Introduction
In order to create a character, you will need to fill out the Blank Character Sheet (Template located HERE) and email it to Administration at tfp.rpg@gmail.com. You can also email with any questions, or post those same questions on the Ask a Mod forum located HERE. We also have a cbox, accessible by clicking the tab on the side of the screen, and players (white names), Mods (green names), or Admins (blue names) are always happy to help there. Before you do so, however, we strongly suggest you read through the Rules and the FAQ, and perhaps glance through the Wiki.
If you want to know what we're looking for in a character application, take a look around the existing character profiles to see what has already been accepted and integrated into active game play. Be forewarned, some are clean cut and simple, but others are above and beyond what we REQUIRE on this forum.
Below are some tips, tricks, and a few concepts that the forum follows as a whole. Understanding everything on this page, will help you have a better grasp of what we will be looking for, and how you can create an application that will gain gold stars instead of requests for alterations.
If you want to know what we're looking for in a character application, take a look around the existing character profiles to see what has already been accepted and integrated into active game play. Be forewarned, some are clean cut and simple, but others are above and beyond what we REQUIRE on this forum.
Below are some tips, tricks, and a few concepts that the forum follows as a whole. Understanding everything on this page, will help you have a better grasp of what we will be looking for, and how you can create an application that will gain gold stars instead of requests for alterations.
Character Types
There are four kinds of characters in our RP, each of them with their own limitations, responsibilities, and potential.
Canonical Prime Characters: These are the characters who are seen in the TF:P cartoon series. Currently those are Optimus Prime, Arcee, Ratchet, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Wheeljack, Smokescreen, Ultra Magnus, Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, Knock Out, Shockwave, Breakdown, Dreadwing, and Airachnid. You may have up to two Prime characters out of your four character slots.
Prime characters are expected to post at least once a week; we also hope to see the players of these characters offering small plots and threads to other players, as the Prime characters are the core of the RP. A warning grace period of inactivity is not generally afforded to canonical Prime characters, though there may be exceptional circumstances.
Other Transformers Characters: Non-Prime Canon Characters are those that appear in a different Transformers canon - Animated, G1, Bayverse, IDW, etc. They must be adapted to the Prime-verse, rewriting and changing their history as needed. They can take up all four of your character slots.
Canon characters are expected to post at least once every other week.
Original Characters: We love Original Characters (OCs). These can be either Cybertronians or humans of any of the forum-available factions located HERE. Cybertronian can be Autobot, Decepticon, or Neutral, while humans can fall into any number of subcategories. They can take up all four of your character slots.
Original characters are expected to post at least once every other week.
There are also human characters which appear in Transformers Prime (Jack and June Darby, Miko Nakadai, Raf Esquivel, and Special Agent Fowler), as well as human characters brought in from other TF canons (ie: Marissa Faireborn, Spike/Buster/Sam Witwicky, Mikaela Banes, William Lennox, Robert Epps, etc.). You may have a maximum of one canon human character in play, but this does not count against your four character allotment.
NPCs: These are, to one degree or another, background characters – be it because they are Prime characters that don’t currently have a player, or because they are just that: background characters from any other TF continuity or original characters mentioned briefly in an OC's history.
Minor NPC characters can be used to advance plot by any player; players may also ask the Mods to NPC an adoptable character for plot reasons, though in some instances the Mods might delegate the task to a trusted Player. You can see more in the NPC area located HERE. Overall, unless the NPC or the interaction is fairly minor, it’s usually wise to check with either a Mod, the original owner of the NPC, or both.
Canonical Prime Characters: These are the characters who are seen in the TF:P cartoon series. Currently those are Optimus Prime, Arcee, Ratchet, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Wheeljack, Smokescreen, Ultra Magnus, Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, Knock Out, Shockwave, Breakdown, Dreadwing, and Airachnid. You may have up to two Prime characters out of your four character slots.
Prime characters are expected to post at least once a week; we also hope to see the players of these characters offering small plots and threads to other players, as the Prime characters are the core of the RP. A warning grace period of inactivity is not generally afforded to canonical Prime characters, though there may be exceptional circumstances.
Other Transformers Characters: Non-Prime Canon Characters are those that appear in a different Transformers canon - Animated, G1, Bayverse, IDW, etc. They must be adapted to the Prime-verse, rewriting and changing their history as needed. They can take up all four of your character slots.
Canon characters are expected to post at least once every other week.
Original Characters: We love Original Characters (OCs). These can be either Cybertronians or humans of any of the forum-available factions located HERE. Cybertronian can be Autobot, Decepticon, or Neutral, while humans can fall into any number of subcategories. They can take up all four of your character slots.
Original characters are expected to post at least once every other week.
There are also human characters which appear in Transformers Prime (Jack and June Darby, Miko Nakadai, Raf Esquivel, and Special Agent Fowler), as well as human characters brought in from other TF canons (ie: Marissa Faireborn, Spike/Buster/Sam Witwicky, Mikaela Banes, William Lennox, Robert Epps, etc.). You may have a maximum of one canon human character in play, but this does not count against your four character allotment.
NPCs: These are, to one degree or another, background characters – be it because they are Prime characters that don’t currently have a player, or because they are just that: background characters from any other TF continuity or original characters mentioned briefly in an OC's history.
Minor NPC characters can be used to advance plot by any player; players may also ask the Mods to NPC an adoptable character for plot reasons, though in some instances the Mods might delegate the task to a trusted Player. You can see more in the NPC area located HERE. Overall, unless the NPC or the interaction is fairly minor, it’s usually wise to check with either a Mod, the original owner of the NPC, or both.
Character Stats
We don't have them. While the Transformers universe is set up and geared towards war and combat, we try to aim in the direction of character development more so than rock-em-sock-em robots. In addition, as an intermediate to advanced forum, we rely on communication between individual players rather than numbers. Statistics also can have huge detriment to roleplay in general by removing all environmental and emotional elements from the field. Someone's accuracy may be maxed out as a sharpshooter, but if an earthquake is going on or they are forced to shoot at a friend than that top score becomes trivial and compromised.
The Subject of Alt Modes
When choosing an alt mode for your character, we can always be tempted to pick out the showiest, flashiest, most amazing thing that will make them unique and functional out on the field. This is a kneejerk impulse for everyone, and it can be a bit of a pitfall trap to snare your own foot later on. Keep in mind that as useful as a supersonic jet is out in battle to shoot people in fly-bys, they will not be able to participate in any city missions, and will be limited in where they can go. Basically it would be your faction's base, and then the vast wilderness and nothing more. The same issues can be brought up if you are a milti-million dollar concept car. You can't really park somewhere on a stakeout without being flooded by people.
In other sad news, we are not currently accepting applications for Insecticons, Dinobots or Predacons at this time, nor in any point in the foreseeable future. No beast modes will be permitted, unless we are talking about a cassette-type character. But before you get too excited about this apparent loophole, be aware that Cassettes only have a docking mode and a beast mode, and often cannot survive without a Host Carrier. If you so choose to apply as a Carrier/Cassette duo, be forewarned they are rare and judged with the same scrutiny as a show canon character.
In other sad news, we are not currently accepting applications for Insecticons, Dinobots or Predacons at this time, nor in any point in the foreseeable future. No beast modes will be permitted, unless we are talking about a cassette-type character. But before you get too excited about this apparent loophole, be aware that Cassettes only have a docking mode and a beast mode, and often cannot survive without a Host Carrier. If you so choose to apply as a Carrier/Cassette duo, be forewarned they are rare and judged with the same scrutiny as a show canon character.
Powerhouses
If your sole selling point for a character is that they’re stronger than Megatron or Optimus, smarter than Shockwave, a better hacker than Soundwave, a better medic than Ratchet, faster than Blurr, or any other similar one-upmanship with absolutely no reasonable, extended explanation as to why, they will almost unfailingly be rejected.
Also keep in mind we have gotten a good deal of giant character applications. People that are larger than Optimus, or tower even over Megatron to near Predaking height. This isn't really good, and unless there is a hard reason WHY your character is so large? Then it will be declined or you will be asked to shrink them a bit. The majority of individuals should be around the middle of the height chart located HERE.
Also keep in mind we have gotten a good deal of giant character applications. People that are larger than Optimus, or tower even over Megatron to near Predaking height. This isn't really good, and unless there is a hard reason WHY your character is so large? Then it will be declined or you will be asked to shrink them a bit. The majority of individuals should be around the middle of the height chart located HERE.
Arrival to Earth
So you have a character, and it is all set and ready to go. You got an appearance, a strong personality, and know the early years of their history and time during the war, but... how do you get them to Earth?
Transportation can be a bit of an issue for some characters, especially since everyone can't have a shuttle to fly in on their own. If every character came in with a functional ship or escape pod, well... that is a LOT of spare ships floating around that are too beastly to provide fuel for, and can skew game play. Having said shuttles and ships crash used to be the norm, but when six shuttles have made an impact in the last five months?... well... something needs to change! So below we offer alternative ideas to try to cut away on this impractical statistic.
Always Been: This one can be a bit tricky to work with, but if you have a character that is a mellow enough personality or may have folded into the background with ease, you can simply say that they have been there. Arrived with the Ark or Nemesis, and were doing their own meager adventures behind scenes that weren't as glamorous and eye catching to get the limelight brought on to them.
By Own Power: Some flying Cybertronian, can survive the blasting chill of space for long term, and can navigate its treacherous environment. If your character is capable of doing this? Than they have an option of just flying to Earth as is. If you decide to go this route, just be sure to add it to your Profile as an ability!
Space Bridge: When it comes to the Decepticons, as long as your character can connect a communication's relay long distance (and we mean LONG distance!) than you could get a pickup delivered right at your feet directly to the Nemesis. This is a fast seamless transition into active game play, and permits you to get right to work in plotting with others. Another way to spin this is to have your Decepticon procure a different Decepticon' outpost's Space Bridge, and get plunked on Earth wherever you desire, without having prior contact with the Nemesis.
In contrast, the Autobot's don't have it so easy.
As of current times, the Autobots do not have access to a Space Bridge, and likely will not have one as far as can be predicted. Their faction is far more strained, and scattered across the galaxy like dust to the wind. They do not have the resources, nor bases that have such technology left standing. This said, if your Autobot can find a different alien civilization, or a neutral planet with Space Bridge capabilities? They can plug in the coordinates from Optimus' relay, and get delivered somewhere on Earth.
Decepticon Only Options
Extended Stasis: Some warrior class Cybertronian may have been stationed on earth eons ago, and have been laying underground awaiting emergence with an offering of Energon. These soldiers would have to be physically capable fighters, and with the skills needed to defend their appointed territory if their section is threatened. In the show, this is depicted by Skyquake, who was a long standing sentry to guard the Energon Deposits on the planet. While Starscream stated that there were no others, this could be changed if an appropriate character was presented.
Shuttle: Wait here a second! Didn't we just blasphemize shuttles and ships? Yes... but the difference here is that a small tiny escape pod that is only meant to get from point A to point B, could dock directly with the Nemesis, and then have its parts scrapped out to fuel the warship. It can't take off again, can't be used in battle, and doesn't have a fiery crash with the planet below! Yay!
Autobot Only Options
The Ferryman: Because there are some serious limitations for the Autobots, due to the fact they are the underdogs currently in the war, The Ferryman has been created to offer a unified element that any Autobot can exploit to get to Earth. The Ferryman, AKA Kamal is an Autobot that has access to an immense exploratory ship named the ___. He cannot land on Earth and escape the planet's atmosphere, and the ship has no external weaponry or defenses to protect it in a battle, so it adds nothing to the war effort other than an option for new Autobot players, and possibility as an escape vessel from Earth if things are completely lost.
Kamal can be exploited as a tool for any Autobot, and incorporated into the histories of any character that uses him. His only 'fare' is some Energon, and then he will take individuals where they need to go using the ___. A link to his Mini Profile can be located HERE. If you wish to RP with him or create a more elaborate past with the Ferryman, contact Zercon.
Other: If you can come up with any other clever ideas? Please share them with us! We are looking for means to expand this idea bank and could use others help.
Transportation can be a bit of an issue for some characters, especially since everyone can't have a shuttle to fly in on their own. If every character came in with a functional ship or escape pod, well... that is a LOT of spare ships floating around that are too beastly to provide fuel for, and can skew game play. Having said shuttles and ships crash used to be the norm, but when six shuttles have made an impact in the last five months?... well... something needs to change! So below we offer alternative ideas to try to cut away on this impractical statistic.
Always Been: This one can be a bit tricky to work with, but if you have a character that is a mellow enough personality or may have folded into the background with ease, you can simply say that they have been there. Arrived with the Ark or Nemesis, and were doing their own meager adventures behind scenes that weren't as glamorous and eye catching to get the limelight brought on to them.
By Own Power: Some flying Cybertronian, can survive the blasting chill of space for long term, and can navigate its treacherous environment. If your character is capable of doing this? Than they have an option of just flying to Earth as is. If you decide to go this route, just be sure to add it to your Profile as an ability!
Space Bridge: When it comes to the Decepticons, as long as your character can connect a communication's relay long distance (and we mean LONG distance!) than you could get a pickup delivered right at your feet directly to the Nemesis. This is a fast seamless transition into active game play, and permits you to get right to work in plotting with others. Another way to spin this is to have your Decepticon procure a different Decepticon' outpost's Space Bridge, and get plunked on Earth wherever you desire, without having prior contact with the Nemesis.
In contrast, the Autobot's don't have it so easy.
As of current times, the Autobots do not have access to a Space Bridge, and likely will not have one as far as can be predicted. Their faction is far more strained, and scattered across the galaxy like dust to the wind. They do not have the resources, nor bases that have such technology left standing. This said, if your Autobot can find a different alien civilization, or a neutral planet with Space Bridge capabilities? They can plug in the coordinates from Optimus' relay, and get delivered somewhere on Earth.
Decepticon Only Options
Extended Stasis: Some warrior class Cybertronian may have been stationed on earth eons ago, and have been laying underground awaiting emergence with an offering of Energon. These soldiers would have to be physically capable fighters, and with the skills needed to defend their appointed territory if their section is threatened. In the show, this is depicted by Skyquake, who was a long standing sentry to guard the Energon Deposits on the planet. While Starscream stated that there were no others, this could be changed if an appropriate character was presented.
Shuttle: Wait here a second! Didn't we just blasphemize shuttles and ships? Yes... but the difference here is that a small tiny escape pod that is only meant to get from point A to point B, could dock directly with the Nemesis, and then have its parts scrapped out to fuel the warship. It can't take off again, can't be used in battle, and doesn't have a fiery crash with the planet below! Yay!
Autobot Only Options
The Ferryman: Because there are some serious limitations for the Autobots, due to the fact they are the underdogs currently in the war, The Ferryman has been created to offer a unified element that any Autobot can exploit to get to Earth. The Ferryman, AKA Kamal is an Autobot that has access to an immense exploratory ship named the ___. He cannot land on Earth and escape the planet's atmosphere, and the ship has no external weaponry or defenses to protect it in a battle, so it adds nothing to the war effort other than an option for new Autobot players, and possibility as an escape vessel from Earth if things are completely lost.
Kamal can be exploited as a tool for any Autobot, and incorporated into the histories of any character that uses him. His only 'fare' is some Energon, and then he will take individuals where they need to go using the ___. A link to his Mini Profile can be located HERE. If you wish to RP with him or create a more elaborate past with the Ferryman, contact Zercon.
Other: If you can come up with any other clever ideas? Please share them with us! We are looking for means to expand this idea bank and could use others help.