1. Creating & Introducing Your Character

Character role-play statistics are not necessary for any of the forums unless you are going to participate in a structured Play & Post Adventure that utilizes a game system.

CREATING YOUR CHARACTER

You are free to have as many characters as you wish. Once you have been established at the Bridge a personal forum entitled with your 'user name' will be created which you may use to develop and archive other characters, among other things

In every story forum you will find a 'Character Topic' and it is there that you may submit your character. Just use a pre-existing write-up as a template then post. An Administrator, Moderator OR Senior Writer of the story will then review the character and either approve it or provide you with some constructive criticism before you jump in.

Always remember to make sure that your character suits the environment in which they will be played. We take our writing seriously despite how we may act when out of character. Try and provide a detailed write-up; being specific with the particulars of your character will eliminate any confusion that may arise when they are enter precarious and dangerous situations in which 'convenient' writing is frowned upon.

CHARACTER BALANCE

Please study the other characters of the story in which you will be participating. Observe their strength's and weaknesses and understand that your character should compliment the story by fitting into those parameters already set. If your character is too powerful then the antagonists required to threaten them will be too strong for the other heroic characters to adequately deal with, thus unbalancing the story. Always consider the characters of your fellow writers before designing your character.

INTRODUCING YOUR CHARACTER

Naturally people want to get their character into the story as quickly as possible but we cannot stress enough how important it is to introduce your character believably and at an appropriate time.

For example: If the current scene is taking place in a hostile environment the chances of your character strolling by are pretty slim, unless we are talking about a battle. If say the current characters are underground, being pursued by monsters this is not a good time to toss in your character since it's just too unbelievable for an unknown character to appear during a climatic moment, in fact it ruins the story.... And it's all about the story.

Also remember that the introduction of your character should match their profile as there is nothing more 'out of character' than when someone goes against their very nature to force their character into the story. If say the current scene is on a deserted island, then you'll just have to wait, unless your character is Robinson Crusoe, or their is an opening for a vessel to happen by for a specific and believable reason.

NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS

It is impossible to adequately write without the introduction of supporting characters. You are free at any time to have them appear in a story with no need of submitting a write up. Realize though that any non-player character introduced into the story is considered a Community Character and can be controlled by any writer (but naturally they must keep in the character of the NPC as they were introduced). If a writer has plans for that NPC they should specify in OOC discussion that the NPC is for personal use and then other writers will handle them accordingly with slight modifications when necessary.

When you use NPC's always realize that their presence can paint another writer in a corner pretty quickly, so please do not have too many personal NPC's that cannot be maneuvered by other writers. If such cases arise then any personal NPC's which have become obstructions will be treated as Community Characters to break the dam.

If you wish to document an NPC for further use, enter them in the Character Topic if an NPC area does not exist. If an NPC becomes more popular in your posts, then you may graduate them to main character status.