NPCs or "Non-Player Characters" are characters that you can create solely for your own enjoyment. They can range from a mission partner to aid you in challenges your character may not be equipped for or even your actual enemy that can be controlled by a another RPer. You're only required to make an application for NPCs that will be used in any type of combat situation or in missions (even if the mission does not involve combat). All others don't need to be approved for use.

General / Creation Rules

NPCs that you create should all be for personal plot use, roleplay with other Player Characters, or for personal Events. NPCs for use as site-wide plot devices can only be created by an admin or a member that has been given permission to do so for an event they've been approved to organize.

They will be allowed to have custom SCs, techniques, kits, weapons, etc like any other character.

NPCs CAN be killed and captured, just like any other character, so if they play an important part in your character's story and you want to keep them around for later topics, please be aware of this fact.

You MUST ask for permission from the original creator to play as an NPC not created by you as well as to include the NPC in a topic in general. If you capture an NPC and wish to have a topic with them, their creator may opt to participate as their NPC in order to portray them more accurately.

Do keep in mind that using an NPC to transfer anything between your own characters, including information via letters or messages, is in violation of the rules, and as such should not be attempted. On that note, avoid using your NPC with both of your characters as much as possible, as it could be fairly easy to break the rules, even if it wasn't your intention.

As far as the approval process goes, they're going to be critiqued much like a normal character. This means that they will be held to the same standards as far as what's acceptable and what's not in terms of jutsu, weapons, and the like. Unlike player characters, an NPCs profile and arsenal should be kept in the same thread, but as separate posts.

Much like the dynamics between player characters within a clan, if you create an NPC from a clan, any player character or NPC of that clan and same affiliation (village nin only) will have access to a name and potentially the face of the NPC/character - but other details will remain unknown. For example, if Player A has an A-Rank Uchiha, and Player B creates a B-rank Uchiha NPC, Player A's character is likely to have seen/heard the name of the NPC at some point, and maybe know their face, but no other details without permission from the NPC's creator.

Combat Rules

While NPCs might seem like a great way to help you win fights against other players, NPCs cannot always be used in this way. If the other players give their consent, then you will be permitted to use an NPC in combat to their fullest potential. But in situations where you don't bother asking first, or the other participants don't want an NPC to be a full participant in combat, there are restrictions to how much NPC involvement is allowed:

• The fighting will primarily be done by your character, leaving the NPC to do a very minimal amount.
  
• The NPC's actions cannot be the strongest influence in the fight.
  
• The higher the NPC's rank in comparison to your character's opponent, the less combat the NPC will participate in.
  
• You cannot use the NPC to bail you out of a situation you would not otherwise be able to escape.
  
• NPCs cannot be used to kill or capture a player's character unless it is a plot NPC or the victim has given written consent for the NPC to have the ability to kill and/or capture them, i.e. "If I lose the fight against this NPC you have every right to kill or capture me", or something along those lines (planning death by NPC would be subject to the suicide rules).
  
• If the topic is left open and at least two consecutive, uninterrupted posts have been made by the topic creator and an NPC is already present, entering the topic and starting a fight will count as consent for the NPC's involvement.
  

Alternatively, if your main character is present, but not participating in the fight, you may exclusively fight as your NPC - and if you simply enter a thread as the NPC, there are also no restrictions. Keep in mind though that as per the rules, only playing as an NPC in a thread means that the rewards will only be applied to that NPC.

These rules only apply if other player characters are in your threads, so you can fight against NPCs controlled by others freely (and vice versa).

NPC Types

As the title implies, these are run of the mill NPCs that you make to use in your basic threads, missions and the like.

These NPCs are created exclusively for event purposes, and are only to be created by staff or by the creator of an event (after being granted permission). Plot NPCs are special because they can act on their own in any topics involved in the event plot (usually played by a staff member) and tend to have larger arsenals and more powerful abilities. All other restrictions still apply.

Advanced NPCs are the most unique type. These occur when a player decides that they are done with their character, but don't wish to archive them. All of these NPCs will be moved into a special section within their affiliation's "headquarters" and are available for use by all. No permission is required to include them in social topics - other uses will typically require approval. Advanced NPCs can typically accompany others of similar rank on missions, and in rare cases (with admin permission) serve as squad leaders. However, they can only be used for combat against other player characters if the village/faction as a whole is put in danger, such as during times of war or during a siege.

To have your character turned into an advanced NPC, simply make a request in the NPC section of the registry. Keep in mind that you can’t take this action back and resume playing your character as normal later.

NPC Creation

While not required in all circumstances*, you are allowed, as an alternative to posting as an NPC through your normal account, to create a new account solely for the NPC (Pro-tip: to make this work without needing more than 2 email addresses, be sure to change the email address of each account to the same one after creation). If you do use this method, however, you must include a link in the NPC account’s signature linking to your “player character account” to notify everyone (and the staff) who created the NPC. You will be held accountable for anything posted through that account, so be careful about sharing the login information to that account with anybody/change the password after somebody finishes a thread with the NPC.

*Plot/Event/Special NPCs will always have separate accounts, but your personal NPCs don’t always need separate accounts. Even if you create a separate account, you can simply link to the NPC’s profile and include them in your posts normally as it can be a lot of extra work if you’re writing solo or both your character and NPC(s) are in a thread together.

To create an NPC, simply post a completed character profile and arsenal in the registry with [NPC] in the topic title. Use the normal character creation templates -- but any paragraph-type sections don't need to be as detailed as they would be for a player character. The "starting funds" also apply to personal NPCs - only plot NPCs can bypass this number.

Despite the nature of NPCs, you will be able to "upgrade" them much like you would progress your own characters.

When an NPC is approved, the staff member will simply reply with an "NPC Account" post. When an NPC "participates" in a thread, you will be required to post a link to that NPCs profile in your "Evaluation" request. However, an NPC will only receive half (rounded according to math rules) of the normal rewards for completing a thread (this includes missions). If a player would normally only receive a single point, that amount remains the same for the NPC.

When you're ready to spend the NPC's points, simply post in the registry with "NPC Upgrade" in the title, and ask for any "upgrades" like you would for a normal character.

The main purpose of allowing this is so that NPCs can develop as time passes, as it would be rather unrealistic for them to be frozen in time and never get stronger.