How Do You Feel...

[Condomble]

How do you feel about new characters coming into the opnet site?

Some of the characters posting obviously have long time relationships both good and bad, while others seem to be very new as well. Reading the posts it seems that some new characters try to make a big "splash" when they come out but others enter softly.

Any advice?

[ 09-24-2002: Message edited by: Hu Ching ]

[Twist]

Quote:

Originally posted by Hu Ching:
How do you feel about new characters coming into the opnet site?

Some of the characters posting obviously have long time relationships both good and bad, while others seem to be very new as well. Reading the posts it seems that some new characters try to make a big "splash" when they come out but others enter softly.

Any advice?

[ 09-24-2002: Message edited by: Hu Ching ]

A few words of advice.

• Don't try to claim to be a canon character
• Don't claim to have killed canon characters
• Don't break canon without consultation

Apart from that be as quiet or as noisy as you like but remember whacked out claims will be seen as just that.

Becka

[Sakurako Hino]

And don't bring as many supporting characters as Shirley McLane(sp?) has past lives!

[ 09-24-2002: Message edited by: Endeavor ]

[Jordan]

The best advice I can give is be credible and consistant. Think about the impact you and your creations will have on the board before you post and if your not sure how people might respond, ask us in the players or storytellers section. On the other hand, don't be afraid to post and don't feel you need to alter your character to fit in here.

There lots more we could all say but I don't want to scare you or turn you off. For some insight into the nature of the boards, try reading through some of the older Opnet topics.

[Ashnod]

The other biggest piece of advice I think hasn't been mentioned is don't rely on the backing of canon characters to give your claims validity.

If you're a Terat, and have met Divis Mal and Shrapnel and Sin-Eater and Orzaiz, that's fine and we all know it's very true.

Once you start telling us that Mal agrees with everything you say, or the Shrapnel considers you her right hand, or you and Sin-Eater have pioneered new techniques of Taint manipulation, or that you and Orzaiz are deeply involved in a passionate affair....

Basically, it's as though you feel your point-of-view is strengthed by mentioning canon names, and that the inclusion of canon characters is supposed to give your point-of-view weight.

Stand on your own. Don't rely on the reputation of others to make you stand out. Most of us won't believe your canon liasons anyway.

Your canon interactions might contradict mine, and vice-versa, so it's best not to bring it in, since the canon characters aren't here to speak for themselves.

[ 09-24-2002: Message edited by: Ashnod ]

[Kirby1024]

One useful thing to have that doesn't quite have the same general impact, is at the very least a rough timeline and character history. I'm a little biased, since all my characters were made specifically for the Opnet Board, but if you are making a character specifically for the board, make some notes on the character. It's likely to evolve considerably, as you get ideas and such (Teknokat has had her history changed at least 3 major times, as well as countless revisions), but it is useful for good interaction plot hooks.

[Condomble]

Many thanks to all of you for your gracious advice. Hu Ching will be introduced via character sheet as soon as the artwork is completed.

It may be difficult to wait until then. Poor Doctor Smith!

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

Quote:

Originally posted by Hu Ching:
How do you feel about new characters coming into the opnet site?

Enter and be Welcome!

[Sakurako Hino]

Hey. forgot to say, welcome to the boards.

Just don't try too hard. Feel it out to start off.

[ 09-25-2002: Message edited by: Endeavor ]

[Condomble]

<c> Thank you both! </c>

[Sandy Davis]

I am going to post a up Miss Fortune..as soon the sheet is done..but I was woundering a few things, mainly..wuld it bealright if i had a level one powr that did something along the lines of makign my charatcer not age as fast?As one the point of my charatcer is that she is 25 but looks the same as when she was 17..she just hasn't aged at all.

Let's see what else, does his site really have a city that you should be in?I knwo i should read more indepth,but sometime si am lazy...

and by any chance would psiads rom the players hand book..those guys are like way cool

[ 10-19-2002: Message edited by: SandY Davis- Miss-Fortune ]

[Fortune's Son]

Quote:

Sandy Davis- Miss-Fortune:
would it be alright if i had a level one power that did something along the lines of making my charatcer not age as fast?

You ~could~ make a level one power that would do that, I've seen it done before, but the potential is already in the game so a new power isn't required. You have to remember that there are no powers (mega-attributes or enhancements either) that are required to appear exactly the same for all characters.

For instance; if she had levels of mega-stamina you might note that Ms. Fortune will look exactly the same as the day she erupted until 24 hours before she's going to die of old age. Whereupon she'll age two hundred years in a day and her boy (girl) friend are going to wake up next to a 200 yr old corpse. That's the difference between a "special effect" and what the power actually does. You're allowed to do this.

The above example is icky, but as you can see a new power isn't required. Other possibilities include but are not limited to; regeneration, adaptability, copy cat, chape shifting, etc... The appearance is a side effect not a mechanic. If you want actual immortality then get the adaptability enhancement and try to avoid bullets.



Heck, you could define a low level taint as "always appears as 17". You do need to figure out if she isn't aging or only appears to be 17, there's fun to be had either way, but it's all good.

Quote:

Let's see what else, does his site really have a city that you should be in?

Think of the "OpNet" section as an anonymous BBS that a variety of novas post to. They're all over the world, of all philosophies and allegiances. Although it has some aspects of a PBEM it really isn't. There is only one common thread tieing everyone together and that's that they possess a node. Gives you a chance to argue various viewpoints which is the purpose.

For instance Apep doesn't understand why Elites would desire to amass huge wealth and they're trying to explain it to her. For some its failure to grow up while for others the money is simply another way to change the world.

Of course some novas allow their pet zips to post as well.

Quote:

I know i should read more indepth,but sometime I am lazy...

Danger Will Robinson! Danger!

Because this isn't a "game" in the strictest sense of the word you can run afoul of trying to do something which would change the basic assumptions of the world here. That's considered rude and will get you in trouble.

Quote:

and by any chance would psiads rom the players hand book..those guys are like way cool

You can be anything you want, there actually is one psiad on the OpNet although there might be more. Ya see Timmy, in the world of AB only those associated with the Pandora Project would know that you were a psiad and not a nova. Think about that. Part of the "coolness" of psiads is being different from novas but to everyone around them they ARE novas because it will be another hundred years before everyone figures out what a psiad is.

Now some advice;

You gotta improve the spelling and syntax. If you look through my post you'll note that there's a couple of spelling errors I missed and ocassionally I mangle grammar.

It happens.

But if people have to spend time just trying to figure out what you ~wrote~ then they're not going to take time to figure out what you're trying to ~say~. You got a word processing program or an email program with spell check? Just write your post there and then cut and paste it into the post window rather than writing in the post window.

Voila! You're legible and we can communicate.

PS
There's already a Fortune on the board though that's not a reason for you to avoid using the name. Just wanted to let you know.

Shortly Kirby or Chosen will be along to point you in the direction of a couple of posts that will give you insight into the nature of the OpNet. That'll tell you what you can reasonably expect to get away with and what you're going to get called on faster than Utopia S&T suppressing the home orgasmatron.

Welcome to the board.

[Sandy Davis]

I will work on the spelling,and such.Miss-Fortume is named that for the pun..SHe picked her name becuase to her turning into a nova was a curse.

I think I will remove hypermovemnet then that will make it a fair trade for points..and let have a nova point that I do nto knwo what to spend it on!No,I have to many nova points!Someone take a nova point off my hands!

I have a rough draft of her sheet,and history..I am working on how she looks,aside from the fact she is good looking even for a nova..mega app 2. and as I said I will work on my spelling.

[Fortune's Son]

Quote:

Miss-Fortune promised:
I will work on the spelling,and such.

Thank you.

By the by; if English isn't your first language I'd be happy to point you to some on-line translators. Ditto for software if you have a current or permanent disability like a broken primary hand or cerebral palsy.

Remember; all we know of you is your posts. What's on the character sheet doesn't mean anything in this type of environment as its role playing pure and simple. So if that's what you're here for then you came to the right place. It also means that if your posts look as if they're written in crayon and impossible to understand then folks are NOT going to believe you have a mega-intelligence of 4. And the more effort that has to be put into deciphering what's in the post means less effort spent trying to interact with you.

Welcome aboard and I hope to see you add to the world.

[Kirby1024]

Well, might as well speak up...

OK. As an interesting exposition on how the Opnet Board generally works, we have this little thread:

Settle 'round, kiddies, time for a History lesson...

Another on the follies of diverging too far from canon:

Channelling Taint, Page 2

After that, Some simple ways to get your character up and running in our private little world.

• Vignettes: This board is connected to the Opnet Board. Essentially, this is a place to put down Very Short Stories, or other IC pieces of fiction. As a result, it's quite useful if you want to help people understand where a character is coming from.
• Fiction: Then, if you're feeling confident, try a big story. The Fiction Board holds no limits on the size of your story, really. This way, you can really get into the nuances of your character properly.

All that said, I agree with the others. Improving your Grammar and Spelling will do wonders for your credibility. Something to note that this isn't a chat channel. It is perfectly alright to slow down when you're typing. When you're done, look back on what you've written, and touch-up. If you're not a native-english speaker, Number 1 I probably would recommend against playing a Mega-Intelligent character (simply because If a Mega-Intelligent Nova is going to learn Another language, you can expect them to learn it with perfect fluency, and us mere mortals can't really do that), but also, Babelfish is your friend. Remember, however, that no English Translator is perfect. It will allow us to get the general gist of what you're saying, but it does usually seem rather disjointed (plus English doesn't have words for many concepts that have words in other languages).

With Psiads, Yes, there is one (I play him), but Jack's right - They're not only rare as hen's teeth, but most of them don't even realise that they're not Novas. If you are playing one, amp up that factor. She thinks she's a nova, but then again, novas never seem to find her, and that Taint syndrome? Never affects me...

Finally, remember, Play with others. The fun of the board is the ability to interact with others. If you're not interacting, then why are you here? Also, try and think through a character history. Try to keep it relatively coherant. Unless, of course, the nova's incoherant history is a defining part of her character...