test content
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc

Captain's Table - All New Players Start Here! (Community written guide to this forum)

supergaminggeeksupergaminggeek Member Posts: 616 Arc User
edited November 2014 in Captain's Table (RP)
Introduction


Hello, and welcome to Captain's Table. This thread is intended to be a One Stop Shop for newcomers and veterans alike, to help players find games and games find players, and to allow for discussion among members of the community.

What is the Captain's Table all about? It's about role-playing a character in a Star Trek that is free-form and open ended, with no GM and with new players welcome to join at any time.


"Hi. I'm new here! How do I get started?"
Welcome! Every role-playing thread is different, and more will come to exist after this guide is written. Start by posting here in the RP Central thread and introducing yourself. Tell us what kind of role-play you're interested in. Someone will come along and direct you to the current OOC thread of the universe that is right for you. While you're waiting, read the FAQ below and browse the index in the post below to familiarize yourself with the sub-forum.

"None of these settings are what I want. How do I start my own?"
Anyone can start a game up at any time. There is no approval process. However, there are some guidelines that are recommended to help avoid early game death from lack of interest:

1. Check in at this thread first with your idea. Let's say you want to start a Klingon Honour Guard theme. If there is already a Klingon Honour Guard themed game, then check it out first. Maybe you'll decide you'll have enough fun in the existing universe that you stop here.

2. If you think your Klingon Honour Guard universe is different enough to want to continue, then recruit some players., since most of the players in Captain's Table are already involved in role-play universes and may not be looking for more games to play in.

3. Once you've collected some players, go ahead and start your thread. This is the important part: CHOOSE A THREAD TAG to identify your game, and make sure it is in brackets at the start of the title of every thread you make.

4. Watch this thread for new people introducing themselves and looking for places to role-play. Invite them to your thread! Role-play! Have fun!

5. Once your game has been going for six months: Congratulations! Most new games do not survive this long! Post the information you'd like to go in the index and pat yourselves on the back.
---
General guides to Captain's Table:


These settings obviously cater to different audiences and employ different genres, moods, tones, and themes. But they do share a few things in common, these being the rules. Now, these rules aren't absolutes. Different universes, threads, and posters might be more or less permissive than these rules, and there is always room for a little variation. If there is a conflict between these rules and the rules of a specific setting, or a specific thread within that setting, those will have priority over these general guidelines.

Godmodding: What it is and How to Avoid it
Godmodding: Taking control of someone else's character without their expressive permission. This term applies to any extent of control, especially including any reactions to something you have done.

Using this definition of godmodding condenses our rule ?Do not Godmod? to one very simple but inclusive rule: Do not control someone else?s character. This seems a simple enough thing to avoid, but in some situations (such as combat) people take control in a limited way without realizing it.
Still using combat as our example, here are three examples of godmodding. One blatant, one general, and one subtle in successive order:

1. Vael shoots a phaser at (PC) and the energy rends (PC) who falls dead with a wail.
2. Vael swings a sword at (PC) and strikes home, leaving a small angry red line of blood.
The third example is split into two posts by two separate people to show the entire situation:
3. Post (PC) ? (PC) draws his weapon and readies himself for combat, going on the defensive.
Post (Vael) ? Vael slashes (NPC), giving him a gaping wound and reverses the attack, striking at (PC)

The first example of godmodding is obvious, I attacked someone and killed them, usurping all of their control over their character, not even allowing them to describe how they died.
The second example is fairly noticeable as well. I attacked and rather than allowing them control over their character, I went ahead and said that they were hit rather than giving them a chance to respond.
The last one is a rather subtle godmod, though it is still there. I did not post a definite reaction for the PC, only saying that I attacked them. I did not kill anyone?s NPC without their permission, only using the NPC with general licence. However, what I did do was presume that I hit the NPC. What if (PC), or another person nearby had wanted to prevent me from harming the NPC? I effectively denied them a chance to react to my attack, though my use of the NPC was okay.

Godmodding in non-combat situations is just as bad as doing it within combat. Some examples of non-combat godmodding are as follows:

1. Vael injects a hypospray and cures (PC)?s wounds.
2. Stealthily Vael picks (PC)?s pocket and steals (something).
3. Vael dodges the bouncer blocking the door and runs outside.

In the first example I did not allow someone the chance to say how grievous their injury was, or even if they had something that would resist healing spells. In short, they lost a chance to react. You would normally assume people like getting healed, but in town people are crazy, so you never know.
Second example. What if the character is sharp-eyed, clever, or simple lucky? Again, try to do something rather than succeed.
Third example. Now this seems okay, and perhaps in responding to someone else?s post it would be. But if someone says ?I block the door? and you run past them without letting them respond, it is godmodding. This, perhaps, is not the best example, as it could be either godmodding or a reaction statement that is fine. I include it merely so that you can see that there are different levels to godmodding, and that it is complex to determine whether some things are godmodding are not. If you aren't sure, don?t act, try to act.

Now that I have defined godmodding and given some examples, the question to answer is: How can I avoid godmodding by accident?
The answer is this: You can try to do anything to someone, but they control what actually happens to themselves. Never deny someone a chance to react, no matter what you do. Before you post, consider what you have written. Do you directly affect someone with it, adversely or positively? Do you block them off from some options that someone would normally have in their situation? If the answer to either question is yes, you probably need to revise your post.
Note, however, that the definition states that this is only godmodding if you do not have someone's permission. If you obtain someone?s OOC permission to godmod, then feel free to godmod against them within their restraints. However, I recommend that you merely work out someone's response before time, just in case something unexpected comes up (like another player interfering).

However, just as bad as taking control of someone else's character is making your own never get affected by them.
"The counter part to an irresistible force is an immovable object." Therefore, you should let people at least achieve SOMETHING when they attempt to affect you. You don't have to all the time, but if your character is continually "immovable" you will be godmodding, and people will be extremely likely to ignore you. So don't just "I dodge" everything, okay? Let people do something to you if they try.
Also note that there is another form of godmodding similar to the above, which will be known as 'passive godmodding'. Passive godmodding is when a player ignores an entirely legitimate post for little to no reason. If you miss reading a post, that is one thing, but to ignore a post intentionally is very bad form. You are allowed to react to someone's post in nearly any way you want, but ignoring it really should not be done unless they are godmodding or adversely affecting an ongoing plot without permission.

Threads

As stated way back at the beginning of this guide, in Captain's Table, a thread represents a location in which interactions take place. In larger universes, you move your character from place to place by moving from thread to thread. Some universes may take place within a single thread.

There are a few different types of threads.

Out of Character threads are for discussion and banter not within the narrative of the role-play. These should be your first stop when starting in an FFRP universe.

Public threads constitute the majority of threads in Captain's Table. These threads represent IC locations that are open to all characters. You can pretty much just hop in, get to interacting, and have fun.

Closed threads and plot threads are beasts of a different nature. Closed threads are private places, open to only a select few or only reachable only through certain IC means. Plot threads are usually created to contain the events of a plot, and are usually open only to those involved with that plot.

To find out where you can post you should read the first post of the thread to see if it contains any relevant information (which it usually does), ask in the OOC, or ask a participant or creator of the thread via PM or some other means.


Plot
Plot is a term applied to events or series of events comprising a storyline. Plots are either created by players deliberately or emerge out of natural, normal interactions. In plots, people sometimes mess around with the rules a bit. Godmodding of a limited form might be permitted if it aids the plot.

Also, plots can also be somewhat resistant to outside interference. While I personally encourage people to be flexible, to not plan for their plots to end in a certain way, and to be open to new influence, it is true that, for the most part, plots are resistant to interaction from people who are not participating in the plot. This will vary from universe to universe, plot to plot, and from user to user.

Deadtime
A deadtime is a state in which your characters cannot be harmed, but cannot interact with anything around them. You put your characters into deadtime when you are about to log off and stop roleplaying for a bit. A character in a deadtime cannot be affected by anything going on around it.

If a character is deadtimed, and a plot or series of events would likely evoke a reaction from that character, it is polite to wait for the character to undeadtime and react before advancing the plot or events.

Some verses might have IC explanations for deadtimes.

The Curtain
The curtain is employed when two characters become physically intimate. When two or more characters decide to have sex, the curtain falls to shield the eyes of the innocent from the festivities and to give some privacy for the participants. This is to both a) abide by the forum rules and b) to keep things relatively family friendly.

Mods have had to remind people in the past to pull the curtain early and not often, and this is possibly the issue that has caused the most mod interventions in this sub forum. Remember, there are other role-playing forums on the internet that are rated R (or X; Ohhh myyy), but this is not one of them. Keep it clean, and remember we don't need to know where everyone's hands and lips are at all times.

Safe: "Romeo pulls Juliet into a kiss and the curtain falls."
Potentially Problematic: "Romeo kisses Juliet passionately, his hands reaching under her bodice and..." (foreplay goes on for numerous posts before the curtain falls)

Your first character
So, you're ready to make your first character. One of the hardest things to get used to in FFRP is that you don't start out in an adventuring party, and there's no DM to push characters together. You'll have to actually find people to interact with on your own. Here are some tips (not requirements!) for making that easier on your first character:
  • Don't be the quiet person in the shadowy corner. If you role-play as someone who is outgoing and talkative, you'll find it easier to make IC friends. Someone who is curious or greedy will be more open to plot hooks and adventure opportunities. But if you role-play someone who is shy or quiet or wary of other people, you're likely to be left alone.
  • Don't be openly evil. If you walk into the tavern and start murdering NPCs, you are unlikely to make a lot of friends and likely to get jumped on by a bunch of PCs who were looking for a fight.
  • Consider starting low-powered. It's tempting in a free-form system with no scores or points to decide that your character is the best at everything, but where will they go from there? They can always gain powers or magic items or skills as they go on.
  • Don't be too needy. Remember in FFRP, you are not THE hero of the story. You are A hero, and there are many stories. The characters you meet at first are likely to be involved in their own affairs. Some players start by having their character immediately in need of rescue, healing, training, attention, etc. This can work well, but make sure you have a plan B in case there is no one willing to drop everything to devote themselves to being your rescuer! Can your character make it if they receive only a minimal amount of help, or none at all?
  • Don't be too self-sufficient. Remember in FFRP, you are not THE hero of the story. You are A hero, and there are many stories. If you are a combat powerhouse and a healer and a master of obscure lore and a spell caster, people are likely to get weary of their characters taking a back seat to yours and decide you can do just fine without them.
  • Be aware of deadtimes and real life. Sometimes, not many people are online and active. Sometimes the people who are may only have a limited time to play and want to use it to progress their favourite storyline instead of meeting new people. Try to be patient and remember that it won't be long before you'll be the one wrapped up in your own favourite story lines. Talk to people in the OOC thread while you wait for your character to get 'stuck in'.
  • Have fun! Remember this is a game, and if it isn't fun, you aren't doing it right.

Tips For RPing

And so, let's begin. In no particular order...

Character Speech

When someone is speaking, we need to know who! Speech colours help to differentiate speech from normal narration, and each of our characters from each other, but if other players do not know to who each particular colour belongs, all we see are disembodied words. When two or three people do this over the course of a few pages, it gets very confusing. So tell us who's talking!

So, instead of: Hi! How's it going?

Try: Bob says, Hi! How's it going?

Also, I humbly suggest we all start using quotation marks. I will admit this is a pet peeve of mine, and not entirely necessary, but it is proper English and if you accidentally miss a colour tag, or don't even want to use colours, your text is still understood.

So: Bob says, "Hi! How are you?"

New: Another thing, try to use your character's name every few posts. If all we see is 'he' or 'she' all we learn is the speaker's gender. And try and include a brief description when you enter a new place, or are talking with people who might not know who, or what, your character is. That way we don't spend ten pages having a normal conversation with what turns out to be a "Ten foot tall undead wookie."

Next up...


Location Tags
Some threads in Captain's Table are larger locations that may have smaller locations within them. Even a single building has many rooms. Using location tags helps us all know where your characters are and where the action is at, helps us know who and what our characters can and cannot see, and keeps things organized for those of us reading through large threads and following only one storyline. They're pretty simple, just put where you are at the top of your post.

Like so:

Streets

And then your post continues... blah, blah... you get the idea.

Some of us put brackets around the location, to further separate it.

[Streets]

And some bold it to make it that much more noticeable.

Streets or [Streets]

Location tags are handy things. Even if your characters are just upstairs in the Taverna, it keeps us all from thinking they're in the middle of the common room.

Moving on...


Big Scenes

That is, scenes involving more than two or three players. Now, I know we're all bored and we all want to make our characters talk and do stuff, but we need to exercise a little patience and keep our fellow Players in mind. Especially during a big fight, give everyone a chance to respond. We all type at different speeds, and some of us might have a little more to say than others. In either case, if the situation we're responding to changes, we have to spend more time editing out posts to reflect the change. If this happens multiple times, it can make a player feel left behind and alienated.

This brings up another topic


Editing

If I edit, and you edit, then he edits, but I edit again.... it gets really confusing. Again, just exercise a little patience, maybe wait until your next post to reflect the change.


Lonely Characters

If you see someone put a character into a thread that isn't seeing a lot of action, throw a character their way. It doesn't have to be one of your regular characters, heck it doesn't need to be a character at all. A monster suddenly popping out of nowhere make things rather interesting and can cause some fun for both parties. Anyway, my point is, don't leave your fellow players hanging. When it seems like no one wants to interact with you or your character, it alienates you. We lose players this way. I know we don't mean to be unfriendly, but it really isn't a nice thing.

This goes double if the player in question is new to the sub-forums. Don't let us lose people before they even start to play. Captain's Table is a fun place, let's share it with them.


Well, that's about all I can think of right now. Like I said before, this is meant to be a discussion. Feel free to make your own suggestions. And I want to say again that none of this is meant to hurt anyone. This is done in a hope to help all of us.

Thanks for listening, and please do weigh in.

~jhmgrose

On Overpoweredness
Some of you may have noted the alarming tendency of Star Trek characters to be incredibly powerful. The more observant of you may have noticed that this is by no means limited to strength of power in a fight. In this essay I intend to explore the extent of overpoweredness in the galaxy, the causes behind it, and possible solutions.

I. On the Magnitude of the Problem

Many characters in Star Trek are just frankly overpowered; they are so strong and skilled as to defy all sense of modesty, much less realism. But what exactly is ?overpowered?? For the purpose of this essay I propose to define it as a state of a character?s being that comes about through the character excelling in any given area or focus to the point of making other characters feel inadequate. Simply put: an overpowered character is too powerful. Some examples of this are a character being immortal, a character being able to beat everyone in a fight, and a character that is immune to certain non-lethal effects. What makes these examples detrimental to role-playing?
Ia. Examples Part One


If a character cannot die, then there is no point in fighting them; when dealing with an immortal character that is specifically against your character there are really only two options. If your character is lacking imprudent they will be killed, if your character is logical they will not even bother to attack that which they cannot kill. Either way, immortal characters who provoke in-character fights only serve to aggravate the players.
If a character is so strong that their attacks would kill anything that was not implausibly invulnerable, they have no business fighting anybody. It is the player?s responsibility to keep these types of characters out of situations that demand in-character fighting. An example of this are the Q. These characters were incredibly hard to kill and capable of moving extremely swiftly and striking with great force. Moreover, it frequently seemed to the players that their only point was to provoke Starfleet characters into fighting, and subsequently losing to, these demigods.
A more controversial form of overpoweredness is a character that is invulnerable, even to beneficial actions, outside of combat. An example of this type of overpowered character is somebody who cannot be healed, scryed, or aided in a similar matter during the course of nonviolent role-playing. The vast majority of the time this occurs the player attempts to justify it by claiming it is in the name of plot. And while it would not be fun to have a plot related injury or grievance be magicked away with ease, we must recognize that having a character cry out for succor and having one?s own character being unable to provide this aid and in fact able to do little more than stand idly by is extremely frustrating to most players. This counts as being overpowered because it makes other characters feel weak or incompetent.
Ib. Examples Part Two


It is important to note that the state of being overpowered is not just restricted to individual combat. The majority of main characters in the Town have another way to be the best: resources. Whether it is a ridiculous amount of money or a powerful army filled with powerful warriors eager to fight a character?s battles, nearly every player has doled out ample resources to their favourite character. I understand that, for the most part, these characters have excellent and in character reasons for their abundance of resources, but for the purpose of this essay I am putting that aside. To show the magnitude of this form of overpoweredness, I will list several players and their characters; please keep in mind that this list is by no means necessarily current.

II. On the Causes of the Problem

Now, why are characters so overpowered? The answer lies in several parts. First, we cannot ignore the physical aspect of the problem: Testosterone. It is not a coincidence that our female friends have no really overpowered characters while almost every male player has at least one. The psychological need for a powerful character or persona stems from the fact that we Starfleet are, for the most part, American males. We collectively hate losing and enjoy having the strongest and toughest characters around. I believe that this is simply a result of our cultural identity. On the other hand, perhaps the answer lies in our individual faults. It is possible, and fairly likely, that any one of us creates an overpowered character as a matter of compensation for our own shortcomings. If this is true, it bears mentioning that we can avoid falling into this trap and still make a perfectly normal character despite how we feel about ourselves.
However, I find the main cause of overpoweredness to be a direct need for powerful characters as a result of the snowball effect. One person brings in an overpowered character, and other players feel the need to match that power with their own character. This need to balance the scales of power stems from an admirable desire to keep the Town fair by keeping one character from dominating over everything. While this seems to work in the short run, it only worsens the problem over time. By making powerful characters, a player is only fostering the mistaken impression that overpowered characters are acceptable.
III. On Solutions


In order to correct a problem it is first necessary to know both the extent of the problem and the underlying causes. Once these are known it becomes possible to systematically attack the problem in a way that will destroy it permanently. This can be done by first stopping the problem from spreading by neutralizing its causes and then, through the intelligence of the extent of the problem, carefully eliminating ever last vestige of overpoweredness. However, every player who wishes to enjoy Captain's Table as a role-playing experience must cooperate to achieve this end. The people have at least two options. We can either attempt to eliminate overpoweredness immediately and completely, or we can ease into it by taking slow steps to end the problem.
If we decide to try and solve this the fast way, every willing player must tend to their own characters. This can be done in any one of a least three ways: removing the character, fixing the character, or relegating the character to a lesser role. While it is a more drastic measure, one can simply stop playing an overpowered character. It is possible to fix an overpowered character by crippling it or making it less powerful through either making it weaker in a fight or losing the resources that makes it so formidable in the first place. The last option is to take a powerful character and do much less with it. Have it be more of a behind the scenes character that does not interact very much outside of plots. Then you could make a much less powerful character that interacts frequently and does not overly dominate in fights. If every player chooses an option that best suits them and their overpowered character and enacts it immediately we will all be in a suddenly better environment that is more conducive to fair role-playing.
This option may seem to be too hasty or even drastic, so we players may decide to ease into the transition by enacting the options outlined previously at a far slower pace, giving the individual players weeks to plan how they wish to go about this, or setting time aside to develop a plot that results in an overpowered character dramatically becoming more reasonably strong or influential.

In conclusion, characters being so powerful as to be detrimental to the overall quality of the free-form, group role-playing atmosphere are alarmingly common in Town. Regardless of why they exist, they all make things less fun and entertaining for everyone and should be eliminated as conveniently as possible. I strongly urge you all, my friends and fellow players, to reflect on my words and to consider abolishing overpowered characters. It is my belief that doing so can only prove to be extremely beneficial.

Combat and Power Management
Tips for Headache-Free Combat

Power

Power levels amongst potential combatants vary wildly. Throwing high-power characters at lower-powered ones who don't stand a chance against them is generally disliked by the players of the lower-powered characters. While high-power characters' players may feel restricted, there are several things they could do to avoid this situation.

Scaling-A popular method for playing high-power characters smoothly is power scaling, or adjusting the power used according to the opponent's power level. To put it simply, just because you can kill everyone in the room in one shot DOES NOT MEAN YOU SHOULD. Throwing high-power around whenever possible just annoys people, and should not be done.

Targeting-High-power characters can also target other high-power characters instead of lower-powered ones. This is fairly obvious.

Non-aggressiveness-Aggressive high-power characters often cause annoyance among other players. If they look for fights all the time, people will get tired of dealing with them, especially if they're powerful enough that they can't really be stopped. For example, this is pretty much why gods in the Nexus usually don't run around blasting everything they don't like. The players involved don't like fighting something they can't possibly stop. It feels pointless and wasteful.

In addition to these factors, raw power level alone shouldn't necessarily mean that lower-powered characters are guaranteed to lose. If the lower-powered characters can play sufficiently intelligently or epicly, that should be a factor in who wins the battle. Think of it as a 'boss fight' of sorts-if the extreme raw-power of the boss meant the heroes always lost, there wouldn't be much of a game to play, would there?

Besides that, there is another point to power management in combat.

Avoiding Escalation

Even when power levels are equal, when they're high, a common problem is escalation. This is when one side perpetually pulls out greater fire-power when it isn't truly needed, making it seem like the player of said side is trying to force a win for them.

The other problem with this is, when two high-powered sides are fighting, this may force the other side to escalate to greater force as well. For example:

(C1=Combatant 1, C2=Combatant 2)

C1: So we're around equal, huh? Well guess what? I have a tank!
C2: Well I have an army with anti-tank weapons!
C1: Ah, but you forget that I have a swarm of giant monsters to eat your army!
C2: I can crush your monsters with-

Okay, that's enough, guys, you can go home. The point is, when escalation occurs, it can make all players involved look rather unintelligent power-wavers.

It is much better to continue to play on equal terms rather than pull out gratuitous fire-power. That way neither player is forced to look bad, and the combat scene is much better to participate in and to read. Remember the core idea of this guide: Just because you can do something extremely powerful does not mean you should.

PC Kills

Going so far as to try to outright kill another player's character can be controversial. Some are okay with it, others are not. It is usually best to ask the other player involved if they are okay with you seriously trying to kill off their character.

Trying to force character deaths on others who are not okay with them will often make the player trying to do so seem rather unpleasant, leading to OOC rifts between that can last for quite a long time. Dealing with these rifts is difficult, and often limits what players can do if they are, for example, trying to avoid another player's characters.

Losing

Losing in combat scenes is not always the horrible thing it seems like. Provided that the players involved aren't going for PC kills, it can lead to interesting role-playing opportunities that can provide a nice change from simply stomping everything in sight all the time. At the same time, making these things work out can help to build respect among players.

Out of Character - stardestroyer001

For whenever you want to state sor ask something that doesn't belong in the game, wrap your OOC content in Gold colours. It will "help differentiate the actual, relevant content from the OOC content."
Commander Valkyr formally walks into the Ten Forward, and taps the LCARS to order a BLT sandwich, and takes an empty seat at an empty table in the centre of the room.
(OOC: I'm ready to converse with anyone willing. :D)
Post edited by supergaminggeek on
«1

Comments

  • stardestroyer001stardestroyer001 Member Posts: 2,615 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    Wow, this list is long. Nice job on writing it.

    Is it possible for me to suggest, in terms of posting content that is Out of Character (OOC), that people who post make sure to place their OOC content in gold/orange colours, similar to the Foundry's?

    Example:
    Charlott walks up to the bar and asks the bartender, "Where's that side order of bacon I asked for a while ago?"
    (OOC: Do bartenders even serve bacon?)

    This might help differentiate the actual, relevant content from the OOC content.
    stardestroyer001, Admiral, Explorers Fury PvE/PvP Fleet | Retired PvP Player
    Missing the good ol' days of PvP: Legacy of Romulus to Season 9
    My List of Useful Links, Recently Updated November 25 2017!
  • supergaminggeeksupergaminggeek Member Posts: 616 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    Thanks for your submission! I will edit my post accordingly!
  • talzerotwotalzerotwo Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    still reading through it all, but def nice work :) kudos.
    [SIGPIC]http://tinyurl.com/msywqm5[/SIGPIC]
    Chillax. No Ego. No Drama.

    Like my alien? Watch THE VIDEO
    Need custom graphics for you or your fleet? Click HERE
  • kylelockekylelocke Member Posts: 182 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    Kyle Locke here introducing myself to the RP community on Star Trek Online. I'm into all sorts of role playing but mostly into character development and story telling (I hope I've done this right).
    "I will make the Orion Syndicate face the light of justice or burn them with it." - Captainl Kyle Nathaniel Locke, U.S.S. Excalibur NCC-98105-C
  • spockmebbyspockmebby Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    I've never roleplayed before, but I would like to start. I'm into most anything in the star trek verse. Hope I did this right. =?
  • supergaminggeeksupergaminggeek Member Posts: 616 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    spockmebby wrote: »
    I've never roleplayed before, but I would like to start. I'm into most anything in the star trek verse. Hope I did this right. =?

    Make sure you read through the OP once again. There are no bad threads, just poorly executed ones. When you feel ready, create your thread.
    Consider getting someone to proofread it, I don't even know what you're trying to do right. :)
  • yekcidyekcid Member Posts: 1 Arc User
    edited July 2013
    Okay, I have read this and am still not sure where to begin role playing. Tell me where to start please.

    yeKcid
  • adria1pallosadria1pallos Member Posts: 1 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    Hello everyone, my name is Adria Pallos. I am new to roleplaying. I am interested in character development, making friends and whatever the future holds for me.
  • inkrunnerinkrunner Member Posts: 407 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    I'd like to give this a try. Not sure yet what exactly to do next... but I do have ideas.
    2iBFtmg.png
  • karakuwakarakuwa Member Posts: 1 Arc User
    edited October 2013
    Hello, I have read the OP and am interested in lore-based, TNG/DS9-era-ish (or with the feel of that era, anyway) roleplay. I have not done forum-based RP before, but I have some in-game RP experience in LOTRO and have designed a Trill captain in STO for RP purposes. I would appreciate any additional guidance that could be given me, as I did not completely understand the OP. If I could be pointed to a thread or two to peruse, for example, that would probably help me see this form of RP in action.

    Also, if anyone knows of a fleet with an RP focus, or a place for me to go to engage with other RPers in game, I would be most appreciative.

    Tozar Erol is my (joined) Trill captain, and OOC I am an American currently living in Japan, so my timezone situation is a bit unusual.

    Thank you!
  • arketipicosarketipicos Member Posts: 149 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    Hello. My name is Fredric, I have 33 years and I'm from Montevideo, Uruguay. I watch Star Trek from 1985 to date. I played various RPGs with dice: d & d, ad & d, werewolfs, shadowrun, lotr, paranoia, vampires, and many more do not even get to remember my college era.
    I've played warriors, mages, paladins, barbarians, bards, Amazons, necromancers, summoners, explosives experts, diplomatic, political, neutral, good, bad, evil, very very very bad, and everything that might happen.
    It would be interesting to reconnect with that time in which both I had fun with this.
    regards
    Picana - Shaolin - Deity Warrior
  • eternal407eternal407 Member Posts: 1 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    Greetings.

    I would like to play my STO character in some RP. Either in-game, here, or both (preferably). I live in the US EST -5. Just started playing STO, so I would RP the same way. Here's the Bio of my character in-game that is meant to act as an IC intro:

    Vinter Ansel Valartin, the second born of the Valartin family. Well-known throughout Federation space for large success in the logistics industry. The Valartin family was behind several large Federation shipping contracts, mostly for starship control modules to which quality shipping and punctuality was paramount. Although Vinter tends to be the rebel or black sheep of the family, attention to detail is in his blood and no sentient being within the universe will debate the meticulous nature of a Valartin. The name is synonomous with precision.

    His recent decision to join Starfleet and leave behind the extravagant life as secondary heir to a shipping enterprise came as a bit of a shock to his father, who was not pleased. However, Vinter's brother, Vance, always knew his younger sibling would never be content with the lavish life. He knew, Vinter craved adventure.

    Thanks for reading and here's to hoping I can develop this character within an interesting plot among other unique characters. =)
  • aeronavataraeronavatar Member Posts: 10 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    Hello everybody. I just wanted to submit my character and an idea or two for stories. I prefer RP online over forum but I am interested in both. If anything here sounds good or you'd like me to join an existing story, let me know.

    Gilnea Rezik - Haygian female, humanoid with light skin, approximate average height/weight using human standards, purple-pink hair and eyes with purple markings around eyes, exceptional telepath/telekinetic, Starfleet Academy graduate class of 2407, tactical officer focused in firearms and squad command, currently serving as CO U.S.S. Excalibur NCC-983295
    -Personality profile as assembled by Starfleet Medical, Psychology Division, Dr. T'Pok conducting: Subject shows signs of an introverted personality possibly due to loss of homeworld to Borg incursion. No signs of clinical depression or extreme tendencies toward recklessness. Subject is dedicated and precise and shows an ability to analyze situations efficiently. Subject also shows great focus and utilizes many self-discipline techniques, none of which are officially approved by Starfleet Medical but similarly do not show any unnecessary force to self. Note that self-discipline techniques seem to be a proactive measure of self-control due to subject's exceptional abilities in telepathy and telekinesis, full extent of which has not been determined prior to enrolling in Starfleet Academy.
    U.S.S. Excalibur - Odyssey-class, registry NCC-983295, launched on Stardate 88736.5, 40 decks, crew complement approximately 2,500, ten phaser banks, three torpedo bays complemented by quantum torpedoes, multi-phasic regenerative shield array, chevron separation, Aquarius-class escort, five shuttle bays complemented by Yellowstone-class runabouts and Delta-class shuttlecraft, holodecks, gymnasium and gathering halls, nine personnel transporters and three large cargo transporters, quantum slipstream drive, Borg enhanced deflector dish, impulse and warp engines, hull repairing nanites
    Story idea 1: Based on Dominion feature episodes from STO, a rogue Jem'Hadar fleet has entered the Alpha Quadrant with the intention of attacking the Federation and Klingon core worlds directly, starting with Earth. Gilnea and crew join with other captains from Starfleet, the KDF and the Romulan Republic to head off the fleet. Complications arise though when some forces arrive earlier than the main fleet and accost outposts across the Alpha and Beta Quadrants and some ships have to be diverted to reinforce and rescue these various locations. This builds to an intense and climactic final battle that will set the tone for all the conflicts in both quadrants.
    Story idea 2: While the Excalibur is docked at Earth Spacedock for system upgrades, the Borg components aboard the Excalibur reactivate and take control of all the Excalibur's systems. It then focuses all power into an anyon beam focused on a single spot in low-Earth orbit. At that time, all Borg ships begin to converge on Earth, but they do not assimilate or attack anything along the way. Gilnea gathers captains across Starfleet to investigate these happenings. The KDF and Romulan Republic also take notice and begin their own investigations. All investigations lead to pieces that reveal a dark secret about the Borg's past - a secret connected to a threat the Earth has faced before.
  • tickfishtickfish Member Posts: 1 Arc User
    edited June 2014
    Hi I'm Tickfish. I'm not necessarily new to Roleplaying, been at it for almost a decade now, but I am not particularly savvy with tabletop. As far as my skills go I prefer action packed character development where there is a new adventure around every bulkhead. I can play villain or good guy. I love plotting surprises.

    Post wise I prefer at least three lines doesn't have to be long novels for me but a oneliner doesn't give me enough to respond to. :)

    I'm pretty flexible and love making friends so feel free to approach me with ideas and queries.

    Tickfish
  • firebat239firebat239 Member Posts: 2 Arc User
    edited July 2014
    Hello:

    I am Firebat, and I have been playing this game back in December of 2013. I heard about Roleplay being in this game but never figured out how to get to it, so I decided to play through some of the story and level up and get fancy gear and stuff. Finally a friend directed me to this site, I logged in and found this thread yesterday. I've been a Role-player for quite some time being one in Fallen Earth and Star-craft 2 Cortex. I know that this Role-play experience will be different from the others and I am looking forward to finding a good Fleet and getting to learn and experience and enjoy every second of it.

    My main and only Character is Firebat yet his real name is never mentioned, so if ya want to PM me then @firebat239 is where its at.

    I'm probably going to continue reading over this thread.

    -Firebat of the U.S.S. Feuer-Sturm
  • podlexpodlex Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited July 2014
    This is Pod Lexicon. He survives in the catacombs of interwoven time threads between endless universes and free-form multidimensional realities. Nicknamed Pod or Podlex he has be retrained by temporal headquarters for finding and possibly even solving new problems. His work is never done and now he needs the help of... other operatives and agents.

    Action - *
    Before - **
    Choice - ***



    Fleet relativity is a temporal fleet. Operatives are disbursed by agents, monitored and returned to temporal headquarters. There mode of transportation is Fleet Relativity. The concept here is the mission. Eventually these missions could be put into STO foundry. The fleet consists of three ships. code named - Action, Before, Choice. [ABC] "Intuitive decisions are Chosen Before the Action." - motto.

    Roll Play would consist first with plot writing and scenario building in an OOC thread, or chat group. The story would be written and detailed with a possible publication beyond STO in mind. Actions reactions and reinterpretations of the plot would be written with the hypertext idea at work, causing a many-scenario type of story. Hypertext writing should be used for temporal representations of plot forks. In threaded rp time jumps can occur by multiple posts being writing with title references to the link.

    I am interested if these ideas inspires any mission plots we could post?, where anything is possible. I am not a DM and this is not a dungeon. Beamouts can occur at anytime anywhere within the galaxy. We can think at Gary Seven's level of tech but far into the future/now/past. Probability transports between like universes is limited to the fleet ships. Planet level Beamouts (beam earth to safty) are done at Temporal Headquarters usually. Temporal-power-beams leading to/from new problems are a general concept and plot tool. You can recruit me or I - you..

    I stop here,
    ~Pod.
    trekbbs.com sn - think
  • bop7bop7 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited July 2014
    im instrested in roll playing can anybody help me to get started
  • maxgiovannimaxgiovanni Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited July 2014
    I too would like to get started, either in the forums or in the game itself.

    The role I'd like to play is that of my main character, Maxamillian Ulysses Giovanni, a Star Fleet tactical officer, at some point prior to actuqally gaining the rank of captain (Sure, I've gotten to Admiral, and sport the Captain title in-game because "Flag Officers Fly Desks," But unless I'm actually running a scenario, I'd prefer to represent Max as part of the crew.

    Bit of a warning though: Max had an... interesting... cadet cruise experience involving an as yet to be identified entity that left roughly 75% of the ship's occupants transformed in some way. For example, one of Max's fellow cadets became a Horta, and Max...

    Well, let's just say that she doesn't like to talk about it much.

    I do have a full profile for Max, but i'll have to upload it later.
  • fedupwcrapticfedupwcraptic Member Posts: 1 Arc User
    edited November 2014
    I am posting here because this is a new user ID.
    I am not new to this game, I have been playing since its inception.

    I have sent a PM to the one moderator that I could, all of the others can only receive PMs
    from "friends". That hardly seems conducive to performing the task of a moderator as I am
    used to on just about every other forum from the RPF to 12volt.com to OpenTable.

    Irrespective to this, I am trying to resolve a two year old issue with aligning my game launcher
    ID to a forum ID to a support page ID.

    When the flaws/faults in the game surface during play, access to the forum is critical since requesting help from a GM or opening a trouble ticket is as useful as sand in the desert.

    If a moderator can kindly get back to me, I would appreciate it.
  • rllaillieurllaillieu Member Posts: 351 Arc User
    Hi! Well, I can't say I'm new to roleplaying, as I've been part of an IRC client and forum log based ST RP since last July, but it's always good to try new things.

    Before I can really go in depth on any characters like some of the others have done, I want to point out that this guide looks to be written for people who have experience with purely forum based RP. My current RP group(s) hops onto an IRC client for an hour or two once a week at set times and then writes personal logs on the forums in between "sims", so how exactly does purely forum-based RP work?
  • supergaminggeeksupergaminggeek Member Posts: 616 Arc User
    I would say a paragraph's worth of stuff is reasonable to give time for replies, but if it's sentence by sentence, that's still acceptable. As for actions, it depends on the situation. Battles, I'd go bit by bit. On green alert, feel free to do however you'd like.
  • love4spacelove4space Member Posts: 18 Arc User
    Hello my name is Aibicla i been role playing on star trek for a while an i do have a fleet but im more instered in charter building an learnign all i can about online role playing an just having fun. I'm want to write an hollow noval but having trouble bring the charters to life other words make them more real life.
  • haitredhaitred Member Posts: 1 Arc User
    Hi all, my alias is Haitred. I have role played a variety of games ranging from simple IRC text based to WOW. I have grown up with the Star Trek shows and truly enjoy this game. Below is the information surrounding my main in game char. I would enjoy a fleet that was heavy role play as in assigning various missions to it's members but I have fun with every aspect of this game. Thank you for your time.

    Fleet Admiral Tyr Asghan
    Birth date = Unknown, due to memory wipe from induction into the ACERS training facility.
    Race = Human

    Tyr; Graduate of Star-fleet's new Advanced Combat Espionage Recon and Stealth(ACERS) training facility. Has been cleared to actively hinder the enemy's of the federation with any means necessary. Having a war on several fronts is not to be taking lightly. As such, Star-fleet established the ACERS section to combat the influx of powerful threats. The ACERS training facility is unknown to the majority of Star-fleet, as such Captain Asghan will never divulge any information about it. Tyr, even holding the rank of Fleet Admiral, still maintains command of a single vessel and wishes to be addressed as Captain. As he sees it, having his own ship and being on the front line as Captain serves the best purpose. During his ventures, Tyr has been approached several times by Section 31. They see the ACERS graduates as viable candidates for recruitment. But, Asghan prefers the role of Intelligence and disapproves of the means Section 31 utilizes to obtain their goals.
    Captain Asghan is in command of the USS Shadow. A Eclipse Intel Cruiser that was lost in a conflict with-in the Delta quadrant and later recovered by Star-fleet. The cruiser was lost after a battle with a Borg armada. When the ship was recovered, its' entire crew of 350 was MIA and the ship had been partially assimilated by the Borg. The Shadow was awaiting decommission when the Intelligence Bureau became aware of its potential to use the Borg technology to amplify the vessel to combat the enemy's of the Federation. This is when they paired the ship with Captain Asghan. The Shadow has now been under Tyr's command for several years. During this time, Captain Asghan and the crew of the Shadow have had numerous successful missions of intelligence, diplomacy, exploration, shadow ops and combat. Most of which has been combat/intelligence work against the Borg advance.
    The Shadow and her crew have spent a majority of its time with-in the neutral zone. Working to halt the Borg collective's advance towards Federation space, gathering intelligence about Klingon movement and utilizing the cloak capability to recon any potential threats in the area.
  • tam143tam143 Member Posts: 1 Arc User
    :D
  • supergaminggeeksupergaminggeek Member Posts: 616 Arc User
    Because Vanilla, I am unable to edit the post without splintering it about the other posts because the OP is too long.
  • slayerofbloodslayerofblood Member Posts: 18 Arc User
    Hiya, all. Looks pretty quiet in here, but I'll toss my words out there, see what/who bites.

    I'm a long-time forum roleplayer, mostly in one-on-one stories that wander here there and everywhere, but I love the group feel just as much. I'd like to try stepping into the crazy world of Star Trek with more than just my own imagination, and see what happens.

    For those interested, I'd likely be using my oldest and strangest character, a hybrid fellow who started out life in a D&D world, which actually turned out to be a holonovel adaptation of a tabletop game (long story). He's a bit forward and brash, a flirt and a goof, and doesn't mind if you're an Admiral or Ensign, he'll speak his mind. Just don't insult his ship. She might be small and cramped, but the Renegade packs one helluva punch. There's a reason why he stole her out from under the brass and why the entire crew faces court marshal for aiding and abetting.

    So, hearties, if you're interested, send a message or... whatever.

    Forewarning: I love the STO in-game play, but I won't be able to do any hybrid RPing due to limitations on the part of my internet. If satellite internet ever becomes subspace-capable, that will be awesome. Until then, I steal STO time like a meth addict...

    Toodles~
    Ty,

    the crazy realization of IDIC
    (because seriously, what sane Trill marries a half-Vulcan/Half-Cardassian and then has a kid?)
    [He's joking. I think. We still don't know what Ty is. He never tells us the same story twice... -First Officer Takerra]
    FED TAC: Ty'irren Micybos, USS Mistake Not... NX-93023.
  • bigprobe01bigprobe01 Member Posts: 1 Arc User
    Hello all kinda new to this chat thing
  • wombat140wombat140 Member Posts: 971 Arc User
    Hi everyone,

    I'd like to try out the forum RPs (I've done some forum-based RPing before with my fleet, RPing there is dormant at the moment).
    Please can anyone who uses them tell me, would it be possible for a new player to join any of the threads that are currently running? They all seem to have been running for so long that, looking at them without inside knowledge, I have no idea what's going on, and it would be near-impossible to read through the whole thing.

    If so, which one should I join - I mean, what are they each about? Where are they set (currently), and what are they about - fortunes of war, mad Augments, hacking, shady telepaths?

    Also, is there currently anyone from Europe in them already? I ask because I've had a suspicion, in the past, that my joining an RP thread that had previously been all Americans caused it to grind to a halt because I was posting at different times to everyone else and it somehow broke the rhythm and held people up. Wouldn't want to do that to you. But if they seem to be already supporting some people from other time zones successfully then I'll go right ahead.

    Thanks,
    Wombat140
  • pallington#6731 pallington Member Posts: 1 New User
    Newbie here, Name's Pallington, not extremely experienced in RPs but okay-ish.
    Don't really care as to what RP to join, but ideally one that doesn't take an hour of reading to even start.
    The usual.
  • dhus#8915 dhus Member Posts: 3 Arc User
    edited August 2017
    EDIT; posting problem, idk bio to long maybe, no help
    pm for char bio
    Post edited by dhus#8915 on
Sign In or Register to comment.