ASR Manual Chapter 7: Afterward
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Closing Remarks
Over the past 13-14 years, ASR has evolved into a complex environment or writers and creators interacting with one another through cooperative fiction. After all has been said and done, the real key to success- regardless of the extent of support information and background that has been created- is "cooperation."
Cooperation comes in many forms in the world of ASR. We, as writers, first and foremost, need to work with one another in advancing the plot of the mission- what a lousy read it would be if every crew member went off on his or her own tangent and contributed nothing to the plot! All you'd get it 8 or 9 divergent threads that have nothing to do with one another save for them happening on the same ship or starbase. Not very compelling reading...
However, cooperation goes beyond plot development. It goes to respecting the creations of other players with whom we interact. For example, no one would want a writer to portray his or her character in a light that, while perhaps not unflattering, might not be consistent with his or her idea of what his or her character is like. Oftentimes, players create characters that are extensions of themselves; as such, sometimes writers take their characters VERY seriously. We must strive to respect this.
Cooperation also extends to the administrative level- helping your fleet commanders keep hios or her rosters up to date by keeping your unit's up to date, volunteering to act as yoru unit's webmaster or timeline keeper, or even volunteering to help out in the upper administrative levels of ASR are all ways of immersing oneself with the team concept of ASR. If everyone were to embrace this cooperative experience, there's no telling to what heights we could climb.
See you "out there!"
Free Threads and Villains
Many players seek to expand beyond their primary PC at some point in their ASR experience; the most common form of this is creating non-player characters- essentially short character sketches of minor people inhabiting the ship or base- that are needed for a specific post. Sometimes players develop the departments their characters command; other times, they develop civilians or spouses with whom their characters can interact. However, there are other options for the more adventurous.
Free Threads
"Free Threads" is a term used to describe units that are not, by definition, "conventional"- in other words, something outside of the typical starship or starbase experience. Therefore, a Marine Fighter Wing or a civilian news service would constitute a "free thread."
In the past, free threads were grouped into a single organizational umbrella, Ancillary Fleet, which commanded by the Commander, Ancillary Fleet (COMANC). We have had several different non-conventional units, including:
- A Marine Special Operations Team
- A Marine Fighter Wing
- An starship specifically designed as a testbed for new and emerging technologies
- A civilian news service
ASR currently has one active free thread- Task Force Sierra, an intelligence operations unit mandated with ferreting out Section 31, under the command of GOLD Fleet administration. A second free thread is being developed- Task Force Delta, a marine fighter wing to be run from the RP unit USS KRONSTADT in GREEN Fleet. Since there are only two free threads, a separate administrative structure is not deemed necessary at this time.
If you are interested in starting a free thread, contact your fleet commander for information.
Villains
Let's face it- "bad guys" are an integral part of all fiction- simply put, there needs to be someone to capture or thwart or defeat, or even loose to from time to time; without conflict, there is no plot. Therefore, creating enemies and villains are critical to writing entertaining and compelling cooperative fiction.
Usually, villains are created one of two ways: either the command staff creates the villains beforehand, or someone on the crew creates one as needed during the course of the mission; in fact, it's usually some combination of these two methods that happen during the course of a mission. Therefore, you have two options if you wish to create a villain: you can contact your commanding officer and pitch your idea to him or her, or you can simply fill in as needed. Filling in as needed, however, can sometimes blow a carefully-laid plan to smithereens; it is suggested that you at least let the command staff know of your plans before you spring a new Borg Queen on them. :)
The Round Table
The Round Table is the semi-annual meeting (every April and October) that governs ASR. Composed of unit CO's and members of the Flag Council, the Round Table conducts elections for CINCSF and CSFO, considers amendments to its bylaws, and works mainly to keep game play running smoothly for the enjoyment of all.
This body is the ultimate voice for ASR; it is who the CINCSF ultimately answers to, and must make an account for his or her actions at each session, as does the CSFO and the Secretary.
A more detailed description of the responsibilities and actions of the RT can be found in appendix S; a rundown of the rules and procedures of the RT can be found in appendix T. And, finally, if you are interested in looking into past RT sessions, links to that information can be found in appendix U.
Books and Reference
ASR has a wealth of information at your disposal. Feel free to peruse through each of the following links at your leisure. Be sure to check out the Appendices to this document as well- there is a lot of supplemental information to be found there as well.
- Armstrong Lunar Base- the training facility of ASR.
- ASR Bureau of Information- the storinghouse of every ASR document currently available.
If you do not find what you are looking for on any of these links, drop a line to your commanding officer, fleet commander or the CINCSF, they can and will assist wherever possible.
