FAQ 1: Application and Character Creation

1.1 Sim Year/ Trek era

What is the current Sim year of OC? Which trek shows/ era are you styled after?
The year is Early 2398. The Trek the GM(s) are most experienced with are Next Gen/ DS9/ Voyager. Other series and beta canon lore and tech can often be incorporated with deference to those, but even within the canon we reference, the GM(s) refrain from playing it too loose in favor of not breaking the gameplay for the rest of the players. Mirror universes, alternate timelines, time shenanigans, and the influence of non corporeal beings are to be avoided (apart from GM direction/ approval). Larger canon universe politics and power shifts must go through the GM in order to respect sim playability for all writers. While we encourage ideas to be bandied around OOC, the GM team is not shy about using the “No” button when it’s in everyone’s best interest.

1.2 Some common Application & Role/Rank questions

What jobs does OC want to fill?
While we do maintain a list of suggested open roles (Check out our site manifest and set it to Open Positions!) OC GM leadership wants to see you write what you find most interesting and inspiring! That’s our favorite, most needed role to fill! Once you’ve made the application you dream most about playing, the GM team can communicate with you as to how it can best fit the sim, if changes are required. But it has to begin with the imaginative delight of the player.

The manifest seems to have way more characters than the sim does writers! What is going on?
Most (but not all) of us write multiple characters!

We recommend all initial applications have some connecting anchor to the station which is our primary location, and ask that players understand that we are very open to writers later adding more characters as npcs in multiple locations surrounding the game and illustrating many story threads and POVs.

When you apply, try to keep open the possibility for later branching out your writing with other supporting characters. While some players will be content writing as a single character, most players on OC will find the best returns on interactive play and diverse worldbuilding experience by anticipating writing supporting characters of varying importance to the story, great and small. Most NPCS don’t necessitate a bio. But owner linked NPCs (otherwise known as PNPCs in RPG terms) with their own shorter bios are very common on OC and encouraged.

While not guaranteed, some players have negotiated being granted a second PC after acclimating to the sim and discussing an additional role the writer would like to focus equally on.


Is there an advantage to playing a Senior Staff Role? If I play a junior officer/ non-com/ civilian, might I be left out of the main storyline or become a “lesser” player on OC?
After joining with a concept character you like, you’ll adapt to the station and the active threads other writers are running, and you will find ways to adapt your own storytelling to join in with others. As you adjust you will be invited, if you like, to the GM led A-plot(s) either as your PC or as an NPC that fits that plot more sensibly to avoid stretching and breaking believability- for instance trying to take all of our promenade shop owners out to a battle isn’t going to always work out, but players who join as civilians can still join the battle with additional Starfleet characters! Hence, you are not going to be excluded from the A-plot if your character isn’t the Chief of such-and-such. And we also recognize that some players not in Staff positions prefer to have less involvement in the A-plot in favor of their own writing exploration, and are free to opt out of primary plot involvement as well.

We also welcome applications for Enlisted personnel, anything from newly graduated Crewmen to seasoned and experienced NCOs. As we said, Obsidian Command is home to tens of thousands of personnel and the vast majority of them do not get saluted! We are looking for writers to develop characters not collect pips. We value you, your character and your participation in our sim, and to those ends, OOC we do not discriminate between ranks, roles, position, or authority. It does not matter if you write for a Crewman or a Commander we will make an effort to involve you in the A-Plot if you choose to participate positively and maintain tagging responses in a timely fashion, or we (the sim leadership) will arrange to assist you with your own storylines if you so desire.

Even in a non-department leadership role, as an NCO, Ensign, or one of the Lieutenant grades, we are looking for writers who can run a team within their department. Few characters work alone, so imagine that your character will be part of a Duty Shift crew, for instance; as an officer they will have subordinates, or perhaps, if Enlisted or an NCO, colleagues, subordinates and superiors. We expect you to be able to envision that team and write about your character’s interactions with those people they work with daily.

While the command team makes an effort to engage players, those writers arriving and just being a bump on a log waiting for someone else to supply every little thing in terms of setting a scene and managing npcs for something to respond to will find themselves feeling bored or lonely, by their own design. This is essentially the opposite of being a self motivated writer, and we can only do so much for a player in that mindset on OC. They might find a different sim community for the kind of action-reaction post engagement they are looking for.


I have never seen many NCO (non-commissioned officer) characters played as PCs in trek sims. What kind of things should be in an NCO bio and how are they played on OC? How do I get assistance crafting an NCO bio?
Chief Miles O’Brian is the best known Trek NCO. On the Enterprise and later DS9 he was basically written as one of the regular characters, including having major solo story lines later in DS9 and it is the same on OC. As far as interactivity and playability, we treat NCOs exactly the same as Commissioned Ranks— your character will be as involved in the simm and A-Plot as much as you want to be. We expect an equal quality Bio for an NCO as for an officer, it is the same standard. Enlisted Ranks far outnumber Commissioned on a SpaceDock and there is a place for your NCO in all of our story threads To have assistance with developing any bio, you can contact the GM team and share what you have in draft so the GM team can give more specific direction.


I think I want to write a civilian character. You already have some. Will I be redundant if I also run a similar business to an existing civilian character? Most of your player PCs seem to be Starfleet. Will I be left out? How should I apply as a civilian character?
Civilian characters have a universe of choices, far more so than the usual Starfleet characters, your civilian can be anyone, anything you chose. They do not need to stick to just one career path, they can have had multiple jobs, multiple businesses, they can be honest and law abiding, a little bit shady, or even a secret criminal. (although the more risky your character, the more questions the leadership team will have surrounding the application, in the interest of playability- but it’s worth pitching!)

We do have some writers whose main character is a civilian and these characters operate Promenade businesses or are independent merchants, but when you go to a mall there is not just one restaurant, clothing store, gallery or spa, there are several, all in competition for business.

Yes, a civilian character usually has more self-generated stories and is less likely to be a major part of a Starfleet focused A-Plot, but it is really up to you how you choose to operate and write their activities. If you open a bar, throw an opening night party and invite everyone to bring their characters! Engage with other players OOC to help generate interest and ideas. Then it’s up to you to interact and write with us and get us to become regulars…

And remember, there is also always the option for players with civilian PCs to also introduce NPCs in a Starfleet position to give you more options for writing within the A-Plot.


I have a very unique character concept that I’m kind of married to and I’m shopping it around. It doesn’t really fit in most sims, but you talk about being a ‘sandbox style’ or more open universe and writer led game. How wacky can I get with my conceptual application? What’s a kind of out of the box concept that will work with OC, or conversely what is going to be an auto reject?
Never say never but as far as auto rejects we can only say that things that are baldly outside of the genre without paying proper attention to linking to the established universe such as Super Heros, Vampires, Werewolves, Monsters etc and species from other scifi series, like Aliens/Predators are not going to get accepted. This is the StarTrek universe and we like it that way.

We generally lean towards things we consider “playable” such that others will find it not to break the “suspension of disbelief” as they write with your character. You may find writing a sentient rock that floats around like a certain pokemon character fascinating, but if it’s not pitched and managed in a way to suit the trek sensibility and will likely just be annoying with how novel the concept is… it’s borderline and the GM team will question the application more intensely to try to make sure of playability.

If you are creating your own species, then we will expect a really detailed Bio and background on the character. Be advised that over the top and excessive special abilities are not likely to succeed.

But besides those, we really are open to see what you bring. Talk to us in Discord and we can discuss further. Ultimately, try us, we can only say No or perhaps work with you and ask for an edit.


I’m a new sim writer. Or I’m a sim writer who is kind of shy. I really like the sim for a lot of reasons, but I haven’t tried to join yet because your sim feels a little intimidating because of all of the emphasis on quality and some of the posts and characters look really official. It feels so elite! I don’t know if I can write to this level but I’m still interested in the sim. Is there a place for me here?
Of course! We are different to many sims, we pride ourselves on our writing and we have a love of good storytelling. We welcome new writers and will offer you all the help and coaching you think you might need. The main prerequisite is the desire to write, closely followed by an interest and knowledge of Star Trek, particularly the Next Generation, DS9 and Voyager, with that foundation, and your own interest and effort we can help you learn to write in our style. We are here to have fun and be creative, we value fresh new input and ideas. We will not judge you for being new, we all started somewhere afterall.


Do I really need to join Discord? I don’t use it very much and I’m allergic to chat clients.
We will not force you to. But it is a good way to communicate with the GMs and other players, to find out about missions, stories and posts. Not being on there means you miss out on a lot of relevant information. We do have a General Chat channel, but we are not focused entirely on it and nobody expects you to hang out on there everyday, in fact most of us do not.


Do you offer Marines? I see some Marine bios, but you don't recruit for them.
Not as PCs at this time. The Marines on OC are currently managed by the GM on an as needed basis in the story and sometimes tried and proven writers already in the sim are invited by the GM to help npc them when the story calls for it. SF Marines will probably remain as an npc sub-group heavily handled by the GM. The GM has a passion for Marines, but has often seen the playing of them mishandled, and this has led to the decision to manage them himself with a by invitation only option for pre-existing players with a quality record. Also, Marines being the men of action they are, they are not always called on in the primary stories.

1.3 Applying to a Senior Staff Position

What should I know when applying for a role in the Senior Staff? Why are you turning away applications for Department Head roles that are just left sitting open on the manifest? Don’t you need to fill them? My character has already been the head of other sims’ departments and I’ve been the GM or aGM of multiple sims, so I can’t understand what the problem is.
The GM team is content to either write around those unfilled roles or to fill in unclaimed staff roles with GM NPCs (as necessary when the role may be called on in posts) rather than to applicant-fill every senior role just because it exists. For Department Head roles, we are looking for quality writers, who will engage and immerse themselves in our world— we do not want or need bums-on-seats! Since the station has a huge population of officers, non-coms, contractors, and civilians and is the hub of a whole Fleet as a setting, PC run Senior staff roles on OC have to be staffed by active players, applying as Lieutenant Commander or equivalent ranks. The GM team is cautious about giving these roles to players who may be highly experienced at writing on other sim styles, but not yet adapted to our own style of play and context of our game. The quality of the application and the capacity for active participation of such applicants will have to match the rank needed for a Senior Officer of a Stardock, with literally thousands of personnel under their leadership, which is the key base of an entire Fleet.

If you are that ambitious, we expect, and require, a readable, well crafted bio, with early life and schooling, four years Academy training, the minimum enrollment age is Eighteen; key details about personal life and interests; a traceable service track with named assignments to ships or other stations, at least Fourteen years post-graduation operational experience, a steady and realistic progression through the ranks, roles and positions; with demonstrated leadership skills and a commitment to the ideals of Starfleet; an active interest or personality type that includes management skills suitable to a Stardock or similar installation. The bio should clearly show why this particular character would be selected by Starfleet to lead a department on Obsidian Command with possibly thousands of personnel within it.

That might sound daunting, but have a look at the bios of the command staff, DeHavilland, Zahn, and HaiRoa as examples! You can write unique characters and still meet all of the above requirements.

A Department Head role will also come with the real responsibility to create writing opportunities for any PC or NPC personnel (both your own and possibly of other writers) within that Department, outside of the GM-run A-Plot. If you are going to manage a department, then we expect you to be able to lead your particular team and work with the GMs to devise department related side missions and story threads.

So, if you go for a Senior Staff role in your initial application, the character will be more closely scrutinized. Often we may like you, the player, and the sample of your writing overall but we may offer you another role based on the character biography being not quite fit for a Senior Staff position. Or, you may be a player who is an unknown writer to us, in which case we will want to write with you for a while and see how you adapt to our sim, before considering a Senior Staff role. We do not promise to hold Department Head positions in these instances.

If we make a change request to edit a bio, for any applicants at any rank or role, it means the GM team is looking out for the best playability for you as a writer and for the playability of the game at large and not trying to say anything about the applicant personally.

Our top priority is always the growth and longevity of the sim. Yes, we are choosy! We seek compatible writers who will embrace our style, mesh into our stories and bring in their special talents, creativity and perspective to the lives of the crew of Obsidian Command.

We recommended you join our discord and discuss the role you’re after with the GM team, especially if it’s a ranking situation.

OBSIDIAN COMMAND DISCORD SERVER

1.4 Obsidian Command’s Additional Manifests

What is it with the multiple ship manifests on the top of the character listing on OC’s Nova? Pathfinder, Wasp, Ardeshir etc… ?
These are not application opportunities, generally. We’d prefer all initial applications to have a connection to the Starbase as our primary location. The other manifests are considered garrison and supporting ships or locations and are often populated by NPC writing. Established players may naturally branch into story threads that include other locations and supporting missions after joining. These manifests become useful at that time, but are not starting places for joining the sim.

Garrison vessels: These ships are assigned to the station and can be used for storylines the GM team apply them to. Senior staff may be assigned command of them if needed for the plot, or the GM team will arrange away missions with regular GM NPC and/or invite players to go along as PCs or NPCs as applicable to the IC and OOC needs of the thread.

Other NPC Ship and Location Manifests: These ships, installations, or locations are established and maintained by the GM(s). They are generally only used to support the story threads emanating from or connected with the station. None of these NPC sims should be confused with other Sims in Obsidian Fleet which operate individually under their own GMs with their own plotlines.


Can I apply for a ship command as my PC application?
If you are looking to become a GM, visit obsidianfleet.net and submit an application! Our sim, Obsidian Command, is a stand alone sim and does not take applications for ship commands.


Once I’m accepted to OC, can I bring my own additional NPC Starfleet ships?
No. Not as playable ones. Incidental mentions to past service vessels or similar supporting context is fine, but all active SF ships playable in connection to station matters are reliant on GM direction.


Can my character have their own personal shuttle or other small craft?
If it makes sense in the biography or is an integral part of the character’s story, yes. If not we will ask for it to be removed. For Example:

Good reason why - my character is a merchant marine regularly delivering to OC. He has gone into hock to buy a used vessel and the story will show the ups and downs of his shipping business as he tries to make his loan payments on the ship and the vessel is actually a story vehicle intended to lead to interaction with other writers who play OC shopkeepers and traders, and to take a POV out to other locations in the Stellar region surrounding the Loki system.

Bad reason why - I have a whiz bang idea for a fancy ship my junior lieutenant built in his spare time even though he’s not a pilot or an engineer or anything and I did nothing in the course of writing to earn or develop the USS Whiz Bang. I don’t even really have any meaty story reasons for having it that have any substantial connection to my character or my bio. I just think I should have it because I want it.