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Chapter 7- Afterwards
7.1- Closing Remarks
Over the
past 12-13 years, ASR has evolved into a complex environment or writers
and creators interacting with one another through cooperative fiction.
After all has been said and done, the real key to success- regardless
of the extent of support information and background that has been created-
is "cooperation."
Cooperation
comes in many forms in the world of ASR. We, as writers, first
and foremost, need to work with one another in advancing the plot of
the mission- what a lousy read it would be if every crew member went
off on his or her own tangent and contributed nothing to the plot!
All you'd get it 8 or 9 divergent threads that have nothing to do with
one another save for them happening on the same ship or starbase.
Not very compelling reading...
However,
cooperation goes beyond plot development. It goes to respecting
the creations of other players with whom we interact. For example,
no one would want a writer to portray his or her character in a light
that, while perhaps not unflattering, might not be consistent with his
or her idea of what his or her character is like. Oftentimes,
players create characters that are extensions of themselves; as such,
sometimes writers take their characters VERY seriously. We must
strive to respect this.
Cooperation
also extends to the administrative level- helping your fleet commanders
keep hios or her rosters up to date by keeping your unit's up to date,
volunteering to act as yoru unit's webmaster or timeline keeper, or
even volunteering to help out in the upper administrative levels of
ASR are all ways of immersing oneself with the team concept of ASR.
If everyone were to embrace this cooperative experience, there's no
telling to what heights we could climb.
See you
"out there!"
7.2- Free Threads and Villains
Many players
seek to expand beyond their primary PC at some point in their ASR experience;
the most common form of this is creating non-player characters- essentially
short character sketches of minor people inhabiting the ship or base-
that are needed for a specific post. Sometimes players develop
the departments their characters command; other times, they develop
civilians or spouses with whom their characters can interact.
However, there are other options for the more adventurous.
7.2.1- Free Threads
"Free Threads"
is a term used to describe units that are not, by definition, "conventional"-
in other words, something outside of the typical starship or starbase
experience. Therefore, a Marine Fighter Wing or a civilian news
service would constitute a "free thread."
In the past,
free threads were grouped into a single organizational umbrella, Ancillary
Fleet, which commanded by the Commander, Ancillary Fleet (COMANC).
We have had several different non-conventional units, including:
ASR currently
has one active free thread-
Task
Force Sierra, an intelligence operations unit mandated with ferreting
out Section 31, under the command of
GOLD Fleet
administration. A second free thread is being developed- Task
Force Delta, a marine fighter wing to be run fromt he RP unit USS KRONSTADT
in GREEN
Fleet. since there are only two free threads, a separate administrative
structure is not deemed necessary at this time.
If you are
interested in starting a free thread, contact your
fleet commander for information.
7.2.2- Villains
Let's face
it- "bad guys" are an integral part of all fiction- simply put, there
needs to be someone to capture or thwart or defeat, or even loose to
from time to time; without conflict, there is no plot. Therefore,
creating enemies and villains are critical to writing entertaining and
compelling cooperative fiction.
Usually,
villains are created one of two ways: either the command staff
creates the villains beforehand, or someone on the crew creates one
as needed during the course of the mission; in fact, it's usually some
combination of these two methods that happen during the course of a
mission. Therefore, you have two options if you wish to create a villain:
you can contact your commanding officer and pitch your idea to him or
her, or you can simply fill in as needed. Filling in as needed,
however, can sometimes blow a carefully-laid plan to smithereens; it
is suggested that you at least let the command staff know of your plans
before you spring a new Borg Queen on them. :)
7.3- The Round Table
The Round
Table is the semi-annual meeting (every April and October) that governs
ASR. Composed of unit CO's and members of the Flag Council, the
Round Table conducts elections for CINCSF and CSFO, considers amendments
to its bylaws, and works mainly to keep game play running smoothly for
the enjoyment of all.
This body
is the ultimate voice for ASR; it is who the CINCSF ultimately answers
to, and must make an account for his or her actions at each session,
as does the CSFO and the Secretary.
A more detailed
description of the responsibilities and actions of the RT can be found
in appendix S; a rundown
of the rules and procedures of the RT can be found in
appendix T. And, finally,
if you are interested in looking into past RT sessions, links to that
information can be found in
appendix
U.
7.4- Books and Reference
ASR has
a wealth of information at your disposal. Feel free to peruse
through each of the following links at your leisure. Be sure to
check out the Appendices to this
document as well- there is a lot of supplemental information to be found
there as well.
If you do
not find what you are looking for on any of these links, drop a line
to your commanding officer, fleet commander or the CINCSF, they can
and will assist wherever possible.
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