[hider=The Template]

[u][b]THE TEMPLATE (or dossier or whatever)[/b][/u]

Here is the Template you will fill out for your character. This one's pretty straightforward, ya know? Remember, even though this is a stat-based RP, it's still literate. Please give lots of details.

DOSSIER
[b]NAME[/b]: (Your character's name.)
[b]AGE[/b]: (While your character can be any age, Belroth does not employ child soldiers, so over 18 is necessary. Furthermore, if you're going to be in the field, you should probably be in the 25-40 range, as it’s unlikely anyone younger than that has the experience to merit being a Dreadnaught. You're probably not going to sell me on your 90 year old infantryman, either, but older characters, can still be valuable assets back at HQ)
[b]SEX[/b]: (M/F. Belroth is an equal opportunity employer, provided you get the job done.)
[b]NICKNAME[/b]: (Nicknames. If your character is a pilot/undercover operative/anything that would designate a callsign or codename, list that here too.)
[b]DESCRIPTION[/b]: (Height, weight, hair color, eye color, how do they walk, how do they talk, where'd they get them scars, so on and so forth. Every aspect of them that can be physically observed should be here. Okay not really but flesh this out. Remember, this needs to reflect your stats. Don't tell me your morbidly obese 50 year old has a Constitution of 8. Also, please, please, please don't make everyone in this RP pretty. Let's not do that. If you're in the field, you're probably roughed up and scarred a bit. Not to say there can't be attractive characters, but the Dreadnaughts aren't in the modelling business. )
[b]PERSONALITY[/b] (This is the only thing I value in women, the OP said untruthfully. Now, delve into their morals, values, code of honor, motives, etc, here. Do they have PTSD? How do they cope? Why are they with the Dreadnaughts? Etc.)
[b]ATTIRE[/b] (If they're in the field, describe what their BDU looks like. Again, if you're not familiar with military stuff, that's totally okay-I don't expect anyone here to be 100% realistic with the little details. The Dreadnaughts have no required uniform for battle, but their helmets all have the Dreadnaught insignia and their BDUs all have a Dreadnaughts patch. Feel free to ask for help.)
[b]WEAPON OF CHOICE[/b] (What is your character's preferred weapon(s)? If your character is not in the field, what would they use if they HAD to fight?)
[b]MUGGING[/b] (Some shady lookin' fella with a switchblade jumps your character in an alley and politely asks for your wallet. How does your character respond?)
[b]BIOGRAPHY[/b] (I hate, hate, hate bios. So, if you want to skimp a little here, or just hit the high points, that's cool with me. Your character, however, should have some level of expertise in whatever field they're working in for the Dreadnaughts, whether that's IT experience, working as a doctor or pilot, etc.)
[b]TALENTS[/b] (What are your character's talents? These aren't necessarily correlated with their skills: maybe it's something like playing piano, or being able to balance a chair on their chin. This is important, as the Dreadnaughts' Annual Talent Show will be a serious plot point later.)
[b]ROLE[/b]: (What Role does your character serve in the Dreadnaughts? Are they a combat medic? A pilot? An engineer? Maybe even a janitor back at the base? Remember, you do not necessarily have to be a combat role if you don't want to. We're going to need a well-rounded, multifaceted group to handle a lot of threats. If everyone is a sniper or everyone's an explosives expert, we're going to be screwed. Some of my favorite characters from previous incarnations of this were the more out-of-the-box roles: we had the Dreadnaughts psychiatrist, who specialized in deep cover operations and sweet-talking his way past the enemy, for instance. Some friendly recommendations for roles we may need fulfilled: [b]Pilot, Medic, Sniper[/b] (two, actually: one sniper and one spotter, who will switch off roles) [b]Infantrymen[/b] (and the lovely subcategories of Infantrymen: Explosives Specialists, Designated Marksmen, etc) [b]Intelligence/Advisers, Counter-Insurgency Specialists, Squad Leaders/Team Moms, and Vehicle Operators.[/b] Also the person with the shittiest stat distribution gets the role of “Waterboy/Team Bitch”)
[b]OTHER[/b] (Anything else important? Also, I was fucking with you about the Talent Show.)
[b]I LIKE[/b] (Once a couple sheets are in, post what characters your character likes. If you want, you can expound upon this. Ex. "I think Chad's cute")
[b]I DISLIKE[/b] (Once a couple sheets are in, post what characters your character dislikes. If you want, you can expound upon this. Ex. "Fuck you, Chad.")

[b]ATTRIBUTES[/b]
You have 19 points to allocate between each stat. Remember, you cannot have zero in a stat. Please don't be the dick that has 1's in 5 of the stats and then has a Strength of 14 or something. Remember your character should be able to make into the Dreadnaughts, an elite group. If you’re an infantryman with a Strength of 1, I’m going to question how you made it through the entry exams. One last time: it’s okay to suck at things. I’m sure it won’t come back to bite you or anything.

 [i]Strength
Dexterity
Constitution
Wisdom
Intelligence
Charisma[/i]

[b]SKILLS[/b] 
Remember, you don't fill this part out. Please don't give me suggested values, either. Every time someone gives suggested values, I notice they're suspiciously higher than the ones I would normally give them. 

Melee Combat, Finesse
Melee Combat, Brute
Unarmed Combat, Finesse
Unarmed Combat, Brute

Marksmanship
Explosives
Tactics
Operating

Medicine
Sneaking
Mechanics
Camouflage
Survival

Persuasion
Intimidation
Regulation
Lying
Leadership

Willpower
Morale
Stamina
Health

[b]SPECIALIZATION[/b]

Your character’s absolute best quality or skill. This is specific. “Being very good with guns” is not a specialization. “Marksmanship: Long Rifles” or “Marksmanship: Handguns” would be a specialization. Alternatively, it could be “Unarmed Combat: Krav Maga”, “Persuasion: Talking People Down”, or something similar.

[/hider]

[hider=The Rules]
[u][b]RULES[/b][/u]

These rules are final. Any dilemmas, suggestions, or questions you have, I'm happy to hear them.

1. My word is final. I am willing to indulge in debate, as there are very rare moments when I'm wrong, but at the end of the day my call is final. I don't want to go about starting controversy or making things authoritarian, and for the most part I want this RP to be run by you guys as much as possible-however, if I feel you're doing something out of line and call you on it, be prepared to swallow your pride and go with it. It sucks, I know.

2. No godmodding, metagaming, powerplaying, autohitting, etc. This is theoretically impossible with the stat system, but hey, I'm putting it out there anyways. 

3. There are no rules regarding the preservation of your characters. Lemme put this to you this way: if you fuck yourself over, I'm not doing shit to help you out, and your teammates aren't obliged to either. If you decide to run headlong into a firefight, try and set off explosives ten feet away from you, or plunge into hypothermic water bare-ass naked, you're probably gonna die. There will be no Plot Armor, no mysterious bending of the laws of physics to ensure your character lives, etc. You probably won't even get to utter any badass last words. As in real life, death is a very real possibility in combat. If you don't (rightly) feel your character is in genuine danger, there's not going to be as much suspense in this RP. [b]By joining this RP, you are waiving your right to throw a hissyfit if your character dies. No one has Plot Armor. There will be no implausibly lucky events to save your character if they get themselves into a bad situation. I want there to be real suspense in this RP and, as such, there’s a real risk your character can die.[/b]

4. Building off that previous rule-teamwork. Your characters are welcome to hate one another, but you're all fighting for the same side (for now...mwahahaha). You will find that trying to go off on your own or actively thwart your teammates may not turn out very well. United, you stand, divided, you get your asses handed to you. Similarly, treat your fellow RP'ers with respect. If you have an issue with the way someone's RP'ing, I am more than happy to hear it. I ask that you PM me instead of taking it into your own hands, just so we don't have grudges and such mucking up the RP.

5. Realism is very important. Now, none of us (presumably) have been in the military, and even fewer of us have worked as mercenaries. So don't feel like you need to go look up a list of military jargon and speak 100% accurately, or act perfectly 100% like a soldier. I'm referring more to the RP'ing elements: if you shoot a gun, mention that it has recoil. Eventually, said gun will run out of bullets. And eventually, YOU will run out of bullets. Now, I don't want to keep a running ammo count, etc, so I'll trust you guys unless it gets out of hand. If your character is packing a ton of ammunition, then they'll move slower and may suffer Dexterity penalties/Stamina faster. If your character carries one magazine so they can run nice and fast, that's great, but I'll be suspicious if they fire non-stop for sixty posts. Your characters will get hungry, thirsty, hurt, afraid, so on and so forth. If you don't take it upon yourselves to be realistic, I'll enforce realism upon you. If you shoot your rifle for a post straight, you should mention reloading. Infinite ammunition, perfect aiming, and never getting hit by shrapnel are advantages that Hollywood heroes have that we do not.

6. This stat system is fluid! Holistic is perhaps a better word. I don't want us to be constrained by it, but rather have it help us out. So if I decide that it's getting in the way, we can make changes. Again, I'm very welcome to suggestions or critiques.

7. This RP will be literate. We may roll some die to determine whether or not you shot that terrorist or shot some poor civilian twenty yards to his right (you have shitty aim in this scenario), but overall, I expect quality posts. Your characters should be shown and not told. Details should be given and several paragraphs per post are expected. Quality posts here, guys. This RP will move at a pretty slow pace, so I don't feel like it's ridiculous to ask for. You don't need to write walls of text each time your character takes a piss, but in the heat of a firefight, there is plenty of detail to discuss. 

8. Creativity! Please do not submit thirty battle-hardened, endured-some-unbelievably-traumatic-past-but-is-still-totally-capable-of-functioning-in-society crack shot snipers. Please. I'm begging you. There are no Mary Sues, there are no perfect characters. If I sense that your character is annoyingly tragic or annoyingly perfect, I will call you on it. I don't want to be a dick here but I've seen a lot of sheets like that and they're annoying, first and foremost, but an insult to your fellow writers, who now have to RP alongside a 2-d caricature. Your character should have flaws, but virtues. Desires and fears. Natural reactions to their experiences. Remember, any position is welcome with the Dreadnaughts: infantryman, medic, sniper, pilot, explosives expert, a deep cover agent, so on and so forth. Hell, we had a 70 year old drill sergeant and someone who RP'ed as an attack dog once. Your character should have a legitimate reason for being with a mercenary organization as well. Money? Prestige? Maybe they get into a teensy bit of trouble back home and are looking for an extradition-proof shelter? So on and so forth. The Dreadnaughts also have a harsh rule on killing one of their own (outside of combat, that is-I'm talking the Mafia and such), and have deterred most criminal groups from getting revenge. If you run afoul of some not-so-friendly types, the Dreadnaughts could be a potential guardian angel for you.

9. This isn't really a rule, but feel free to call me Shade. It's the normal handle I use on RP'ing websites and some [s]jackass imposter[/s] other member of this website [s]dared lay claim to[/s] took the username 'fore I could get my [s]bloodthirsted claws[/s] hands on it. 

10. Oh yeah. Cursing and shit’s okay. Also, this will be dealing with some mature themes. If your character’s a woman and gets taken prisoner, bad things might happen. Drugs, alcoholism, etc will likely come up. If you’re going to have a sexual relationship/a rape scene, that’s fine (well, I mean, rape’s not fine, but you know what I mean), but fade to black. Otherwise, go crazy.

11. I touched on this before but watch for power creep and character pissing contests. Some of your characters will be quantifiably better than others in certain fields. If you are better than every other character at everything, then you’re probably the OP who doesn’t have to play by the rules (hah suck it). In all seriousness, use the stats as a guide. You are not trying to “win” this RP, nor are you out to convince us all of how badass your soldier is. Being badass isn’t something you have to tell people or remind people of-and amongst the ranks of the Dreadnaughts, it’s pretty damned difficult to stand out as exceptionally badass. Please be mature about this and don’t try and have the sexiest/smartest/strongest/etc character out there. Being the best in your field is okay; being the best in every field is not.[/hider]