This page will assist STARFALL ACADEMY players in the creation and submission of their character concepts. If you have not yet registered for Starfall Academy but would like to, please reach out via e-mail staff at info@qdentertainment.net for more information.
NEW CHARACTER SUBMISSION PROCESS
STEP ONE:
STEP TWO:
STEP THREE:
STEP FOUR:
Ready to create a Starfall Academy character?
This submission process will take you step-by-step through character creation, offering you tips and hints along the way. If — at any point — you’re stuck and could use some inspiration, we strongly suggest you join our community discord for great support from both staff and fellow players.
First drafts of new character concepts are due no later than May 10th, 2024
STEP ONE: Create Your Character
Let’s begin the start — the actual creation of your character. We here at Starfall Academy have some rules for character building. These rules are here to help all of our players feel like members of our expansive world. To learn more about the world that Starfall Academy takes place in, please visit the Archives for more information.
With the exception of the blue box at the bottom right of the first page, this Character Submission Form is considered completely IN-CHARACTER — that is, you’re completing it on behalf of the character you will portray at the game. Give us their name, their details, and their overall story. Remember to SAVE regularly as you progress.
RULES TO CHARACTER BUILDING
1.) Exist within the world.
Starfall Academy takes place in the Universe of the Sellonian Empire which includes dozens of planets, nine playable species, and a robust, complicated history. Make sure that your character fits within this established universe. While small personal inventions are fine — feel free to name the town you were born in, label the ship you flew, or describe an event you encountered, as examples — all of such creations should fit within the confines of what is already established.
2.) No, you can’t like the Dominari.
The Dominari are a defunct sect that is responsible for one of the worst conflicts in galactic history, with echoes from that conflict still being felt today in the world. As a general rule, your character cannot sympathize with this political faction. While the case can certainly be made that the Dominari had just cause to begin their rebellion, the means by which they carried out their war (planetary subjugation, genocide, etc.) is not to be sympathized with. Starfall Academy characters cannot “sympathize with the Dominari” or “wonder if the Dominari were really right.” In many ways, the Dominari Order and their actions were modeled after many real-world autocratic regimes in our own world’s history, and QDE will not allow player characters to identify with such ideologies.
That being said, the Dominari enslaved billions using dark “mind-bending” techniques that usurped these individuals’ free will. You can certainly have been a victim of such an act (keeping in mind that the last Dominari disappeared in 899 OL, or 24 years ago), but this fact will likely cause your character anger or even shame.
3.) Stay out of the upper third of society.
Like our own world, the Starfall universe — and certainly the Sellonian Empire — has a robust social hierarchy culminating in the wealthy and powerful elite. Despite their circumstances, this upper crust undoubtedly carries an air of privilege and opportunity that commoners could only dream of. In the interest of keeping all players on an even playing field, all player characters must not be from within the upper third of galactic society. Characters cannot possess vast fortunes or extreme contacts, since failing to acknowledge these advantages in-game equates to breaking the world and game.
4.) Your character has ZERO authority.
In addition to wealth and power, your character has no authority. Not only do they have no authority over other characters, they also have no authority within a given academic field. Sure, they may have been an accomplished historian at a Sellonian museum, but they will never have experienced the past in a way that a Vindori master can. Starfall Academy has been designed as an educational environment for rising Guardians and your character is a student first and foremost.
5.) GM’s have final say on everything.
With only the above four rules, you still have an entire universe to play in and explore with your character. That being said, there are countless details to the world build and to the event’s overall plot that you will remain completely oblivious to. Our character review team is filled with experienced and qualified folks – If they send back an aspect of your character build to be revised, it’s possible that you may not be given a thorough explanation of why. There are hundreds of players, and maintaining a universe that is inclusive and common to all is an important part of these character builds.
To help you better understand the contents of each box in the form, see the list below:
The following helpful hints to guide you in the character creation process.
CHARACTER BUILDING – HELPFUL HINTS
1.) It is HIGHLY unlikely that your backstory will work its way into overall plot.
With very few exceptions, it is unlikely that staff will use your character’s direct backstory in any plots — stories or adventures that your character may (or may not) pursue throughout the game. As a generalizing rule, most staff-run plots focus on the actions taken and skills learned by characters during their time at Starfall Academy. This is not to say your character’s backstory is not important; How your character responds to staff-run plots — the actions they take, the ideas they form, the emotions they express — should be dramatically shaped by your character’s backstory.
2.) Your character’s best moments are yet to come.
This is the start of a brand new book in your character’s life. Whatever else they have encountered in the past pales in comparison to what unknowns lie ahead. Your character just got accepted to train as a GUARDIAN, one of the greatest warriors the galaxy has ever seen. They don’t need to have been amazing in the past (and we actively discourage it) because your character’s future is immeasurably bright.
3.) You’re building a LEVEL 1 character.
On a very related note, remember that you’re essentially building what equates to a first-level character. Your character is a college freshman that just stumbled onto campus sight unseen outside of promotional materials. They were handed the most dangerous weapon in the galaxy, a class schedule, and a dream. Your backstory should reflect this.
4.) If you already have saber training, work that into your character background.
Some of you have years of impressive martial arts training — sometimes with sabers. If you can, work this into your character’s overall story. While your character has never held a real crystal saber before, maybe life has opened a door for them to undertake melee training in some other way. Your Bellati and Vindori trainers will still treat you the same way as others in class, as a common saber foundation is required and necessary for safety reasons, you can always show off your skills outside the classroom.
5.) When in doubt, work YOU in.
Creating a character can be difficult, so when in doubt take parts from yourself. You do have to play a character who is distinctly not your everyday self, but if you’re naturally a shy person and think that might affect how you interact with other students, make your character shy, too! If you’re a veteran veterinarian with years of study in animal physiology, give your character a reason for that enthusiasm you show your Ouiori master in “Zoology.” Conversely, you can always try to play against yourself by giving your character a personality that harshly contrasts with your own. While this can be more challenging, some players find this immensely rewarding.
6.) There’s beauty in imperfection.
There’s no such thing as a perfect backstory. Your own personal backstory as a person is messy; So is ours, Everyone’s is. Characters are the same way. Give them contradictory opinions of similar ideas. Give them past events that just don’t make sense. Give them gaps in their memories. Give them bad habits. There’s beauty — and, perhaps more importantly for us here, realism — in those personal imperfections. They help to make a character that’s much more relatable, too.
FULL NAME
What is your character’s full name? Different species have different naming conventions ( listed at the end of each species article) which must be adhered to. Be sure that your character’s name contains personal names, surnames, tribal names, etc. when appropriate.
PLEASE SPELL YOUR NAME PHONETICALLY:
While most pronunciations may seem obvious, some of your characters’ names will be a bit more challenging. Using guides like these, write out your character’s FULL name phonetically. This will be a tremendous help to staff, especially during moments like the Initiation Ceremony, where we’d rather not butcher your character’s most defining feature.
NAME YOU PREFER TO BE CALLED:
Most of the time, your character won’t want to be addressed by their entire name — What do they prefer to be called? Do they have an abbreviated name? A nickname? Yes, this preferred name can also be their full name, especially for species with shorter names.
SPECIES:
Every Starfall Academy character must be a member of one of the nine established in-game species, available from the drop-down list.
PRONOUNS:
What pronouns does your character use? If you’re interested in a non-complete list of possible pronouns, check out this independent resource.
BIRTH PLANET:
Where was your character born? While all Starfall species have a home planet, originating from the homeworld is not required. As long as members of your species exist on a specific planet — check the population percentages of each planet description to be sure — your character could have originated from that world. Note that all characters must be from the Imperial Regions or Lomali. Select your planet from the drop down menu. Note that this is your planet of birth; A character could certainly have moved elsewhere since then, but those details will be provided later in your form.
AGE:
Unless otherwise stated in their species article, most species in the Starfall Universe age and mature at the same rate as Earthly humans. Select a number that represents the age you wish to portray. Even with longer-lived species like Khi’Hinn and Shumi, keep your age below 200. Remember that the older you are, the more History you’ll have to remember from a first-person perspective!
The rest of this form involves larger text boxes which ask you to provide more detailed information. While we’ve given you a good deal of room, you’ll find that the amount of information we’ll accept will be capped at the end of the textbox. As much as you may want to provide us with copious detail, please remember to be clear and concise… and most of all, please read and edit your work!
PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR CHILDHOOD AND EARLY HISTORY:
What were your early years like? Who were your parents, and what did they do? What lessons did you learn at a young age?
PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR ADULT YEARS AND PREVIOUS CAREER, IF ANY:
Once reaching maturity, how did your life change? What career did you have (if any) before being called to the Light? What historical moments impacted you?
PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONAL “SPARK” EXPERIENCE:
For Radiants, a “spark” is a moment that awakens them to their powers in The Light. Describe yours here, and feel free to reference the appropriate section in this article. Remember that your spark was likely the last major life event you experienced before being accepted to Starfall Academy.
DESCRIBE YOUR DEFINING INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS:
What personality traits and general characteristics make you… you? Are you brave? Timid? Excited to join the Guardians? Terrified? Flesh out your character’s personality.
PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONAL ASPIRATIONS AND GOALS:
What does your character want out of life? To help others? To gain wealth? Notoriety? Power? Friendship? Redemption? A quiet life? Establishing smaller, obtainable goals (as well as larger ones) can give our story teams some options for how to best assist you as a player in your experience at Starfall.
PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR GREATEST CHARACTER FLAWS:
Everybody has flaws, your character’s do too. Recognizing what your character doesn’t do so well is important for creating a realistic, believable character. Flaws don’t need to be anything major, but understand your character’s limits.
PLEASE DESCRIBE A WELL-KEPT SECRET OR PERSONAL REGRET:
Everybody has Secrets and regrets. They add a tremendous depth to a character. Again, the information helps our story team as we look for opportunities to assist your character in confronting their past, and looking towards a new and exciting future.
COSTUMING
There is a place for optional text description and design notes as well a a place to insert images.
STEP TWO: Download the Form
Now that you have The rules to character building for Starfall Academy download the CHARACTER SUBMISSION FORM. This is a fillable pdf document, and will ultimately need to be DOWNLOADED, not just opened by your browser.
After you download the form, CHANGE THE NAME – With the document open, choose FILE and then SAVE AS. Select a safe space for the file to be found and edited by you and rename the document (currently titled “STARFALL ACADEMY – Character Submission Form Fillable 924.pdf“). The new name should follow the following naming convention:
PLAYER’S LAST NAME (in caps) + “_” + PLAYER’S FIRST INITIAL + “_” + 924
EXAMPLE: John Smith would create a document titled “ SMITH_J_924″
As you edit your .pdf document, don’t forget to save regularly!
STEP THREE: Create Your Costume
As you submit your character concept, you must include images or detailed descriptions of your character costume. This should include both clothing and — when appropriate — species makeup and/or mask requirements. While photos are preferred — concept sketches or detailed textual descriptions are also permitted. Please be aware that these latter options may receive tentative approval dependent on later photographic submission, especially if they are unclear.
There are 2 places to look for costuming, the Archive Datafile, GUARDIAN UNIFORMS contains a full description of costuming requirements and should be referenced as you assemble your character’s costume.
The player link, COSTUMING GUIDELINES contains full descriptions of costuming requirements and should be referenced as you assemble your character’s costume
HELPFUL TIPS: An important — and often overlooked — potential portion of your costume is a bag, pouch, or satchel in which to carry class materials. Though not required, it can certainly be a functional addition to a look
Having a way to carry your full Crystal Saber outside of just carrying it in your hand is something to think about. Many other players have had various designs on how to do that which can be found in our community discord server
STEP FOUR: Submission and Revision
Before submitting, make sure that your .pdf has properly saved your data and your photos. Fill out the character submission form, You should receive approval or requests for revisions within two weeks of the deadline.
IF YOUR CHARACTER DESIGN IS NOT ACCEPTED…
…you will be asked to revise your concept, making any changes suggested. Revisions can also be Re-submitted to the character submission form with the Revised PDF having the file name:
PLAYER’S LAST NAME (in caps) + “_” + PLAYER’S FIRST INITIAL+ “_” “924” + “_” “REVISED”
Final revisions must be received by May 31st.
EXAMPLE: John Smith with corrections document would be titled “ SMITH_J_924_REVISED”
