I started playing RPG when I was about 10 years old. After that, I played with friends at school, introduced some friends to RPG and continued playing all the way to university!
Now, I moved to England and left all my quest companions back in Brazil. =(
I enjoy playing games where the characters give direction to the adventure and where player are able to act based on what their character would do, even if it may not be the optimum choice. This gives the characters life and helps them grow with the adventure.
Some examples are:
Agatha, a neonate Toreador that had a Brujah for mentor.
Arkantos (my favourite), a dnd 3.5 barbarian that has a soft spot for the ladies.
Alalu, a pirate drow that was more barbarian than rogue.
and Alice, a favoured soul of Chauntea that has a hippie nature and regular chats with her goddess as if she was there =D