I say to nap, and not to rest, because I do not feel like I can entirely drop this this world that I came up with. The thing is that I just cannot deal with it at this current time so it is going on hiatus; for how long, I'm not sure, but I just could not keep up after things picked up again at the roleplay I've been an admin for since 2007.
Hopefully I might be able to shape myself up on the other site I help run so that sometime in the future I may come back to this project. When that time comes, a mass e-mail will be sure to go out.
Until then, goodbye, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, au revoir pour maintenant.
For now.
| Welcome to Sennera Magical Academy, an original setting HP universe roleplay. This roleplay world is centered in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, around the moderately hidden and moderately sized wizarding town of Sennera Village. They say moderately hidden because its only hidden by the wilderness of the mountainous region, and Muggles have been known to stumble upon it and become a part of the surrounding community. If you are interested in joining or have any questions, please feel free to look at some of the following links to get you started: Visitors Center [Guest Questions] - About Sennera - Character Creation Guidelines  Click here to register. If you're already a member please log in to your account to participate: |
| Character Creation Guidelines; May need some tweaking! | |
|---|---|
| Topic Started: Oct 16 2008, 05:53 AM (553 Views) | |
| Headmistress Daina Oden | Oct 16 2008, 05:53 AM Post #1 |
Headmistress
|
STAFF: If there is anything you feel should be removed or added for the sake of Sennera, please feel free to notify me. I have tweaked this the best that I could but I may need some help on dealing with the houses. Character Creation Guide What do I have to do to become a student at Sennera Magical Academy? All we ask is that our students read all of the rules and the Character Creation Guide before they submit an application. If you are not willing to do this, or if this effort is not evidenced in your application/character biography, the consequences include: (1) being contacted by Staff to modify your application or (2) being rejected entirely from Sennera Magical Academy RP. What do I have to do to become a Staff member at SMA? All of the above as well as demonstrating proficiency in role-playing style writing. Staff members are held to a higher standard than students and as a result face higher scrutiny during the application process. If you cannot contribute quality material to Sennera frequently and/or on a regular basis, then a Staff position is not for you. 12/11/08 - How many characters am I allowed to apply for? And what strings may be attached? As of this date [see date] all members are only allowed up to three (3) characters at any given time. Each member can create a new character once they reach approx. fifty (50) posts with their previous character. If a character dies/is killed off out of ones three alloted characters, then the member in question may apply for another character in its place. Please do not use that as an opportunity, though, to kill off characters willy nilly. Ex-post facto dictates characters made before this date do not fall under post requirements, but having any more than three means they'll still fall under the number limit. Staff Members have posted saying there's something wrong with my character's biography, what should I do? If you receive criticism on your pending application, please try to understand that the Staff are trying to help you, not to offend you or slight you. Staff members are encouraged to contribute to discussions regarding the approval of a character by offering tips, making suggestions, and pointing out major flaws in a character biography. If a Staff member has posted something that you must change though, it is recommended that you make the changes else risk your application being rejected outright. Okay...but how should I respond? This is up to you entirely. If you are dissatisfied with a Staff member's suggestions to you, then you have every right to express it. However, a reply such as "Bugger off! I'm not changing a thing!" is likely to result in your application being rejected and your IP address being banned from our site. You are encouraged to express your dissatisfaction in a thought-out and well-written manner so that the Staff may collaborate with you in developing your unique character. So I made the appropriate changes but a Staff Member insists that there's still something wrong with my character. What do I do now? Follow the Staff member's suggestions. We are about collaboration at SMA, not compromise. Collaboration and not compromise...huh? We want to work with you to create a good character, we are not trying to take-away something from you. In other words, by "collaborating" we mean communicate with you about various ways you can improve your character without compromising your artistic vision. [In the Keyword section of Character Application, please put in "Redwood Rockers" to assure us that you have read up to this point.] Does my character have to be White/Anglo/European/English? Not at all! Your character can have any ethnicity of your choosing provided your character's name reflects his/her ethnicity in an honest light. For example, a Mexican character would probably not be named Laurence McKinley. Laurence Gomez or Lorenzo Bermudez would be more accurate. Similarly, a character with a foreign/ethnic first name and a White/Anglo/European/English surname without a recognized (foreign) ethnicity is assumed to be White/Anglo/European/English and will be asked to change his/her name or biography. For example, Kimiko Johnson would be asked to modify her biography to reflect her Japanese heritage or change her name to something European. Can I have a pet dragon/unicorn/hippogriff? No. Your choice of pet is limited to: owl, cat, rat, toad, pygmy puff, or anything that you can prove to be reasonably domesticated. Can my wand core be Fawkes' feather/Buckbeak's feather/Voldemort's tooth? No. Your wand can only have one of the following cores: Unicorn Hair, Dragon Heartstring, Mermaid Hair, Phoenix Feather, Leprechaun Hair, Hippogriff Feather, Centaur Tail Hair, Acromantula Silk, Veela Hair. You may request a different sort of core if you can cite it in Potterverse canon. Can I give my character Harry's/Voldy's/Draco's/The Elder Wand? No. Each wand made in the magical world is unique to a person, and even if Sennera is a different environment we'd like for everyone to respect J.K. Rowling's canon characters by not stealing their wands. Also, please do not try to say that because a wand was destroyed/had someones dog eat it/etc. that somehow you can mysteriously use it. This is not a loophole; it is often a horrid excuse to make a Potter canon clone. Can my character have a boyfriend/girlfriend? Yes, but SMA does not allow sexually explicit content so make sure your character and your character's significant other are only engaging in behaviors that would be considered appropriate in the Harry Potter books. Can my character be Pureblood? Maybe. Pureblood families were considered few and usually inter-related in JK Rowling's books, but since this is an original setting there are no established Pureblood families. Thus, you may apply with a Pureblood character at this time but there may be a quota or a cap set sometime in the future. You may also therefore be allowed to set the precedent for which house becomes the Pureblood mainstay. (See the Note on Blood Status for more). Can my character be Muggleborn? Sure! Sennera is thought to hold a different attitude to Muggleborns than, say, Hogwarts does with its long-standing history. Plus, the setting of California is thought to have different beliefs on blood status relating to magic abilities. Can my character be Halfblood? Of course. Halfblood would probably be the most common blood status in any wizarding community. [In the Keyword section of Character Application, please put in "Turtleglen Toppers" to assure us that you have read up to this point.] Can I choose my character's house? Yes! But choose the house that is right for your character: -Redwood: if your character is chivalrous, courageous, and brave. Coloring: Red. Hogwarts Equivalent: Gryffindor. -Poppyseed: if your character is tolerant, hard-working, and loyal. Coloring: Orange. Hogwarts Equivalent: Hufflepuff -Needlegrass: if your character is wise, creative, and intelligent. Coloring: Purple. Hogwarts Equivalent: Ravenclaw -Turtleglen: if your character is ambitious, cunning, and resourceful. Coloring: Green. Hogwarts Equivalent: Slytherin ***Note: Remember that in HP, that not all Slytherins are doomed to be evil. Severus Snape, though unpleasant and misguided in his youth, was not an evil wizard. Horace Slughorn, a Slytherin, was not known to be a Death Eater. Peter "Wormtail" Pettigrew, on the other hand, was a Death Eater and a Gryffindor. (See the Note On Houses for more information.) Can my character be related to one of the canon characters? At SMA? Absolutely not. Canon relations will not carry over to characters born and raised in Sennera. Students coming from overseas will not be allowed canon relations either. No family relations? So that means George/Ginny/Parvati can be my best friend? No and for just about the same reasons as the question above. Can my character's first name be Harry/Ron/Draco? Your character cannot share a first name with any major canon character. This includes, but is not limited to: Harry, Ron, Draco, Ginevra/Ginny, Hermione, Luna. Can my character's surname be Potter/Weasley/Malfoy? Your character cannot share a surname with any major canon character. This includes, but is not limited to: Potter, Weasley, Malfoy, Granger, Snape, Black, Riddle. [In the Keyword section of Character Application, please put in "Poppyseed Popcorn" to assure us that you have read up to this point.] Any other names I should avoid? Yes. Read on... -Hyphenated first names are usually a bad idea: Tiffany-Sally, Robert-Jacob. -Names that include more than one gemstone: Emerald Jade, Onyx Garnet. -Names that include more than one color: Teal Crimson, Scarlet Green. -A combination of names that include a gemstone and a color: Violet Sapphire Parker, Anthony Azure Topaz. -Cliche, Mary-Sue names: Serena, Raven, Britney, Sabrina, Skyler, Blade, Arwen, etc. -Overly-complicated spellings: Veronykkah instead of Vernonica. Wrejenold instead of Reginald. -Names "borrowed" from other popular fandoms: Serena, Usagi, Buffy, Arwen, Dawn, Galadriel, Xander, Anakin, Van Helsing, Skellington, to name a few. What things should I avoid when creating my character? -Creating a character that is any fraction Veela, Werewolf, Giant, Fairy, Elf, Gnome, or any other magical creature without asking staff beforehand for approval will result in immediate rejection of your application. -Similarly, your character cannot be, upon applying, a Metamorphmagus, Parselmouth, Animagus, Seer, Occlumens, Legilimens, etc. either known or secret. -Also, your character cannot possess any superhuman qualities. This means no geniuses, no magical prodigies, no undiscovered superpowers or abilities. -Your character cannot have a double life or a secret identity. No, your character cannot be a rock star/werewolf/vampire/etc. by night. -Tragic pasts should be avoided at all costs. This includes making your character an orphan. Single-parent households are fine, but please try to keep both parents alive! -Avoid any and all types of child abuse in your character's past. Child abuse is a very real and very disturbing occurrence that happens more often than we recognize. Playing here as a character with that kind of past not only trivializes a very serious issue in society, it is also a lazy and unoriginal way to make your character unique. -The same goes for mental illness. Making your character depressed, suicidal, sadistic, masochistic, etc. trivializes the conditions' seriousness and is also another lazy and unoriginal way to make your character unique. -Any traits commonly found in Mary Sue characters. Mary Sue warning signs include: -A highly unusual name. -A title of nobility. -Obscenely wealthy or depressingly poor. -A character who is "perfect" at anything. -A character who is loved by all or hated by all. -A character who is envied by all. -A character who is unusually physically attractive. -A character who spends all of his/her time brooding, being "angsty" or contemplating death/suicide. -A character who is exceedingly arrogant or hateful. -A character who possesses an expansive knowledge of magic. -A character who demonstrates a highly-superior level of skill at magic. [In the Keyword section of Character Application, please put in "Needlegrass Noggin" to assure us that you have read up to this point.] ##NOTE ON BLOOD STATUS 1.) Muggleborn: Your character is a Muggleborn if both parents are non-magical. A Muggleborn student would enter Sennera Academy without any real first-hand knowledge of magic or even the community of Sennera. It should also be noted though that Muggleborns would not automatically be inept at magic. 2.) Halfblood: What exactly makes one a Halfblood is up for debate. Ideally, a Halfblood witch/wizard would have one purely magical parent and one Muggle (non-magical) parent. Halfbloods are also one magical parent and one Muggleborn parent. A Halfblood would also be born to two Halfblood parents. Sometimes a Haflblood is considered a witch/wizard with at least one Muggle grandparent. 3.) Pureblood: This is also a bit complicated. Ideally, a Pureblood is a witch/wizard with absolutely no Muggle ancestors. This is incredibly rare in the magical world. It is assumed that there is no such thing as a truly Pureblood witch/wizard because the families would die-out without (a) inbreeding or (b) marrying Muggles/Muggleborns/Halfbloods. Sometimes a person who is born to one Pureblood and one Halfblood is considered Pureblood. What truly makes a Pureblood witch/wizard a Pureblood can be debated. It is likely that many 3/4 Pureblood (One Pureblood parent/One Halfblood parent) choose not to recognize their Muggle relation and refer to themselves as Pureblood. ##NOTE ON HOUSES 1.) We don’t care if your family is traditionally from one house and you get sorted into another. We believe that the Sorting Hat places students where they choose. This is why you get to choose your house during the application process. If your family’s house is Needlegrass, it is more than likely that you would choose to be in Needlegrass rather than Redwood. If your reason for choosing Redwood over Needlegrass is because your character is a “rebel,” then you need to come up with a better reason. 2.) There are no established House stereotypes for Sennera Magical Academy, so feel free to build up a houses reputation however you please. However, if you simply must follow some sort of formula for house behavior, you may default to Hogwarts equivalents, though it may be sorely frowned upon under the heading of laziness. Play your character as you want to play them, not as a cardboard cutout for a Sennera house. [In the Keyword section of Character Application, please put in "Go Sennera!" to assure us that you have read up to this point.] We reserve the right to amend this guide and all notes attached at any time. Edited by Headmistress Daina Oden, Dec 11 2008, 09:05 PM.
|
 |
 
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| « Previous Topic · Sitewide Board Rules · Next Topic » |
8:10 PM Nov 25
