Character Approval: Difference between revisions

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We do require that characters be approved before a person can play. Anyone can read the IC channels at any time.  However, to be able to post to these channels one will need to have an approved character. To get a character approve for play you must send a character bio to one of the server's staff. The staff member will read through it and determine if the character fits in with play here. Usually this is a resounding yes.  We are pretty liberal. However, on occasion a new player will be asked to make modifications to a character or character concept. We appreciate your cooperation and are happy to help you make these adjustments.
We require that characters be approved before players can use them. Anyone can read the IC channels at any time, but posting to these channels is only allowed for those with an approved character. To obtain approval for a character, you must send a character bio to the staff for approval using the [https://discord.com/channels/230687291071266816/1115205791624994846 Discord Channel] and the [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oDF_P5bi4C8Rcwqe6nXcZCD68dZqtJm4cGP1msAk_h4/edit Google Doc template]. Staff will review the bio and determine if the character is suitable for play here. In most cases, the approval is granted without issue since we have a liberal approach. However, occasionally new players may be asked to make modifications to their character or character concept. We appreciate your cooperation and are happy to assist you in making these adjustments. It should also be noted that as a player gets more seniority and we become more comfortable with what a player is and is not going to do, we generally are more tolerant of character ideas which may or may not bend the rules.


== Rules of Character Creation==
== Rules of Character Creation ==
'''(v1.62 - 12/23/2017)'''
'''(v1.62.3 - 6/11/2023)'''
# Characters must be original characters.
# All character bios must be submitted to the staff for approval.
#* A character may not be an otherwise professional work.
# No player may play a new character (other than some NPCs) without prior staff approval.
#* Characters can be from the world / universe defined by a professional work as long as they are not in the work.
# Staff may approve their own characters.
#* Characters from a world / universe defined by a professional work should not be carbon copies of characters in the work.
# Characters must be original and cannot be based on existing professional works.
# All characters must be at least 16 years of age.
#* Characters can exist within the world/universe defined by a professional work as long as they are not directly from the work.
#* Characters under the age of 16 must be specifically approved by Staff.
#* Characters from a professional work's world/universe should not be near copies of characters from that work.
#* Players wishing to submit characters under the age of 16 must have an exceeding good reason for the characters age.
# All characters must be at least 16 years old.
#* The terms of an ''exceedingly good reason'' are entirely up to the Staff at the time of the request.
#* Characters under the age of 16 must receive specific approval from the staff.
# Characters should not be excessively old (1,000 years, 2,000 years, 200,000 years, etc.)
#* Players wishing to submit characters under the age of 16 must provide a compelling reason for the character's age.
#* There are some reasons for exceptions to this:
#* The determination of a "compelling reason" is at the discretion of the staff.
#** Being involved in a time paradox / time travel.
# Characters should not be excessively old, such as 1,000 years, 2,000 years, 200,000 years, etc.
#** Being dormant, hibernating, or otherwise unaware of the passage of time.
#* There are exceptions to this rule:
#** Having some involvement with past lives (is the incarnation of ''someone important'').
#** Involvement in a time paradox/time travel.
#* Playing a character who has full memory of 200,000 years of life would be nearly impossible.
#** Being dormant, hibernating, or unaware of the passage of time.
#** Having connections with past lives as an important incarnation.
#* Playing a character with full memory of 200,000 years of life would be nearly impossible.
# Characters require approval.
# Characters require approval.
#* Characters should have some indication of how powerful they are (see the [[Leveled Ranking System]] for details).
#* Characters should indicate their power level (see the [[Leveled Ranking System]] for details).
#* Characters who have abilities over Category 3 will require special approval.
#* Characters with abilities above Category 3 require special approval.
#* Special approval must be noted in the character's wiki page with the name of the staff member who gave said permission.
#* Special approval should be noted on the character's wiki page, along with the staff member who granted permission.
#* Character bios containing skills and abilities with ''Class A'' or ''Class B'' ranking in any category, should have an explanation of how the character obtained that much skill.
#* Character bios containing skills and abilities ranked as ''Class A'' or ''Class B'' in any category should explain how the character acquired such proficiency.
#* Staff has the authority to ask players to alter their characters (this includes backstory, personality, attributes, as well as power and skill levels).
#* Staff members have the authority to request changes to characters, including backstory, personality, attributes, power, and skill levels.
#* Players who have achieved the rank of ''Founder'', ''Accepted'', ''Neophyte'', ''Role Player'', or ''Savant'' do not require character approval, however staff may still ask for a character to be altered or rule that a character cannot be played after the fact.
# Players can only play individual characters, not entire factions.
# Players may play characters but not an entire faction.
#* It is not allowed to play as the "Northern Alliance" or the "Japanese Fleet," for example.
#* One cannot play the "Northern Alliance" or the "Japanese Fleet".
#* Players may have non-playable characters (NPCs), but this should be reasonable.
#* Players may have NPC's, but this should be within reason.
# The grandfather policy is in effect.
# Grandfather policy is in effect.
#* Players with characters approved prior to a rule change against those characters are still allowed to play them.
#* Players with characters approved prior to a rule against said characters, are still allowed to play that character.
#* This makes it easier for us to keep track of characters, find them, and post them to the wiki.
# All character bios must be submitted to [hhttps://forum.moltenaether.com/c/characters the web forum].
# Characters should not be designed to be offensive or inflammatory by nature.
#* This allows us to easier keep track of them, find them, and get them posted to the wiki.
#* Certain archetypes, such as ''Nazi,'' are considered too inflammatory to expect people to be comfortable playing with such characters.
# Characters should not be designed to specifically be offensive or inflammatory by their nature.
#* Similar to our rules against using racist or inflammatory names, playing such a character without a compelling reason is considered akin to trolling.
#* By this we mean that certain archetypes (such as ''Nazi'') are considered too inflammatory to expect people to, out of character, be ok with playing with said character.
#* Similar to how we have rules against having racist or inflammatory names the act of playing such a character without exceptionally good reason is, in and of itself, considered to be akin to trolling.


== Banned Character Races and Origins ==
== Banned Character Races and Origins ==
'''(v1.22 - 4/4/2018)'''
'''(v1.25 - 8/2/2023)'''
* Nazi's (one cannot play a Nazi in game)
# Gamermancers
* Doctor Who (no Time Lords, Weeping Angels, Cybermen, etc..)
# Nazis (playing a Nazi character requires explicit approval)
* TV / Movie character clones / copies.
# Doctor Who (no Time Lords, Weeping Angels, Cybermen, etc.)
** Captain Kirk was cloned when he was 16 and the clone goes by Tiberius.
# Clones/copy of TV/Movie characters.
** Commander Spock was split in 2 by a [[vulcan]] mind meld gone wrong and the new Spock goes by Spock2.
#* For example, Captain Kirk's clone, Tiberius, or Commander Spock's split persona, Spock2.
** Starbuck didn't really die, she just ascended and came to the future.
#* Starbuck's ascension to the future or Luke Skywalker's secret half-brother, Linus Skywalker.
** Luke Skywalker had a secret half brother, Linus Skywalker, he's just as powerful as Luke.
#* Edward Cullen's high school [[vampire]] friend who is even more attractive.
** Edward Cullen's best friend from high school is also a [[vampire]] and even better looking.
#* And many more...
** ''So many more...''
# Dragon Ball Z characters are banned.
* Video game character clones / copies.
# Clones/copy of video game characters.
** This includes (but is not limited to) a lot of your fandom-made copies of:
#: This includes a variety of fandom-made copies of:
***Sonic the Hedgehog
#* Sonic the Hedgehog
***Megaman
#* Megaman
***Super Mario Brothers
#* Super Mario Brothers
***Zelda
#* Zelda
***Jazz the Jackrabbit
#* Jazz the Jackrabbit
***Commander Keen
#* Commander Keen
***Metal Gear Series
#* Metal Gear Series
***Battle Toads
#* Battle Toads
* Copies or clones of mythological figures.
# Clones/copy of mythological figures.
** This includes variations on Zeus, Hercules, or any named figure from mythology.
#* This includes variations on Zeus, Hercules, or any named figure from mythology.
* All Warhammer characters
# All Warhammer 30k/40k characters (fantasy is still permitted).
* All characters from Naruto or associated Manga / Anime.


=== Some Explanation on Banning of Nazi Characters ===
=== Explanation for the Ban on Nazi Characters ===
I do not usually like to get into banning something like a character being a Nazi. However, in this case, the willful act of playing a character who is a Nazi or similar that the player knows will specifically be inflammatory and offensive to others also knows that it will upset, offend, and cause problems for others who want to play. Similar to how we do not allow people to use racial slurs in names or avatars without asking them to change such things because it is considered unreasonable to expect people to ''not'' be offended by such given the divisive nature of such things, the willful act of using such imagery and language becomes in and of itself trolling.
Generally, we prefer not to ban characters based on being a particular political or social view point. However, in this case, playing a character who is a Nazi or similar, with the knowledge that it will be specifically inflammatory and offensive to others, causes problems and upsets other players who want to participate. Just as we do not allow the use of racial slurs in names or avatars without requesting changes, because it is considered unreasonable to expect people to be unoffended by such things given their divisive nature, the deliberate act of using Nazi imagery and language is considered trolling in itself.


As such we regretfully do not allow the play of Nazi's or similarly divisive character types without just cause. Any just cause would have to be discussed with Staff prior to approval.
Therefore, we regretfully do not allow the play of Nazi characters or similarly divisive character types without a compelling reason. Any such reason must be discussed with the staff prior to approval.


== Character Template ==
[[Category:OOC]]
Items in the template marked with a "*" are required, other items are optional but it is strongly suggested that you have a minimum of this information on a character before playing that character in game.
 
<pre>
* Player ID:
* Character Name:
* Race:
* Gender:
Height / Weight:
Hair / Eye Color:
Age / DoB:
Place of Birth:
* Universe of Origin:
* Occupation:
* Rank / Skill Level:
* Body Type:
* Personality:
Special Skills:
Special Abilities:
Background:
</pre>
 
== Definitions ==
Most of the things on the template are obvious, but here are some bits of information on things people might have questions on.
 
; DoB / PoB : Date of Birth and Place of Birth
 
=== Universe of Origin ===
Many of our players play characters from different universes, such as the [[Star Wars]] universe or perhaps Fallout's universe, etc. and as such we'd like to know where your character comes from, so that the moderators have an idea what kind of a universe your character has come from.  If you're making a character from the [[Solas Tempus]] universe, then just put ''[[Solas Tempus]]''.
 
=== Rank / Skill Level ===
For military type characters, this is obvious.  Even for characters who are not military in nature though, the characters level of skill at their ''Occupation'' is a good thing to know.  The standard non-military ranks for Skill Level are; '''Veteran''', '''Experienced''', '''Professional''', '''Amateur''', '''Novice''', and '''Trainee'''.  These are not hard and fast though, if there is a better adjective to describe a characters skill level, feel free to use it.
 
=== Body Type ===
What kind of figure does your character have.  This should also include any unique body features a character has (such as wings, gills, one leg, no arms, etc.).
 
=== Personality / Background ===
Both of these speak to who your character is as a person.  Personality is generally for a characters basic outlook on life, themselves, and others.  In terms of D&D this is kind of like a characters alignment but with more detail than the class ''Neutral/Good'' way of putting it.  An actually experienced D&D players can pull a lot of information out of an alignment like that but a lot of people are not D&D players, to just try to have a sentence or two about how your character interacts with others.
 
For a characters background, a brief history (if you have one).  There is a lot that can cross apply between a characters history and their personality so just organize it however you want to.  If you don't have a big history, feel free to put it all in ''personality'' or vise versa if the personality is telling the story of their history just put it into ''background'' and call it good.
 
=== Special Skills / Abilities ===
Special skills are unique skills that the character has had to learn, going to school, learned on the streets, taught themselves.  These take refinement and study, time to develop, such as the ability to pilot an aircraft, fire a sniper rifle, or decode cryptography.  [[Special Abilities|Special abilities]] are more like innate abilities, even though they might have taken a lot of time and skill to learn to use.  A special ability is like shooting lightening bolts from ones hands, turning invisible, super strength, etc..
 
==== Ranking of Skills and Abilities ====
While it isn't required, a person may be asked to add ranks and skill levels to their sheet for various skills and abilities that describe how powerful the ability is.  This is used to help stoyrtellers and staff accurately gauge if a player is going to fit in or not.  This also allows people to comparatively understand what they're getting into when one player is interacting with another, and avoids uncertainty when dealing with two characters who have similar abilities.  The [[Leveled Ranking System]] has a wide degree of latitude.  When looking at this, please understand that any character being brought into the game with a power category above 3 will require special approval.  In addition, anyone with a Class A or Class B ability should have it noted (any category) how they got so much skill in that ability.  Any special allowances will require special notation of the name of the staff member who approved it as part of the sheet in the wiki.
 
[[Category:Role Playing Guide]]

Latest revision as of 22:46, 22 September 2023

We require that characters be approved before players can use them. Anyone can read the IC channels at any time, but posting to these channels is only allowed for those with an approved character. To obtain approval for a character, you must send a character bio to the staff for approval using the Discord Channel and the Google Doc template. Staff will review the bio and determine if the character is suitable for play here. In most cases, the approval is granted without issue since we have a liberal approach. However, occasionally new players may be asked to make modifications to their character or character concept. We appreciate your cooperation and are happy to assist you in making these adjustments. It should also be noted that as a player gets more seniority and we become more comfortable with what a player is and is not going to do, we generally are more tolerant of character ideas which may or may not bend the rules.

Rules of Character Creation

(v1.62.3 - 6/11/2023)

  1. All character bios must be submitted to the staff for approval.
  2. No player may play a new character (other than some NPCs) without prior staff approval.
  3. Staff may approve their own characters.
  4. Characters must be original and cannot be based on existing professional works.
    • Characters can exist within the world/universe defined by a professional work as long as they are not directly from the work.
    • Characters from a professional work's world/universe should not be near copies of characters from that work.
  5. All characters must be at least 16 years old.
    • Characters under the age of 16 must receive specific approval from the staff.
    • Players wishing to submit characters under the age of 16 must provide a compelling reason for the character's age.
    • The determination of a "compelling reason" is at the discretion of the staff.
  6. Characters should not be excessively old, such as 1,000 years, 2,000 years, 200,000 years, etc.
    • There are exceptions to this rule:
      • Involvement in a time paradox/time travel.
      • Being dormant, hibernating, or unaware of the passage of time.
      • Having connections with past lives as an important incarnation.
    • Playing a character with full memory of 200,000 years of life would be nearly impossible.
  7. Characters require approval.
    • Characters should indicate their power level (see the Leveled Ranking System for details).
    • Characters with abilities above Category 3 require special approval.
    • Special approval should be noted on the character's wiki page, along with the staff member who granted permission.
    • Character bios containing skills and abilities ranked as Class A or Class B in any category should explain how the character acquired such proficiency.
    • Staff members have the authority to request changes to characters, including backstory, personality, attributes, power, and skill levels.
  8. Players can only play individual characters, not entire factions.
    • It is not allowed to play as the "Northern Alliance" or the "Japanese Fleet," for example.
    • Players may have non-playable characters (NPCs), but this should be reasonable.
  9. The grandfather policy is in effect.
    • Players with characters approved prior to a rule change against those characters are still allowed to play them.
    • This makes it easier for us to keep track of characters, find them, and post them to the wiki.
  10. Characters should not be designed to be offensive or inflammatory by nature.
    • Certain archetypes, such as Nazi, are considered too inflammatory to expect people to be comfortable playing with such characters.
    • Similar to our rules against using racist or inflammatory names, playing such a character without a compelling reason is considered akin to trolling.

Banned Character Races and Origins

(v1.25 - 8/2/2023)

  1. Gamermancers
  2. Nazis (playing a Nazi character requires explicit approval)
  3. Doctor Who (no Time Lords, Weeping Angels, Cybermen, etc.)
  4. Clones/copy of TV/Movie characters.
    • For example, Captain Kirk's clone, Tiberius, or Commander Spock's split persona, Spock2.
    • Starbuck's ascension to the future or Luke Skywalker's secret half-brother, Linus Skywalker.
    • Edward Cullen's high school vampire friend who is even more attractive.
    • And many more...
  5. Dragon Ball Z characters are banned.
  6. Clones/copy of video game characters.
    This includes a variety of fandom-made copies of:
    • Sonic the Hedgehog
    • Megaman
    • Super Mario Brothers
    • Zelda
    • Jazz the Jackrabbit
    • Commander Keen
    • Metal Gear Series
    • Battle Toads
  7. Clones/copy of mythological figures.
    • This includes variations on Zeus, Hercules, or any named figure from mythology.
  8. All Warhammer 30k/40k characters (fantasy is still permitted).

Explanation for the Ban on Nazi Characters

Generally, we prefer not to ban characters based on being a particular political or social view point. However, in this case, playing a character who is a Nazi or similar, with the knowledge that it will be specifically inflammatory and offensive to others, causes problems and upsets other players who want to participate. Just as we do not allow the use of racial slurs in names or avatars without requesting changes, because it is considered unreasonable to expect people to be unoffended by such things given their divisive nature, the deliberate act of using Nazi imagery and language is considered trolling in itself.

Therefore, we regretfully do not allow the play of Nazi characters or similarly divisive character types without a compelling reason. Any such reason must be discussed with the staff prior to approval.

Retrieved from "https://wiki.moltenaether.com/w/index.php?title=Character_Approval&oldid=20550"
Last modified
This page was last edited on 22 September 2023, at 22:46.