[center][h2]Expanding Horizons[/h2][h1][b]Groups[/b][/h1][h2]Group Sheet Information and Template[/h2][hr]Groups, also known as factions, are individual people working together for common goal. This is not only an option, but a suggestion! Expanding Horizons as a setting is at its best when characters and their players are working together to build something. The entire goal of the universe is to be collaborative and inclusive! With that in mind, we suggest forming official groups.
 
At minimum a group needs five individual Roleplayer Guild members not to exceed ten if possible, the completion of the template which you will find below, and an approval by Staff. These official groups, because they are recognized as an actual faction in Expanding Horizons, get some pretty nifty bonuses that unofficial groups otherwise lack. However, a character can only be in one official group at a time.
 
First of all, an official group can come up with up to three group specific powers that - while other people might be able to use from time to time - the faction you and other members are in are considered masters of. These benefits don't need to be part of the "Big Three" - Magic, Technology or even Mundanity - but that is a good place to start. Regardless of what you choose, it is unique to the group and theirs alone. While it could eventually be stolen, duplicated or even made obsolete with time, it still belongs to you and can only have those things happen to it in the story, or more likely, in a fight.
 
Each member of a group has access to it, just by being in that group, and is allowed to partake in that power so choose wisely! The possibilities are endless, limited only by your imagination and what the Staff believes to be appropriate without being overwhelming. So then feel free to create whatever you can and communicate its ability and potential clearly. The Staff are much more likely to approve groups that have more information and that which is specific. Being too vague means a chosen power might be just too powerful now and get declined!
 
Once a group is approved it will be granted a territory such as a planet or ship, but feel free to request something specific to your faction; just know you cannot take what others already have by doing this. This territory, like their power, belongs only to them. In it, they have complete say and dominion, able to use it as they see fit so long as they do not break the rules. They also have three critical points, or locations, items, technologies or similar themes that are [i]extremely[/i] important to them. The only way to have more than three critical points however, is to take them from another group in a fight or through diplomatic relations and share them. If you capture a critical point through player versus player conflict, you get that critical point to add to your group and then of course can alter the lay of the land that applies to it.
 
If a group loses all three critical assets, it ceases to have its unique power and its territory. It is still an official group, but in order to gain those benefits again, or develop new ones, it will need to capture three critical points, be them new or those they lost. Critical points will be the main topics of Expanding Horizon, in which battles or alliances take place between existing groups. As such the write-up for the territory, as well as its critical points, should be as detailed and specific as possible for the sake of everyone involved.
 
The guidelines for writing up a group, their abilities, and their territory are below. If you are still uncertain and have questions, use our [b]Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)[/b] page [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/163687-frequently-asked-questions-faq/ooc]here[/url].[hr][h2]Overview[/h2][/center][quote]
[h3][center][b]Faction Sheet for (Your Group's Name Goes In Here)[/b][/center][/h3][b]Name:[/b] (Your group's name goes here again. Think about who they are, what they represent, what their goals or identifying qualities are. Are they the Dominion of Solitude? The Destroyers of Hope? Give it a nifty name no one else has or could be mistaken for, just like a character's name.)
[b]Graphic:[/b] (Your group's logo, insignia, flag or standard goes here. Try to picture a symbol that makes them immediately iconic to everyone else. Make sure it reflects who they are too, just like a name. The graphic is more or less the first impression others are going to get from your group other than what it is called.)
[b]Motto:[/b] (Your group's creed, ethos or moot. What words do you live by? Are the inspirational? Intimidating? Compassionate? That's for you to decide, but try to live it out in everything your characters do while they're in the faction. They reflect it and it reflects them!)
[b]Leader:[/b] (Your group's leader or leaders. Who takes responsibility for the group and its actions, if at all? Who is their figurehead that people recognize outside the group? What makes them the leader? How long have they led the group? Think along these lines for this part.)
 
[b]Description:[/b] (Your group's description. Try to write this as an outsider looking in, attempting to catalogue or write them down. Alternatively, you could write this section for your faction from the eyes of its members and how they perceive it - just be sure that whatever vision you go with, it is accurate.)
[b]Goals:[/b] (Your group's goals, desires and drives. What motivates them to work together as they are? There has to be a reason, so elaborate how it came to be and where it is going in the future. Be precise too, because mixing messages makes it hard for others to know how to react.)
 
[b]Unique Abilities:[/b] (Your group's specific powers. You only have a maximum of three of these. With each additional ability unique to the group it will make it much harder to justify them all and gain Staff approval. Try to start small because you can always grow later and request to have new ones added.)
 
[b]Territories:[/b] (Your group's controlled territories. First and foremost is the group's official territory, but list any other areas of influence or even outright control they have. Describe what people see or feel in each of them and try to imagine a day in the life of such a place. Remember, you only get what is approved by Staff, so later additions require speaking with them just like you would for new unique abilities.)
[list][*] [b]Critical Point:[/b] (Your group's most important and vulnerable asset. Losing this critical location or resource, be it a ship, a planet, a technology, a magical ability, an item or the sort will hurt your group the most.)
[*][b]Critical Point:[/b] (Your group's second most valuable asset. If you lost this it would hurt more than your very last one and not nearly as much as the first, but it would still badly affect your faction.)
[*][b]Critical Point:[/b] (Your group's third and last most important asset. The last and "least" important of the three most important objects, locations, people or the sort to your group. Like the first two, harm to this is going to significantly affect you.)[/list]
[b]Allies:[/b] (Your group's allies. Does your faction have anyone it associates with and considers a friend? They can be individuals outside the faction, as well as other groups. Try to limit these to other actual players or player groups. If they have no allies, just state they have none.)
[b]Enemies:[/b] (Your group's enemies. Is there anyone who is a sworn enemy of your group? If so, who are they? Why? Are they just competition or are they legitimately out to take or destroy everything you have? Like with allies, try to fill this section out only with actual players' creations. If your group is neutral to all others, just state that or say they have none.)
 
[b]Members:[/b] (Your group's most important members. You need to provide a mention to each of these Roleplayer Guild members, then list their character or characters afterward. You must have at least five members, but cannot have more than ten.)
[@(Username)]'s Characters: (Your group's members who belong to this user.)
[@(Username)]'s Characters: (Your group's members who belong to this user.)
[@(Username)]'s Characters: (Your group's members who belong to this user.)
[@(Username)]'s Characters: (Your group's members who belong to this user.)
[@(Username)]'s Characters: (Your group's members who belong to this user.)
[/quote][center][h2]Template[/h2][hr]The template contained in the hider below is in code. All you need to do is copy and paste it into your post, fill it out, then submit it. Make sure every area is completed and feel free to add more to it if you wish.[/center][hider=Faction Sheet Template][code][h3][center][b]Faction Sheet for (Your Group's Name Goes In Here)[/b][/center][/h3][b]Name:[/b] (Your group's name goes here again. Think about who they are, what they represent, what their goals or identifying qualities are. Are they the Dominion of Solitude? The Destroyers of Hope? Give it a nifty name no one else has or could be mistaken for, just like a character's name.)
[b]Graphic:[/b] (Your group's logo, insignia, flag or standard goes here. Try to picture a symbol that makes them immediately iconic to everyone else. Make sure it reflects who they are too, just like a name. The graphic is more or less the first impression others are going to get from your group other than what it is called.)
[b]Motto:[/b] (Your group's creed, ethos or moot. What words do you live by? Are the inspirational? Intimidating? Compassionate? That's for you to decide, but try to live it out in everything your characters do while they're in the faction. They reflect it and it reflects them!)
[b]Leader:[/b] (Your group's leader or leaders. Who takes responsibility for the group and its actions, if at all? Who is their figurehead that people recognize outside the group? What makes them the leader? How long have they led the group? Think along these lines for this part.)
 
[b]Description:[/b] (Your group's description. Try to write this as an outsider looking in, attempting to catalogue or write them down. Alternatively, you could write this section for your faction from the eyes of its members and how they perceive it - just be sure that whatever vision you go with, it is accurate.)
[b]Goals:[/b] (Your group's goals, desires and drives. What motivates them to work together as they are? There has to be a reason, so elaborate how it came to be and where it is going in the future. Be precise too, because mixing messages makes it hard for others to know how to react.)
 
[b]Unique Abilities:[/b] (Your group's specific powers. You only have a maximum of three of these. With each additional ability unique to the group it will make it much harder to justify them all and gain Staff approval. Try to start small because you can always grow later and request to have new ones added.)
 
[b]Territories:[/b] (Your group's controlled territories. First and foremost is the group's official territory, but list any other areas of influence or even outright control they have. Describe what people see or feel in each of them and try to imagine a day in the life of such a place. Remember, you only get what is approved by Staff, so later additions require speaking with them just like you would for new unique abilities.)
[list][*] [b]Critical Point:[/b] (Your group's most important and vulnerable asset. Losing this critical location or resource, be it a ship, a planet, a technology, a magical ability, an item or the sort will hurt your group the most.)
 
[*][b]Critical Point:[/b] (Your group's second most valuable asset. If you lost this it would hurt more than your very last one and not nearly as much as the first, but it would still badly affect your faction.)
[*][b]Critical Point:[/b] (Your group's third and last most important asset. The last and "least" important of the three most important objects, locations, people or the sort to your group. Like the first two, harm to this is going to significantly affect you.)[/list]
[b]Allies:[/b] (Your group's allies. Does your faction have anyone it associates with and considers a friend? They can be individuals outside the faction, as well as other groups. Try to limit these to other actual players or player groups. If they have no allies, just state they have none.)
[b]Enemies:[/b] (Your group's enemies. Is there anyone who is a sworn enemy of your group? If so, who are they? Why? Are they just competition or are they legitimately out to take or destroy everything you have? Like with allies, try to fill this section out only with actual players' creations. If your group is neutral to all others, just state that or say they have none.)
 
[b]Members:[/b] (Your group's most important members. You need to provide a mention to each of these Roleplayer Guild members, then list their character or characters afterward. You must have at least five members, but cannot have more than ten.)
[@(Username)]'s Characters: (Your group's members who belong to this user.)
[@(Username)]'s Characters: (Your group's members who belong to this user.)
[@(Username)]'s Characters: (Your group's members who belong to this user.)
[@(Username)]'s Characters: (Your group's members who belong to this user.)
[@(Username)]'s Characters: (Your group's members who belong to this user.)
[/code][/hider]
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