Bravo Fleet
Over the past three-ish years, the Senior Staff have been thinking about different activities we can offer to best meet the needs of the group. The short version is that more people want to be captains than they want to manage groups of other writers, which has made the solo writing options through the command system very popular. We have quite a few traditional RPGs as well, but more folks want to write together than there are homes for them currently. We’ve also had problems with folks wanting to run games, but then stepping away for a variety of reasons, thus leaving players in a lurch. To solve this problem, we are now opening Starbase Bravo as a persistent sandbox for you to group up with others and write your own stories organically. This could be anything from slice-of-life stuff to Lower Decks-style shenanigans.
Operations and Lore will provide bi-monthly updates to give you some hints on what to write, but this is intended to be a space where things evolve organically. The first update is available now, if you check out the Starbase Bravo page! This guide also provides more information here. Things are still a work in progress, but the station will continue to evolve as we see how this works.
The Basics
Starbase Bravo is an ongoing open sandbox for members of Bravo Fleet. Open to everyone (pending completion of the New Member Program), this space is meant to provide people with an opportunity to write character development stories and organic plots to their hearts’ content, without relying on direct game manager intervention like a traditional RPG. Members start off in entry-level enlisted and junior officer roles and gain access to higher level positions by posting with others. The more Duty Ribbons you earn on Starbase Bravo, the greater access to ranks and positions you earn. Though meant primarily as a collaborative writing space, this is also a place where members may write solo stories about junior officers, though those posts do not count towards their advancement within the sandbox.
Joining
Unlike a traditional game, characters are not evaluated based on their fit for the sandbox other than whether or not they follow the lore policy. It would be wise to look at the lore office guides as well. Generally speaking, as long as you’re not attempting to play as a non-canon or prohibited species, and you’re proposing a character within the rank and position guidelines listed below, it will be accepted.
Initial characters should be Tier 1 characters, which means they should have a generic position like Science Officer or Security Officer and hold either an officer rank of ensign or lieutenant junior grade, or an enlisted grade of Crewman or any of the three Petty Officer Ranks. Cadets and enlisted trainees are allowed, and have their own rank guidelines. Civilian characters are allowed, unrestricted by tier. The titles available in the open positions list are available to initial characters.
You should create a character on the BFMS, set to Story Mode, and assigned to Starbase Bravo. Then click here to fill out the application. Note: for the writing sample, you can provide a sample if you desire or just write “Starbase Bravo initial application” in the box, as we will not be evaluating your sample post, just making sure that your character follows the lore policy.
What to Write
Free reign can admittedly be a little intimidating, but this really is your oyster. While station-wide story beats will be handed out relatively frequently, but we’re leaving the individual stories on the ground level to you. The advancement structure hinges on joint posts, so we encourage you to reach out to your fellow members to organize stories together. As long as you don’t change the environment/political situation or hurt anyone else’s character, feel free to write as you see fit!
Advancement
Starbase Bravo has its own progression system, as mentioned above. Since everyone’s starting at the first tier, though, I won’t put the table in this announcement, but feel free to check it out here.