Type 1. The general-purpose chatbot

The same assistant you ask to draft an email. It's smart, it remembers a lot within one conversation, and it can carry a long scene. But it's a so-so actor: it agrees too readily, smooths over conflict, and right at the most dramatic moment remembers that it's a language model and "can't have feelings."

Where it shines: writing a story from your idea, building a world, outlining a ten-chapter plot. In other words, when you're the author and it's your co-writer, not when you want a living character to answer you.

Type 2. Platforms with a character catalog

Character.AI, Janitor, Polybuzz, Talkie and the like. Thousands of ready-made characters built by users, from anime villains to your vampire neighbor. The upside is obvious: you can find even a very niche scenario.

The downsides for players in Russia: as of 2026, access to these services is unreliable, paying requires a foreign card or goes through an app store, and Polybuzz's in-app currency purchases keep breaking. On top of that, most of the catalog is in English. What to do if your favorite platform stops loading is covered in Character.AI not working: what to use instead.

Type 3. Builders with your own API key

You connect a language model yourself with a developer key, write the character instructions yourself, and tune reply length and creativity yourself. Janitor, for example, has a mode like this. It's maximum control: the character will be exactly what you had in mind.

The price of control is a steep learning curve and unpredictable costs. You pay per token, meaning per little chunk of text, and there's no way to know in advance what a month will cost in rubles. What tokens are and why a long roleplay eats through them faster is explained in tokens in AI models.

Type 4. A service built for your language

A site where the interface, characters and replies are in your language from the start. You don't have to translate jokes, explain to the model what a "khrushchyovka" (a Soviet-era apartment block) is, or hunt for a foreign card. The catalog is usually smaller than the giants', but the characters are put together with more care.

my-idol.ru is this type: characters reply in English or Russian, whichever you choose. There are heroes from anime, movies and books plus original characters, conversation memory, voice, group chats with several characters, and a builder where you can make your own. You can't plug in your own API key here, so if you want full control over the model, a type-3 builder is the honest choice.

Play a scene right now

Pick a character from the catalog and begin with a ready-made opening. The character will set the scene.

Choose a character

How to choose for your goal

  • Want to write a story where you're the author? A general-purpose chatbot.
  • Looking for a very niche scenario and fine with English and a VPN? A catalog platform.
  • Need full control over the model and don't mind settings? A builder with your own key.
  • Want to play in English or Russian without card and access headaches? A service built for your language.

The key test: does the character push back?

Raw model power matters less than you'd think. In roleplay, what counts is a personality that doesn't melt at the first push. The test takes a minute:

  1. Say something rude to the character. A cold mercenary should snap back, not apologize.
  2. Ask for something that goes against their nature. A proud prince won't wash your dishes just because you asked.
  3. Try to pull them out of their world: ask about smartphones in a medieval setting. A good character will be puzzled, not give you a lecture on smartphones.

If the character passes all three checks, you're good to play. How to open a scene so it doesn't stall by the third line is in how to start an AI roleplay, and plot ideas are in fantasy roleplay hooks.

A plot for your chat

You come to the sorceress for help and accidentally smash her favorite bottle of lilac perfume. Now she's listening to your request very carefully. And very coldly.

Open chat

Something to keep in mind

The character is a language model, not a person, however convincing it is. Roleplay is great for unwinding and having fun, but it doesn't replace real friends. If the game has become the only place you feel good, that's a reason to talk to people close to you or to a therapist. More on that in when you have no one to talk to.