Joining the Crew

At this juncture Star Trek: Theurgy is not open for new applicants and the creation of new characters. However, characters available for inheritance are, however, fair game to apply for. This, at the discretion of the GM regarding which ones may be thawed.

Joining Information

"What kind of writers are we looking for at Star Trek: Theurgy?"

We're looking for good, descriptive and creative writers that can handle English well. You should also know enough about the Star Trek Universe to be able to partake in creating intense, interesting storylines together with the other writers. We are a very literate group, with a minimum posting requirement of 200 words per post, and the commitment to the story is long-term. We have been running the story actively for five years, and we will continue for many years to come. Therefore, we are not interested in casual, brief commitments, but something that will last for many years.

"What's the nature of the story?"

Star Trek: Theurgy is a detailed, quite dark, story-driven and long-term roleplay and not some shoe-horned excuse to write Star Trek smut scenes. If that's what you are looking for, you can look elsewhere since you'll be really disappointed.

It is not expected of any of our writers to detail the intimate relations of their characters with others, even if it's allowed. Several writers among us have an aversion to writing graphic sexual scenes, so if that's not what you care for, then that's no problem at all. The story revolves around a ship and a crew in dire straits, against impossible odds, and with a lot of intrigue and mystery to it. We just don't enforce limits on what you care to write, like explicit scenes of violence or intimacy, as long you adhere to our General Rules and all writers consent to the specific scene their characters are in.

"How do I join the story?"

This page should serve quite well for an answer, but it's recommended you contact the GM if you have any questions.

1.Register on the Forum

First, in order to join Star Trek: Theurgy, you need to register on the Forum. To register, you must be 18 years or older. If we find anyone who is younger than that, it will result in an immediate ban in the interests of protecting minors. Upon registration, you verify that you are of age, and at the discretion of the GM, an age verification process will be conducted if there is cause for doubt to your claim. For more information on age restriction, read our General Rules.

2. Read up, Look Around

When you have read the rules and registered, you should check the Star Trek: Theurgy Canon page and read through the Story Archive.

Feel free to have a look around, and get acquainted with the place.

3. Contact the Game Moderator

When you feel ready, send a PM (personal message) via the forum to the Game Moderator, Auctor Lucan.

When contacting the GM, you can either:

A) Ask Questions

Send the GM your questions first and take it from there. You can see what kind of story opportunities there might be for your own character concept, or perhaps you want to verify if you have the right profile to write with us.

B) Submit a Character for a Wanted Position (Easy)

This is the same as option E below, using the Joining Form and submitting a new character. The character application is, however, made in mind for a specific, needed position in the story. Star Trek: Theurgy are currently looking for these positions to be filled: Wanted Positions in Star Trek: Theurgy.

C) Inherit an Available Character (Variable Difficulty)

We have been running the Star Trek: Theurgy story for over five years now, and over time, we have built the story with key characters that are essential to the plot, not to mention developing different kinds of relationships between characters that have become important for character development. Sadly, writers have left the group now and then, leaving the writers that remain with us bereft of the development that they were looking forward to with their own characters. However, over time, we have successfully let writer-less characters be inherited by present writers, examples being Selena Ravenholm, Wenn Cinn, Edena Rez, Nathaniel Isley and Cameron Henshaw, whom are all being actively played today even if the original writers left us. So, this is your chance to step right into present events in the Star Trek: Theurgy story.

Here are our Available Characters. If you would like to inherit an available character, the GM will provide all information about what the characters have been up to so far in the story, as well as potential development for them. Please consider how you, as the new writer of the character, have a creative license to change the way s/he is played.

D) Open a Stasis Chamber (Variable Difficulty)

This is like alternative C above. We also have available characters that have been put into stasis on the Theurgy. If you are a returning member, you may find your character there. You have to contact the GM if you want to use your character again, and should any writer or new applicant wish to inherit them, the GM may allow it depending on what rank and position the character held before being put into stasis.

In order for these to be made available, the Chief Medical Officer on the Theurgy must have found a way to treat the lethal injury that the character sustained at some point in the story, but this can easily be arranged for In-Character since the Theurgy came across additional medical supplies quite recently. Here are the stasis chambers.

E) Create a New Character

If you would like to have complete freedom of choice in a Star Trek character, and not apply for one of the wanted positions, what would you like to write? Perhaps there is a way to accommodate that, but it's generally a good idea to run your character concept by the GM first before you devote hours on filling out your character application. This is an organic process; to create a character and to find the best way to enter the story. When ready, use the Joining Form below to make your character. If you want to take the easy route, make a character that enters the story via the USS Orcus or Starbase 84, since then you will not have to bother keeping track of all the earlier Episodes in our story, and instead, begin from a clean slate in this thread: Episode 04: Simulcast. There, you'll get introduced to the situation on SB84, the USS Orcus and the USS Resolve well before the Theurgy comes along. All the options available can, however, be found below.

At the current point in the story, your character would either have the backstory of serving on:

• USS Theurgy NX-79854 (Stasis Awakening. Low Difficulty)
  Recently in your character's career, at the end of the biography you are to write, your character has entered Starfleet and was commissioned to the USS Theurgy. This might be a bit restrictive for you in terms of positions available to have served in before being put into stasis, but at the same time, it also allows for your character to be completely clueless about what the ship has been through since before Episode 01. Your character was, in short, lethally injured and put into stasis until the ship could acquire the artificial organs and medical supplies needed to attempt surgery.
  
  
• USS Orcus NX-88770 (Low Difficulty, Only Tac CONN)
  Recently in your character's career, at the end of the biography you are to write, your character entered Starfleet and was commissioned to the USS Orcus. In late February of 2381, the Orcus found Task Force Archeron adrift, orbiting Theta Eridani IV without means of communication or propulsion. They had been affected by a computer virus, and it was only with the help of the USS Orcus "clean" software that the entire task force could exit orbit and take up the hunt again. Task Force Archeron immediately set a course towards Starbase 84 - meaning to intercept the Theurgy if Captain Ives had decided to put the advanced Theurgy-class starship of in his Romulan masters' hands. Your character would enter the story as of the Battle of Starbase 84, where s/he needs to defect to the Theurgy for some reason. This option is only available for Tactical CONN characters.
  
  
• USS Resolve NX-91985 (Medium Difficulty)
  With this option, your character could be serving aboard the USS Resolve, and s/he would, somehow, end up aboard the Theurgy during the battle in Episode 04: Simulcast (this will be solved with the GM's help). This ship encountered a space anomaly in 2378 and has been lost for three years in uncharted space beyond the Romulan Star Empire, kind of like the Voyager was, before it recently found its way back to Starbase 84. There are some positions that won't be available, and the easiest way to see what positions are already taken is to check here: Current Crew on the USS Resolve
  
  
• Black Opal (Medium Difficulty)
  Recently in your character´s career, at the end of the biography you are to write, your character has entered Starfleet and was commissioned to the Black Opal. This option might be a bit restrictive for you in terms of positions available to serve in, and what kind of career s/he's had aboard up until you start writing him/her. If you want to join us with a character that has been serving on the Black Opal, and then ended up on the USS Theurgy´s crew, the challenge that the GM will help you with is to create a plausible back-story for him/her in relation to the events thus far in the story. To apply for a character in this option, you must read this thread and understand what kind of positions are available: The Black Opal Mission.
  
  
• USS Theurgy NX-79854 (No Stasis. High Difficulty)
  Recently in your character's career, at the end of the biography you are to write, your character has entered Starfleet and was commissioned to the USS Theurgy. This might be a bit restrictive for you in terms of positions available to serve in, and what kind of career s/he's had aboard up until you start writing him/her. If you want to join us with a character that has been serving on the Theurgy, the challenge that the GM will help you with is to create a plausible back-story for him/her in relation to the events thus far in the story. However, we have been writing the story for over five years and that makes it difficult for you to take in all that has happened. Our Story Archive is a synopsis of the events so far, but after reading it, you will have to end your character's biography with some important choices for him/her. These are the questions:
  1. The crew became outlaws and were hunted for two months across the Alpha Quadrant by Starfleet. If you take this path with the background of your character, you need to establish what kind of impact this has had on him/her. Consider this in regard to friends and family left behind, who think your character is a traitor. Also, since s/he has protected the truth about Starfleet Command in battle, thus fighting and perhaps killing ignorant and innocent Starfleet Officers, what kind of consequences has this had upon your character's mental health and loyalty to Captain Ives?
  2. Whether or not your character was infected in Episode 01, and how much psychological trauma s/he suffers because of it. S/he may have been seduced into being infected, or s/he could have been raped, yet regardless of that choice, s/he may not need to remember anything beyond that point, since the cure affected newly formed memory engrams too, leaving most of the crew clueless as to what they were up to before the USS Relativity came to the rescue. S/he could have locked him/herself in too, escaping infection until the danger passed.
  3. If the Ishtar Entity (power equivalent of Q:s, for sake of reference) paired your character up with some other crew member and put them in a position (naked on an island or in bed etc. with severely increased sexual desires) where they might have (or might've not) had sex. S/he could also have been unaffected by the Isthar Entity's exploits.
  4. Whether or not your character was harmed during the battle with the Calamity starship in the Episode 03 Prologue, and therefore having spent time in the tents of the Triage Centre or not on the planet surface of Theta Eridani IV while the ship was powered down for repairs. Otherwise, there were plenty of repairs to be made during the week on the planet.
  5. Whether or not s/he succumbed to injury during the struggle to leave Theta Eridani IV while under attack by the Calamity's Reavers, or by the volcanoes which erupted around the valley they were in. If your character was injured at this point, then s/he may start the story waking up in the Theurgy's Sickbay, unaware of events up until Episode 04. It not, then s/he might have been the victim of Captain Vasser's mutiny, up until he was killed and the USS Calamity was destroyed. It is highly recommended that your character was injured when leaving Theta Eridani IV since minimising the backstory for your character will make this easier for both you and the GM.
     
     
• USS Harbinger NCC-67890 (High Difficulty)
  Like the Theurgy, the Harbinger 's crew became outlaws and hunted for two months across the Alpha Quadrant by Starfleet. The same required information applies for characters that entered the story through the Harbinger , the only difference being they were not present for Episodes 01 and 02 in the Story Archive. Therefore, the backstory is a little bit easier to cover in your character application, but keep in mind that s/he would have had to transfer to the Theurgy, or do so when recovering from the injuries sustained at Theta Eridani IV.

4. Review your First Draft of the New/Revised Character

Good characters have virtues. Great characters have flaws. Characters in Star Trek: Theurgy are expected to be realistic, even for a futuristic science fiction world. Heroic characters are welcome and appreciated, including those with special skills or abilities, but it is expected that for each special skill or ability a character might have an offsetting flaw or vice. It is expected that flaws listed on a character application be used in storytelling, and not added in to get away with being heroic.

It's understood that most writers do not have a complete grasp of a character on its initial inception; characters grow all on their own in the writing of them. New characters are not expected to be as in-depth as established characters, but the expectation is that a realistic persona is presented that is open and welcoming to development. This is as much (if not more) for the enjoyment of the writer than anything else! However, those characters that stretch the boundaries of realism into ‘god-moding’ will be promptly addressed by the Group Moderator; remember, the GM is playing too. The GM is more than happy to work with players on their character concepts, but the reverse is expected as well in that the player will work with the GM to maintain a level of believability that is inherent in fun, quality writing.

The Star Trek universe is a big place full of adventures and stories to be told. As characters progress and writers get accustomed to the pace of activity, more characters can be approved at the discretion of the GM.

Rank is determined for each character on joining, and will be worked out with each player to best fit the character. That being said, understandably a Starship cannot function with a great number of Commanders and Captains overseeing each part of the ship. A storyline benefits from a mix of junior and senior officers to propel the story.

5. Submit Joining Form

So, you are satisfied with the first draft of your character application (which must be made in alignment with the Joining Form below) and are ready to send it to the GM for approval. Now, you want to add pictures, so feel free to do so. However, being very happy about making graphics, the GM also extends his helping hand in finding and editing pictures to match the applicant's character. Examples of such character images made can be found in our DeviantArt Gallery. In such a case, the important thing is that you let the GM know early on what faceclaim (actor/artist/model) you are interested in for your character, and if there are any physical traits that are important for the character's depiction.

These character images will not, however, be completed by the time you join the story. New members will not have character images made for them until they have posted In-Character 25 times + been a member for 1 month. This way, hyper-active members that dish out a lot of posts in a short time will have to remain members for a month minimum before they are granted character images. It also means members who just participate in an OOC capacity for one month but only posts In-Character a handful of times will still have to be more active before they get character images.

So, on the Crew Manifest and on the character page, images with an error message will be seen until you meets the above criteria, and images are made for you. If you join with acceptable character images of your own, this is no issue, and will get the help needed to have them visible on the Crew Manifest and your character page.

6. Character Application Process

The GM must approve the application before you are allowed to post in the RP. The GM will leave feedback on your first draft and request changes to fit the story better. Then you submit a second draft, a third etc. until the GM approves the character.

7. Application Accepted

When the images and the character application is complete, the GM will notify you of this and add your character to:

1. The Wiki as a new character page and yourself as a new writer. There will also be a link to the character page in the side menu.
2. The Crew Manifest or the Non-Crew Listing
3. DeviantArt, in form of your character images

An announcement will also be made on our OOC board (Out-of-Character), so make sure you say hi!

8. Start Writing!

Next, you will be writing your inaugural post in the story, and begin the adventure.

Welcome aboard the Theurgy!

The Joining Form

• Character Name: (The full proper name of your character)
• Position: (Example: Engineer, Chief Engineer, etc.)
  
• Rank: (Example: Lt, Cmdr, etc. Check Rank & Uniforms for all options)
  
• Callsign: (Optional) (if its a fighter pilot character)
  
• Character Species: (Try to use the available races in the Trek Universe, if you'd rather create one, consult with the GM before writing anything for the application)
  
• Character Gender:
  
• Orientation: (Heterosexual, homosexual, etc.)
  
• Character Age:
  
• Character Birthplace:
  
• Height:
  
• Weight:
  
• Eye Color:
  
• Hair Color:
  
• Played by: (Name the actor/actress playing the character. Please add hyperlinks to reference images.)
  
• Interests: (Be concise by using one word to describe each interest, which are then explained in depth under 'Personality Profile')
  
• Education: (A list with years and place of education. Example: XXXX-XXXX: Acadmy/Intitute/etc. 3 years is the minimum requirement for Starfleet Academy unless your character hold previous experience, is part of the enlisted officers, warrant officers, or a civilian. Tactical CONN Academy and Starfleet Medical adds one year or education depending on previous experience.
  
• Service Record: (A list with date-date: rank, department, location. Example: XXXX-XXXX: Ensign, USS Example. There is no exact amount of years to gain rank, but it is considered that it would be from two to five years for an officer to gain the next rank. Try to be realistic with the years between promotions.
  
• Decorations: (A listing of the decorations that your character has ever received throughout his or her or it's career, or even during education. Example: XXXX: Name of Decoration/Medal/Award)
  
  
• Background Story: (The factual life story of your character thus far. This is the main historical background on your character, usually the longest part of the biography and most important. Be as subjective or objective as you like, but don't make it a short read. 250 words or more is required). This section must be in past tense.
  
  
• Personality Profile: (This section describes your character's psychological profile, what they're like in general). This section must be in past tense.
  
  
• Physical Profile: (The full physical description of your character, be as detailed or as concise as you'd like to be here. Also, let the GM know who you would like to use to depict your character in the Star Trek. Theurgy story. It can be any actor, actress, model or other personality that hasn't yet been used for another character). This section must be in past tense.
  
  
• Special Notes: (Optional) (This optional section can contain any additional notes about your character that you consider important. If your character is a vegetarian, for example, you can put that information here if you didn't specify it in the Background or Personality Profile). This section must be in past tense.