Guide:Starbase Bravo

Not to be confused with the in-character article about Starbase Bravo.

Starbase Bravo is an ongoing open sandbox for members of Bravo Fleet. Open to everyone, this space is meant to provide people with an opportunity to write character development stories and organic plots to their hearts' content, without relying on direct game manager intervention like a traditional RPG. Members start off in generalist roles and gain access to specialised or leadership positions by posting with others. The more Duty Ribbons you earn on Starbase Bravo, the greater access to ranks and positions you earn. Though meant primarily as a collaborative writing space, this is also a place where members may write solo stories about the crew, though those posts do not count towards their advancement within the sandbox. This guide is meant to help you understand how to join, what (and how) to write, and what sort of positions you have access to.

Before you proceed, please read the Starbase Bravo Rules.

Initial Character Creation and Joining

Any Bravo Fleet member can apply to join Starbase Bravo. It is highly recommended, but not required, that you complete the Character Creation Program, which is necessary for advancement beyond entry-level positions and can help you find many helpful resources here on the wiki to create realistic characters.

Unlike a traditional game, characters are not evaluated based on their fit for the sandbox other than whether or not they follow the Intelligence Office Policy. It would be wise to look at the Intelligence Office Guides as well. Generally speaking, as long as you're not attempting to play as a non-canon or prohibited species, and you're proposing a character within the rank and position guidelines listed below, it will be accepted.

Initial characters should be Tier 1 characters, which means they should have a generic position like Science Officer or Security Officer, though they may hold up to the officer rank of lieutenant commander or the enlisted grade of chief petty officer. Cadets and enlisted trainees are allowed, and have their own rank guidelines. Civilian characters are allowed, unrestricted by tier. The titles available in the open positions list are available to initial characters.

You should create a character on the BFMS, set to Story Mode, and assigned to Starbase Bravo. Then click here to fill out the application. Note: for the writing sample, you can provide a sample if you desire or just write "Starbase Bravo initial application" in the box, as we will not be evaluating your sample post, just making sure that your character follows the lore policy.

You may not create additional characters until you have advanced in the game (see below).

What to Write

As an open sandbox, Starbase Bravo exists as a place to write about the lives and work of the crew without the constant action, activity requirements, or mission directives of a traditional RPG. Members thus have free reign to write as much as they wish and about whatever they wish - within the confines of the game. The advancement structure hinges on joint posts, so we encourage you to reach out to your fellow members to organize stories together. As long as you don't change the main mission/political situation or hurt anyone else's character, feel free to write as you see fit!

Starbase Bravo missions provide further structure within that. Lasting three to six months on average, staff members introduce a situation facing the starbase or operations for its crewmembers to undertake. They differ from those of traditional RPGs, merely introducing a scenario and offering suggestions, plot hooks, or mission parameters which members can choose to develop and undertake of their own accord, with other members of their own choice and to a conclusion of their own choosing. They are also never a clear and present threat to the station; they do not disrupt everyday life or demand the primary attention of every officer, and as such engagement with them is completely optional.

The emphasis, however, is on members driving this writing. You choose what story hooks to pick up on, who to write with, and how to resolve your mission. While you should never write something which 'resolves' the whole overarching situation without staff permission, there is plenty of room for your characters to have their own important stories within the scenario. Free reign can admittedly be a little intimidating, but this really is your oyster.

But this means that you should keep posts and their storylines relatively small, or at least focused, in scope. People participate in and write on Starbase Bravo at their own pace, and the game by-design is a sandbox for focused and character-based stories. The game also is very open in terms of who can participate and who can write, and to accommodate for this, no player should be put in a position where they have no choice but to write with a certain storyline or other player. As such, no member-created storyline should necessitate other players and characters knowing about it, to allow people to opt-in and opt-out as they see fit.

This means no plot should affect the whole station - but Starbase Bravo is a veritable floating city, with over a hundred thousand people aboard. A lot can happen - even big, dramatic, or dangerous events - about which another crewmember has absolutely no idea, or at least doesn't need to drop everything and get involved. Think about it this way: if your idea would necessitate one of the senior officers being informed—a major disease outbreak, an accident involving a starship in the docking bay, an external security threat, major damage to station components—it is likely too big for a member-initiated plot line, so it would be best to ask about it first.

Keep in mind, too, that Starbase Bravo's content is restricted to 111 on the RPG Ratings scale. More information on acceptable content is found in the rules.

How to Write

The Starbase Bravo staff will create a mission approximately every six months or sometimes for an applicable fleet-wide Campaign, which will lay out the present storyline. You can directly post in this mission, either on your own or with other people.

It's considered polite to request a joint post with someone before you start the post, so reach out on Discord. If you have a higher tier position in a department, try to be willing to write with others as much as possible. Again, check the rules on content guidelines, and the guide on joint writing if you need technical assistance.

Advancement within Starbase Bravo

There are seven tiers of positions, each of which have rank guidelines. These tiers contain increasingly more specialized and increasingly more senior titles. At each tier the number of positions available gets smaller, because realistically there can only be so many Heads, Deputy Directors, and Directors. Access to these tiers rests on your contribution to the sandbox by writing joint posts, which is a model that is widespread in the wider RPG universe. The actual positions available are listed in the Starbase Bravo positions guide. Members may earn access to the first six tiers, with the sixth and seventh tier being reserved for Starbase Bravo's staff members from Bravo Fleet Academy, the Intelligence Office, and the Operations Office or the Bravo Fleet Senior Staff.

When you reach eligibility for a higher tier, if you want to add another character or change your character's rank/position accordingly, you should contact the a member of Bravo Fleet Academy. Please make it clear on which character(s) you have been posting to earn a sufficient number of DRs to make it as simple as possible for the Academy staff member to confirm your eligibility. Your tier upgrade and changes to your character position will then be processed within a week.

Note: You are not required to change your character's position or rank just because you have access to a higher tier. You're also not required to keep the same character, or only use your original character, when promotion to a particular position or rank wouldn't make logical sense for the character's age and service record. (i.e. You don't need to end up a 22 year-old commander because that's what position tier you gained access to.)

Starbase Bravo Position Tiers

Tier	Position Examples	Rank Guidelines	Post Requirements	Characters Allowed
Tier I - Entry Level	Security Officer/Specialist Science Officer/Specialist	ENS - LCDR CN - CPO	None - Initial Join	1
Tier II - Specialists/Supervisors (Requires completion of Character Creation Program)	Patrol Shift Supervisor Geology Officer/Specialist	ENS - LCDR CN - CPO	5 Duty Ribbons earned on SBB	2
Tier III - Section Heads	Head of Patrol Section Head of Geology	LT, LTCDR CPO, SCPO	15 Duty Ribbons Earned on SBB	3
Tier IV - Department Deputy Directors	Deputy Director of Promenade Security Deputy Director of Planetary Sciences	LTCDR, CMDR SCPO, MCPO	30 Duty Ribbons Earned on SBB	4
Tier V - Department Directors	Director of Promenade Security Director of Planetary Sciences	LTCDR, CMDR MCPO	60 Duty Ribbons earned on SBB	5
Tier VI - Division Assistant Chiefs	Assistant Chief Security Officer Assistant Chief Science Officer	CMDR MCPO	100 Duty Ribbons earned on SBB	6
Tier VII - Division Chiefs	Chief Security Officer Chief Science Officer	CMDR, CAPT MCPO	None - Academy / Intelligence / Operations staff only
Tier VIII - Command-level Officers	Executive Officer Commanding Officer	XO: CAPT CO: Flag Officer	None - BFSS / Academy / Intelligence / Operations staff only
Notes: Post requirements are cumulative, not specific to each tier. It could reasonably take a person a year or longer to reach tier VI, at 8 or 9 posts a month, and this is intended to be aspirational and to encourage you to be as social as possible! For the sake of clarity, cadet and trainee guidelines aren't included here, so check the available positions guide.