Post by Rugs on Jan 4, 2013 10:30:56 GMT -5
Hello, one and all! Time affects us all, and with time comes changes. Star Wars Universe RP and its many aspects are not exempt from this.
The old Fringe notes were very good, and very helpful to a lot of us, but as the years have worn on, the need for updating has grown larger and larger. So here is a new version of them that are much more up to date and in line with the way things have changed on SWU since the original version was posted in 2009.
Some information in this will carry over from the old version. Other things will be new. Over time the notes will be updated, and the last update date will be added to the Thread Title, as has always been the case. Eventually, the notes may need a major overhaul , like the last ones, by me or by whoever my successor is. But until then, these are your notes.
So, without any further ado....
Who belongs?
So before we get to the nuts and bolts about the character creation process in general, let's look at a few basic bits of information about the Fringe Section and the type of characters that go here.
The description of the section says this is for the 'scum of the Galaxy.' So that means this section is only for bad people, right? Miscreants, ne'er-do-wells, deviants, liars, thieves, murderers, and all-around bad people that you wouldn't want to bring home to mother.
Well yes. And no.
There are plenty of characters in the Fringe section that fit that description. There are some who are just rotten to the core. This section is their home, and we're happy to have them here. However, there are also plenty of characters that are good, mostly honest people that are heroic in their own right. And of course, we have those characters who are on the edge, and sometimes walk the fence between being good or bad.
The truth of Fringe is that this is a place for characters who exist and often operate outside the conventional establishment, in many ways. Smugglers, mercenaries, assassins, bounty hunters, etc. The list goes on and on. A retired military man turned mercenary, the child of a noble made into a pirate, a slaver who's grown up in the trade. All of these people, good or bad, call fringe their home. So if that character idea you have seems like they fit in here, they probably do. And if they don't, we'll let you know and point you to the right place.
Grey. Jedi?
Two commonly asked questions: What's a Grey Jedi? What if my character was never a Jedi?
Fear not, we understand your confusion. The term Grey Jedi has a number of meanings within the Star Wars Universe, and can even refer to Jedi that are still a part of the Order (hello Qui-Gon!). But we use the term here at SWU an umbrella to refer to those Force users out in the Galaxy that are not a part of the Jedi or Sith Orders and have not fallen to the Dark Side. Not a part of those groups but have fallen to the Dark Side? Well then you'd go in the Dark Jedi section.
So they're not Jedi or Sith. Does that mean they have to be neutral?
Nope! While the vast majority of Grey Jedi do fall into the more moderate area of the good/evil scale, there are some--like their regular fringe counterparts--that are truly good people and want to do good things. Remember you don't have to be a Jedi to be a good person who also happens to use the Force.
Can Grey Jedi belong to a group?
Yes! Absolutely. There are many organizations for Force users outside the traditional duality of the Jedi and Sith. Zeison Sha, Matukai, Jal Shey, Baron Do, even our own custom Stellar Mythics. The list is wide and varied, but if the group is around in our time period, is not one of the two major ones, and is not Dark-Side based, then the characters that belong to it go here.
Before we get to going over the application itself, here are a few helpful links for new member and veteran alike:
And here are some general tips:
General Information
Name: Simple! Everyone needs a name. Easy for some. Hard for others. What your character's name is will depend in large part on their species and culture. Do keep that in mind. If you're like me, though, coming up with names can be much more difficult than it should be. Here are some links to things that can help:
Race: This is for your character's species. As you can imagine, this has a huge impact on many aspects of your character, from stats to lifespan to birthplace to personality and even Force Sensitivity. Most species are allowed, if they're part of the Galactic Community in our time period. Most that aren't are listed in the Unallowed Aspects thread. For the few exceptions that may not be listed, a good general rule of thumb to use when trying to determine if a species can be used is this: if you have to ask yourself if it's too overpowered/ridiculous, it probably is, and if the article is only a little stub with no real information, it probably won't be allowed.
How to pick a species? Even on SWU there are a few different schools of thought on this. Some people like to have diversity in the races that make up their characters. Others aren't as worried about that (I fall into this camp, personally; all of my characters are human or near-human). Whatever you decide, keep in mind that race is an important aspect of character, no doubt, but the most important is character. That said, here's another link dump:
Age: Important! Affects things like bio length, height/weight, stats, and so on. Also should have an effect on the way your character behaves. Most 17-year-olds don't act like grizzled old war veterans, after all.
Birth Place: This should be the world, space station, ship, asteroid, or other location that your character was born on. City is optional, if you'd like to include that. Keep in mind that it should be fitting for your species. Some, like Humans, are very widespread throughout the Galaxy. Others, are less so.
Height: Should be in feet(') and inches("). For our metric-using friends, here is a handy converter. Write it numerically. For example, five feet, ten inches should be 5'10".
Weight: Should be in pounds (lbs). Here's a converter from kilograms to pounds if you're used to using metric. Like height, should be written numerically. Example: One hundred fifty two pounds should be 152 lbs.
Here[/url] is a height/weight chart for use to get an idea of what your height/weight should look like in tandem for your character. It's not perfect and doesn't account for things like musculature or the degree of body fat, but it's a generally-helpful place to start.
Eye Color: Pretty self explanatory. Just be sure it makes sense for your race.
Hair Color: Same as the above
Appearance: What does your character look like, of course? Pictures are allowed, as long as they aren't of a canon character. However, while pictures may be used, a written description is still an absolute requirement. Links can break, and words can describe things an image cannot. So even if it's redundant, describe your character fully: build, skin/fur/scale color, hair color and length/style, eyes, clothing, scarring or tattoos, missing or artificial limbs, even they way they carry themselves. It's all good information, and useful to your fellow roleplayers.
Personality: One of the most important areas of the character template. This is the basis of who your character really is; the character of your character, if you'll allow a bit of word play. Take some time with this, put some thought into it. Think about the characters likes and dislikes, their fears and goals or ambitions, consider how they are when new people, or how they act when they take a job or mission or go out on some adventure. How do they act when they get angry? What makes them angry? Putting some thought and some effort into this often does a great deal to help flesh out a character. An example I often use to help people with this is this: If you were stuck in an elevator for a few hours with your character and had nothing to do but talk with them and ask them questions, what sort of things would you notice?
Profession: The Fringe section the widest range of professions of any of the other sections. Here are the most common:
You can also include the faction your character belongs to here. For example, if you have a Grey Jedi that's a Matukai and does occasional Mercenary work, you could put 'Grey Jedi/Mercenary- Matukai'
Mastery Level: (Grey Jedi only) This is used to indicate your character's master of the Force. Here are the levels:
Previous Faction/Rank: What faction did your character belong to before they got to where they are. For some characters, this won't be an issue. Just put N/A if that applies. For others it will. Some will be former military, some will be former Jedi or Dark Jedi, and so on. Whatever applies, it goes here, along with whatever rank, profession, or level of ability the character was at the time of it. If your character belonged to multiple factions before winding up wherever the road of life has them now, just list them all accordingly.
Equipment: Things your character carries. Armor, weapons, personal affects, etc.
Starship: If it applies, of course. Not every character will have a ship. If not, just put N/A. If your character does have a ship, put the name with a link to the ship, which should be in the tech section. There you can make your own custom vessel, or use any number of the stock ones we have available. Do keep in mind that the ship you have should fit your character. Most vessels in Fringe will be personal ones; the odds of you having your own personal cruiser if you're just some lone wolf are exceptionally low.
Skills: Unique abilities that your character has. Many, many times these will reflect on what profession you've chosen for your character. A character usually shouldn't have more an 3-4 of these. If you want to list languages here, you may list them with the following scale for the knowledge of each: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Fluent.
Note that some things that people often list as skills don't really get counted as skills here. Persuasion, for example, is a good thing to have, but that's more a personality aspect than a skill itself. It also depends on writing; if a character is listed as being persuasive, but doesn't do anything to be persuasive IC, then having that Persuasion listed as a skill isn't going to do a whole lot to help them.
Lightsaber: (Grey Jedi Only) Your character's lightsaber and type, if they have one. This is a list of lightsaber varieties. Most are allowed, though some, like whips, are not. Your character's lightsaber must be a type that exists within the canon universe. User-made variations are not allowed.
Color: (Grey Jedi Only) The blade color of the lightsaber(s). Most anything you can think of is available for use, save black, white, clear (it's been tried), and ultraviolet (not even a color, but also been tried).
Stats
Ah, stats. The one section that tends to get the most attention outside the bio. These can be contentious, and are often the source of misunderstanding. So I'm going to take some particular care to break these down and try to make the way they're judged and handled as clear as I can. Moving along through the app as it's laid out, we'll start with lightsabers.
Practiced Lightsaber Forms: (Grey Jedi Only)
Shii-Cho:
Makashi :
Soresu :
Ataru :
Shien / Djem So:
>>Sub-form Backhanded:
Niman:
>>Sub-form Jar-kai, or Dual Wield:
Juyo:
Double Bladed Combat:
This is to show your character's ability in the 7 lightsaber forms. Points are assigned to them on a 1-5 scale. Which ones you pick for your character is up to you. However there are a few guidelines to keep in mind.
Shii-Cho is the basic form and it's a site rule that it has to be learned in the course of learning to use a lightsaber. Jedi or not, if your character uses a lightsaber, they have to learn Shii-Cho. Other forms can be learned while Shii-Cho is still in the process of being mastered, but the score cannot pass what the one in Shii-Cho is. For example, if you have a 3 in Shii-Cho, any other form learned cannot go higher than that.
A general rule of thumb is that it takes 2 years of training to get 1 point in a lightsaber form. So keep that in mind.
Juyo cannot be learned as a beginner form. The nature of the form is such that only experienced duelists can learn it. In order to begin getting points in Juyo, your character must first have 3 other forms--including Shii-Cho--mastered.
Force Attributes: (Grey Jedi only)
Telekinetic: 0 - 10
Telepathic: 0 - 10
Body: 0 - 10
Sense:0 – 10
Protection: 0 - 10
Healing: 0 – 10
Destruction: 0 – 5
These represent the different schools of Force abilities. These all go on the typical 1-10 scale that we use for everything outside of saber stats, with the exception of Destruction. If you hit the point where you're that steeped in the Dark Side, then you belong in the Dark Jedi section.
Each comes with its own unique abilities, strengths and drawbacks. What combination of strengths and weaknesses you want to have with your character and the way they use their Force abilities is completely up to you. However--and I may say this several times in this section of the notes--you want to remember to keep balance in mind.
Specialized Powers: (Grey Jedi Only) This is for powers on the Special Powers list in the Force Powers Thread. General skills go in the Skills section. And normal powers like Force Push/Pull, Jump, etc don't go here, as they fall into the various sections within the Force Attributes. A character typically won't have more than 3 or 4 of these at most.
Attributes:
Physical Strength:
Intelligence:
Speed:
Leadership:
Unarmed:
Melee Weapons:
Ranged Weapons:
These are attributes common to all characters in this section, and even all characters on the site. They're all more or less what the tin says. What species you have will often play a big role in what these scores can be, especially the physical attributes.
I can hear you asking now: Okay, I see I've got all these stats to worry about and all that, but how do I assign points? How do I know what score counts for what?
Never fear. There's an explanation. You might want to fasten up for it, but here we go:
Learned Attributes
Applies for Force Powers as well
---
This (7) and up needs a sufficient amount of support in bio. The higher the number, the better it has to be explained. If it cannot be explained satisfactorily, you will be asked to expand upon it in the bio or to bring it down.
---
Physical Attributes
All physical stats are scaled against an adult Human male that's in reasonably good physical condition.
---
This (7) and up needs a sufficient amount of support in bio. The higher the number, the better it has to be explained. If it cannot be explained satisfactorily, you will be asked to expand upon it in the bio or to bring it down.
---
It should be noted that the increase between stat levels gets higher as the score increases. The difference between 7 and 8 is larger than the difference between 1 and 2. As such, stats get weighed more and more heavily as they get up, and the amount of time it takes to increase between them gets longer and longer.
The bio. The terror at the heart of the application. The leviathan that towers tall and dark and scary against the sky, threatening to sweep away hopes and dreams and leave applicants battered and sorrowful...
Well, not really. Or it doesn't have to be.
Let's get this out of the way first: the two sections that often need to be corrected the most are stats and the bio. Of those, the bio is often the most difficult, because it requires far more work to go back and perhaps rethink a flashpoint or scenario in a character's life than it does to hit backspace and change a number.
So how can we make this easier? What do we look for?
As I've said before, at SWU we keep a different, often higher standard to our application process than many, many other RP sites do. It can be intimidating for some, but the typical 'formula' that we use as we go over bios is honestly pretty simple: We want bios that make sense within the confines of reasonable suspension of disbelief, and bios that are detailed enough to get a grasp of who the character really is.
Let's look at those parts individually.
Making Sense of Things
Making sense. What does that mean?
Rest easy. Most of the times when this element comes into play during the review process it's mechanical, for lack of a better word. The Star Wars universe is a deep one, and beyond that, we have our own in-house rules for things that are sometimes missed or overlooked (some of the finer details of making a Jedi are set to standards set for the site, for example) and that can lead to the need for them to get corrected. So if something like that is noticed, it'll usually get pointed out with a correction as to what's up and why, and how to fix it.
Other times, the ridiculous invades a bio and has to be addressed. Yes, many people want their characters to be exceptional and most player characters here are, in their own ways. However, if say, your thirteen year old force user that's never harmed a fly, or, to that point even used the Force walks into, say, a mercenary encampment and proceeds to slay them with the weight and might of his awesome power that he suddenly discovered, then we're going to have to tell you to fix it. It may be cool, but, unfortunately, it just doesn't really make sense. Obviously I exaggerate, but you see what I'm getting at here.
I hope.
Details, Details, Details...
We like these things here at SWU. It's often the smaller details that are added to a bio that really show who a character is and help the writer learn more about them as they're developing them.
So what does this mean? How much do you have to write for a character?
To start, there's not a set limit. You may here a few measures tossed around like, 'one paragraph for every two years' or something similar, but in truth I tend to look at each as I get them. There are a few things that are easy, like if there's a fifty year old character with three paragraphs' worth of bio; obviously that won't work. But like our magic 13-year-old from the previous section, it's an exaggeration for effect.
Instead, what I would advise is this: keep a steady pace, describing events and the doings of your character generally as you go along. Do I need to know every time your character fell and scraped her knee? No. But if your character is say, a bounty hunter and spends a few years out doing some bounties, give me a taste of what they were. Not every one in detail, necessarily, but more than "Bounty hunter went around the Galaxy for five years doing bounties." Remember, it's these bios that we use to judge the character.
Similarly, when you hit something that has a major affect on the character's lift, don't be afraid to slow down and give it some love and show some detail. If your bounty hunter's story has been culminating to a showdown with some long-time arch-nemesis and they finally meet to have their battle, don't just tell me 'they met and fought and bounty hunter won.' Slow down. Work it out a bit. Show what happened. Major events in your character's life shape them and make them into who they are, and they deserve a little extra so they stand out from the rest of the bio.
Now, how long do your bios have to be, I ask again? Generally, if you do all that, and put a little bit of time into a bio, you won't have a problem with length. Some characters--even some of my own--have extraordinarily long bios, but that's the exception, not the rule.
Bits and Pieces
Remember, each of the character application sections here have their own notes. If you're character is one that belonged to another faction--especially Jedi--be sure to check those notes out to see if there's any pertinent information for you, so we don't have to take up time going over something you might have been able to find out otherwise.
Don't be afraid to do some research. Wookieepedia is a great source of information for Star Wars; on the internet, it's the source. It's not infallible, but as far as a place to look up things you need to know, it's hard to do better for free. So if you want to look at something, look there. There are a few instances where the site goes by its own rules on an issue, but we'll let you know if that conflict arises.
Ask questions! If you have a question while you're working on your bio, ask! The staff and section moderators are here to help! Just click on the Section Moderator's name and send a PM with any questions you may have. We don't at all mind helping someone out with questions, and many times this can help avoid issues that may come up later when the time for a review comes.
And last of all, have fun. Some people just enjoy the bio-writing process more than others. That's just how we are. But write something you like. If you do, it usually shows in your writing, and that usually makes reviews easier for everyone involved.
RP Sample: This is the last part of the app. If you've made it here, congratulations! You're almost home free! The RP Sample has to be written for this character in the way you intend to play them. It can't be an example lifted from another site. We use this to check up on how you play your character and to be sure all's in order. And if you use colors in your text and they're hard to see, I'll sometimes point that out for convenience.
The old Fringe notes were very good, and very helpful to a lot of us, but as the years have worn on, the need for updating has grown larger and larger. So here is a new version of them that are much more up to date and in line with the way things have changed on SWU since the original version was posted in 2009.
Some information in this will carry over from the old version. Other things will be new. Over time the notes will be updated, and the last update date will be added to the Thread Title, as has always been the case. Eventually, the notes may need a major overhaul , like the last ones, by me or by whoever my successor is. But until then, these are your notes.
So, without any further ado....
Fringe: The Basics
Who belongs?
So before we get to the nuts and bolts about the character creation process in general, let's look at a few basic bits of information about the Fringe Section and the type of characters that go here.
The description of the section says this is for the 'scum of the Galaxy.' So that means this section is only for bad people, right? Miscreants, ne'er-do-wells, deviants, liars, thieves, murderers, and all-around bad people that you wouldn't want to bring home to mother.
Well yes. And no.
There are plenty of characters in the Fringe section that fit that description. There are some who are just rotten to the core. This section is their home, and we're happy to have them here. However, there are also plenty of characters that are good, mostly honest people that are heroic in their own right. And of course, we have those characters who are on the edge, and sometimes walk the fence between being good or bad.
The truth of Fringe is that this is a place for characters who exist and often operate outside the conventional establishment, in many ways. Smugglers, mercenaries, assassins, bounty hunters, etc. The list goes on and on. A retired military man turned mercenary, the child of a noble made into a pirate, a slaver who's grown up in the trade. All of these people, good or bad, call fringe their home. So if that character idea you have seems like they fit in here, they probably do. And if they don't, we'll let you know and point you to the right place.
Grey. Jedi?
Two commonly asked questions: What's a Grey Jedi? What if my character was never a Jedi?
Fear not, we understand your confusion. The term Grey Jedi has a number of meanings within the Star Wars Universe, and can even refer to Jedi that are still a part of the Order (hello Qui-Gon!). But we use the term here at SWU an umbrella to refer to those Force users out in the Galaxy that are not a part of the Jedi or Sith Orders and have not fallen to the Dark Side. Not a part of those groups but have fallen to the Dark Side? Well then you'd go in the Dark Jedi section.
So they're not Jedi or Sith. Does that mean they have to be neutral?
Nope! While the vast majority of Grey Jedi do fall into the more moderate area of the good/evil scale, there are some--like their regular fringe counterparts--that are truly good people and want to do good things. Remember you don't have to be a Jedi to be a good person who also happens to use the Force.
Can Grey Jedi belong to a group?
Yes! Absolutely. There are many organizations for Force users outside the traditional duality of the Jedi and Sith. Zeison Sha, Matukai, Jal Shey, Baron Do, even our own custom Stellar Mythics. The list is wide and varied, but if the group is around in our time period, is not one of the two major ones, and is not Dark-Side based, then the characters that belong to it go here.
General Information
Before we get to going over the application itself, here are a few helpful links for new member and veteran alike:
And here are some general tips:
- Take a look around! It's always helpful to take a peek at some approved profiles. Especially if you're someone who's new to SWU. We keep a different standard than many other RP sites, and while the staff is here and more than willing to work with you to get your character approved and out into the world, it's never a bad idea to see what some already-approved applications are like, and what was asked of them.
- When you make a thread, use only the character's name in the title. If they go by their name as regular, put that there, using their given name and surname. If they go by some nickname, use that, if that's the primary thing you intend to refer to them by.
- You're more than welcome to put a character app up while you're still working on them. If you do, just be sure to put 'WIP' in the title so that the moderator can be aware that they're a character still being worked on. When you're done, just remove the WIP from the title and post that you're done to let the moderator know the character is complete.
- It's not unusual to have to go through a round or even a few rounds of review before a character is ready for approval. Keep in mind that we want to work with you to be sure the character's up to the standards that we keep and apply to everyone else. Don't be intimidated, and please, if you have any questions, you may always feel free to message the moderator to ask them.
- During the review process, when you've made changes that may have been requested, just post saying that you have done so so that the moderator can be aware.
The Application: Nitty Gritty
Here we are, at the application. This is the meat of the notes, and I'll be going over each section and making notations for them. With some I may have a little to say, with others, there may be a lot. So bear with me.
[/i]General Information
Name: Simple! Everyone needs a name. Easy for some. Hard for others. What your character's name is will depend in large part on their species and culture. Do keep that in mind. If you're like me, though, coming up with names can be much more difficult than it should be. Here are some links to things that can help:
Race: This is for your character's species. As you can imagine, this has a huge impact on many aspects of your character, from stats to lifespan to birthplace to personality and even Force Sensitivity. Most species are allowed, if they're part of the Galactic Community in our time period. Most that aren't are listed in the Unallowed Aspects thread. For the few exceptions that may not be listed, a good general rule of thumb to use when trying to determine if a species can be used is this: if you have to ask yourself if it's too overpowered/ridiculous, it probably is, and if the article is only a little stub with no real information, it probably won't be allowed.
How to pick a species? Even on SWU there are a few different schools of thought on this. Some people like to have diversity in the races that make up their characters. Others aren't as worried about that (I fall into this camp, personally; all of my characters are human or near-human). Whatever you decide, keep in mind that race is an important aspect of character, no doubt, but the most important is character. That said, here's another link dump:
- Lemur and Dutch's Diversity Challenge
- The SWU Census
- Sentient Species by Biology
- Custom Species(Ask the creator for permission, if possible)
Age: Important! Affects things like bio length, height/weight, stats, and so on. Also should have an effect on the way your character behaves. Most 17-year-olds don't act like grizzled old war veterans, after all.
Birth Place: This should be the world, space station, ship, asteroid, or other location that your character was born on. City is optional, if you'd like to include that. Keep in mind that it should be fitting for your species. Some, like Humans, are very widespread throughout the Galaxy. Others, are less so.
Height: Should be in feet(') and inches("). For our metric-using friends, here is a handy converter. Write it numerically. For example, five feet, ten inches should be 5'10".
Weight: Should be in pounds (lbs). Here's a converter from kilograms to pounds if you're used to using metric. Like height, should be written numerically. Example: One hundred fifty two pounds should be 152 lbs.
Here[/url] is a height/weight chart for use to get an idea of what your height/weight should look like in tandem for your character. It's not perfect and doesn't account for things like musculature or the degree of body fat, but it's a generally-helpful place to start.
Eye Color: Pretty self explanatory. Just be sure it makes sense for your race.
Hair Color: Same as the above
Appearance: What does your character look like, of course? Pictures are allowed, as long as they aren't of a canon character. However, while pictures may be used, a written description is still an absolute requirement. Links can break, and words can describe things an image cannot. So even if it's redundant, describe your character fully: build, skin/fur/scale color, hair color and length/style, eyes, clothing, scarring or tattoos, missing or artificial limbs, even they way they carry themselves. It's all good information, and useful to your fellow roleplayers.
Personality: One of the most important areas of the character template. This is the basis of who your character really is; the character of your character, if you'll allow a bit of word play. Take some time with this, put some thought into it. Think about the characters likes and dislikes, their fears and goals or ambitions, consider how they are when new people, or how they act when they take a job or mission or go out on some adventure. How do they act when they get angry? What makes them angry? Putting some thought and some effort into this often does a great deal to help flesh out a character. An example I often use to help people with this is this: If you were stuck in an elevator for a few hours with your character and had nothing to do but talk with them and ask them questions, what sort of things would you notice?
Profession: The Fringe section the widest range of professions of any of the other sections. Here are the most common:
- Mercenary- One of the broader categories. People who take on jobs for money. Escorting ships, soldiers for hire, hunting people, finding people, killing people, on and on and on.
- Bounty Hunter- Characters that hunt people for pay. Contracts go up, these people take them and attempt to carry them, whether that involves bringing someone in dead or alive.
- Assassin- Similar to bounty hunters, but these people focus on killing targets. Typically--but certainly not always--more quiet about it than bounty hunters are.
- Smuggler- Another common profession. Smugglers move materials or people to places they're not supposed to go to. They can be good people, but their work, by definition, is pretty much always illegal in some way.
- Pirate- Work in groups. Take things from other people. Often target ships, but can target space stations or outposts and so on if they have the numbers and ability.
- Crime Lord- Some of the big dogs of the Fringe world. Run and oversee criminal groups, large and small. Often also have the monetary rewards of such, along with the need to be wary of the law. Prone to killing each other over competition.
- Terrorist- Attack civilian targets to try to spread the ideals of whatever it is their fighting for. Typically political or religious. Can work in groups or be loners.
- Grey Jedi- As has been said already, an umbrella term for Force users in the section. There's typically some overlap with another grouping, but they get grouped here to note their Force sensitivity. Can be loners or members of a group. If enough members of a group emerge, they can get their own grouping, as with the Stellar Mythics.
- Fringers- The general category. Have a fringe character but don't really fit into any of the other groups? Just kinda floating along? Well, they'll go here.
You can also include the faction your character belongs to here. For example, if you have a Grey Jedi that's a Matukai and does occasional Mercenary work, you could put 'Grey Jedi/Mercenary- Matukai'
Mastery Level: (Grey Jedi only) This is used to indicate your character's master of the Force. Here are the levels:
- Force Sensitive- For characters that are Force Sensitive, but don't know they are or are untrained.
- Apprentice- Character is beginning training or is still in the process of being trained. Roughly equivalent to a Padawan in the Jedi Order.
- Knight- Denotes a character of average ability in the Force. Like with the Force Character Application sections, a character must be at least 22 years old.
- Master- A highly-trained, powerful user of the Force. Must be at least 32 years old.
Previous Faction/Rank: What faction did your character belong to before they got to where they are. For some characters, this won't be an issue. Just put N/A if that applies. For others it will. Some will be former military, some will be former Jedi or Dark Jedi, and so on. Whatever applies, it goes here, along with whatever rank, profession, or level of ability the character was at the time of it. If your character belonged to multiple factions before winding up wherever the road of life has them now, just list them all accordingly.
Equipment: Things your character carries. Armor, weapons, personal affects, etc.
Starship: If it applies, of course. Not every character will have a ship. If not, just put N/A. If your character does have a ship, put the name with a link to the ship, which should be in the tech section. There you can make your own custom vessel, or use any number of the stock ones we have available. Do keep in mind that the ship you have should fit your character. Most vessels in Fringe will be personal ones; the odds of you having your own personal cruiser if you're just some lone wolf are exceptionally low.
Skills: Unique abilities that your character has. Many, many times these will reflect on what profession you've chosen for your character. A character usually shouldn't have more an 3-4 of these. If you want to list languages here, you may list them with the following scale for the knowledge of each: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Fluent.
Note that some things that people often list as skills don't really get counted as skills here. Persuasion, for example, is a good thing to have, but that's more a personality aspect than a skill itself. It also depends on writing; if a character is listed as being persuasive, but doesn't do anything to be persuasive IC, then having that Persuasion listed as a skill isn't going to do a whole lot to help them.
Lightsaber: (Grey Jedi Only) Your character's lightsaber and type, if they have one. This is a list of lightsaber varieties. Most are allowed, though some, like whips, are not. Your character's lightsaber must be a type that exists within the canon universe. User-made variations are not allowed.
Color: (Grey Jedi Only) The blade color of the lightsaber(s). Most anything you can think of is available for use, save black, white, clear (it's been tried), and ultraviolet (not even a color, but also been tried).
Stats
Ah, stats. The one section that tends to get the most attention outside the bio. These can be contentious, and are often the source of misunderstanding. So I'm going to take some particular care to break these down and try to make the way they're judged and handled as clear as I can. Moving along through the app as it's laid out, we'll start with lightsabers.
Practiced Lightsaber Forms: (Grey Jedi Only)
Shii-Cho:
Makashi :
Soresu :
Ataru :
Shien / Djem So:
>>Sub-form Backhanded:
Niman:
>>Sub-form Jar-kai, or Dual Wield:
Juyo:
Double Bladed Combat:
This is to show your character's ability in the 7 lightsaber forms. Points are assigned to them on a 1-5 scale. Which ones you pick for your character is up to you. However there are a few guidelines to keep in mind.
Shii-Cho is the basic form and it's a site rule that it has to be learned in the course of learning to use a lightsaber. Jedi or not, if your character uses a lightsaber, they have to learn Shii-Cho. Other forms can be learned while Shii-Cho is still in the process of being mastered, but the score cannot pass what the one in Shii-Cho is. For example, if you have a 3 in Shii-Cho, any other form learned cannot go higher than that.
A general rule of thumb is that it takes 2 years of training to get 1 point in a lightsaber form. So keep that in mind.
Juyo cannot be learned as a beginner form. The nature of the form is such that only experienced duelists can learn it. In order to begin getting points in Juyo, your character must first have 3 other forms--including Shii-Cho--mastered.
Force Attributes: (Grey Jedi only)
Telekinetic: 0 - 10
Telepathic: 0 - 10
Body: 0 - 10
Sense:0 – 10
Protection: 0 - 10
Healing: 0 – 10
Destruction: 0 – 5
These represent the different schools of Force abilities. These all go on the typical 1-10 scale that we use for everything outside of saber stats, with the exception of Destruction. If you hit the point where you're that steeped in the Dark Side, then you belong in the Dark Jedi section.
Each comes with its own unique abilities, strengths and drawbacks. What combination of strengths and weaknesses you want to have with your character and the way they use their Force abilities is completely up to you. However--and I may say this several times in this section of the notes--you want to remember to keep balance in mind.
Specialized Powers: (Grey Jedi Only) This is for powers on the Special Powers list in the Force Powers Thread. General skills go in the Skills section. And normal powers like Force Push/Pull, Jump, etc don't go here, as they fall into the various sections within the Force Attributes. A character typically won't have more than 3 or 4 of these at most.
Attributes:
Physical Strength:
Intelligence:
Speed:
Leadership:
Unarmed:
Melee Weapons:
Ranged Weapons:
These are attributes common to all characters in this section, and even all characters on the site. They're all more or less what the tin says. What species you have will often play a big role in what these scores can be, especially the physical attributes.
I can hear you asking now: Okay, I see I've got all these stats to worry about and all that, but how do I assign points? How do I know what score counts for what?
Never fear. There's an explanation. You might want to fasten up for it, but here we go:
Learned Attributes
Applies for Force Powers as well
- 0-1: No experience
- 2-3: No experience with a small degree of natural ability, or very little training
- 4: Below Average- Has had some training or instruction, but below average, due to a lack of extensive training or a lack of aptitude
- 5: Average among those with training
- 6: Above average. Shows a substantial amount of training and experience, and a good aptitude for a skill. Still requires some sort of backing up
---
This (7) and up needs a sufficient amount of support in bio. The higher the number, the better it has to be explained. If it cannot be explained satisfactorily, you will be asked to expand upon it in the bio or to bring it down.
---
- 7: Very Good- Extensive training and experience. Shows a very strong aptitude. Beginning of the 'expert/master' levels of ability
- 8: Extremely Good- Shows a very high degree of natural aptitude and at least a decade of focused, dedicated training and experience. Usually not approved until the character is around 30 at the youngest.
- 9 : Among the best in the Galaxy- Requires an extremely high level of natural aptitude, along with at the very least 20-25 years of focused, dedicated use and/or training in the area. Note that saying 'Character trained in such and such for 20/25+ years' and automatically expect a 9. It takes a high level of writing ability and a lot of effort to be trusted with one.
- 10 Perfect- Unallowed. Only there for reference. There are maybe one or two characters that have a ten (none that are currently active at the time of this writing) but they old, and are protected by the grandfather clause.
Physical Attributes
All physical stats are scaled against an adult Human male that's in reasonably good physical condition.
- 0-2: Very weak, or very slow. Not applicable for most species or most characters who are in good health
- 3: Still rather weak. Usually seen in children or individuals that are very ill or weakened for some other reason. May apply to some smaller species.
- 4: For Strength, average for Human or most near-human females. Below average speed; average for some of the larger, more lumbering races
- 5: Average speed and strength for an adult Human male in reasonably good physical condition.
- 6: Above average strength speed and strength for a human male. Females typically peak here. Most very healthy, very athletic individuals fit into this score.
For species that are somewhat stronger/faster than Humans, this would be an average score for an adult male in reasonably good physical condition.
---
This (7) and up needs a sufficient amount of support in bio. The higher the number, the better it has to be explained. If it cannot be explained satisfactorily, you will be asked to expand upon it in the bio or to bring it down.
---
- 7: For speed and strength, this is the peak for Humans and most near Humans, along with species that fit into that type of 'normal' range (like Twi'leks, Rodians, and so on). Strength is comparable to a professional bodybuilder; speed to an Olympic runner.
Slightly below average strength score for some of the stronger species.
- 8-9: For strength, this is where the stronger species like Togorians, Wookiees, Trandoshans, and so on usually fall. An 8 would be average, with a 9 being the peak. For speed, only the fastest species usually reach this.
- 10: Unallowed. Only available as a reference.
It should be noted that the increase between stat levels gets higher as the score increases. The difference between 7 and 8 is larger than the difference between 1 and 2. As such, stats get weighed more and more heavily as they get up, and the amount of time it takes to increase between them gets longer and longer.
The Bio
The bio. The terror at the heart of the application. The leviathan that towers tall and dark and scary against the sky, threatening to sweep away hopes and dreams and leave applicants battered and sorrowful...
Well, not really. Or it doesn't have to be.
Let's get this out of the way first: the two sections that often need to be corrected the most are stats and the bio. Of those, the bio is often the most difficult, because it requires far more work to go back and perhaps rethink a flashpoint or scenario in a character's life than it does to hit backspace and change a number.
So how can we make this easier? What do we look for?
As I've said before, at SWU we keep a different, often higher standard to our application process than many, many other RP sites do. It can be intimidating for some, but the typical 'formula' that we use as we go over bios is honestly pretty simple: We want bios that make sense within the confines of reasonable suspension of disbelief, and bios that are detailed enough to get a grasp of who the character really is.
Let's look at those parts individually.
Making Sense of Things
Making sense. What does that mean?
Rest easy. Most of the times when this element comes into play during the review process it's mechanical, for lack of a better word. The Star Wars universe is a deep one, and beyond that, we have our own in-house rules for things that are sometimes missed or overlooked (some of the finer details of making a Jedi are set to standards set for the site, for example) and that can lead to the need for them to get corrected. So if something like that is noticed, it'll usually get pointed out with a correction as to what's up and why, and how to fix it.
Other times, the ridiculous invades a bio and has to be addressed. Yes, many people want their characters to be exceptional and most player characters here are, in their own ways. However, if say, your thirteen year old force user that's never harmed a fly, or, to that point even used the Force walks into, say, a mercenary encampment and proceeds to slay them with the weight and might of his awesome power that he suddenly discovered, then we're going to have to tell you to fix it. It may be cool, but, unfortunately, it just doesn't really make sense. Obviously I exaggerate, but you see what I'm getting at here.
I hope.
Details, Details, Details...
We like these things here at SWU. It's often the smaller details that are added to a bio that really show who a character is and help the writer learn more about them as they're developing them.
So what does this mean? How much do you have to write for a character?
To start, there's not a set limit. You may here a few measures tossed around like, 'one paragraph for every two years' or something similar, but in truth I tend to look at each as I get them. There are a few things that are easy, like if there's a fifty year old character with three paragraphs' worth of bio; obviously that won't work. But like our magic 13-year-old from the previous section, it's an exaggeration for effect.
Instead, what I would advise is this: keep a steady pace, describing events and the doings of your character generally as you go along. Do I need to know every time your character fell and scraped her knee? No. But if your character is say, a bounty hunter and spends a few years out doing some bounties, give me a taste of what they were. Not every one in detail, necessarily, but more than "Bounty hunter went around the Galaxy for five years doing bounties." Remember, it's these bios that we use to judge the character.
Similarly, when you hit something that has a major affect on the character's lift, don't be afraid to slow down and give it some love and show some detail. If your bounty hunter's story has been culminating to a showdown with some long-time arch-nemesis and they finally meet to have their battle, don't just tell me 'they met and fought and bounty hunter won.' Slow down. Work it out a bit. Show what happened. Major events in your character's life shape them and make them into who they are, and they deserve a little extra so they stand out from the rest of the bio.
Now, how long do your bios have to be, I ask again? Generally, if you do all that, and put a little bit of time into a bio, you won't have a problem with length. Some characters--even some of my own--have extraordinarily long bios, but that's the exception, not the rule.
Bits and Pieces
Remember, each of the character application sections here have their own notes. If you're character is one that belonged to another faction--especially Jedi--be sure to check those notes out to see if there's any pertinent information for you, so we don't have to take up time going over something you might have been able to find out otherwise.
Don't be afraid to do some research. Wookieepedia is a great source of information for Star Wars; on the internet, it's the source. It's not infallible, but as far as a place to look up things you need to know, it's hard to do better for free. So if you want to look at something, look there. There are a few instances where the site goes by its own rules on an issue, but we'll let you know if that conflict arises.
Ask questions! If you have a question while you're working on your bio, ask! The staff and section moderators are here to help! Just click on the Section Moderator's name and send a PM with any questions you may have. We don't at all mind helping someone out with questions, and many times this can help avoid issues that may come up later when the time for a review comes.
And last of all, have fun. Some people just enjoy the bio-writing process more than others. That's just how we are. But write something you like. If you do, it usually shows in your writing, and that usually makes reviews easier for everyone involved.
RP Sample: This is the last part of the app. If you've made it here, congratulations! You're almost home free! The RP Sample has to be written for this character in the way you intend to play them. It can't be an example lifted from another site. We use this to check up on how you play your character and to be sure all's in order. And if you use colors in your text and they're hard to see, I'll sometimes point that out for convenience.