Mortal Applications: Helpful Hints
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First Things First
1. Have you +checked yourself?
2. Have you offered a reasonable explanation in your bg why certain stats on your +sheet are very high?
3. Have you accounted for Contacts, Allies, Influences, Resources, Fame, Merits, Flaws etc. in your bg?
4. Have you mentioned your life-glow in the wraith_desc? Please look at +news wraithdesc for information. A normal mortal would have a healthy life-glow. This would vary, of course, depending on the age of the character from a bright to a dull hue. Disease and illness would also contribute to a change in the life-glow! Please remember to not only describe your face in your wraith_desc, but also the state of your clothing. Very often PCs forget all about the clothes they wear in their wraith_descs!
5. Have you chosen your Specialties for any level 4+ stats? Common Specialities:
- Appearance: Alluring, Sultry, High-Society Looks, Urban Sex Appeal
- Charisma: Smooth Talker, Genteel, Urbane, Witty, Eloquent Speaker, Graceful
- Dexterity: Lithe, Swift, Feline Grace, Lightning Reflexes
- Firearms: Pistols, Rifles, Shotguns, Revolvers, Machine Guns
- Intelligence: Book Knowledge, Creative, Analytical, Problem Solver, Creative, Occult Authority
- Manipulation: Persuasive, "Damn I'm Smooth", Seductive, Well-Reasoned
- Melee: Knives, Swords, Club, Staff, Spear, Axe
- Perception: Attentive, Insightful, Careful, Discerning, Experienced, Attention to Detail
- Stamina: Tireless, Determined, Tough as Nails, Resolute
- Strength: Iron Grip, Powerful Arms, Reserves of Strength, Fists Like Anvils
- Wits: Quick-Thinking, Smart Alec, Clear-Headed, One-Step-Ahead
6. Have you proof-read your description (i.e. desc) for typographical errors and spelling mistakes?
7. The various stats on your +sheet need to make sense for your character! The older your character, the more sense it makes for him/her to have higher levels of certain Abilities. The reasoning behind this is the fact that age and experience molds your character, teaching you lessons from the past. Exceptions to this rule will be activities that require strenuous physical exertion. Naturally that 80 year old PC won't be in peak physical condition and he certainly won't set any records as the fastest swimmer. Lower levels of the Physical Attributes won't be unsuitable, either.
8. Remember, Flaws are just as important and fun as Merits! They add color and dimension to your character, and increase the flavor of RP if discovered by the right (or even the wrong) sort of PC.
9. A good bg is not too long, grammatically correct and well-punctuated.
10. Dot your i's and cross your t's.
11. Don't forget to let your creative juices flow while writing your background!
Next
Writing a background is like making an introduction to your character at a glance. Be as specific as you want if you think that the information you are giving is vital to your character. However, do not make your background so long that your staffer has drooled and fallen asleep half-way through it.
Also, remember to make your character unique! Adding those little quirks make your character special and they allow the Storyteller more understanding into your character's personality. This can be very helpful in setting up scenes and using your PC in plots!
And that's just not all! Writing a good background will allow you flesh out your character before you get on the grid. Elaborate on its history, its personality, its motivation and goals in life, its pursuits, its vulnerabilities, what makes it 'tick', etc. The Mortal Wizard will especially be looking at three primary defining traits in a good, well-constructed, 3-D character's background -- HISTORY, PERSONALITY and MOTIVATION/GOALS.
Then once you are approved and ready to roleplay, you will not only have a better picture of your own character and how you want to portray it, but should you find yourself in a dilemma and don't know how to react in a particular circumstance, you can always go back to your bg to figure out what your character is most likely to do in a fix!
History, Personality & Motivation/Goals
Allow me to elaborate on these in this section.
History - The most basic requirement for the history section is that Staff and Storytellers need to be able to construct a basic time line of your life. All major events in life need to be accounted for and what is a major event will vary on the character.
Personality - This constitutes to an understanding of how the player intends to play out the character. A 'feel' for the character is essential, such that Staff can roughly imagine how you would react in any given situation.
Motivation/Goals - This is perhaps the most overlooked section by most players. Why are they in Toronto? What are they doing in this city? What are their goals in life? The questions are why and what, and you must be able to provide reasonable answers. Mind you, the In Character (i.e. IC) answer of “I don't know" is acceptable. Searching for a purpose in the life of your character, should you be a new arrival to the city, is perfectly fine. However (and there is always a 'however'), it is NOT acceptable to tell your Wizard or Admin, Out of Character (i.e. OOC), that you don't have the vaguest clue of how to answer these questions. Why make your character at all if you don't know what you aim to achieve with it?
And last but not least
Let me, again, bring to your attention and stress how crucial the above aspects will be to your character! They will dictate your background and your RP in more ways than one, and will also be the determining factors in the approval of your character by the Sphere Wizard. Outside of that, your concept is going to determine a lot of the other parts of the background, quality-wise. Remember: the simpler the concept, the simpler the background. The general theory is that length depends on what it takes to fully develop the three important aspects of your background.
As far as form of the application is concerned? It is not that important and MORTAL staff generally doesn't care whether you use essay, narrative or whatever other writing styles, just so long as it incorporates the three essential background requirements. It is suggested that you write at a minimum of 80 lines, unless you are very gifted at precise writing and do an exceptional job in summarizing your background in a few words! Also, one should try and break down the background in paragraphs, to make it easy on the eyes of your Sphere Wizard and your Admin. Including multiple paragraphs on a 'page' or 'screen' is highly encouraged!
I hope you use these suggestions while writing your application. Should you follow Cleopatra's Helpful Hints, you should be well on your way to approval...
Good Luck!
Mortal Applications
- General Requirements
- Sphere Templates
- Merits and Flaws
- Helpful Hints
