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To start, for any newbies out there, an NPC is a Non-Player Character. In this case, any character that does not have a registered account.

Utopia on Hold likes to consider their policy on NPCs rather unique. We notice that other places like to do NPCs in the extreme: either they allow too much freedom regarding their NPCs — and players abuse this freedom by inserting one-dimensional or unreasonable NPCs that would never have been approved otherwise, or they give too little liberty to the player, and require administrative micromanaging to even use NPCs at all.

At Utopia on Hold, we try to give the player every liberty provided that it does not negatively impact the overall continuity and landscape. We encourage creative, resourceful, and responsible play of said characters. That said, we have devised an NPC system that hopefully covers all the basics and still gives the player room to expand.

If you have read this thread (and if you haven't, you really need to), then you should know that we require a background application for major NPCs, and they do not need an account. Before anyone whines about needing to do another application, let us explain exactly why this is important to us. We definitely have a reason to our madness.

Creating a background application is relatively little effort. It's a short application and the staff realize that not everyone is going to have a bunch of spare time to create a spectacular work of English. That said, the process of creating an application allows you (as the player) to get to know the NPC better. You may also choose to reserve a model for your registered NPC. The process of viewing and approving the application allows the staff some say as an arbiter, to prevent any damage to the continuity or playability of the realm itself. It's a win-win.

Furthermore, a background application gives you and everyone you play with far more flexibility. It allows the players a chance go glean some valuable information regarding the character itself. You also get a cool feature on Utopia on Hold, you get the chance to designate drivers for that NPC. That is, because the NPC is approved as a background character, and it does not have an account, you can permit certain individuals the play the character. The creator also has a sense of control. They have the ability to make and update any changes (provided that they are reasonable, of course), and they can handpick anyone that they do or don't want to play their characters.

Naturally, having a certain number of characters is enriching to any RPG, and while many great authors have wrote entire novels purely as a monologue, having minimal interaction is not something we generally recommend. Giving you and your fellow RPers the ability to view, appraise, and utilize a collective set of NPCs tends to be a big advantage.

We feel that this policy is the best, fairest way of creating an environment where creativity and continuity and realism interact seamlessly.

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F.A.Q.s

What qualifies as a "major" NPC?

A major NPC is a practically a limited character, except one that can not usually be played except from the perspective of the account you are actually using to write it. As background characters do not have their own account, they usually don't have their POV expressed through narration. In other words, as RPing is typically done in limited third person, the NPC is expressed through that limited view.

That means an NPC can be played just like a limited character, and they can appear in any thread where they reasonably can appear, and they can play a big part of any thread. There really isn't a major limitation to exactly what you can do with an NPC. Also, as other players can be added to an NPC's "whitelist," they too can play the character from their character's limited perspective.

Basically though, the boundary between a major NPC that requires a background application from one that doesn't is the level of intricacy they have on the thread. If they have minimal lines and practically no action, then they do not need a background application. That said, if they are tangible individuals that have significant involvement with the thread itself, then it should have a background application; if they affect the plot of the thread in an active manner, they need a background application. Naturally, this is a vague line, so we are depending on the better judgment of the members. Note that should a staff member decide that an NPC needs an application, that decision is final.

Under select circumstances, we may even permit you to play an entire thread through the perspective of the NPC, provided that you appeal to the staff for that ability.

What about the other "background" characters?

For the most part, you won't need a background application. Characters that only referenced once in a blue moon, characters that sit around and don't really do anything, characters that serve only to spruce up the background of a played (with an account) character et cetera generally do not need to have a background application written up. However, there are some exceptions; most of them should be pretty self-explanatory, but when in doubt, make sure you ask a staff member.

Are there any specific examples of background characters that need an application?

Sure there is. For example, major NPCs need a background application, but that's not all.

Generally, we require any character with a special ability to have a background application too. This is so you don't bring in your character and his ten animagi friends, for example. This same principle applies to family members in your character's history. If they have a special ability, they need a background application and staff approval for them to have that ability. We've actually had situations in the past where players try to "cheat" the system by giving their parents and/or other relatives special abilities and using that as justification for their character having a special ability.

Sound stupid, circular, and self-fulfilling? Yes, it sounds the same way to us too.

Note: as an addendum, if you have applied and had your character approved for a special ability, you can reasonably give this ability to some of your character's NPC family members provided that it is hereditary and uniformly expressed. For example, parseltongue is generally pretty consistently passed on, so if your character has the ability, it's not unreasonable to give it to either your character's mother or father. Naturally, if neither his mother or father appears in play, it'd be a bit draconian and unfair for us to demand an application given that the player has been approved for the ability.

This policy only applies to characters with close relatives that have previously unapproved special abilities.

We also ask for background NPCs for important, famous, and influential characters. For example, if your character's father works as the head of a department in the ministry, it would be nice to have a background application for it, instead of tying up the position with some invisible character. Typically, this also applies for any character which the majority of the people in the wizarding world would know. If your character's sister is as famous as the Weird Sisters, it would be good to give her a background application.

Can I edit the NPC?

Certainly. We don't close archived threads, so you can edit any of your approved characters. That said, we keep a record of the originally approved application, so we ask that you don't go running off making unreasonable changes. If your character is approved as an 80 year old head of department animagi, we don't want to suddenly see a 20 year old debutante veela.

We're just picky like that.