Heya, I'm Serpent!  Welcome to the VE!

I'm not a training officer, but one should be along soon.  You've posted in the right forum, so just sit tight and you'll visited by one of our friendly officers soon!

Where should I post my BIO / Character Information? - PM it.. Email it or post it here on the board?

Ok Here it is: 3'rd Version
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Thadd Garazon of Glayyd

Homeworld: Amuudd

Age: 34

Species: Human

Native Language: Galactic Basic and Huttese

Gender: Male

Skin Color: White

Height: 6’2

Weight: 185 lbs

Hair Color: White

Facial Hair: None

Eye Color: Green. One eye is cybernetic (glows yellow.)

Scars:  Over right eye.

Physical Description: Muscular build, above average strength.  Has a kyrat dragon tattoos on his right arm. Most of his left side is a cybernetic implant (eye, arm, leg, heart.) 

Personality: He has an extremely quiet personality. He weighs his words carefully before speaking. He shows little emotion although he is not devoid of emotion. He has strong loyalties and a keen sense of justice.

Character’s Background:
Thadd Garazon was born to the Glayyd clan on the Cooperate Sector planet of Amuudd. He was son of the clan leader, or Mor, and was trained from an early age in military schools. When we was old enough he joined the Corporate Sector Authority and flew in the CSA Security Force as a starfighter pilot.

Some years prior to the battle of Yavin, after serving in the CSA several years, Thadd Garazon eventually was recruited by the Empire. Vice Admiral Drask, an ambitious Imperial officer and CO of the ISD Devour, was in charge of escorting the CSA Imperial Advisor when their convoy was attacked by a Rebel strike force. Thadd survived the attack repelling the Rebel strike force but his ship was severely damaged. Most of his left side was burned badly from an electrical discharge inside his cockpit.  Thadd was brought aboard the ISD Devour and was attended by the ship’s medical crew. Vice Admiral Drask was highly interested in “cybernetic enhancements” and used the opportunity to experiment on Thadd. The experiments were successful if not extremely painful and Thadd’s body was reconstructed.  VA Drask offered him the opportunity to join the Imperial Navy as a member in his personal fighter escort squad “Dark Horse Squad”.

Vice Admiral Drask many times deviated from their normal orders to complete “personal” missions that Drask felt were important. The Emperor caught wind of Admiral Drask’s fringe activities and took advantage of the Admiral’s ambitions sending the ISD Devour on highly risky and politically unsanctioned missions at times against their own allies.

A couple of months before the battle of Endor, Drask sent Thadd to destroy a freighter convoy that was supposedly transporting political allies to the Rebel Alliance. When inspecting the freighter’s contents he discovered that they were actually civilian ships carrying mostly families. Thadd and his squad was in reality sent to execute a death grudge by Drask. Thadd, finally sickened by the Vice Admiral’s abuse of power, returned to the Imperial Destroyer with his mission unaccomplished. Drask confronted Thadd and sent to a holding brig by the ship’s security staff. However things were more complicated. The Emperor decided to take care of his ambitious Vice Admiral personally before any of their political allies could use this information against them. The Emperor executed Vice Admiral Drask while inspecting the ISD Devour and in punishment for Thadd’s “treason” against the Navy, was sent to an Imperial Dreadnaught prison ship, the Hopeless.

Thadd had been in exile on the automated prison ship for nearly 10 years before he was found by a Vast Empire reconnaissance team that was looking for X-Imperial Intel Agents. Thadd was freed with many others that had been “unlawfully” imprisoned. He was updated on the last 10 years that he lost in prison and was explained the Empire’s current condition. Thadd still considered himself a loyal member of the Imperial Navy and held the view that the Empire was what was needed to restore peace and order in the galaxy. He felt that the Emperor’s pride and lust for power never allowed him to take full advantage of the Empire and what it could have been, the ruling galactic power. Maybe an Imperial faction like the Vast Empire could bring that change about in their own small way. Thadd explained his case to the Vast Empire and was allowed to join the Vast Empire navy as a starfighter pilot once again. And so his journey with the Vast Empire begins.


ID LINE:
TRN/CRW Thadd Garazon/B-1/S:137 "Raptor"/W:46 "Shield"/PLF Cappadocious/TF:TH/3Flt/SC/VEN/VE

ok - bio has been updated..

Ive been a member in quite a few different different RPGs and clubs (Including the OLD Vast Empire, Emperors Hammer, Starwars RPG, Star Wars Universe RPG, and others..) and never seemed to have a problem with a characters backstory.. In fact its one of the quickest things that gets approved....
I honostly feel like I rushed the character a little bit and maybe didn't make him interesting ENOUGH...
I dont have a character with super powers... or from the blood line of the Palpatines.... or that was once an Imperial Admiral.... and in the Star Wars universe I would think interesting characters that can be developed should be what you are looking for. Do you want me to create a character that was born on Correlia... entered the Acadamy because he likes to shoot lasers?.... If thats the case then I don't think this is the RPG for me...
Not sure really what you are looking for... you haven't said what makes this character "fanciful" ... or unrealistic (and we are talking about realisim in the STAR WARS universe here...)

Greetings, Crewman Garazon!

My name is Lieutenant Wyl "Trick" Trykon, and I'm the Chief of Naval Training.  Let me see if I can clarify the concerns Petty Officer Blondeau was voicing:

As a veteran of other Star Wars RPGs, you no doubt appreciate that in a shared storytelling environment like this one, it's important for new members to create characters which "fit" in the existing, ongoing story/setting.  You're absolutely right, that in the Star Wars EU, there are plenty of truly fantastical people/events/circumstances, and that, therefore, a mysterious cyborg with ties to an Imperial Vice Admiral could be made to make sense.  In a fantasy setting, the fantastical should not be forbidden, and indeed, here in the VE we encourage such flights of fancy!    What we're saying, though, is that right now, we don't yet have a sense of why such an extraordinary person would seek out the Vast Empire faction and become a starfighter pilot, and that is one of the most important parts about this step of the training cycle.  Your fellow members need some sense of your character's motivations if they're going to interact with him, and your commanders need to know you've thought through the consequences of having such an unusual backstory.  We value realism and verisimilitude here in the VE: this is as much a writer's group/club as it is an rpg.  So with all that said, TO Ellesmere and I would ask you to do one of two things:

1.) You could, in fact, abandon this background and create a cardboard, cookie-cutter cutout Corellian who likes explosions...  I assume, though, that this option appeals as little to you as it does to me, judging by your response to Ellesmere's post.  This would satisfy the VENA requirements by resorting to stereotype, and I sense that you, like me, would prefer the second option...

2.) Spend a little more time/effort fleshing out exactly why Thadd Garazon is joining the Vast Empire's Naval Academy.  Why does he want to be a starfighter pilot (or, if you choose, a capital ship crewer)?  What suits him for that profession?  Why, if that's what he wants to do, does he choose the Vast Empire, of all the factions dividing the post-Palpatine Galaxy?  Thadd Garazon sounds fun to play, and I'm intrigued to hear stories from his POV...  All we need is a little more proof that you - the writer/player - can justify the awesome choices you've made in crafting this character's bio.  Yes, characters this unusual CAN exist in Star Wars... but they are the exceptions to the rule.  Players who want to roll with exceptional characters from the start simply have to invest a little more time upfront convincing the more realism-conscious that they can handle a character who breaks the mold, and that their passion for the more fantastical elements of Star Wars isn't coming at the expense of verisimilitude.  The main way we do that is by asking new members to answer the question: Why is THIS character joining the Vast Empire's Navy?  Almost any backstory is POSSIBLE... but you need to be able to show how your chosen background leads to your current choice: joining the Vast Empire's Navy. 

Hopefully, that all makes sense.  And I hope, too, that with this clarification you're still interested in the VEN.  I, for one, would love to tell stories involving Thadd Garazon, and I'm always excited to game with people who have RPing experience.    Since we are a sort of fusion between rpg and writer's club, though, we just want to make sure all newcomers are aware of the balance between the two, and willing to adjust their own posts accordingly.  If you have any further questions, feel free to PM either me or your TO, and I look forward to seeing you graduate the Academy.

Sincerely,

LT Trykon

Glad to hear it, Crewman.  All our "rules" around here are designed to do the same thing: make sure a diverse group of people can have fun here.  Especially those two main groups: the "role-players," who tend to value more "exciting" characters/situations, and the "writers," who tend to value more "realistic" characters/situations.  Both groups want both, of course; it's just a question of proportions.  So, we strive to maintain a balance. 

Well worth the effort though, Crewman: you're clear to continue to Chapter 2 of Starfighter School. 

It's a delicate thing, maintaining balance in an rpg with very few hard-and-fast "stats" - the VE doesn't use character sheets, for example - so we rely on each other's discretion and good judgment to ensure that new characters are not "overpowered" when they first start out.  Your bio suggests that Thadd Garazon will have a lot of combat experience and general life experience, and that'll be wonderful for you to play with in the future... for now, though, as you approach your first VE story post, try and show your training officer that you're a team player, by showing the weaknesses of the character, at least as much as the strengths.  He's been out of it for ten years... how does that effect his performance in the Academy?  Can't wait to see what you write, Crewman!

Ellesmere, I'll back off now.