Patch Notes

[Omni]

The NPC page has been updated to be looser on Prime NPC allowances, and give more concrete rules on taking pre-existing characters as NPCs. Highlights:

Two personal NPC Primes is the limit to begin with - this increases by one every 2 levels, starting at level 3. So at level 3 you'll have 3 personal Prime NPCs, at level 5 you'll have 4, at level 7 you'll have 5, etc. These NPCs can be antagonists, friends, or just side-characters. Just remember that, while you 'own' your own NPCs the same way you own your character (meaning people can't take them and roleplay them without your permission), they do not give you an advantage in fights or competitions unless you make them an Assist.

Using Pre-existing Characters as NPCs
When deciding whether or not to allow you to commander pre-existing characters as NPCs, we base our decisions on the following system, ranking characters roughly by popularity. You gain 2 points per character level.

A-Listers - A-listers cannot be claimed as NPCs without rarely-given staff permission. Cost 5 points. Famous or well-known characters, particularly protagonists or major recurring antagonists. Example: Spider-Man, Batman, but also non-protagonists who are as important to the story as the protagonist or just as likely to be taken, such as Vegeta or The Joker, or Venom. Very likely to be taken as player characters, hence their limitations.

B-Listers - Cost 2 points if part of your character's universe, 3 points otherwise. Part of a supporting cast, or protagonists of a non-A-list series. May be taken by common consent of staff, and permission will always be given if you have the points unless there is good reason otherwise. Example: Mary-Jane Watson, Chi Chi, Alundra, Sanada Yukimura, Paige (Charmed).

C-Listers - Cost 1 point. Part of a supporting cast to niche series, or non-recurring, minor characters from major series (such as those part of spin-offs or non-canonical side-material). Same rules apply to permissions as B-lister NPCs. Examples: Biggs, Wedge or Jessie from Final Fantasy VII. Garlic Jr from Dragon Ball Z.


Given the loose and fluid nature of these definitions, we will decide on a case-by-case basis where the lines are muddy. Note: characters may slide up and down these tables over time. For example, a dead series gets a remake and becomes popular again, so the protagonist might move up from B to A list, perhaps temporarily. This may mean you go over your points total temporarily, but we will never take away a character unless you willingly give them up. You may also feel that a character has dropped down the rankings since you first got them, and we may lower their rank if we feel it's merited.

If an A-lister is from your character's own franchise, we may let you take them as an NPC with staff approval, but generally advise you to minimise taking A-list characters and letting other players join as them if it seems likely. For example, Cloud Strife might want to have Sephiroth (A-List) and Tifa (B-List) as NPCs (you need an antagonist and a love interest, right?) and they could both be Primes if you choose. But bear in mind that someone else is may join as that character at any time. If this happens, you can choose to either 'pass over' your NPC to the new player (if you trust them with your history for the character), or you can have your own NPC as a separate version of the character. Two alternate histories, if you will.

Outside of your own franchise, C-listers are fine to take as NPCs with staff approval, with the same caveats as above if somebody chooses to take them as a player character. But you may not take B- or A-List characters from a franchise your character does not belong to. Exceptions may be granted, for example if someone is running a large storyline based on a different franchise.

Does this mean I can't summon original characters from other franchises, either? No. Nameless characters are fine to use, or to build original characters out of, and they don't count towards your NPC limit. Want to make gang of Koopas from Mario, or encounter a Rayquaza out in the Vasty Deep, or an original saiyan from the DBZ universe? Sure.

Expect a re-numbering of the rules pages soon.