Approval Guidelines
The following article covers the guidelines and procedures for submitting a new species to the Character Sheet System.
Requirements
Obscure species are the hardest to balance, simply due to a lack of information—Legends or otherwise. The Voice Staff reserves the right to refuse species that are deemed to suffer from a lack of adequate source material for a specific species. While we already possess an expansive list of Species to choose from in our system, the Star Wars universe itself is filled with so many more. As such, not every one of them is going to make it into our system. Beyond that, we aim to prevent a barrier being formed for new members that join that have to learn niche or lesser known species that don’t show up commonly in Star Wars Canon and new media.
The following criteria must be met for a Species to be considered for addition:
- Two or more members must express an interest in playing and using a proposed Species.
- The Species must appear in a current Canon source, with a complete article that goes beyond just a small stub. If there is only a small stub for the Canon page but a full article for Legends, the Legends material can be used to support the approval and creation process of the Species. Please keep in mind that even with an extensive Legends article, information introduced in Canon will take precedence and override Legends information.
- The proposed unique Species feats should offer something different to current existing options. An example of this would be trying to add another pale skinned race with UV vision; we already have Umbarans, so this might lead the Voice staff to deny a potential addition.
- The Species must be sentient.
- The Species must have an official image/reference showing their defining features.
- The Species must be humanoid in design. This means it must have two legs, two arms, and a single head. The reasoning for this falls to how our system is structured and balanced around this construct.
Any request for a new Species to be added into the Character Sheet database must be approved by the Voice. In the interest of balance, the Grand Master also reserves the right to make executive decisions on whether a Species gets added or not.
Submission Guidelines
All requests for new Species should be sent to djb-voice-staff@googlegroups.com for review. Requests can either be formatted within the body of the email itself or in an attached document. The request should include the following:
(Required)
- Name of the Species
- Notable traits and features (fur, claws, horns, lifespan, etc.)
- Link to Wookieepedia Article and/or source references
- Intended use (PC, NPC, Clan Event)
- List of members who would like to utilize the Species
(Optional)
- (2) Two Written Species Feats depicting (1) one merit and (1) one flaw based on the Species culture, biology, or notable traits. (Wookies can pull off feats of surprising strength, but don’t fit in small places very well)
- Other references, information, or an explanation of why you think the Species being added would benefit the Brotherhood’s fiction systems.
If you are not comfortable writing the feats, the Voice Staff will assist in authoring them. The more information you provide, the easier this process becomes.
Removing Grandfather Tag
In light of adding a new Species, often times a Grandfathered species will return to canon and members will want to be able to select that species. This is still done through request, unless the Voice Staff takes executive action on their own. In an effort to keep the Species list from being overwhelming, the Voice staff won't automatically remove Grandfathered tags based on new canon. Member interest will always be a defining factor in the decision making process.
The Grandfathered tag may be removed from a Species when the following criteria is met:
- A Species is made canon again by making an appearance in new canon material (television, film, books, comics etc.)
- A member(s) expresses interest in playing the Species as a Character.
All requests should be sent to djb-voice-staff@googlegroups.com for review. The Voice staff will review any request.
- The Voice or Grand Master/Deputy may remove a tag without a request being filed.
- Only the Voice or Grand Master/Deputy can remove the Grandfather tag from a species.
- In the interest of balance, the Grand Master/Deputy reserves the right to keep a Species as Grandfathered based on an explained reasoning.
Extinct Species
Species that have been labeled as extinct within the canonical timeline will not be added as a new Species. This includes Species that have been eradicated without a single or sole living member of the Species.
Notable Extinct Species:
Members that are currently playing a character of a Species that becomes extinct within the new Canon (such as the Clawdites all getting nuked) are free to keep playing that character under the Grandfather clause. Once a Species is deemed extinct, however, new members will no longer be able to select the Species going forward.