Posted by Commodore Calé Reilly (STF Surgeon General / FComm, Foremost Fleet) in Proposal to Update the character Species requirement section of FCOMM

Posted by Katy Darrah in Proposal to Update the character Species requirement section of FCOMM

Posted by Dave Eads in Proposal to Update the character Species requirement section of FCOMM
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Problem: At the moment the restrictions of characters as outlined in FCOMM holds two issues as I see it. The first is that the list of species is somewhat outdated and restrictive and the second is that in various places around the club these rules are not being followed fully.

FCOMM states the following regarding character guidelines: (People familiar with FCOMM please feel free to skim read)

*“Player Characters shall follow these guidelines:

Canon Federation member species are acceptable. Examples of Canon Federation member species include Humans, Vulcans, Trill, Andorians, and Betazoids.

Canon Allied species are discouraged, and permitted only in special circumstances with the prior consent of the CO. Examples of Canon Allied species include Klingons.

Canon Neutral or Hostile species are forbidden. Examples of Canon Neutral or Hostile species include Romulans, Ferengi, Cardassians, Borg, and Breen.

Custom Federation member species are discouraged, and permitted only in special circumstances with the prior consent of the CO. The character and species must have an adequate and believable back-story that explains why the character is in Starfleet and why the species is a Federation member or ally. If the custom character species is created by someone other than the player, the player must have the creator’s permission to play that character species. If the creator cannot be reached, the species may only be played if the information given about it is publically accessible and not restricted.

Custom allied, neutral, or hostile species are forbidden.

“God moding” or “super” characters are strictly forbidden. Examples of “God-moding” or “Super” characters include Borg, Species 8472, Q, and Changelings.

Mixed-species characters must be a believable mix, and of no more than three (3) species.”*

Now we generally accept that Klingons are a species that has been and would be accepted into starfleet as we have canon examples of this, it isn’t a huge push of the imagination to say that by the club year we are currently in that Klingons would be generally accepted? We certainly have enough people playing them and playing them well with believable back stories and reasons for joint starfleet.

In terms of those species banned “Canon Neutral or Hostile species are forbidden. Examples of Canon Neutral or Hostile species include Romulans, Ferengi, Cardassians, Borg, and Breen.” I can understand keeping the restrictions on both Borg and Breen because…well Borg and Breen. But what about ex borg? Considering we have examples of that in canon?

In terms of Ferengi we know Nog served and though he had to jump through hoops to get the chance to do it could be arguable that others may follow his example.

Assuming a Cardassian or Romulan could demonstrate the same level of integrity and commitment as Nog, and win over a sufficiently respectable Starfleet officer for a note of support, they could probably gain admission to the academy.

In the Beta canon, Cardassians joined the Khitomer Accords and in the Titan book series there is examples of Cardassian members joining of Starfleet. I know we don’t normally go with beta canon or novels but I’m just making the point that other writers have seen that happen and adjusted accordingly. As we are entering a phase we’re we literally run out of show to use and with the new shows giving us food for thought it seems more and more likely that our current list is out of date. FCOMM was written in 2005, and last updated in 2011 which is 9 years ago. A lot has changed in the last 9 years. We as a club have changed and I am the so sure these restrictions are necessarily still in the best interests of the writers and creativity of the club.

FCOMM also says: *“The decision regarding any character type rests with the Commanding Officer of the ship where the character will be played. Any dispute between a player and a CO will be moderated and decided upon by the appropriate Fleet Commander. In the event that the CO is also the Fleet Commander, the dispute will be moderated by the Assistant Fleet Commander. The decision by the Fleet Commander or Assistant Fleet Commander shall be considered final.

In the special circumstance where it is felt a player can adequately and believably play a forbidden character species, the player may do so with the consent of the Commanding Officer and the related Fleet Commander. In the event that the CO is also the Fleet Commander, the approval of the Assistant Fleet Commander is required. This consent may be removed if the player does not maintain the adequate and believable requirement. In both cases, any decision made is final and not appealable.”*

We don’t often follow this rule and as each term passes, do we have to seek permission each time? What if a player has been on a ship a while with permission but not fcomm permission do they then need to alter or change that character? There is a lot of grey area here that could be cleared up.

Proposal:

I propose we alter this part of FCOMM to read

“Player Characters shall follow these guidelines:

Federation member and Allied species are acceptable. Examples of Federation member and Allied species include Humans, Vulcans, Trill, Andorians,Betazoids and Klingons.

Neutral or Normally Hostile species are permitted only in special circumstances with the prior consent of the CO. Examples of Neutral or Normally Hostile species include, Ferengi, Cardassians, and Romulan.

Godlike entities,”super” characters or outright hostile species are strictly forbidden. Examples of these characters include, Species 8472, Q, and Changelings. Breen and Borg. (EX Borg would be considered on a player by player basis with consent from the CO and if felt a player can adequately and believably play the character in question.)

Custom Federation member species are permitted with the prior consent of the CO. The character and species must have an adequate and believable back-story that explains why the character is in Starfleet and why the species is a Federation member or ally. If the custom character species is created by someone other than the player, the player must have the creator’s permission to play that character species. If the creator cannot be reached, the species may only be played if the information given about it is publically accessible and not restricted.

Mixed-species characters must be a believable mix with adequate backstory. (Removing the number restriction here because depending in the backstory this might be again restrictive, however it give autonomy to command teams to make a decision based on both plausibility and the writer in question being able to handle it)

The decision regarding any character type rests with the Commanding Officer of the ship where the character will be played. Any dispute between a player and a CO will be moderated and decided upon by the appropriate Fleet Commander. In the event that the CO is also the Fleet Commander, the dispute will be moderated by the Assistant Fleet Commander. The decision by the Fleet Commander or Assistant Fleet Commander shall be considered final.

Consent to play Neutral and Normally Hostile species, Custom species or EX Borg may be removed if the player does not maintain the adequate and believable requirement.”

Thoughts?

Calé

I think Calé is on to something here. I don’t currently have time to expound, however I agree with this.

-Dave Eads

To add my 3 cents: As Cale mentioned, many players (myself included) play Klingons (though mine is special case, it still counts in my mind). Also, Bajorans should be noted to be in the same category. We have lots of Bajoran characters, but as noted in FCOMM as it stands, it’s “discouraged” yet I’ve never had anyone stop me when I proposed a Bajoran character.

I also agree with the Romulan sentiment, that if a Romulan could show said intergrity–in fact, this is supported briefly in TNG Season 7.–they’d be allowed into Starfleet.

Capybara

Oops I knew there was a race I forgot to add in there! Sorry!

Calé

As someone who has played a Romulan pc constantly from 2009 on i’ll say they should be allowed on a case by case basis. There’s strong enough evidence that refugees in some form at least would serve or be a part of Starfleet. And back in 2009 the way I got around having her serving was by an officer exchange program similar to what we saw with riker in tng with the klingons. There’s also been not just me but others who’ve also under guidance done refugees, in some form to great success.

Robert Archer