Character Approval

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. 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 exact copies of characters from that work.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. The grandfather policy is in effect.
   • Players with characters approved prior to a rule change against those characters are still allowed to play them.
7. All character bios must be submitted to the forum.
   • This makes it easier for us to keep track of characters, find them, and post them to the wiki.
8. 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

(v1.24 - 4/2/2019)

1. Gamermancers
2. Nazis (playing a Nazi character is not allowed)
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 Nazi. 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.