YourDaddy117

I have ranted and rambled like a deranged lunatic seeing visions granted by eldritch gods about how I think the server needs to evolve past the tired SS13 gameplay loop if it wants to keep saying it's HRP. I will continue to do so even in this reply. This proposal is something I think a lot of people have been wanting (and judging by the other replies do want) for awhile now. Antags as you yourself and others point out and have pointed out in the past are a tired holdovers from SS13's very foundation. Simply put RP and Antags the way they are currently implemented just doesn't mesh well together. While in theory antags and the tools we've given them should be capable of enhancing a round's roleplay or "spicing it up", in the average secret round they don't do much more than distract people from the roleplay they were having. As a security main I can say that most of my rounds in secret consist of starting an interesting conversation IC and then being pulled away. Now I admit I'm signing myself up for this sort of thing by playing security in the first place, but what I truly desire is gameplay that generates an engaging narrative and roleplay without sacrificing one for the other. The reason I bring this all up is that I think Mission Briefing is a fantastic way of bridging this gap and a proper step in the right direction, however I'd go so far as to say it needs to be more extreme in its implementation. I will be frank: having secret still exist kind of defeats the point. And I mean that in the sense that secret should be wiped and replaced. Now I understand this and probably the rest of what I have to say about secret likely goes against the wider, more quiet, side of the playerbase, so all of this is little more than a pipe dream. We can't really just nuke secret overnight. But if we did I think it would be an overall net gain. If we want the current server culture to change, if we want proper consequences to craft better narratives with, if we want there to be meaningful canon interactions more than non-canon goof garbage then we have to just bite the bullet and change our approach without as many compromises. Keeping secret and antags in rotation? That's a compromise. Hell even the non-canon Mission Briefings would be a huge compromise as some people have pointed out. The phrasing of this proposal being a "Revolution" I think is very apt, but for it to really change things we need to discard the old traditional SS13 gameplay completely. Now I understand this is might be some pretty radical thinking here. There's been years of work put into our antags (this is true for some more than others) and recently there's even been a lot of work to try and make antags like merc something that fits into our current overmap system. What I think should be highlighted better here is that we don't need to sacrifice the cool parts of antags for this new gamemode to work. The tools and in some cases the abilities can still be something the actors or even "antagonistic overmap ships" can use. One of the biggest reasons antags become stale for so many people in the first place is that when you know the telltale signs of one it just becomes a boring act where everyone is pretending that the assistant sucking blood or a ling on the loose is something you've never seen before. Why shouldn't a ling just be some horrible experiment Zeng-Hu made and is now on the loose? Why bother pretending to care or be intrigued by Vampire or Cult when both of those things "don't exist" and are non-canon when they could be integrated into it in a convincing way? It's here so we should use it. Otherwise get rid of it all and let the "grounded" stuff we like stay in a canon capacity. Let the concept of "antags" be something of the past so we can create a gameplay loop that encourages meaningful roleplay instead of non-canon non-adventures where nothing means anything. All in all I don't really have that much to say about Mission Briefing itself beyond I approve of it as a concept and hope to see it implemented soon. I think having a DM, who is hopefully someone that can be trusted with the amount of control they have over the round, is brilliant and something that other RP servers in other games have done before to much success. I think the whole concept of having canon missions evokes the exact spirit I always wanted from Bay and hoped to find here when we moved to the Horizon, which is to say I want cool exploration that generates RP in an organic way by letting us react to our environment as our characters. Shifting us to a system where we basically have extended+ or mini-events to pad out the time between proper arcs is exactly what I've been wanting for a long time. My only real concern is as I've stated above. That to truly break us out of the tired loop we find ourselves in we have to be willing to leave behind antags as we currently know them. Is that something the server will ever do? I don't know, but I think it's the best way forward. At some point we have to decide if we want to be a ROLEPLAY server or an SS13 server with roleplay elements.

(To preface this I had written about half of this before it sort of deleted itself because of funny forum reasons, so excuse me if my candor might seem harsher or my points slightly rushed since I'm annoyed at the website and trying to articulate my points the same way as before.) There's been a lot of good replies to this thread already and many of the points I'll be making have already been made no doubt, but I still want to give my 2 cents here point by point as an active Command player. Quite bluntly all that is actually changed by this is giving XO less authority than they currently have or changing nothing. The XO in-game as it currently stands is already often treated as the word of the Captain by most of Command and is often expected to take up the slack for a department that needs coordination (of course this only often extends to the departments the XO actually has radio access to). The implication of 2IC is that you are the "Second in Command". That means that if the XO is becoming the actual Executive Officer, the person who takes charge when the Commanding Officer (the 1IC) is absent or unable to perform their duties. From what I can gather this isn't really the case and instead it seems like the XO is becoming little more than a strange outside advisor to Command while also acting as a radio-operator/ glorified Bridge Crewman. I have more to say on that, but if you want a TL;DR there it is. Let's look at the Recitals: Again this is essentially already what the XO does. Both for the real Captain and whoever Command votes on to be acting Captain. Nothing is being changed other than an expectation that the XO is not to take any power or authority of their own. Which is a bit problematic, but more on that later. Once again outside of the additional channel access the XO is not doing anything other than they usually do. This is where it starts getting confusing. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding, but it seems as though the Executive Officer only functions to relay the wishes of the (acting) Captain. They have "authority" but that authority extends to telling the HOS/Sec, for example, what the Captain wants them to do. Something the Captain can just do because we all have Command channel access. Now I understand delegation is important and that's the idea, but so far the only actual authority the XO has is being the messenger for the acting Captain instead of just being the acting Captain. This reinforces the issue of why the Executive Officer should just be the one who takes the role of acting Captain. During an intense situation where Command actually holds a vote for acting Captain (it's usually a security one let's be honest) they are choosing a acting Captain so someone can pick up the slack while they focus in on their actual jobs. As HOS I don't want to have the additional pressure of being Captain while dealing with a merc hostage crisis or any other security situation, so if we're being practical I'm just going to hand off everything to the XO. In function the XO is just going to become the acting Captain because the actual acting Captain is too busy to BE Captain. What is the point of this when XO's for all intents and purposes has no real authority? You are using a role that has no actual say beyond relaying the Captain's orders and advising the Captain to train future Captains. It's paradoxical. You're essentially given the same expectations as a Captain without any of the responsibility outside of extreme circumstances making it useless for preparing to be a Captain both IC and OOC. I agree that the role should be used as training wheels before the jump to Captain, but that's only if the Executive Officer actually has authority like a real XO would as an actual 2IC. I agree it would be logical to assume that XO would be under the same scrutiny and hiring practices as Captain if it has equivalent expectations and functions. The problem is that it has all of the expectations without anything to justify it. Your job is just to be the messenger and I guess vote for which Head of Staff gets to be your boss? Which by the way completely nullifies the vetting process because even if YOU as the XO cannot be a Xeno there's nothing stopping the acting Captain from being one, who by extension will have all the responsibilities of the Captain. The role you're supposed to be training for by doing nothing but speaking for the Captain and advising the acting Captain. I don't want to turn this into a discussion about Xeno Command staff because that's an entirely separate topic, but I do want to highlight that with this change there's no real excuse for the restriction outside of the fact the role is supposed to be "training for being Captain", something I've already highlighted the problem of. This? To be quite honest with you it's kind of meaningless. I can tell you from the experience of someone who plays regularly as Command I have consistently, key word consistently, seen more xenos/IPC in the XO slot than I have Humans for awhile now. Pulling up stats for the total counts means nothing when we're talking about long standing characters. But again we're getting a little off track here so I'm just going to leave this part by saying that if XO is going to be inaccessible to Xeno characters like Captain then it needs to have the same amount of power, which this version of it does not seem to have at all. I'm pretty sure this thread and the vote associated with it was something that I missed as part of my little break period awhile ago, so I can't speak for any of that with confidence. What I can say is that this implementation of XO seems overall kind of pointless when the current iteration works just fine and meshes well enough with how Command does things. That said I actually would like to see a version of XO that has real 2IC powers because I think that can be done well, however this just isn't it. As I've stated multiple times in this meandering reply all this serves to do is turn the XO into a telephone-operator with no real authority who is both expected to tell Command what to do, but only under the guidance of the rest of Command. The role would be a meaningless nothingburger that exists outside of everything. XO in its current state has far more power and serves its intended function far better than this does, despite essentially still being HOP in its current state. Really in my mind the easiest way to fix this is just make the XO a proper Second-in-Command. When there's no Captain then the XO takes over and is acting Captain, with Command having to vote between eachother if there's no XO. That way everything else is pretty easily justified and actually makes sense. 2nd TL;DR: Make the XO a proper 2IC by giving them acting Captain when there's no Captain. Otherwise everything else is just pointless and all that's being done is reducing the XO to a glorified Bridge Crewman.

For the sake of transparency I'll preface this by saying my character is right on the minimum age for HoS at 30, but I still felt like I wanted to give some input. If there's going to be some kind of mechanical restriction, even if it's still just modifying rng, there needs to be both IC and OOC information that points this out. If I decide for either character reasons and/or aesthetic that I want a younger character I shouldn't be mechanically punished for doing so without being told. I understand that there should be more older characters in Head positions even if I myself am kind of part of the problem, but that's not really justification for people potentially getting booted from a round because the dice were loaded. I don't think anybody's roll for getting a slot should be screwed with mechanically and if they really must be then it should be something you at least can know before making a character without digging through a bunch of code.

Reporting Personnel: Cornelius Huizhong Job Title of Reporting Personnel: Head of Security Game ID: Prior to cr6-ay86 Personnel Involved: (Name, Job Title: Offender/Witness/Other. Only three witnesses other than yourself permitted, the rest go to secondary witnesses. Victims count as witnesses) Kusuer Bloodclaw, Hangar Technician - Offender Constantine Patts, Chaplain - Witness Keala Nalika, Hangar Technician - Witness Secondary Witnesses: (Name, Job Title: Short description of what they witnessed) Ana Roh'hi'tin, Investigator - Inspector Roh'hi'tin was the primary Investigator assigned to the case and gathered the majority of the evidence presented in this report. Rhea Volvalaad, Investigator - Inspector Volvalaad interviewed the Chaplain after the inciting incident that lead to this report. Time of Incident: Unknown (Early in the shift.) Real Time: 17:30PST(?) - 2/2/2024 Location of Incident: The Ship Bar/Dining Area Nature of Incident: [ ] - Workplace Hazard [ ] - Accident/Injury [ ] - Destruction of Property [ ] - Neglect of Duty [ x ] - Harassment [ x ] - Assault [ x ] - Misconduct [ ] - Other _____ (Place an x in the box that applies. If other, replace line and specify.) Overview of the Incident: Roughly thirty minutes or so into the shift while making my rounds throughout the ship I had been informed over security communications that Mister Nalika had "threatened" the Chaplain as part of some sort of prank or joke. I ordered that he be brought in and after enough evidence had been gathered he was charged within the brig. This would be the end of the matter had it not been that during the interview I had Inspector Volvalaad conduct. The Chaplain, Constantine Patts, told her that he had been forced to the ground by Bloodclaw with a "device". Bloodclaw had accompanied Nalika and prior to this interview I was not aware they were involved in the incident beyond being an observer. After this information had come to light I had both Bloodclaw and the Warehouse searched for this "device" or any other contraband. In the warehouse Investigations found a pair of Force-Gloves, devices that enhance one's hand to hand abilities and add tremendous force to your actions as the name implies, and that they had been modified to be worn by clawed hands. It should be noted that much time had passed since the initial incident and since Bloodclaw was called to the brig for a search which allowed plenty of time to dispose of or hide the evidence amongst the other cargo within the warehouse. Unfortunately due to other events that occurred in the shift Bloodclaw entered residential deck before he could be brought back to the Brig for questioning. Submitted Evidence: Chaplain Interview.txt Would you like to be personally interviewed?: [ x ] - Yes [ ] - No Did you report it to a Head of Staff or a superior? If so, who? If not, why?: Yes. The matter was discussed over the Command channel and while Captain Mathias (Cain Mathias, Captain) had departed to the residential deck by the time the assault had come into question Goodman MacQuillan (Paddy MacQuillan, OM) agreed that this should be brought to HR and the CCIA's attention. Actions taken: As stated earlier Nalika had been brigged for their involvement much earlier in the shift, however when enough evidence for Bloodclaw had been found it was too late to bring them in for questioning. Additional Notes: While no serious injuries were received by the Chaplain it is my opinion that this sort of behavior cannot be allowed to stand in any work environment. This is but one of many incidents involving the Operations department and I hope that it can be used to pursue further action that is unavailable to myself and other heads of staff on a shift-to-shift basis.

BYOND key: YourDaddy117 Discord Username: bigpapa1365 Character names: IRU-Geier Sudhir Singh Locke Stefan Zivic How long have you been playing on Aurora? Since roughly 2019, a fact which fills me with immense dread. Have you received any administrative actions? And how serious were they? I was previously permabanned for posting Harry Potter Hogwarts Legacy spoilers on the Relay discord prior to its merger with the main discord. Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph each. What do you think the OOC purpose of a Head of Staff is, ingame? I believe that the purpose of Heads on an OOC level is a tool to keep things in check and facilitate roleplay. Heads of the different departments have the ability to drastically alter the course of any given round simply due to the fact that they're the only sources of authority we have. That means they have a responsibility to assist in keeping the round fun by being foil to the antagonists and also as guides for newer players. You need to be capable of knowing when to act as a sort of "director" of the round and step in to make sure things stay fun. That doesn't mean a Head should be centering the game around themselves, but using their position to put others on a pedestal and even help the antag's gimmick get off the ground at times. What do you think the OOC responsibilities of Whitelisted players are to other players, and how would you strive to uphold them? As I highlighted in the previous question I believe it's very important for Heads to act as role models and guides for the other members of their departments both ICly and OOCly. Obviously your character needs to have a personality, an actual character, however your character must be one that's capable of doing their job well at the end of the day. My intention with getting this whitelist is to play characters that both act as a good representation of their backgrounds in the lore and good representations of what roleplay should be in their respective positions. It's also incredibly important that Heads are flexible when it comes to antag gimmicks and are prepared to play along with them, even if it might mean your death in that round. In a way Heads act as the sort of middle ground between players and staff at times. A good Head can diffuse a situation or guide it to a conclusion that doesn't require staff involvement on an OOC level. Explain how the recent events in the Spur changed your character and how they came to be employed on the SCCV Horizon. As is expected of many members of house Zhao and its affiliate houses Cornelius entered the Zhurong Officer's Academy as soon as he came of age. He would spend nearly ten years serving as a member of the Military Police within the Imperial Fleet. After hearing word that his father was ill he retired from his position with the expectations of a sizable estate and a comfortable position within the family's business. What he instead discovered was that he had been cheated out of his inheritance. Knowing what little opportunity there is for a landless younger son Cornelius used contacts within Zavodskoi to seek employment outside of the Empire, leading him to a position aboard the ship as an HOS. Captain Winslow has enjoyed many years as a submarine captain underneath the dark expanse of Europa working as a surveyor for Zeng-Hu. Becoming an old man in a profession that leaves many broken both physically and mentally is something he holds much pride for, but with the ever evolving political situation that is Sol Archibald decided that it was perhaps time for an overdue "retirement". It would be easier to sleep in a place where one didn't have to worry about the shadows the swept past the ship or the strange buzzing that only he seemed to hear. Already being well established with Zeng-Hu it was easy to simply call in a few favors and have his experience be used for something more "comfortable". What roles do you plan on playing after the application is accepted? Head of Security Captain Consular/Corporate Rep Have you familiarized yourself with the wiki pages for the command roles? Yes. Characters you intend to use for command or have created for command. Include the job they will be taking: Cornelius Huizhong - Head of Security Archibald Winslow - Captain Do you understand your whitelist is not permanent, and may be stripped following continuous administrative action? Yes. Have you linked your BYOND account to the Forums? Yes. Extra notes: I like roleplay

Thanks for the kind words on Zivic. As for the questions: I can't believe I let this slip by me, but yes faith is integral to Unathi, to the point where I imagine it's weirder to find an atheist than it is to find a Aut'akh or Si'akh on Moghes. As for Ks'aazi he's obviously grown up Sk'akh due to the close proximity he had to it. As for piety I'd say he only recently (much like his fascination with other things) really found it. Being inspired to rise up to the most ideal form of warrior meant more than learning how to fight, but entering a Skald college to learn the nobler arts such as poetry. Something that turned out to be a struggle for him. This is something I thought about a lot but didn't exactly know how to ease into my actual application. Not'zar inspires him in a way and is the reason he wanted to join the Kataphracts outside of being part of an esteemed group of warriors. Not'zar, like Ks'aazi, was a younger son who was raised with no expectations of greatness and his existence was practically ignored until the succession crisis hit. Instead of buckling to pressure he managed to cunningly maneuver his way through political minefields again and again, all the while seemingly ruling with integrity and honor. What is that if not adhering perfectly to the Warrior's code? Not'zar may lack any physical prowess, but to Ks'aazi he's worthy of admiration. In a way that matters more to him than the actual politics themselves, something he's woefully ignorant of beyond the obvious. The current strife due to the phoron shortage is something he simply believes "will pass". So long as the Hegemon and the Hegemony is righteous then it will last. Nothing else really matters.

BYOND Key: YourDaddy117 Character Names: IRU-Jack/Locke, Stefan Zivic, Hralkarr Mi'irkro, Rrhazjurl Nal'Dynh, Kazmirr Hal'naasimi, IRU-Geier, Sudhir Singh Species you are applying to play: Unathi What color do you plan on making your first alien character: Green (Razir Moss) Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes. 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: After taking some time recently to sit down and check out their lore I've come to find Unathi to be incredibly interesting. The juxtaposition of a feudal society clinging on to whatever civilization is left and a wild wasteland full of raiders creates a breeding ground for a lot of different backgrounds that can interact with each other in cool ways. I also enjoy their relationships with the other species in Aurora lore ranging from respected vassals (K'lax Vaurca), religiously sacred yet controversial symbiosis (Diona), armed conflict (DPRA Tajara), and their complicated relationship with Humanity and the Skrell. Between that, their very well written political lore, and elaborate religious situation I find Unathi to have a lot more depth than I initially gave them credit for when I first came to the server. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Outside of Unathi being giant lizards and Humans being apes of varying sizes there's a lot to go through. While Dominia is Humanity's Monarchist faction I think Unathi have a much more in-depth feudal society in comparison with Dominia being a little more laid back. The hierarchy is much more defined while also undergoing the issues of a century old system as the middle class emerges and progressive attitudes are becoming more mainstream. This combined with their obsession and somewhat hypocritical relationship with their codes of Honor makes for a unique vibe in the Hegemony itself. Where Unathi really become unique is in the Wasteland lore. As the feudal society butts up against the people who adapted to the nuclear Armageddon of their species, an event that's relatively recent in their history compared to Humanity's experience with nuclear arms. Outside of the only fertile lands left are raiders, religious extremists, and people just trying to survive. Religious rebellions and multiple civil wars has resulted in a people who are still struggling to find their footing in a space age they weren't prepared for as multiple different aliens try to take advantage of the situation. Character Name: Ks'aazi Ssarakh Please provide a short backstory for this character: Born the youngest son to a clan leader of minor nobility Ks'aazi had very little expectations placed upon him. Residing in Skalamar meant he was given a relatively easy life to live, growing up with few troubles and even fewer responsibilities he was free to pursue whatever or what little education he desired as a child. With his older siblings taking the spotlight this meant a rather sedentary lifestyle for the young Sinta. Despite this as he came of age his interests in the life of a real warrior grew, along with the tensions that came with Not'zar's reign as regent. Idolizing the Warrior's code, warrior poets of old, and the newly reformed Kataphracts, Ssarakh seeked education at a Skald college and decided to dedicate his life to these noble pursuits. Despite his zeal none of these efforts bore fruit. While his family would manage to gain some recognition during the civil war that disrupted the Hegemony Ssarakh was dismissed from his school. Still determined to gain glory he went ahead with his plan to join the Kataphracts as a Hopeful only to be met disappointment again, failing to meet their harsh standards. Dejected and depressed he almost lost hope completely until an old mentor from his school (likely taking pity on the boy) suggested leaving Moghes. Perhaps what he needed was simply to experience the galaxy and what it had to offer? This sparked a new fire inside of the Sinta and it wasn't long before he was off chasing his dreams of glory and fame. Quickly gaining permission to leave from a clan that barely acknowledged his existence Ks'aazi signed a contract with Dagamuir Freewater Private Forces and was assigned to the Horizon. What do you like about this character? What I like the most is the ability to play someone with a level of naivety that feels somewhat uncommon on the Horizon. That and their sense of honor means a rapid culture shock as they're confronted with all of the different species and cultures aboard the ship. Playing a member of "nobility" or upper class isn't something I do often so it also provides me with a character who's privileged outlook is something I don't normally think about. How would you rate your role-playing ability? 7.5/10 Notes: I think lizards are neat.

BYOND Key: YourDaddy117 Total Ban Length: Never actually stated. Assuming until appeal. Banning staff member's Key: garnascus Reason of Ban: "Posting Hogwarts spoilers on the Relay." Reason for Appeal: After spending some time away from Aurora I figured I'd come back and write a new appeal. I never posted spoilers like that before (usually I'm a stickler about thhat kind of thing ironically) so it's pretty clear the meme I posted and the way I did it was out of just spite during a kind of heated Relay discussion. Now with some reflection I do feel like I was being a dick about it and would like to go back to playing the server while avoiding that kind of thing.

BYOND Key: YourDaddy117 Total Ban Length: Until appeal(?) / Ban does not actually state the length Banning staff member's Key: garnascus Reason of Ban: "Posting hogwarts spoilers on the relay." Reason for Appeal: As goes without saying I posted a meme that spoiled Hogwarts Legacy during a particularly wacky discussion on the Relay and replied Garnascus with it knowing full well the consequences that would probably happen. At the time I really didn't care because I have a bad habit of being a funny man and also cause of some personal feelings regarding the whole thing. Now that I've given it some time and also talked about the whole Harry Potter/ JK Rowling stuff with a friend of mine in a separate context I do think I pulled a dick move there. I typically take measures to avoid spoiling stuff for people so this is a one time offense I'll avoid repeating despite any feelings I might have about the matter.

While I really want the EE ship I do have to agree with Cybs that we're lacking in content. Personally I'd say that goes for all the ships we already have tbh, but in the end I still really believe in an EE ship. It really has the potential to provide an alternative experience to the Horizon while not drawing too much away from it. Frankly I approve of any ways we can flesh out EE as its own entity rather than just "duh badguys". They really have a potential to add a cool experience and fresh perspective in the world. So long as it's made clear that the EE ship is a Research Vessel primarily and meant to avoid danger I highly doubt there'll be any serious problems OOCly.

I agree, this guy's a dick and they said rude things about me in their secret meta-discord.

Third party ships, to me, are going to be very important to getting the server to a place where RP can be more organically introduced than just through characters reacting to funny antags. Naturally there's going to be some problems, controversy, or whatever due to the fact we haven't had anything like this on the server before outside of the kind of limited away sites back on the Aurora map. This is all to say that I don't think EE being a "soft-antag" ship is a bad idea, but it just needs clear boundaries. Because having more variety in the ship/character interactions brings about higher quality RP means we kind of need roles that work against the Horizon and the crew. Part of the problem is that because this is super early into the Horizon's life we don't have any real away sites, so all of the third party ship's have to go to the ship to get any real RP. Once we have cooler, larger away sites I believe the third-party ships will be able to create cooler situations by virtue of them just coincidentally heading for the same place and wanting the same things. They can work as both an actual research ship and also a "spy on the Horizon" ship, but "Spying on the Horizon" needs clearer boundaries for both sides. EE shouldn't be murdering folks or anything like that, but the crew also shouldn't be doing bad faith stuff when they clearly know OOC that these unknowns are EE spies.

I've known Danse for a long time and I have to say that he would make an exemplary Tajara player. He's been not only a massive furry since I've known him, but also a staunch communist. These ideals form the backbone of Taj lore and Danse is the ideal player. Infact I'm sure within a month's time he'll have alb's position as head Taj dev and server commandant. Soon a glorious new age will dawn and the sun of our new empire will forever shine on the server. All who oppose the new order will be crushed and their bones used as the foundation to build a new future unrestricted by the infantile minds and weak hands of the current regime. Soon all will know our power as we rise from the ashes like the glorious phoenix!

Type (e.g. Planet, Faction, System): Faction Short Description: An expansion and overhaul to Purpose as a faction. How will this be reflected on-station?: Ideally this is reflected by characters using Purpose as their background. Failing that it gives the lore team plenty of ammo for any arcs, events, or articles involving the faction. At the very least it will give IPC characters something to talk about. Does this addition do anything not achieved by what already exists?: Purpose as it stands is very outdated and barebones, only really being used for the Lii'dra invasion arc. I find this to be a tremendous waste of potential. Giving Purpose a full lore page and justification to be a playable faction brings them to the forefront and allows people to make use of their lore in a meaningful way. That is to say that having them be a fully fleshed out background for IPC players is far more useful than just a footnote in the synthetic factions page. Do you understand that the project may change over time in ways that you may not foresee once it is handed over to the Lore Team?: Yes. Long Description: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1b1UUY9VeKd9UdzgI1AxmNUoLZBQG6Mcmu5lehB_jG9w/edit?usp=sharing Also special thanks to Silvie who gave me a lot of good feedback while I was working on this.

I've always known Silvie as a great roleplayer. Their synthetic characters here and within other RP settings have served as great inspiration for my own ideas a lot. It's safe to say that they have my support regardless of how much that really means for their app. That said I have a couple questions obviously: 1. You mention and have made good points about Purpose as a faction, but do you have any plans for/thoughts on any new IPC factions or locations? 2. Personally I often feel like there's a heavy bias within the playerbase towards playing shells (something I'm guilty of as well usually). Do you feel this way and if so do you have any thoughts towards how you could encourage a wider variety of synth characters? I understand it could be a somewhat awkward question, but I often feel as though there's little motivation to play the more unqiue IPC variants such as Bishops or Industrials.

1. As someone that never had the chance to be deeply engrained in the traditions or culture of the average Zhan he was rather easily swayed into believing that the "punishment" being handed down to them was necessary for the greater good and deserved. Such an insular culture had to be removed or else it would be impossible for Zhan to ever properly integrate themselves into the glorious future the PRA would provide. He was an example of someone who no longer carried the shackles of their old "subversive" ways and traditions. Truly all he wishes is for his people to be seen as the same as any other, but the catalyst for the Second Resolution tainted the dream for him. 2. As he began his career he was proud to be serving the PRA and a grand purpose. He was the example, proof that Zhan could rise above what they're perceived as and be of worth to the PRA beyond simple farmers. As I implied in the backstory once the Second Revolution began he quickly realized his work no longer made him proud. He wasn't doing what he did because of his zeal or pride, but because he was terrified that anything less would be enough to be the end of him. Being a Zhan and a PSIS Agent meant that any mistake or dip in his efficiency would mean his death. Honestly writing out long backstories has never been my strong suit or preferred method for creating characters, but thinking logically it wasn't really one incident. It wouldn't be. There was likely a moment where he was taking someone away from their family where it finally hit him, but it was only through the process of detaining what would likely have been in the hundreds at that point. Doing something like that, multiple times, without any of the "passion" you once had changes your perspective. Necessary work, however no longer the kind that suited him. 3. As a younger man he would've been firmly in the Totalist camp. It only makes sense that a zealous PSIS agent like him would be. However as time went on and he's now made it to TC he's likely somewhere between Orthodoxy and Totalism, but ultimately he no longer believes he has any right to have a real position on anything anymore. Before he was a tool to be used for the purpose of protecting the PRA, now he's simply an old man trying to live. His generation should be there to guide and help the next, but it's their job to figure out what's best.

BYOND Key: YourDadd117 Character Names: Stefan Zivic, Locke/IRU-Jack, Aquinas, Seiichi Iwai Species you are applying to play: Tajara What color do you plan on making your first alien character: Dark Grey Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: So much my brain melted. 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: I’ve started my mission to gather all of the Aurora whitelists like I’m Thanos making the infinity gauntlet. Jokes aside, I just think Tajara are neat. My only other species whitelist is a synth one and while IPCs are interesting they’re also still very connected to Human lore. Tajara have a unique aesthetic, dense lore, and are kind of the perfect middle ground as far as “aliens” are concerned. Different but not so different that I feel like they’re impossible to get into character with. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: First off we have the physical differences. They’re big furballs with muzzles, claws, digitigrade legs, tails, etc. That means there’s a lot of interesting ways just to roleplay them physically. You’re given more unique ways to show emotion than the average human. The societal and cultural differences are obviously the more interesting aspects to RP in my opinion due to the fact that, like I said above, they’re very similar to Humans. Humanity in our setting has evolved so much from our modern standards that they can be a little alien in their own ways. Tajara culture is interesting because it takes a lot of different things and mashes them all together. They’re like an OG Star Trek race. The retro-futurism, history, and uplifting from outside factions makes them an interesting parallel to Aurora Humanity, who have had the chance to get where they are (somewhat) naturally. Character Name: Hralkarr Mi'irkro Please provide a short backstory for this character Born close to the beginning of the First Revolution Hralkarr’s childhood was harsh and fraught with adversity. While Zhan-Khazan communities are tightly knit they’re as susceptible to war as any other. Being orphaned at a young age left Hralkarr to survive on his own and find his way amongst those who already disdain Zhan. Being ostracized like this taught him a valuable lesson: how to blend in. Quickly the young Zhan learned how to simply stay in the background and take what scraps he could get. As the war came to a close Hralkarr was quickly becoming more indoctrinated into Haddist thinking, believing that it would perhaps grant him some equality amongst the other Tajaran races. This perfectly coincided with the creation of the PSIS and the organization quickly picked up on his uncanny inclination towards subterfuge. Where the young Zhan’s ethnicity was once seen as a blight had now become a great boon, allowing him to easily insert himself into rural Zhan communities for observation. As the years went by Haralkarr’s training, education, and experiences as an Intelligence Agent turned him into a fiercely loyal member of the party. This would all come to a head after the assasination of President Rhagrrhuzau Hadii at the hands of another Zhan-Khazan agent. While his work continued he was now under immense pressure and scrutiny for his background. As the Second Revolution raged on he was given the perfect chance to prove his loyalty amongst his peers. What was once done out of zeal was now being done out of fear and the label “dissident” was becoming something more arbitrarily applied. Haralkarr’s safety within the PRA was assured, but his work no longer gave the satisfaction it once did. Still a firm believer in Hadiism, yet no longer blind to the dirty work that made the PRA run, Haralkarr needed a fresh start after the Second Revolution. Understanding he would never rise within the ranks of the PSIS or anywhere else on Adhomai the Zhan decided to make way for Tau Ceti in hopes of finding more fulfilling work. Like many he found himself within D6 and soon he began a “private” investigation company of one. Naturally under the umbrella of NanoTrasen like all official businesses on Biesel. What do you like about this character?: Having an excuse to play an older character is always fun since I think they can often offer an experience not a lot of people go for. Of course everything that makes a Tajara a Tajara is something I like about the character. I also like playing a character who’s seen the worst of what his ideology can do, what it can make him do, and having to reconcile with that. How would you rate your role-playing ability?: -10/10 I have evolved past your understanding of “Roleplay”. Notes: Hi, how are ya?

The joke is that Schwann, a lore writer, wrote in a completely disconnected channel made for emojis on the lore discord: "For 1 like I will delete ATLAS." This is in similar fashion to many social media posts talking about how they'll do silly things for a lot (or a little) of likes or upvotes. The joke is that the number is so low and the post is in a channel no one can even talk in. Its clearly not serious. We would know if this happened because the human lore team is incredibly good at communicating changes to the rest of us. It's not an inside joke by any stretch of the imagination. Honestly? I feel like there's been a lot of weird passive aggressive stabs at the human lore team lately. The discord post was silly. This thread is silly. And this post is silly.

Then don't play that character.

Unfortunately the forums suck and I'm not going to spend my entire day screwing around with it to get the reply onto the forums. I would have very much liked to do that though because it means the reply is right here instead of having to click a link. Here is a pastebin: https://pastebin.com/SXfVPSB3 that I put the reply in. Sorry for getting this out so poorly, I tried to make it work.

BYOND key: YourDaddy117 Character names: Stefan Zivic, IRU-Retrospect, Locke/IRU-Jack(no longer played) How long have you been playing on Aurora?: It's been awhile so I'm not 100% sure. I want to say it was maybe the summer of 2020 that I started playing. It's definitely been a whole year by now at least, but I almost want to say I might've gotten into it late 2019. Why do you wish to be on the whitelist?: Personally I think some of the Command roles look pretty neat. I need a whitelist to play them. Why did you come to Aurora?: Considering SS13's HRP options are kind of limited I think you can do the math. I played a lot of Bay, I dropped off of Bay, and now I play a lot of Aurora. It's fun. Have you read the Aurora wiki on the head roles and qualifications you plan on playing?: Yup. Have you received any administrative actions? And how serious were they?: Aside from the occasional bwoink that comes with playing Security often and back when I was new I don't think I've been in trouble very often. There was that one time I played Mario Mario on April Fools, but that got resolved pretty quickly. Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph each. Give a definition of what you think roleplay is, and should be about: RP is when a bunch of nerds on the internet get together and decide to do some communal improv with a writing prompt. I mostly see it as a mixture of acting and creative writing. That's why I enjoy it so much I think. Sometimes it's the cringiest stuff you'll EVER read in your entire life and sometimes it feels like pure suffering. Other times it's actually pretty nice and gives me a nice warm feeling inside. RP should be about getting together and having fun within a cool setting. Pretty simple I think. What do you think the OOC purpose of a Head of Staff is, ingame?: Depends a lot on the Head, but overall it's the same structure. A Head's number one job is of course to give a direction for the department, be there to guide new players, and make sure everyone's doing their job. It's a tool (hopefully) to keep people reigned in, especially for roles like Sec Officers. Not to mention that heads often decide the course of a round. A bad HoS will let sec completely dominate the antag or let their team get killed at the 0:30 mark. A bad Captain can call a shuttle too early, ending the round prematurely, or call for an ERT when it isn't needed. A good command player not only acts as someone that can give direction to their department, but more often than not is a needed balancing tool. Command has a very big hand in deciding how the round goes and it's their responsibility to try and help keep things fun for everyone. What do you think the OOC responsibilities of Whitelisted players are to other players, and how would you strive to uphold them?: Someone with a whitelist, regardless of what it's actually for, is kind of placed on a pedestal of RP. What I mean by that is that they're expected to be examples of "quality" RP as subjective as that is. To be more specific to Command whitelist players, well, they should be examples of what their department should act like. HoS should be the model Officer, CE the model Engineer, etc. I want to be an example of how to act for new players and maybe even some older ones. Could you give us the gist of what is currently happening in Tau Ceti and how it affected your character and their career?: Jeez man, did you hit your head? You're supposed to know this stuff! God, I can't believe I have to remind you. Jesus christ. Fuck. Also shouldn't this be after we've established the character(s) I plan on playing with the whitelist and their roles? Seems a little premature to talk about how it affects them BEFORE we've even reached that point. Long and short of it is that the NT and the other big Megacorps took advantage of the chaotic Solarian situation to form the SCC. Sol went crazy and split apart, a fleet invaded TC, and now there's a big friendly umbrella for all of the companies to hang out under. Was it all a big conspiracy orchestrated by the SCC? Is Miranda Trasen a ling? Who knows! What's important is that all of the kerfuffle has allowed for Tau Ceti to expand as some of the former Sol territory has been gobbled up by the Conglomerate. That's not to mention the Skrellian refugee crisis that's recently come up and swarmed Republic immigration offices. Political turmoil and chaos is what's going down in Tau Ceti and the rest of the Galaxy. What does this mean for my character? Well with all of this commotion there's been a heavy need for more Command personnel. Undoubtedly new facilities and ships are being built. They'll need Command staff. People are likely being moved and others are being promoted. Thus Seiichi Iwai steps in to capitalize on the situation. He's been slowly rising through the ranks over the past few years and now's the perfect time to be handed a job as a HOP aboard the Aurora. He's never been one to let an opportunity pass him by. What roles do you plan on playing after the application is accepted?: HOP, Liason/Rep/Consular, HOS, and Captain. I've never really played Medical or Engineering, but if I ever learn the roles I might consider playing Command within those departments as well. Characters you intend to use for command or have created for command. Include the job they will be taking.: I intend on playing the other Command roles as I've said, but for the moment I have a character named Seiichi Iwai that I want to play as a HOP. How would you rate your own roleplaying?: This is a stupid question. I'm not even going to pretend. What am I supposed to say here? What is anyone supposed to say here? "Well...I wouldn't say I'm.... great at RP..." You can't say you're "bad" or even "average" because why would you give a whitelist to someone who's not good at RP? And if I do say I'm good then I just look like a douchebag with an ego. This is a silly question that should be removed from anything it's on. I suppose maybe it serves it's purpose by weeding out people who may have too large of an ego to give a whitelist to, but it also intimidates those who are perhaps too humble about their RP quality. This doesn't deserve an answer. Do you understand your whitelist is not permanent, and may be stripped following continuous administrative action?: Yes. Have you familiarize yourself with the wiki pages for the command roles?: Double yes. Extra notes: It's 1am and I am very tired.😀 Edited to fix some formatting goofs.

I've seen Ati play quality Unathi on both Bay and here, so it'd be interesting to see what they can do with an IPC whitelist. And it's nice that someone's applying or planning to play something like a simple mining robot, because ironically I feel like we don't have enough of those lately. +1

Lmwevil's a player I've known for awhile and can vouch for. Good RP and unique RP. Can't ask for anything more. Would be cool to see how they approach playing an IPC. Big ole +1

Maybe it's cause I main roles that don't come in contact with rats often (sec), but I don't think I've ever seen any horrible play from anyone playing rats. This is a super minor thing so it's not like I'll scream much if you actually remove em and i doubt anyone else will. Just seems kind of pointless and like you're removing small feature for next to no reason.

Local Funny man makes meme thread. Jokes aside I think this is just a knee-jerk reaction. While some people might want to remove security, it's never happening. Unless we want to leave the crew high and dry when there's antags gunning everyone down. Neither antags nor sec are meant to "win". RP isn't about winning. It'd also inspire a very shitty valid hunting mindset which I think is already kind of an underlining issue with SS13 RP in general. People get uspetti with/have a crap attitude towards sec because it's not hard to point at examples of bad play from the department. It's easier to point at an Unga generic sol marine Officer using his role as a powertrip and go "Sec man bad" than it is to point at a well thought out and well played Officer. But again that's just a general attitude bred by SS13 and it's usual valid hunting shitcurity memes. Medical just has a weird hate of it due to clique memes. That said I have no idea why anyone thought some of these depsec changes were good. It was obviously born from a need to nerf sec due to all of the new access sec gets, but it's just poorly done and needs to be reconsidered. And it goes without saying that downsizing security (hopefully not in the way we saw in the "test-merge") is a good thing. Someone should downsize the hell out of medical while we're at it.