simpathis: (Default)
Empatheias Mods ([personal profile] simpathis) wrote2014-05-25 12:36 am

[ game information ]

— GAME INFORMATION —
» ABOUT THE GAME

Empatheias is a world that is driven by emotions, and it is currently starving for it. Characters who are brought in find their emotions are now on full display for others to see, taking form of various different effects such as change of weather or mild destruction. There are god-like guardian beings called the Arehtei, cities filled with their own culture and problems, and large portions of the world that still need to be restored. All in all, it's a jamjar with a living world that boils down to its key element: emotions.

The game itself is an odd mix of world building, plot based events, and slice of life. When not dealing with large scale emotion inducing events, characters have an opportunity to set out to different locations of the world to explore or help restore different locations. Thus while there is a mod driven plot, we also encourage and invite player action to help build onto the world and its expanding lore.

There is a logging community and a network community, [community profile] empatheias and [community profile] crystalnet, and we have a meme community as well, [community profile] memepatheias. Announcements are posted in [community profile] empatheias_ooc. Our IC:OOC day ratio is 1:1. We run on a rolling application basis and monthly activity checks. CR Memes occur after the applications are processed. We do allow original characters, so please refer to the rules on the OC application page.

» ARRIVING INTO EMPATHEIAS

No one knows how anyone arrives into Empatheias—it just happened one day and it's been a mystery ever since.

Characters are pulled out either near or during a time where they experience "strong feelings" about something. This can be taken loosely, but in general the character should have been in the middle of something rather than just sitting around idly daydreaming (unless it was an emotional daydream). Perhaps this strong burst of emotion attracted the world and pulled them in. Dead characters are also allowed and their arrival is a bit more loose. It could be from the moment of death or a little bit after.

Unless noted otherwise, all characters will arrive somewhere around the main city of Verens, or they can also land just outside of the city. Along with a unique amulet found on their person, they will arrive with their usual clothing and any weapons or particular items players may wish for them to have. That includes any random memento. For information about "sidekick" companions and summoning companions, refer to here. Both an OOC Player Intro post and an IC Character Intro log are created right before applications are processed. These entries are linked within the acceptance notices. While you can create your own introduction post, everyone is encouraged to use these logs so as to reduce clutter and to help players and characters mingle with one another. It should be noted that all characters are referred to as Otherworlders by the local denizens. Very original, we know.

» WORKING TOWARDS

There is no known way home—everyone just pops in and out at random. So until a way is found, there is a general goal that everyone brought in can help work towards, one that may hopefully bring about a definitive way to leave this world (ie, endgame).

The world is a mess and everyone is encouraged to help restore it by one of two ways. The first is simple. Just living in the world itself helps improve things as emotions are released back into the world. Focusing on certain emotions helps certain regions, and this leads to the second way. Active help in restoring specific locations, such as channeling emotions, cleaning it up, or rebuilding, will help the world flourish. The more the world is restored, more clues on the world's history is revealed, and this history will lead them to the answers they seek.

» THE ISLAND & THE WORLD

Empatheias is a large land mass that floats around in the sky... or at least, it used to. As of January 2020, the island is no longer rooted and traveling through the sky once more. The island itself is around 1000 square miles (2590 square kilometers), which is just a little smaller than Long Island, USA. There is only one majorly populated city, Verens, with smaller hamlets and towns scattered around the island. The rest is untamed wilderness and mountains.

There are other main cities outside of the island: the desert city Shaarnath, the artistic mountain city Theasthai, and the pirate city Briarlan. All three can be easily accessed via teleporters located within each area.

As for the surface of the world, many areas look as if the apocalypse occurred, but it's slowly healing and there are notable improvements hear and there. Prior to the characters' arrival, all past expeditions met with death and destruction as the atmosphere was too volatile and toxic in most places without proper protection. Currently, however, although it is still dangerous it is easier for people to take on lengthy expeditions to scout out new areas and explore.

More in-depth information about the various locations can be found in the Locations entry.

» LIVING IN EMPATHEIAS

» Residence.
For the most part characters will be living in the city of Verens. An entire section of the Residential Quarter has been cleared for characters to choose from. They can also choose any other apartments or cottages within or outside the city. There are no real apartment systems—just individual small houses and multi-floored building complexes. Players are free to be creative and make up the home their character claims. Just be mindful that while the initial stay is free, rent will be required after a couple of months. The locals' generosity only goes so far.


» Employment & Task Board.
Everyone is going to be dirt poor at first and the locals will be lenient for a little while, but so long as they work they can earn a pretty good salary quickly. So for those looking for jobs, the best way is taking up various jobs and missions from the Task Center found at the Merchant's Square. This building will have large bulletin boards with various job postings that anyone can take up. They range from simple help for errands to more advanced such as clearing out some monsters harassing neighboring farm lands.

Every month we post a Task Board filled with various tasks that characters can take up. There is no formal sign-up except for those that require it, so players can just pick and choose as they will. Players are free to submit Tasks for us to post onto the Board. Characters are also free to create businesses of their own, either as owners or to work at.

The currencies for each city varies, but for the most part people work with sylvs, the currency used in Verens. Shaarnath uses drasks, Theasthai and Briarlan use a bartering system.


» Culture aesthetic.
Everything is steampunk influenced. From the fashion to the architecture, at first glance it may look similar to Victorian England, but the incorporation of gratuitous leather belts in fashion and clockwork structures in everything else gives that unique "industrial revolution" nuance to the city. There are a lot of variations in terms of the style, so we suggest doing a quick Google image search or visit here to get an idea if you are unfamiliar with steampunk.


» Languages.
Finally, thanks to the amulets every language is automatically translated so everyone can understand each other. This includes text. Huzzah.

» CRYSTAL AMULETS

(Note: the term "crystal" and "amulet" are used interchangeably.)

All characters will have a personalized crystal amulet on their person. They can have a customized look on arrival or have it customized later at a local shop. The amulets are important to keep because they serve several functions. Two of the biggest are telepathic communication and protection against the world itself. More information on the "network" use of the crystal amulets can be read here.

» Protection.
As mentioned the world is starving for emotions. Without the crystal the world would drain the emotion energy of people directly and can effectively kill a person after a month. The crystal serves as a ward, "filtering" the user's emotion energy. A portion of it is absorbed into the crystal and the rest is released into the world. This release results in the varying emotion effects.


» Completion.
Crystals are considered complete when they are filled with emotion energy. Natives turn theirs in to collection centers to be used for various means, but characters have the option to either keep theirs or turn them in to their aligned Arehtei. Not only will this benefit the Arehtei, but they have a chance to regain an item from home. OOCly, this is a flat rate of four months being in game. More information on this process can be found here.

If a crystal is completed, lost, or destroyed, it needs to be replaced. Characters can go to the various crystal collection centers around town to pick one up. Once receiving a new crystal, the collection starts all over again.


» Additional tech use.
Crystals are also used in various tech. From powering small appliances to houses and buildings to powerful airships. Different ways of using crystals are constantly being developed, including weaponry. However this is highly regulated as no one wants a repeat of the past.

» TELEPATHIC NETWORK SYSTEM

The crystals can automatically translated everything and everyone, including writing. The game uses a telepathic communication system via the crystal amulets. It works similarly to common network systems, but here are some specifics:

» Image, voice, and text.
Instead of "video" we call it "image" and is the default. Individuals can have mental image representations of their face that can be seen by those they are speaking with. It is possible to display whatever the person is actually seeing, thus using the eyes as a camera. "Voice" remains the same—all the receiver hears is a voice and no additional images. "Text" is also possible. Neither sound nor image will transmit—only actual words will appear to be read. How the text looks is up to the user.


» No caller-id.
Because this is an amulet and not some type of phone, there's no type of "caller identification." It is also possible to alter one's image and voice, and "text messages" have no indicators whatsoever. This actually allows for complete anonymity. However, individuals can learn to recognize those connecting to them, like a sixth sense. This also means there is no contact list, so there is no easy reference as to who is in the world.


» Incoming message notification.
These messages are not "played" automatically. Rather, the intended receiver (or receivers) will hear a distinct "hum" in the back of their mind (like a wavelength) and feel a slight warmth from their amulet. To answer all they have to do is focus. If they know the "caller" they can recognize them through the wavelength. It is also possible to completely ignore the "call," and if they want to call back they just have to remember that wavelength. It works whether they recognize the person or not.


» Post types.
As for the types of network posts, joint, open conference, and private are all possible. By default, there's no threadjacking unless the poster specifies it possible. It's also impossible to "hack" into a conversation.


» Inboxes.
Although we welcome the use of "Journal Inboxes," there's no true "answering machine" due to the nature of telepathy, so characters can't leave telepathic messages behind. Old fashioned letters or messenger birds can be used instead.

» STEAMPUNK & MAGITECH

The technology is best described as early steampunk with traditional fantasy flavors still attached, such as magitech. Modern technology such as computers, cars, advanced modern appliances, telephones, TVs, etc. are not available. Think more 19th century Victorian era, the usual time period steampunk fantasy is based upon. So horse drawn carriages, iron stoves, iceboxes, etc. Basic electricity is available, so characters won't have to rely solely on candlelight and lanterns, but it's more magitech oriented than "normal" electricity.

There have been other small advances in technology, such as polaroid-like cameras, portable radios and radio towers, walkie talkies, and other simple devices. Some of these have been created by players and in general mostly stays within the late 1800s-early 1900s, so feel free to ask if something exists or not.

» Vehicles.
Verens is well known for its airships which are used both for cargo transportation and travel. Shaarnath has motor vehicles designed for the desert and Theasthai has hot air balloons. Other vehicles that have been introduced are early motorcycles and hover bikes.


» Brought in modern tech.
Any modern devices brought in by the character will work for as long as it has its source. If they can find a way to recharge their batteries, awesome. Otherwise it'll become dead and useless, a relic of what could be... That doesn't stop anyone from developing ways to integrate or advance the current game technology.


» Elemental cores.
Elemental cores are special crystallized rock that contains one of four elements: air, fire, water, and earth (only found on the surface). Through these cores, elements can be pulled out and used in their technology, so rather than use electricity or just fire, they can use the fire cores as a source of heat or light energy source. These cores are mined in the distant mountains and can be bought for personal use. For exact details on how they work, refer to this thread.


» Weaponry & Crystal Tech.
In terms of weaponry, firearms have been developed are widely used along with swords and other martial weapons.

There have been recent advancements in crystaltech—technology based on crystals—to further improve technology as a whole. One big focus is technology that can counteract emotion effects, or at least reduce the more destructive effects.

» LAW ENFORCEMENT

The laws of each city are different, but each have a system with their own ruling and punishment system. For the most part, if you get caught, you get punished. A police force exists in Verens called the "Enforcers", but like the real world, pick pockets and a black market do exist—it's not a perfect, pristine city, and neither are the rest.

It's possible for your character to join the Verens' Enforcers, as well as get in trouble with them. The punishment will depend on the crime, with light thievery or extortion carrying a prison sentence, while death may result in a person's crystal being shattered, and therefore slowing killing them. The only instances where leniency will be granted is if the death was for a job, self-defense, or an accident, and it can be proven that it is.

» Murder plots.
Anyone planning murders will want to contact the mods when applicable. We do allow for jail break-outs and for evading and hiding, but if your character is murdering at a high body count or regularly, it may well be noticed. And as player characters are capable of joining police force in Verens, and everyone is the police in Shaarnath, you will want to consider if your characters actions would realistically be noticed, and work in planning that out with the playerbase. There have been crime plots before, and the mods are happy to work with you if you contact us!

In addition, we do stress in-game consequences and we have a mechanic called the "Reaper." More details are written in the "Death" section, but essentially either once the killer has been caught or it's plotted ahead, the Reaper will exact its own punishment. All of this can and will be discussed with us, but this allows to keep things fair as punishments set by the local setting on its own would be inadequate.

» EXPLORATION: EVENTS AND ADVENTURES

Characters can go on grand (or less grand) adventures onto the world's surface. Most of these adventures are mod run, but it is possible for players to make a request and do something on their own.

Some mod-run events will have a specific area that players can explore. With these events there are special missions to help give some guidelines and goals. These usually have a planned intention that can affect either the immediate or distant future events for the game.

Smaller adventures, however, are posted on the Task Board and are localized to specific locations with specific goals. While excursions will provide some opportunities for player influence, adventures are guaranteed to have player actions count. Some types of goals include restoring the area, looking for a particular item, exploring the area, etc. Players can also request a type of adventure via the Task Board.

As to how traveling works for the characters, they will be given the necessary protection and supplies. Protection will take in the form of crystal powered barriers, dunamis, and Arehtei protection charms. Transportation will either be via airship or the use of the teleporters. There are also large land vehicles that can be used in certain locations.

A chart of all expeditions can be found here.

» ABOUT EMOTIONS

Emotions are the core mechanic to the game. No matter how big or small, they can produce varying outward effects and influence the environment immediately around the person. Joy may make the nearby lightbulbs flicker, while despair may wilt the nearby flowers dead. The more intense the emotion, the more intense the effect.

» Positive & Negative.
All emotions are catergorized under "Positive" and "Negative". Joy is a positive, while grief is a negative; being calm is positive, being angry a negative. This refers to how these emotions will typically make your character feel.

However, unhealthy emotions can still fall under "positive" and "negative". Indifference can fall under calm, while a blissful, obsessive love is considered a "positive", even if it may swing towards jealousy, a negative, later on. Positive and Negative emotions aren't considered better or worse than one another, because while some would prefer to be cheerful as opposed to angry, a character's anger can push them forward better than being without it. As they say: sometimes, too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Too must trust will make you poor.

For characters who are more apathetic by nature, they will have much more subdued expression and effects compared to the other emotions. However, if they do express any kind of emotion, it will be stronger, even if it is a minor feeling.


» Filling crystals & Emotion Tracker.
This is worth remembering for when you fill out your character's completed crystal, and also for when game events will bring in use the Emotion Tracker. The Emotion Tracker is a form that will ask you to choose the strength of your character's emotions from 0 to 10: with 10 being incredibly strong, such as a blind, environment destroying rage, and with 0 being that the emotion wasn't experienced at all. (Note: This is different from apathy.) While character actions can and will have an effect on the game, the overall emotions during some events will be crucial as to the outcome.

As for deciding the completed state of your character's crystal, each time your character experiences an emotion, "emotion drops" drips into the crystal amulet on their person. Usually inconspicuous, this is how a character's amulet becomes filled. For more information on the benefits of a filled (or completed crystal), please read here.

» EMOTION EFFECTS

Emotion effects can be small and only affect the immediate area around the individual (flowers wilting or blossoming, lights flickering or brightening) or it can be large and alter the island entirely. The latter would require a large mass of emotions. A more medium and individualistic example would be someone having enough rage that windows suddenly shatter and maybe even a wall breaks. Otherwise, players can be very creative in what the actual effect is.

For apathy, it follows the theme of "emptiness" and "loss." Some examples are loss of color, muted sounds, surface distortion, tiny holes, etc.

These effects serve as a kind of physical mirror of what the individual is feeling. Emotions can even affect a person's home and the home itself can warp and twist to alter to fit the owner’s mood.

However, emotions can be overpowered or countered by another person's, and it would depend on the strength of each person's emotions. This helps maintain the balance.

» APATHY

Apathy is a unique "emotion" in how it works. Aside from slower crystal growth, there's no real punishment because apathetic people exist even for the local Empatheians. They even consider apathy as part of the norm. Apathy will destroy some of the emotion drops contained in the crystal, but to compensate any emotion that they do feel is probably going to actually impact them a lot more than an average person. So even if they just feel a little happy, the effect will be greater and the crystal will fill up more.

In terms of effects, it follows the theme of "emptiness" and "loss." So some examples are loss of color, muted sounds, surface distortion, tiny holes, etc.

» AREHTEI & ALIGNMENT

The Arehtei are mysterious beings sometimes referred to as guardians who are supposed to protect and reflect the health of the world. There are eight Arehtei, each one representing a set of emotion dynamics. However, only seven are currently existing:

  • Aiada: appreciation and envy
  • Daimonia: joy and grief
  • Elios: love and hatred
  • Peromei: hope and despair
  • Piphron: trust and distrust
  • Sosyne: calm and anger
  • Thras: bravery and fear
The eighth Arehtei is known as Simpathis, sympathy and apathy. Her whereabouts are unknown and some believe her to be dead. These beings were once corrupted but have been purified thanks to the emotions gathered over the years.

One of the requirements for the game is to choose an alignment. This is mechanic makes the characters "aligned" to a specific type of emotion and thereby aligned to a specific Arehtei. All types of emotions are still absorbed by the crystal amulet, but the aligned set of emotions will have significantly more weight. Players will have to choose which alignment would best fit the character OR, if the character has no particular dominant emotion, you are free to choose whichever one you think you'll be able to work with most. Additionally, emotions can be forced, and there will be events and situations where this option will be available.

It is possible to change alignments, and information on that process can be found here. A chart on the current alignment spread can be viewed here.

Those who are aligned will also resonate with their Arehtei and have more opportunities and priority access to that Arehtei and events revolving around them. Characters can also make "appointments" and personally communicate with the Arehtei. Refer to the Arehtei Scheduler to make an appointment. These can be handwaved or threaded out.

» DIFFERENT EMOTION BASED TECHNIQUES

While the people of Verens don't do anything special with emotions other than trying to keep it under general control, the other cities have developed their own kind of "technique" in using their emotional energy.

» Dunamis.
Also known as "emotion magic," this technique was developed in Shaarnath. Similar to the concept of using one's "chi," dunamis is the practice of controlling and using one's emotions so that it doesn't disperse into the environment as "violently" as it does normally. That is to say, emotional effects are more controlled and subtle. It has also been proven that dunamis can fulfill almost every aspect of living, from replacing the need of actual appliances to medical care. To put it in perspective, where Verens is a place of technology and a bit of magical elements, Shaarnath is more pure "magic" with their use of emotions.

In terms of gameplay, it is possible for any character to learn dunamis and have it augment or add to their own abilities. Those who have no magical ability at all can now begin to learn something similar. Additionally, players can use dunamis to help replace or alter certain canon abilities that would otherwise needed to be nerfed. For example, a canon ability to blow up an entire building in one shot would need to be nerfed. However, in-game development with dunamis could restore that ability to perform in a similar manner. Of course such an action would still need to be reasonable, but it's at least more doable.

As mentioned, anyone is capable of learning dunamis, but it does require time and practice. No one should be a master in the first month; it should take several with repeated trial and error. Fuller details can be read here.


» Performancy.
Theasthai also has their own technique, called performancy. Similar to dunamis in concept, it focuses more on creating special effects for theatre, and so less useful in day-to-day activities, or battle. However, if your character loves to put on a show and wants to create the best real life CGI effects, to mask their appearance or to learn to go unseen until the right moment, then the Thespian's skills can't be ignored.

» GENERAL CHARACTER QUALITIES

Any canon or original character is allowed in the game. For more specifics, refer to the Rules.

» Non-humans.
We do not require characters to be humanized. They can maintain their original form. The only change we do require is for gigantic non-humans to be downsized to a maximum of 8 feet. This is actually more for practical purposes than any other reason. If they were any bigger, they would have a really hard time getting around the city! If the character does not have a set body, it is possible for one to be created. Players can use a canon analogue, humanize the character, or talk with us with whatever idea you may have.


» Character/Species/Canon specific characteristics.
If your character has a peculiar quality or ability that requires some canon mechanic, such as an item, to work or even live, there are alternatives to keep this trait. One alternative is to use the emotions in place of that mechanic. For example, if the character requires a special serum or song to keep them from going berserk, positive emotions can be used as a substitute. Feel free to ask us if you have any question about this and if you have an idea, shoot it at us!

We've had some character/canon specific questions, so here are some links to some various solutions we've had so far: sources of power (soul gems); consuming emotions; mmo anime avatars


» Character doubles+possession.
Characters who are possessed or share a body with another soul or sentient being can be tricky to apply for. By default, a player will always have the ability to control both. However, under certain circumstances, it is possible to separate the two so that both could co-exist in the game as separate entities. This will highly depend on the canon and the character(s) in question. Some in-depth answers we've given on this matter can be found here and here. When in doubt, feel free to ask us with information as to the character and canon in question.


» Disabilities & Illnesses.
If a character has some kind of disability, like a missing limb or damaged organs, then it will carry over. However, if it’s an illness then it’s up to the player whether that illness carries over. If it is carried over, attempts for a cure can be made. If the player wants a cure, then we can grant permission for it somehow happening. This would have to be worked at, but it could be done.

Such things can also be inflicted upon characters. Unless there are healer type characters, the road back to health will be a long one as the medical technology is not modern at all. In fact X-rays are the most advanced medical equipment Empatheias has.

» ABILITY NERFS

For the most characters can retain most of their original abilities. Only the super game breaking god tiered abilities are nerfed. They can either be done away completely or be weakened. Your character won't be able to move mountains or destroy buildings in one hit, but they can still do decent damage (maybe make a giant crater in the street or knock out an entire wall). The same goes for weapons. Weapons can be brought with the character, but if there's something game breaking about it, that ability needs to be altered or removed entirely. Any other abilities can be left as is, but if you have a question feel free to ask us.

In terms of how abilities that utilize specific canon world energy, such as a world's mana type, that is all automatically converted/transferred to use Empatheias's emotion energy. Magic users may notice a slight difference in the feel of it, but they should be able to use their abilities without much issue. This also includes characters from canons based off MMOs, like Sword Art Online or .hack. Rather than there being a system dictating what and how skills and abilities are used, they are translated to be like "natural" magical abilities. So no energy point costs, just actual physical energy and stamina used.

» SIDEKICKS, PETS, AND SUMMONS

Characters that have pets can bring them along into the game. This rule also applies to characters who could arguably have another player play the partner, but the chances of finding that player are extremely low. If you do this, you will have to include the sidekick character in your application and make any notes about its personality. The caveat is that while you can play both characters, you cannot thread exclusively with yourself. If the sidekick is present, you'll have to write "joint" tags if you wish to include the sidekick's presence. So for example, Digimon characters. It is possible for an applicant to apply for their main character and bring the Digimon partner with them. Note: This is only applicable to characters with a sidekick. This would not apply to "pair" characters, like twins. They must be apped as separate characters and by different players to comply with the Playercest rule.

If a character is able to summon certain spirits or creatures, those beings can also be brought along with them. Ability nerfs will apply. Pokemon also fall into this category. There is a limit as to how many can be brought: five (5).

» OTHER RESTRICTIONS

Those who can fly or teleport may try to leave the island and there have been attempts to leave the island via airships and other flying mechanisms. However, the farther away one travels from the island, the weaker the protection. Even with a full amulet, if someone were to try and fly away from the island, it will not be enough to protect them from the world. The world will break the amulet, absorb all of that fluid, and then proceed to absorb from the person, effectively killing them.

If one wants to travel away from the island, they would need to use the means provided for the exploration crews or somehow devise enough suitable protection to go on their own.

For characters who already know telepathy, they can use their own telepathic powers to communicate and can bypass all of the restrictions that amulet users have, except for "hacking." They can't eavesdrop on a conversation.

» DEATH IN-GAME

Death is possible and normally permanent, but for whatever reason, characters do not stay dead. At least in general. If someone wants to drop a character through death, that is totally possible (adds more plot twists). Upon dying, the amulet will crack and shatter, the character disappearing along with it. From a few days to a week, they will later respawn at the edge of Empatheias with a brand new amulet. They will be severely weakened and will need to be treated.

There is a being known as the "Reaper" who watches over the passing of souls. Those who die may catch a glimpse or hear its voice without much consequence. However, if a character dies under dubious circumstances, such as from a convicted death penalty or with a murder or two in their recent history, the Reaper may give them a more personal visit while in hell. Murderers of all kinds will not only get a visit, but they will also receive an additional punishment fit for the crime. We will of course discuss it with the player as the Reaper's punishments have a more "reformative" or "lesson teaching" type quality to it. Life is important, dammit! These punishments are still designed to be as punitive as possible so that the character ICly learns from it and potentially they and others will be dissuaded. So if a death plot of some kind is to happen, there should be substance and good reason behind it.

Another constant consequence is to their amulet. It doesn't matter how much was in it before, it's been completely reset. Even though it will automatically reaccumulate liquid from current and pre-existing relationships, it will be much less as it won't have any that was gained through other personal accomplishments.

There is also something like a penalty, as if the world used some of those emotions to help "recreate" the individual. Thus about a fourth of the liquid will always be taken away. This penalty actually stacks. This means if a character dies again, another fourth is taken. Thus a second death would result in half of the liquid gone no matter what. A third is three-fourths, and four and beyond is the entire amount. Even if there are pre-existing relationships, there's no sudden boost. It's all zero and they have to build it back up. The rebuilding will be faster with existing relationships, but it will still take time.

» HIATUS

There are two options for when a player goes on hiatus. You can either have the character just handwaved that they're bustling about the town and gathering a couple of emotion drops here and there. The other option is to have the character crystalized. Yes that's right. For the entire time you are on hiatus, the character is a crystal statue. There is no penalty in terms of emotion drops for this, but it will probably freak out a few people (and give them some emotion drops). When you return, the crystal will shatter and free the character. For the hiatused character, it will have been as if time had stopped, though they will have a vague sense they were stuck in that crystal.

In terms of Activity Check, hiatuses that last at least 2 weeks will require half the proofs. Hiatuses that are 3+ weeks are completely exempt.

» DROPPING A CHARACTER

When a character is dropped, they simply disappear. In addition, their name will appear on a wall in a room ("Wall of Names")in the Calinede Temple ruines, and a crystal will also appear around one of the shrines dedicated to the Arehtei. Currently it is assumed that the crystal is theirs though there is no in-game proof of it.

OOCly, we post a list of all the characters that were dropped or removed after the Activity Check, and this list would be the same list that is ICly posted in the Residential area at the beginning of the month so characters can see who has disappeared.

If the character is reapplied for, either by the old player or a new one, they will restart from scratch. This applies even if the character remembers everything from their previous stay.

» CANON UPDATE

For characters that are canon updated during their stay, the character disappears but the amulet is neither full nor broken. It remains a strange translucent state until the character returns. The character will reappear either in the exact spot the amulet currently is or somewhere near it in case the amulet is in a place like a drawer. Unlike the death scenario, there is no loss of emotion drops so the character can pick it up right where they left off. In addition, the character's name does not appear on the Wall of Names. The form for canon updating can be found here.

Still have a question? Then just comment to this entry and we'll answer it ASAP! Just double check and view the top level comments to see if anyone has touched on it yet. If we feel that it's an important one, we'll add it to the actual entry. If you wish to contact us in private, you can either use the Confidential Contact or send a message to the journal.
castigation: (pic#7765022)

[personal profile] castigation 2014-11-12 08:15 am (UTC)(link)
This is such a convoluted question holy balls I am sorry

Alright, so: beyond a certain canon point, this character here is stabbed with a magical zombie sword, and his corpse is reanimated for use by its wielder Kurome; she turns the corpses of people she kills with it into her personal corpse puppets that she can summon at will. That's all well and good, but what if I want to app him post-death and a friend of mine wants to app Kurome after she's made him into a corpse puppet (so, also post-his death)? Would she have her entourage except for him or would his corpse just coexist with him while he's still alive, or is there something else you guys might suggest?
necrosister: (Get your own)

[personal profile] necrosister 2014-11-12 04:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Related to the above question but so much less weird, wow look at that player all asking crazy stuff about corpses. There's another thing to take care of...

Okay, so, Kurome is hooked on drugs. Don't judge, she's a victim of peer pressure/forcible injections by mad scientists. In addition to being a performance enhancer, it's actually a method of controlling her; only her bosses back in canon can supply her with the chemical she needs (in the form of special cookies, for convenience of transport and consumption), and it's strongly implied that going cold turkey at this point would kill her. Basically it's kind of related to the Soul Gems/vampirism issue, but since what she needs is a steady supply of a consumable item, the ruling on Soul Gems doesn't sound directly applicable. Would they need to be synthesized, or would her addiction be neutralized?

P.S. I would like to apologize for my intentions to app a drug-addicted necromancer who we need to ask a bunch of insane creepy questions for.
thiswarrior: (pleased)

[personal profile] thiswarrior 2014-11-22 08:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Iiii had a question and was not sure where to ask it. I also don't know how to ask questions concisely, sob.

So in asterisks I had Tiz master, I included salve-maker, which is pretty much all about knowing items to get the maximum efficacy out of them when using and combining them. Potions, in Bravely Default, are described as "easy-to-make" home remedies and actually have their method of creation given: they're created from heating a mixture of medicinal herbs and combining that with a base of cura water.

Would it be possible to have Tiz make them and offer them to both other characters and the NPC population? He'd actually need to recruit at least one other character's help, because he doesn't have white magic among the mix of abilities I gave him, but would it be okay for him to find suitable herbs on the island and create potions this way? These are just potions (the method of creation is actually described for all the varieties and hahahaha creating anything higher level would be. far-fetched), they only heal 150 HP normally or 300 HP if used with salve-maker abilities. So these aren't, like, going to save someone in the middle of losing a serious fight, but would be good for healing minor cuts and injuries and would help in recovery from more serious injuries, just not anywhere near instant recovery in those cases.

I figure it would take him a while to not just have the idea but also find the herbs and recruit someone, and even once he finds someone it'd probably be slow in making potions at first, but he'd want to get it out more broadly if he could so that people would have something to help in case another blackout ever happened and they couldn't find a doctor or healer right away.

(no subject)

[personal profile] thiswarrior - 2014-11-22 20:39 (UTC) - Expand
ill_hearted_gentleman: (A few of them at least.)

[personal profile] ill_hearted_gentleman 2014-12-20 02:40 am (UTC)(link)
So about bringing pets! I'm considering bringing in a character from Ghost Trick who has a pet. The pet is also an appable character (and has actually briefly been played here before), but at the pre-game canon point I'm considering, he's a perfectly ordinary animal who has never spoken, and that's how I would play him, but technically the events of the game don't do anything to alter his intelligence, he just gains the ability to communicate in specific circumstances. So, like, he's still theoretically appable pre-game? I just don't imagine anyone would want to.

Basically, what I want to know is, can I keep the pet? It would make a good conversation starter for a character who might otherwise avoid people and could otherwise lead to interesting shenanigans. And if somebody wanted to app the pet, I'd be totally willing to have it disappear for a canon update, so to speak (or maybe just actually canon update myself at the same time).
willneverlose: (☥ Confidence.)

[personal profile] willneverlose 2014-12-31 10:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Hi! I have kind of a weird Yugioh-related powers question and I'm sorry in advance because YGO is a weird, ambiguous canon.

I saw that you answered earlier on a question to a Juudai about summoning, but there's an odd summoning power in the original YGO. I would be apping Atem here, who is the spirit of a pharaoh from ancient Egypt. In his time, an individual's soul was split up into their kaa and baa. The kaa could be manifested into a creature that was a reflection of the summoner themselves; basically, it was a representation of their soul. Stronger souls meant stronger monsters, and they usually said something about the individual's personality themselves. The baa, on the other hand, was the part more strongly integrated with the individual themselves, and basically counted as their life force. Individuals could call their own kaa, or they could summon other people's trapped kaas from stone tablets. Any summoning took baa, and taking damage to a summoned monster meant losing baa. Running out of baa, or losing your personal kaa, was fatal.

ALL OF THAT CONFUSING BACKSTORY OUT OF THE WAY I can get to the main questions. The main one would be whether thing kind of summoning would be allowed, mostly because YGO is super unclear over whether this is something that can be done in modern times or not. Hypothetically it should be, but as this entire thing is learned about in the last arc of the series and there's never opportunity to reason to use it in modern day (the whole thing takes place in a 'memory world' set in ancient Egypt) there's no confirmation. There's also the problem of that Atem never summons his own kaa because he's suffering from amnesia at the time and has no idea what it is/how to do it, and so there's no canon choice of kaa for him. There's a popular choice based on parallels drawn in canon, but it's totally guessing. (Thanks YGO for giving a canon kaa to like everyone but YOUR MAIN CHARACTER.)

Because of all this I totally understand if this kind of summoning should just be nerfed completely! If so, summoning from cards would be awesome, if that's something that's doable (limited to five or less, of course. c:) I just thought I'd ask about the whole mess rather than trying to figure out if it's eligible to be included in the app or not. Atem's other two powers are pretty straightforward but this one is so confusing. 8| Oh, and as a last note in case you're familiar with canon, he'd be coming from the very end of the show so no Sennen Puzzle involved in any of this stuff.

(no subject)

[personal profile] willneverlose - 2015-01-02 19:02 (UTC) - Expand
steel_over_blood: (But who WAS phone??)

[personal profile] steel_over_blood 2015-01-02 04:50 am (UTC)(link)
I'd like to thank my potential future castmates for making this question look so much less weird in comparison:

Would a character coming in from a canon point where they've been poisoned fall under the heading of injury, where it sticks, or illness, where it can be either kept or removed?
teigu: (i hope you think you're clever)

[personal profile] teigu 2015-01-02 12:16 pm (UTC)(link)
If I wanted to app two characters from the same series, would that be a possibility? The characters I'm thinking of have literally 0 interaction in canon and have little reason to interact with each other even outside of it, so it could be feasibly done without playercesting, which I understand was one of the things that was specifically brought up in the FAQ. I actually already have the app written up, but I wanted to run it by you guys before dropping it just in case I missed something!

(no subject)

[personal profile] teigu - 2015-01-03 06:27 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] teigu - 2015-01-05 05:14 (UTC) - Expand

[personal profile] gottacatch 2015-01-14 01:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Hello! A question regarding pokémon. Would the mods be against a trainer having one considered a legendary (one of a kind type pokémon, super rare, etc) regardless if the character canonically owns one, or would any pokémon - as long as it makes sense for them to have that pokémon - be acceptable to you? Just with appropriate power nerfing etc. in place?
wellpreserved: (0001)

[personal profile] wellpreserved 2015-01-15 11:17 am (UTC)(link)
Hi there and thanks in advance for looking this over. I'm thinking of apping a canonmate for Kor who commented above a few months back. Creed here is the main antagonist of Hearts. Like Kor's player, I'll definitely have a permissions post, but have a couple of questions.

1. Creed does have the ability to summon the xeroms Kor's player spoke of and cause despir in people with that. To his people, they are weapons. I did see that he'll have a limit of 5. How does this work when someone can pretty much summon any of a large variety of types? Would I pick 5 types he would be able to summon, or specify 5 particular xeroms he can summon? And what happens if someone kills one of them, is he unable to ever summon it again or he can just summon another of that type? It is my hope this won't come up much in game but since it could and could also make for an interesting player plot may as well ask now so if I need to include what he will be able to summon on his app I can get that in there now.

2. In canon Creed died due to an illness that he pretty much brought upon himself. I'm taking him after his death, but would it be possible to keep the illness and turn back the clock on it a bit so he has a few months before showing symptoms again? Main reason why I wish to keep it is because it acts somewhat as a power limiter for him and he's pretty powerful.

3. And this one will probably sound random and weird, but how much weight will the furniture in the residential areas be made to hold? Would they be able to handle about 400 pounds or more without a problem?

(no subject)

[personal profile] wellpreserved - 2015-01-15 20:57 (UTC) - Expand
bondsofsuffering: ([Question] So let's disprove the)

[personal profile] bondsofsuffering 2015-02-13 07:00 am (UTC)(link)
Hey there, popping in with a powers question!

So Hizumi here (and another guy a friend would like to app) have this weird almost-immortality in that the only things that can kill them are either their bodies shutting down of natural causes and, in Hizumi's case, being killed by Ayumu (the other guy). It's kind of weird and complicated and involves a lot of one being fated to kill the other, etc.

The way it normally works is, when they are under threat of dying, some small miracle occurs to prevent that from happening; canonical examples are a gun held to the head that simply does not go off, as well as Hizumi falling from fifty meters up and a gust of wind slowing his momentum, as well as trees below cushioning his fall. They aren't immune to damage by any means: Hizumi fractures his spine in several places as well as breaks an arm and a leg when he falls, and it's enough that would keep him in the hospital for two years. Also, in Hizumi's case, if Ayumu were the one to point the gun at him, it would presumably go off without a hitch and kill him immediately.

Ayumu only has the natural causes part to worry about, because this canon is kind of weird and he's basically a higher power than Hizumi who can't be murdered at all.

Would this be okay, or would it need to be nerfed at all? Due to circumstances, as long as it isn't something that would normally be fatal it could probably go by unneeded, but it felt best to check in now than later.

(no subject)

[personal profile] bondsofsuffering - 2015-02-13 07:47 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] melodyoflogic - 2015-02-13 08:32 (UTC) - Expand
catstate: (Default)

[personal profile] catstate 2015-03-01 07:14 am (UTC)(link)
So, I've got a question regarding characters that come from series involving online rpgs. (.hack, Sword Art Online, Log Horizon, etc.) Are we able to choose whether a character appears in Empatheias in the form of their avatar from the game they played, or would it be their real world appearance from outside of the game?

For example, I'm considering playing Hermit, who has the appearance of a purple cat as his avatar (as seen in his icon right now) when in the game The World that's shown in .hack//Quantum. However, he's one of the players that's been actually living inside the game itself for a long time and his mind hasn't been attached to his real body in ages, his mind having been trapped inside the avatar in the game. So, I want to know if he can keep the body of his avatar from the game rather than his real world body when he arrives in Empatheias?
Edited 2015-03-01 07:15 (UTC)

(no subject)

[personal profile] catstate - 2015-03-01 07:25 (UTC) - Expand
x_ed: (Deep in the village)

[personal profile] x_ed 2015-03-25 02:39 am (UTC)(link)
Weird and totally random question here, but. What is the Verens procedure regarding dealing with corpses of the dead?

(no subject)

[personal profile] x_ed - 2015-03-25 02:51 (UTC) - Expand
wellpreserved: (0002)

[personal profile] wellpreserved 2015-04-02 12:19 am (UTC)(link)
So question for some future plotting and this will relate to character death. Asking here since at least one of these is likely something someone will wonder about in the future. This is related to character death, obviously not them dying due to a penalty for murder.

1. If a character is going to die does this need to be cleared with the mods at all once we have specifics on it? If so what will you guys want?

2. If the character had an illness they died from or was present at the time of their death what will happen with that? Would it be like when we app in and we can choose if it's still there or not or something else entirely? I'd assume any wounds present would be healed, they'd just be weak overall.

3. Also, more detail on severely weakened for when they return? Just want to be able to estimate how long that will take to recover from since that may affect what I end up picking for a timeline here.

If specifics help at all, I'm pretty much considering that Creed's going to sadly die from a failed attempt at curing what he's got because I'm mean and because he's trying for something that shouldn't be easy and has a few weak spots for potential failure that he can't really test before making an attempt. It will have progressed to the point that he's got less than 24 hours before he calcifies when he makes this attempt.

Thanks in advance and sorry for all the questions revolving around me being a meanie to my character.

(no subject)

[personal profile] wellpreserved - 2015-04-02 09:59 (UTC) - Expand
dramatist: (wheatstalks)

[personal profile] dramatist 2015-04-18 09:30 am (UTC)(link)
Hello!! Quick (spoilery) canon-specific question; I didn't see anything that covered a similar situation, but I apologize if I just missed it! Anyway, Jack here shares a body with Oz (as in, Oz's body is actually Jack's), so I was just wondering how that would work if I apped him in. Would the world just magic him up a second, duplicate body or something similar?

(no subject)

[personal profile] dramatist - 2015-04-18 22:25 (UTC) - Expand
heismymission: get that shield outta here (e: ping)

[personal profile] heismymission 2015-05-04 05:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Just out of curiosity, how sturdy are the amulets? It's mentioned that they can be destroyed, so I was wondering what it might take.

(no subject)

[personal profile] heismymission - 2015-05-04 18:42 (UTC) - Expand
hachimaki: (The heart is hard to translate.)

[personal profile] hachimaki 2015-05-06 05:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Hey, I noticed tags got created on the main community and there's a typo in my character's name? Takasugi Shinusuke should be Takasugi Shinsuke. No other u on the second bit.

(no subject)

[personal profile] hachimaki - 2015-05-06 22:24 (UTC) - Expand
ferus_preliator: (Default)

[personal profile] ferus_preliator 2015-06-10 08:52 pm (UTC)(link)
So I have two questions

1: How much canon is required before a character is considered appable? I have a character that shows up for half of one episode, and you get a good feeling of her personality from that small span of time (the character is Fae the computer from the Welcome to Nightvale podcast as reference) but she doesn't get much.

2: Also, if Fae is allowed in, she is, for all intents and purposes, a computer program, housed in a black box. How would you prefer the fact that she has no body be dealt with? I'm open to anything from a very realistic sort of spirit/holographic form (maybe the strength of it would depend on her emotional state?) to giving her some sort of android body that houses the box that is her to any other options that you think would sound feasible.
Edited (edited for clarity) 2015-06-10 21:06 (UTC)
clockmortician: (Default)

[personal profile] clockmortician 2015-06-23 08:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Hi! Considering apping this grumpy workaholic. I've read over the majority of the info regarding amulets, but there is one question I believe that's implied but not directly stated, plus another one reguarding something more canon specific.

1) Assuming before they start to become tinted by their alignment, are the amulets clear? And can the liquid be actually seen in them?

2) And, more canon specifically here, I realize the amulet system is almost exactly like Alice's vial in the series, which Julius has knowledge of. IE: The more people she interacts with, the more liquid fills the vial and when it's filled, supposedly, she can go home to her world. Julius would see the irony in his situation in him now being the "outsider" Alice was considered. Would him making the comparison be alright? (This is a really worded question and I apologize for it)

3) Random bonus question which just came to mind. Julius is a representation of time, and aside from fixing broken clocks, which has absolutely no meaning in this world despite the importance in his own, in his world he could fire his gun into the air and it would change the time of day. Safe to assume his power would be completely ineffective here?
roseheartz: (We are the Crystal Gems)

[personal profile] roseheartz 2015-06-26 03:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Queeestion. What if I want to app a character from a canon point where she's pregnant? In the late stages of it, even. What would happen once she arrives in the game? Would the unborn child disappear?

(bonus points for complicated situation because the child is a main character who may one day be apped by someone else, but is tied to the character I want to app in such a way that she will inevitably have to give up her own physical form once the pregnancy is complete and the baby is born, because 'they can't both exist'.)

(no subject)

[personal profile] roseheartz - 2015-06-30 13:55 (UTC) - Expand
x_ed: (teaches lies)

[personal profile] x_ed 2015-07-04 01:12 am (UTC)(link)
HAHA I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE ASKED THIS EARLIER BUT...

I see that people are allowed to be apped in as their avatars if they are from a canon where characters are playing virtual reality games (hi SAO) so just to confirm:

How do their abilities carry over, if at all? In Yuuki's case she does have a few outlined abilities that I will touch on, but certain attacks in Sword Art Online use the system to guide their attacks - basically, you strike the starting pose of the attack and the game system moves you to complete it. It's very cool, even if it also freezes you afterwards with a delay. Would skills like that still magically function the same even if there isn't a "system" in place to guide it?

(no subject)

[personal profile] x_ed - 2015-07-04 04:05 (UTC) - Expand
pahonia: (14 ♠)

[personal profile] pahonia 2015-07-10 03:03 am (UTC)(link)
Two questions! I hope you'll get to answer them, and thank you in advanced.

You've mentioned there used to be ghosts but are there any on the island itself? And would a dream be prodcasted, if, per say a person was having a nightmare and wanted to get out of it by asking for help, not knowing it was a dream, or something like that?

(no subject)

[personal profile] pahonia - 2015-07-10 04:51 (UTC) - Expand
prismaticdestruction: (Default)

[personal profile] prismaticdestruction 2015-07-12 02:42 am (UTC)(link)
Alright- This won't be for a while probably but questions!

- I've seen the bit about blood and vampires in the questions so that's good but what about the other weaknesses, like sunlight, running water and etc? Would they still be in full effect or what.

- The main issue I'm worried about is Flandre's little ability. Destroying absolutely anything. Kinda much for anyone to have to be honest but as I've played her in other games, it's an ability I do not use unless there is mod permission. even then it's kind of a issue to a point. If she were to be apped, would the power be taken from her or severely cut down in power? (Either way is fine with me, it's just good to know ahead of time)

I'll probably have more questions after this but for now o7

(no subject)

[personal profile] prismaticdestruction - 2015-07-12 04:19 (UTC) - Expand
clumsyjesus: (Default)

[personal profile] clumsyjesus 2015-07-13 12:28 pm (UTC)(link)
So, I'm strongly considering apping Colette here. I'm considering taking her taking her from either after she is rescued from Rodyle or before she loses her heart and memories. With the latter canon point, she has lost the ability to eat, sleep, feel pain (and display emotions like crying although dialogue states that she can still feel happy, sad and angry) and the ability to speak. Would these senses be restored in Empatheias or only some of them?

(no subject)

[personal profile] clumsyjesus - 2015-08-04 20:57 (UTC) - Expand
egocentricpolicedick: (Default)

[personal profile] egocentricpolicedick 2015-08-21 11:12 pm (UTC)(link)
This is a question more about apps than about the game itself, but it seemed the best place to ask it-

Are we allowed to use multiple test drive threads for our samples? Adachi's the kind of character who doesn't really crack that often, and I have one thread that shows how he'd usually act and one that shows how he'd act if he did get pissed off- Can I use both?

Page 3 of 14