Skyrat Character Creation Guidelines
Your custom species and character must be functional and capable of doing their job, even if they are incompetent. Hiring standards on the frontiers are nowhere near as strict as those in the core worlds due to manpower shortages, but they are not that desperate.
For instance, your character must be able to operate independently as an adult and be physically and mentally capable to do their jobs. You can be slightly less than competent, be a criminal seeking a new start, and so on. However, you cannot be insane, a serial killer, a dependent, a person who is unable to work with others, etc.
A character cannot be excessively primitive if they are part of a civilized faction such as the station crew. For example, you may play a formerly tribal Ashwalker, however, they cannot be so primitive that they cannot work with their peers or function to an acceptable capacity.
Note: Character Guideline #2 and #3 does not mean you cannot play these characters. Rather, we want players to conform to the setting to allow for a more cohesive and coherent experience for others.
For instance, if we have a gargoyle character that turns into a statue upon being in contact with light or being seen by others, you should either keep it mysterious or have an ordinary explanation ready at hand. SCP Foundation, for instance, encounters the mythical, the mystical, and the mysterious, but they keep it grounded.
Your custom species must be adapted if they are of supernatural or cartoonish origin that is ill-fitting to the server, i.e. Demons, Angels, My Little Pony, etc. To clarify, you can play custom species based off of the aesthetics of demons or angels, but they cannot be called such or be supernatural in the typical fantasy or cartoon sense. Instead, take a page from SCP Foundation. You can still be mysterious, dark, and mystical, but you must keep it grounded and make it fit the setting.
For example, if you want an imp, incubus, succubus, and so forth character, you may as long as you avoid the whole "demonic" angle, i.e. have more of a less magical explanation so they fit the setting and not have direct references to Earth demons. Same goes for bipedal, anthropomorphic MLP characters (Quads are not allowed. You need hands). You must eliminate any MLP references, i.e. change cutie marks to tattoos. You must then convert your character to being a proper alien or splicer/genemodder. Names must be changed to fit. There must be no association with MLP, rather you must be a horse character. The main thing is that it should fit the setting.
Note: Possessing cartoony art of your characters is completely fine.
Your custom species and character should not be what is colloquially known as a 'Mary Sue'. We highly encourage players to focus on creating 'background characters' for the corporation. They cannot be heroes or stereotypical protagonists with deep connections or effects on the lore.
Simply put, remember that you are playing an employee for a company so much bigger than yourself, and that you are probably a little bit irrelevant. On top of that, you should not be good at everything as specified by Server Principle #7.
If you do want to play a character that has lost their former glory, that is allowed, given that you keep it grounded and serious. Additionally, their former position should not be anything that would make them noticeable in the lore.
Your custom species and character cannot be a talking four-legged animal with no arms. They also cannot be anything too animalistic to the point they are difficult to distinguish from an actual animal. Taurs are allowed, and borgs are not a custom species.
You are allowed to be flexible with your character, even if they have abilities or features that cannot be fully depicted within the game. However, it cannot be anything that may influence mechanics, even if it is only for emotes.
For instance, you can say your character has minor psionic abilities, given reasonable constraints. You can use this in emotes to describe flipping a coin or pulling out a cigarette from a pack hands-free with your psionic powers, but you cannot do anything that would have a significant mechanical impact. However, you cannot say you can crush people at will, as that affects in-game mechanics and also falls in violation of Character Guideline #3.
Your character or custom species cannot revolve solely around a fetish and should instead be a believable, fleshed-out individual. The fetish should not be the focal point. You can build up a character around a fetish, but you must make it so that they are more than the fetish and the fetish becomes a mere backdrop to the character itself.
For instance, if you have a vore fetish, the character can have physical designs to accommodate for your preference, but the main focus of the character should not be based around vore. Rather, it can be a physical component of the character that is not overly emphasized to the point of being "in your face"
Another example are latex characters. As long as the character is sensible with a reasonable backstory on why they are the way they are, i.e. are experimental androids or was involved in an experiment gone wrong, they are perfectly acceptable.
This does not prohibit characters that are designed to allow for whatever fetish you may have, rather your character must be well-balanced in their personality and appearance. Again, avoid being "in your face". That's it!
Remember: While this server allows for ERP, it is not its central focus. For any NSFW detail, please write them under an "incoming NSFW" warning. If you want to show off your interest, please put a disclaimer and be reasonable. You should not shove your fetish into people's faces. Conversely , this is a server that does allow for ERP. If you cannot handle seeing any NSFW details or action, this is probably not the server for you. People on both sides should have consideration for each other and be able to exist alongside each other.
Your custom species or character must follow the adults-only rule. Attempts to skirt past this rule will be dealt with harshly. To keep it simple, they must look like adults, and they should not act like a child either. Short species like dwarves, goblins, kobolds, and so forth are allowed, however, they must be physically mature. Ageplay within our community is explicitly forbidden and will be met with a community blacklist.
If you play a custom species, they cannot affect the lore. They must be distant or insignificant enough that they do not impact the lore.