1800-lb ice block, Courtney going solo against three bull sharks, Jasmine lifting a fucking tree, MacArthur pulling out a friggin' wall, etc) while others have hax (Anne Maria's hair being as invulnerable as a Mettaur's helmet, Ella's singing being able to tame nearly any animal, Dawn's OP psychic abilities, Izzy's being Izzy), but for the most part the Total Drama cast is very humanlike. Given their variety, they're essentially a key ring of skillsets to pick from.

Now, in other environments, it usually depends on what was set up and what the setting is based on. A skillset can be seen as OP or underwhelming in an environment laid out. Generally, you'll wanna find the right skillset for the world you're wanting to interact with, which can be easy for a simple theme, or difficult for specific worlds.

For themes, usually the best fit is a character who can handle the ordeals and workings of said theme. Let's say a horror RP would pop up, I would go for Gwen as she worked best in a horror environment during her run in the Total Drama series. With her, I can safely have her handle a variety of horrors within, let's say, a haunted house or an abandoned town. In exchange, her human nature would allow her to still be captured by whatever's around her.

As for other worlds, that's where things get more finicky. For example, if I were to throw Dawn from Total Drama into a world based on My Hero Academia, her skillset would be seen as overpowered in the context of the My Hero Academia world, even though the characters of MHA are worlds beyond what Total Drama could do in terms of raw strength (for god's sake, MHA's most huggable character is at Large Building Level!: https://vsbattles.fandom.com/wiki/Ochako..._(Uravity) ). The world of My Hero Academia revolves around Quirks, which are seen as physiological superpowers, and each user has only one quirk which they would make creative use out of. Dawn's aura reading is information analysis that can figure out someone's deep secrets with a glance, plus Dawn can levitate, communicate with animals, tell whether snowballs are real snowballs or disguised bombs, predict the future up to 18 days ahead, and even fucking teleport (with a range of over 200 feet at that). The kicker? All of Dawn's abilities are presumed to be straight-up magic! Multiple quirks seem to only exist in All for One and the carriers of One For All (despite people being wary of the possibility of hyper-quirks becoming real), but with Dawn's magic-based skillset, Dawn may as well Freddy Krueger One For All himself with her entire movepool. That might not be a fair RP thread, especially since Dawn's skillset would likely make it near-impossible to capture her. At the same time, Ella with her animal-taming song would probably fit better since it's just, well, one ability (though her song is able to tame robots, but that's kind of a minor issue).

Basically what I'm saying is finding a character for a theme is like looking for the right key on a keyring while trying to match a character to a certain world would probably require a little modification. Speaking of modifications...

Modifications and Derivatives

Admittedly for kink RPs, modifications/derivatives are basically required since most pre-existing characters probably have no idea was kink is. The way I see it, modifications are essentially tidbits made to a character to meet the needs of the environment in question. An easy one that comes to mind is, let's say, I put Gwen in Gooey Gamble, where she would have to make it through 8 levels. Normally Gwen would just be a normal person, but with skills being a thing you collect, Gwen would very likely wind up with the ability to cast Fire, something she's normally incapable of doing. These would be known as skillset modifications, where a character could be buffed or nerfed depending on the setting. Likewise, some odd quirks to a character would also qualify as modifications. For example, Izzy would perhaps be into bondage while normally she probably hadn't been in these types of situations.

Derivatives, on the other hand, are more radical than a simple modification. A good example of a derivative would be SMG4 Mario, who is unusually stupid and destructive compared to the real Mario. On that same respect, I had recently written a darker Dawn, which admittedly were for the idea of Dawn being an antagonist, which were planned for an RPG idea and an idea for a Total Drama FNF mod. Although whereas SMG4 Mario had no explanation beyond parody material, Dawn's ideals are more based on the idea of her having grown sick of the sins mankind had committed against Mother Nature, so of course she would retain her nature-loving character despite the radical change in character unlike SMG4 Mario whose character was all but completely altered.

Generally, it would depend on how well-written the character is, but on the same vein, modifications are generally more acceptable than derivatives since the changes aren't as radical or, in some cases, not as radical at first.

That being said, that is about what I have to say about working with pre-existing characters. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be off listening to FNF Mods.

[Polyedit2000]

There's another question:  When should I use pre-existing characters?  Part of that is based on the GM's preference (I'm okay with it), but beyond that, it's more than seeing if the setting is okay.

With Pre-Existing Settings, there are two extreme cases.  A) The GM limits the cast to pre-existing characters (ie WOOHP Spies only) or B) the GM limits the use of pre-existing characters to themselves.  In the latter case, this may be because the GM wants them solely as quest givers or want players to be a "new season".  There may be exceptions for "returning characters" if the GM allows.

Then there is a "Isekai" factor, or placing these characters from cartoons and anime into this setting you have.  As Flashlight points out, some characters are human-like, the Total Drama girls having a skillset comparable to your own OC with the exception that they appeared on a TV show.  Others, like Shantae, are less likely to appear in a modern setting, though aliens like Lum might technically exist in a modern setting...

Toons, strangely enough, are an example that can exist in a modern setting in two ways thanks to existing media:
-Toon Town, where Toons and Humans coexist.  Done with Roger Rabbit, Looney Toons, and Animaniacs.
-Television, where a Toon comes into the Human world.  Done with Rocky and Bullwinkle and Fat Albert.

There are other options, but the Toons demonstrate that, with some backstory of how they got there, it's possible to use any character. Though not all "Toon Invasion" is necessary to include cartoon characters. In the case of Fairly Odd Parents, they did bring characters into and out of comics/television and wished the world as a comic book, but they also had some live action adaptations to show that "toons" can exist in the real world as is.

[Flashlight237]

Ah yes, thank you for that, Poly. Your caveats are appreciated.

Following up to Poly's statements, I'll explain about two different ideals: isekais and crossovers.

Isekais

The isekai approach is generally the simplest approach regardless of if you're using an OC or a pre-existing character. I primarily say that due to the freedom provided by simply being in a different world. The details are best explained in a more generalized guide like Polyedit2000's Roleplaying Guide in this forum, but in the case of pre-existing characters...

1. Generally death applies to everyone. Given the isekai popularized by Konosuba involves someone dying and being revived elsewhere, it is possible to stick a pre-existing character provided the background is sufficient like Poly said.
2. Immersive isekais like with Okaa-san Online (better known as "Do You Love Your Mom and her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks) and BOFURI generally have characters going IN a world through technology rather than characters leaving their worlds through technology and would likely still apply.
3. In the Super Smash Bros series, the appearances of pre-existing characters are explained through various phenomenon like a toybox, trophies, and spirits. In cases like this, it's likely that one decided to just use their imagination.

Beyond that, the general rules applied to an isekai plus Poly's examples would be viable.

Crossovers

Crossovers are personally the most finicky thing out there even when TV shows and video games made them look cool. However, while they may seem like a good idea to more casual audiences like children playing with action figures and people using dA templates like "Who would you have on your zombie apocalypse survival group", crossovers will get weird af. In the case of crossovers, it is advised that the GM readies some caveats and limitations BEFORE going for a crossover deal. As such, here's what I would recommend.

Series Limitations: Generally the best way to handle crossovers is to limit what entities to use by series. In Super Smash Bros, for example, generally only video game characters would be allowed in. Size limitations are also made use of, with Ridley having been shrunken down in order for him to be safely made into a playable character.
Power Limitations: While not as recommended as series limitations, one may force limitations and ban certain OP hax from a setting. For example, while Dormammu is in Marvel vs Capcom, his powers were greatly limited as otherwise, Dormammu will likely have a serious toll on the multiverse, and given the sheer scale and dimensionality of the Marvel multiverse, I see no way in hell Yr'Gnuh (Polyedit2000's eldritch creation) or any other OC or canon character can stop Dormammu, never mind weaker characters like Mike Haggar.
Setting Limitations: As Poly stated before, existing characters can simply be used as set-pieces or props by the GM. While it's hard to tell if this limits anything beyond who could use certain characters, I think it's mainly based around the setting.

I prefer the first idea for limiting crossovers as it keeps the universes used at a manageable level. That being said, crossovers are generally inadvisable even with such "he said, she said" examples like templates, crossover fighting games, and Death Battle videos. But yeah, there ya have it.

[Flashlight237]

Polyedit2000 asked me a good question: when is a character still a character? He had provided examples as follows:

Example A:  Robotnik.  Started as an evil scientist with robots.  Two cartoons (Sonic AM and Adventures of Sonic) give him two different characterizations with later shows/games fluctuating between army and hermit.  He is played by Jim Carrey in the movies and was split into a Council of five in the latest show.
Example B:  Jellystone, involving Hanna-Barbera characters.  A lot of creative alterations by giving them jobs/roles, gender, sexuality, etc.  And the Banana Splits are robbers.
Example C:  Scooby Doo.  While some of the "newer" shows work with an old formula, there have been attempts to make different characterizations.  This resulted in bratty Scrappy Doo being archived and the Velma show getting a lot of criticism.

to multiple characterizations, it is best for players and the GM to assume the primary canon when playing a character unless if A. the version used is specialized or B. the setting calls for it. In Dr. Eggman's case, it would be the games.

Now, when it comes to range, you do have a point when it comes to range. Basically the reason why people love the many incarnations of Eggman is simple: the core of his character is the same throughout each incarnation. In Eggman's case, it would be the fact that he is a scientist who created a variety of robots to take over the world, which makes him serve as an archetype for the dangers of rampant industrialization at the expense of environmental equilibrium. The individual Eggmans can be identified as such.:

Eggman (Games): A charismatic scientist who regularly gets into scuffles with Sonic.
Classic Eggman: This guy seriously thinks using a soda machine that dumps blue liquid on Sonic is a good idea.
AOSTH Robotnik: A comical villain who, like Sonic, often pulls of some cartoony shenanigans.
SatAM Robotnik: A darker version of Robotnik who aims to rule with an iron fist.
Sonic X Eggman: Same as in the games.
Jim Carrey Eggman: Jim Carrey. Need I say more?

Despite their characterizations, they all maintained the core of the character.
As for Velma, the reason why Velma didn't work is not because of any target audience concerns, but because that Velma is far different from the core of the character. See, many people view Velma as a lovable girl who uses her brains to analyze clues in a mystery; her sexual orientation doesn't matter as long as her core personality is there.

Velma in the latest spin-off, on the other hand, is basically "I should go eat rat poison and die!"

Whichever canon you prefer is ultimately up to you as the player, but that is the gist of it. My advice is to NOT pick the heavily-panned versions of the characters; all you're gonna do is cause people to raise an eyebrow at you wondering what in the Mother of Neptune you're doing.