CreatingCharacters

So you want to create an Original Character (OC)? Great! This page will give you everything you need to know!

Your Character Concept

 * Concepts to Avoid: You should avoid the concepts listed in news overdone. Some are "rare" and some are outright "reject" material.
 * Character Name: This is one of the more subjective parts of the application. "Transformery" is hard to define, but usually it's easy to tell when a name is NOT "Transformery". We have a handy news file on names here.
 * Background: Make sure your origin doesn't conflict with anything in the origins news file. Also, in general "keep it simple". There are also some helpful notes in the original characters section of the application. When in doubt talk to a Character Staffer.
 * Note, Quote, and Function: All three of these things show up on your character's +finger which is probably the first impression most of the players will have of you. So make them good! Make them so good that people CAN'T WAIT to roleplay with you! These are all covered quite nicely in the aptly-named Function, Quote, Note news file.

Pricing
Transformer: 2005 MUSH has recently upgraded their stats/abilities/combat system, so bear with us as pricing may change. For now, this file pertains only to new Original Characters (OCs) and those OCs who are going through the conversion process.

Point Limits

 * Standard Transformers get 80 Character Points (CP)
 * "Mini"-Transformers get 58 CP
 * You are a minibot if your total sizes are less than 8, or 13 for a triple-changer
 * Humans get 58 CP and have some extra restrictions and bonuses
 * "Aliens" are a "catch all" species for any humanoid and also get 58 CP. They have rules similar to humans.
 * Junkions are mostly like regular transformers but have armor restrictions since they are made out of junk!
 * Quintessons get 75 CP and have their own rules
 * Note that Quintessons are not currently available for application except via explicit approval from the Character Staff Head (CSH)

Extra Character Points

 * If you are an existing player building a new Original Character you can spend Advancement Points from your pool.
 * Character Staff reserves the right to limit the total number of extra CP (e.g. just having them doesn't necessarily justify spending them)

Packages
Some character types have been deemed important to the balance of the MUSH and have a special "packages" that give players a discount on creating them, in return for restrictions on thematic elements and future upgrades:
 * The Seeker Package, for Generic Decepticon Aerospace warriors
 * The Sweep Package, the only available option to create an OC Sweep

Modes

 * All Transformers have two (2) modes by default, this does not cost anything
 * If your OC is a triple-changer, you get three (3) modes but this extra mode costs you five (5) CP

Stats

 * All stats cost 1 CP per point
 * Your best bet is to remain within a range of 4-8
 * A 5 is considered average for mental stats (Leadership, Tech, Intelligence, Courage)
 * A 6 is considered average for physical stats (everything else)
 * Character Staff will heavily scrutinize any Characters with stats of 3 or less
 * Remember, if a 5 is average, a 1 does not just mean your character is "poor" in that area, it means they are severely handicapped.
 * "Combat Stats" of 9 or 10 are forbidden for OCs during character creation
 * This does not mean you can't upgrade them later through traditional Advancement
 * Characters that are "minmaxed" (many very high and many very low stats) will not be approved

Core Stats

 * CORE Stats are:
 * Endurance (END)
 * Courage (COU)
 * Intelligence (INT)
 * Tech (TECH)
 * Leadership (LDR)
 * All cost the standard 1 CP per point
 * All CORE stats are the same in every mode; if you want a mode to be tougher or more fragile than your robot mode, this is done by changing armor, not endurance.
 * Even the DUMBEST Transformer will have a TECH of 3. They are, after all, giant robots.

Mode-Variable Stats

 * Mode-VARIABLE Stats are:
 * Strength (STR)
 * Firepower (FRP)
 * Agility (AGL) -- formerly known as Speed (SPD)
 * Accuracy (ACC) -- formerly known as Dexterity (DEX)
 * All cost the standard 1 CP per point
 * By default, these stats will be the same for every mode, however you can change this:
 * Alt-Mode Variable Stats can differ from the primary mode by +/- 2 points
 * All changes in alternate modes must net out to zero (0) for EACH mode
 * You can not raise an alt-mode stat ABOVE an 8 or BELOW a 3.

Mode-Variable Stats Example

 * You could decide that your car mode is not as powerful as your robot mode (-2 FRP in Mode 2) but more agile (AGL +2).
 * You could decide that you are more accurate as a jet (ACC +1) but not as strong (STR -1).
 * You could decide that your tank mode is both more accurate (ACC +1) and stronger (STR +1), but significantly slower (AGL -2) than your robot mode.

Mode-Specific Stats

 * Mode-SPECIFIC Stats are:
 * Velocity (VEL)
 * Size
 * Armor
 * Mode Stats are specific for each mode no matter what
 * You must pay for Mode Stats in each mode no matter what

Velocity

 * Velocity is priced like a regular stat, at 1 CP per point
 * Standard velocity for a Transformer robot is 4. If yours is less than this expect to get a question about it.
 * 6 is the minimum velocity for aircraft, 7 if you are a jet
 * There is no velocity restriction for having the Space-Flight or FTL abilities

Size

 * Default size is five (5)
 * Each increase in size costs 2 CP
 * Each decrease in size will gain you 1 CP
 * Original Characters are not allowed to have sizes above 9
 * If your total sizes for all modes drops below 8 (13 for triple-changers) you are considered a "mini" Transformer and only have 58 CP; you still get the "sell down" bonus points.
 * Humans have a mandatory size of two (2) and do not have to pay for it. Nor can they buy up or sell down.

Armor

 * Default armor for ROBOTS (mode 1) is five (5)
 * Each increase in armor costs 2 CP
 * Each decrease in armor will gain you 1 CP
 * Armor in alternate-modes defaults to zero (0) and costs 1 CP per point up to 5
 * Armor in alternate-modes above 5 will cost 2 CP per point
 * A list of armor ratings and examples can be seen on the armor page.
 * Remember the armor restrictions for Junkions!

Protection

 * Protection is specialized armor against specific Damage Types (e.g. FIRE, ELECTRICITY, etc) and comes in two forms:
 * A Resistance lessens the damage from this type of attack (e.g. +2 vs FIRE)
 * A Weakness increases the damage from this type of attack (e.g. -1 vs EXPLOSIVE)
 * At Character Creation you must "pay" for a resistance with an offsetting weakness.
 * A listing of damage type resistance values (and therefore weakness offsets) is available on this page or by typing !combatinfo protection on the MUSH
 * Protections are done per mode, and need to offset per mode
 * So you can't have +2 vs WATER in mode1 and -1 vs ELECTRIC in mode2. This does not offset.
 * For every resistance there needs to be an equal and opposite weakness. You can not offset a resistance with multiple smaller weaknesses or vice versa.
 * All resistances must always be balanced with an offsetting weaknesses, even after character creation. This is to keep attacks with different damage-types cool and useful.
 * You may not have resistances or weaknesses for the following damage types: ENERGY, IMPACT, MISC.

Protection Example

 * +2 point of ELECTRIC resistance is worth 4 points (+2 x 2). You must offset this with one weakness. Valid offsets would be:
 * -2 against EXPLOSIVE (which is worth -4 points: -2 x 2)
 * -4 against SONIC (which is worth -4 points: -1 x 4)
 * -4 against AIR (same as above)
 * An invalid offset would be -2 AIR and -2 SONIC, since this violates the "one resistance one weakness" rule

Abilities

 * A full listing of abilities and their costs is available on this page or by typing !combatinfo ability on the MUSH
 * Abilities are purchased PER MODE: if you get Flight in plane mode, you don't automatically get it in robot mode too.
 * Abilities are NOT inclusive: FTL does NOT include Space-Flight or Flight and Dive does NOT include Swim.
 * Certain abilities require special approval and are flagged as such on !combatinfo. Any 8 or 10 point ability requires majority approval of all Wizards
 * All Decepticons get Flight ability in their robot mode for free
 * Autobots may not purchase the Flight ability for robot mode

Skills

 * These are unique "character aspects" that are not covered by the code. By default, all new Original Characters get three (3) skills for free
 * You can buy three (3) extra skills for 1 CP

Attacks
Pricing attacks is slightly more complicated in the new system -- this is an unfortunate side-effect of all of new juicy features. In my opinion it is worth it. If you are confused in any way please do not hesitate to say-so. Staff and/or knowledgeable players will be happy to work with you to figure out the best setup. When in doubt: talk to a Character Staffer.

Attack Name
This can be pretty much anything you want! Try to make it unique to your character if it is his or her "signature" ability/attack.

Note that you can not (currently) have a custom attack name that starts with or matches the name of one of the free global attacks (type !globals for a list of these).
 * e.g. You can not have a "Ramming Speed" attack because it conflicts with the "Ram" global.

Attack-Type

 * You can find a list by typing !combatinfo attack-type
 * This part is easy. Simple Ranged, Melee, and Velocity (ram) attacks all start at zero (0)
 * Area attacks cost two (2) points to start off

Damage Level

 * Simple again. 1 point per damage level.
 * e.g. a level 5 attack costs 5 points (similar to "rocket" in the legacy system)
 * Original Characters may not have a damage level higher than 8, and these are handed out very rarely and only after a high level of scrutiny

Damage Type

 * You can find a list on this page or by typing !combatinfo damage-type on the MUSH
 * First one is free! (0 points)
 * Additional Damage Types are worth 1 CP each
 * You can have multiple types within reason
 * For almost ALL Melee attacks, the Damage Type should be IMPACT

Effects
You are more than welcome to SKIP this part.
 * It is by no means required to have any effects -- in fact most attacks will not have anything special about them. They are more like "bells and whistles" you can use to customize your character. They are not mandatory.
 * You can find a list by typing !combatinfo effect
 * Effect costs and descriptions are detailed on the !combatinfo screen
 * Some Effects actually make your attack "worse" and can gain you CP to spend on other attacks or other aspects of your character, these are shown via their negative "prices".

Rare
These types of attacks are "rare" and will receive heavy scrutiny:
 * Attacks that cost over 8 CP total
 * Attacks that have 2 or more "positive" Effects (e.g. Blind AND Cripple)
 * Attacks with 3 or more damage types
 * Area-Attacks with effects (any Effect costing 3 and up)
 * Velocity-based attacks on characters with high (8 and up) velocity

Restricted
These types of attacks are extremely rare and require majority approval from the Wizards (think "cannon" in the old system):
 * Any attack with a damage level higher than 8
 * Any attack that costs more than 10 CP total
 * Area-Attacks with the Stun effect and Area-attacks with the Repeat effect

Attack Creation Tips

 * You can "pull" your attacks to lower damage levels. So it is pointless to have both a Level 2 Energy attack and a Level 4 Energy attack. Just buy the Level 4, and whenever appropriate, "pull" it to level 2 (or 3 or 1 or even 0). You will save points this way.
 * You can temporarily "cancel" your attack effects. So it is pointless to have both a vanilla Level 3 Energy attack and Level 3 Energy + Blind attack. Whenever you want to use the "vanilla" version, just cancel the Blind effect before you attack. You will save points this way as well.
 * Consider using some of the negative Effects (like Overpowered or Inaccurate) to offset your higher-cost attacks

Ammunition-Based Attacks
If you are not interested in ammunition-based attacks skip this section. Attacks with the AMMO Effect do not cost energon when used in a fight. Instead they deplete a limited store of ammunition. If you've ever played Battletech or its derivatives, the advantages and disadvantages of this system should be immediately apparent to you: mechs built to use a lot of energy weapons have to manage their heat, but they also have plenty of heat sinks. Mechs built to use a lot of munitions don't have to worry about heat so much, but they can run out of ammo and they have very few heat sinks for what lasers they do have.
 * Costs are the same as a regular energon-based attack
 * (e.g. Level 6 Ranged still costs 6 CP)
 * Choose a name for its ammunition. For instance, a "Missile" attack might have "Missiles" for ammunition. If you plan to use multiple similar ammo attacks but you don't want them to share a bin, you'll need to come up with different names for each, like "20mm Belts" and "40mm Belts."
 * Your character will be set up with a bin containing 10 - (attack's total CP) in units. For example, a bin of Level 6 missiles with no special effects contains 4 ammo-units.
 * This means (on average) you can use your missile attack 4 times a week
 * This also means your base energon level will start at 40 instead of the ususal 50

That's all! Most of the time, anyhow. Continue if you want to get a little fancier with it.

Ammunition Special Cases
If you are not interested in ammunition-based attacks skip this section.

You can choose to increase or decrease the amount of munitions you get with your attack. (Also known as "bin size")

For the purposes of demonstration we are using the example attack from earlier: A Level 6 Ranged "Missile" attack. As we all know by now, the default ammunition amount for this attack is 10 - 6 = 4, and reduces your maximum Energon by 10.

Half Bin
For a discount of 25% off the cost of the attack (rounded down) you can get a half-bin (2 rank 6 missiles). This reduces your maximum Energon by 5 instead of 10.

Shared ("Empty") Bin
For a discount of 50% you can get no shots at all, which means the attack won't be usable unless you already have another attack that uses the same ammo (in either mode), in which case they'll share the primary attack's bin (see below). Your energon max remains the same.

Sharing Ammunition Across Attacks
Attacks that share an ammunition bin must total to the same CP value. For example, a level 6 ranged ballistic attack (6 CP) and a level 3 ranged ballistic attack with the Shatter effect (6 CP) could share the same ammunition bin, but a level 6 ranged ballistic attack (6 CP) could not share an ammunition bin with a level 4 ranged ballistic corrupt attack (8 CP). In order to share bins, designate one attack with a non-zero bin as the primary, and one or more attacks with empty bins as the secondary or secondaries. For instance, Crash buys a short-range-missile rack in his car mode, but decides that he also wants to be able to use these same SRMs in his robot mode. He doesn't want two separate bins as sometimes there are advantages to being in one mode or the other, so he would like to be able to access his full stack of SRMs in either mode. Crash buys a full bin of six level 4 rockets for 4CP in mode2. Then he buys an empty bin of 0 level 4 rockets in mode1. Because the mode1 attack is an empty bin, it only costs him 2CP. He tells the charstaffer that his mode2 "SRM Rack" attack is the primary, and the mode1 "SRM Rack" is the secondary, both using the "SRM" ammo type. Now he has a shared bin! He can fire all six short-range-missiles in either mode. He loses 10 points of maximum energon capacity.

Let's say that later on, Crash decides he wants to be able to launch gyro-disruptor missiles from the same rack, in his car mode. He decides that he doesn't want to increase the size of the rack; he'll keep the same six-shot capacity, but add something new that it can do. He buys a level 2 cripple attack in mode2 which he names "Gyro Missile" with an empty bin. This costs him another 2CP ((2+2)/2). Because the attack value is still 4 (2 plus cripple) it can share the existing bin, so the ammo type is "SRM." He names this as a secondary of the original mode2 "SRM Rack" attack.

More time passes, and Crash decides that he wants to expand his missile rack further. He gets Perceptor's help and Perceptor invents a version of his SRMs which has the guidance system simplified in order to make room for more explosives. He wants to be able to launch these variant missiles in both modes. Crash decides that he needs to make his rack bigger now that he's got all these nifty missile attacks, so this time he's going to expand his total shots. Crash buys a level 6 inaccurate "Heavy SRM" attack in both robot and car modes. Both of these attacks have an empty bin, so they cost just 2CP each ((6-2)/2). Now, to expand his rack, he has two options. He can increase it by a half bin, or by a full bin. A half bin would give him 9 tubes in his SRM rack, a double bin would give him 12. He decides that 9 is still plenty, and buys an additional half bin on his PRIMARY attack (the mode2 "SRM Rack," if you recall). This costs 75% of the full cost of that attack. Since the full cost is 4, he pays 3CP to increase his rack size.

So, now Crash is pretty fancy! He has a 9-tube rack of short-range missiles. In mode1, he can fire rank 4 normal missiles and rank 6 inaccurate missiles. In mode2, he can fire both of those AND rank 2 crippling missiles. He can use all nine tubes in either mode. The whole setup has cost him a total of 15CP.

Double Bin
By paying double the normal CP/AP cost you can get a double bin (8 rank 6 missiles). The double bin reduces your Energon max by an additional 10 (20 total).

Ammunition Special Cases Example

 * Lugnut the Decepticon transforms into a big ol' B-52 bomber and wants a Level 8 Mega-Bomb attack in his 2nd mode. At level 8, this attack would cost 8 CP. As an AMMO-attack, it will come standard with 2 Mega-Bombs.
 * If Lugnut wants to pay double (16 CP) he can get an attack with 4 Mega-Bombs (2 doubled)
 * If Lugnut wants to get 25% off (6 CP) he can get 1 Mega-Bomb (half of 2)
 * Since Lugnut is simple-minded he decides to pay 8 and take the standard 2 ammo-units
 * Now Lugnut is thinking about attacks for his robot mode. He decides that he wants to be able to use the same Mega-Bombs as a robot. So he buys another Level 8 attack, which would normally cost 8 CP, but since he wants to use the SAME 2 Mega-Bombs, he is buying an "empty bin" and therefore pays 50% of 8 CP = 4 CP.

Stat Limits

 * Maximum FRP is 4
 * Size 2 is mandatory and does not cost anything
 * Velocity 1 is mandatory and does not cost anything
 * Maximum Armor is 2 (but going for anything above 0 requires justification)

Ability Limits

 * Humans may not purchase Flight, Space-Flight, or FTL

Attack Limits

 * Maximum Attack Damage Level is 4

Protection

 * Sorry, humans may not have resistances or weaknesses
 * Their Exo-Suits, however, may

Exo-Suits and Vehicles

 * Human OCs (and FCs for that matter) get their choice of an exo-suit or vehicle at creation/application.
 * Humans can spend Character Points (CP) on a new Exo-Suit or Vehicle when they are being created
 * Humans can also spend Advancement Points (AP) on their personal Exo-Suit or Vehicle later on. This is covered in upgrading vehicles.

Aliens
The Transformers world is full of Aliens and TF2005 MUSH is no different. With the exception of Quintessons (see below), aliens are applied for in this "catch all" category. Aliens are judged a little more harshly than humans of similar power level to make sure they are within theme.

Stat Limits

 * Same as humans (but exceptions can be made for above average applications)

Stat Costs

 * Size can be smaller than human sized (1) at no cost or gain, but requires justification
 * Size can be greater than human sized (2) at 1 CP per size, but requires justification
 * Velocity can be paid for like normal: 1 CP per point
 * Armor must be bought up from zero like a human

Modes

 * Aliens should only have one "mode" (unless you are a Quintesson; if so, see the next section)

Attack Limits

 * Aliens should stick to the human limit but this is more flexible with justification

Protection

 * Aliens may have balanced resistances and weaknesses just like Transformers

Quintessons

 * Default number of faces is three (3) at no charge
 * Maximum number of faces is five (5), at 2 CP per face
 * As per TF:2005 Tradition (the only real source we have) faces are one-word names that represent the primary function of that face:
 * e.g. "Death", "Termination", "Judge", "Diplomat", "Death", "Executioner", "Tactician", etc
 * All Quintesson faces share the same stats. They are paid for once.
 * Mandatory Size is 4, this does not cost anything
 * Mandatory Velocity is 4, this also does not cost anything
 * No Melee attacks above Level 2 (e.g. global freebies only)
 * No Ranged attacks above Level 3
 * Quintessons typically have lots of destabilizing attacks (e.g. Stun, Cripple, Blind) that do not do a lot of DAMAGE but allow their Sharkticon Hordes (provided) to do their dirty work for them
 * All abilities are allowed: they are paid for once and available in all faces

Junkions

 * Junkion armor in primary mode starts at base 2 instead of base 5
 * e.g. you can "buy up" to Armor 3 for 2 CP, or "sell down" to Armor 1 to gain 1 CP
 * Mode2 armor is still bought the same: e.g. 1 CP per 1 Armor Point
 * Junkion armor is not capped in either mode but higher values will require more justification than a regular Transformer
 * To make up for this, Junkions have the following advantages:
 * They can be patched during combat (by someone with the REPAIR ability) an unlimited number of times. Standard Transformers are limited to "once per fight"
 * If they are on their home planet (The Planet Junk) Junkions can use the junkdive ability to re-attach various parts and heal themselves during combat an unlimited number of times.
 * Junkions are not subject to the usual "system overload" 50% damage Knock-Out rule. This is because they are mostly made up of redundant junk! So blowing a hole through one or chopping off an arm isn't too big of a deal.
 * All other limits as per regular Transformers