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Closed Put Some Basic Restrictions on What A Playable Character Can Be

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Wes

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This suggestion is to put some basic rules on what a player character can be. The rules I'm proposing are:
  • Player characters should be a reasonable size, which is to say they should be able to fit in most RP locations and vehicles. I know we have a few huge ID-SOLs and Trolls out there, and they could be grandfathered in, but we should probably limit characters to being something like 3 meters or smaller, and no smaller than a mini-neko or FARS drone.
  • Player characters should be adults. Recent feedback I got is saying it's unclear whether or not it's OK to play kids as your character. I think that kids should probably stay in the realm of NPCs.
  • Player characters should be born in YE 01 or later. Put simply, the pre-YE timeline is just not really detailed enough and when we get characters born before then it often creates canon questions and issues. Effectively, this caps new player characters at age 43.
Note these restrictions could be bypassed by GMs for NPCs as required. I'm just talking about people's main characters.

If you agree with this suggestion, please upvote.
 
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I have to admit, I do have a child character, but he is more of an NPC - that being Motoyoshi Eidan. The ISS Shiroi subplot is about his education and protection. I agree he will probably stay in the NPC realm until he is an adult, but I think maybe what needs to occur on the level of child characters is have a defined set of rules.
 
This suggestion is to put some basic rules on what a player character can be. The rules I'm proposing are:
  • Player characters should be a reasonable size, which is to say they should be able to fit in most RP locations and vehicles. I know we have a few huge ID-SOLs and Trolls out there, and they could be grandfathered in, but we should probably limit characters to being something like 3 meters or smaller, and no smaller than a mini-neko or FARS drone.
Is there a minimum height restriction?
I have a species I'd love to introduce to SARP one day, but they're very tiny in comparison to humans. I'd just like to know now to prepare later.
 
I think these guidelines are pretty good, especially for new players to help them with make a first character that is going to fit in well and give them that first good taste to the Star Army. However, I wouldn't want it to be a forced set of rules. Experienced members who have been around awhile and know more about the cannon of the game could probably make characters outside these guidelines that work well.
 
I think these guidelines are pretty good, especially for new players to help them with make a first character that is going to fit in well and give them that first good taste to the Star Army. However, I wouldn't want it to be a forced set of rules. Experienced members who have been around awhile and know more about the cannon of the game could probably make characters outside these guidelines that work well.
Honestly, this - I think it'd be good to set these up as guidelines and strongly recommended restrictions on characters, to not-so-subtly encourage players into RPing with characters that fit said criteria. Taking away the "hardness" that would come from making these restrictions into actual RULES would still allow an experienced or knowledgeable RPer to still make something that's not quite "normal".


This is why I officially downvoted the original post, but otherwise support the actual idea being discussed in this thread.
 
The only hang up o have is that we have the Tsumi as a playable race and they average 8-12+ feet in height. I do think that maybe a small note to address them as an exception, or clearly connotated notes on their creation may need to be added.
 
Reasonable Size: I don't know of any characters getting created outside of a reasonable size, but I feel there is a lot to unpack. The Tsumi are one issue, the Separa'Shan are another (as their total length can reach well over twenty feet and at the current time only has a guideline, not a hard cap). That said, I think that both the Tsumi and the Separa'Shan fit in the same range as the other characters. This is something we should deal with on a case by case basis and regulate mostly by not accepting species that don't (quite literally) fit well. Additionally, I have to wonder if this is enough of a problem to make a rule about rather then just being a sanity check.

Age: This is one where I think that we do need to be clear, all PC characters on the site should be 'adults' and able to consent/make contracts etc. However, there are some differences between races. A Neko is an 'adult' soon as they are born [There are some aterisks here]. A Separa'Shan becomes an adult after their ascension at about 14 (Yam years, Essia adopted Yamatai's time system when they joined the empire.). A Human becomes an adult at I think it's 21 (In Yam years, 18 in Earth/Nep years). I think every race should have an 'age of accountability' listed below which a character is a child.

Created in documented times: I'm someone who likes making characters who are older than YE 01. I personally feel that we lack older characters that we should have. It's only been about 36 years from YE 01 in character. For comparison, 36 years ago was 1985. So if I make a human character who is 50, (which is far from an unreasonable age for a human especially given the setting's medical tech) they will be born well before YE 01. That said, I do recognize that the time before then isn't well documented and that can lead to issues with just having to make stuff up and not really being sure what to put there. I'm not sure where I stand on this. My instinct is for it to just not be a rule.

Edited to add: I don't think this problem will go away just by say making a 100-year leap into the future. YE 01 was about when everyone became immortal thanks to soul transfer. (Some details, but you get my point)
 
I play a few old characters myself, and have simply skirted that issue by leaving it very vague. Usually just basically describing it as rough times or just saying that they just don't recall most of that part of their life due to it being far less exciting. Then picking up on details in the calendar system, when things became far more canonically exciting. Like height, I think it's just a matter of making sure the topic is treated reasonably like Soban said.
 
All great guidelines, especially the “no characters born before YE01” one. Very few people are qualified to play these well, and the presence of these characters usually devalues the RP they’re in.
 
I think these guidelines are pretty good, especially for new players to help them with make a first character that is going to fit in well and give them that first good taste to the Star Army. However, I wouldn't want it to be a forced set of rules. Experienced members who have been around awhile and know more about the cannon of the game could probably make characters outside these guidelines that work well.
Honestly, this - I think it'd be good to set these up as guidelines and strongly recommended restrictions on characters, to not-so-subtly encourage players into RPing with characters that fit said criteria. Taking away the "hardness" that would come from making these restrictions into actual RULES would still allow an experienced or knowledgeable RPer to still make something that's not quite "normal".


This is why I officially downvoted the original post, but otherwise support the actual idea being discussed in this thread.
Definitely agree, I understand the general purpose of these guidelines, but they should be guidelines and not hard restrictions as there are ways to roleplay characters that don't meet these guidelines. Also like Soban said for the character size one, some species in general already go outside those guidelines, mini-neko can technically be smaller than 8 inches, and if the idea is that characters should be able to fit in most RP vehicles there's already quite a few that Separa'Shans aren't compatible with both because of their tail's size and lack of legs for things like pedals.

Also as for all characters needing to be adults, I'm not sure I get that one. I mean if it's a combat plot and all yeah, but what if you're roleplaying another character's kid that they either adopted or had?
 
SOL and Trolls, And bigger things like spacer automota aside, size requirements should be a thing, ye.

Not something we use to beat down new players when they want a 33A who's an inch taller than most other 33A's, or a unique character who makes a non-standard something or other; But like reasonable heights that make it easier for GMs and players alike to play with that character.

For Age i think its a bit harder since neko are adults at like 3 months old (and lets be frank the excuse that they have machine learning and are mature after 3 months wouldn't hold up in court if you tried to explain that to a fed who wouldn't sympathize when they bring up some of the art people make of their neko PCs who are only a couple of years old), Nesh age dramatically slower, separa have something with their age i cant remember and elysians too if i recall (tho might be wrong), ID-SOL are aged rapidly, etc.

Hell the age of enlistment in Nepleslia is 16+ as nep is a harder place to live than most and people mature mentally quicker. I literally have a 16-year old PC in my infantry plot after all. And have a PC in the kingdom of neshaten who would be in her 20's in nepleslia but isnt even a teenager in the kingdom (and shes in a literal terror cell).


Instead it should be a recommendation that players make appropriately aged PCs and up to the discretion of the plots GM and if applicable the character review mods if not for a plot as it might not matter about the age (like in a non 18+ plot or a job/occupation where it shouldn't matter like if its a caretaker or special case.), and not some hard line in the sand that will just get arguments later on.

For the pre-YE 1 rule tho i think that makes sense for Nep/Yamatai/ most others. As a lot of people that could be that old died in the plague and most older characters are NPCs as most people here come and want to play younger and more beautiful or relatelable characters.
 
literally have a 16-year old PC in my infantry plot after all
In Earth years that's 13 or 14. There's no reason Nepleslia should be using kids to fight its wars. It's a good example of why this rule should be a thing.

Recommendations are not going to be effective. If, for example, we recommended that people wait for 3 months before submitting a species, people would be submitting them on day 1 all the time. We already recommend players make diverse characters but they're still almost all white. Recommendations aren't even a speed bump to people who weren't going to follow them in the first place.
 
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Lets not argue ethics or what my faction should be doing when the largest faction on site used to and still does mass-clone its armies and rapidly advance their age to fighting age mentally and physically only and these clones are often sexualized more than any nepleslians these days.

And the 9 month cycle isnt what people base their characters on. They say 16 and their character is physically 16 years old. And recommendations are just that not rules.

You cant force people to make different races or ethnicities or genders. Hell people still pop up that want to play a male or trans neko every now and then~

Be a welcoming and inclusive community not one where you have to put people down for wanting to play a teenager in a plot where there's no reason they cant like in non 18+ plots. Plots which arent based around age (as this is an 18+ to join community), but is based around the content of the plot itself.
 
In Earth years that's 13 or 14. There's no reason Nepleslia should be using kids to fight its wars. It's a good example of why this rule should be a thing.
Pot, I would very much like to introduce you to my good friend Kettle. (Frankly a lot of this is caused by the fact that EVERYONE must use Yamataian years even outside of Yamatai)
i think its a bit harder since neko are adults at like 3 months old (and lets be frank the excuse that they have machine learning and are mature after 3 months wouldn't hold up in court if you tried to explain that to a fed who wouldn't sympathize when they bring up some of the art people make of their neko PCs who are only a couple of years old)

That said, a good RULE might be to have it that characters must be of age to participate in 18+ plots.
 
Given the fact that I've seen a few people pop up with characters that have gone through the whole trope where they've been in stasis/cryogenically frozen for a few years I think it'd be better to say that, while most characters should be born YE 01 onwards, people should be allowed to occasionally make characters older than that (to a degree, like maybe 10-20 years BYE max) if they are willing to do it in a way that makes sense and doesn't cause any conflicting history.

Edit: Also yeah, the Neshaten calendar is weird, so anyone who is older than "twenty something" is born BYE
 
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Ill comment again before it gets off topic and we start bashing each others factions or it gets toxic as that was not I'm intention with my posts.

I only have one PC underage. I don't plan on making more any time soon so i don't have a major personal stake in this.

I simply want this community i love so much to remain as open, free and welcoming as possible to peoples wants and ideas and preferences and not overburdened by rules that could instead be guidelines or recommendations.

A community that wont death by a thousand cuts its players with 10,000 rules that add up over time and shoot down characters, ideas, etc. that people are/were really invested in only to have them shot down and get no leeway or slack if they try to plead their case regardless of if it makes sense.

We lose nothing by simply having it as a recommendation, whereas we lose something by having it as a hard rule. And we have character review mods for a reason and GMs should be able to decide what can be in their plots without some overbearing authority ruining any of their drive to RP or write when people should be able to come here and be free to express themselves and want to stay because of that.

I will comment, however, that i did read the recommendation in the nep wiki spaces and so have others about making more mixed-race and POC characters. with a few exceptions (most of which being different species), all of my PCs are POC or have darker than white skin tones and if i make a male PC my next one is always a female PC and vice-versa to keep it consistent. I just never felt any need to brag as i enjoy tanned skin tones and never felt the need to give myself some pat on the back for doing so~
 
Should a young teen be in an infantry plot? Would you think that was okay to happen if it was happening in Yamatai?

I think these rules are good ideas but I think past PC that do not fit them should be grandfathered in.

Also, a lot of people play their youngling Neko after birth, including that growing period before maturity. Would this not be allowed anymore?
 
We lose nothing by simply having it as a recommendation, whereas we lose something by having it as a hard rule. And we have character review mods for a reason and GMs should be able to decide what can be in their plots without some overbearing authority
Examples of everything suggested in the opening post have already made it through GMs and character reviewers even though they're character elements that go against common sense. Seems better to reign it in for the future than it is to have even more characters who would need adjustments if it came down to it. It's easier to make what's acceptable clear from the get-go than it is to tell somebody that their character needs a retcon because their GM's approval amounted to a rubber stamp and a gold star sticker.
 
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