UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Character Guidelines
Now it's time for some character rules. In this RP, you may use either official Sonic Team characters or original characters. The most important thing to bear in mind, however, is that this role-play is entirely based off of the original Japanese Sonic Team works, as well as productions its members personally had influence and input on. This means that the following things have absolutely no bearing on our story whatsoever:
Anything created or licensed only by SEGA of America/Europe, including games (Sonic Spinball, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, Sonic X-Treme, etc.), comics (Archie/Fleetway/others), TV series (The Adventures of Sonic The Hedgehog, "SatAM", Sonic Underground) and so on. That means there is no Mobius, Knothole, Robotropolis, or anything of the sort. This should be kept in mind whenever playing an official character or creating a new one. Also, please bear in mind that very few Sonic games since Sonic Adventure 2 have been counted as a part of our backstory. That means, Sonic Heroes, Shadow The Hedgehog, Sonic Rush, Sonic Battle, and the upcoming next-generation Sonic titles (Sonic The Hedgehog and Sonic Wildfire) are not included.

Guidelines for using an official SEGA character:
1. Check to see if it's available!

It should go without saying that if you ask to play as a character that's unusable or already taken, you won't get very far. Please, please check the characters section first.

2. Play the character as it is portrayed in classic Sonic Team games!

Some improvisation and development is expected since role-playing will confront the characters with various situations never seen in the games. Still, you should never change major personality traits. For another example, some people might enjoy assuming that Tails is gay, Rouge is a lesbian, or Cream is a psychotic axe murderer. Is it possible that they could be? Sure! Anything is possible. For that matter, it's also possible that these rules contain subliminal messages that are slowly training you to worship the Pagan god Baal*. However, just because it's possible doesn't mean it's true. If Sonic Team doesn't say it, we don't say it. Keep to the canon material and stay official.

*Disclaimer: Burn Archie comics! These rules are guaranteed to contain a minimal amount of Burn Archie comics! subliminal messaging. Honestly!
 

3. Don't confuse Sonic Team and Archie/Fleetway/DiC.

Sonic Team characters used in the Archie Sonic comics, Fleetway Sonic comics, or DiC Sonic cartoons have been altered considerably in their history, personality, and attributes. As above, stay true to the games. Also, remember--We don't count many (if any) of the games since Sonic Adventure 2, either. JP Sonic X may also be a decent source, at least up until the beginning of season 3.

4. We aren't very fond of the dubs--Avoid using them for inspiration if possible.

Note that by "Play the character as it is portrayed in Sonic Team!" I mean the actual characters' personalities as depicted in the original Japanese Sonic games and Sonic X. In the dubbing process, major personality traits have been changed about the characters for the domestic releases of the Sonic games and anime. Basically put, for the most part, what you see in the 4Kids version of Sonic X on FoxBox is completely different from how it originally was, and sometimes, the same can be said for the English translations of the games.

5. Please do not even ask to play a character that you know very little about unless it's one listed in the "obscure" section.

If you're really interested in playing a character that you're unfamiliar with, feel free to ask for information. Just don't join and try to play the character without knowing plenty of details about him or her.

6. Sorry, but human characters as seen in Sonic X, the Sonic Adventure series, or anywhere else are no longer playable.

Dr. Eggman is currently the only human in Sonic's dimension. To see why, watch the last few episodes of Sonic X season 2. (Note that for now, we are still not counting season 3 as part of our story, and probably never will.)



Guidelines for using an original player-created character:

I'll start it off with a simple list--You can read down to discover details, as well as the reasons why.

1. No hedgehogs, echidnas, red foxes, or humans

2. Be original, and make no blatant imitations of existing Sonic characters or characters from other series

3. Be responsible and reasonable when assigning your character's strengths and abilities

4. No relations to official characters (brothers, sisters, relatives, "buddy" characters, "old friends/enemies/whatever" etc.), nor ownership or past interaction with the Chaos Emeralds

5. No unfitting supernatural fantasy elements (sorcerers, characters with angel/devil wings, etc.)

6. No in-character references to real-world things (like brand names)--Keep it to OOC notes

7. Keep technology logical, and make sure you have a reasonable explanation for devices/gimmicks

8. Do not make a character skilled in something that you have no reasonable knowledge of yourself

9. Bear in mind the world our story takes place in, and do not include elements from sources we don't count

10. If you submit art with your character: No stolen fanart, no edited/recolored official art, and no sprites

And lastly: Use the character template we provide, and follow its instructions!

If this leaves you with any questions, you may read below for details.

1. Do not make your character a hedgehog, echidna, red fox or human.

There are too many "original" hedgehog and fox characters in existence and it's just not cool anymore, contrary to common belief. Exceptions to this rule might be made for hedgehog or fox characters that would be exceptionally original and entertaining to have in the story, so you are welcome to try. Please do not be offended if your character is rejected, however, because the chances are that it will be. Also, under no circumstances whatsoever will original echidna characters be allowed. Knuckles is the last of his species, and until Sonic Team says otherwise, there will never be another echidna. Also, since this role-play takes place in the "classic" Sonic dimension (the one the games took place in prior to Sonic Adventure--The same world featured at the very beginning of Sonic X, and at the very end of Sonic X season 2), there are no humans other than Dr. Eggman.

2. Originality is important; your character cannot be a rip-off of any existing characters from any series.

In other words, don't give your character attributes identical to the official characters (sonic speed, two tails, etc.) and do not imitate characters from other games/anime/any other source (such as by making a Sonic-ized Fox McCloud or trying to create an animal version of a DBZ character, for example). Please also try to avoid the done-to-death player-created-character stereotypes. Examples: Red eyes, mostly black attire, monotone grey/black/white color scheme, angsty pitiful lone-wolf personality, desire for vengeance on Eggman in retribution of death/injury of friend(s)/family/loved one(s) (The true Sonic Team rendition of Eggman isn't even like that!), etc.--At least half of the "original" characters out there consist of several, if not all of these features. Try to avoid it.

3. Don't get carried away.

In addition to not ripping off official characters' attributes ("as fast as Sonic", "as smart as Eggman", etc.), we also ask that you keep a cap on your character's abilities as a whole, if possible. That's not to say there's anything wrong with having a powerful original character, though! After all, you might want to get combative with the official characters, right? Well, if that's the case, go back and read the "Logic Based" section of the rules. From there, if you're still interested in having a super-powered character, you'll just need to make it original. Yes, we will realize that something's up if your "original" character is a super-strong lone-wolf who can climb, glide, and dig, and guards an ancient artifact.

Also, for powerful robotic characters, please see the robotic character guidelines. Even still, however, we do ask that you be fair and consider both realism and your fellow members when creating a powerful character.

4. No connections to official characters!

Characters that are supposed to be related to official characters (such as "Sonic's brother", "Amy's cousin", "Cream's sister", "Eggman's half-hedgehog lovechild born of Amy's mother" [I've actually gotten this one.] or anything like that) will not be accepted. Also, when writing your character's past, please exclude any direct interaction with official characters or events, especially those concerning the Chaos Emeralds. The exact location of all seven gems has been pretty well kept track of for the past 3000 or so in-character years.

5. Don't go supernatural.

Demons, angels, sorcerers, mages, mythological creatures and other things like that have never been in the Sonic universe. This isn't Archie. Though the environments are admittedly oftentimes whimsical and very foreign, it's still a semi-futuristic sci-fi world that the games take place in. Be modern and at least reasonably realistic. This also means that your character shouldn't be some ancient knight, samurai, ninja, or other such thing that no longer exists, unless he or she is delusional or otherwise crazy. Remember, it'd be about equivalent to someone in present-day real life environments thinking such a thing about him or herself.

Note: Some exceptions to the mythological creatures rule could potentially be made thanks to the presence of mythological small animals from Sonic Adventure 2. The character would really have to be something original and interesting to be accepted, however.

6. Avoid brand names if possible.

Though this is a less important thing and not much of a rule, we just ask that when designing your character you try to exclude any references to real life brand names, products, celebrities, and so forth, if at all possible. As said, it's not a big deal -- It'd simply be appreciated. Still, there are greater things to worry about.

7. Take note of the presence of "logic" in technological.

If your character is big on technology, make sure to keep it somewhat realistic. The world is very futuristic, sure, but even in the future, things like pistol-sized plasma weapons probably just won't be possible, and the laws of physics won't simply vanish. Want to go for fictional beam weapons, though? Sure thing! We just ask that you use real-life laser weapons minimally, however, since those are so often misunderstood, and their lethality, if abused, would be seriously unfair to other role-players. Check the "exotic weapons" thread in the Sonic World section on our forums for more information. Oh, and by the way: Sorry to disappoint you Star Wars fans out there, but we do ask that you check your lightsabers and vibro-blades at the door. Thank you.

8. Please do not try to make your character skilled in some activity / form of combat that you have no knowledge of yourself.

I know that you're able to play video games and use a search engine to look up the meaningless numbers that make up the specifications of a firearm you saw in a first person shooter, and I'm sure that you can imagine all manner of incredible technologically advanced sci-fi machines, and I'm even aware that you've likely watched more than enough of some half-baked anime starring legendary swordsmen or master martial artists, but if you yourself have no real knowledge, training or hands-on experience relating to the operation of firearms, the intricacies of mechanics and electronics, or the true techniques of swordplay and hand to hand combat, please don't try to pass your character off as some master marksman / technology freak / hyper kung fu master. It'll just make you look as smart as a bag of bricks when you join in on your first role-play and actually have to use these skills, and likely result in half the group wanting to maim you and your lovable character.

9. When writing your character's details and history, keep the official Sonic Team games and Sonic X in mind. Do not use any elements from outside sources.

The Sonic comics, OAV, American TV series and certain Sonic games (such as non-Sonic Team developed Sonic Spinball and Sonic X-Treme) are completely irrelevant to the official Sonic Team story. Again, I restate, there is no Mobius. This also applies to "borrowing" elements from non-Sonic games, as well. Also remember that as of the end of Sonic X season 2, Station Square, Capital City, and the rest of the human world no longer exists as part of Sonic's world.

10. A few notes about character images:

Pictures are not necessary at all for original characters--Just don't worry about it if you don't want to! However, if you do choose to use one and you actually want it to appear on the website, please follow these guidelines:
a. Do not steal someone else's fan-art. Get permission or draw it yourself.
b. Please don't draw it in MS Paint. Also, please avoid sprite art. We're trying to keep a sense of consistency throughout the character profile pages.
c. Stick to the Sonic Team style. Sure -- Quality is great and all, but the more vital thing is that your character fits in with the existing art style. We will not accept or use character art for the website if it looks outside the style. Originality is good, but if it looks completely and totally out of place with the rest of the cast, we will simply refuse. No art is better, in that case. Anyway, if you're really determined, and want to go the extra mile and try not only for Sonic styled line-art (which is perfectly sufficient! We're not saying you need finished, colored art.), but also for the Sonic coloring style, Mie's tutorial offers some great techniques for PhotoShop users.

Most importantly, when designing your character, please make an information sheet. To see a template displaying the kind of information desired, click here. Sorry, but character information submitted without using this template will be ignored. See the Join section for more details.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact Matt at sonic@spindash.net or on AIM at Onsokuni. To return to the main rules page, click here.

Rules written by Matt

Last updated 07/01/06

Only for use on spindash.net