Read the full version of the rules on how to create and submit your character on this page!
Your character must follow all the rules to be accepted. If you're shelving/graveyarding to create a new character, check this other page out.

❔ How it works

Submit your character here, which you can only do if you have the Access Granted role!

Character creation then happens in three parts:

1. Character Review: Create your character by filling out all the required fields, submit them for review, reply to any questions pertaining to your application, and wait for final approval by a Character Mentor!
2. Optional: Hooks and ties: In this optional part, you link characters together, and/or you can offer and check other players' offers on connections between your characters.
3. Finalizing your character: This will close the ties, but keep hooks open as well as unlock your details (server login) and your bio tabs.

📜 Character creation rules

Character requirements

1. Be a real person: relatable, realistic, and fitting to the story.
2. Respectful representation of mental and physical illnesses, no stereotypes, and trigger-warning and spoiler mentions of anything severely traumatic or questionable, are expected.
3. Criminal backgrounds can't be an excuse for indiscriminate PvP behaviour.
4. Your character can't have pre-existing knowledge of the pathogen outside of specific Management approval.
5. You may only have one active character at a time.
6. No AI Writing: Do not use AI to create your character's application or to correct grammar or adjust your writing in any way. Failure to follow this will result in your application being denied and you will be asked to create a new character without AI. Exception: AI-generated images for character appearance are allowed.
7. Create your own original character without using recognizable people for their portrait, don't copy characters from other media, and don't make a meme character.
8. You need the Access Granted role before you can create a character.

Name requirements

Must be at least two words, with a maximum of 20 characters and only use letters, spaces, and dashes. You cannot have the same full name as another character (first + last name/s), nor use nicknames as the name.

🚫 Forbidden characters

Underage characters, active serial killers, characters with mental illness manifesting with violence, geniuses, and super paramilitary badasses.

Exceptions may be approved for fully fleshed-out characters with an agreed standard of conduct.

✍️ What you'll need

The specifics might slightly change through chapters, but as a generic guide on what is required is name, age, birth year, languages, description, backstory, personality, skillset, and shortcomings.

If you would like to see the specific list of what's needed, you can check it out here.

🪝 Hooks and ties

Hooks & Ties are entirely optional. Ties are deep, meaningful connections with characters actively being portrayed; while hooks are an open connections that can be filled by new characters.

You should check out the hooks and ties section of the website to fully understand what these concepts are and be able to use them correctly!

🧱 Pre-planning your character's build

Use Deadline's build website to pre-plan your build! This is subject to change until Chapter release.

🙋 Questions answered in the FAQ

• How long does character approval take?
  48 hours onwards, if there's questions to answer.

• Can I edit after submitting?
  Yes, if you withdraw your character or staff unlocks sections for revision.

• What if I want to leave room in my backstory for things to be discovered later?
  That's fine, but if you later add something that significantly changes the character, you must add a note to your Discussion tab so staff can review it. Examples of things that absolutely need to be approved by staff specifically: mental illnesses, traumas and motivations that make a character unstable or violent as well as banditry history or intentions in the future. Something small like a birthday adjustment doesn't need to be approved by staff.

• Can friends submit a shared application?
  Every character needs their own application.

• Can I write my story in a first person point of view?
  Your story must be written in a third person point of view. The way your character perceives their life and the way it really is might be different, introducing character quirks and possible biases made up by your character because of the way it's told. It's also easier for staff reading your character application to handle everyone's apps.

• My server display name was changed?
  Staff reserve the right to change your server display name to fit according to our rules. If it doesn’t have your character’s full name (first and last, can be abbreviated into ex. John D.), we will change your display name to include your character’s name one time.
  If it happened again, we’d shelve your character and you’d have to open a ticket for us to unshelve your character.

• Is there a minimum or maximum wordcount for backstories?
  Yes, each section has its own maximum wordcount listed under the section.