Character Creation
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Character Creation
If you’re on this page, you’re likely looking for help with character creation. This is simple due to the freedoms given to players - but, lore can be a lot to take in! This page details what exactly you should focus on before delving into specifics, so you aren’t overwhelmed with what may seem like an astronomical lore repository at first glance.
Before we begin, the most important thing to consider is the rules. Do not attempt to circumvent these, and, when in doubt, always feel free to ask admin/mod staff and lore developers if a character is reasonable and lore-compliant. The rules can be found in this very long and obvious bold and blue highlighted sentence so you can’t miss it.
Mechanics of Character Creation
This section is dedicated to the barebones mechanics of character setup, to help along confused players who are unfamiliar with Space Station 13 or roleplaying games in general. If you are familiar with SS13, it is suggested to skip this section.
The mechanics of character setup are simple. By pressing the "Character Setup" button in the lobby you're able to access your character list and alter the traits of up to thirty characters at a time.
You are the only person with access to your characters and it is tied to your BYOND ckey, or username/account details. When issues occur regarding missing characters, contact staff as soon as you can!
You are freely able to delete any character you so please, though if you find yourself involved in canonical incidents, staff - and especially other players - would prefer you notify them first before doing this.
Character setup is split into various lists, buttons and fields that indicate details about that character. The "Writing your Character" section details what you need to know about the specifics of these fields.
Writing your Character
This section is dedicated to the roleplaying aspect of creating your character.
Getting Started : What is Aurora lore?
Aurora lore is a hinging point of the server in that it is the setting which ties everything together. It is very important to stay up-to-date with lore that relates to your character, and with the galaxy at large - this is because you are playing a character whose story is told through it. Putting yourself in the shoes of a character grows far easier the more you know about their background, so we will cover the background first.
Origins - Citizenship, Language and Religion
Like any roleplaying game, an easy starting point is the origins of a character. The specifics of these origins are judged by a solemn factor mechanically : citizenship. Seeing as your character must be on the station legally (if they were made from character setup menus,) there is no way you can be here without it. While there are resources on acquiring citizenship already on this wiki, we will be focusing on characters who were born in a given area for simplicity’s sake in this guide.
The “home” location of your character can mean any number of things, from their financial status, to their beliefs and more. The easiest thing to do is to adopt the beliefs and mannerisms of any given area in the lore and attach them to your character. Modern culture has largely faded or been replaced or is not even mentioned in Aurora lore - in fact, Earth is no longer even a major plot point. This leads to the simpler backgrounds being unrelated to Sol as a system entirely - in fact, our setting is based from a Republic separate from the home Alliance!
When considering where you’ve started, keep in mind the following : Safe travel across longer distances is less safe and obviously longer. The specifics of how long your character has traveled can be deduced simply : use the Interstellar Travel Page, base your speed off of that, and count the squares on the starmap (one square=1 light year) between you and your destination.
With that out of the way, there are a myriad of different choices to be had here. This guide will focus on the Republic of Biesel as the point of interest for now.
The Republic of Biesel is a federal republic exercising official authority over the Tau Ceti system and not much else. However, it is built upon a fabulous concentration of phoron, occupied by the NanoTrasen corporation - something that has led to it becoming the wealthiest system in Human space and beyond. Recently (In 2462 IC, 2020 OOC) Biesel's influence and rule expanded massively to include Solarian systems, which were abandoned during a massive collapse of Sol Alliance assets.
This is ultimately the default of the setting. Players using character backgrounds from here will find seamless integration in the lore easy thanks to its simplicity. NanoTrasen rules all here, and simply living here implies you work for some form of megacorporation.
Different faction expectations
Different factions have different expectations. For example, the Moroz Holy Tribunal is tied into Dominia at every level of its society, meaning it makes very little sense to play a Dominian who does not know what it is. In this regard, it can only be stressed that the more you know, the easier you can find your character's place.
Languages play a major part in Aurora's setting, splitting entire populations by merely hearing the words others speak. Details on each language can be found ingame, but the wiki resource can be found at the Languages page.
So where do I go?
Every species has a navbox dedicated to their own lore, with a main lore navbox being located at the bottom of this page and many others, sometimes at the top. It's hard to get lost on the Aurora wiki.
This is the navigational box, or navbox, for Human lore. It contains important information and by pressing the leftmost names of the factions, you can look into every detail pertaining to them.
Moving on
The faction a character chooses is far from the defining trait of a character. Characters are, when in character, just people after all. The next sections proceed onto details elaborating on how you can use this information - or totally disregard it, should you wish.
Character traits - Flavor text, Records
This is partly where the freedom of Aurora character creation shines the most.
Flavor text is an editable text attached to your character that is presented to everyone who examines your character in-game. Theoretically, literally anything can go in this field, within the boundaries of the rules. These cover every body part - but we won't go into that much detail.
This is often a point which players use to expand upon their origins. For example,
Before you stands an Eridanian, (goes on with flavortext)
is a very common way to start a flavor text. If your character is part of a niche or perhaps unknown demographic, this much can be expanded upon as well, such as -
This individual carries an exotic, unfamiliar demeanor and appearance. (goes on with flavortext)
Everyone writes flavor text differently. Some individuals go for very wordy and in-depth text to describe their character's precise details, while others may put only a sentence.
The only absolute is that flavor text is not a requirement. It is heavily encouraged to write one, however, because hammering out the appearance of your character is the first step toward better connecting with them.
For faction-specific appearances, refer to faction pages. There is always a section detailing what the populace may look like to help you along.
Creativity is a key component of good writing, and this reflects in flavor text. Your imagination can run wild with how you want your character to appear, no matter how unique or bland they may seem.
Records
Records are a difficult part of character creation. Many individuals opt to not create character records until they think they enjoy a character enough to bother. However, they are very fulfilling and easy to write once you get a hang of it ; the more you know, the more you can simply pull from lore to justify where your character has been or how they got here.
The concept of records is simple : all employees have them tied into their existence in the setting, telling other players all sorts of things from your character's flaws to your skills.
There are no official records templates to utilize. You can make your own or look for some in the community yourself - however, none are included here (for now).
Some players include OOC notes or external links in their records to create things that can't be created in plain text. This is permitted and in no way frowned upon.
Only you and server administrators can edit your records! If a canonical happening occurs, it's up to you to log it!
Security Records
Security records detail any manner of criminal records, legal incidents or expectations of your character. These are separate from on-station incident logging, which can freely be edited through the "Other" tab in character setup. Do not delete canon incidents that occur on designated canon rounds.
These are accessed by virtually the entire security department, and all of command staff.
Employment Records
Employment records tell a story very well! With these, you can narrate the locations your character has worked over their life, their skills, qualifications and more. These are most commonly what gets you access to extra permissions ICly, and thus tends to be an issue more often than not. Be reasonable with your character's skillset and history.
These are accessed exclusively by command staff and above.
Medical Records
Medical records basically list every bit of medical information pertaining to your character.
These are accessed by medical and command staff on request. Some parts of security (CSI, Detective) can access it as well.
The Loadout and Cosmetics
The loadout, as selected at the top of the character setup, permits you to dress your character in any way you want. Aurora's loadout selection is rather cluttered, and arguably bloated, but this is in the better interest of player freedom in character aesthetic. Going into the details of this is utterly hopeless because of the sheer amount of items you can access, much less the fact that it's constantly changing. Go and explore!
An excerpt : The only xenowear accessible to anybody who lacks a whitelist is "Xenowear-Human," which can only be worn by Offworlder Humans.
Finishing : Your Job and Employer
The NSS Aurora is a workplace where, not everyone is actually employed. There are options to play unemployed individuals, such as visitors and unaffiliated parties. To wrap up, we'll move on to your job selection.
Your Job
Jobs are the core of SS13 gameplay, and this carried over to Aurora's server gameplay as well. Everyone plays their own role and the character you make with this guide is forced to choose one, should you play as them. There are multiple paths that interest plenty of people : there's well over 30 occupations available that each have extremely fleshed out mechanics and places in their departments. To get a comprehensive selection of what you can play, press the big "Jobs" button below (or the adjacent guides, which contain good info too). If you intend to play an external megacorporate contractor, the final section of this page details just what you need.
The Other Scary Megacorporations
While not detailed much in the new play summary or here, there is the ability to play every megacorporation's contractors on the Aurora server. This has the exception of Einstein Engines.
The Megacorporations are major defining factors to you, if you happen to be one of these contractors. They are listed below, and your expectations can completely change depending on who you're from.
Hephaestus Industries
Hephaestus Industries is the foremost industrial power in the galaxy. Their ability to manufacture the greatest range of products is unparalleled among the megacorporations, solidifying its position - begrudgingly, beneath NanoTrasen.
Hephaestus contractors are known for their free and hardy nature, being mostly individuals sourced from opposition of the Sol Alliance. This has gone so far as to make their primary language Freespeak, one known for its connection to the rebellious Mars.
Idris Incorporated
Idris Incorporated is the greatest banking conglomerate in the galaxy. Their reach extends as far as NanoTrasen's, despite a rather centralized and shady family administration.
Idris contractors are usually renowned everyday service personnel, the highest class even. They delve frequently into security contracting as well - their own claim to quality simply being the "Idris expectation."
Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals
Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals is the largest pharmaceutical employer and medical research corporation ever devised. Their coverage of the galaxy is spotty, but they have grown massively in recent years.
Zeng-Hu contractors are very often exactly what they're slated to be. The formalities involved with practicing medicine are extensive (even in the 2400's) and as such Zeng-Hu is known to employ only the best - especially for positions on other megacorporate installations.
Zavodskoi Interstellar
Zavodskoi Interstellar is defined as the largest (and, at this point, the only) major arms manufacturer in the known galaxy. Their reach extends to whoever needs weapons at any time - from killing machines to angry looking boots, they sell it all.
Zavodskoi contractors are known to contrast their company's edgy and intimidating exterior. Politeness and cooperation with employers, and encouraging polite cooperation with others is the name of the game.
Conclusion
Now that you've reached the end of this guide, you're ready to get a character made and start playing! Enjoy your time on the server and, when in doubt, consult the wiki or ask staff at any time through discord for help!
Helpful Links
These links are helpful for character creation.
- Education - Where your character goes to higher education. Mostly for employment records.
- Guide to Law - The general law expectations of the empires, pretty much declaring who is and isn't evil as heck.
- Guide to Citizenship - Citizenship requirements in case you need to switch citizenships.
- Interstellar Travel - Ship speeds, specifications, and how travel works.
- Languages - Important languages in the galaxy.
- NanoTrasen Occupation Qualifications - Resources detailing why you can't be the lunatic you've always wanted to be
- Job Accessibility Requirements - For disabled characters, here you'll find which jobs they can occupy.
