Beta Chargen Process (SUSPENDED)

Since the beta game will have a high lethality rate, and since we are going to have to chargen characters quite often, the process of getting a character through chargen has changed. We will be accept one page backgrounds as said in other places. This is a guide to getting a background/concept approved and a guide to what staffers will look for. Enjoy.

Checklist for approving Backgrounds

1. Does the concept work with NSSE theme and with the basic SR Theme?
   Does the background fit the character into the world of Shadowrun without rewriting story lines of the published material? Could the things that happened to the character happen in Shadowrun?
   Cannibals are not theme in almost every sense of theme.

2. Does the concept and story make sense?
   Does the background go from point A to point B in a logical fashion? This doesn’t mean that the story has to follow a linear pattern, but logical leaps from one event to another should be present, understandable, and feasible.
   A sweet, innocent, fourteen year old with a perfect family life does not suddenly decide to become an assassin who sleeps with everything that moves for no particular reason other than it sounded fun.

3. Is there at least one goal or dream defined in the background and why does the character have that goal/dream?
   Everyone has a goal or a dream, even if they know it’s unreachable or is only to earn a million nuyen or cause Ares trouble. Ares might have killed a friend or they grew up poor.

4. Is there at least one flaw to the character and what caused it?
   No one is perfect. This could be a part of a negative quality or different. Weak Immune System or Gremlins written on the sheet does not fill this requirement unless it is shown in such a way that it makes up a large part of the characters life. It should be written the way it will be played.
   Personality flaws and bad habits are often caused by some reason, the same with fears. Maybe a large spider bit the character once and they are afraid of them now, or a bad childhood experience leads a character to be a radical feminist.

5. Is there a sense or outline of a personality in the concept?
   Personality is the key. This is how a character will react in situations, how they will deal with other characters. This is what makes them different. Quirks, habits, fears, and/or dreams can describe the personality.
   Personalities can change, often drastically, but a character should have at the very least, a paragraph explaining the beginning personality and/or plan for playing the character.

   As long as these five issues are addressed in a background, and they do not violate either the book rules or adopted house-rules, the application is fit for approval.

Dealing with Applications
   Applications should be handled on a first come, first serve basis. Exceptions to this rule would be if an application requires special handling such as searching the books for the rules or required approval of an admin other than the staffer handling the application.
   Another exception will occur based on the length of the application and the total number of applications. If a background is twenty pages long, expect a longer wait period. An excessively (although not discouraged!) long background may be moved to the end of the queue if the others are quick and easy applications.
   Staff also holds the right to move any application to the end of the queue if the player is being disruptive or if the staffer doesn’t feel he/she can give the application an unbiased review. However, no application should sit in the queue for more than forty-eight hours with a regular queue load. The limit may be extended based on availability of staff and amount of applications, but all players waiting longer than forty-eight hours should be notified by @mail or IM.

Questionable or Not Approvable Applications
   Applications classified as questionable or as exceptions to the normal queue process will have some element that requires clarification, such as searching exactly what year some event happened in, searching whether something is allowable by the rules, or some other event that is beyond the normal chargen process.
   Included in the not approvable will be characters that fall into our house rules or the book rules. This list may be amended at any time for any reason. Such things in this category for Beta include:
   1. Characters under the age of sixteen (NOTE: This may be changed to
   eighteen).
   2. Any PC currently employed in legal law enforcement positions.
   3. Any PC currently employed in covert law/government positions.
   4. Any PC currently employed by a Corporation.
   5. Metatypes other than Human, Ork, Troll, Elf, and Dwarf.
   6. Any PC in the Media or Medical fields that is not a shadowrunner.
   7. Any PC concept denied by the book such as Toxic/Insect Shamans and Blood
   Mages.