How do you 'balance'?

[in.your.heart]

Hello there!
Before I explain the idea in my head, I should apologise if there's already a topic like this or if it doesn't belong to the right place, although I'm pretty sure it does.
This discussion topic came to my mind out of the blue.

How do you guys 'balance' your characters? By that, I mean what do you do to develop and progress with all of them equally? Or maybe you don't? Maybe you stick just to one or two main characters? Share!

I personally tend to often change my roleplay character. I strive to evolve all of them so they are on the same level of development. I want all of my characters to be well-detailed, with a good past and etc.
What about you?

P.S. My sincere apologies for the blunt explanation and poor english, I'm kind of new into this but I thought maybe this could turn out an interesting topic to discuss.

[papayatoot]

Well, a lot of rps encourage balanced characters and a lot of players strive to have them, because they're the most fun to rp with! I balance my characters by first coming up with a base persona, with broad adjectives and an equal amount of positive and negative. To begin with, i'd start with something like:

(GOOD)                                 (BAD)
~Fast                                  ~A bit rude
~funny                                ~jumpy/scared easily
~smart                                ~doesn't like kids                                                                   

Notice how, not only is this character balanced, but also that even the bad traits are fun to rp with! You can also always throw in a disorder or something too to really spice up your character! As you rp more with this character, you will see more opportunities for bits of their persona to emerge that weren't there before, such as fears, favorite foods, crushes, and their likes/dislikes.
As for a backstory, these normally are formed later on in character development when you can really work out all the kinks and figure out something that fits the character. Doing it the other way around works, too, i have just never done that before.
For example, I had one of my characters die and so I made a regen char of a puppy, who is now a little over a year old. She was originally pack-born, nothing special, but later I managed to create an intricate and interesting backstory that connected several parts of the plot and other characters and boosted character development even further!
It just takes time to get to a fully balanced and developed character, just keep rping with them and adding new things into the mix (but be sure traits don't contradict each other )

[StarrieNova]

Hmmm...I tend to stick to maybe three characters only. Also about progressing them, and keeping them balanced...I am not too sure how to answer that one really ^^;

I mean I know I am very picky about how my characters look, and how others characters look form other people. I also tend to make my character react to how I feel is right when it comes to the role-play. Anything that will fit or make the role-play even more interesting.

[wolfdog01]

I only have two chars that I use, I am very careful about picking their past, personallity, etc. Though it can get a bit boring, I like them. Now I do make some random chars every now and then and sometimes they do end up being some legit rp chars that I develop and evolve, but I will usually end up deleting them after a while of collecting dust.

[kululupuppy]

I've always found it hard to keep track of more than two characters at a time, and I usually stick with one group for both of them. This usually allows me to easily keep up with what's happening and stay true to those characters. If I get involved with more than that, I've bitten off more than I can chew.

When actively playing a small amount of characters, I feel as if I have to find new ways of developing them as quickly as possible, or else they become monotonous to play. In my experience, it's easier and more intriguing to play open, excitable, or flamboyant characters.

I always try to get creative when balancing out my characters' personalities. Sure, it's nice to have an incredibly "good" character, but having a broken or negative one is often more satisfying to play. For example: Lament is a vivacious character who is good at leading and incredibly close to her family. However, she's hotheaded, has close to no morals, and often lets curiousity get the better of her.
This is a good discussion topics!

[jay warfang]

Well, a lot of rps encourage balanced characters and a lot of players strive to have them, because they're the most fun to rp with! I balance my characters by first coming up with a base persona, with broad adjectives and an equal amount of positive and negative. To begin with, i'd start with something like:

(GOOD)                                 (BAD)
~Fast                                  ~A bit rude
~funny                                ~jumpy/scared easily
~smart                                ~doesn't like kids                                                                   

Notice how, not only is this character balanced, but also that even the bad traits are fun to rp with! You can also always throw in a disorder or something too to really spice up your character! As you rp more with this character, you will see more opportunities for bits of their persona to emerge that weren't there before, such as fears, favorite foods, crushes, and their likes/dislikes.
As for a backstory, these normally are formed later on in character development when you can really work out all the kinks and figure out something that fits the character. Doing it the other way around works, too, i have just never done that before.
For example, I had one of my characters die and so I made a regen char of a puppy, who is now a little over a year old. She was originally pack-born, nothing special, but later I managed to create an intricate and interesting backstory that connected several parts of the plot and other characters and boosted character development even further!
It just takes time to get to a fully balanced and developed character, just keep rping with them and adding new things into the mix (but be sure traits don't contradict each other )

And here I was under the impression that not liking children was the most positive quality on could have.... 

[Wyldercat]

I mostly stick to two main fursonas (Zucca and Doctor Twisted), with a few other roleplay/nonsense characters.

Of course, my main characters are developed far further, but I'd say I've actually spent more time on my lesser roleplay characters.

But I usually get really indecisive on my characters' color schemes... most of my characters have been altered at least 3 times before I actually end up using them in-game.