So, you just finished up writing the profile for your new fan character, and now you can't wait to start writing fanfics about 'em, drawing tons of pictures of 'em in action...

Before you start deluging the 'Net with hundreds of stories and pictures of your new Freedom Fighter, ask yourself one question... How lame is he (or she)?

Few people realize that their characters are in fact, terminally lame. As a result, the Sonic fandom has been overrun with countless Sonic/Tails/Knuckles clones, characters with demigodly powers, and too many just flat-out bad characters. This does nothing but damage the fandom's crediblity and project an overall image of immaturity in its fans. That's why this test was designed; to help you determine the degree of lameness your character may have.

Each question represents a common trait of a lame fan character. Just answer "Yes" or "No" to each question. If you answered yes, then add the number of points that question is worth to your total (if you answered no, then add zero to your total). Then after you've gone through all the questions, check your total to the scoring card at the bottom of the page and see if your character is original, or lamer than the latest SNL "sketch movie"! Good luck!

Note: This test has been optimized for characters that are Freedom Fighters. If you have a "bad guy" character, then skip: Part 1 Question 5-A, all of Part 1 Question 6 and Part 1 Question 9, along with all of Part 2. Provisions for "bad guy" characters will be made in the future.

PART 1: Your character's origin

Q1: Was your character originally a human that was transported to Mobius by some means? (15 points)
Q1-A: Were those means unknown or never figured out?
(10 points)
Q1-B: Were you that human? (20 points)
Q1-C: Was it a strange ray of light that brought your character to Mobius? (10 points)
Q1-D: At some point after arriving, did your character morph into a Mobian by any means (magical energy, botched roboticization, etc.)? (25 points)

Q2: Was your character saved from being captured by Robotnik at the last second by Sonic/Tails/some other existing Freedom Fighter? (2 points)
Q2-A: Did your character save Sonic/Tails/some other existing Freedom Fighter from being captured by Robotnik at the last second? (5 points)

Q3: Was your character brought to Knothole Village by Sonic/Tails/some other Freedom Fighter without first checking to make sure your character wasn't actually a spy for Robotnik?
(3 points)
Q3-A: Did your character accidentally stumble upon Knothole after hiding out in the Great Forest to get away from Robotnik? (4 points)

Q4: After arriving in Knothole, did your character immediately form a close friendship with one or more Freedom Fighters?
(1 point per Freedom Fighter)
Q4-A: After arriving in Knothole, did your character fall in love with any Freedom Fighters? (5 points per Freedom Fighter)
Q4-B: After arriving in Knothole, did your character marry and/or have a child with any Freedom Fighter? (10 points per Freedom Fighter, and I sincerely hope that there wasn't more than one in this case)

Q5: Was your character forced to watch the roboticization of any of the following?

1. A close friend (5 points for each one)
2. A non-blood relative (spouse, brother-in-law, etc.) (10 points for each one)
3. A blood relative (brother or sister, mother or father, son or daughter, etc.) (30 points for each one)
Q5-A: Was it because of this event that your character decided to join the Freedom Fighters? (15 points)

Q6: Was your character apprehensive or mistrusting of the Freedom Fighters initially? (10 points)
Q6-A: Was it another fan character that convinced your character to trust the Freedom Fighters? (15 points)
Q6-B: Was it a non-fan character Freedom Fighter that convinced your character? (This would also include King Acorn)
(25 points)
Q6-C: Was it Sonic or Tails that convinced your character?
(30 points)

Q7: Has it been revealed at any point that your character is a long-lost relative of Sonic/Tails/some other Freedom Fighter?
(15 points)

Q8: Is your character currently living in Knothole? (10 points)

Q9: Has your character at any point intentionally killed, maimed, or otherwise seriously injured any Freedom Fighter, physically or emotionally for personal reasons? (i.e. Just didn't like that Freedom Fighter, was jealous of their relationship with another character, etc.) (100 points)

PART 2: Your character as a Freedom Fighter

Which of the following best describe how your character advanced as a Freedom Fighter?

1. Was accepted as a Freedom Fighter after successfully completing a mission into Robotropolis, and currently still running missions (2 points)
2. Was immediately accepted as a Freedom Fighter and have run several missions into Robotropolis, all of them an uncontested success (5 points)
3. Was immediately accepted as a Freedom Fighter and is leading missions into Robotropolis, frequently demolishing several targets with little help from other Freedom Fighters and saving several Mobians from being captured (10 points)
4. Have single-handedly won the war, defeating Robotnik and destroying his army while saving most or all of the major Freedom Fighters from being roboticized at the same time
(30 points)

PART 3: Your character's abilities

Can your character do any of the following?

* Run as fast as Sonic? (5 points)
     ...faster than Sonic? (10 points extra)
* Use their tail(s) to fly? (10 points)
* Hack into Robotnik's computers? (2 points)
     ...using a custom-designed handheld computer that can run rings around Nicole in terms of performance? (10 points extra)
* Shapeshift into other forms? (20 points)
* Exhibit super strength? (2 points)
     ...thanks to robotic limbs obtained via a roboticizer accident? (4 points extra)
          ...and are able to make these robotic limbs look like real ones thanks to special cloaking technology? (10 points extra)
* De-roboticize and re-roboticize at will? (25 points)
     ...thanks to a special program designed specially for him/herself? (15 points extra)
          ...which cannot be used to de-roboticize anyone else for some reason? (20 points extra)
* Shoot a laser rifle or other handheld weapon? (1 point)
     ...and hit a bullseye from 500 meters? (4 points extra)
          ...from 750 meters? (10 points extra)
               ...can shoot the wings off a fly at 1000 meters?
(15 points extra)
* Use magic or magical artifacts? (Magic would also include control over weather and the elements, regeneration/resurrection, etc.) (5 points)
     ...which are amplified when the character is angry/scared? (10 points extra)
     ...which make the character practically a living god? (20 points extra)
* Use Power Rings? (15 points)
     ...even though your character isn't a hedgehog? (10 points extra)
* Use Chaos Emeralds? (25 points)

PART 4: Your character's name and appearance

Q1: Is your character's species their last name? (ex. James Fox, Sammy T. Hedgehog, etc.) (10 points)

Q2: If your character is a fox, is his/her last name "Prower"? (30 points)

Q3: If your character is a hedgehog, is his/her first name some derivative of Sonic? (Ex. Speedee, Warp, etc.) (20 points, 25 if it's purposely misspelled)

Q4: If your character is a squirrel/chipmunk, is his/her last name Acorn? (20 points)

Which of these sentences would you use to describe your character?
(Note: [name] refers to any existing character in any Sonic universe.)

1. "Has one trait that sort of resembles [name]." (1 point)
2. "Looks kind of like [name]." (2 points)
3. "Has a few things that make him/her look like [name]."
(3 points)
4. "Looks almost like [name], except for a couple differences."
(5 points)
5. "Looks exactly like [name], just a different color." (10 points)

Does your character have any of the following physical features?

* Multiple tails? (3 points for every extra tail)
* Robotic body parts? (2 points per part, 5 points if robotic parts serve no real purpose {eg. an echidna w/ metallic dreadlocks}, 10 points if whole body is roboticized)

SCORING CHART

0 - 9 points: NOT LAME AT ALL
Good work! Your fan character is original, well-thought out and uses almost no rehashed ideas that most lame fan characters exhibit. Anyone who says your character is lame is clearly just jealous because they couldn't come up with anything as good as you.

10 - 19 points: NOT VERY LAME
Your character has a lot of original thought put into it, with minimal usage of any tired Sonic cliche's. Definitely above-average work on your part.

20 - 34 points: KINDA LAME
While you have put plenty of good ideas into your character, there are a few things about him/her that have been done plenty of times before. Not bad, but you may want to consider a little refining.

35 - 59 points: PRETTY LAME
You're using too many cliche's and other ripped-off ideas. Your character is likely to be regarded as a cheap carbon copy of another character or an ego-trip avatar unless you do some serious reworking and cull out some of those lame traits.

60 - 99 points: HORRIBLY LAME
Okay, you clearly aren't even trying. It's pretty obvious that you've put little or no thought into this character, and more than likely your character will be looked upon as a lame fan character unless you do some MAJOR re-tooling, and soon.

100+ points: "EVENT HORIZON"
What the hell is wrong with you?! When most people create a fan character to use as a personal ego trip, they at least try to disguise it as a Sonic character, but you didn't even try that! If I ever get word that your character's profile is on the Internet, I'm going to actively seek it out and put it up in it's own special section here just so people can ridicule you for the self-absorbed twit you really are! Now get outta my sight, you bozo!