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RULES
Here are the basic rules of this simulation that you should read before accepting to join the USS Republic PBeM simulation:

- Always be polite to and respect your fellow crew members in Out of Character (OOC) emails, when it is *you* talking, and not your character. This means we will not tolerate troublemakers.

- This site is rated 'R'. Parental Guidance is recommended for simmers under the age of 18. Despite this we will not tolerate excessive violence, exceeding explicit language or explicit sex. This is not to limit your creativity but rather to hone it more towards the story. If the explicit action lends itself to the story well, then there will be no problem.

- Furthermore, as with most email sims, you must contribute four logs per Earth month, with the exception of a prolonged absence to the sim. Should that happen, you simply need to notify the Game Master and you will in no way be penalized.

- Last but not least, the most important rule of all: have fun, and let the others have fun too!
 

FAQs
What is e-mail simming?
E-Mail Simming (also known as PBeM, E-Mail RPG, or several other acronyms) is the process of creating a character, then portraying that character in situations set up and run by the CO or GM and his/her crew. The emphasis in e-mail simming is on developing your character to make him or her more realistic and to interact better in his/her environment.

Why create a character to sim?
Creating a character instead of simply being yourself gives you the chance to broaden your horizons and see things the way you normally don't see them. It's an interesting way of putting yourself "in the other person's shoes", and also gives you a place where you AREN'T expected to be yourself.

What goes into a character?
For the most part, anything you want. Most COs have a list of information about your character that they want as a minimum; the information you provide is called a bio, or biography, and essentially is a "cheat sheet" on who your character is. This information will be placed on the sim's website so that other players interested in learning more about your character can.

Also, should you need it, our E-Mail Academy offers several courses and tips on creating a bio, as well as several examples.

How does e-mail simming work?
Each person is expected to write a log using their character at least once a week; you can have your character just about do anything that's within the logical realm of your sim's background. There are several suggested rules you need to follow when you write your log as well.

E-Mail simming itself takes place through either a mailing string, which is a list of addresses that every crew member must send a log to, or via listservers, which is a program that you send the log to, and it in turn sends it to the crew. AES is a non-profit organization, and in order to remain free, many of our COs either opt to not pay for listservers, or find alternate solutions.

I'm frequently out-of-reach on business trips or have frequent periods when I cannot access e-mail or write logs. Or I'm going on vacation. What should I do?
For one, let your CO know this if you're already in a sim. Most COs are flexible around posting, and sometimes will let someone take over for you while you're away. Your CO will keep an eye on your character to keep him/her out of trouble.

And if I'm going to be away for more than a few weeks?
DEFINITELY talk to your CO about this. It may be possible to turn your character into an NPC or non-playing character for the time you're away. Each CO has his/her own rules regarding this.
 
 

PbEM  SIMS

Many have asked, "How does a PBeM Simulation work?" This document will attempt to answer that question by laying out some guidelines.

First, this manual will go over the mechanics of the Play-By-Email (PBeM) simulation; this is the easy part to master. Later we will go over the etiquette of e-mail simming, which is the important part to master. The mechanics of a sim (simulation) are quite simple. Each participant (or player) creates his own biography for the character that they will play in the sim. This biography is important because it will describe to the other players and lurkers (yes there are people who read our logs) how your character looks and acts like. Once the character biography is completed, it will be posted on the website so that it can be referenced when stories are written involving your character. You should always read each player's biography (or reread it) before posting a new story entry involving that character. It can save you the embarrassment of making a false reference in one of your stories.

Example: "Chris ducked to the right as the PPG shot streaked past his head." Which would be fine as long as "Chris" is a man, but if it is short for "Christina"...

Most web browsers will allow you to print out and make hard copies of the articles you browse. Feel free to make yourself a hard copy of the player's character biographies for easier referencing should you feel it is necessary.

When you think of the player characters, you should be thinking of "the stars of the show", that is really what they are. In this sim, the USS Ranger has about 100 men, women, and other things on board, but really, the few PCs are the stars of the sim. Along with the players' biographies, a list of all the players' e-mail addresses and the players' positions are stored on the website. These files are updated each time a new player joins the sim, or an old one leaves. You may wish to download these files and print them out from time to time.

When you turn in your character bio and it is accepted by the Dean of Admissions, your email address will be added to an email listserver mailing list. You should have received a "Welcome" message directly from the listserver telling you about the sim, and how to turn on and off your email there in case you leave town for an extended period of time. If you need to have your email address changed or a new one added to the list, you need to email the list administrator. She will change your address on the listserver.

When you are ready to post your "in character" story to the sim, you only need to send it one address: that of the listserver. The email listserver will then mail out copies of your story to everyone in the group (including yourself) within a few hours. If, for some reason, you do not receivea copy of your story from the listserver within 4 hours, go ahead and re-send it. The worst thing that can happen is that everyone receives the story twice.

When posting new story entries or logs to the sim group, please adhere to the following rules:

1. If the message is "in character" and intended to be part of the sim, on the "Subject line" of the email message, begin it with the following:

"Your Title"

The "USS Ranger" will be added to the beginning of your email message's subject line as it passes through the listserver. So for instance, you send an email to the listserver with the subject line entitled "Where Did All The Cowboys Go?" and what everyone will get in their inboxes is: USS Ranger: "Where Did All The Cowboys Go".

2. For messages to other crew members 'out of character' to discuss possible storylines, or congratulate them on an exceptional posting to the sim, please start the subject line as follows:

OOC: "Basic Subject of your email"

However, please refrain from using the listserver in this manner if at all possible. This is to avoid cluttering other simmer's inboxes with messages not intended for them and you would probably like to maintain some secrecy until the joint log is finished sometimes. So for the most part please email the other simmer through the link that is provided in the Personnel section of this website.

3. The last PBeM simulation "mechanic" is that each player is expected to make a minimum of four sim logs (of considerable length) per month. You may post more frequently than this, but we would like everyone to at least post this frequently. If you are unable to post to the game because of vacations, or final exams, etc. just let the GM (and the rest of the sim group) know with a NRPG message ahead of time.

There is no order, or "round-robin" rotation for each of the storyposts to the sim. You do not have to "wait your turn" to post into the game as is the case on some role-playing games. Of course there are exceptions to this, which will be discussed below, but usually, you do not have to wait for all of the other players to post a new log before you post another one. Your character is yours to do with as you please, without effecting the ship or any other Player Character (PC). If your subplot qualifies in effecting another PC or the ship's overall mission and operation, then you will need to email the GM or the Player of the PC involved.

Having explained the mechanics of the PBeM simulation, the manual will go into the more difficult concepts of simming etiquette.

In a true live action role-playing game, all of the players get together to participate in a fantasy game, and one person, the Game Master (GM) takes on the role of referee. The GM oversees who goes when, and what is allowed and not allowed. In a PBeM simulation, the burden of what is allowed and not allowed is somewhat shifted to each of the players. When you post your creative writing effort and submit your story to the sim group by clicking on the "Send" button of your mailer, YOU are the GM at that point. And being a referee on a role-playing game you should ask yourself a few questions aboutyour submission.

"Given my character's biography and established game play thus far, would my character do this?" "Given the Star Trek universe in which we are gaming in, would this possibly happen?"

"Will this entry greatly affect another player's character, or disrupt a storyline they are currently pursuing?"

If so, you will need to contact the player involved and/or the game master and discuss it with them. The role of GM is then somewhat shared as both of you decide what is appropriate for your respective character or if the effect on the sim is appropriate or can be adjusted.

"Have I used this player's character in a way that is consistent with their biography and established game play?"

"Will my post in any way alter the true Star Trek universe in which we are gaming in, disrupting what was past or what will happen as seen in the past Star Trek episodes of the various series and movies?"

Something that must be noted, however, is that adding to the Star Trek universe and altering it are two different things when in context of this discussion. Altering the true Star Trek universe is something that should be avoided and is ultimately up to the simulation's game master. So please contact the game master and establish what you want and why you want it. He or she will then make a decision, which may take some time if he or she chooses to seek council from one (or more) of his or her AGMs on the issue.

Basically there are two things you have to look out for. The first is that you do not write anything in your story entry that will drastically alter the current "story arc" established by the Captain's logs. If you have doubts about an entry, you can always feel free to send a copy to the GM or AGM (Assistant Game Master, generally the Executive Officer of the vessel, but in context of this sim there are multiple AGMs. If you don't know who the AGMs are then feel free to ask.) for approval before posting it to the group. We do intend to have certain story arcs (episodes) center around different crewmembers (because of their position on the ship) to ensure that everyone gets to be "the star" on occasion. When this happens to your character, you will be in the spot light so to speak, and the other player's character entries will take a secondary, or background role. Likewise, when another character has the spotlight, it is important that you still post into the sim, but in a way that supports the storyline, and the other players. This means, do not post a log in which you decide that the captain turns the whole fleet around for some vacation on a desert planet.

The second point that should be noted, is when you use another player's character in your story. If your use of the character is only minor, and doesn't really affect any other storylines currently in progress, then you are probably okay. But if your use of the character is extensive, you may wish to copy the player on your intended post before sending it to the whole group. Sometimes this can avoid problems later on because you made someone's character do something or say something that they would never do. Or, you can write a JOINT LOG with this character to ensure both characters are equally well-treated. These joint ventures are highly appreciated and encouraged.

Stories that require a lot of dialogue between two player characters (PCs) are usually best handled in a cooperative effort. One player will write out the story, with dialogue for their character and the other PC, and then mail it to the other player for review and/or revision. When they both agree on the final story, it is posted to the rest of the sim group as an official entry. This kind of cooperation is, again, encouraged.

The other way of doing a dialogue sequence between two players is to post a story that puts the two characters face to face, and then each player posts a short entry with their comments, ending it waiting for the other player to respond. While this can work well for short conversations between two players that frequently check their e-mail for sim messages and respond promptly, it tends to not work well for longer winded, or confrontational dialogue pieces. These are usually best handled "off line" with cooperation between the two players to come up with a completed 'chapter' of the story, and then posted to the sim group. This way, a conversation that takes just five minutes of "game time" doesn't spread out over two weeks worth of logs over the listserver.

The GMs' role in this sim will be to establish the storyline and provide guidance to each of the players. When setting up an episode for the crew, one of the GMs will write the official first log to state what's ahead. Outside of the official sim entries GMs will send NRPG (Non-Role Playing Game) messages to some members of the crew from time to time to let them know pieces of the storyline that they need to describe in their stories. An example might be sending a message to the Chief Tactical Technician explaining that he/she is picking up an energy signature from recent weapons' fire. Or telling the medical officer that when he/she examines a particular alien's injuries, the latter will die if not brought immediately to the ship. Then, in these players' upcoming sim entries, they can present the information any way they like. You each have creative license within your sim entries, so long as the storyline is adhered to and none of the sim etiquette rules are broken.

The last piece of advice assumes that you write your stories "offline", in a writing tool like Word or Word Perfect. Use a spell checker to check spelling, and/or use other grammar aids. When you have finished a piece, before posting it to the sim, always check your e-mail to verify that there are no new entries that will force you to have to revise your log. We know it can be frustrating to receive an email that completely destroys a log, but as a last resort, you can always post it as an ALTERNATE log. If this becomes your choice please make note of it in the subject of your email to the listserver such as "Where Did All the Cowboys Go?" - Alternate.

In regards to NPCs (non player character) or "extras", you can feel free to create any new supporting characters you require, following the original guidelines on How To Write a Biography. On the website there will be a complete crew manifest listing all NPCs for the sim as they are created. However, keep in mind that maintaining the website takes a certain amount of time and effort. So if you can please use an existing NPC and add to that NPC's overall story. This is where reading the past log's in the "Logs" subdivision of the site, becomes important. The NPC are listed by position and by department to hopefully make it easier to quickly "grab" a couple of officers from whatever department you need. Unlike the "stars" of the sim, NPCs can be killed without too much worry, (unless it's an NPC that everyone likes, then you'd probably be better off just injuring them) if it was one you created.

When you decide to create an NPC, please take the time to create a biographyfor the NPC. Especially if you plan on using the character more in the future. This is highly encouraged as we would like to maintain the quality of NPCs or PCs that are present on the USS Ranger. This is why we ask you to follow this manual in the creation of new NPCs and why we ask that you use existing NPCs when at all possible. Keep in mind though, that NPCs are free for all members of the simulation to use if they wish to. If you wish to have control over an NPC that you created, it will only be allowed with the rule of one support NPC per player. There are exceptions to every rule and if you feel you have one feel free to contact the game master or assistant game masters about it.

That pretty much wraps up how the USS Ranger PBeM simulation works. If you have any questions on ANYTHING related to the sim, your character, or the storyline at all send an OOC message to the Game Master. He will be more than happy to answer any questions or listen to any input you'd care to provide.
 
 

PROMOTIONS
Every time a player posts, that post will be awarded points based on the contribution of that post.

- 5 points will be awarded for a lenthy, thoughough post that builds a major plot element or contributes dramatically to the existing story.  These are the excellent posts that go above and beyond the norm and helps get us all excited to be a part of.

- 4 points will be awarded for a moderate post that offers something significant to the current story.  These are still quality posts

- 3 points is for a moderate post that does what it's suppose to do and helps keep the character active in the community.

- 2 point may be awarded if the post is alright, but may not be quite up to the norm in terms of contributing to the quality and drama of the situation.

- 1 point will be given as long as the player has made some attempt at posting something to the game.

These points will be used for promotion of the player's character.

0 - 34 points = Ensign
35 - 99 points = Lieutentant jg.
100 - 224 points = Lieutenant
225 - 474 points = Lieutenant Commander
475 - 999 points = Commander
1000 - 2999 = Captain
3000 - 6999 = Commodore
7000 - 14,999 = Admiral