Character Application Post (DC Canon)
Welcome to dc_nation_ooc, the OOC community for the DC Nation roleplaying community. This community acts as our "backstage area". If you're interested in applying for membership in our RPG, please apply by making a comment on this post using the information below.
When applying for a character, please cut and past the following form into your post below and fill out the form's questions:
Character Application (Canon Only):
A) Player (nickname, handle):
B) Player's main LJ journal:
C) Email:
D) Character name:
E) Do you see the character as a primary character, who would be used regularly? A secondary character, who would be more background? Or a plot character, who shows up from time to time and drives stories?
F) New character LJ journal (if already created):
G) Base of operations:
H) Please explain further your reasons for applying for this character. What types of stories would you like to do with this character? What sorts of heroes/villains would you be interested in interacting with. Is there anything about the established comic-book canon of this character that you would like to see changed/different? Please be as detailed as you wish.
I) Sample Post:
(Please either post your sample roleplay below or post the link where it may be easily found. Please include dialogue where possible. If you prefer, you may also request an interactive "test scene" with one of our players - if so, please list characters that you would be interested in interacting with for the scene).
Please note that we are currently not accepting the following types of applications from people currently outside of the community:
1) Original Characters.
2) DC: Animated Universe transplants that have little to no history/presence in DC Comics Continuity.
3) Characters from other fandoms (If you're a Marvel Comics fan, we have a sister communities that have Marvel RP. Please ask for details.)
If you're just completely new to this and want to know how to contribute feel free to e-mail us.
A) Player (nickname, handle): B) Player's main LJ journal: C) Email: D) Character Name: E) New character LJ journal (if already created): F) Base of Operations: G) Please explain further your reasons for applying for this character. What types of stories would you like to do with this character? What sorts of heroes/villains would you be interested in interacting with. Is there anything about the established comic-book canon of this character that you would like to see changed/different? Please be as detailed as you wish.: H) Sample Post:
Please give the admins at least 24-48 hours to respond to your app request. (If it's near the end of a school quarter, please give us a little more leeway.) Once you hear from us, we will have a team of players review your application and hopefully get back to you with an answer as soon as possible. If you haven't heard a final answer within a week, please check with us. One of our priorities is to not leave people hanging wherever possible.
WHEN we respond, we will respond with either a YES, a NO (with reasons why), or a TEST SCENE. The third option, which is common, is when we want to see more from you to see how both you and your character would interact with someone already in the game - often someone your character would have a close relationship with. Once your test scene is completed, we will then respond shortly thereafter with a YES or a NO.
We have a strong preference for players who are 18 and over, due to the themes often addressed in this RPG.
What follows are some highlights of our rules that you should know prior to applying:
1. The philosophy here is "We're telling this story together, or not at all." Every comment after this point is to make that one point run more smoothly.
2. Canon and History. An encyclopedic knowledge of the DC universe's canon is not a requirement for this game and in some cases might not even be desirable. There are big canon issues and little canon issues. Superman came from Krypton. Batman's parents died when he was very young at the hands of thug. Wonder Woman is an Amazon from the island of Themyscira. Those are all good examples of big canon issues that don't change. Smaller issues that are subject to change would include things like who a character is dating or where they are living at a particular time - as long as we have internal story logic and the players around you agree, we'll be happy.
However, you will be expected to learn or know canon pertaining to your character, including prior canon that happened within this game. For example: You should know from DC that Nightwing grew up in the circus, lost his parents, was Batman's apprentice and founded and ran the Titans. You don't have to know everything before becoming a part of us, but once you are in the game you should learn he's married with a child, died once and came back, and considers and addresses Donna Troy as his sister. (Now if you want him single, without a kid, and to have a less sibling relationship with his fellow Titan and everyone around you agrees, it can probably be done, just not in the "::poof:: never happened way" immediate sort of way. We tend to avoid Crisis moments.) We have some useful sites we can recommend (including our wiki), and chances are no matter how obscure the character, you'll find that one of our other players can help you learn more about them. In fact, we WANT to help you. More good role-players = better community. If you have questions, ask. We love questions.
2. Play nice with others. What "telling this story together" means here is that everyone, even people not directly involved with a particular plot, have a voice in what others are doing because we're all involved with the overall story. For example: Someone not playing a Green Lantern or Gothamite can comment on GL and Gotham things because Gotham and the Green Lantern Corp are part of the overall story we're working on. Granted, the people playing characters are going to have more of a say in things and dictating what another player can do (not be there, be de-powered, go crazy, must chose the blue pill when the player of the character is saying he'd take the red, and so on) without their permission is just plain wrong. After a certain point the needs of the community to make sure things run smoothly outranks all objections. Name-calling, sarcasm, withholding communication, being disingenuous, picking fights, going after someone who asked for breathing space, and so on is not "togetherness" nor a method a player should be using to get their way.
You don't have to run every little plot bunny past the admins before launching it. You do have to run it by the players of any affected characters. If Nightwing wants to visit the Flash, go for it -- just make sure that the Flash isn't already otherwise occupied. This goes for player-player interactions, too -- respect people's privacy, don't be a jerk about things, and if you have any problems with another player that can't be solved one-on-one quietly, please talk to an admin. We have a "theater troupe" of players here that have RPed with each other in some cases for years, and as such we have been able to constructively deal with any issues that have arisen in the past.
Character violence needs to happen for many of our stories because we're working in a comic book word. That said, there should be no maiming, killing, or leveling someone's house without the other player's permission. Fight scenes generally work best when both sides of a fight map out what's going to happen in advance, kinda like pro wrestling. Please remember, though, that unless you're Superman going up against a standard street thug, most comic book fights are give and take - saying that a character never hit you (unless you're the Flash or a top-ranked martial artist like Batman or Lady Shiva) probably isn't very realistic. Again, talk it out between players.
3. "In game" posts should be posted in the dc_nation community. What this simply means is, if you have a post in mind that you want to make sure is seen by other players, post it in dc_nation. We don't have a minimum posting requirement because some characters (Alfred, for example) only pop up when they're needed. However, if you agree to participate in a plot, let folks know if you have to be offline for an extended period, and talk about what they can do if you suddenly disappear -- death in the family, computer goes boom, whatever. Generally people say, "Okay, you can NPC my character, and they're likely to do thus and such in a given situation," or they let a trusted friend play understudy. Whatever works for you. We do reserve the right, however, to temp a character for action scenes if needed to move a plot forward (though we'd much rather have you around).
4. The PG-13 rating is for pragmatism. Many of our players have "trigger issues" - before starting a post/plot that could involve a trigger issue (child abuse, rape, etc.), please announce your intentions before beginning so that it can be addressed. Also, while most of us here are quite dedicated to freedom of speech and information we also live in a world with employers, children, parents, really bad filter programs, and so on who might not be as understanding. Bottom line, if you wouldn't show it to a savvy 11 year old or a 90 year old grandmother then there are two options:
- Lj-Cuts with a warning about the content within. This is best for scenes that might conceivably go over the line or be someone's trigger.
- If it's just plain NC-17 or X-rated, move it to private journals, please. It's not that we don't love you and want to read it. Those post just don't belong on the com.
5. We do have minimum posting rules. Primary characters should be in a scene at least once a month (if not more). Secondary characters should be in a scene at least once every two months (if not more). Plot characters do not need to be in scenes regularly, but you should be ready to involve the character in some form of a plot at least once a year. Note that there are no maximum posting limits, so you may post with your character as often as you like, even if they are a secondary or a plot character. If you have difficulty meeting your posting limits, the admin is here to assist you to make your posts, not punish you for failing to meet requirements. However, if you routinely fail to meet the requirement, we may need to discuss alternative options with you -- which can potentially include removing the character from your roster.
With that, good luck. We look VERY forward to your application.
When applying for a character, please cut and past the following form into your post below and fill out the form's questions:
Character Application (Canon Only):
A) Player (nickname, handle):
B) Player's main LJ journal:
C) Email:
D) Character name:
E) Do you see the character as a primary character, who would be used regularly? A secondary character, who would be more background? Or a plot character, who shows up from time to time and drives stories?
F) New character LJ journal (if already created):
G) Base of operations:
H) Please explain further your reasons for applying for this character. What types of stories would you like to do with this character? What sorts of heroes/villains would you be interested in interacting with. Is there anything about the established comic-book canon of this character that you would like to see changed/different? Please be as detailed as you wish.
I) Sample Post:
(Please either post your sample roleplay below or post the link where it may be easily found. Please include dialogue where possible. If you prefer, you may also request an interactive "test scene" with one of our players - if so, please list characters that you would be interested in interacting with for the scene).
Please note that we are currently not accepting the following types of applications from people currently outside of the community:
1) Original Characters.
2) DC: Animated Universe transplants that have little to no history/presence in DC Comics Continuity.
3) Characters from other fandoms (If you're a Marvel Comics fan, we have a sister communities that have Marvel RP. Please ask for details.)
If you're just completely new to this and want to know how to contribute feel free to e-mail us.
A) Player (nickname, handle): B) Player's main LJ journal: C) Email: D) Character Name: E) New character LJ journal (if already created): F) Base of Operations: G) Please explain further your reasons for applying for this character. What types of stories would you like to do with this character? What sorts of heroes/villains would you be interested in interacting with. Is there anything about the established comic-book canon of this character that you would like to see changed/different? Please be as detailed as you wish.: H) Sample Post:
Please give the admins at least 24-48 hours to respond to your app request. (If it's near the end of a school quarter, please give us a little more leeway.) Once you hear from us, we will have a team of players review your application and hopefully get back to you with an answer as soon as possible. If you haven't heard a final answer within a week, please check with us. One of our priorities is to not leave people hanging wherever possible.
WHEN we respond, we will respond with either a YES, a NO (with reasons why), or a TEST SCENE. The third option, which is common, is when we want to see more from you to see how both you and your character would interact with someone already in the game - often someone your character would have a close relationship with. Once your test scene is completed, we will then respond shortly thereafter with a YES or a NO.
We have a strong preference for players who are 18 and over, due to the themes often addressed in this RPG.
What follows are some highlights of our rules that you should know prior to applying:
1. The philosophy here is "We're telling this story together, or not at all." Every comment after this point is to make that one point run more smoothly.
2. Canon and History. An encyclopedic knowledge of the DC universe's canon is not a requirement for this game and in some cases might not even be desirable. There are big canon issues and little canon issues. Superman came from Krypton. Batman's parents died when he was very young at the hands of thug. Wonder Woman is an Amazon from the island of Themyscira. Those are all good examples of big canon issues that don't change. Smaller issues that are subject to change would include things like who a character is dating or where they are living at a particular time - as long as we have internal story logic and the players around you agree, we'll be happy.
However, you will be expected to learn or know canon pertaining to your character, including prior canon that happened within this game. For example: You should know from DC that Nightwing grew up in the circus, lost his parents, was Batman's apprentice and founded and ran the Titans. You don't have to know everything before becoming a part of us, but once you are in the game you should learn he's married with a child, died once and came back, and considers and addresses Donna Troy as his sister. (Now if you want him single, without a kid, and to have a less sibling relationship with his fellow Titan and everyone around you agrees, it can probably be done, just not in the "::poof:: never happened way" immediate sort of way. We tend to avoid Crisis moments.) We have some useful sites we can recommend (including our wiki), and chances are no matter how obscure the character, you'll find that one of our other players can help you learn more about them. In fact, we WANT to help you. More good role-players = better community. If you have questions, ask. We love questions.
2. Play nice with others. What "telling this story together" means here is that everyone, even people not directly involved with a particular plot, have a voice in what others are doing because we're all involved with the overall story. For example: Someone not playing a Green Lantern or Gothamite can comment on GL and Gotham things because Gotham and the Green Lantern Corp are part of the overall story we're working on. Granted, the people playing characters are going to have more of a say in things and dictating what another player can do (not be there, be de-powered, go crazy, must chose the blue pill when the player of the character is saying he'd take the red, and so on) without their permission is just plain wrong. After a certain point the needs of the community to make sure things run smoothly outranks all objections. Name-calling, sarcasm, withholding communication, being disingenuous, picking fights, going after someone who asked for breathing space, and so on is not "togetherness" nor a method a player should be using to get their way.
You don't have to run every little plot bunny past the admins before launching it. You do have to run it by the players of any affected characters. If Nightwing wants to visit the Flash, go for it -- just make sure that the Flash isn't already otherwise occupied. This goes for player-player interactions, too -- respect people's privacy, don't be a jerk about things, and if you have any problems with another player that can't be solved one-on-one quietly, please talk to an admin. We have a "theater troupe" of players here that have RPed with each other in some cases for years, and as such we have been able to constructively deal with any issues that have arisen in the past.
Character violence needs to happen for many of our stories because we're working in a comic book word. That said, there should be no maiming, killing, or leveling someone's house without the other player's permission. Fight scenes generally work best when both sides of a fight map out what's going to happen in advance, kinda like pro wrestling. Please remember, though, that unless you're Superman going up against a standard street thug, most comic book fights are give and take - saying that a character never hit you (unless you're the Flash or a top-ranked martial artist like Batman or Lady Shiva) probably isn't very realistic. Again, talk it out between players.
3. "In game" posts should be posted in the dc_nation community. What this simply means is, if you have a post in mind that you want to make sure is seen by other players, post it in dc_nation. We don't have a minimum posting requirement because some characters (Alfred, for example) only pop up when they're needed. However, if you agree to participate in a plot, let folks know if you have to be offline for an extended period, and talk about what they can do if you suddenly disappear -- death in the family, computer goes boom, whatever. Generally people say, "Okay, you can NPC my character, and they're likely to do thus and such in a given situation," or they let a trusted friend play understudy. Whatever works for you. We do reserve the right, however, to temp a character for action scenes if needed to move a plot forward (though we'd much rather have you around).
4. The PG-13 rating is for pragmatism. Many of our players have "trigger issues" - before starting a post/plot that could involve a trigger issue (child abuse, rape, etc.), please announce your intentions before beginning so that it can be addressed. Also, while most of us here are quite dedicated to freedom of speech and information we also live in a world with employers, children, parents, really bad filter programs, and so on who might not be as understanding. Bottom line, if you wouldn't show it to a savvy 11 year old or a 90 year old grandmother then there are two options:
- Lj-Cuts with a warning about the content within. This is best for scenes that might conceivably go over the line or be someone's trigger.
- If it's just plain NC-17 or X-rated, move it to private journals, please. It's not that we don't love you and want to read it. Those post just don't belong on the com.
5. We do have minimum posting rules. Primary characters should be in a scene at least once a month (if not more). Secondary characters should be in a scene at least once every two months (if not more). Plot characters do not need to be in scenes regularly, but you should be ready to involve the character in some form of a plot at least once a year. Note that there are no maximum posting limits, so you may post with your character as often as you like, even if they are a secondary or a plot character. If you have difficulty meeting your posting limits, the admin is here to assist you to make your posts, not punish you for failing to meet requirements. However, if you routinely fail to meet the requirement, we may need to discuss alternative options with you -- which can potentially include removing the character from your roster.
With that, good luck. We look VERY forward to your application.