USS Radiance Command Book
Original document written by David Suárez de Lis and Co-authored by Juan Ángel Romero for the USS RANGER,
edited by Michael Bursey for the USS RADIANCE.
Introduction
The purpose of this book is to define the mission statement and compromises of the Command Team of the Alt.Starfleet.RPG (ASR) unit USS RADIANCE, a Brilliance-class Exploration Heavy Cruiser.
Statement
The USS RADIANCE intends to launch as a standard unit, where each writer can have several characters at their disposal–one PC and several NPCs–and the ability to dictate the story plot line within the parameters orchestrated by the Command Team, all with the goal of having fun and enjoy the idea of writing with our fellow players in a Universe that is most dear to us.
The goal for the RADIANCE is to run a variety of short, TNG-style missions, which could be completed within two to three posts from each player. This would allow for the focus to change regularly, helping with player engagement and character growth.
To achieve this goal, the Command Team, as responsible and accountable for the unit on behalf of the Flag Council, has a series of obligations that they must strive to keep to the best of their abilities in order to ensure a healthy writing environment for their unit.
The expected responsibilities for the Command Team and its members are listed in the next entries.
Command Team (CT)
The Command Team of the USS RADIANCE is composed of the Commanding Officer, the Executive Officer and the Second Officer. For certain missions, there may be a temporary command player: one of the unit players will be designated as the Junior Officer of the Deck. When this happens, they will have the creative control of the current mission, always within the global parameters for the unit.
It’s the duty of the CT to ensure that the unit is healthy and its players are enjoying the writing and fulfilling their aspirations as players. They will be vigilant and try to keep everybody in the mission or in parallel story arcs if necessary, as long as real life (RL) allows.
Fluent communication between members of the CT is expected, of course. The CT is the responsible to lay out the missions for the unit and to ensure that missions add to the characters’ development, the AO wide story arc and the players’ joy and growth as writers and ASR members. Anyone on the CT or the unit as a whole can approach the CT with a mission idea, or AO story arc development, and they will be taken into account by the CT and the Fleet consumer (if applicable).
Commanding Officer (CO)
The CO is the leader of the unit. Their parameters are to ensure the continuity of the unit as a whole and, as such, is accountable and responsible on behalf of the unit before the Flag Council.
The CO’s PC is the CO of the ship, unless incapacitated for some plot reasons.
The CO will participate and be an active part of the unit’s day-to-day life, and will write, at least, once per week with a post that’s meaningful and moves the plot or helps other players. If the writing is slowing down, the CO will take as many NPCs as necessary to write and act as a kind of prompter for the players to follow the lead and resume writing at a more lively pace.
While not writing, they will be helping the XO or 2O with other administrative duties, as managing the roster and the web pages on the ASR site and keeping tabs with fellow COs on the AO, if any, and the Fleet commander for news and current developments in the AO, as to be able to contribute to and keep it as coherent and rich as possible.
Executive Officer (XO)
The XO, also known as First Officer, is the right hand of the CO. They will assist in crew management, story telling, mission plotting and other duties.
The XO’s PC is the XO of the ship, unless incapacitated for some plot reasons.
The XO is expected to write every other week with a post that’s meaningful and moves the plot or helps other players.
The XO and the 2O (see further) will try to at least post in alternating weeks in order to assist the CO’s weekly writing.
Second Officer (2O)
The 2O is the other hand of the CO, and their functions are the same as the XO. The 2O's PC is a department head, usually OPS, although this can vary. While not considered a command role, the 2O PC would be expected to take command if the CO and XO characters are unavailable.
The 2O is expected to write every other week with a post that’s meaningful and moves the plot or helps other players, from their advantage point of view.
The XO and the 2O will try to at least post in alternating weeks in order to assist the CO’s weekly writing.
Junior Officer of the Deck (JOD)
From time to time, a non command, unit player will be designated as JOD. They will have the creative control of the next mission, always within the global parameters for the unit.
When there’s a JOD, they will be a temporary part of the Command Team and as such will have to accept the mission statement and try to post, at least, every other week.
If it’s agreed upon before the mission starts, the CO and JOD will be the only ones knowing the mission plot. In that case, the XO and 2O won’t have to post every other week.
On very special occasions, the JOD might be a guest player from another ASR unit, if the situation grants it.
Leave of Absence (LoA)
If any CT member will be unavailable for more than one mission (2-3 months) they will have to notify their fellow officers as soon as possible so that the necessary steps might be arranged to ensure the success of the current mission and the following ones.
For short LoAs (this is, 2-3 weeks for the CO and 1-2 months for the XO and 2O) the other two members are expected to jump in and cover for the missing officer in the way that best serves the story line (usually just writing normally as the missing writer would do).
In any case, LoAs have to be notified to the High Council, which will discuss with all involved parties the best steps to take to ensure the unit’s well being and continuity, which might include temporary changes in the CT or ensuing missions without the missing member and their character.
Closing Remarks
The points stated above are the minimum guiding lines. We are all expected to enjoy and write as much as we desire and RL permits. All of these points are to be taken, thus, as rough guidelines. Units with an active, caring Command Team grow and endure, while those without, become a burden to the rest of the players.
Our mission is to develop ASR through exploration and scientific investigation, inviting all players to contribute to the unfolding storyline from any point of view. We strive to create richer, more engaging narratives while enjoying the process of collaborative writing and fostering growth within a supportive, creative environment.
As such, the Command Team is just a useful tool to this end, nothing more. Common sense and compassion are to be used at discretion.
