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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.
Re: I'ziva Ganajai | FFXIV Original Character
• Being born and raised into a nomadic group of hunters means Ziva grew up learning how to survive off of the land. She doesn't have to call on the skills as often these days with all the modern conveniences that the larger city-states offer but she has the skills for when she needs them. Because of her feline traits her tracking goes somewhat beyond the level of a normal human. As a Moon Keeper her eyes are well suited for hunting in the darkness under the canopy, as that's when (and where) Moon Keepers are often the most active. She knows how to skin and prepare most types of animals as well as use remains for supplies or provisions to last.
During Ziva's travels she joined up with a couple of guilds to learn the tricks of their trades. Among these guilds were the rogues, weavers, pugilists, and leather workers.
• She began her training originally with knives, but eventually became a pugilist. These fighters rely on a direct method of combat and so speed is vital for dodging and outwitting their opponents. They typically attack from the rear and flank positions, and most pugilists prefer to use some form of metal or leather weapon to add attack potency rather than using their bare fists. Ziva is one such individual. She later combined her somewhat limited pugilist training with her training as a rogue to further her training into the ninja job-class. Ziva's time with the pugilist guild was short as she already had the basic fundamentals upon arriving in Ul'dah, and by then had moved on to the rogues guild. A list of pugilist skills can be found here but it's rather straight forward. They fight with their fists. Ziva was with the guild long enough to master "Arm of the Destroyer", which does medium range damage to the ground around her, cracking the ground beneath her feat and kicking up some debris, but not destroying it. None of these skills should prove to be game breaking, but I can nerf her back further if required.
• Rogues are the secret protectors of the pirate "code" in Limsa Lominsa, keeping to the shadows under the guise of the "Dutiful Sisters" while ensuring that pirates stay within the bounds of their own laws (mainly not stealing from honest folks or engaging in the black trade of buying/selling/trading people). They're dual wielding fighters with lightning quick speed and reflexes. Being a member of this guild Ziva's fighting style is acrobatic, making her a difficult target with flips, spins, and kicks. She seldom stays in the same spot during prolonged combat and usually attacks from an opponents' rear or flank. They strike fast and hard, including assassination techniques that let her literally get the drop on them from above with their "Assassination" technique, or to become almost undetectable before attacking with the "Hide" technique. The latter requires keeping distance from an opponent, how much distance depends on the opponents' skill (or level, in game). In addition she does know one support skill at this time called "goad". Goad allows her to lend her energy to a comrade whose stamina is running low. It has a limited cool down of a minute or so between uses, and it's a gradual thing, not all at once. An official run down of their abilities/traits can be found here. Note that at her canon point her skills stop at level 60. None of these skills should prove to be game breaking, but I can nerf her back further if required.
• Ziva saw an opportunity to further her training when approached by shinobi from Doma. Accepting the ninja soul stone bequeathed to her by a fallen shinobi began her tutelage under Obero. Shinobi practice the use of hand seals known as "mudras". Combining certain mudras in certain orders grants a unique set of skills powered by the natural energies of the land and life around them. Abilities range from breathing a stream of fire that deals damage to a wide area, to summoning a deluge of water or a blast of solid ice. It can summon down a single bolt of lightning, a ring of tumultuous earth, or grant the user sixty seconds of enhanced speed at the cost of depleting their stamina quicker. As a ninja Ziva has honed her body to withstand greater damage from high falls or leaps, navigate higher terrain (such as trees), and saw a general increase in speed. None of her skills are world breaking or earth shattering, however, and the wider ranged attacks do wide spread damage at the cost of potency. There is room for enhancement given enough time. Reference here. Note that at her canon point her skills stop at level 60. None of these skills should prove to be game breaking, but I can nerf her back further if required.
• Ziva's weapon of choice are her Jambiyas, an ornate pair of twin blades adorned with gold and embellished with red gemstones. She also carries small, plain throwing knives in holsters on her clothing, and a whip fastened on her back. Obviously she will not be arriving with all of these weapons, but instead just one of her primary blades.
• NERFED - PLAYER CHOICE - Most beings in Eorzea are capable of traveling via teleportation and return spells. The use of such magic is facilitated by aetheryte crystals throughout the realm. Once a person "attunes" to the crystal's energy they can basically travel the aether trail from point A to point B in a flash. There is a major limitation on this, however, that will prevent Ziva from using these spells in game: If there are no crystals there is no teleportation, as they're beacons for one to find their way. Oops.
• CAN BE NERFED -if- GAME WORLD/RULE BREAKING - One other skill that Ziva has is summoning minions. Minions are cute little versions of many of the creatures found throughout the world, some simple dolls while others are young versions of their older counterparts (such as the chocobo chicks or griffin hatchling). They do not possess any actual special abilities.
• CAN BE NERFED -if- GAME BREAKING - Limit Break is a skill that can only be accomplished when in a party of 4 or 8 people. After combat has been going for a certain length of time Ziva can call on a bit of her allies strength to perform a special attack. This comes in two flavors: One/Two (About 1 minute in. She forms a glowing orange sword and performs a four-fold attack) or Three (in which she performs a rapid succession of hand seals and attacks the enemy with multiple blades).
Alignment: Elios; As you'll see in her sample and as you've already read in her personality section, Ziva is a passionate character. Whether it's pertaining to adventure, flirting it up, telling stories, protecting others, or more she tends to give things her all. She leans more heavily on the positive side, with even her self depreciating humor usually being her way of putting a positive spin on a negative topic (making others laugh at her own expense, especially if it's to cheer someone up).
Other:
General/Emotion Sample:
She wasn't sure if she'd ever really get used to the "mood lighting on demand" that came with these little excursions of hers. It seemed like whenever she was feeling particularly flirtatious weird shit started to happen in general. She'd thought it was a coincidence the first time, but made note after the second and third time that it wasn't limited to being in the right place at a weird time.
"You know, if you keep laughing someone is going to overhear us, sweetling. And here I thought you didn't want anyone to see us." One voice teased, low and playful, even as the owner reluctantly pulled back from nuzzling at the other's shoulder.
"I'm sorry! It's just, your ears are tickling my neck!" Was it her imagination, or did their laughter sound a lot like it was being accompanied by little glass bells?
Must be her imagination.
"First time getting touchy-feely with a miqo'te...?"
They were alone in the darkness, on some random backstreet she hadn't bothered catching the name of. Despite this Ziva could make out the exact shade of red her partner turned at the question with no problem. Got it in one. How cute...! She couldn't help but flash a toothy grin, the tips of her fangs gleaming in the moonlight peeking from behind the clouds.
"Don't worry, I'll be gentle, but only if you want, that is."
The response that she received was flustered and frustrated, but before they could blow their cover by fussing some more Ziva silenced them with a kiss. It was all a bit of innocent fun, really. It was by the dumbest luck that she'd stumbled across them in the first place, just her type- if she ever had one. Whether they were looking for a little risk and excitement or they simply had a thing for blondes, she wasn't sure, and frankly didn't care. They'd met just a few hours ago and decided to turn the evening into a proper date, a rare thing for Ziva, but this person seemed sweet and the last thing she wanted was to push them beyond their comfort zones. Keeping things flirtatious and clean was the name of the game. That didn't mean she couldn't have a little fun teasing, though. After all, they were pretty damned cute when they blushed, and it made Ziva aware of things like the freckles dotting the bridge of their nose and the top of their cheeks.
A pair of footsteps drew closer and she felt her date's body tense, muscles going taunt again with unease. They pulled back a second later, stopping her progress short, prompting her to also break the kiss so she could look them in the eye. The air was growing warmer around them, making Ziva realize that maybe she'd pushed a little too far. In the darkness she could see that blush deepening, and her partner, as if ashamed, wouldn't meet her eyes.
The reaction was immediate. She cooled her jets and backed down, stepping back to give them a little space with an eye crinkling smile. This seemed to surprise the other, and as they opened their mouth to apologize Ziva cut them short with a tap on the tip of their nose.
"Don't even think about apologizin' to me, sweetling. You don't have a damn thing to be sorry for." She decided to give them space to walk, and instead brought her hands up behind her head, fingers linking in a casual pose.
Ziva herself wasn't entirely picky about the venue when it came to displaying affection of any kind, but what she DID care about was taking her partner's comfort zones into consideration. There was a huge difference between someone being shy, inexperienced, and curious and someone being full on uneasy.
"Come on then. There's a cafe close by that makes the most amazin' little tiny cakes you'll ever eat."
Okay, so, maybe the whole environmental-emotion thing could actually prove to be useful. Maybe she'd get used to it, after all.
Questions:
Accepted!
Please follow these next few steps to officially be considered part of the game. Remember that you have one week to do all this, otherwise we will consider it a revocation of the application.
➟ Reply to this comment with the journal you will be joining with, then join the following communities:
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crystalnet
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empatheias_ooc
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memepatheias
➟ Please comment to the appropriate Taken Characters list: Canons A-M | Canons N-Z.➟ You are required to create an information post on your character journal for easy player reference. Using your application is perfectly fine! You are also free to use one of our Info Post Templates.
➟ When your journal is added by the mod journal, comment to the Player Contact list.
➟ Introduce yourself in our Player Intro post and start playing!
➟ Use the Character Introduction Log for your character intro!
➟ Please note that while we will create a character tag for you, you will need to type it in the first time you use it in each community for it to show up on the list.
Some optional things:
➟ Review the Game Info, Emotions, Amulet, and Island information pages.
➟ Check the monthly mod post for some announcements and an idea of what's in store for the month.
➟ Make sure you understand how the Network works. Remember, Empatheias uses telepathy as communication!
➟ Feel free to make an Inbox post for any private messages that could be sent via messenger bird.
➟ Check this month's plotting post.
➟ Follow the mod plurk (
➟ Join the game's Discord chat. You can join it by following the link here.
I'ziva's minions will be limited to 5 total, in accordance with our summoning rules.
If you have any questions at any time, feel free to contact us! Once again, we welcome you to Empatheias, and we hope you enjoy the game!
Re: Accepted!