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Cadet Orientation/Your Character: Difference between revisions
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added religion in simming
(Adding Soong Society.) |
(added religion in simming) |
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If you need some help with a name, check out [http://www.thewingless.com/forge/links.html The Forge] or the [http://www.seventhsanctum.com/index-name.php Seventh Sanctum Name Generator] page. | If you need some help with a name, check out [http://www.thewingless.com/forge/links.html The Forge] or the [http://www.seventhsanctum.com/index-name.php Seventh Sanctum Name Generator] page. | ||
{{Heading|Choosing a Species|#6699cc}} | |||
Perhaps one of the most important parts of your character is the species you choose. As such, we encourage you to visit our [[Intelligent Lifeform Index]] (ILI) before you consider anything else in your character creation process. The ILI has a list of all species which we allow to be played by members of our fleet. Choosing from this list will ensure that you don't spend a lot of time creating a character around a species we don't allow! (Look for the species marked "Permitted.") | |||
We know you designated a species on your application, but you're allowed to change your species during training. Just notify your training officer, when training begins, if you find a new species you'd rather play. | |||
{{Heading|Character Rules|#6699cc}} | {{Heading|Character Rules|#6699cc}} | ||
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* '''Sexually explicit or disgusting characters''': When describing characters, please be sure to keep them decent. | * '''Sexually explicit or disgusting characters''': When describing characters, please be sure to keep them decent. | ||
{{Heading| | {{Heading|Guidelines on Religious Characters|#6699cc}} | ||
In the Star Trek universe, and the universe we've created here, we’ve seen few references to present day, real world religions. In most cases, we’ve seen limited references to the religions practiced by characters in shows and movies. However, we recognize that religion, for some players, may be an important facet of the character they wish to portray. | |||
While we want to support players as they bring their whole selves to our game, and write in a way which is fulfilling for them, we also wish to set some clear boundaries to ensure we maintain the integrity of our game, and encourage our members to feel comfortable writing alongside religious characters where the personal views of the writer may not align with in-universe attitudes. | |||
We strongly believe the ability to write a religious character must not impede the ability of other players to enjoy the game. Taking part as a collaborative writer in a diverse roleplaying group, we can enter situations where the reality of the game universe is fundamentally different to our own, and while we explore situations we may not encounter in real life, they can also challenge our worldviews. | |||
Here are our expectations for considerate play: | |||
*'''Respect religions:''' Players who create a character who follows a certain religion must first and foremost ensure their character is both respectful to the faith the character appears to adhere to, while also portraying the character appropriately for the Star Trek universe. | |||
*'''Avoid modern stereotypes:''' Proselytizing, religious terrorism, and other extremist views are generally unwelcome in the Star Trek universe except in very specific, carefully planned storylines, with the help of your ship’s staff, for the purpose of simming a dramatic goal. | |||
*'''Do not infringe upon the rights of other writers:''' Going hand in hand with respecting religions, the religious beliefs of one writer may not be used to infringe upon the rights of another. If your religion means you are strongly opposed to an event or situation within the simming game, please contact your command team to discuss this. Our goal is to make the game enjoyable for everyone within reason. | |||
*'''Your captain has the final word:''' All the commanding officers are fully versed in our rules and regulations regarding what is acceptable, and we entrust them to create a welcoming, respectful game for all players of different faiths and backgrounds. Your captain has the final say on whether to implement a proposed character on their ship. They may require changes to a character to abide by the expectations laid out above, and if they do not believe the character can be played respectfully, or in a way that does not infringe upon the rights of others, they retain the option to deny the character concept, and they will ask you to submit another character biography for approval. | |||
Here are some helpful guidelines for best practices: | |||
*'''Understand the setting:''' Our game is structured around exploration of a fictional universe. This requires the suspension of disbelief and separating our fictional universe from our actual universe – there is no direct "one-to-one" comparison between what we live today and what happens in Star Trek, so none of our present-day, Earthbound religions will have survived exactly as they exist now into the future. To that end, players should avoid thinking too critically about how religions may have evolved and instead think more about the literary ways in which religion can be explored. | |||
*'''Help worldbuild, avoid mimicking:''' We welcome the literary exploration of religion but want to avoid rewriting the works of modern, published authors for the sake of exploring the same themes. To that end, don't recreate something you've already read in a work of fiction – instead, try charting a new course. If you are unsure about how to proceed, please seek the advice of your command team to help guide you through the rest of the process. | |||
*'''Expect lore to change:''' Your contributions to a species’ religious practices are one part of a larger collaborative mosaic between writers at StarBase 118, and just as theological concepts in Human religions have changed since religion first developed, someone in a few years time may have a different take on what is and isn’t acceptable for this religion, or changes in the social structure of a species might have altered perceptions. This is a natural form of evolution for a species, and as a writer in a collaborative environment, we should approach instances of cooperative world-building like this with an open mind that we do not set our definitions in stone. | |||
If you are unsure of your approach, do not hesitate to reach out to your ship’s staff. They are there to help you portray the character you want, have an open and honest discussion about expectations, but also be able to meet the Federation ideals of “universal liberty, rights, and equality, and to share their knowledge and resources in peaceful cooperation and space exploration." | |||
{{Heading|Character Guilds|#6699cc}} | {{Heading|Character Guilds|#6699cc}} | ||