FAQ Archives
Characters and Groups
Groups are an extension of a Character. If in your storylines you desire to conquer worlds, or extend trade routes, you must form a Group. This is done by posting in the OOC forum with the Character who will own the group, giving some details about the group, links to its forming Role Play, as well as information about its affiliation.
All groups will receive one public forum in the Groups & Factions subforum section on the TRF board. If the group grows larger, and gains members (additional players, not just Characters) additional forums can be added as the need grows. This public forum can be used for communication (private communication should be done via PM), as well as for record keeping (planets owned, perhaps a map if you should so wish, a list of past role-plays, and other such things).
Groups can own planets. A group can own (or control) an unlimited amount of planets. Planets are captured by writing a role-play of at least 5000 words and then posting in the Planets List to claim said planet. Planets give Groups Assets (see below) that can be used in various methods. However, Groups cannot effectively control these assets without active Characters. A group could be a massive empire spanning the galaxy wide, but if the entire group has but one Character, and a bunch of NPC's running it, then a medium-sized group with several developed Character's could easily defeat it.
This is because Characters control group assets far more effectively than an NPC would. If, in a battle, an experienced and high-Influence character is faced with an NPC, the high-level character will win.
Characters have always been able to 'own' planets on TRF, they just have not been able to garner benefits from them without having a group. Since Mercenary-style characters would by nature probably be able to get a rough and tough group together it wouldn't be unlikely to assume that someone could assemble a bit of a fleet for themselves. Such planets will not be part of the official Planet List, though they can defend the planet if it is attacked. A character may realistically only be able to 'own' one planet outside of a group setting. Since character ownership will not be listed in the Planet List in the OOC Forum, it is recommended that the writer make mention of this in their character's biography, perhaps also summarizing the events in the roleplay where ownership occurred.