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[ application: original characters ]
IMPORTANT! We are officially in endgame until August 31, 2020. Applications are on a rolling basis. There is a small "block" period from the 1st through the 4th of every month to allow a bulk of apps to be submitted, and then applications can be submitted at any time during the month. Notices will be sent out all at once after the first "block" period, and then between 24 hours to the end of the weekend depending on how many and our schedule. Applications are guaranteed to be processed during the weekends.
IMPORTANT: Only the following types of original characters are allowed to be applied for—
The following would not be allowed:
Before applying, please be sure to read the following:
We have compiled sample applications from our players to show what the mod team and the application moderators are looking for in terms of writing quality and depth. We hope you find these samples useful!
⌈ PLAYER SECTION ⌉
Player:
Contact: Journal/Plurk/AIM — anything to help identify since someone might share your name handle.
Age: You must be at least 13 years old to apply.
Current Characters: If a new player, just put "N/A"
⌈ CHARACTER SECTION ⌉
Character:
Age:
OC Type: Indicate whether this OC is a Pure, MMO, or Blank Protagonist type of OC. If it is a Blank Protagonist, indicate the canon here.
Point Taken: A sense of time when the character is taken. More applicable to MMO and Blank Protagonist OCs.
World Building:This is separate from the character's personal history. This section is to provide us with information about the character's “canon” in general. We will have no idea what kind of world that the character is coming from, and this is the only place we can learn about it. We don't want an encyclopedia, but we will need to know important details about it so that we can understand the culture the character is coming from and how that will affect how they think and behave. What countries are important? What kind of geography or political climate? Are there any social conflicts that would impact the character or would influence how they view others? For MMO and Blank Protagonist OCs, linking us to wikis will suffice, but feel free to add more to it.
Backstory: While we don't need a play-by-play, what we would like to see includes how the character lived, what choices they've made and why, what events occurred that developed them, and other important facts that will help us understand the character. For MMO OCs: Most MMORPGs will have a set storyline that the player character has the opportunity to play through. Keep in mind that rather there being a singular "Great Hero," all MMO OCs are to be seen as a part of a large group of heroes if you choose to follow the main storyline. Also keep in mind that all MMO OCs will have to follow their game’s canon lore. For example: A character could not save the NPC that canonly died, nor could a mission fail if it is set to succeed. However, your character could have died and or had difficulty fulfilling the mission. It is also possible that your character had no part in the overall game's story and had their own adventures in the world instead. Finally, there can be no romantic or familial relationships with named NPCs.
Personality: We're looking for how they think, why they act the way they do, their strengths, their weaknesses, their thought processes, their opinions, their conflicts, what makes them feel the way they do, their significant traits. When writing your character, be careful! We want to avoid characters that are the super invincible almighty hero that can do no wrong. The one who can charm anyone with a smile, can easily trick and deceive, has the power to bend wills with ease. All characters have flaws—no one is perfect. But more importantly, such infallible characters are not interesting to play and interact with. In short, the character should be realistic, balanced, and well thought out. If we feel that your character does not meet this standard, then we may ask for a revision or reject if it cannot be changed.
Abilities: If there are any particular abilities the character has supernatural or otherwise, list them here. Referencing to a wiki list is acceptable if applicable. However, if there are any particular abilities that need to be weakened or removed, note them here.
Alignment: Please refer to the Alignment entry to choose which alignment your character would most likely fall under. Include a brief (a couple of sentences max) just to help explain why you think your choice is the best fit.
Other: Anything else you'd like to mention.
⌈ SAMPLE SECTION ⌉
Sample: We have two sample requirements.
General Sample: We should see examples of the character's dialogue as well as some introspection or additional narrative to further show how you intend to write the character. This is the most important part of the sample and where most of the weight will be.
Emotion Sample: This is our "game setting" requirement. Essentially we want to ensure that you have a basic grasp of the game's premise, especially with the use of emotions. It can be a small scene, even incidental to the main sample. A reminder that apathetic characters will also create effects, such as loss of color, surface distortion, holes forming. This section doesn't have to be lengthy, but the effect must be clear for us to see.
The emotion sample can be part of the general character sample. If so, please link directly or directly quote that portion so that it's easier for us to quickly find it.
The samples can be "written" in three different ways and you can choose which one will work best for you:
Format wise, you can use either [ brackets ] OR narrative prose. We do require that the writing at least be coherent, have proper sentence structure, and is mostly grammatically correct (we realize that writing styles can be loose/creative in [ bracket ] form so we're giving a bit more leeway). One last suggestion we have is try to have the character interacting with the environment and try thinking of the sample less of a narrative piece but more like a post or thread prompt you might make in the game. That will help the sample show not only how you will write the character, but also how you will play them in practice.
Questions: If you have any questions, ask them here.
Clean copy and paste form here:
IMPORTANT: Only the following types of original characters are allowed to be applied for—
- Pure OC. These are the typical kind of OC that everyone is familiar with. They are characters that are the player's own creation with their own world that is also of the player's design. There is zero relation to any pre-existing canon.
- MMO OC. MMOs, or Massively Multiplayer Online games, particularly those with a lot of roleplay and character build-up, have existing world building and lore that they have to follow. These characters are created by the player and can have their own story, but they have to follow the rules of the game lore. We consider "main hero" characters as those who are one of many in a great group that influenced the storyline, rather than the singular Great Hero character. This is to help multiple MMO OCs from the same game to have stories that mesh well together. In the sake of fairness to current FFXIV OC players and consistency with previous mod teams' decisions, we do not currently allow FFXIV Warriors of Light.
- Blank Slate Canon Protagonists. For our criteria, these types of characters are those which you control throughout the game and essentially make the player the main character. They may have a name and a couple of personality traits, but everything else is up to the player to interpret. Examples of these are most of the main characters from Dragon Age, Skyrim, Pokémon, etc. Important: Please note that this category ONLY pertains to the protagonists of canons. This does not allow side characters or other support NPCs as they have set stories and personalities. This section has nothing to do with how much headcanon is used and is only about the purpose and design of the protagonist character.
The following would not be allowed:
- Fanon/AU OCs. Characters that are based off pre-existing canons or an alternate version of the canon. We would not allow these OCs not because we are against them on principle, but it could cause unwanted confusion and complications with current existing casts. This type of OC would have needed to be allowed from the very beginning so players would know what they were getting into.
- Game Native OCs. Currently the game is not ready for such a type of character, as it would introduce other complications and worldbuilding that the interested player would have to be aware of. In addition, it would require more close connection with us the mods than we are currently ready for.
Before applying, please be sure to read the following:
- Read the Rules and the Game Information.
- RETURNING PLAYERS! You only need to submit any old application. Does not matter how long ago, as long as it was accepted and you have good standing (ie, not banned), it will be valid.
- Suggestion: Find some character sheets that have questions directly related to character building. These will help flesh out your application and give some guidelines as to how to write about your character.
- Feel free to use the most recent test drive both for practice as well as to use for samples. IMPORTANT! If you submit threads as samples, you must submit the application with that character journal. This is the only way we can ensure that the samples are from you and not someone else.
- Linked samples must have been made within the past year.
- You may apply for up to two characters per cycle.
- Do not plagiarize. If we find that the information provided was directly taken by either another player or some other source material, the application will be rejected immediately. If we find this after processing the application, we will revoke the application and have you removed from the game with potential ban.
- Reusing your own applications from other games is allowed. We only ask any original written samples to conform to our game. That is, we don't want to read samples that are set specifically for another game's premise. Note: this does not apply to threads linked from other games used as samples.
- If you are rejected, you cannot reapply for the same character for two weeks. However, you can apply for a different character in that same period.
- Those accepted must fill out all of the required entries within a week to be considered part of the game. Otherwise, we will consider it a revocation of the application.
- Fill out the form and comment to this entry! All applications must be posted directly to this entry; no linked-in applications allowed.
We have compiled sample applications from our players to show what the mod team and the application moderators are looking for in terms of writing quality and depth. We hope you find these samples useful!
- Sun Wukong (RWBY)
- Luke Skywalker (Star Wars)
- Goro Akechi (Persona 5)
Player:
Contact: Journal/Plurk/AIM — anything to help identify since someone might share your name handle.
Age: You must be at least 13 years old to apply.
Current Characters: If a new player, just put "N/A"
Character:
Age:
OC Type: Indicate whether this OC is a Pure, MMO, or Blank Protagonist type of OC. If it is a Blank Protagonist, indicate the canon here.
Point Taken: A sense of time when the character is taken. More applicable to MMO and Blank Protagonist OCs.
World Building:This is separate from the character's personal history. This section is to provide us with information about the character's “canon” in general. We will have no idea what kind of world that the character is coming from, and this is the only place we can learn about it. We don't want an encyclopedia, but we will need to know important details about it so that we can understand the culture the character is coming from and how that will affect how they think and behave. What countries are important? What kind of geography or political climate? Are there any social conflicts that would impact the character or would influence how they view others? For MMO and Blank Protagonist OCs, linking us to wikis will suffice, but feel free to add more to it.
Backstory: While we don't need a play-by-play, what we would like to see includes how the character lived, what choices they've made and why, what events occurred that developed them, and other important facts that will help us understand the character. For MMO OCs: Most MMORPGs will have a set storyline that the player character has the opportunity to play through. Keep in mind that rather there being a singular "Great Hero," all MMO OCs are to be seen as a part of a large group of heroes if you choose to follow the main storyline. Also keep in mind that all MMO OCs will have to follow their game’s canon lore. For example: A character could not save the NPC that canonly died, nor could a mission fail if it is set to succeed. However, your character could have died and or had difficulty fulfilling the mission. It is also possible that your character had no part in the overall game's story and had their own adventures in the world instead. Finally, there can be no romantic or familial relationships with named NPCs.
Personality: We're looking for how they think, why they act the way they do, their strengths, their weaknesses, their thought processes, their opinions, their conflicts, what makes them feel the way they do, their significant traits. When writing your character, be careful! We want to avoid characters that are the super invincible almighty hero that can do no wrong. The one who can charm anyone with a smile, can easily trick and deceive, has the power to bend wills with ease. All characters have flaws—no one is perfect. But more importantly, such infallible characters are not interesting to play and interact with. In short, the character should be realistic, balanced, and well thought out. If we feel that your character does not meet this standard, then we may ask for a revision or reject if it cannot be changed.
Abilities: If there are any particular abilities the character has supernatural or otherwise, list them here. Referencing to a wiki list is acceptable if applicable. However, if there are any particular abilities that need to be weakened or removed, note them here.
Alignment: Please refer to the Alignment entry to choose which alignment your character would most likely fall under. Include a brief (a couple of sentences max) just to help explain why you think your choice is the best fit.
Other: Anything else you'd like to mention.
Sample: We have two sample requirements.
General Sample: We should see examples of the character's dialogue as well as some introspection or additional narrative to further show how you intend to write the character. This is the most important part of the sample and where most of the weight will be.
Emotion Sample: This is our "game setting" requirement. Essentially we want to ensure that you have a basic grasp of the game's premise, especially with the use of emotions. It can be a small scene, even incidental to the main sample. A reminder that apathetic characters will also create effects, such as loss of color, surface distortion, holes forming. This section doesn't have to be lengthy, but the effect must be clear for us to see.
The emotion sample can be part of the general character sample. If so, please link directly or directly quote that portion so that it's easier for us to quickly find it.
The samples can be "written" in three different ways and you can choose which one will work best for you:
- Test Drive. You can utilize our test drive to cover both requirements of the sample. So long as there is enough character portrayal and a scene with an emotional reaction, be it within the prompt or done during the thread, then it can be used for both.
- Link out + Written. You can link to threads/entries from other games, memes, or museboxes to show character portrayal, and then write an additional short scene for the emotion portion of the sample.
- Original Sample. You can write a complete sample that shows both character portrayal and a scene involving emotion use. This can be one sample or two separate samples. If you opt to write an original sample, you are welcome to use any prompts from any of our Test Drives, Intro Logs, Task Board, and even past events. You are also free to change things up and are not restricted to any of these prompts. They are just here to help offer ideas.
Format wise, you can use either [ brackets ] OR narrative prose. We do require that the writing at least be coherent, have proper sentence structure, and is mostly grammatically correct (we realize that writing styles can be loose/creative in [ bracket ] form so we're giving a bit more leeway). One last suggestion we have is try to have the character interacting with the environment and try thinking of the sample less of a narrative piece but more like a post or thread prompt you might make in the game. That will help the sample show not only how you will write the character, but also how you will play them in practice.
Questions: If you have any questions, ask them here.
no subject
This war was unlike any Kilarria had seen before. The humans and elves were equally matched in numbers and strength and this particular feud would last for centuries, passing through generations and killing hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians alike. The man responsible for this chaos was assumed dead, but Lioriley refused to accept that so easily - just as she had during the previous war between the elves. She sought Veles for advice on the matter, and though he could not (would not) tell her exactly what the future hold, he said that something was certainly amiss, and that she would have to do her part to resolve it.
With Veles' help ( as little as it might have been ), as well as her old friend Enfaren’s, she began traveling in hopes of finding just who was responsible and what their intentions were for causing yet another unnecessary war. Their search eventually lead them to a lone soldier, Diamanda, that had been fighting in the war since she was old enough to wield a sword. Diamanda, like Lior, longed for its end, but had little hope that the races would calm, and decided to join them on their quest to find the one responsible for sending the world into war for a second time.
Mathurin had been smart and cunning enough to keep his identity hidden from Enfaren when he had been held captive by Irial centuries ago, so their search was a difficult one, based on hunches and assumptions and whispers from passersby until they finally found something concrete. An unknown Light Elf soldier was climbing the ranks at an alarming rate - alarming enough to draw the group’s suspicion. They chose to investigate and found none other than Mathurin at the head of a powerful elven army unit, having wormed his way close to the new king with manipulation and promises of power.
Though they didn’t know for certain if he was the one that had caused the war, they knew that he was trouble. Unfortunately, before they could actually confront him, Diamanda decided that allying with such a powerful general in the war would be of far more use to her than remaining with Lioriley and the others. She eventually abandoned the group to try and join with Mathurin (and the king, due to their close relationship) in hopes of making some sort of bargain to stop the war so no more of her people - or his - had to die. He was wary at first, but eventually began to trust the human knight and even told her of his plans. He would climb the ranks, kill this king as well and then take the throne himself using the new magic he would acquire from the tome he had stolen. Devastated by her friend's betrayal, Lioriley retreated to seek advice from Veles, who naturally told her to expect such things from humans and that trusting others was her biggest mistake. Now driven by anger, Lior made her way to the front lines and into enemy territory until she reached Diamanda and Mathurin, only to find that the former was only acting to get close to the latter.
With her double cross out in the open, Mathurin aimed to destroy Diamanda before she could destroy him, having long since become obsessed with taking her as his wife when he finally ruled over the lands of Kilarria, further insuring that the humans and elves would find more reason to worship him. Realising that he could not, the only option was to kill her, and the two fought until Diamanda fell. In retaliation, Lioriley and Veles battled against Mathurin, who had taken a hold of the magical tome much like Irial before him, and used it against the both of them. Veles inevitably fell while protecting Lioriley, and it was up to her to avenge him as well.
Unable to retreat and incapable of reaching the tome that had saved her once before, Lioriley had no choice but to use the dragon's body as a shield while she and Mathurin fought. By a pure stroke of what could only classified as dumb luck, Mathurin, for the briefest of moments, allowed his guard to drop, allowing Lioriley the chance to cast a spell just powerful enough to knock him down. It was then that she moved from her hiding spot, standing atop her fallen mentor and fired an arrow directly into the light elf's heart.
Mathurin fell, just as Irial had before him, and Lioriley; exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally, once again recovered the tome, returned it to its rightful place, buried her friends and lived to tell the tale. She was heralded as a hero, but found little reason to celebrate now that everyone she loved was dead.
After what felt like ages of grieving, Lioriley eventually willed herself to continue forward, becoming an Archmage, working in the dark elf temples and teaching young mages the way of magic. It was some years later that one of the birthing rituals happened and Lior decided to adopt one of the newborns, this one with red lines that she named Vales, after Veles. Appropriately so considering how angry he would be later on in life.
Personality:
Raised in a place like Maligrae, it's hardly surprising that Lioriley started out a naive girl with little in the way of physical combat training. As a dark elf she is less likely to be trusted by some of the other races and as a result has faced some prejudices. Still, she has an inquisitive and curious nature, but curiousity does not always someone down a good road.
Initially, whilst gifted in magic, she would not have survived on her own, her magic not strong enough at such a young age to really stand a chance against the possible foes she might encounter, as well as not knowing enough about the world around her to really survive. Luckily though a knight errant aided and looked out for her, forming a bond that would be severed all too soon; the death of her companion Alairr would be her first experience of a loved one dying and revealed parts of her personality to others had not been aware of before.
The journey taught her several things: strength, fending for herself, and about other cultures; but still she will always prefer to have a companion as the truth of the matter is that even at the outset, fighting and violence is not something she enjoys. Despite being caught up in two grave conflicts, one of which managed to last centuries, she only fights when she must, never seeking battle or bloodshed but to put things right and to do the good and right thing. Sadly, given the nature of certain races, Lioriley’s desire to avoid violent conflict is unlikely to ever be an option. She values the co-operation of a team - helping others is really a dark elf trait to a point where dark elves who are less worldly could seriously be taken advantage of by those with ill intention, but fortunately her companions Alairr, Veles, and Diamanda would put a stop to anyone who tried to take advantage of Lioriley herself. Luckily or not, over the years she did begin to see that there was not always a kernel of goodness within every soul. Still, Lioriley can come off as naive even when older, but she likes to learn new things about people and places so that she can understand more of the world around her and the conflicts therein.
Lioriley has always striven to be as open minded as she can be when it comes to people, their situation and life choices, but there are times when she can be blunt, when she can be offensive without actually meaning to be that way. Some of this is due to her prolonged companionship with Veles, a dragon who is horrendously racist to all of the non-dragon races in Kilarria, save a slightly favorable opinion of the dark elves. She has seen the worst of all races in war, she has seen grudges passed down for generations amongst the humans as the war kept going and there are some traits she will automatically associate with humans or whatever race she's dealing with. It isn't something she means to do, but given her mentor, it's really not surprising she can make judgements quickly in some cases.
Due to her sheltered background, Lioriley tends to take people very literally so she can miss a nuance or implication in spoken word. To others (for game purposes, the people from modern and/or vastly different worlds) this can make her look like an idiot while they either wait for the penny to drop or for the awkward explanation conversation to happen.
She also hates the abuse of magic by anyone. Given the origins and exile of the dark elves for shunning the life and power draining magics of their light elf ancestors, it's easy to see that using magic for good is a large part of the dark elf psyche. This is why she fought in the first place: mad mages controlling the world would only cause pain and anguish of innocent people. Seeing anyone inflict cruelty just for the sake of it is repulsive in her eyes - those are the few cases where she might believe that someone must go, if they indulge in such acts with no possibility of ever being redeemed.
Betrayal hits her incredibly hard because she doesn't understand why someone would turn on their ideals to help an enemy; Diamanda did this to gain a tactical advantage, but never told Lioriley so her reaction would be genuine and the dark elf was absolutely crushed when she believed her friend had turned on her to join Mathurin. It was revealed that Diamanda was in fact aiding Lioriley's cause, but what Lioriley felt towards her is something she will regret as Diamanda died in the final battle with Mathurin before she and Lioriley could talk about what the human knight had done. It's another little thing that will haunt her because there is the huge 'what if' that cannot be answered: what if she had known the truth of the betrayal and been able to save Diamanda?
Everyone deals with death in their own way, and Lioriley is no different. In fact, when people die around Lioriley, she often takes blame even though she has no cause to. Even before Lioriley and Veles’ relationship had a chance to fully develop, her severe reaction Alairr's death and her self sacrificial attempts at healing him caused Veles great concern. Dark elf magic is tied to their life force and with Irial still to fight, she might have killed herself trying to heal a man already gone. Even as a hero twice over, it is nigh impossible for her to grasp why they would sacrifice themselves for her and she can be near suicidal with her selflessness so that she can give something back to others. She eventually settles down to be a guiding figure and adopts a son with little magic to try to give something back so that her life is finally about something other than war and death.
Trying to get Lioriley to talk about her problems can be like getting blood from a stone. She's too used to being able to put on a smile because even if she's naive about some things, she knows that all too often people will see only what they wish to see so if she smiles, they won't ask. Lioriley would rather not burden others with her problems because she would rather be the solver of problems: she aided her people by investigating and defeating Irial and then the whole of Kilarria by defeating Mathhurin. To her, her problems and pain are simply that, they are hers and they are also less significant than the problems of others. In actuality this way of thinking makes her a huge hypocrite, as she is more than willing to take on the problems of other people to the point of making them her own. This is, of course, shown by how she gets involved in two wars defending what she believes is the good and the right thing.
Lioriley doesn't talk to others about herself unless she is explaining how her magic works and the nature of magic in general, more personal subjects are avoided to the point of a cat and mouse game until the other party gives up on trying to get her to talk. This is a trait that has improved significantly since her youth, however, as she can be honest; but it's still uncomfortable for her because so much of her life is tied up in war. She feels that since it was so hard for her to deal with it then, she's not going to happily inflict her personal and painful recollections on others.
If Lioriley was in a fantasy rpg she would be miss 'do all the sidequests'. She'll help you if you need it because she likes doing it - growing up in a community like Maligrae, it is just what is done. Overall, she will try to treat people in the same way she would like to be treated. Her belief is that everyone deserves a measure of kindness even if it costs her greatly. This is even true in cases where she has little to no chance of the favor being returned. She knows that people are often selfish and she dislikes that, but she still wants to help. This helpful insistence can on occasion warp into selfishness itself because if people don't want her help or if she really can't help them she'll get frustrated with them, herself and the entire situation. Helping others gives her purpose and an escape from the loneliness she now feels, bereft of the people who fought at her side and knew her best.
Alongside her sometimes selfish desire to help people, Lioriley can sometimes display the traits of having a martyr complex.
In certain situations she would rather die if it means anyone else will get to live. This often disregards the wishes of those who care about her, much to their dismay and righteous frustration. It's another example of her hypocrisy: she is acutely aware of the pain and devastation of watching a treasured friend sacrifice their life for hers and indulges in lengthy self-flagellation over it.
Lioriley always believes there is a way to save them even when there is not or when she is told such by Veles who is a Seer dragon who knows exactly what will happen with the future and allows no one to change it. Her views aren't exactly rational and the guilt of living on with Alairr, Diamanda and Veles dead and gone is hard for her to live with even years later as she tries to raise her adoptive son.