Timeline Change Date and FL Applications

Uuuuh...the time for build a great pc!

I don't want to be an FL, but I'm PSYCHED to see the end results!

*stirs in anticipation*

Well then. I've really got to get cracking on my character now. Glad there's a two-week window that'll let me procrastinate even further.

Tsunami said:

If there is only one Leader of the Sith and no council, does that mean our Sith characters may chose to be called Darth whatever. Regardless of rank. Or will that be reserved for those picked by the FL?

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Only those of a certain rank can call themselves Darth, but that rank will be more open than it was this timeline.

Vosrik said:

Quick question though (and forgive me if this was answered elsewhere), will the writeups be posted a few days prior to the launch? It'd be great to be able to read up on them before we begin.

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Yes.

Jax Vos said:

I just have one question...

Are we changing the very core of the Sith? I mean I can't think of a single Sith in canon or Legends that would willingly listen to a non-force-sensitive (Tarken was a close ally of the Emperor and Vader was not exactly willing from what I understand of their relationship). Otherwise I look forward to seeing who is chosen.

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To add on to what people have already said, since they've given great answers, if someone is able to rise to the rank of Supreme Leader without being a Force-sensitive then it means they are a very powerful warrior in their own right. It means they've earned it, since Sith advancement is always through combat like that. If a Force-sensitive Sith doesn't like the fact that there's a non-FS Supreme Leader, then they can challenge that Supreme Leader for the title.

And from an OOC perspective, we weren't going to create a situation where the SBZ was organizationally inferior to the Sith. If someone from the SBZ could never become the leader of the faction, then that makes the SBZ the ugly stepchild of the Sith. We wanted them to be more like equals in the faction, with the SBZ playing a very important role alongside the Sith. That's why we created a Supreme Leader - as opposed to, say, a Dark Lord - role that isn't required to be from one side or another.

So excited! Couple of Qs though. @Brandon Rhea

I am considering applying for the Republic FL position. However neither of my currently planned characters would work in an IC leadership position, at least in the beginning. Is it possible in a situation like that the Supreme Chancellor or supreme commander could be an NPC?

Second, will the current DOTR workshop be arrived or will that be turned into the standard workshop thread for the new TL? It seems to me it would be better if that would just be made the new workshop thread since we already have our characters and stuff in there. Plus it would make transferring things into their appropriated thread easier, me thinks.

MasterTyvokka said:

Second, will the current DOTR workshop be arrived or will that be turned into the standard workshop thread for the new TL? It seems to me it would be better if that would just be made the new workshop thread since we already have our characters and stuff in there. Plus it would make transferring things into their appropriated thread easier, me thinks.

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I also wondered this.

I don't see any issue with the leader of the Sith being non FS. As previously stated by several people, no matter who the leader of the Sith is FS or not, they're going to be a BA. That's just the way it is. I'd imagine that IF the Jedi and Senate had been allied in this TL the same rule would have applied to that faction.

Regardless, I'm just excited to have an actual date to look forward to!!! Not interested in being a faction leader myself at all, but am very interested to see who will prove themselves to be worthy.

Jax Vos said:

I can only accept one explanation, but feel that whoever uses a non-FS as the Supreme Leader is just asking for their character to be killed eventually. At some point early on a Sith Lord will take control because he can't stand the soldier in charge.

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If people choose to target the FL, so be it. That's how the Sith faction should be. Powerplays, manipulation, etc. The one thing that disappointed me in the Fifth Timeline was that we didn't really see that. The Dark Council and the Emperorship (minus a forced NPC plot) was largely stable, with no grabs for power. No one really challenged the Sith FL. Hell, I am honestly surprised no one challenged me. It would be like a guaranteed promotion to FLship, considering my PvP skills. The Jedi saw more in-fighting than the Sith.

A non-FS leader of the Sith dominion can help breed that power struggle, Sith seeking to put a Sith back on the throne. Reversely, when a Sith is on the throne, the SBZ could seek to put a member on the throne themselves so that they can be in control.

And such schemes aren't limited to just the Sith faction. Others can try their hand too. An ambitious Senator could put a plot in motion to disgrace the Chancellor and seek to fill the void themselves. A Jedi could call for the removal of the Jedi Lord, seeing the Lord as having gone too far, too close to falling to the Dark Side or something. Risk is something that is inherently part of any faction, but the Fifth Timeline Part 2 bred some views that everyone is safe. No one is safe, not even FLs. Competitiveness is not a bad thing. It keeps the story alive. Without it we stagnate. Factions shouldn't get comfortable thinking they are safe, and neither should the Faction Leaders that lead them.

We also recently found out that there's a rule buried in Sith faction rules and guidelines for this timeline that basically makes challenges impossible. That was a terrible idea, and that sort of thing won't be allowed again.

MasterTyvokka said:

So excited! Couple of Qs though. @Brandon Rhea

I am considering applying for the Republic FL position. However neither of my currently planned characters would work in an IC leadership position, at least in the beginning. Is it possible in a situation like that the Supreme Chancellor or supreme commander could be an NPC?

Second, will the current DOTR workshop be arrived or will that be turned into the standard workshop thread for the new TL? It seems to me it would be better if that would just be made the new workshop thread since we already have our characters and stuff in there. Plus it would make transferring things into their appropriated thread easier, me thinks.

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For the first - no, the Chancellor and the High Commander need to be PCs. They're too important to the functioning of the faction to be NPCs.

For the second - good question, we haven't talked about it.

Okay so me personally I am not going for faction leader for a number of reasons. However, my won't like the idea of a Non-FS leading my people ICly. If i was playing him truthfully, I feel as though my character may attempt to usurp him (That being said I may fail.) If i did succeed, i would inherit the role of FL, which I condider myself:

1.) Not experienced enough of an RPer to forfill that role.
2.) My focus is also going to be elsewhere and I can't promise I wouldn't be biased.

So for those two reasons, I would not challenge the FL. If others also felt that way, you could still keep a stalemate with no powerplays because people would be worried about the responsibility that comes with it. In a sense, the OCC reasons would directly impact my IC writing.

I am also considering this possibility. Now a Non-FS can hold the highest position in the faction, could an Indie player not decide to kill the faction leader and take his place from outside the order. A Indie dark sider may join the Sith through roleplay, does that now stand that my Mandalorian could fancy a bit of leading and Jump in at the top?

Tsunami said:

Okay so me personally I am not going for faction leader for a number of reasons. However, my won't like the idea of a Non-FS leading my people ICly. If i was playing him truthfully, I feel as though my character may attempt to usurp him (That being said I may fail.) If i did succeed, i would inherit the role of FL, which I condider myself:

1.) Not experienced enough of an RPer to forfill that role.
2.) My focus is also going to be elsewhere and I can't promise I wouldn't be biased.

So for those two reasons, I would not challenge the FL. If others also felt that way, you could still keep a stalemate with no powerplays because people would be worried about the responsibility that comes with it. In a sense, the OCC reasons would directly impact my IC writing.

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You could always forge alliances with people, take on the Supreme Leader together, and have someone else from within that alliance become the FL. That's been done in past timelines. In the fourth timeline, it happened twice. A group of people assassinated the Hutt Empire FL, and then one person from that group (Santoro) became the Hutt FL. A group of Jedi led a vote of no confidence (democratic revolt, basically) against the Jedi FL, and one person from that group (Sreeya) became Jedi FL.

So that's not without precedent, and it's a perfectly valid way to go about it. Anyone in such a backstabbing, politically-charged faction like the Sith should always forge alliances before taking on the throne anyway.

Tsunami said:

I am also considering this possibility. Now a Non-FS can hold the highest position in the faction, could an Indie player not decide to kill the faction leader and take his place from outside the order. A Indie dark sider may join the Sith through roleplay, does that now stand that my Mandalorian could fancy a bit of leading and Jump in at the top?

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I don't think so. This is a process for members of the faction.

Brandon Rhea said:

then one person from that group (Santoro)

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Heh.

I want to see a SBZ member be FL just so they can rub the FS's noses in it.

Aluminum Falcon said:

Heh.

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Hmm?

Honestly speaking, that fear of responsibility and the weight of handling a whole faction might also ICly prevent characters from doing just that. However, that does not stop them from plotting their downfall, if only to install a more "appropriate" leader on that position, which in turn would owe your character a lot (or consider you a threat to be removed, both great story elements).

Independent of the FS/non-FS issue: If you do not violate the rule of "one main faction and max. 2 characters per main faction", feel free to let your Indie character join a faction for this purpose. Of course, once they have supplanted the FL, which might be more difficult than simply killing the old FL for some factions, they need to hold onto their office somehow afterwards.

Of course, from an OOC point, you should be fair and neutral on that, including having your newly appointed FL being slaughtered again in the next thread by a horde of loyalists. I totally agree that it might be difficult to balance OOC and IC there.

Tsoibe said:

Honestly speaking, that fear of responsibility and the weight of handling a whole faction might also ICly prevent characters from doing just that. However, that does not stop them from plotting their downfall, if only to install a more "appropriate" leader on that position, which in turn would owe your character a lot (or consider you a threat to be removed, both great story elements)

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If you don't want the responsibility you could plot their downfall then hold some sort of vote/contest for a new leader. There are many ways to avoid taking the FL tag yourself if you truly want to remove the person in power.

Tsoibe said:

Honestly speaking, that fear of responsibility and the weight of handling a whole faction might also ICly prevent characters from doing just that. However, that does not stop them from plotting their downfall, if only to install a more "appropriate" leader on that position, which in turn would owe your character a lot (or consider you a threat to be removed, both great story elements).

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If someone doesn't want the responsibility of being FL then we'd probably discourage them from challenging the FL, unless they had an alliance of people as talked about earlier and as you hinted towards.

Aluminum Falcon said:

If you don't want the responsibility you could plot their downfall then hold some sort of vote/contest for a new leader. There are many ways to avoid taking the FL tag yourself if you truly want to remove the person in power.

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A vote only works in some factions. That would absolutely work with the Chancellor of the Senate. But the High Commander? Maybe. The Jedi Lord? Maybe, but doubtful. Supreme Leader? Definitely not.

Brandon Rhea said:

I don't think so. This is a process for members of the faction.

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If I had a Indie Darksider or Dark Jedi. I could be swayed to joining the order if I am not mistaken. Would that not mean that a Indie Non-FS could do the same with the SBZ putting them in contention for the leader.

Also, if there is a FL change. How does that effect things other than the obvious fact they are taking lead. I'm mainly intrested in the effects of questions 5 and 6.

If you became FL, would you have a preference for who your AFLs would be? Who would they be and why?

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Can I remove the current AFL's, would I need to state my reasons for doing so, or would it make perfect sense to replace them with those loyal to me?

Where would you like to see your faction go in the story? What goals do you personally envision for your faction? How is this different and interesting to what other FLs may offer?

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This question seems like a huge deal to me. I sure that my view on where the Sith faction should go is very different from another persons. Is the faction TOTALY in the FL's hands and they can potentially ram it into the ground or make it the greatest power in the galaxy?

Tsunami said:

If I had a Indie Darksider or Dark Jedi. I could be swayed to joining the order if I am not mistaken. Would that not mean that a Indie Non-FS could do the same with the SBZ putting them in contention for the leader.

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The difference is that "swayed to joining the order" means "joining the faction." That's a far cry from "outsider challenges FL."

Tsunami said:

Also, if there is a FL change. How does that effect things other than the obvious fact they are taking lead. I'm mainly intrested in the effects of questions 5 and 6.

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It could totally change the direction of the faction, depending on what that FL ends up doing.

Tsunami said:

Can I remove the current AFL's, would I need to state my reasons for doing so, or would it make perfect sense to replace them with those loyal to me?

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Those decisions should be made based on IC qualifications and OOC qualifications.

Tsunami said:

This question seems like a huge deal to me. I sure that my view on where the Sith faction should go is very different from another persons. Is the faction TOTALY in the FL's hands and they can potentially ram it into the ground or make it the greatest power in the galaxy?

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Yes, they could be a great success or a great failure.

@Brandon Rhea Thank you again!

Brandon Rhea said:

You could always forge alliances with people, take on the Supreme Leader together, and have someone else from within that alliance become the FL. That's been done in past timelines. In the fourth timeline, it happened twice. A group of people assassinated the Hutt Empire FL, and then one person from that group (Santoro) became the Hutt FL. A group of Jedi led a vote of no confidence (democratic revolt, basically) against the Jedi FL, and one person from that group (Sreeya) became Jedi FL.

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I personally think that for the Sith, it could be fun to have a more backstabbing culture. Obviously people would have to separate that from IRL and not hold grudges over it, but it could be quite cool to have a less cohesive group of Sith this TL. Having something like this happen would make the story more interesting imo.