November

I agree that the question is unanswered, though I'm not of the same mind on the solution. Specifically, I'm wondering why this system of bonus + detriment is better than a slider or point based system (such as the skills tab, but with actual mechanical function). I don't think the trait system could be robust enough to facilitate as many character types as a more open ended system could without becoming incredibly bloated. It would also be much easier to tweak and balance a slider system, as the counterbalance is player discretion and general god-modding rules instead of mechanical downsides. What I want to avoid are characters that are very good in their role due to their mechanical selections instead of their roleplay ability. I worry this effect would be most pronounced in the very mechanically heavy roles such as Security. To acknowledge bias, I am very anti-mechanic in general, in that I would rather promote that finding a non-mechanical way to accomplish something is most often better than using the game to accomplish a goal. If you want to make a system like this truly "opt-in" for players similar to me, I would recommend that characters who choose to have no traits are slightly better across the board than someone who has opted-in (such as a +0.25 across the board, where traits are generally +1 on their upside). Without this adjustment, even though there is a downside to selecting a trait, there would be no downside for opting into the trait system.

I'd much rather have people be encouraged to roleplay their character's traits than be required to select from a list of mechanics. Mechanics are forced, arbitrary, and predictable. Roleplay is fluid, creative, and improvisational. I agree that it would certainly be easier to just create mechanical differences to display these things, but that comes at the expense of encouraging people to find creative ways to communicate those traits through roleplay instead. I don't think encouraging competitive mindsets by introducing required balancing of these traits is something we need more of. What question are you trying to answer with this addition that justifies making a change?

A very strong, consistant character. Sufficiently alien, yet shows the sign of their exposure to humans when compared to other Tajara. Very good balance of aggressiveness and fear, in my opinion at least. I don't have any real criticism that I can come up with, Yahir is a well rounded and very delightful character.

Mac has quickly become one of my favourite characters I've run on the server, but also one that I have trouble defining. I'm curious what things people think of her. Likes, critiques, or just general observation would all be welcome to see. Mostly, I just want her to seem like a complete person with inner conflict and fallibility. Please let me know if I'm hitting that mark.

Thank you. I agree with and appreciate the common feedback dial back the roles. I think I went in feeling it was an expectation for Skrell to have multiple disciplines, but I'm glad to have her focus narrowed down as you recommend. I think the only thing I've been in trouble for was derping out and tasing some people as a security borg waaay before I was ready to play sec. Maya was also questionable as an IPC, but I'm glad that I at least have a neutral reputation on average.

That's fair, and as I marinate more with the additional feedback I see where it's coming from. I'd be fine sliding back to xenoarch and reporter and just taking an interest/trying to 'ride-along' with security where possible in order to progress her work. I'd imagine that anthropological studies could actually be useful to an organisation as large as NT, so having her job be to make these ethnography reports feels solid to me at least. To your questions directly, that first one is difficult for me because I tend to solidify a characters "voice" during their early interactions. What I intend is for her actions to speak more directly than her words. That's getting to know people, giving them gifts, and being genuine about it the entire time. I'm going to have to weigh her choice of words interestingly, because I imagine words that explain or evoke emotion are difficult for Skrell to use precisely. That is another one of her struggles I'm interested in exploring with others, how to cross that barrier. I don't think she much cares about the Federation. In her relativistic point of view, your race, nation, and background is just the lens through which your light is projected. She's more interested in creating a universal understanding of that light. She's going to have to reconcile the beliefs instilled by her own culture (AI mistrust, religion, family, etc), and the new culture around her. Lulu is perfectly fine setting aside her beliefs in order to conduct her work, but I don't know how she is going to handle situations where she starts to wonder if she needs to be less objective and make a change for herself. I expect the Tajaran Civil War to be a big discovery arc for her, if she gets to meet the right people and try to decide if anyone is "right", and if it's the same people her nation supports. She's likely not incredibly close to her parents. She doesn't resent them, but there was definitely an urge to escape their influence. Lulu wants to be her own person, and at this age her attitude makes sense to me. There is something beneath the surface though, where she wants to be able to produce something that she herself is proud of, so that she can show that to her parents. It's not that she has an expectation to fulfill, she wants to show them that she "made it", so that they can be put at ease and let her go. Hopefully that answers your questions completely enough. None of these blocks are set in, I don't tend to commit 100% to any part of my character until someone actually observes/interacts with it. I'm hoping to possibly have time to answer those same questions in her voice, but to do that I need more focus and energy than I have free for a few days.

Gauging your concern, I would reframe the roles as a career xenoarcheologist using a fairly low entry barrier job in security cadet to pursue her passion that normally doesn't apply to the station of cultural anthropology. She is both young and well traveled, I'm figuring probably a couple digits over 40. My assumption of the Skrellian education process was that both of those fields would involve a year or two of field work, which is time to get these cultural touchstones, while still having room to explore them in depth once she's on the station. This would place her in contact-era, which I think is important to her particular kind of xenophilia and cultural relativism. I think she is much more likely to be a listener than a receiver, based on her slight divergence from the norm. If I don't come up with anything better before writing her records, I'll likely list her as a listener. It just seems like a cop-out to say 'she's divergent because listener', so I want to make sure that decision fits once I'm able to commit to the character. Also thank you very much for the kind words. Arrow is one of my favourite characters I've had, so I'm very glad to see she's having some positive recognition.

BYOND Key: NovemberHotel Character Names: Current - Arrow MacNamara. Past - Lexicon, Maya, Michelle Roche, Tends the Garden of Minds Species you are applying to play: Skrell What color do you plan on making your first alien character: Something between brown and tan. Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes Why do you wish to play this specific race: I feel like Skrell are somewhat underrepresented. I’ve also been doing a lot of Dominian RP and have really enjoyed the complications of an AI averse NT employee. From there, the Skrellian mentality of competition and Arete appealed to me as an opportunity to branch out from my typically risk-averse characters. Playing a young Skrell particularly appeals to me, as it opens up that complicated AI relationship to be shaped by IC interaction. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Skrell have a very interesting place on the galactic stage. They are rapidly losing their edge over the ‘younger’ races, but there hasn’t yet been an overt societal reaction to these shifts. That sense of guardianship and superiority is going to be challenged, especially with the next generation of Skrell that have not known a life without alien contact nor with Glorsh. Skrell are also the only race that Humans generally and/or loosely see as equals. These dynamics make for a unique starting point for Skrell. Further, their racial traits of telepathy and psionics add a dimension that cannot be ignored. It constitutes a sixth sense that many of the other sentient races are blind to- the Vaurca being similar, the Aut’akh also having an analogy, and Dionae in the vaugest sense. It also puts them in an interesting category of a herbivorous race, which is very important to understanding their culture and instincts. Though competitive in a hierarchy, they are still cooperative. Though war is a necessity of galactic life, they avoid direct confrontation and minimise losses. Other races are not prey to be taken advantage of, the idea is foreign to Skrellian development. They are at worse predators to defend against, occasionally competitors to contend with, and typically peers to cooperate with. Character Name: Ooluru “Lulu” Xleptep Please provide a short backstory for this character Born in inauspicious circumstance to a smaller union of largely artists of varying disciplines, Ooluru displayed a powerful drive from a young age. She did not fixate on things often, but when something grabbed her interest it was pursued with indomitable determination. This began as the innocent things of youth, such as constructing intricate furniture towers to reach jars of treats. As she got older, this trait became more problematic as law and tradition did not govern her actions quite as strongly as her parents found difficulty in restraining her from danger. Ooluru never made any serious trouble, mostly running afoul of things like curfew or at worse well intentioned trespass. Still, her problematic nature excluded her from entry to any particular prestigious university, but after some initial floundering Ooluru found her place in Anthropology, ending up studying in Xeno-Archeology and Xeno-Cultural Anthropology. Her later degree quickly became her passion. She was especially fascinated with the oppressed castes of the galaxy, doing field research with the Dregs of Eridani, interviewing exploited Zhan-Khazan miners, and even a very brief encounter with the slaves of Dominia. Her methods were observation through active participation, often collecting keepsakes from these early expeditions in various forms. Her favourite is a small glass ring, blown by a Ouerean Unathi craftswoman. Throughout her study, one common theme became apparent- the abuse of authority figures to keep these people suppressed. So, she did as she thought any good anthropologist would and enlisted as a cadet for NanoTrasen’s security force. How better to observe the effects of authority on a wide diversity of people? Her Xeno-Archeology degree also transferred fairly easily, and is something she’s taking advantage of in order to actually acquire the funds to establish herself as a serious researcher. Additionally, though Cultural Anthropology is not the most immediately useful specialisation on a research station, Ooluru is full ready to take the chance to conduct interviews and begin a doubtlessly (to her at least) illustrious career as a pioneer in her field. After all, what could possibly go wrong? What do you like about this character? Ooluru is a seeker, meaning to me that her overarching goal is to obtain knowledge in her chosen scope. Her core trait is idealism, always trying to find the best in anything. Finally, her conflict is youth, her inexperience is going to lead to her beliefs being easily challenged by new ideas and confrontations. I’m excited to find a way to communicate a very emotionally driven character without traditional means of expression. I also very much enjoy characters that are able to be shaped and change based on their IC interactions, trying to incorporate other people into her story wherever possible. How would you rate your role-playing ability? With most pursuits I believe that if you’re not ashamed of the work you did a year ago, then you’re not growing properly as a performer/artist/producer. I’m better than I was before, and hopefully worse than I will be, but ultimately I’d like to call myself good enough. Notes: I know my biggest ask is the spread of her “qualifications” on the station. Currently I see her going between Xeno-arch, cadet, and visitor/reporter. I see a possibility of future growth towards detective, or at least being more inclined to work with them than other members of security. I’d like to think that under the scope of Anthropology and the participant observation aspect of ethnography would allow for a more interesting yet believable diversity than three interdepartmental fields.

Sure, these were just a few things I wanted to draw out and solidify. Capitalising on the surveying aspect of the role is certainly what I would like to see most. They may need special radio access to effectively communicate this (a comm with access to their own channel, science, and supply maybe?). The HoS and Service Director changes, I don't really have an informed opinion on. It seems like a lot, but that said I'd welcome more direct oversight of Cargo from a corporate/paperwork point of view. Overall I like the ideas, but I'm not entirely certain they're good for rp/gameplay overall. It's certainly new and interesting, so maybe a gradual rollout (add the scouts, Sec changes later) like I've sort of seen you put forward would be a good compromise and test.

Some questions I would ask: What will scouts do in the absence of an RD/xenoarch? Who will direct/lead the scouts in the absence of an RD and/or Scout Leader? Some limitations I would recommend: Scouts cannot wield weapons anywhere on the station without special permission. Scouts as part of a non-corporate force are never able to create warrants, process criminals, or investigate cases. Scouts can be 'conscripted' to Security during a Code Red after some submission/fax/joint decision by Heads of Staff/Captain. This is not something to do actively, and is essentially a step between Security acting normally on a Code Red and calling the ERT. I don't really have the experience with Sec to say whether my ideas are any good, but maybe they're something that can help settle and separate this idea from standard Sec operations.

I played the round as Lexicon, pAI to Nikit. Overall I had a positive experience with the event. The strongest part in my opinion was the build-up and pacing. Starting up with the carp explosions got the crew riled up well, sec was investigating atmos and vents were being welded in science and medical. Things started off as very believable IC, and then gradually got weirder and weirder as the incidents were more frequent, and there was gnawing at the vents. The pacing carried out great from there, with the grue chasing people and the beginning of a general panic in the station. The weakest part wasn't something that kept me from enjoying the event, but rather just something I dislike. In order to resolve the event, you needed to be a combat oriented character/role. Though you did an excellent job of interacting with the crew that wasn't engaging in combat (still throwing exploding corpses around, wounding instead of killing, etc). I just would like to see a department besides security be responsible for resolving a conflict, though I know that this is much easier said than done (after all, their job is conflict resolution). I don't think there's anything I'd have changed about this event specifically, but an idea to keep in the future. Since as a pAI I don't really "do" anything, I want to stress again that it was the excellent pacing that made the round for me. From my perspective, there was a perfect flow of suspense, action, and downtime right up to the launch of the escape pods. Well done.

According to the requirements on our wiki, she's educated and experienced enough to satisfy the mechanical requirements for IAA, HoP, and Captain. In terms of backstory, she has management experience that would qualify her to be a Head of Personnel or a Captain, who to my mind are Very Important Managers, but are still, ultimately, managers on a civilian research station. She's in no way qualified to work as an RD, CMO, or HoS. As an IAA she was usually concerned with maintaining good process, good work efficiency, and reliable communication with central command. Most of her career experience is as a civilian manager of facilities, which is the approach she'd default to while running things as a Head of Personnel or a Captain. Her backstory and my prior RP with her on the server had her targeting a spot on the bridge in one of these roles. A Head of Personnel is possibly the most direct manager of people and business on the station, and would be a natural extension of her job duties from other facilities prior to her work in IA. Playing Captain adds more responsibility for the safety of the station and crew, but is not extraordinarily different in my mind. She would definitely need help with decisions that arose from security, medical, or scientific concerns, but as a someone who should be delegating, she expects to have experts and staff to handle those decisions, and a Captain can comfortably defer to them in all but the most outstanding circumstances. For clarity, I am applying to have her play IA again, but would like the option of transitioning her to Command as well, since it's one of her character goals. That's what I was looking to clear up, since the app is a little vague on your exact motivation. As a character she seems empty, but in a good way. In a way that speaks to living a career as a life, while full of workplace accomplishments her social highlights are few. It does present an obstacle for how I would think an effective HoP would operate, but I haven't seen many social HoP's to beging with. Overall I definitely think this is a full application, though I expect the character to grow quite a bit once she's actually out there on the server, regardless of the fact that she's been played before. +1

What positions specifically? My biggest irk with heads are the ones designed to do way too much.

Were it that maintenance drones were designed to kill pests, then it stands to reason that they need some more efficient tool to do so. There is a dissonance between the drone laws, how people play them, and the "lore" of the drones themselves. The different axes to shift upon have been mentioned above, and it honestly just comes down to opinion. Law 3 as it is written should extend to vermin, and until it is changed that should be what's enforced. I think that it's fine to leave it that way, because it's very black and white for something as simple as a drone. It's perfectly acceptable I think for a drone to sit there and repair the wire as a vermin chews it away, because they're supposed to be simple with a pretty specific job: just worry about the station. Otherwise you're just an engiborg with no overhead.

BYOND Key: NovemberHotel Character Names: Maya, Sarah Archer, Phoenix Stocker Species you are applying to play: Dionae What color do you plan on making your first alien character (Dionaea & IPCs exempt): Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: A few times over. It took a little bit to grasp sort of what it means to be Dionaea, but it makes sense now. Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph format. One paragraph minimum per question Why do you wish to play this specific race: Out of all of the other alien options, they are the most interesting to me. They are the most 'alien' out of the other options, and I feel like they are underrepresented on the station. Looking at the future plans for them also really excites me, because the possibility of knowing more than two/three languages is something very appealing to me. All in all, they are different enough from Humans to make it worth choosing it as a species for me. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Mechanically they hardly resemble Humans at all. You worry about light instead of food or air, and you are mostly on your own for medical support. There is something both ominous and comforting about their presence, depending on if you believe them a gentle giant or an intimidating monolith. Culturally you come from somewhere with a sort of loose purpose. The ambitions of Dionaea as a race are unclear, both because of the nature of separate gestalts being truly separate, and from their lack of politics. The curiosity and intelligence means that they may outclass Humans as far as capability goes, but high amounts of creativity seem to be uncommon or unemphasised. Character Name: Sapling Dancing in the Breeze Please provide a short backstory for this character, approximately 2 paragraphs Sapling Dancing in the Breeze finds the mechanisms of life to be one of their highest curiosities. Anything that they consider alive has intrinsic value, and hailing from the Reade Colossus has helped them harmonise with these curious beings. Focused specifically on anatomy and physiology, they find purpose in true research, so that they may bring higher understanding and new biological concepts to their "mother" gestalt. The core of these curiosities are anatomy, genetics, and biology, though that does not keep them from trying to obtain knowledge from other experts in related fields. The inherent relationship between the Reade Colossus and Nanotrasen from sharing Tau Ceti led to Sapling Dancing in the Breeze's entrance into the scientific and medical world. Displaying an aptitude for working with unfamiliar anatomy, they were assigned for a trail on a few lower priority stations by NT. As with many Dionaea, their abilities continued to grow, and along with recommendations from surrounding crew members eventually gained enough recognition to be put upon the NSS Exodus. The exact honour of this progression was lost on them, though instead they are simply accepting of the new surroundings and opportunities to encounter even more exotic lifeforms. What do you like about this character? Studying life I think is one of the most basic drives for Dionaea. Their own biology is a system of symbiosis, and it seems natural that progress would be made by applying those relationships to the universe's society at large. Additionally, these new forms of life present an interesting perspective into methods the gestalt may improve itself, either as a jumping of point or stealing physiological systems altogether. How would you rate your role-playing ability? After 3-ish years of roleplaying, I like to say that I have the knack down. I suppose an 8/10 is a modest enough number for me to be comfortable with. Notes: None to speak of, though I am looking forwards to seeing some of the newer Dionaea mechanics be implemented and how that effects the frequency of the species.