Created by Claire Cavendish on Mon Oct 17th, 2022 @ 15:33

Creating a character and writing their bio can be a tricky thing. Sometimes they'll come together quickly and organically like you've known them your whole life, but other times you might need a little help making them into the character you want to create. That's what this guide is here to help with.

Some general tips in regards to the application

1. This is your chance to showcase your writing skills and creativity. Be sure you make a good first impression!
2. Double-check your spelling and grammar before submitting the application!
3. Make a backup of your character application before submitting it! You don't want to lose your well-crafted character to a computer glitch.
4. Be as thorough and complete as possible, more detailed descriptions allow for a greater understanding of your character and will help the games' leadership a great deal in creating storylines that are interesting to you and your character.
5. Any field that's not mandatory and left unfilled won't show up in your character's bio, so don't write 'Not Applicable' or something along those lines in any of the fields you have no information for, simply leave them blank.
6. The story of Avalon Institute takes place in 1992, your character history should be written with that in mind and should lead to a natural and organic way for them to join the Institute after 1990 when it started operations.
7. All applications should abide by the rules set forth by Obsidian Fleet.

We ask for a little more detail in a bio than you might be used to in other similar games. We use the details in the bio to fine-tune our plots, sometimes we’ll create a storyline that plays to our strengths and sometimes we’ll fine-tune the details to put characters in situations that challenge them. The aim of all this is to provide a richer and more rewarding experience for every player on the sim. The more detailed your bio is, the more we have to work with.

Step 1: User Information

This is a place for your personal information, the writer behind the character.

Name - Please enter your real name or writer pseudonym.
Email Address - The email address on which we can reach you to tell you whether or not the application was accepted. This email address will also be used to send you notifications of new posts, private messages or updates to unfinished joint posts.
Password - Set a secure password you can use to log back into the website once your application is accepted.
Date of Birth - We want to be sure you're abiding by the age restrictions (and also when to give you virtual cake).
Instant Messenger(s) - Put each IM handle on its own line and specify what messaging system it is for.

Step 2: Character

The main information in regards to the character, including your first choice of role. Every primary character in the game has to be a member of the Avalon Institute faculty.

First Name - The first name listed on the Crew manifest. Some cultures display the family name first (ie. Bajorans), keep this in mind when filling these fields.
Middle Name - Any middle names given to the character. These will not be displayed on the Crew's Manifest.
Last Name - The name listed last on the Crew manifest. Some cultures display the given name last (ie. Bajorans), keep this in mind when filling these fields.
Suffix - Any title your character has thanks to a formal education may be listed here.
Position - Use the drop-down menu to choose which position you wish to apply for (if you've clicked a role on the manifest it will automatically list that role).

Step 3: Character Information

Going more into the information behind your character. The way they look, act and what they have done in the past. This part is the main body of your character biography.

Gender - Take your pick from our smorgasbord of non-binary choices
Powers - A short and snappy name for the powers your character has. This is displayed on the manifest under the character name.
Power Description - A more detailed overview of what your powers entail. When do they work, and when don't they? This is used to determine whether we can accept your character and their powers in the game.
Alias - Many mutants are known by an alias that speaks to their powers and abilities.
Age - The age of the character.

Physical Appearance
Height - in Centimeters
Weight - in Kilograms
Hair Colour and Eye Colour - in 256 bits
Physical Description - A short description of what the character looks like on an average day. What type of clothes do they like to wear, and what style do they have their hair in? We should be able to file a missing person report with this information.

Family & Acquaintances
Spouse, Children, Father, Mother, Siblings - For all these fields please list Name, Age, Occupation (if applicable) and location. If they are no longer alive please put (Deceased) at the end of the entry.
Other Family and Acquaintances - Please only list those people still relevant to the character's back story or current situation. There's no need for a comprehensive list of everyone they ever worked with.

Personality & Traits
General Overview - On an average day, how can we expect the character to act and react?
Strengths & Weaknesses - Are there situations or skills that they are exceptionally good or bad at? Is there a blind spot in their personality that won't allow them to see their own mistakes? Can't they turn down a bet or are they into other vices? This is about their personality rather than their mutant powers.
Ambitions - What is the character building towards? What would make the character go 'One step closer' at the end of the day?
Passions - Any passions the character has. Hobbies, interests, collections, and so on. Is the character a huge fan of Football? Will they knit the entire staff's new mittens when winter comes? Anything that you could ask your character about and consequently lose 2 hours of your life over due to the extensive answer.

Background
The cliff notes version of your character's personal development that led them to become the beautiful, and unique, being they are today.
Personal History - All of the major decisions and experiences in the character's life that have led them to the point where they would apply for a job as faculty in a Mutant high school. Make good use of white spaces and the general grammar rules to make sure it's readable. As a rule of thumb, we'd like a paragraph's worth of information for each decade of life (minimum).

Mutant Registration Status
A clandestine organisation, tied to the Human Protection League, has been running a mutant registration database. For the most part they've been able to keep this up to date with connections to the NHS and the police database. For more information see this database entry.

Sample Post For tips and tricks on how to write a post suitable for X-Men: Avalon, please refer to this guide. As a general tip, though, make sure the post includes a sequence in which your character uses their powers.