simpathis: (Default)
Empatheias Mods ([personal profile] simpathis) wrote2014-05-25 12:34 am

[ application: original characters ]

— APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN AND WILL BE PROCESSED ON WEEKENDS —

Canon Applications are here


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—

  • 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!


⌈ 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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.



Clean copy and paste form here:

irabelas: you make a durgon account (Default)

Inquisitor Lavellan | Dragon Age: Inquisition | Reserved

[personal profile] irabelas 2016-03-03 07:16 pm (UTC)(link)
⌈ PLAYER SECTION ⌉

Player: Ash
Contact: [plurk.com profile] nipponpon
Age: 24
Current Characters: n/a
irabelas: (sad thoughts probably)

[personal profile] irabelas 2016-03-03 07:16 pm (UTC)(link)
⌈ CHARACTER SECTION ⌉

Character: Dhaveiras Lavellan (The Inquisitor)
Age: 28
OC Type: Blank Protagonist. Dragon Age: Inquisition.
Point Taken: After both Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts and Here Lies the Abyss.

World Building: Wiki link!

Backstory:
    Storyline wiki.

    Main storyline choices:

    • Default World State from past two games.
    • Inquisitor Dhaveiras Lavellan, previous hunter of clan Lavellan, double dagger rogue, now specialized as an assassin.
    • Recruited all party members.
    • Romanced no one.
    • Did not accept that he was chosen by Andraste
    • Allied with the Templars. Ser Barris survived.
    • Rescued Clan Lavellan.
    • Left Stroud behind. Gave the Grey Wardens a second chance by recruiting them.
    • Kept Celene as Empress and helped her reconcile with Briala. Gaspard was executed and Florianne was kept as a jester.
irabelas: (ew)

[personal profile] irabelas 2016-03-03 07:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Personality:
    As a blank protagonist of his series, the Inquisitor's personality is built from each and every dialogue choice in the game, as well as the actions taken in main quests and side quests. Backstory plays a part in this as well, so I will largely be referencing decisions made in the storyline according to Dhaveiras' character in order to back up who he is.

    Dhaveiras is a very hesitant person who is forced into a large role that he is constantly uncertain about. After stepping out of the fade, he's immediately thrown into a scenario that leads to him in a higher position than he's used to. With such an important role in the fate of the world, Dhaveiras is often left feeling like he shouldn't be the one in the position and is constantly searches for reasoning as to why. The entire first two sections of the game deal with this search, and we can see his hesitance in various ways.

    The Inquisitor is very insecure about where he is in terms of importance. As a Dalish elf, he's already aware that his people are seen as lesser in the public eye and often questions if he should really be involved in and/or allowed to make decisions. This includes taking the role of Inquisitor. As a Dalish elf, many would expect him to step into this place of power with a certain determination to help his people and lash out at the ones who have done him wrong. The Inquisitor, however, does not have such a harsh outlook. We often see the Inquisitor questioning his place despite his roots as a Dalish elf. Rather than the pride that most Dalish seem to carry, Dhaveiras acts in a way that shows more hesitance and doubt. He is a man that wants to avoid conflict, and will often step back or down to avoid it. Though he does care for his people and often speaks up for Dalish beliefs or methods, he's not an elf that believes he knows everything, as we see in his large amount of questions about any topic he can. This includes the topic of elves. Ultimately, though he aims for a world of peace and equality, he still feels subservient due to his race.

    That brings up another trait clear in the Inquisitor's actions: his obedience. As the hunter of a Dalish clan, he's used to following orders rather than giving them, and this shows in every choice he's forced into along the way. Not only is he urged into the role of both Herald and Inquisitor, but each sidequest along the way ends with him agreeing to help someone out because they expect it of him. He is so subservient that he will do missions he would not normally agree with out of obligation, and is often forced into leadership roles he doesn't know how to take on. We see clear signs of his exhaustion and turmoil throughout the game) and dialogue options where he reveals his feelings. One of the main decisions in Dragon Age: Inquisition is whether the Inquisitor sides with the templars or the mages, but the set up of this decision is a very forced one. His advisors will voice their opinions, arguing between one another with their points and leaving the Inquisitor to decide between one or the other. It's clear even at that point that reaching out to one group may shun the other. In Dhaveiras' case, he chose the templars even when his personal feelings would have him join the mages. It was the pressure of the templars' importance and the arguments of his advisors that led him in this direction, far more than his own thought process. It shows perfectly that as the Inquisitor is forced into these leadership roles, he is easily swayed past his own beliefs.

    A final example of his obedience is evident in the religious role of the Inquisitor. Dhaverias is not Andrastian, and denies that Andraste has chosen him. This is more than just religious belief. In Here Lies the Abyss, when he is shown that this is merely an accident rather than any divine purpose, it spawns plenty of dialogue options that expresses his sadness and surprise at this. He feels that he's letting people down or hiding the truth by staying in the position of Inquisitor and Herald, but under the suggestions of his advisors, he continues to publicly say what the people want to hear.

    It's clear to everyone in the inquisition that Dhaveiras is a kind man devoted to their well being. He goes out of his way to help his friends and better the world, dealing with red lyrium, fighting wyverns and dragons, even nearly sacrificing himself to save them all from Haven. He has an insatiable curiosity that stems from his upbringing being so excluded from the world as a whole, and this causes him to constantly be open to new cultures and religions alike, and if he's not questioning someone about their upbringing and opinions then he's researching a topic of knowledge. He's certainly capable, despite his lack of experience, showing a keen knowledge in areas of both combat and politics, partly due to training and partly due to all the reading he's done. He's a skilled rogue now trained as an assassin, he can pick locks, he makes use of the knowledge he's learned in his decisions, and his morals are incredibly firm. These morals, in fact, are a large part of all his decision making as Inquisitor. While he's very open-minded and will freely listen to discussion of the Tevinter Imperium or the Qun, trying to speak respectfully despite his own feelings on matters like slavery, he is much more firm when it comes to deciding who is a good person.

    Throughout the course of the game, the Inquisitor runs into a large handful of despicable people, and it is up to him to judge them and their actions. This helps reveal his moral compass, which is largely affected by the intention involved. If someone acted outside of their own will, or under the influence of another, he is far more forgiving. If a force or group, such as the Grey Wardens, is still needed by the world at large, he will grant them a second chance despite the backlash from both comrades and followers. However, hand him a man like Livius Erimond, who tricked the Gray Wardens into enslaving themselves to Corypheus via blood magic, and Dhaveiras is not forgiving. He chooses to execute him personally. The Inquisitor's morals are a breaking point for his earlier mentioned obedience. While he prefers to avoid violence and conflict as much as possible, this is where he is far more stubborn and unforgiving. His firmness in his decisions on these matters has made him clash occasionally with both Sera and Solas, but it's Vivienne who ends up having the largest problem with him. Though he still ends up as friends with all three, it's issues of freedom surrounding elves, spirits and mages that keep him stubbornly in place. He believes people shouldn't have their choice taken away from them.

    These things combined make him very much a bleeding heart. His decisions are made in kindness to others, hoping to achieve peace and what is right for Thedas, but he's consistently overwhelmed by his responsibilities. He's often confused, looking to others for advice and receiving information that ultimately leaves it all on him, and any consequences that come from his actions are felt heavily by him. For example, he achieves the grand feat of helping Celene stay Empress and reconcile with Briala. This does a great good for Orlais as well as the elves, but Gaspard still must be executed. The Inquisitor feels responsible for this and expresses it, showing clear sadness that he couldn't save every life, even knowing that Gaspard was no good man. Should he have lived, there would have been conflict and violence, and blood would have been shed. Still, he wishes he could have saved him.

    It's thoughts along this line that are the most dangerous with the Inquisitor. As such a bleeding heart, he ends up with more sympathy and understanding for those closer to him. This causes a heavy amount of hypocrisy that a leader should not have. We can see this multiple times, such as when he takes Blackwall out of prison with his connections so he can judge him himself, or when he allows an angry Solas to kill a group of mages who had made a mistake in their summoning. He allows Sera to kill a noble and joins with her and the friends of Red Jenny, offering his aid to any situation that Sera deems necessary. All of these choices honestly go against his usual morals, but he makes exceptions for his friends because they're "good people." Even decisions like who to leave behind in the fade to possibly die are made based on knowledge of his friends and their judgement. He knows Varric and Cassandra both value Hawke, and because of this, he refuses to leave him behind even when he knows the wardens may be worse off for it.

    Despite all of this, Dhaveiras is very determined. He perseveres through the worst of times, moving forward with his idea of a peaceful Thedas. The amount of troubles he's dealt with has finally given him some footing as a leader, and he's becoming less hesitant in his decisions even with the insecurity he still feels. Determination is enough to push him forward and his friends encourage him along the way. There is much to learn about things, and though he never imagined himself being able to learn in this way, he intends to take advantage of every minute of it as the inquisition grows.

    All of these things show the Inquisitor in his role, but we need to dig a little deeper to see Dhaveiras as a person. The dialogue options chosen for him were largely the middle option, secondly the top option, with only a few third options sprinkled in. This means that Dhaveiras is very much a charming personality. The second options give him dialogue that can often be very humorous, sometimes snarky, and generally allows him to be more of a people person. The first options are more outright diplomatic, granting him a kindness and fairness in his speech. The third options are far more aggressive, and in his case come up largely when his morals come into question. In order to better grasp the blank slate protagonist as a character, I'm going to go into why dialogue choices like these show his personality.

    Dhaveiras wants peace, first and foremost. As a Dalish elf, he essentially lives on the run. His clan specifically travels in the Free Marches in order to avoid the conflict of nearby cities, as they're too worried of creating a conflict with other cities nearby to risk it. From this, we can gather that his clan has been much better off in avoiding attacks than most. Though not all attacks are prevented, it gives Dhaveiras more of a chance to grow as a person without the constant threat of attacks. That's not to say that he hasn't experienced the hatred of other races, of course. He's very familiar with the term "knife-ear", and can grow very upset if his race or upbringing is questioned. Still, he believes that if people can just try to understand one another with more open-mindedness, that more can be learned. This is how he, personally, searches for the culture of his people and attempts to discover the truths of the world.

    We see this in how he carries himself. He speaks with an air of confidence he doesn't always have, joking off serious topics and downplaying his own feelings in most cases. He's charming and understands people, showing that he's done much to try and connect with both elves and other races alike. He can be a complete pushover when it comes to the whims of others, but he carries it like it's nothing. There's no issue of others owing him, or him needing repayment for his services. Dhaveiras is tired of the violence that comes from certain Dalish clans, believing that aggression should be used as a last resort. Despite everything that has happened to them, he doesn't believe they're there yet.

    In fact, he receives a confirmation in this with the friends he makes in the Inquisition. A wide variety of races, cultures and beliefs come into the mix, and Dhaveiras grows very fond of each of the party members and advisors, including the ones he gets along with the least. He befriends each of them in his quest to learn more. These friendships help him grow as a person, and his hesitance about being an elf in his position slowly decreases over time due to them. They help grant him confidence as well as encourage him that the world is a good place like he believes. His goal for the inquisition is to spread this. Though he knows his main purpose is to fix the hole in the sky, stop the demons, save the world, he often speaks uncertainly about the future of the inquisition. What he really holds is a hope that this position can help grant him the power to bring people together, and we see him start to do that in various side quests already. If someone can be helped, he will do his best to help them.

    Overall, Dhaveiras is very determined. He perseveres through the worst of times, moving forward with his idea of a peaceful Thedas. The amount of troubles he's dealt with has finally given him some footing as a leader, and he's becoming less hesitant in his decisions even with the insecurity he still feels. Determination is enough to push him forward and his friends encourage him along the way. There is much to learn about things, and though he never imagined himself being able to learn in this way, he intends to take advantage of every minute of it as the inquisition grows.


Abilities:
    His current abilities are as follows, but due to how the combat works he is capable of learning anything from the following trees in time. (I'd be glad to verify when he learns new ones with a mod first if necessary! They won't do him much help here anyway.)

    Double daggers: Full tree.
    Subterfuge: Stealth, Evasion, Easy to Miss, Evade
    Assassin: Hidden Blades, Throatcutter, I Was Never Here

    He also has the anchor, a mark on his left palm that can disrupt or seal fade rifts, as well as the breach. With it he has an ability called Mark of the Rift. If possible, I'd like for him to keep the anchor during his stay in the game, even though it will be largely useless. The fade will not be able to be accessed by him, and so basically it will just act as a large attack that he can only use once a month and will drain him more than usual. The anchor would probably act up now and again due to its distance from the fade, but that would mean nothing more than some hand cramps for the poor Inquisitor.


Alignment: Thras. After first coming out of the fade, the Inquisitor is pretty much forced into having to be brave through what he has to deal with.

Other: Nope!


⌈ SAMPLE SECTION ⌉

Sample: Test drive! I came in pretty late, so let me know if I need to submit more!


Questions: I would like to keep all the limits on the anchor that I mentioned earlier, but I was wondering if it would ever be possible down the line for a fade event of sorts! Is that something I could bring to a suggestions page as a gamewide event down the line? Just so I know. c:
irabelas: (oh really)

[personal profile] irabelas 2016-03-06 03:26 am (UTC)(link)
This will be the journal!