Opening up Characters (Slightly)
Posted by Pax on 08/30/20
As some folks have noticed recently, we've been tentatively allowing a broader range of character apps recently on a case-by-case basis; PCs being able to play the sort of roles that would previously have been restricted to staff NPCs such as a junior emissary of the Emperor, characters from foreign lands (other than the Dune Kingdoms in Eurus), and such.
There have also been other characters who are less openly unusual, but who may be quietly foreign or even non-human.
To avoid confusion, we'll probably be making a way to flag specific characters as explicitly staff NPCs going forward, so that people can see that immediately on @finger regardless of whether or not a character's sheet is publicly viewable; this would make things clear that among the Imperial mission sent by Platinum, Zulana is a staff NPC while Jadara is not, for instance.
Now, this does *not* mean these concepts are completely open and unrestricted; that would be a massive headache for staff, considering the amount of lore knowledge involved in playing a character from outside of the average Arvani background (and the handholding involved in getting a character out on grid). An active khati adept in Arvum is very unlikely to be approved right now for anything other than a staff NPC, for instance.
But various things which might otherwise have been outright nixed previously *can* now be potentially approved, if people have a compelling argument as to how it will add to the story *as a whole* and generate RP *for other people*, not just for the players. The farther from the Arvani norm, admittedly, the more compelling the argument will need to be.
("It would be neat to play a dragon" is not, for example, a compelling reason.)
But I realized it hasn't been made clear that we *are* open to considering these sort of things as the game moves more and more towards all the hidden bits of the past coming to light, and so it seemed worthwhile to make this post to clarify. So if you have an idea you really think will add to the game -- and are willing to accept certain restrictions and be willing to turn aside on various RP paths if staff nudges you -- then you can ask staff about whether or not it's feasible.
There have also been other characters who are less openly unusual, but who may be quietly foreign or even non-human.
To avoid confusion, we'll probably be making a way to flag specific characters as explicitly staff NPCs going forward, so that people can see that immediately on @finger regardless of whether or not a character's sheet is publicly viewable; this would make things clear that among the Imperial mission sent by Platinum, Zulana is a staff NPC while Jadara is not, for instance.
Now, this does *not* mean these concepts are completely open and unrestricted; that would be a massive headache for staff, considering the amount of lore knowledge involved in playing a character from outside of the average Arvani background (and the handholding involved in getting a character out on grid). An active khati adept in Arvum is very unlikely to be approved right now for anything other than a staff NPC, for instance.
But various things which might otherwise have been outright nixed previously *can* now be potentially approved, if people have a compelling argument as to how it will add to the story *as a whole* and generate RP *for other people*, not just for the players. The farther from the Arvani norm, admittedly, the more compelling the argument will need to be.
("It would be neat to play a dragon" is not, for example, a compelling reason.)
But I realized it hasn't been made clear that we *are* open to considering these sort of things as the game moves more and more towards all the hidden bits of the past coming to light, and so it seemed worthwhile to make this post to clarify. So if you have an idea you really think will add to the game -- and are willing to accept certain restrictions and be willing to turn aside on various RP paths if staff nudges you -- then you can ask staff about whether or not it's feasible.