Post by Azuregos on Jan 17, 2012 1:14:49 GMT 10
This thread is designed to give an overlook of a potential character creation guide for new members, as well as a listing of vocations (both class and rank classification) and the few rules we have regarding characters. Please read all of this thoroughly, and remember that the guide posted is not mandatory. You may use your own format.
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Rules
You must wait until your character is approved before you post in the main roleplaying forums.
There is no limit on characters, but we advise that you consider if you'll be able to be active with them all before creating a dozen or so.
There is no restriction on ranks, with some exceptions. You may not create a Citadel Councillor, and Spectres require evaluations done IC so you may not start with those ranks. Some factions limit your starting rank, i.e. the Blue Suns, so it is best to ask around first. - (staff ignore this one)
Members may not post in other member's applications, unless those applications have already been approved. We'd advise that you don't post trivial things in other people's applications because it just leads to topic clutter.
Questions should ideally be PM'ed to a Staff member, so as not to clutter up this thread.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Creation Guide
Please note this isn't a mandatory guide, just a suggestion. You are free to modify or completely disregard this. We do ask for a history to be provided along with basic details, but you may add/remove anything else as you see fit.
CODE
Name:
Race:
Age:
Gender:
Skin Tone:
Eye Color:
Hair/Plate/Crest Color:
Height:
Weight:
Build:
Scars/Markings:
[/IMG]
Physical Description:
Allegiance:
Rank:
Class:
Marital Status:
Family Status:
Homeworld:
Current Residence:
Occupation:
Education (if applicable):
Personality:
Biography:
Considerations:
Some things to consider when making a new character, while you don't have to go into precision detail these things will typically be called up upon by a reviewer when reviewing a character for approval:
- Who was your characters parents?
This may seem like a moot or trivial point since you are posting your character, not your characters parents, to use in an rp. However this is an early example to show how well off your character was at birth and also shows wherebouts they grew up. They may not neccersarily be mentioned at all in the rest of your bio but a simple 'John Doe was born in 2183 on Earth to a surgeon James and nurse Jane Doe' isn't so hard to write down.
- Is your character a biotic? If so, how?
Time and time again, people that have posted biotic characters have been delayed in approval because they did not explain how their character developed biotic powers. While this isn't a particularly important detail for asari (as it is natural for them), it isn't natural for just about any other species (which I won't list). If you are going to have a biotic character, you will need to list how their mother was exposed to element zero as the only way for a person other than asari to develop biotic ability is for their mother to be exposed to eezo while pregnant.
- How did they get around the galaxy?
Traditionally, people's characters have visited several planets in the course of their creation, while it may be obvious for some characters how they got from Location A to Location B, some people neglect to explain how their otherwise impoverished characters managed to fly from Earth to the Citadel then to Illium and finally Omega without any explanation of how they paid their fare (if they paid at all).
- Starting a business? Yeah ok, how?
Again, some people make characters that eventually after a time of listless wandering decide to settle down and start a business from out of nowhere. That's all well and good if you can explain it, did they have a lot of savings when they started? Where did they get those bountiful credits from? Who gave it to them and why? Did they have any opposition while building their company? All these questions will need to be answered if you are going the way of the CEO of your own company.
- They are pretty badass with a ___, why is that?
Some people can be naturally skilled in something, with practice, but you can only get so far by teaching yourself a skill, like using a rifle, pistol or melee weapon. If they are so damn good at using this weapon, you will need to explain how they developed such 'NINJA' skills with it. If they are mediocre or competent with it, this can easily be explained from a previous/current occupation. Incredible skills will warrant a better explanation however.
- Edited. Ok, WHERE!?
Sometimes, a person hoping to have a character approved in the first attempt will get knocked back, requiring them to modify, edit or 'tweak' their character so as to allow it to be approved. This will happen AT LEAST ONCE to every person that joins and you shouldn't take it personally, the mods are also here to help craft your character into a being that will be appropriate for the ME setting.
However once you've made the appropriate changes, rather than simply posting with "Edited" in your character thread and cause the mod to have to re-read everything to see where the edit took place, it is of a GREAT help to the reviewer [whom the sooner they can read what's been changed, the sooner they can get to approving it] reviewing it. So next time you are asked to edit a character, be sure to quote the original part you had and what you have changed it to.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Classes and Vocations
An overview of the generic classes of Mass Effect
Vanguard
The Vanguard is the front line of the squad. His Biotic powers focus on combat potential - disabling the enemy, making their armor ineffective, and using biotic powers ,such as Biotic Charge, so that he can get close enough to the enemy.
Sentinel
The Sentinel is a support-focused character, possessing Biotic and Tech abilities mostly focused around controlling the battlefield and keeping the squad alive. The Sentinel is surprisingly durable, with access to many of the shield-increasing talents, along with the Barrier Biotic power and the Sentinel's unique Tech Armor.
Infiltrator
The Infiltrator possesses a mixture of Combat and Tech talents. The Infiltrator possesses an array of Tech abilities that focus on disabling and crippling the enemy through stealth. The Infiltrator utilizes a Tactical Cloak
Engineer
The Engineer possesses all Tech abilities. He possesses no Biotic skills. Tech skills focus on crippling and damaging the enemy. Engineers can hack enemy systems and can utilize a Combat Drone and a Support Turret.
Adept
The Adept possesses all Biotic abilities. He also possesses no Tech skills. Biotic powers focus on manipulation of the environment and your enemies, instead of direct offense - crowd control. Adepts rely on their powers over their weapons. Adepts can utilize the Biotic Singularity to pull enemies into a black hole like effect damaging them.
Soldier
The Soldier is the full spectrum warrior of the squad. The Soldier is a specialist with all weapons and possesses an array of talents focused on improving his durability and damage. His major weaknesses are his complete lack of Biotic and Tech abilities. A Soldier has access to many different ammo types for varying situations. Soldiers also have a Concussive Shot equipped to their weapons as well as having access to an Adrenaline Rush. The Adrenaline Rush maximizes the Soldier's senses enabling the Soldier to react faster than the enemy.
An overview of the vocation codes used primarily by the Systems Alliance:
QUOTE
A – Adjutant- Administration, manages personnel records, also involving public, colonial, base relations, bands, newspapers. Personnel Service
B – Infantry- Self explanatory, ground troops, mechanized infantry, "Marines", drop troops, other wide range Infantry jobs that aren't covered in another vocation.
C – Command & Control- Authority and direction in a unit. Unit level staff. Also technology and methods research in the same. ie. Specific ways of dictating orders. Non-specialized officers.
D – Aviation- Atmospheric and Space, fighters through capital ships, pilots and navigators.
E – Medical, Dental, Nurse- Combat Medics, Doctors, Dentists, ENT, Nurses
F – Finance - Accountants
G – Engineers- Combat Engineers, Ship Engineers, Base Builders, Architects.
H – Armor (Cavalry)- Big tanks to fast scouts, ground and semiground (hover) vehicle pilots and crewmen.
I – Intelligence- Cryptography, photography, dealing in information, psychological warfare. counter-intelligence, counter-counter-intelligence. Protection of Alliance data assets.
J – Judge Advocate- Internal affairs, lawyers, rule makers.
K – Naval Warfare- Specialists in space tactics for combat between ships, knowledge of ship weapon and operating systems, their limits, and when they can be broken. Mainly larger "fleet" vessels.
L – Quartermaster and Transportation- Equipment and getting it there.
M – Electronic Warfare (VIs, Drones, Electronic Warfare)- Warfare either without guns or without human lives at risk. Does not overlap with Intelligence or Computers and Technology.
N – Special Forces- Any unit deemed unique, temporary, or with a special mission.
O – Ordnance (Missiles, Nukes, etc.)- Maintenance, operation, and safety of non-traditional warheads, special ammo types, small-arms to large ship weapons and missiles.
P – Artillery (Space and Ground)- Capital ship weapons, ground artillery.
Q – Computers & Technology- Non-combat computer systems and automation.
R – Hazardous Materials and Environments- Biological weapons, hazardous environments, specialized equipment and training.
S – Signal (Communications)- Traditional and nontraditional methods of message sending, maintenance of message sending equipment (modern day radio operators). Develops current codes.
T – Biotics- Researchers of Biotics and their Users (point of dispute, may resolve to just Biotic research and study as biotic users do other things, like be archaeologists..)
U – Military Police
V – Research and Development (Ground and Space)- Overhead department for research of weapons, armor, ship systems and devices, nonspecific (ie. No/little medical research)
W – Planetary Defense- Systems, tactics, and equipment for planetary defense.
X – Chaplain
Y – Training Command- Mix of all commands, responsible for training of basic enlisted, and officer cadets. Research into teaching methods etc.
z - Yeoman- duties similar to Adjutant. Yeoman are responsible for more sensible items and information handled by brass. On ships they oversee all operations on the ship and report their findings to the Captain.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rules
You must wait until your character is approved before you post in the main roleplaying forums.
There is no limit on characters, but we advise that you consider if you'll be able to be active with them all before creating a dozen or so.
There is no restriction on ranks, with some exceptions. You may not create a Citadel Councillor, and Spectres require evaluations done IC so you may not start with those ranks. Some factions limit your starting rank, i.e. the Blue Suns, so it is best to ask around first. - (staff ignore this one)
Members may not post in other member's applications, unless those applications have already been approved. We'd advise that you don't post trivial things in other people's applications because it just leads to topic clutter.
Questions should ideally be PM'ed to a Staff member, so as not to clutter up this thread.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Creation Guide
Please note this isn't a mandatory guide, just a suggestion. You are free to modify or completely disregard this. We do ask for a history to be provided along with basic details, but you may add/remove anything else as you see fit.
CODE
Name:
Race:
Age:
Gender:
Skin Tone:
Eye Color:
Hair/Plate/Crest Color:
Height:
Weight:
Build:
Scars/Markings:
[/IMG]
Physical Description:
Allegiance:
Rank:
Class:
Marital Status:
Family Status:
Homeworld:
Current Residence:
Occupation:
Education (if applicable):
Personality:
Biography:
Considerations:
Some things to consider when making a new character, while you don't have to go into precision detail these things will typically be called up upon by a reviewer when reviewing a character for approval:
- Who was your characters parents?
This may seem like a moot or trivial point since you are posting your character, not your characters parents, to use in an rp. However this is an early example to show how well off your character was at birth and also shows wherebouts they grew up. They may not neccersarily be mentioned at all in the rest of your bio but a simple 'John Doe was born in 2183 on Earth to a surgeon James and nurse Jane Doe' isn't so hard to write down.
- Is your character a biotic? If so, how?
Time and time again, people that have posted biotic characters have been delayed in approval because they did not explain how their character developed biotic powers. While this isn't a particularly important detail for asari (as it is natural for them), it isn't natural for just about any other species (which I won't list). If you are going to have a biotic character, you will need to list how their mother was exposed to element zero as the only way for a person other than asari to develop biotic ability is for their mother to be exposed to eezo while pregnant.
- How did they get around the galaxy?
Traditionally, people's characters have visited several planets in the course of their creation, while it may be obvious for some characters how they got from Location A to Location B, some people neglect to explain how their otherwise impoverished characters managed to fly from Earth to the Citadel then to Illium and finally Omega without any explanation of how they paid their fare (if they paid at all).
- Starting a business? Yeah ok, how?
Again, some people make characters that eventually after a time of listless wandering decide to settle down and start a business from out of nowhere. That's all well and good if you can explain it, did they have a lot of savings when they started? Where did they get those bountiful credits from? Who gave it to them and why? Did they have any opposition while building their company? All these questions will need to be answered if you are going the way of the CEO of your own company.
- They are pretty badass with a ___, why is that?
Some people can be naturally skilled in something, with practice, but you can only get so far by teaching yourself a skill, like using a rifle, pistol or melee weapon. If they are so damn good at using this weapon, you will need to explain how they developed such 'NINJA' skills with it. If they are mediocre or competent with it, this can easily be explained from a previous/current occupation. Incredible skills will warrant a better explanation however.
- Edited. Ok, WHERE!?
Sometimes, a person hoping to have a character approved in the first attempt will get knocked back, requiring them to modify, edit or 'tweak' their character so as to allow it to be approved. This will happen AT LEAST ONCE to every person that joins and you shouldn't take it personally, the mods are also here to help craft your character into a being that will be appropriate for the ME setting.
However once you've made the appropriate changes, rather than simply posting with "Edited" in your character thread and cause the mod to have to re-read everything to see where the edit took place, it is of a GREAT help to the reviewer [whom the sooner they can read what's been changed, the sooner they can get to approving it] reviewing it. So next time you are asked to edit a character, be sure to quote the original part you had and what you have changed it to.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Classes and Vocations
An overview of the generic classes of Mass Effect
Vanguard
The Vanguard is the front line of the squad. His Biotic powers focus on combat potential - disabling the enemy, making their armor ineffective, and using biotic powers ,such as Biotic Charge, so that he can get close enough to the enemy.
Sentinel
The Sentinel is a support-focused character, possessing Biotic and Tech abilities mostly focused around controlling the battlefield and keeping the squad alive. The Sentinel is surprisingly durable, with access to many of the shield-increasing talents, along with the Barrier Biotic power and the Sentinel's unique Tech Armor.
Infiltrator
The Infiltrator possesses a mixture of Combat and Tech talents. The Infiltrator possesses an array of Tech abilities that focus on disabling and crippling the enemy through stealth. The Infiltrator utilizes a Tactical Cloak
Engineer
The Engineer possesses all Tech abilities. He possesses no Biotic skills. Tech skills focus on crippling and damaging the enemy. Engineers can hack enemy systems and can utilize a Combat Drone and a Support Turret.
Adept
The Adept possesses all Biotic abilities. He also possesses no Tech skills. Biotic powers focus on manipulation of the environment and your enemies, instead of direct offense - crowd control. Adepts rely on their powers over their weapons. Adepts can utilize the Biotic Singularity to pull enemies into a black hole like effect damaging them.
Soldier
The Soldier is the full spectrum warrior of the squad. The Soldier is a specialist with all weapons and possesses an array of talents focused on improving his durability and damage. His major weaknesses are his complete lack of Biotic and Tech abilities. A Soldier has access to many different ammo types for varying situations. Soldiers also have a Concussive Shot equipped to their weapons as well as having access to an Adrenaline Rush. The Adrenaline Rush maximizes the Soldier's senses enabling the Soldier to react faster than the enemy.
An overview of the vocation codes used primarily by the Systems Alliance:
QUOTE
A – Adjutant- Administration, manages personnel records, also involving public, colonial, base relations, bands, newspapers. Personnel Service
B – Infantry- Self explanatory, ground troops, mechanized infantry, "Marines", drop troops, other wide range Infantry jobs that aren't covered in another vocation.
C – Command & Control- Authority and direction in a unit. Unit level staff. Also technology and methods research in the same. ie. Specific ways of dictating orders. Non-specialized officers.
D – Aviation- Atmospheric and Space, fighters through capital ships, pilots and navigators.
E – Medical, Dental, Nurse- Combat Medics, Doctors, Dentists, ENT, Nurses
F – Finance - Accountants
G – Engineers- Combat Engineers, Ship Engineers, Base Builders, Architects.
H – Armor (Cavalry)- Big tanks to fast scouts, ground and semiground (hover) vehicle pilots and crewmen.
I – Intelligence- Cryptography, photography, dealing in information, psychological warfare. counter-intelligence, counter-counter-intelligence. Protection of Alliance data assets.
J – Judge Advocate- Internal affairs, lawyers, rule makers.
K – Naval Warfare- Specialists in space tactics for combat between ships, knowledge of ship weapon and operating systems, their limits, and when they can be broken. Mainly larger "fleet" vessels.
L – Quartermaster and Transportation- Equipment and getting it there.
M – Electronic Warfare (VIs, Drones, Electronic Warfare)- Warfare either without guns or without human lives at risk. Does not overlap with Intelligence or Computers and Technology.
N – Special Forces- Any unit deemed unique, temporary, or with a special mission.
O – Ordnance (Missiles, Nukes, etc.)- Maintenance, operation, and safety of non-traditional warheads, special ammo types, small-arms to large ship weapons and missiles.
P – Artillery (Space and Ground)- Capital ship weapons, ground artillery.
Q – Computers & Technology- Non-combat computer systems and automation.
R – Hazardous Materials and Environments- Biological weapons, hazardous environments, specialized equipment and training.
S – Signal (Communications)- Traditional and nontraditional methods of message sending, maintenance of message sending equipment (modern day radio operators). Develops current codes.
T – Biotics- Researchers of Biotics and their Users (point of dispute, may resolve to just Biotic research and study as biotic users do other things, like be archaeologists..)
U – Military Police
V – Research and Development (Ground and Space)- Overhead department for research of weapons, armor, ship systems and devices, nonspecific (ie. No/little medical research)
W – Planetary Defense- Systems, tactics, and equipment for planetary defense.
X – Chaplain
Y – Training Command- Mix of all commands, responsible for training of basic enlisted, and officer cadets. Research into teaching methods etc.
z - Yeoman- duties similar to Adjutant. Yeoman are responsible for more sensible items and information handled by brass. On ships they oversee all operations on the ship and report their findings to the Captain.