Joining the Crew

At this juncture, Star Trek: Theurgy is open for new Applicants. However, Applicants may only apply for positions from the Wanted Positions list. Recruitment is not open for any other kind of character unless a listed position is applied for. Please bear in mind, however, that: ¤ You may not get the position you apply for depending on the character concept you apply with. See below for more information about proposing your character concept. ¤ In-Character, as s/he travels to Aldea, s/he will not know what position s/he might get on the Theurgy. This is decided In-Character after arrival.

Current members of the sim may create new characters if they are eligible (see below). In that case, they must pick a role in the Wanted Positions list.

Joining Information

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

We will be looking for good, descriptive and creative writers that can handle English fluently. 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 rules that demand a minimum posting requirement of 200 words per post, and with a deadline of 7 days maximum to reply in all the threads you are involved in. The commitment to the story is long-term. We have been running the story actively for years, and we will continue for many years to come. Therefore, we are not interested in casual, brief commitments, but something that will last.

In other words, if you are not a dedicated and prolific writer, who can write long posts and reply to threads within 7 days, you should not apply to join this sim for your own sake as well as the present writers. Also, you should be well versed in proper Forum Writing Etiquette. Lastly, Star Trek: Theurgy promotes socially progressive views, including all sexualities, identities, male/female/trans artistic nudity, gender equality of opportunity, civil rights, and multiculturalism. If you have a problem with this, then you should not register.

"What's the nature of the story?"

Star Trek: Theurgy is a detailed, quite dark, story-driven and long-term roleplay and while it has a 18+ rating, it is 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.

In short, this is a serious Star Trek sim, not a dating sim.

"When recruitment opens up again, how do I join the story?"

When recruitment is made, 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.

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

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

2. Contact the Game Moderator

Send a PM (personal message) with your suggested new character concept or request to inherit an available character. You do this via the forum to the Game Moderator, Auctor Lucan, and not via e-mail. You can also send the GM any questions you might have, for perhaps you just want to verify if you have the right profile to write with us. Here are your two options when it comes to characters.

New Character

You pitch a character concept for the GM initially, [font color=orange][i]without[/i] filling out an entire character sheet[/font]. Since your character idea might be rejected, you should not waste your time writing up a character entirely. Instead, you should just describe what you have in mind in terms of a character concept. Things worth mentioning at this stage are:

Name and species
Personality and traits
In-Character ambitions, short term and long term
Out-of-Character ambitions for the character, short term and long term
Upbringing and education
Expertise and what position from the Wanted Positions page you apply for

Available Character

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. When you 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. We want you to make the character your own, change things as you see fit, and update details on the character page to your heart's content. They merely have to remain the same person in the broader sense, i.e. in terms of name, race, position, rank and images.

Next step!

If you've picked an Available Character, you will be getting a synopsis covering his/her story so far in the sim, and if you are adding a new character to the story, here's what happens next:

The Game Moderator will send you a character template to fill out, and you PM the filled out template to the GM for a first review. The template is not made available here because the character concept must be discussed with the Game Moderator first, before any undue time and effort is spent on creating a character.
When the PM with the filled out template has been reviewed, you will be sent feedback and a link to a wiki form, where you create a draft page for the character in our wiki database, using the template and implementing the feedback.
When you have filled out the form (remember that you need to be logged into the wiki!), and you've generated the draft page, you PM the hyperlink to the Game Moderator for a final review.
Some edits to the character page might be needed but once it's approved, the application will be processed, and the character added to the site.

3. Joining Application Accepted!

When the new character or the inheritance is approved, the GM will notify you of this and an announcement will be made on our OOC board (Out-of-Character). You will also be given full access to the site. Next, you will be writing your inaugural post in the story, and begin the adventure.

Welcome aboard the Theurgy!

Do you want to add another character to the story?

If you have been an active member of the sim for more than 3 months, and you would like to add another character, you should take a look at the Wanted Positions Page, and then contact the Game Moderator via PM on the forum (not on Discord) and see if you are A) eligible to add another character, B) if your character concept fits the story and C) if s/he can be added at the current juncture in the story. If the story is in the middle of an Episode, this might be difficult depending on the circumstances.

The maximum allowed player characters in Star Trek: Theurgy is 4 (four) characters for all members except the GM, who has to tell the story on many fronts, spread across the whole ship and all its departments. Total number is not counting NPCs, which are available for all writers. The only exception to the maximum limit of 4 characters is if the Game Moderator grants specific permission to write a story-specific, temporary NPC in an Episode.

"How do I know if I am eligible to add another character?"

Just like with new characters, additional characters are approved at the behest of the Game Moderator, and they are approved based on writing capacity for each member. These are the criteria for all requests:

3 months must pass between each character addition request or after you joined the sim.
The writer should not have a tendency to break the 7 day minimum response time rule (See General Rules)
Writing capacity is judged by number of In-Character posts per active days in the sim. (Total posts - OOC posts) / (Total days - Inactive days). A writer is marked as Inactive if s/he leaves the sim and returns at a later time. The resulting number (the writer's Capacity) is an indicator that tells the Game Moderator if the writer has the capacity to write another character. Se the table below:

Capacity			# Characters
0	<<<< >>>>	0,19	1 Character
0,20	<<<< >>>>	0,29	2 Characters
0,30	<<<< >>>>	0,39	3 Characters
0,4	<<<< >>>>	~	4 Characters

If your Capacity rating is high enough, you reply within 7 days in all your threads, and it is 3 months since you last added a character to the story or joined the sim, you are eligible to add another character. The Game Moderator can quickly tell if your Capacity rating is high enough since he has a spreadsheet that can easily crunch the numbers for you.

"I am eligible, and the character can be added to the story! What happens next?"

Just like with new characters, here are the steps:

The Game Moderator will send you a character template to fill out, and you PM the filled out template to the GM for a first review. The template is not made available here because the character concept should be discussed with the Game Moderator first, before any further time and effort is spent on creating a character.
When the PM with the filled out template has been reviewed, you will be sent feedback and a link to a wiki form, where you create a draft page for the character in our wiki database, using the template and implementing the feedback.
When you have filled out the form (remember that you need to be logged into the wiki!), and you've generated the draft page, you PM the hyperlink to the Game Moderator for a final review.
If it is approved, the application will be processed, and the character added to the sim.
The Game Moderator announces the character in the Main OOC thread on the forum.

Congratulations on your new character!