Post by Lemur God on Nov 28, 2005 22:41:33 GMT -5
~Character Creation Rules~
1) Be Creative!
2) No Airbenders
3) If you make a bender, you can only bend one of the three elements from the show. Fire, Earth or Water.
4) Characters can not wield any type of power that seems to much like ‘magic.’
5) Created characters should not (without first discussing it with the moderators before even posting the profile) post an intimate familial or other sort of relationship with any canon character.
6) No European sounding names.
7) No Mary Sues.
8) You must have two mods approve your app before you start playing.
9) A bender can't be too powerful if they have never been officially taught by a master.
10) You must make your character fit into the Avatar canon world. This means no made up races, or those inspired by other fandoms.
Why all the rules?
1) Be Creative!
- I don’t want the board to consist entirely of Aang, Sokka, Katara and Zuko clones. You can do a lot with making your own character to make them unique and alive, instead of just a clone.
- This goes from pulling from other fandoms, as well. No Kenshin, Naruto, One Piece, Yuu Gi Oh, Pokemon, FLCL, Fushigi Yugi, Ceres, Witch Hunter Robin, Gundam Wing, Kitty Grade, Utena, Cowboy Bebop, Spirited Away, Princes Mononoke, Teen Titans, Justice League, X-Men, Marvel, DC, Star Wars, or that one fandom I didn’t mention, clones. I am not the only one checking the profiles, even if it’s a fandom I’m unfamiliar with, another mod will be able to catch a clone. Bottom line, don’t do it. Make your character yours and you’ll have a much more fulfilling time playing him or her.
2) No Airbenders
- Now, before you all jump on me for that one, the person who plays Aang will have the only Airbender on the board. Why? Because the show is called Avatar: The Last Airbender, and as of yet, we have seen no proof that air benders still live. I might be willing to change my tune later down the line there comes to be canon proof to the contrary. But then, why call the show “Avatar: The Last Airbender?” There is a subclass that will make up for the lack of official, shaved head, airbending monks and nuns, have no fear.
3) If you make a bender, you can only bend one of the three elements from the show. Fire, Earth or Water.
- I’m sorry, but there’s nothing in canon to support benders of time, light, wood, lighting, electricity, trees, plants, love, sand, crabs (had to add that one XD), people, so on and so forth. So, no. These characters are often poorly conceived anyway. There are other, more creative and enduring ways to add originality to your character. A well written past, a good character flaw or an unusual talent that isn’t unearthly are all good examples.
- Also note that male benders seem a lot more common than female benders. I’m not being sexist, just asking you to take it into consideration.
4) Characters can not wield any type of power that seems to much like ‘magic.’
- They say it over and over again in the show, but I’ll repeat it here, bending is not magic. Bending is using your chi to manipulate the element you were born into and you were trained to touch. It is a martial art form before it is a form of magic.
- Possible exceptions will be made for psychic characters, as long as they follow the rules of Chinese and Japanese fortune telling and shamanism. Shamans can do thinks like purify spirits, set up barriers and the like, while fortune tellers (depending on their skill and level of training) are able to read omens, portents, bones, tortoise shells and other things to foresee the future.
5) Created characters should not (without first discussing it with the moderators before even posting the profile) post an intimate familial or other sort of relationship with any canon character.
- No long lost brothers or sisters, aunts or uncles. However, this rule can be waved if a relationship is unobtrusive. Like King Bumi’s to Aang. A child hood friend, a distant relation, or an old playmate are all okay relationships to have within reason. We will allow distant relatives of The Royal family of the Fire Nation simply because of how large royal family trees normally are and such relationships would be bragged about anyway. But this would only be distant, and I doubt a third cousin of Zuko would brag about it.
6) No European sounding names.
- Since the world is distinct and Asian in culture, names that are European or English will not be accepted. Neither will names from mythologies other than Asian, and if you pick Amaretsu, or something like it for a name you better have a good reason why your character would call themselves after a deity. We have provided a list of names on this board that will keep growing. It’s there to help. ^____~
7) No Mary Sues.
- While I’ll be really light on this rule since all Role Playing characters are self insertion of a type, what I mean here is the Card Carrying Mary Sue. If your character has no flaws, you note in the profile how much everyone loves you and Zuko wants to marry you and he hasn’t even seen you yet, you might be a Mary Sue. Sue’s are too perfect, too nice, too everything. Good characters, characters that we love or remember, have flaws. Would the show be so great if Aang, Katara, Sokka and Zuko weren’t human?
8) You must have two mods approve your app before you start playing.
- This is to make sure you get the best character possible. Two mods are able to help out more than one.
9) A bender can't be too powerful if they have never been officially taught by a master.
- At the beginning of the series, Katara is a rather paltry and inexperienced bender. This is due to her lack of a teacher; she has raw talent, but no direction. Bending takes years of discipline and once you learn the basics you have two ways to continue your skills: stay with your mater, or get practical experience. Practical experience takes a lot longer, however, which is why the traveling bender would be eager for a master. (Like Katara)
10) You must make your character fit into the Avatar canon world. This means no made up races, or those inspired by other fandoms.
This should be common sense, but it's being listed as a rule here anyhow, just to make it absolutely clear. The Avatar characters (with the exception of Appa, Momo and other random animals) are human. Not half-demon, or the last descendant of ____.
Why all the rules?
- Simple. We want you to be able to make the best character possible, so the rules are guidelines that are meant to help you get started and build an enduring character that you will grow to love. Remember, if you have a question for us, or want some help, let us know and we'll be glad to answer any character creation questions or help you build a great character.