OK, so here I'll keep a list (in addition to that on the manifest) of any NPCs that we add for use on the sim. Generally, here are my guidelines for NPCs:

They should be characters mentioned frequently, but not those regularly featured in episodes. An example of this would be Crewman Elizabeth Cutler from season 1 of enterprise; she cropped up a few times, but was never a part of the main cast, nor a part of the majority of the plot. Any other minor characters who are mostly used for namedropping or who would be credited as 'unnamed engineer' don't need adding to this list.

In terms of biographies for the main site, I'd like to at least see the general personality field completed with a brief paragraph, even if it is after using the character in a couple of posts to get a feel for them: this is just so that we can get a basic idea of how to interact with the character.

You can request a character be linked to you as a 'PNPC' (make a note of requests for that in this thread if desired) in which case any JPs with that character should be done as though it is with your primary character - all other NPCs will be generic, and can be picked up by anyone (everyone is encouraged to make sure to read any parts of the bio filled out and some previous posts before usage, to keep the character portrayal consistent)

The number of open positions for all non-senior staff positions on the main site has been set to '0' - so have a look at the departments page for a list of positions, and let me know which one you want the NPC in - for it to be created on the main site, I'll have to temporarily set it to '1' to let us stick the character in there.

Finally, I want all characters - PC and otherwise - on the main site manifest to have a character image in uniform - largely due to the prominence that the site is coded to place on that. If you have an existing image feel free to send it over to have it added to their site bio, but I'd also like to ask that all NPCs here have the actor wanted to portray them listed, so that appropriate images can be created.


List
[G] Ensign Mark Wilson, Armoury Officer (Portrayed by Mark Webber)
[G] Ensign Allison Wood, Helm Officer (Portrayed by Amanda Tapping)
[G] Crewman 1st Class Maria Ribbons, Medical Officer (Portrayed by Emily Blunt)
[P] Staff Sergeant Thorbjorn Ragnar, MACO Squad First Sergeant (Portrayed by Dolph Lundgren)
[G] Sergeant Adam Richards, MACO Squad Medic (Portrayed by Sharlto Copey)
[G] Corporal Rachel Tracy, MACO Fireteam Leader (Portrayed by Andrea Riseborough)
[G] Corporal Gerrard Daxius, MACO Fireteam Leader (Portrayed by TBC)

Key: [G] = Generic, [P] = PNPC

Added the MACOs from the roster Dalton sent through.

I've marked Thorbjorn as a PNPC, and the rest as generic - let me know if you want any of that changed. If you have lists of who would portray each, that would be useful as well.

I'm also thinking at the minute of only adding Thorbjorn to the Nova manifest - to save it being full of MACOs with very few Starfleet personnel. The rest can be listed here, and we can add any that end up getting used prominently to the Nova manifest at a later date. Sound good?

I was thinking of playing a PNPC MACO first sergeant to be a sidekick for Wakefield. Is it too late to pitch my idea?

I was going to keep Ragnar as my PNPC, but there is Cpl Rachel Tracy, Team Leader for Salamander 1 (First Fireteam) or any of the other MACOs.

Staff Sergeant Thorbjorn Ragnar portrayed by Dolph Lundgren
Sergeant Adam Richards portrayed by Sharlto Copey
Corporal Rachel Tracy portrayed by Andrea Riseborough
Corporal Gerrard Daxius portrayed by TBC

6x Other MACO personnel yet unnamed, (Redshirts 1 through 6).


Ill edit this as I complete my roster.

I think playing both the lieutenant and his highest ranking enlisted man is a mistake. Sherlock Holmes had Watson. The Lone Ranger had Tonto. If both the MACO lieutenant and the first sergeant are both played by the same player that takes away the interactive part of most of Dalton's scenes. That makes it very difficult to bounce ideas around when it comes to strategy and problem solving and makes Dalton's scenes a bit predictable. It also strikes me as a little lonely being the only MACO player on a ship full of touchie-feelie, hippy-dippy science type Starfleet characters. If that's what you want to do I'll respect it but there's no point in my playing a lower ranking enlisted man who doesn't get to talk to the lieutenant.

I had chosen a MACO as my PNPC because I figured that character would never be in the same room with my Vulcan (and be very different from her as well!). Oh well. C'est la vie.

I tend to agree with that sentiment. Usually the whole reason why I have a PNPC is so I can have someone in a different department (or in the case of my sim, someone in nearly every department). It opens up the roleplaying possibilities significantly. Having one person run all of the characters in a department, especially the department's chief deputy, can stifle creativity. I'm not saying that's going to happen in this case, but I have seen it happen in other sims. In my opinion, if you're going to have the department head and deputy department head be played by the same person, you might as well not even have them as separate characters. If the person playing them really develops them into a separate character, which can most certainly be done, it's a different matter. Personally though, I'd rather write with another player. I don't do many solo posts for that reason.

I didn't think my claiming this NPC would cause this. It was not my intention to keep all the MACOs for myself, I just feel that the way I wish to portray them is different to how I have seen them (MACO/Marines) be written for before. I wanted to bring some different aspects to the table, using some of my knowledge of the military, bringing a more realistic feel to the department. Using chain of command, radio procedures, infantry minor tactics and showing proper weapon training are all things I wish to bring across, rather than fall into the 'macho marine' style. I have seen my fair share of marines with Super Hero Syndrome.

Using Star Trek: Enterprise as an example, we do see Major Hayes as the CO of his unit. However we do not see a clear chain of command, there is no second in command, or 'fireteam' layout portrayed on screen. There are Sergeants and Corporals mentioned but with little dialogue, and they are basically glorified extras. This is why I felt like the addition of my PNPC would not be an issue, as I (Dalton) would be dealing with Player Characters from Starfleet a majority of the time.

The notion of being predictable and the assumption of the characters being the same, or lacking creativity is not fair, as I have not had the chance to prove the diversity within the characters. I now feel that anything I do will be judged along these lines.

I understand that I perhaps should have opened up the floor to having PNPCs for other Players, but honestly didn't feel that they were important enough to rate such action.

The comment towards 'playing a lower ranking enlisted man who doesn't get to talk to the lieutenant,' does not take into account how small the team is, there is a chain of command yes, but this does get muddled a bit with a smaller team. I believe there was no Sergeant in Major Hayes' team, when he passed away, he recommended a Corporal for the CO position. The small team nature is also written in the Star Trek Destiny novel/s, where the MACOs aboard NX-02 Columbia are forced to adapt when culled in number. It is not an inflexible system.

You make a good point, and I wasn't really being fair to you with my comments. I have seen people insist on controlling all of the characters in their department, including marines, and proceeded to have a bunch of characters with no discernible differences. It isn't fair to you to assume that the same thing would happen in your case. I apologize for that.

Super Hero Syndrome is something that I've seen more than I care to over my years of simming too. Even from people who have claimed to be in the military, I've seen some pretty poor tactics, even from a Hollywood Tactics perspective. People in those cases tend to come off pretty poorly to me, and when they control all of the main characters in their department, it comes across as even worse.

From what I've seen of your writing so far, you've certainly not left me worried like those bad experiences in the past. I know in my case it's a once bitten twice shy sentiment, and it wasn't fair to you to apply that to you.

With all due respect Lieutenant, you know darn well that the enlisted man most likely to form a bond with Wakefield is the senior enlisted man. Although your position is perfectly justified, I must admit that it appears as if you don't have much faith in the rest of us. If you think that we'd bring an Xbox instead of a parachute to a HALO operation, or that we don't know the difference between a gunny, a top, or a master guns then you don't believe that we can pack the gear to serve as Military Assault Command Operators. Oh well, you have your own concept for what Dalton and the MACOs are going to be and I shouldn't horn in. Semper Fi. Carry on.

Kyle came to me first and asked for the first sergeant to be his PNPC, and since there was nothing for me to disagree with it on on principle, and since there were no other requests before he asked for a PNPC in that position, I agreed to it. This one is a first come, first served situation, and I trust that Kyle will have the skill to write for both characters in an interesting way. If it ends up that that doesn't happen, or Ragnar gets used less than either of us expected him to be used, I may ask Kyle to consider giving up the character so someone else could PNPC that position, but that would be a decision for me to make should those circumstances ever present themselves.

As far as other MACOs in the unit, you need to remember that it is a small unit on a small ship - there is plenty of scope for all MACOs to have the opportunity to interact with and form personal bonds with anyone else on the ship - officer or enlisted, MACO or Starfleet. The chain of command on the Starfleet side is also going to be significantly less rigid, and I'm sure that as the MACO characters begin to integrate more with the crew, this will lead to a bit of a bleed over in attitudes.

If you want to NPC one of the MACO characters, then I'd suggest using one of the fireteam leaders - they're in a command position of their own so will probably be speaking to both the first sergeant and the lieutenant on a regular basis anyway, and there is plenty of scope to include them in all kinds of posts. I've agreed with Kyle that if you want to NPC one of them, you can either take one of the names he has already put forth for them, or we can swap one of them out for a name of your choice if you would prefer.