Character Creation Rules

Please make sure you thoroughly read and understand these rules for character creation so that the ops don't find themselves having to yank your character out of your grasp with extreme prejudice. You are free to roleplay your character as soon as you have submitted a Character Sheet!

Approval Required! Characters must be posted in the submission forum using the provided template before play. If your character does not seem to fit the setting or it appears to be overpowered, you will be notified to change it, or in the worst case scenario, it will be placed in the rejected bin. All characters should be approved, rejected, or asked for revisions within one week. Do not hassle the ops before then.

Check the Power List! The ops have created a Power Index for easy reference, letting you see just what characters have what powers. Some abilities may be too heavily in use and you might not want to have a character with powers that several other people own. Please check this list before submitting a character to save everyone a lot of trouble. In addition, please do not create multiple characters with overly similar powersets (IE animal shapeshifters who turn into different animals).

Inactivity! Characters who aren't played regularly will into the inactive board. If you have not played your character for (roughly) two months, we will assume that the character is inactive, and put him, her or it into the inactive file. If you wish to retrieve and inactive character, ask an op in-channel. The ops will not, however, be moving characters constantly in and out of the inactive forum so that they can be played for one day and then left to rot for two months.

Newcommers! In order to ensure newcommers have enough time to acclimate to the group we restrict you to one (1) active character until we give permission for another submission. This time period is up to the discretion of the Administration Team.

Characters

Original Characters Only! No characters from any existing canon are allowed. Your character may be inspired by them, but if they appear to be too close to an established character, they may be denied. Nor can your character be the relative, adopted child, protege, or mentor of any canon characters (from any universe) or celebrity.

Age! Due to the violent and adult content present within the setting, no player characters under the age of 18 will be permitted.

Character Balance! Characters should have room for growth and not come into the game with the ability to strip someone's flesh from bone with their mind or move buildings and bridges. A character with consistant weaknesses that offset their powers is more acceptable than a beefed up character with no real drawbacks to their power. Characters who are found to be too powerful will either need to be toned down or outright rejected, so please keep common sense in mind when choosing abilities and powers for your character. Anything not listed on their sheet (power-wise) does not exist and if we find your character mastering skills and power that they do not have, you will find them thrown into the rejected bin.

Be detailed! The more detailed a character sheet is, the better. The more coherent a submission is, the more believable the character, the more likely we are to call you out on it. This counts both for their powers and their background (a 17 year old schoolgirl who just so happens to know an outlandish martial art and is also a five-star chef with a pilot's license will probably not fly.)

Villains! A villainous character does not necessarily need to be part of a plot. They can exist for their own means and motivation. However, 'outed' villains are targets for IC arrest or elimination if they're found to be causing harm. You can also play an antagonist without necessarily playing a villain. It's generally a good idea to have a solid grasp of the setting before making a villain.

Character Origin and Types

For the most part, characters who would be acceptable within the Marvel universe will be allowed within the Cobalt Hill setting, though there are a few exceptions. You cannot, for example, play an angel, a demon, or the descendant of a god. Here are brief descriptions of allowed powered character types. Mundane, unpowered humans are, obviously, also acceptable to submit. Please note that any non-mutant characters will have their backgrounds reviewed and criticized more closely than their mutant counterparts due to the flexibility allowed in their histories.

Mutants: A person born from human parents, mutant parents, or one mutant parent and one human parent. whose powers come to them naturally, either showing through birth or manifesting around puberty.

Metahuman: An individual who received their powers through means such as scientific experimentations, tragic accidents, encounters with radioactive animals, a symbiote, etc.

Occult/Magic/Supernatural: Someone whose powers are magical or supernatural in nature. They may channel their powers through their own person or some kind of rune or relic, perhaps even finding themselves cursed, blessed or possessed. These sources of power are often very chaotic.

Tech: Cyborgs, androids, and robots of all kind whose abilities come not from genetics but technology.

Extraterrestrial: Beings not of this earth whose powers are as natural to them as breathing. Keep in mind that no established races from canon sources will be permitted (no Na'vi, no Twi'leks, no Klingons), and you must provide significant information on your character's race and planet in their background.

Crossovers of ability types may be allowed within reason, such as a technologically enhanced alien species, for example.

Power Restrictions

The following powers will not be usable by regular player characters and will instead be reserved for major, plot-related villains and NPCs. Abuse of other powers may earn them a spot on this list.

The following powers are granted to players on a case-by-case basis. This has a lot to do with player ability, maturity, and how well they follow the rules, so while one player may have a character with said power, we might not necessarily allow someone else to have the power due to the potential for abuse.

Other unacceptable characters include: