1. All characters must fit the guidelines for that character type. For example, no vampires can run around outside in broad daylight without having major problems (like bursting into flames). Since this is a fantasy/horror group, we don't want Alien Princes From Beyond the Stars or any other kind of alien. No characters may be crossovers--i.e., they cannot have their origins in another book, movie, TV series, or game system. So no Highlander-style Immortals, no Blade daywalkers, no Changelings from White Wolf are allowed. Aside from preferring original characters because they are more fun, we made this decision to avoid copyright infringement problems. Some publishers and entertainment bigwigs regard fan fiction on a website as violation their copyrights.

2. All characters must have a weakness, usually the ones for their character types. There will be no indestructible, all-powerful characters. No gods or goddesses are allowed, except as walk-ons. There appear to be several versions of Deity in Sanctuary, depending on the character's belief system. We don't take sides, but assume they are all correct and that a witch's Goddess is as real as the Christian Savior. Of course your character will either be tolerant or believe he has the One True Way.

3. Characters belonging to the Fey, Magic-User and Other classes should be based in folklore or legend, and magic should have some relationship to magic as it is practiced IRL (in-real-life).(You don't have to believe in magic, but it helps if you do a bit of research into the system your character is using).

In other words, no Wendy Pini elves, and no Sabrina the Teenage Witch stuff--magic isn't easy, though a truly powerful mage can forego ritual in an emergency.

4. If you have a very old character and wish to link him or her to historical events or personages, please do your homework. This world is exactly like ours in almost every way, and that means the history is the same. If you want your vampire to have been a pal of Cesare Borgia, please check Cesare's dates.

A major factual error destroys the illusion of reality, and that "willing suspension of disbelief" is gone. We've all read stories or books where the author got sloppy, and we giggled or tossed the book in the trash. So check facts, historical and otherwise. There's plenty of stuff on the Net and in the library to answer just about any question. And most of the research can be done with an encyclopedia. We aren't demanding you become an expert.

5. Duplications of preexisting characters are frowned on. It is advised you study the bios on the Current Character List in the type you are interested in. If the class or approval admins think you're duplicating a character, we will contact the author of the existing character and ask their feelings on the matter. They have final say on the matter. If they request changes, we will advise you of it or suggest them ourselves. Duplication is defined as being so similar to another character in personality, powers and other areas as to be able to fill the same slot.

For Example: Maeve and Jenny are both witches with psychometric talents. But Maeve is part Fey, and the reincarnation of both Maya, Namir's Human Servant, and Guinevere. She is a forensic pathologist who helps the SCD. Jenny is a pilot and strictly human (though she has special powers as the Guardian of the Approaches for Elysian)... and she is the reincarnation of a pilot who was shot down in WW 2. There are only superficial similarities. You can't substitute one for the other and have it work. But if you wrote a very old vampire who's a mage and runs a kinky resort -- even if said vampire were French and female instead of Arabic and male, it would be too close to Namir for comfort, because here the differences are superficial.

6. How to Create a Successful Character in Sanctuary

Before you even start putting a bio together, please read the rules on the character class or classes you're interested in. Read them very carefully. 8 out of 9 or 10 times, mistakes can be avoided if you do this. Work with the class admin to avoid the most obvious errors. Ask lots of questions. The only dumb question is the one you haven't asked. DO NOT send the Bio to Character Approval, unless you've worked with the class admins. They are your best resource at this point. If you even think something is questionable, trust me, Character Approval will know it. Once you have something that looks like it has a good chance of passing, you need to submit the bio in the proper format (see below).

You then send the bio to Barb. She will comment on general problems and flag anything she has questions about. If it appears to have major problems, you will hear from Sue as well; she will send it on to the class admin(s) who will work with you to get it into shape. When they are content with it, the class admins will send it back to the Character Approval Admins with their stamp of approval. This doesn't guarantee approval by them, however - we might catch something they missed, and send it back to you. If we do, send the correct bio back to us, and we'll work with you until we're satisfied. Once the bio is accepted, you'll be assigned a mentor from the Welcome Wagon Committee. They will supervise at least your first 2 posts--you run a proposed post past them before sending it to the list.

7. Submit bios in the proper format. You don't have to tell us everything about your character, but give the Character Approval Admin and Character Type Admin enough information that they know whether this character will work in Sanctuary. Three lines is way too short. Ten pages is too long. And please put each section on a separate line--it's much easier to read that way! Please contact Barb first before the Type admin (who is the head of the category). She will forward it to the correct person for review.

The proper format is:

NAME: (character's name)

WRITER: (your name)

EMAIL: (Your email addy)

AGE: (your age)

CHARACTER'S AGE:

NATURE: (Vampire, were, Fey, dragon, goblin, etc.)

DESCRIPTION: (Hair and eye color, height, weight, etc--so we know what he, she, it looks like, how they dress, etc.)

PERSONALITY: (Tell us a bit about them; are they patient? quick-tempered? arrogant?)

ABILITIES: (What special powers do they have?)

HISTORY: (Doesn't have to be long; hit the high points--i.e., who changed the vampire? why is the character an immortal? Why did this Unseelie Fey change sides? Do they have a history with another character in Sanctuary?)

8. Please do as the welcome letter instructed. Read for a week, then familiarize yourself with the guidelines, rules, and bios of characters already being written. You will be assigned a mentor who will help you to create a character that will work. Listen to his or her advice. They are there to help. They can tell you if a character bio is way out of line or if it comes too close to duplicating a character. And PLEASE wait the required week before submitting a character.

If your character is rejected, or the Admins tell you to make changes, please don't argue. We know what we're doing, and we aren't picking on you. Generally changes are minor, and are requested for a reason which we will state. Don't take it personally, please. And sometimes we get a bit over-worked and don't take time to sugarcoat it, but please don't be offended. We want to get your character into the game ASAP.

9. A new writer may not apply for a master or alpha character until he or she has been writing without a mentor for 3 months (I'd prefer six, but I'll settle for 3).

10. If brand-new writer sends in a bio that is so utterly unsuitable that it is completely quashed by the CA Team and the character class admins, the writer may be told to read for another 2 weeks before submitting another bio AND must have worked with the CAs before submitting it. If s/he does not do this, s/he may be given a warning letter from the SAs, particularly if s/he argues with the CAs after being told the character is null and void and completely unacceptable.

11. Until a new writer has been through the mentoring program and released, s/he may only submit 1 PC and 1 NPC bio. This will help to cut down on the number of orphaned characters created by writers who repopulate the SM universe, then leave within three weeks. It causes a lot of unnecessary work and headaches for CA, CCA, and Barbara Akers on the Bio Site. It's a bad joke, but this does tend to contitute a Bio Hazard.....

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