NPCs and Dual Roles
MU*ing has always had, in its penumbra, questions of who characters belong to that aren't necessarily full characters, but rather tend to be accessories to another character's arc who are deeply and intimately tied to that character. Some ambiguity on this front is inevitable, but we're going to do our best to get ahead of the question.
NPCing
The primary character you are expected to play is the one you apped. However, the occasional bit of NPCing can add tension, address logic questions, or propel a plot along to a satisfying conclusion. Within reason, you are permitted to NPC characters who are directly connected to your character in some way, with the following caveats:
- You should keep it to the minimum necessary to push forward a plot or beat.
- If it's an FC, you should avoid doing things a future apper might find confusing or out of character.
- The NPC should generally stick to doing things that suit their "gimmick;" if you're Amuro Ray NPCing Astonaige Medoz, it's probably because you need someone to comment on mobile weapons.
Use your best judgment; if we see abuse of these rules, we'll intervene. Battleship users have a little extra leeway here; part of the fun of playing a character with a ship is running the bridge crew, after all.
Dual- and Multi-Roles
Sometimes, though, the character entails something a little more robust. Some common, in-genre examples include:
- The other character is literally the character's combat unit, as in Brave Express MightGaine or Full Metal Panic!;
- The other character is the only way a character can perform an essential element of their play loop, as in King of Braves GaoGaiGar or the Super Robot Wars T Banpresto Originals;
- The other character or characters are literally co-pilots that are mandatory as part of getting the character's unit to baseline functionality, as in Getter Robo Series;
- The other character outright controls or possesses the first character at some point, as in Ultraman Z.
In these cases, we consider this less covered by NPCing and more, outright, a dual- or multi-role character. (continue writing this later)