In accordance with the tradition of the books, the best characters for Riverworld are not the most famous people from human history. They are primarily the lesser known individuals who left some mark on the world, but not a huge mark. Characters that are too well known will not work well for you as everyone will have a lot of preconceptions of your character to deal with. Historical persons that are definitely off limits would include such names as Jesus Christ, Joseph Stalin, Charlemagne, Alexander the Great, William Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln and Adolph Hitler. A good rule of thumb is that if there are lots of different books written about an individual, that person is probably too famous. Also, the person must be dead at the time of play. If the person is still living in the real world, they can not be played. Participants should do a little research on their characters before starting, which should be easy with the world wide web. The really dedicated participants will actually get some books on the person to research.
Names used by participants in Riverworld chat should Identify the character first and then the specific player. Samuel_Clemens_ron would be an acceptable name for a player nicknamed Ron that is playing Mark Twain. Erich_Weiss_ jay is a character that is often played by the creator of Riverworld Chat. Please use small letters for your nickname and capitalize the name of the character (unless it is e. e. cummings). You can play different characters, but please use the same nickname for all of them to avoid confusion. In the event of two participants playing the same character in the same room, the other participants in the room will have to determine which of them, if either, is the actual person (and this should be based on the participants knowledge of the character). Lots of people can claim to be Helen of Troy, but most of them are lying. The basic rule of thumb here is that the first person to claim a character and play the character well should be allowed to keep that character. Late comers and those who have not researched the character should be given less preference. If you choose a character that is somewhat obscure, you will be in accordance with the spirit of the novels and you will be less likely to be imitated.
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