Character generation on String Theory has seven sections. While the sections are presented in this sequence, you may complete them in any order you deem appropriate. Character Creation requires only written descriptions of characteristics; there are no stats or gameplay elements.
Each section is addressed in turn below, with examples of what has been approved when applicable.
You may either apply by visiting our MUX (Details are provided in our Discord server) or via Google Docs. Please reach out on the #help channel on our Discord server for more information.
Actor
Characters in String Theory are represented by an actor (also sometimes referred to as a "Played By", "PB", or "Face Claim".) Your choice of actor should be representative of how you see the character and you should be able to identify them by name. While you are free to use any level of obscure actor or model for your character, we sometimes create "trailers" of upcoming content that will feature your character if appropriate video footage of your actor is available.
Please make sure to check the Taken Actors list to make sure your choice isn't already in use. We have hundreds of player and non-player characters on String Theory. If you are having trouble finding an actor fitting for how you imagine the character, feel free to reach out on the #help channel on our Discord server.
Profile Info
You will need to provide the following details for your character:
| Full Name | Your character's full IC name. |
|---|---|
| Gender/Pronouns | Your character's gender and pronouns. |
| Status | Your character's status: SLC-Expressive, SLC-Expressive (Unmanifested), SLC-Non-Expressive and whether your are Registered as either. |
| Occupation | Your character's profession and/or role. |
| Age | Your character's IC age. |
| Actor | As described above, your character's "played-by" actor. |
| Timeskip Application | If this is a re-application for a Book I character from the 2008—2011 arc please indicate so here. |
| Profile | A short description of your character and RP hooks others may take advantage of. |
History
Your character's needs to cover all major events that were meaningful to the character's development as a person and their place in the world as well as operate as the foundation that supports and justifies your character's personality and skills.
In some cases, you might gloss over childhood with a few sentences about the kind of environment they grew up in, then focus on adult life. Others may need more detail on childhood, especially for younger characters who grew up in formative historic moments like the Midtown explosion in 2006 and the Second American Civil War. Perhaps the most important message to convey is that you don't have to write a mountain of detail on every year of their life.
Bear in mind that the more skilled and/or atypical the character is, the more background you will have to write, because those skills and characteristics must be supported by their history.
The most common oversights in character history are 1) not including mention of the Bomb (Nov. 6, 2006) and its effect on the character's life, 2) not giving any thought to how the public revelation of the Evolved (Feb. 17, 2007) affected them, and 3) not including what your character did during the Civil War and its immediare aftermath.
If you don't recognize these events, read the timeline page before going any further.
If you are returning player from String Theory prior to the events of String Theory: Aftermath you need only focus on how your character ended 2011 and then what they did in intervening years (see our Timeskip Guide for further instruction. Additionally, please make sure a summary of your original history is available for reference, either in this writeup or on your character's original wiki page.
History Examples
For examples of accepted histories, view the "History" tab on the following characters.
- Faulkner (A new character with a detailed background)
- Colette (A returning character covering 2011 to 2018 with a detailed history of the Civil War)
Skills
You are not required to describe the skills that are assumed of an average American. Reading, writing, computer literacy, operation of a motor vehicle, etc. If your character graduated high school, all of these things are expected.
What should be noted is anything not necessarily average — be it an atypical skill or exceptional aptitude. Martial arts, music skill, foreign languages, public speaking aptitude, firearms, better than typical computer skills, and so on. This is also a place to note unusually poor skills. If your character can't drive, can't read, or otherwise is lacking in a commonly-skilled area it might be worth mentioning here. Finally, if they have any unusual resources, those should also be documented in this section.
Like your character's history, you can go into as much description as you feel you need by writing as many paragraphs as you need but it is preferred if skills are presented in a bullet-point fashion. Staff asks that your character's history backs up your character's skill set. If you decide to play a lawyer, your character should have gone to law school. If your character is a crack shot with a pistol, they should have a background that includes some sort of training with firearms.
Skill Examples
For examples of an approved character's skills, check out the Skills tab in the Appendices section on the following character page:
Personality
Personality may be one paragraph or several. It needs to show that the character is well-developed and three-dimensional. Your character's background needs to address different circumstances and different facets. How a character feels towards SLC-Expressive people and associated politics is particularly important because these are major thematic concerns; how they view other people, how they interact with them, the character's preferred behaviors should also be included. Typically, a solid personality will take two paragraphs; three if the writer is verbose.
Personality Examples
View the "Psych Eval" tabs on the below character pages for examples of approved personalities:
Ability
Non-Expressive characters do not need to complete this section.
SLC-Expressive characters (the in-universe term for people with superhuman abilities) need to describe their power. They need to talk about what it can do — which is the easy part. What people most often fall short on is what it cannot do. Every power needs limitations, drawbacks, consequences. How far does it reach? How much can the character do with it? What happens when they try to do too much and/or for too long? For more detail about what we want to see in a powerset, visit Abilities.
Please also see the Effort Chart for how to design an ability and Fusion Characters helpfile for more information about characters with more than one ability.
If you are re-applying an existing character for the 2018 timeskip, this section should emphasize how your character's ability has changed over the intervening time. However, please be sure to include a summary of all aspects of their ability, including those originally apped (if relevant). This writeup is the authoritative reference for what your character can do, so don't leave important facets out!
Ability Examples
For examples of approved abilities, please review the "Ability" tab of the following character pages:
If you would like to be an Unmanifested character and have staff secretly choose a power for you that you will discover through the course of play, please disclose "Unmanifested Expressive, Staff Pick" in your abilities section of your character creation application.
