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What is Star Army?
Star Army is a long-running play-by-post roleplaying community built around the "Star Army" universe, a shared science-fiction setting centering on the Star Army of Yamatai. Rather than a single game, it is a forum-based hobby site where members write collaborative stories together, discuss and plan plots, and maintain a wiki that documents the setting's factions, characters and history.
Its structure reflects that purpose. There are news and announcement sections, an open roleplaying area for casual pickup threads, dedicated roleplaying forums, and "RP Discussion & Planning" boards where players coordinate longer storylines. A wiki section with recent changes and a random page suggests the worldbuilding is treated as an ongoing, editable reference rather than fixed canon. The site also hosts a Discord chat, which is typical for communities that need quick out-of-character coordination between forum posts.
Who it suits:
- Writers who enjoy text-based collaborative fiction and are comfortable with forum threading rather than real-time play.
- Newcomers who want onboarding help — the page lists a new player guide and a "Creating a Character" resource, which is a sign the community expects and accommodates beginners.
- Players looking for a persistent shared universe where their characters and plots accumulate over time.
The main trade-off is pace and format. Forum roleplay moves more slowly than chat or tabletop sessions, and a deep existing canon can feel intimidating at first. The presence of an open, no-approval roleplaying forum and a dedicated Discord suggests the community has thought about lowering that barrier, but you should expect some reading before your first thread fits in smoothly.
A practical next step: skim the new player guide and a couple of open roleplaying threads to see whether the writing style and posting rhythm match what you want, then introduce yourself in the Discord before committing to a character. If you want to see how the setting is documented first, the wiki is the fastest way to judge whether the universe appeals to you.
How do I create a character for Star Army roleplaying?
Star Army's own front page points you to a New Player Guide and a Creating a Character section, so the intended path is: read the guide, build a character, then join a plot. Character creation itself happens in the community's roleplaying forums and wiki rather than in a single automated form.
Star Army
H3 Practical order of operations
- Read the New Player Guide first. It exists precisely to explain the setting and the house conventions before you commit to a character concept.
- Go to Creating a Character. This is the site's own starting point for the character-building material.
- Browse the wiki. Star Army maintains a wiki with recent changes and a random page, which is where setting details live. The site notes you can now log in to the wiki with your forum account, and that a wiki account is obtained by messaging Wes on the forum.
- Pick a faction and role. The visible example is the Star Army of Yamatai, so a new player can reasonably start there rather than inventing a faction.
- Choose where to play. Two doors are visible: Roleplaying Forums for established plots, and Open Roleplaying & Special Events, described as "fast and loose" — no prior approval for plots or characters, and threads open to everyone without asking.
- If you want structure, post in RP Discussion & Planning. That is the forum for finding a plot and coordinating before you write.
H3 Which route fits you
| Route | Approval needed | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Open Roleplaying & Special Events | None stated | Testing a character quickly, low commitment, jumping into an existing open thread |
| Roleplaying Forums (plots) | Typically arranged with a plot's GM | Players who want a continuing story, a crew and a defined role |
H3 A concrete first move
If you already have a clear idea, write a short character sketch — name, species, faction, job aboard a ship or station — then post it in RP Discussion & Planning asking which plot has room. If you do not yet have an idea, start with the New Player Guide and the wiki, since the setting's factions and technology will shape what is plausible. The Open Roleplaying forum is the safer first step because it explicitly does not require prior approval.
Two practical notes from the site itself: registration email verification can fail when the server hits its hourly send limit, in which case the page directs you to contact Wes or use the community Discord; and JavaScript needs to be enabled for the forum to work well.
What are the Star Army of Yamatai and its factions?
The Star Army of Yamatai is the central fictional military and setting of Star Army, a long-running collaborative text roleplaying community. Its factions are the in-universe nations, organizations and player groups that give characters somewhere to belong and something to fight over. You do not need to know the lore to start: the site's Star Army wiki and new-player guide exist to get you oriented.
H3 What each part actually is
- Star Army of Yamatai: the setting's main military power and the shared backdrop most plots hang from. Characters are often soldiers, officers or people connected to it.
- Factions: the broader political and cultural groups in the SARPiverse — rival powers, allies, civilian organizations and player-run groups. They matter because they determine who your character answers to and who they can plausibly argue with.
- Plots: the actual roleplaying groups you join. A plot is a running story with its own cast, ship or base, and posting rhythm.
H3 How the community is organized
The forums split roleplay into a few practical buckets. "Open Roleplaying" is described as fast and loose: no prior approval for plots or characters, and threads open to anyone without asking. The main roleplaying forums and "RP Discussion & Planning" are where you plan and coordinate. "Transmissions & Communications" handles in-character messaging, and community forums cover out-of-character matters.
If you are choosing where to begin, use this rough guide:
| Your situation | Sensible starting point |
|---|---|
| Curious, no character yet | New Player Guide and wiki |
| Want to try without committing | Open Roleplaying |
| Want a steady group and story arc | A plot in the roleplaying forums |
| Want to build lore or a faction | Wiki plus RP Discussion & Planning |
H3 A concrete first step
Read the New Player Guide, then skim the wiki for the Yamatai faction and one opposing or allied faction, so you can see the conflict from two sides. Then post in Open Roleplaying with a simple character rather than designing a faction first — it is easier to learn the setting's tone from inside a thread than from the wiki alone. If you want a longer commitment, ask in RP Discussion & Planning which plots have open slots and what posting pace they expect.
How do I join an open roleplaying plot or special event?
Open roleplaying on Star Army is designed to be low-barrier: the Open Roleplaying forum is described as "fast and loose," with no prior approval required for plots or characters, and threads are open for anyone to join without asking. Special events are announced in the News & Updates section, so that is where you look for time-limited activities.
A practical path in
- Register a forum account. If a verification email never arrives, the site's own notice says the mail server can hit its hourly send limit; it directs users to contact the administrator or ask on the community Discord.
- Read the New Player Guide and the character creation material in the wiki before posting. Even where approval isn't required, a character that fits the setting makes it easier for others to write with you.
- Browse the Open Roleplaying forum and pick a thread that is early in its story or explicitly inviting newcomers. Threads deep into an arc are harder to enter naturally.
- Post a short introduction in the out-of-character area or the RP Discussion & Planning forum: who your character is, where they are, and what they want. That gives existing players something to react to.
- For events, check the News & Updates announcements for the current activity and any instructions attached to it.
Open roleplay versus regular plots
| Open Roleplaying | Standard roleplaying plots | |
|---|---|---|
| Approval | None needed for plots or characters | Typically requires approval |
| Who can post | Anyone, without asking | Usually the plot's established crew |
| Best for | Testing a character, casual or spontaneous scenes | Long-running, structured storylines |
Whose experience this reflects
The site's own forum descriptions and notices are the source for the approval rules and the email-limit workaround; the "fast and loose" framing is the community's own wording, not my assessment. My practical reading: that openness cuts both ways. You can start writing today with no gatekeeping, but you also carry responsibility for reading the setting material yourself, since nobody will check your character before it appears.
If you want a concrete first move, open a thread in RP Discussion & Planning saying you are new and asking which open plots have room for a newcomer. That single post usually gets you pointed at the right story faster than reading every forum.
What is the Star Army wiki and how do I get an account?
The Star Army wiki is the reference section of the Star Army roleplaying community: a member-edited encyclopedia covering the shared "SARPiverse" setting, its factions, characters, plots and rules. It sits alongside the site's roleplaying forums and open events, so players use it to look up canon before writing a scene or creating a character.
Getting an account
- You need a Star Army forum account first. Wiki access is tied to it: the site notes that you can now log in to the wiki using your forum account.
- If the wiki login does not work for you, the stated route is to send a direct message to Wes through the forum.
- Registration emails sometimes fail because the server hits its hourly send limit. If a verification email never arrives, the site directs you to email Wes or ask in the community Discord.
What to do first
Create the forum account, confirm you can log in, then try the wiki with the same details. If that fails, send the forum DM rather than making a second account. Once inside, read the new player guide and the character-creation pages before joining an open roleplay thread, since those threads assume familiarity with the setting.
Who it suits
This is a good fit if you enjoy collaborative, text-based science-fiction writing with an established continuity and want a searchable canon rather than improvising from scratch. It is less suited to people who want a quick single-session game, because the wiki rewards reading and the community expects consistency with existing lore.
For context on the wider hobby, the UFOP: StarBase 118 and Obsidian Fleet communities run comparable play-by-post formats with their own wikis, which can help you judge which style of continuity and rules you prefer.
How do I register for the Star Army forum and fix email verification issues?
Registration happens through the Log in / Register links in the site's header; registration is also how you create a forum account, and the same account now works for the wiki. If the verification email never arrives, the site itself points to the likely cause: the server can hit its hourly email send limit. In that case, the page tells you to email Wes or reach him on the Star Army Discord for help.
If verification stalls
- Check spam and promotions folders first, then request the email again after a short wait rather than repeatedly.
- Try a different email provider if your first address is on a domain that filters forum mail aggressively.
- Use the Discord chat for a faster response; the page lists it as the alternative contact route.
- For a wiki account specifically, the page says to send Wes a forum DM rather than registering separately.
A practical scenario
Say you register on a Friday evening, the confirmation email never shows, and you want to join an open thread the same weekend. The fastest path is usually Discord, since it bypasses the email queue entirely. Meanwhile, you can read the Star Army forums and wiki without an account, so you can pick a plot or read the new player guide while waiting.
Next step: enable JavaScript before registering, since the page notes the site works better with it on, and keep your forum name consistent with the character you plan to play.
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