A general overview of the Star Army Scifi Roleplay Community.

1. Star Army Essential Info on the Internet’s best Space Opera Roleplaying Community

2. What is Star Army? Star Army is a space opera-themed forum roleplaycommunity featuring a continually expanding, highly-detailed original universe created by its members. Multiple factions offer a variety of cultures and adventures to roleplay in.

3. About Star Army Star Army is a free, donation-supported community. Star Army related roleplay began in 2000 and the StarArmy.com site was created in 2003. Mid-size member base (not too big or small) NMX Scout Ship

4. Star Army Features Forums Wiki (with RSS) IRC Channel (#StarArmy) PHP Random Generators Podcasts (SARPtalk) Art Commissions Projects (pictured right: “SARP Nerds Magazine” covers)

5. The Setting Major forces that define the Star Army universe

6. Setting Overview Inspired by classic anime and sci-fi series, Star Army is set in a small cluster of stars in an unknown galaxy inhabited by various human, transhuman and alien species. Originally a background site for the multiverse-roaming Yamatai Star Empire, the setting went on to become its own setting with dozens of players and thousands of pages of user-created content.

7. Major Factions The setting features four main superpowers that arose due to the fragmentation of the Yamatai Star Empire at several points in recent history. The four powers are as seen below: The Yamatai Star Empire The Democratic Imperium of Nepleslia The United Outer Colonies The NMX

8. Yamatai The Yamatai Star Empire, a Japanese and Norse-themed utopian society composed primarily by the genetically-engineered all-female Nekovalkryja and the more human bioroidYamataians. Generally considered to be a benevolent if slightly belligerent superpower in recent years... as long as you don't make an enemy of them. Yamatai would be familiar to fans of space opera and mecha series such as Macross and Martian Successor Nadesico.

9. Yamatai YSE Flag Star Army emblem Plumeria-class Gunship V6C HayabusaStarfighter

10. Yamatai Sharie-class Battleship YSS Eucharis A Nekovalkyrja

11. Nepleslia The Democratic Imperium of Nepleslia, an Americanized dystopian cyberpunk society inhabited largely by Hollywood cyborgs, overmuscular super soldiers and gun-crazy everymen. Previously a junta that legitimized itself and instituted universal healthcare, brought (relative) peace and order to the streets and is more concerned with rebuilding infrastructure than conquering its neighbors. This faction is a great home for fans of Starship Troopers (both the novels and movies) and Warhammer 40K.

12. Nepleslia

13. The UOC The United Outer Colonies, a utopian peacekeeper nation that recently broke off from The Yamatai Star Empire, and seeks to bring peace to the sector. Japanese in flavor as with Yamatai, with some hints of the EU/UN and more gothic ship and architectural styling. Generally considered to be a lighter and softer Yamatai, it is currently on the verge of collapse beneath the weight of the invading NMX.

14. The UOC UOCPF emblem

15. The NMX In addition, there is an unambiguously villainous superpower known as the NMX or Neo Mishhuvurthyar Xhrafuklurp, a race of tentacled eldritch abominations that enslave, consume or destroy all in their wake. Known to warp the perceptions of their slaves and induce perverse and unimaginable pleasures and agonies, and making grits (and sausage made from their prisoners) a part of their standard rations for conscripts.

16. The NMX

17. Minor Factions Several minor powers have appeared over the course of the past few years, often written by a single hardworking writer with a lot of free time. These lesser factions are: The Abwehran Star Empire The Lorath Matriarchy The Freespacers The Iromakuanhe Astral Commonwealth

18. Abwehrans The Abwehran Star Empire, the national government of the four-armed Abwehrans. Possess a strong naval tradition would do the Honor Verse proud, complete with boxy starships and relatively mundane science fiction weaponry. Influences heavily by the aforementioned Honor Verse, as well as healthy dose of Grimdark. Considered one of the 'harder' parts of the setting.

19. Abwehrans

20. The Lorath The Lorath Matriarchy, a protectorate consisting of the winged humanoid Lorath race, who were previously ruled over by the YSE but banded with the UOC when it declared independence from The Empire. One of the few factions to retain slavery (in one form or another) after the formation of the United Outer Colonies, with no lack of irony. In addition to fielding extremely powerful mildly overengineered units, they also have a penchant for uniforms reminiscent of WWII Germany, extreme arrogance, genocidal military actions, and fantastic racism towards the artificial Nekovalkryja.

21. The Lorath

22. Freespacers The Freespacers, a race of nomadic pacifistic transhumans who coexist with AI and other synthetic lifeforms in a single large commune connected by a sprawling interstellar communications network. They possess short lifespans as a consequence of genetic adaptations to the background radiation of their haphazardly constructed vessels, and have a preference for railguns and nuclear weapons. They are known to field implausible or insane designs that cause headaches or dropped jaws to staff and players alike.

23. Freespacers

24. Freespacers Note: Freespacers can currently serve on Nepleslian military ships

25. The Iroma The Iromakuanhe Astral Commonwealth, the national government of the transhumanIromakuanhe. An isolated faction in the grips of a civil war, that fields organic technology, humongous mecha and attack drones as its mainstay instead of Powered Armor. They have one of the most comprehensive back stories and fluff databases on the site.

26. The Iroma

27. Independent Plots / Characters Characters and plots do not have to choose a faction. Independents can take up careers as salvagers, cargo transporters, pirates, businessmen, etc. Non-canon Free Roleplayforums also available.

28. ROLEPLAY How to Participate (pictured right: forum banners for various Star Army roleplay plots)

29. Roleplay Plots The basic unit of roleplay is the plot, which consists of a group of 3-10 players and a game master (storyteller). Plots are usually often set on a starship. There are usually 12 to 16 plots running on Star Army at any given time, with some in military factions and others being independent. Each has a roleplay forum and a wiki page which includes all the essential information and a list of openings.

30. Character-Based Roleplay Typically the action happens at the character level where player characters start off as a member of a starship crew and can work their way up, over many missions, towards becoming a ship captain (and become a storyteller for members). It is possible to work outside of this format, but joining a crew is popular because players are assured a group of roleplayers to interact with.

31. Roleplay Format Actual roleplay can take place either on the forums directly (single posting), or writing as a group in a secondary medium and then posting the result onto the roleplay forums (joint posting). Joint posting venues used by Star Army plots have included IRC channels, Yahoo chat, and Etherpad.

32. Joining At Star Army we’re always on the lookout for more friendly geeks like us and we make it a point to make our site as new-member-friendly as possible. To some, the depth of Star Army’s setting may seem intimidating at first, but to counter this we have a comprehensive guide for new players and an easy fill-in-the-blank character template that will write the code to copy-paste into your character’s wiki page.

33. Joining To get started, visit StarArmy.com and press the big green button. Note: You must be sixteen or older to participate.

34. Credits Special thanks to Wes Davis, Exhack, and other Star Army contributors for the content of this guide. For questions or comments please visit StarArmy.com, email wes@stararmy.com or call (209) STAR-ARMY.