Joining Manual

[Sarah "Fish" Fischer]

OK, I know I have a reputation for being the resident MODNAZI. To make things a little more fair, and a lot easier, these are the things that I look out for and comment on.

1. Please try to use relatively good spelling and grammar. It doesn't have to be perfect. Just make sure that you capitalize everything that should be capitalized, and that you don't mix up too many homonymns. Also,make sure that your periods are in the right places, and that every sentence has a subject and an object.

2. Absolutely no anime characters. Ever. Seriously. Do not make characters that look, act, or have anything that is signifigantly similar to an anime character's anything. That includes anime weapons, anime pets, anime clothes, etc. I like anime. A lot. It doesn't belong in this RPG, however. If you want to be able to carry around a gigantic silver gun, or fight vampires, go to the RI section of this site. It might be more your speed.

3. Make sure that your character's bio includes motives, information about his childhood, and life so far. If your character is Middle Eastern and a terrorist, don't just put "Works for al-Qaeda." Include a really detailed back story that helps show the reader why the character thinks what he thinks. There are a few notable exceptions to this, such as Groucho Marxist or the Capitalist Piginator. They get a little leeway because they exist to be funny.

4. Do not create characters that are just like other characters that we already have. I know that the world is a large and diverse place, and there are people like other people in the world. However, just because one male prostitute character loves reading housekeeping magazines, it doesn't mean that the all do. Also, we already have three or four sets of creepy terrorist twins. I think we have enough creepy terrorist twins. Imitation is a form of flattery, but in an RPG, it just makes things more boring. Don't create a dozen characters that are exactly the same, dress the same, and act the same.

5. If your character is supernatural, it should be the most insignifigant aspect of your character. For example, Kaschei Bessmertny is an evil, immortal wizard, but most of the time, he is a mob boss. He doesn't gallop around naked on a horse and zap people. He sits in his office and organizes the importation of drugs. Remember that this takes place in modern times. Similarly, do not use your powers openly. I cannot stress this enough. Everything should be implied or flexible. If you play a supernatural character and you have signifigantly reduced travel time as a result, that's fine. Just don't post a twenty page battle with vampire bats and laser beams.

6. If I ask you to change something, it is not because I hate you. In fact, I suck at figuring out who plays who. I don't have personal grudges. I just call it like I see it. Unless you can prove that I'm wrong, please do what I ask. If I sound rude, I apologize in advance.

7. Stay away from stereotypes. If you are playing a Muslim character who is a terrorist, he should have a backstory that explains why. Sometimes, satirical characters can be made. It should be clear that the characters are satirical.

8. Give your character flaws. Nobody is perfect, and the same goes for RPG characters. Everyone has weaknesses. The weaknesses should clearly be weaknesses. For example, being emotionless isn't necissarily a weakness, while missing a leg definitely is.

9. Try not to mention exact dates, as the setting of the time period of this RPG is horribly, horribly confusing for me. When in doubt about the year, say 2xxx. So, if your character was in Nepal fighting in the civil war there, instead of saying 1996-2005, just leave the date blank by saying 2xxx.

10. Absolutely no people who were kidnapped and brainwashed into being the perfect soldier/assassin/whatever. Absolutely no amnesia, unless it is by natural or approved magical causes.

I might add more to this later.

I am going to leave this unlocked for discussion. If any of the other mods or admin find a serious problem with it, changes will be made.

[Sarah "Fish" Fischer]

I'm going to go down this join template, and explain what's awesome for each section.

Name: Give your character a real name. If your character is a Muslim, do not name that character Osama bin Laden. If your character is Jewish, don't name him Hymie. I will smack you. Fake names and stage names are OK if there's a good reason behind them. An example of a good reason is if your character is a cult member. Make sure that the name fits the nationality and culture. For example, not many people in Saudi Arabia are named Bobby Smith.

Age: The age should match the occupation and story of the character. No eight year old doctors, please.

Race: Race shouldn't be confused with ethnicity and nationality. Race is just the color of your skin. Try to be PC here. If you're a Nazi, and you put Aryan, that's OK. Similarly, if a person from Iran puts Aryan, it means something completely different.

Fantasy Race: If you're playing a fantasy race, you should have a good reason for doing so. I'm a sucker for references to obscure mythology and stories. This RPG tends to focus on Russian and Finnish mythology, so try to stick to those. If you play as a fantasy character, the character will need a cover story. This is a story they tell people to cover up that they are an elf, demon, God, etc. A cover story would explain any strange physical features (e.g. a dark elf might say they have a rare skin disease) as well as a fake past.

Ethnicity: Ethnicity is what culture your person is. For example, someone can be caucasian (race), American (nationality), and Jewish (ethnicity).

Nationality: Nationality is the country of origin or current residence for your person.

Economic Class: The economic class of your character should match the rest of his bio. Economics control everything. There's a reason that there aren't a lot of wealthy socialists, or impoverished owners of multimillion dollar corporations. Also, don't make your character rich just because you want a rich character. This is an RPG, not a wish fulfillment playland.

Gender Identity: This doesn't necissarily relate to the genitals of your person.

Sexuality: This doesn't have to be a one word explanation. If you don't think there's a word for how your character feels, then say so, and explain why. If you choose to indulge in that sexuality in the RPG, make sure you use the gray text. If the admin would put the color up here, it would be greatly appreciated, since I actually don't remember what it is. Also, don't post excessive porn for no reason. It should have something to do with your character, or the plot, at the very least. For example, Valodya Bassarov is a playa, so he sleeps around a lot. That's how his character is. The color code is 272A2F.

Political Affiliation: You must research the political affiliation of your character, unless you know everything about the affliation already. Wikipedia is awesomely helpful. The affiliation should match up with the other info, unless you have a good explanation. Also, make sure that you play the affiliation. Green Party members don't ordinarily hang out with Nazis and terrorists (no matter what the Republicans say.)


Organization: Not all characters have to have an organization, but if they don't there should be a good explanation. The organization should match the political affiliation of the character. For example, a pacifist wouldn't join Das Ende.

Religious/Spiritual belief or affilation: This is also important, and should match the rest of your character.

Value Stats: These values describe what your character thinks is important. Make sure they match up. For example, a Zionist would value nationalism more than internationalism, while a Trotskyist would value internationalism more than nationalism.
Divide 1000 into based on how your character values -

Politics
Religion
Nationalism
Internationalism
Spirituality
Personal Freedom
Peace

Occupation: Remember that if your character has a job, you should post him working. Also remember that your skills should match your occupation. For example, a janitor probably won't be skilled in atom smashing.

Skills: Make sure you list everything that you consider important, because in a fight, if you start busting the kung fu moves, and this thing doesn't say kung fu, you're in trouble. Also, make sure that everything here is realistic. For example, most teachers aren't also ninja masters.

Languages: (the languages your character speaks. Limit is 5 unless the character is a diplomat, linguist, or comes from a multi lingual country) If your character doesn't speak any of the same languages as another character, you can't talk to each other, or understand each other. Also, make sure that you have the languages needed for your country. What kind of French person can't speak French? Not a very good one.

Weaknesses: You must have real weaknesses for this. I can't stress that enough. Everyone wants their character to be a perfect superman, but the world doesn't work that way. Being emotionless in conflict is probably one of the most common non-weaknesses that get listed here. That isn't a weakness, it's an advantage. Being half blind isn't a weakness. Make sure you have at least two. If you have a phobia, make sure you play it. People with plane phobias don't go flying unless they are seriously medicated.

Appearance: Make sure that this is a description. Describe what the character wears, looks like, body type, etc. Do not just post build and exact height. That isn't a description, that's a statistic.

Personality: Make sure that you don't have contradictions here, and that you list more than "nice and happy" or "mean and evil." Most people aren't exclusively either.


story:
This should be told in the third person, past tense. Do not make this a narrative. Do not say that your family was killed, so you want revenge. Make sure that your entire life so far is described. Write someone realistic, with real depth, and reasons for his actions. I know that as Americans, most of us consider terrorists to be monsters. You have to step out of that for a second, and see that they are complete characters. No one is allowed to have a mysterious, unknown, or classified past. Period. It can be classified in the game, but the mods have to be allowed to look at it. Your character may not have amnesia, and not remember his past, unless he has brain damage, Alzeimer's, or some other natural explanation. There shouldn't be any government brainwashing to make people into assassins. Those get rejected automatically.

Exceptions can be made with special dispensations, for the following:

1. Funny characters.

2. Specially approved characters for plot purposes. I still might ask for some things to be changed though, so don't push your luck.

[Heikki Toivonen]

Joining Guide...

What is this?

This is an rpg, or role playing game. The purpose here is to create a fictional character and interact with other fictional characters as a sort of game. It is sort of like writing a story communally, with all of the members contributing some part to the whole story of the world. So the most important thing when making a character is coming up with something for your character to believe in. They might believe in anarchy, socialism, capitalism, feminism, or hundreds of other things. But their beliefs will define the character and who they post to.

What is this about?

This is an rpg about a world similar to our own, but with more political strife and war. It is a political rpg, where the focus is playing a character with a certain set of political beliefs and a vision of how the world should be. You can join with like minded people to attempt to change the world, or you can challenge the ideas and visions of people with different view points. Besides being an rpg about politics and social change, it is an rpg about the lives of characters. You can make friends, enemies, lovers, and so on, with the people who you interact with.

How do I begin?

To begin you will want to make a character by going to the joining section and copying the join template. The template looks like this:


Joining Template

Name: The name of your character. This name should match their nationality or ethnicity. That is, if you are a Russian character, you wouldn't be named Bob Smith, but instead a Russian name like Ivan Sokolov.

Age: This is the age of your character. Generally most characters are between the ages of 17-35, though you can play a character of any age.

Race: This is the racial group you fit into, such as white, black, Asian, Native American, eastern islander, etc. This is usually based on your skin color or the region of the world your family originated from.

Ethnicity: This is the ethnic group you belong to. For instance, you might be Native American, but a specifically you could be Ojibwa, Crow, Sioux, etc. Or, if you are white, you may be Irish, German, Swedish, or Finnish.

Nationality: This is the nation that you are a citizen in. This does not always match your ethnicity. For instance, you could be Italian American or Ethiopian Irish. This is the country that you live in, work in, can vote in, and pay taxes in, etc. but may not be the nation of your origin.

Economic Class: This is how poor or rich you are. You could play as a very poor person, middle class person, very rich person, etc. You can decide how rich you are.


Gender Identity: This is the gender you identify as. This may or may not match your biological gender. For instance, you could be biologically female, but consider yourself male or androgynous because of your behaviors, dress, thoughts, and personality, among other things. Or you could play a character who cross dresses, has had a sex change, or who doesn't believe in gender and proclaims gender neutrality.

Sexuality: This decides who you are attracted to. If you are attracted to the opposite sex, you are heterosexual, if you are attracted to the same sex, you are homosexual, if you are attracted to both, you are bi sexual, and, if you are attracted to no one, you are asexual. These are just a few examples

Political Affiliation: This is the dominant political belief in your life. For instance, you may be a socialist, anarchist, liberal, conservative, fascist, etc.

Organization: This is the organization you belong to. It could be a political party, non government organization, government organization, government job, crime or mafia group, religious group, or corporation that you own or work for.

Religious/Spiritual belief or affiliation: This is your religious belief, such as Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim,. Jewish, atheist, agnostic, etc.



Value Stats:
Divide 1000 into based on how your character values -

Politics
Religion
Nationalism
Internationalism
Spirituality
Personal Freedom
Peace

Occupation: This is your job. It can be anything. It should match your economic class. A teacher will not be rich. A supermodel probably isn't in poverty.


Skills: These are your talents and areas of special knowledge


Languages: These are the languages you know. There is a limit of 5


Weaknesses: These are your short comings, such as medical conditions, personality flaws, etc




Appearance: How you look



Personality: How you behave



story: Your life story. This can include your past, where you grew up, any friends or family members, your beliefs, and goals in life.




What do I do once I make a character?

Once you make your character, you must wait to be approved. Once you are approved by an admin or a moderator, you may start posting

Where do I start posting?

Everyone posts in the main quest area on a main thread. The threads are about 20 pages long, and everyone posts on the same thread until it is full.

I don't understand what is going on, everyone is posting randomly on this main thread:

The main thread is everything that is happening in the world, so yes, it looks a little confused until you figure out who is where and who is posting to whom. If you notice two people posting together, try to figure out where they are, and start by posting to them. For instance you might post something like.

I was walking down the street in Paris and was very lost. I noticed two people walking together and I walked up to them quickly. They looked friendly so
I thought that I could approach them.
"Hello, my name is .... I am lost, maybe you can help me find what I am looking for." I said to them.

That is a really generic post, but you get the idea. You can simply "bump" into someone, and hopefully they will post back.

I don’t understand the different groups and what they mean.

Here is a very simple version of some of the groups which exist in the rpg, and what they believe:

People Who Don't believe in Government:

Anarchists- believe that there should be no government and that people can govern themselves. They believe in revolution against class and the state. That is, they think that there shouldn't be rich and poor people, that all wealth should be shared. They also don't believe in "state" which is just another word for government.

nihilists: Don't believe in government, or anything for that matter! They think that society is really messed up, religion is a lie, morality is a lie, and that God doesn't exist. So, basically, to them, all of society is a lie. They would like to see it destroyed to see what remains.

primitivists: Do not believe in government, and think that people should return to a primitive lifestyle. They think that because of technology and capitalism, the world is deeply flawed and that humanity must return to the Earth, living in a healthy, primitive, and communal way. Primitivists would have to believe in revolution not only against the state, but against technology and all things modern.


anarcho capitalists: They also believe in anarchy, but instead of believing in community based anarchy where all wealth is shared, they believe in unrestricted capitalism, where businesses are self regulated. They believe that society should be survival of the fittest.

Libertarians: Libertarians have an ideology that is very similar to those of Classical Liberals. They believe in free, unrestricted trade, and free, unrestricted personal conduct. The government only exists to protect the rights of its citizens. Libertarians have a very narrow view of rights, and only believe in negative rights, but not positive rights. Positive and negative rights are described in this link. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_and_positive_rights


Socialists/Communists There are many different kinds of socialists, here is what they are and what they believe.

Socialists Who Do Not Believe in Revolution

a. Social Democrats- Moderate socialists who believe in a limited, but free market. That is, they believe in "class" or differences in wealth, but that these differences can be reduced if such things as income caps and taxes are implemented in society. They believe that EVERYONE in society should get health care, education, housing, transportation, and some other services which are paid for through taxes. They do not believe in revolution, instead, they believe in reforms.

b. Utopian Socialists- Utopian socialists predate Marxists. They believe socialism as an ideal, but are not for building a mass movement around it. Instead they have more of "if you build it, they will come" sort of approach to socialism. They might make their own communes or socialist communities, so that they can enjoy socialism and set an example for the rest of society.

c. Christian Socialists- Christian socialists are socialists who choose to become socialists because they feel that socialism relates to Christianity and the message of Christ. They usually aren't revolutionary, or if they are, are for a revolution of spirit or non violent revolution.

Socialists who believe in Revolution

a. Trotskyists- These are socialists who believe that world revolution should overthrow capitalism. They support the Russian revolution, but do not support the Soviet Union or communist eastern Europe, calling the USSR a degenerated workers state and Eastern Europe a deformed workers state.

b. Stalinists- They support the Soviet Union and believe that socialism can be built in one country rather than a world revolution against capitalism.

c. Maoists- They support Communist China and peasant based revolution.

d. Deleonists- They believe that revolutionary unions will take power through a general strike and by electing socialists into power. Their focus is winning mass support by building their party and organizing unions.


Other Groups:

Green Party- They have some social democrat ideologies, such as providing health care for all citizens and they are supportive of fair trade. They are concerned with the environment and regulating corporations so that they are more people/environmentally friendly. They are normally pacifists or anti war.

Liberals: Believe in a free market (capitalism), but that the government should provide some services to the people such as retirement, disability, k-12 education, welfare to the poor, etc. They believe in creating a society which gives equal rights to everyone, on the basis of race, sex, class, sexuality, etc. They are for reforms to the society.

Conservative: Are against major changes to society and are governed by conservative moral or religious values. They think that government should protect its citizens, but should have a limited role in their welfare. Equal rights are important, but not as important as protecting the traditions of a nation, such as the institution of marriage or religious practice in the public/government sphere. They are against high taxes for the rich, and usually pro business. They also think war is sometimes needed to protect the people of a country.

Capitalists: This is just a general term for anyone who profits off of the labor of others. They own businesses, factories, property, etc, in which they employ others to work for them at a wage.

Types of Capitalists

anarcho capitalists: They also believe in anarchy, but instead of believing in community based anarchy where all wealth is shared, they believe in unrestricted capitalism, where businesses are self regulated. They believe that society should be survival of the fittest.

Libertarians: Libertarians: Libertarians have an ideology that is very similar to those of Classical Liberals. They believe in free, unrestricted trade, and free, unrestricted personal conduct. The government only exists to protect the rights of its citizens. Libertarians have a very narrow view of rights, and only believe in negative rights, but not positive rights. Positive and negative rights are described in this link. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_and_positive_rights

Objectivists: A moral society to Objectivists is one where individuals can meet their full potential or pursue their goals. Objectivists support free market capitalism and are politically very similar to Libertarians. Objectivists follow the philosophy of Ayn Rand and believe in rational self interest, reason, individual rights, and capitalism.

Green Party- They have some social democrat ideologies, such as providing health care for all citizens and they are supportive of fair trade. They are concerned with the environment and regulating corporations so that they are more people/environmentally friendly. They are normally pacifists or anti war.

Liberals: Believe in a free market (capitalism), but that the government should provide some services to the people such as retirement, disability, k-12 education, welfare to the poor, etc. They believe in creating a society which gives equal rights to everyone, on the basis of race, sex, class, sexuality, etc. They are for reforms to the society.

Conservative: Are against major changes to society and are governed by conservative moral or religious values. They think that government should protect its citizens, but should have a limited role in their welfare. Equal rights are important, but not as important as protecting the traditions of a nation, such as the institution of marriage or religious practice in the public/government sphere. They are against high taxes for the rich, and usually pro business. They also think war is sometimes needed to protect the people of a country.


Nazism and Fascism


Fascism- (According to Wikipedia)Fascism is associated by many scholars with one or more of the following characteristics: a very high degree of nationalism, economic corporatism, a powerful, dictatorial leader who portrays the nation, state or collective as superior to the individuals or groups composing it.

Nazism- That is Germany's brand of fascism, or national socialism. (According to Wikipedia)Nazism was the ideology held by the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, commonly called NSDAP or the Nazi Party), which was led by its Führer (leader), Adolf Hitler. The word Nazism is most often used in connection with the dictatorship of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 (the "Third Reich"), and it is derived from the term National Socialism (German: Nationalsozialismus, often abbreviated NS). Adherents of the Nazi ideology held that the Aryan race were superior to other races, and they promoted Germanic racial supremacy and a strong, centrally governed state. Nazism has been outlawed in modern Germany, yet small remnants and revivalists, known as "Neo-Nazis", continue to operate in Germany and abroad.

Strasserism- This is a type of Nazism. It argues that a Nazi revolution must be both nationalist and socialist in nature. It was put forth by the Strasser brothers who were enemies of Hilter, but significant members of the Nazi party. They criticized Hitler for squashing workers' rights/agitation and for his close ties to business leaders. They are for racial separation rather than racism.

National Anarchists-This mixes anarchy with nationalism. Adherents believe that the state should be abolished but people should live in communities centered around racial identity. They are for racial seperatism and against "racial miscegenation" They are anti UN, EU, nation state, World Bank, etc.

[Heikki Toivonen]

What is the difference between socialism and communism?

It depends on who you ask. Some people would define socialism as a stage before society reaches communism. On this rpg, I define communism as any revolutionary socialist movement with the goal of overthrowing capitalism. Socialism on the other hand is usually viewed as a reform movement, which seeks to reform capitalism rather than overthrow it. But these words are often used interchangeably.

What is the difference between a communist and a Nazi?

For some reason this confuses people.

Communists-

1. Believe in workers revolution

2. Are Internationalists (they feel the interests of workers unite the world in struggle against capitalism, irrespective of country or race)

3. In theory should not be racist, sexist, homophobic, anti semitic

4. tend to be Atheists

5. Are for a worker's government or governance by worker councils

...............................
Nazis/Fascists

1. Tends to be a Middle Class Movement

2. Are Nationalists

3. Are Often times Racist, Anti-Semitic, sexist, homophobic

4. Tend to be Christians

5. Are for a strong state and military


.....................................

When talking about politics, what does left and right mean?

This can also be confusing to people. If you imagine a political spectrum, on one side there is the left and on the other is the right. The left side of the spectrum represents liberals, socialists, communists and anarcho communists and the right side represents conservatives, fascists, libertarians, and anarcho capitalists.

The left and right can be seen many ways, but one way is how they view how society should be

People on the left usually value the collective over the individual.

People on the right value the individual over the collective.

There are flaws in viewing politics as a spectrum and some alternative models.

If you can interpret this graph, it may help you.





I want to play a terrorist, what kind of terrorists are there on the rpg?

There are many terrorist groups on the rpg. We allow groups which exist in real life such as the DFLP, Al Qaeda, Aum Shinryko, Hamas, Real IRA, etc. So if you want to play a terrorist from a real life terrorist group, just do a little research on that group and go right ahead.

Otherwise there are some fictional terrorist groups. These include

Das Ende- a nihilist group
Black Skirt- a feminist group
Black Bloc- an anarchist group
Rainbow Army- a gay rights, Maoist group
Kampf- a Nazi group
The Order of Dionysus- a hedonist group
HOLY- a Christian fundamentalist group


How Do I Join as a Counter Terrorist?

There is a generic counter terrorism team on the rpg called the International Counter Terrorism Team. It is a loose organization of many counter terrorists from around the world. If you wish to join, your character should have police or military background/training. But mercenaries and bounty hunters could also join the team. It has no central leadership or Headquarters. It is pretty much a very loose group of people who are dedicated to stopping global terrorism.


What kind of religious ideas can my character have?

You can pick any real life religious or spiritual belief.

Here are a few examples

Atheist- Doesn't believe in God or the supernatural

Agnostic- It is impossible to know if God exists or not

Scientific Pantheism- "God" doesn't exist as a being, but is the universe. The natural world has a supernatural quality, but the supernatural does not exist. These people appreciate the natural universe and science.

Panentheism- Believes that the universe is a part of God. Pantheists feel that God and the Universe are one and the same, whereas Panentheists feel that although the universe is part of God, God is still above the universe.

Deism- Typically believe that there is a God, but that this God is not involved with the universe or human lives. God just made the universe and left it at that. They focus on reason and are not involved in organized religion.



Islam


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam

Christianity

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity

Buddhism

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism

Taoism

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism

Hinduism

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism

Judaism

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism

Zoroastrianism

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism

Wicca

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca

Scientology

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology






In what time period is this taking place?

This is the most confusing aspect of the rpg. There is no date of this rpg. It is a world that is similar to today, perhaps so much so that it is just a few years in the future, however, there is no official date on this rpg. The world is very similar to today, but with more problems and with more political change. When talking about dates, use
2xxx, since this rpg takes place in the year 2000 something...

Technology is slightly more advanced than today, but the war on terrorism continues and the world powers of our own time are the major world powers in this rpg.

In short, the rpg takes place in what seems to be the near future.


What if I am not a communist/socialist?

We welcome anyone to the site, and there are many people on this rpg who are not socialists. I will admit that most members seem to be somewhere on the left, but not all of them.
If you feel unwelcome or offended on this site, we will gladly address this problem, since we do want everyone to feel at home here.

You do not have to play as a character which supports socialism. You can play as a character who defends capitalism or has a different idea of what society should be like. And if you like, you can even debate against socialism in the political debate section.

Isn't this rpg kind of biased?

This is true. There are some things in the rpg which come from an atheistic and socialist perspective. For one, socialist revolution is a given in the rpg. This doesn't mean that your character must support revolution or that the revolution is going to lead to a better society, it just means that this rpg is about socialist revolution.

There are also certain assumptions about human nature and social forces. Human nature in this rpg tends to be seen as something flexible or that humans are the product of the environment. "Evil" characters are not allowed. There are some criminal characters who do bad things, such as Baba Yaga or terrorist characters, but in general, they are not doing these bad thing because they are sinful or there is sin in the world. There are other factors involved. Economics plays a huge role in this. You don't have to agree with this, but for rpg purposes, you can not play as a character who does bad things because they are "evil." However, your character is free to feel that evil exists or that sin or supernatural forces are at work in the world.

Related to this, in the rpg, we consider terrorism or even revolution not to be caused by a certain idea or religious belief, but by economic factors. Those factors and conditions can interact with ideas, but the driving force of this world is material need. So, just as Islam doesn't make terrorists, socialism doesn't make revolution in this rpg. Rather, people embrace certain ideas when they feel oppressed or frustrated with a system that is failing them or exploits them.

So there is a bias to the rpg. You don't have to agree with these assumptions about human nature or the world. You have to tolerate them in the game to some degree, but you can always argue with us in the debate section.

[Heikki Toivonen]

How do I make a Good Character?

Imagine that you are writing a story, since basicly that is what we are doing. We are writing a story together about the world. You play one character or one small part of the world.

Now, you can play as more than one character, but you want to think through your character a little as to what you want to be or do. You want the character to be unique and interesting so that they add something to the world.

The first things you will want to consider is the age, race, class, name, gender, and beliefs of this character. A rich character is going to have a very different world view than a poor character.

In this rpg, economics and class are everything, followed by beliefs.

Sometimes it helps to answer questions about your character...

1. How do they feel about government?

1 small government
2 big government
3 no government
4 doesn't care

2 How do they feel about people?

1. People are good
2. People are bad
3. People are the products of the environment
4. Some can be both good and bad

3. How do the feel about their country?

1 Patriotic to the point that other countries and people don't matter
2 Moderately patriotic
3 Internationalist
4 Value both their country and others

4. How do they feel about religion?

1. They don't believe in God or are very secular
2. They believe in God but are open to other beliefs
3. Not sure if God exists or not
4. Very pious and even dogmatic

5. How do they feel about morality

1. Morality doesn't exist
2. Lives in a way that challenges some morals
3. Tries to be a moral person
4. There is absolute truth about morality which they strive to live by

All of these questions will factor into what beliefs your character has..

Beyond that, the character will be infuenced by their personality and personal expeirences..

At a party, your character would..

1. Hide in a corner
2. Talk to everyone
3. Find someone to hook up with
4. Probably not attend
5 Talk to some people

Your character aspires to...

1. Be a good person
2. Have sucess in school or work
3. Have many friends
4. Have many adventures
5. Create something

A great day for your character would include...

1. A good book or time spent writing or drawing
2. Going to a party or shopping
3 Getting a lot done at work or being productive
4. Sleeping with someone attractive
5. Doing something good for someone else

How does your character get along with their family?

1. Loves them
2 Hates them
3 Doesn't know them
4. Gets along, but there are rough moments
5. Doesn't get along, but wishes they did

In highschool..

1. The character was a science nerd or kept to themself mostly
2. The character was popular
3 The character was in drama or music
4. The character did everything but wasn't all that popular
5. The character bullied other people


This is from a site on character development for fiction writing, but may be useful...

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Is your character right or left-handed?

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Does your character wear glasses, or contact lenses?

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What about weight? Shoe size? Clothing size?

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What is your character's favorite color? Favorite song?

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What does your character think is his/her best feature? Worst feature?

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Is your character's handwriting neat and precise, or sloppy and unintelligible? Does your character care?

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What kind of car does your character drive? Is it neat and usually washed, or cluttered and "lived-in"?

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Does your character have a collection of anything?

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What is your character's attitude toward money? Is your character a bit of a spendthrift, or prone to spend freely?

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What are your character's hobbies?

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What are your character's talents? Do his/her friends routinely call him/her when they need help in a certain area?

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What is your character most proud of? Most embarrassed about?

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Does your character donate to any charities? Play the stock market? Gamble? Pay child support or alimony?

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Who are your character's heroes?

....................

Name:

Age:

Height:

Eye color:

Hair color:



What is this character's major goal?





Why is this goal so important to this character?





Are there any events in the character's past that affect the significance of this goal?





Describe your characters life till now, motivations, family situation, pet peeves--anything that comes to you

...........................................

So anyway, a lot of thought can go into your character's beliefs and personality.

Beyond that, I really want this to be a diverse world. I give extra reputation points to people who play as non-white characters, characters with disabilities, or impoverished people. I value diversity on the rpg and encourage you to try something new.

Since most of the world isn't white, isn't rich or middle class, and isn't physically or mentally healthy.


Here is some more info on Character Development

www.angelfire.com/mi/fictionaddiction/character.html

Plausible, complex characters are crucial to successful storytelling. You can develop them in several ways.

1. Concreteness. They have specific homes, possessions, medical histories, tastes in furniture, political opinions. Apart from creating verisimilitude, these concrete aspects of the characters should convey information about the story: does the hero smoke Marlboros because he's a rugged outdoorsman, or because that's the brand smoked by men of his social background, or just because you do?

2. Symbolic association. You can express a character's nature metaphorically through objects or settings (a rusty sword, an apple orchard in bloom, a violent thunderstorm). These may not be perfectly understandable to the reader at first (or to the writer!), but they seem subconsciously right. Symbolic associations can be consciously ``archetypal'' (see Northrop Frye), linking the character to similar characters in literature. Or you may use symbols in some private system which the reader may or may not consciously grasp. Characters' names can form symbolic associations, though this practice has become less popular in modern fiction except in comic or ironic writing.

3. Speech. The character's speech (both content and manner) helps to evoke personality: shy and reticent, aggressive and frank, coy, humorous. Both content and manner of speech should accurately reflect the character's social and ethnic background without stereotyping. If a character ``speaks prose,'' his or her background should justify that rather artificial manner. If a character is inarticulate, that in itself should convey something.

4. Behavior. From table manners to performance in hand-to-hand combat, each new example of behavior should be consistent with what we already know of the character, yet it should reveal some new aspect of personality. Behavior under different forms of stress should be especially revealing.

5. Motivation. The characters should have good and sufficient reasons for their actions, and should carry those actions out with plausible skills. If we don't believe characters would do what the author tells us they do, the story fails.

6. Change. Characters should respond to their experiences by changing--or by working hard to avoid changing. As they seek to carry out their agendas, run into conflicts, fail or succeed, and confront new problems, they will not stay the same people. If a character seems the same at the end of a story as at the beginning, the reader at least should be changed and be aware of whatever factors kept the character from growing and developing.

The Character Resume

One useful way to learn more about your characters is to fill out a ``resume'' for them--at least for the more important ones. Such a resume might include the following information:

* Name:
* Address & Phone Number:
* Date & Place of Birth:
* Height/Weight/Physical Description:
* Citizenship/Ethnic Origin:
* Parents' Names & Occupations:
* Other Family Members:
* Spouse or Lover:
* Friends' Names & Occupations:
* Social Class:
* Education:
* Occupation/Employer:
* Social Class:
* Salary:
* Community Status:
* Job-Related Skills:
* Political Beliefs/Affiliations:
* Hobbies/Recreations:
* Personal Qualities (imagination, taste, etc.):
* Ambitions:
* Fears/Anxieties/Hangups:
* Intelligence:
* Sense of Humor:
* Most Painful Setback/Disappointment:
* Most Instructive/Meaningful Experience:
* Health/Physical Condition/Distinguishing Marks/Disabilities:
* Sexual Orientation/Experience/Values:
* Tastes in food, drink, art, music, literature, decor, clothing:
* Attitude toward Life:
* Attitude toward Death:
* Philosophy of Life (in a phrase):

All of these things can be included in your join template. The join template is standard, but if you fill this out as well, it may help you understand your character better...

[Heikki Toivonen]

The Reality Test

The most important thing about making a character is making it realistic. Now there are some fantasy elements in the rpg, but even these have to conform to the rules of the "real world"

So, when you make your character ask yourself, is this realistic?

Would you realisticly meet someone like this?

If you travel to modern Japan, is it realistic that you would meet a woman whose parents were killed by Ninjas? Is it realistic that your father was an abusive scientist who experimented on you giving you mutant powers and later abandoned you to a group of pirates where you were taught fighting skills?

Although a variety of things in this world are possible, try to ask yourself what is probable. Most people do not watch the violent death of their parents at the hand of Ninjas..or anyone. Most people do not have special fighting skills. Most high school students are not hackers, doctors, or famous terrorists.

Now, there are plenty of injustices in the world which are not common in the everyday lives of middle class Americans. So, this doesn't mean your character has to have an uneventful life or even a happy life. They could be a worker at a sweatshop. Their family could have been killed under a repressive government in the Third World. Their father or brother...or even they, could be a soldier in an imperialist war. So you can be creative here. I would encourage that. There are plenty of real life tragedies which do not involve ninjas, secret organizations, demons,
mad scientists, vampires, etc.

But as you make your character, ask yourself, is this realistic? Would I hear about something like this on the news? Or learn about this in school? (now both of these things can be very biased) Would I ever meet a character like this in real life?

If you have trouble coming up with a realistic character, let me know, and I can gladly help you out.

[Heikki Toivonen]

The Reality Test

To test if your character is realistic ask yourself the following questions...

1. Does this character's name match where they are from and their ethnic group?

For instance, if you are from Russia and a Russian, you would have a Russian name.

If you are Finnish and from Finland, you would have an authentic Finnish name.

2. Would this character realistically have these skills or this profession at their age?

For instance, it is unlikely your character would be a scientist at the age of 19 or an accomplished politician at the age of 25.

3. Does the beliefs of the character match their economic class? And if not, did you explain this?

There aren't many rich communists for instance. Communists, anarchists, radicals in general tend to be less wealthy and younger.



4. Do the beliefs of the character match where they are from?

There are very few Objectivists, for instance, living in Somalia.

There are very few Wiccans in Saudi Arabia

5. Does the character's sexuality match their religious or political beliefs as well as their ethnicity and nationality?

It might be difficult for someone to be a Christian fundamentalist and gay, so this would have to be accounted for.

It would also be difficult to be gay and from Saudi Arabia.

Likewise, it is unlikely that a lesbian would be attracted to national socialism.

This doesn't mean that the above are impossible, but should be taken into account.

6. Does the character's life story seem realistic?

Some overdone life stories include parents which were violently murdered, car accidents, rape, and over dramatic tragedy in general.

Tragedy is fine, but try to relate it to capitalism. Tragedy related to capitalism could include poverty, unemployment, alcoholism, drug use, suicide, getting laid off from work, illegal immigration, sweat shop labor, war, homelessness, etc.

Their story should include: where they grew up, info about their family, info about their education, info about their occupation, their goals in life and why they believe what they believe

7. Does the character's appearance match the typical appearance of someone from that culture/ethnic group as well as their occupation?

For instance, most nurses, businesspeople, politicians, etc, do not have neon green hair and piercings

If your character is Japanese, they are not white nor would they have blue eyes.


8. Is there anything which is historically or politically inaccurate about this character?

For instance, your character can not be the long lost descendant of the Romanov family since they were killed after the revolution.

Your character can not be the member of a tribe or group of people which no longer exists. For instance, your character can not be a full blooded Tasmanian aborigine since they went extinct in the late 1800s.

9. Are the character's weaknesses really weaknesses?

For instance, being "too beautiful" is not a real weakness. Weaknesses include learning problems, health problems, mental health issues, phobias, gender identity issues, significant personality flaws, etc.

Allergies and less common phobias are not really weaknesses. For instance, it isn't a weakness if you are allergic to lemur hair, or afraid of alligators but live in...Sweden.

10. Is your character too perfect?

Everyone has flaws, few people are very accomplished at a young age, not everyone is beautiful and thin, and the vast majority of people are not rich.