USS Endeavour NCC 1716-D

Rules

Page index 
  1. Introduction
  2. Character Rules
  3. Process of Simming
  4. Written Product (the logs)
  5. Chain Of Command
  6. Penalties and Promotions
  7. Joining the SIM
  8. Directives
Section 1: Introduction  1.1: The USS ENDEAVOUR simulation is a role playing game that is played via Internet e-mail. It is a co-operative story telling effort, where each participant creates and controls one of the characters in the story. The Player's Character then acts and lives in the game world environment. In this case, the setting is the 24th century, in the Star Trek universe. The timeline, and technology, are similar to that of current Star Trek episodes. We try to advance though with the times.
1.2: E-mail simulations differ from traditional online simulations because all the action occurs in written products submitted by crew members. Unlike other role-playing games, there is no system to determine your character's actions. The only limit to what your character can do is common sense, your creativity, and imagination! As you'll quickly find out, E-mail simulations focus on character development, role-playing, and character interaction.
1.3: Interactive storytelling by E-mail is like a collaborative novel, but not quite. When working with others on a novel, everyone confers and agrees upon the overall characters, content and resolution of the tale. We differ from novelists as a storytelling group in two specific ways. First, the story that we're writing is open-ended. It's full of surprises because we don't know what's around the bend. It may never have a conclusion as more threads are added, others dropped, and the players come and go over time. Second, within each given scenario about which we are certain, we don't collaborate in the normal sense. We derive particular enjoyment from seeing what the other player will come up with next.
1.4: If you are familiar with role-playing games, then you understand the processes involved in creating a character for a game. In a traditional role-playing game, there are sets of rules that govern what abilities and characteristics your character possesses. In this simulation, your character biography serves this purpose. It will explain key points about your character so that the other players can visualise and interact with you correctly when they write their parts of the story. In a way, this simplifies the process, as you do not need to read complicated role-playing manuals to figure out how to create your character. You simply have to put pen to paper, or should I say fingers to key, and let your imagination paint a picture of who you will be in the Star Trek universe.
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Section 2: Character Rules  2.1: No player may maintain more than one character in a particular simulation. Unless given permission by the Captain and the other senior crew members agree. THEN A STRICT SET OF RULES MUST be followed by that person. No more than ONE person will be given permission at a time.
2.2: Players are expected to take part in the story at least once EVERY SEVEN DAYS. This rule is designed as a minimum only. If you are able to play more than once every week, you are encouraged to do so, and this gives commanding officers hints that you're after a promotion (hint hint). Failure to follow this simple rule will result in you being subject to penalty 1.
2.3: One thing to note though, please do not to send more than one log in per day. If you think you will have plenty to say please try and place everything in one log. It makes posting them much easier and cuts down on over heads.
2.4: Major story line changes and/or developments MUST be approved by the Captain, before being introduced into the story line. Examples: destruction of a ship or Starbase, death of a character, introduction of a new race. Again failure to follow this rule will result in you being subject to penalty 1.
2.5: All alterations to a player's character MUST BE approved by the Captain and the senior officers before being introduced into the sim. These include crew members becoming pregnant, gaining extra limbs, new powers anything that goes against the normal flow of the character.
2.5a: Pets can and do affect a character and other crew members so these also MUST BE approved by the Captain before they can be brought into the SIM. Once they are approved they must remain in the quarters at all times, failure of this will result in the pet being removed from the SIM. There will be no warnings on this matter, the captain or first officer will simply write in their log that the animal has been removed from the ship.(New: 25/07/2005)
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Section 3: Process of Simming  3.1: Within your postings that you will be writing, you can use actions of other crew members to help you tell your story. If your use of another character is minor, you probably don't need permission from the other person. However, if you extensively use the other character, or have any uncertainty as to what actions or words they would say in your log, YOU MUST E-mail a draft of the posting to the other person and get permission and input, before sending in to be posted. This kind of teamwork is very much encouraged and makes the E-mail simulation a lot more fun. REMEMBER YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY KNOW WHAT THE OTHER CHARACTERS WILL DO OR SAY SO YOU CANNOT WRITE FOR THEM.
3.2: Also, you MUST read the postings at least twice a week. If you will be taking a vacation or for whatever reason cannot view the postings for any length of time, you may request a temporary leave of absence from the Captain. You MUST also write a detailed posting at least once a week. This does not have to be in the form of a formal log. It can be more story-like if that works best for you. Again failure to do so will result in you being subject to penalty 1.
3.3: Before posting ANY log, a Player must read the Sim News and Captain's Orders. These pages have information that will help the Players write their logs. It informs you that crew members have left or joined the SIM.
3.4: All postings must be a minimum of 125 words in length. Failure of this will result in penalty 2 being implemented.
3.5: How to post your log: e-mail the posting to Captain. They will be posted within 2 days. There may be times when you are asked to send your logs to another member of the senior staff to have them posted, but you will be notified via the News.
3.6: Vacation or Leave of absence. Please try and inform the captain if you plan to take a holiday or for some reason you are unable to post a log. This way all crew members will be aware of your absence and will not write anything in their logs that will require any response. Please try and give at least seven days notice for vacations.
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Section 4: Written Product (the logs)  4.1: Players MUST use a Spell Checker on EVERY posting. Please proof read your log before submitting it. Small grammar errors can easily be over looked when writing the log. Again failure to do this will result in penalty 2 being implemented and should it continue for too long you will be subject to penalty 1.
4.2: Players MUST follow regular rules of writing. Make sure your postings are legible. Separate your paragraphs by one blank line. Don't run ideas together. Stay on an event long enough to make it comprehensible. Use a thesaurus to add variety to your writing without losing precisely what you mean to convey. Borrow methods from others. Look at how your favourite writers present their stories and try to emulate their style. Don't rush. Most important, have a clear idea of your objective within the entry and focus on achieving it.
4.3: There are many signs that Players should use in your logs. Please use =^= (words in here) =^= when saying something through a commbadge. Use * (words in here) * when writing about thoughts or telepathic communication. Finally when just simply taking to another character use " (words in here) ". The easiest way to get the ^ symbol is to hold and press the Shift button and then the number 6 button on the main keyboard.
4.4: Exposition: Naturally as a reader, Players may know things that their character couldn't possibly know. KEEP THE TWO SEPARATE and avoid employing exceptional means to have your character learn something they shouldn't or to empower the character in some way detrimental to the group. It's unfair to give your character the advantage of insights they might not otherwise have. Doing so could amount to super-status. Abuse of this can and should be met by rejection from the other players.
4.5: Depth: We want to know what's going on in a character's life. We want depth and motivation. Naturally, a Player doesn't want to tell all. They should keep the reader wondering about the subtleties, and where the story will go. But a character that doesn't share their personality, particularly their weaknesses, with the reader, cannot be identified with.
4.6: Respect: This is what everything boils down to: respect for other players, acknowledgement of their characters, and respect for the game. Co-operation is a must! The story takes precedence. So what if you hate the Captain? No one should know that but you, unless your character hates him. THE STORY TAKES PRECEDENCE. Nurture it, feed it, and protect it. If your ultimate concern is with the welfare of the group, then you can't go far wrong.
4.7: NO CHARACTER is permitted to use any FOUL OR SEXUALLY EXPLICIT LANGUAGE and it will not be tolerated, as this may cause offence to other characters and its not necessary. Again penalty 2 will be implement followed straight away by penalty 1. *** YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED ***.
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Section 5: Chain of Command  The Captain has the final decision but will listen to the two senior officers as these combined are the ONLY two that can overrule the Captain, this is to help make things fair. Any orders issued by the Captain within a Log or any other more of communication such as Email or Tenforward, must be followed, unless a very good reason is given as to why not, but again this may be overruled. You may not agree with the orders but they still have to be carried out.
If either the 1st (XO) or 2nd Officer issue an order as above then they also must be followed. Of course the XO can overrule the 2nd Officers orders and the Captain can overrule them both and an Admiral can override the Captain.
As stated earlier if the XO and 2nd Officer say that their orders should stand, they will communicate this to the Captain and state their opinions, to which the Captain will then enforce the order as long as it does not harm the SIM or offend any other member of the crew.
If the Captain is not around and you need assistance then follow down the Chain of Command, its a simple as that.
Anyone failing to respect the Commanding Officers or any other crew member will be issued a formal warning Via the 'Captain's Message' so that everyone gets it and also a posting in Tenforward. In the past it was normally done a one to one basis, but on reflection this doesn't seem to work.
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Section 6: Penalties & Promotions  Every player and that includes the Captain are subject to the same penalties and promotions. The only thing that the captain is not subject to is promotion.REMEMBER THE CAPTAIN HAS THE FINAL WORD
Penalty 1 : The Captain will send no more than 2 Emails stating what the problem is should you fail to improve, a 3rd Email will be sent to you and all other players informing you that you have been REMOVED from the SIM. You then have the right to appeal within seven days. This will go to the senior staff for a review and you will be notified of the results within another seven days.
Penalty 2: Your log will be returned to you to be corrected. Again you will be informed as to the problem.
Penalty 3: At times the Captain and the senior staff may feel you are not pulling your weight in the SIM and that you are constantly going against orders. Instead of removing you from the SIM, you will face demotion.
Promotions: These are dependant on the number and quality of your logs. It also depends on how well you keep to the story line and also how you get along with other crew members. Promotions will be dealt by the Captain and the two other senior crew members once a year. How long you have been with the SIM is brought into play should there be two people in line for the same promotion.
When and if you are in line for a promotion to the rank of Lt Cmdr or Cmdr you will face a series of tests.
Should the need arise for the Captain to be replaced the First Officer will automatically take the place and the 2nd Officer will then become First Officer. It will then be up to the Captain and First Officer to decide the 2nd Officer.
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Section 7: Joining the SIM  There are a couple of stages that each new applicant must go through before joining the crew. These have been designed to see if you are the right type of person for our crew. In the past we have been let down by people who have joined our crew and then do nothing, such as failing to write logs on a regular basis. This can be very annoying as it takes time and effort to set people up so they can access the web site, etc. It can also be very frustrating for other crew members as they take the time to write you in and wait for some kind of response only to be let down.
  1. Step one: Biography: Every new crew member must write one and submit it for approval. We need to know your characters name, age, race, rank and department. It need not be pages and pages of text, just enough to explain your character and where they come from and life in Starfleet before the Endeavour. We will also need to know things like what hobbies you enjoy such as music, food, etc. This will make it easier for other crew members to interact with you. We also need to know what abilities and characteristics you intend to use for your character.
  2. Step two: The rules: You will be tested on the rules to make sure you understand and can follow them. This is to make sure you can and will follow the rules laid out above. The test will be in the form of a set of questions.
  3. Step three: A scenario: We will then set you a small scenario in which we will want you to write a log/story about. You must pay close attention to the way in which you interactive with the other crew members. We will also be looking to see how you attempt to advance the story and also if you can follow the directives. This will also give you the chance to show us what your knowledge of the Star Trek universe is like. Each scenario will be designed for which ever section you are in, be it Medical or Security, etc.
  4. Step four: Trail Period : Once you have completed the other three sections successfully you will be put on a one month probationary period, where we will monitor your logs and should you fail to submit the minimum number required, which is four you will be removed from the SIM. If all goes well then welcome to the USS Endeavour and we all hope you enjoy your stay.
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Section 8: Directives 
  • Remember the Captain has the final word
  • No foul or sexually explicit language
  • At least one log every seven days
  • All logs must be longer than 125 words
  • You must read the news before submitting a log
  • Any vacations please give at least seven days notice
  • Logs will be posted by the present Captain after 7pm GMT (Within 2 days)
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