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Chapter 4- Character Creation
NOTE- Much of this
document makes up the very first section of the
QuickStart Guide,
the ALB Player's Manual.
This chapter is intended
to familiarize new players with certain aspects of ASR and to provide
a reference for current players. Everyone in ASR begins their
career as an ensign in the Star Fleet Navy or second lieutenant in the
Star Fleet Marine Corps regardless of experience in other role playing
games. Most characters will have attended Star Fleet Academy,
so we begin with a description of life at that institution. The
end of the next section also explains alternate routes to commission
as an officer, but these are not recommended for first characters.
4.1
An Explanation of Star Fleet Academy
Star Fleet Academy provides
a common point of reference and experience for nearly all of the serving
officers in the Star Fleet Navy and Marine Corps. Its rigorous
academic standards; moral, mental, and physical training; and professional
development are intended to lay the ground for a career as an officer
in the military forces of the United Federation of Planets. NOTE:
Because of the professional development program, it is not possible
to graduate from Star Fleet Academy in less than 4 years.
When one has reached the
age of maturity and has completed the pre-requisite coursework in mathematics,
science, and the humanities, he or she may apply seek appointment to
Star Fleet Academy. The minimum age for humans is 16 years. Appointments
to the Academy may be granted by Star Fleet officers at the rank of
Captain (O-6) or higher. Appointments may also be made by high ranking
planetary officials, ambassadors, and Federation Council members. After
a candidate is sponsored, he or she is then eligible to take the Star
Fleet Academy admissions examination. Given annually, this
challenging, competitive exam screens out all but the top candidates.
This highly competitive process takes tens of thousands of applicants
for the 2,500 appointments and selects 400 beings who are offered admission.
Acceptance rates for admissions offers are normally around 85 percent,
giving an average orientation class size of 340. This corresponds to
the Academy enrolling less than 1 percent of those who seek appointments.
On the first day of orientation
at the Academy, Induction Day, the new class is sworn in to the Corps
of Cadets. The first summer at Star Fleet Academy, known as Plebe Summer,
is a grueling regiment of physical and mental conditioning meant to
push the new cadets to their limits. A day during plebe summer begins
at 0515 with fall out for reveille at 0530 and formation for physical
education at 0540. Physical education lasts from 0600 to 0700. Plebes
then clean up and prepare for the day by memorizing the day's schedule,
menu, selected current events, and basic military information. Morning
formation for breakfast is at 0745. The first training evolution of
the day begins at 0845 and cadets attend various evolutions until 1145.
Squad leaders require the plebes to recite the requisite day's memorization
on demand until Noon meal formation at 1210. After lunch,
afternoon training evolutions begin again at 1300. At 1600, athletic
practice sessions begin. Evening meal formation is at 1800. Evening
training evolutions begin at 1900. The plebes are allowed personal time
from 2110 until 2145. Counseling time lasts from 2145 until TAPS (lights
out) at 2200.
During the plebe summer,
cadets recieve instruction in military drill, marksmanship, and character
development. Because of the careful screening process, most cadets complete
the summer. However, around 10 percent request to drop from the program,
leaving an average class size of approximately 300 beings.
At the end of the first
year, each cadet selects an academic major in the College of Arts and
Sciences or the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The academic
majors provide a foundation for the intellectual development of the
cadet and encompass a wide range of fields. Regardless of academic major,
there are numerous core courses that must be taken in the sciences,
mathematics, government, leadership, Federation history, military history,
and military science. Cadets also select a professional major.
Professional majors for Navy-option cadets are engineering, navigation,
tactical operations, computer operations, sensor operations, communications,
and sciences. Professional majors for Marine-option cadets include infantry,
armor, artillery, logistics, engineering, communications-information
systems, financial management, and military police. Air-space choices
including pilot, flight officer, air command and control, anti-air-space
warfare, air-space maintenance, and air-space supply also exist for
both options. (Note: pilot training is completed after graduation from
the academy.)
As a cadet progresses through
his or her 4 years at the Academy, he or she may be placed in a position
of authority over other cadets. Each year, a first-classman (4th-year
cadet) is named cadet-commander, and is the highest ranking cadet at
the Academy. The other cadet officers report to him and are responsible
for supervising the plebes and other underclassmen.
At the end of the four years
are over, the cadets graduate and are commissioned into Star Fleet at
the rank of ensign (ENS), for Naval option cadets, or second lieutenant
(2LT), for Marine-option cadets.
Some officers elect to pursue
graduate training to earn advanced degrees. Medical degrees require
an additional four years of instruction and 2-4 years of residency.
Ensigns may apply to the Star Fleet Medical Academy or other accredited
medical institutions. Counselors require advanced study in psychology
and must attend additional training at Star Fleet Medical Academy or
an appropraite institution for approximately 2 years. A law degree
requires three years beyond the four spent at the Academy. Those
completing or working on law degrees are assigned to the Judge Advocate
General (JAG) Corps and are not assigned to individual starships.
Master's degrees in various fields can take anywhere from one to three
years to earn. Doctoral programs typically last between four and eight
years.
There are three alternate
route to a commission as a Star Fleet officer. One is to enroll
in SFROTC (Star Fleet Reserved Officer Training Corps). Students
at colleges and universities throughout the Federation can take core
courses, spend summers in Academyu training programs, and, upon graduation,
also be commissioned at the rank of ensign/second lieutenant.
The second alternate route
to a Star Fleet officer's commision is is OCS (Officer Candidate School).
OCS is a special, intensive twelve week course that allows those who
have already completed their baccalaureate or higher degree to become
Star Fleet officers. The course covers engineering, military indoctrination,
military history, navigation, damage control, leadership, personnel
administration, military law, professional development, Federation history,
physical fitness, and military training. The minimum age
for a human candidate to enter OCS is 20 years of age, though many are
older as they have completed at least their basic college degree. This
age will, of course, vary with race, but should indicate an equivalent
level of education and development to that given for humans. Many Star
Fleet personnel that went through OCS are counselors and doctors. However,
it is possible characters that enter Star Fleet via OCS to be commisioned
into unrestricted line billets such as navigation, engineering, the
various operations billets, etc. Line officers are elidgible for command
billets.
One exceptionally rare option
for recieving a commission is a direct commission from the enlisted
ranks. These "mustang" officers seldom reach ranks above lieutenant
commander (O-4) and are almost universally restricted-line officers.
If you ever want a particular character to be eligible for a command
billet, do not have him be directly commissioned!
All first characters, regardless
of route to comission, branch of service, or specialty, go through pre-addignment
training at Armstrong Lunar Base (ALB), a Star Fleet training facility
on Earth's moon, Luna. Details on the basic rules of the game, most
of which are introduced at ALB, can be found in Chapter 5.
4.2
Character Creation
Most officers entering the
ALB training program have attended Star Fleet Academy for four years.
A few have also graduated from SFROTC or OCS. Nearly all will
be Star Fleet Navy option; however, it is also possibile to have a character
who is in the Star Fleet Marine Corps. If you are interested in such
an option, please ask the Personnel Officer for more information.
4.2.1 Players and Characters
In simple terms, a "player"
is a real-life person involved in the game (Alt.StarFleet.RPG). A "character"
is someone living in the fantasy world of the ASR universe.
Players know that ASR is
a game based on writing to and interacting with other players through
game characters in a common place in a common fantsy world. The player
often has knowledge that the character does not. In other words, if
someone writes about what their character is thinking, but does not
say it to another player's character, then there is no way for the character
to know about it. However, the other player does read what is being
thought by another player's character and this helps that player
gain a clearer picture of the thought processes of the character and
helps make for richer interactions. A player must always be cautious
to make sure that their character is acting on information that the
character knows, not extra information that the player knows.
To facilitate interaction
and to distinguish clearly between characters and players, you cannot
use your real name for your character. The minimum age for a human character
is twenty years. Alien characters may have different ages, but must
also be adults be the standards of their society. There should be a
clear distinction between the player and the character. Your character
may share some of your personality traits, your hobbies, your likes
and dislikes, but your character should be more than just a projection
of your own personality.
In order to describe your
character, you need to create a biographical record ("bio" for short).
A bio provides information about your character. Your character's bio
tells other people what you think your character is like, and it is
a record of your career in Star Fleet. When your character joins a ship,
your bio is the first thing the crew will want to see. It's a resume
and a character sheet all wrapped up in one. Keep your bio handy
and update it periodically.
4.2.2 Biography Files
The bio file is essentially
a summary of your character's physical traits, educational experiences,
service history, and personal chronology. ASR's personnel officer will
help you with write the bio and will also 'red-flag' any problems that
may be present. Bios must contain the following information at a minimum.
-
player
name (your name)
-
player's
e-mail address (your e-mail address)
-
character
name
-
physical
description
-
age (as
mentioned above,
-
education
(especially Star Fleet Academy)
-
professional
qualifications
-
species
-
home planet
-
current
assignment
-
current
position
Just that would make for
a pretty boring bio, however.
Some additional information
might include:
-
Family:
parents, siblings, spouse, children
-
Background:
place of birth, beliefs, tradition, service number
-
Character
traits/personality: quirks, ambitions, annoyances, psych profile
Also, you should indicate
any limitations on your character about which other writers should know.
You can also indicate information that the player should know but that
characters would not know by adding a non-role play game (NRPG) section
to your bio.
There are other things that
need to be considered when creating a bio. Certain characters,
certain races (such as Q), and certain powers are simply not allowed.
Disruptive characters are not allowed in ASR and will not be assigned
to ships. Disruptive characters include those characters with active
connections to the Mafia, underworld, and/or rival intelligence communities
(members of the Romulan or Cardassian secret services, for example);
extraordinary psionic capability; 'hard' immortality (Q-like beings),
felony criminal records, training as an assassin, etc. These types of
characters are generally not conducive to good role playing.
Other characteristics (called
'red flags') will be examined closely by the Personnel Officer, and
may or may not be approved. Red flags include enlisted service experience
(mustang or fleet appointments), special operations training, marine/naval
commensurate commissions, non-felony criminal records, conscientious
objection, unusual age, awards/medals/decorations obtained at Star Fleet
Academy, unexplained leaves of absence, obscure racial origins, 'soft'
immortality, extensive psychological problems, and other such exceptional
characteristics. Characters like these need to be handled responsibly
and with maturity. Anything that confers status and/or advantage
over others is subject to a certain scrutiny.
The above restrictions may
seem limiting, but there is good reasoning behind them. Your character
is a commissioned officer of Star Fleet and, therefore, must have some
characteristics reflecting that fact. Star Fleet Academy would not,
for instance, admit any criminals; neither would it tolerate "troublemakers"
and those with murky backgrounds.
The important thing to keep
in mind is that the character should be believable. This means that
he or she should *not* necessarily be "the best ever" at anything (the
chances of this are extremely small). On the other hand, complete incompetence
is also unrealistic and, therefore, unacceptable. Please remember at
all times that you are playing with other people; if they can't take
your character seriously, they will probably disregard the bio at best.
If you are not sure about
whether your character is acceptable or not, ask the Personnel Officer
for guidance.
A good suggestion, if you
are having difficulties, is to look at other bios. They can be found
at the web pages of many ships.
Here's a sample bio.
Comments throughout are bracketed in [[ ]]. Bio files should be
created as plain ASCII text files for ease of mailing with a line width
no greater than 72 characters.
ENS
Kitty Chapman [Player: Renee Bennett]
==================================================================
Starfleet document 90275-7359-AJO286
PERSONNEL
FILE--CONFIDENTIAL
Name:
Katarina (Kitty) Hannalore Chapman
Rank: Ensign
[[ Everyone
in ASR starts out as an Ensign. Refer to the ASR FAQ or
the ASR Web Page for more information on ranks. ]]
Serial:
9347-485-865
[[ Service
or serial numbers follow no particular format - they are
entirely made up and just add a bit of interest. ]]
Citizen:
Ceres, Asteroid Belt, Sol System
Race: Human
Age: 24
PHYSICAL
DESCRIPTION
Height:
1.82 meters (6')
Weight: 74.2 kilos (160 lbs)
[[ Starfleet
is metric, although many people use both SI and Imperial
units in their bios. But there's no problem if you just use
the
Imperial units. ]]
Hair:
Blond, short, curly
Eyes: Blue
Skin: Caucasian, very freckled
Identifying Marks: Scar in hairline above left ear, 2.4 cm
(1")
Fitness: 12%, very athletic
MEDICAL
DATA
Allergies:
Synapse enhancers 612 and 4D, chamomile, and tribble
fur.
Injuries: Massive trauma suffered in runabout accident at
age 4.
Satisfactory
recovery (See Disabilities)
Broken wrist,
age 12. Satisfactory recovery.
Appendix
removed, age 16. Satisfactory recovery.
Disabilities: Minor aphasia. Due to trauma from accident
at age
4, Kitty
has difficulty translating spoken directions
into their
spatial counterpart. Result, she tends to
get lost
when given directions verbally. She has no
difficulty
with maps. Once she finds a given location,
she has no
difficulty finding her way back from it or
to it again.
EDUCATION
Primary:
Ceres Outbound Education (correspondence)
Secondary: Ceres Technical, one year
Mars Engineering
Institute, two years
Starfleet
Academy, four years
Majors: Pure Mathematics, Warp-field Mechanics
Minors: Logic, Structural Mechanics
Thesis: "Interactions of Gravity Stressors on common
Warp-field
Shapes, with
emphasis on failure conditions"
Comments: "Kitty is a brilliant and dedicated engineer who
truly
enjoys her
calling. When faced with a problem, she can
come up with
a completely original solution very quickly,
if not always
successfully. However, she has a very
persistent
attitude: if her first idea does not work,
she will
continue trying until she finds one that does.
She is flexible,
and unafraid of being proved wrong. In
my opinion,
she will be an asset in any position she
serves in."
--Lt.Cmdr. Kyroc Morrio, Instructor, SFA
[[ Fictitious
letters of recommendation or memos are used to
establish what other people think about the character. This
is a
typical convention in Starfleet. It is also a helpful exercise
to
describe your character through other people's eyes.
Also, periodic updates of bios are a must; you want others to know
what your character is like in the here-and-now as well as what
he or
she used to be like. ]]
Other:
Disciplined twice while in Academy, both times for
practical
jokes. The first was a St. Patrick's Day
stunt (all
water systems for the main building ran
green for
the day, including faucets, toilets, and
showers.)
The second was a class joke, during a period
that the
instructor had to book off. Kitty removed the
sign announcing
the cancelled class, then told her
classmates
there was a pop quiz that day, on the
subject of
deriving warp-field equations from scratch,
without mechanical
assistance. The difficulty arose
when the
instructor found out about this escapade; he
had planned
a similar quiz (with mechanical assistance)
for the next
week. He accused Kitty of cheating, and
the matter
had to be settled before the Academy ethics
committee.
She proved that she could derive the
equations
by herself, and the committee decided that
the original
prank was no more than remarkable bad
timing on
her part, and disciplined her for a lack of
respect for
her instructor.
[[ Remember
that not everyone is a high academic achiever - even
those who do attend the Academy. After all, there can be only
one
person who graduates at the top of the class! ]]
PSYCHOLOGICAL
PROFILE
Beliefs:
Agnostic
Ambitions: Chief Engineer on a Galaxy-Class Starship, "build
a
better warp-field"
Annoyances: Clutter. "I grew up in a low gravity environment,
with long
bouts of no gravity at all. When you live
like that,
you realize that if it isn't tied down, it's
hazardous."
Hobbies: Grav ball, swimming, "tinkering", reading warp manuals
for all ship
types.
Personality type: stable, friendly, observant.
Comments: "Kitty is a very nice young woman, a little head-
strong at times,
but not overly so for someone her age.
She does not panic
easily and she can be counted on to
be supportive to
the best of her abilities. She tends
toward optimism,
but not to starry-eyed optimism; she
tempers her judgements
of situations with a critical
evaluation of the
information she has at hand.
"Count on Kitty
to smile her way through even the
toughest situations,
and to offer a hand when needed."
--Dr. Aia a'Aianaia, Counsellor, SFA
FAMILY
AND BACKGROUND
Father:
Gerald Ambrose Chapman
Mother: Natasha Petrovna Armantin-Chapman
Siblings: Jared (b. 2366) missing, presumed dead (2384)
Tabitha (b. 2370,
ad. 2371)
Maxmillian (b.
2373, ad. 2378)
Stevan (b. 2375)
(Katarina, b. 2380)
Alixandra (b. 2382,
ad. 2384)
Yvan (b. 2384)
Viktor (b. 2385)
(twin)
Regina (b. 2385)
(twin)
History: Kitty is part of the Chapmans of Chapman Mines and
Interests, Inc., one of the major mining
companies in the
Asteroid Belt of Earth. Victor Chapman,
head of the company,
is her uncle. Minerva Chapman, Treasurer,
is her aunt. Her
father Gerald is head of Labor Relations.
Her mother Natasha
is the daughter of Petro Armantin, head
of the Miner's Union.
Kitty and her elder brother Jared were
in a terrible accident
when she was four years old. He was
piloting a runabout
between two Asteroid colonies, taking them
to a cousin's
birthday party. Investigators say
that the runabout was
struck by an asteroid approximately 15
meters across,
causing massive damage to the propulsion
systems and breaching
the hull. Kitty was severely injured
in this crash, including
a skull fracture. Her brother placed
her in the main airlock,
which still maintained a airseal, and attempted
to effect
repairs on his ship. Investigations
show that a second rock,
this one approx. 9 meters, struck the runabout;
it is
assumed that it did so while Jared Chapman
was outside the
ship and that it carried him away from
it. He has never been
located.
Kitty was found by searchers later that
week, still alive but
suffering from oxygen poisoning due to
a malfunction in the
air mixtures for the airlock. She
remembers nothing about the
accident, and suffers a mild aphasia from
the brain damage she
received in the accident. (See Medical
history.)
For further information regarding this
incident, ref. Ceres
Accident File "Chapman 7386-836GO8".
[[ Hobbies, interests and quirks serve to make your character come
to
life. Remember, nobody is perfect! Don't make your character
out to
be a Superman or Superwoman in your bio. Giving your character
a
past to deal with, a problem to overcome, an annoying tendency,
etc., doesn't make your character weak. In fact, it makes
your
character more realistic and challenging to play!
Interaction among characters is what makes ASR work, and interests
and quirks help to develop interpersonal relationships in RP; common
interests may make for good conversation openers, for instance.
]]
==================================================================
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End File ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some players like to include
a set of RP notes to describe how the character might behave. This gives
you a chance to almost provide an instruction book to your character.
It doesn't have to be really specific (and many players don't even create
one), but it does help those who are unfamiliar with your specific character
role-play them more realistically.
NOTE: The bio file that
the personnel officer approves is a basic bio file that you should continue
to work on and develop while at ALB. Your bio file is not complete until
it has been read and approved by the CSFO and fleet commander to whose
fleet you are assigned.
4.3
Armstrong Lunar Base
After the Personnel Officer
has approved your character, your character will report to the ALB Oval
Office. ALB is Armstrong Lunar Base, the ASR training facility.
In your reporting post,
describe your character's trip from Star Fleet Academy to Armstrong
Lunar Base. How is he or she feeling? What are his or her hopes and
dreams? Once he or she arrives at Armstrong Lunar Base, your character
will report to the Oval Office.
The ALB Commandant will
assign your character to a holodeck for training. Please note
that you are not immediately assigned to a ship. You will spend from
several days to several weeks at ALB. Your holodeck training at ALB
will introduce you to the rules and customs of ASR.
At this stage in your trek
through ASR, you should begin to notify relevant people if and when
you know that you will not have e-mail access for an extended period
of time (say, anything beyond four days). This is common practice on
regular role-playing (RP) units, and such notices can become quite important
in ALB as well. Once your holodeck training is complete, you will be
graduated by your holodeck instructor. Then you will report to the CSFO
(Chief of Star Fleet Operations) on Starbase ALPHA, in the Wolf 359
system, for assignment to a base or ship.
4.4
Starbase ALPHA
Starbase ALPHA is the command
starbase of ASR. It is a large facility that houses over 500,000 people,
both military and civilian. Starbase ALPHA is also where the CINCSF
(Commander in Chief Star Fleet), CSFO, and COMLOG (Commander, Star Fleet
Logistics) maintain administrative offices.
The CSFO is responsible
for placing characters (and thus players) in the fleets, depending on
the vacancies available as well as requests made by the player in question.
Since the ultimate goal of ASR is to have members who are content, she
will do her best to match your wishes.
Be aware, however, that
your favourite ship or station may not have a vacancy when you leave
ALB, and that not every position is available at every time. Unsurprisingly,
they differ vastly in popularity
(Counsellor and marine commanding
officer are usually least popular. Tactical officer, security officer,
and engineering officer are usually the most requested. It is
not uncommon for there to be no tactical of security billets open ASR-wide,
while at the same time there are five or six openings for another position.
This is why we ask you to list three positions you would be prepared
to accept.
Once you have finished with
ALB, your instructor will advise you to send the following to the CSFO
at the above address:
-
your PC's
bio
-
your requests
as far as billeting goes (name three positions, as well as a description
of the kind of ship/fleet you would enjoy)
-
any of
your posts as a sample of your writing
All these serve to give
the CSFO an idea of where you would fit best, given the available vacancies.
In return, the CSFO will answer whatever questions you have, comment
on your bio to help you tighten up areas which may need that and embellish
on others, and finally supply your character with orders to report to
one of the Fleet or Task Force Commanders, and tell you in NRPG who
to contact next and how to go about that.
If by that time, it is clear
which ship you will join in which capacity, the CSFO will tell you that
as well - but sometimes, a fleet may have more than just one suitable
open billet.
4.5
Being Assigned to a Unit
After the CSFO locates a
fleet with an appropriate vacancy or vacancies, you will be directed
to report to the office of the fleet commander for final assignment
and billeting. Report to the fleet commander as instructed by
the CSFO and send them the same materials that were sent to the CSFO:
-
your PC's
bio
-
your requests
as far as billeting goes (name three positions, as well as a description
of the kind of ship/fleet you would enjoy)
-
any of
your posts as a sample of your writing.
The fleet commander will
take all available information into account and provide a final duty
assignment for your character.
4.6
Creating a Second Character
'Second character' is the
term used in alt.starfleet.rpg for any additional player characters
(not non-player characters) beyond the first one you took through ALB
training.
It is recommended that any
new player take at least 6-8 weeks to settle into regular role-play
in ASR before considering the creation of another character. Answers
to frequently asked questions about creating a second character are
included in appendix A.
Fleet and unit commanders
are also referred to
appendix B for details on the rules regarding the recruitment of
players to create second characters.
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