Adstringéndum Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
adstringendummod) wrote2009-09-27 09:33 pm
adstringendummod) wrote2009-09-27 09:33 pm
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
LAST UPDATED: December 4th, 2014 | From revisions began: Sept 27 2009
FAQ revisions are/have been proposed to community by mods for community approval.
(Original F.A.Q - pre 09/27/09 - found here)
Feel free to ask any questions you have on this page, as well.
(See also RULES & the IN-DEPTH GUIDES to the PCD, The World of Adstringendum, and In-Game Death.)
GENERAL QUESTIONS
What does "Adstringéndum" mean?
It means "compression" in Latin. This is because the game's premise is a result of a scientific experiment in space-time compression…in other words, the first Scientist group have plucked you all from your times and places and shoved you all in one city. Unintentionally, of course.
Who are the moderators of the game?
The current moderators of the game are Ami, Ashlee, and Manda. We work together, along with our helpstaff, to keep this game running as smoothly as possible.
RESERVES & TAKEN CHARACTERS
Is there a way for me to reserve a character?
Yes! You can RESERVE any character you wish to play that is NOT on the TAKEN LIST and not already RESERVED. Please note you can only reserve one character at a time. Once a character is reserved, no one but the reserver may app the character until the reserve expires in one week.
The character I want to play is on the TAKEN LIST. Now what?
Well, we encourage you to join with another character! And if the character you wanted drops at a later date, you're more than welcome to pick them up.
APPLICABLE CHARACTERS
Book/Movie/TV show 'X' just came out! Can I apply for character 'Y' right away?
No, characters can be apped no sooner than a month after the canon has been released. However, if the canon is established, you can app a character from a more recent canonpoint. (For example, you can app from a show's season finale right after it airs, but not from a show's pilot or a movie right after it comes out.) If you have any questions on this, please feel free to contact a mod and we'll figure out if this rule applies!
Can I apply for more than one character from the same series?
Yes! Provided that:
- The characters you all want to play are not too closely related (in terms of potential/canonical reasons for interaction).
- There are at least four other players from that series already.
- This is done to avoid what is known as "playercest," a person playing their own characters off of each other. The first clause prevents a single player from applying for and playing (for example) both Bert and Ernie of Sesame Street, or Luke and Darth Vader from Star Wars. The second clause eliminates same-canon interaction overlap.
Can I apply for a duplicate of a character?
No, we're not taking duplicates.
What if they're a duplicate from another series?
This does happen. Clamp, for example, has its crossover series Tsubasa. You can apply for that duplicate only if they have a different history and story-line than the first. For example - we have had two Kamui's, but one was from X and one from Tsubasa. They were different enough to be considered two different characters. However, Leon from Kingdom Hearts and Squall from Final Fantasy VIII would not both be permitted, since they are so canonically the same. If you have any questions, feel free to email the mods.
Does my character have to be human?
No, they do not, but they do have to have some way of using the PCD. If they do not speak English, their PCD can translate for them.
What if I want to app a spirit or a ghost? Would that be the same as an Animus?
If you want to apply as a spirit being, you are more than welcome to. However, they will be visible to other characters. For example, Bleach Shinigami in this game still can do what they do, but they are solid forms. It would not be the same as an Animus, who are spirit beings but from a separate dimension. They hold a lot of power over events in the game and we would like to keep them separate from other spiritual beings, too.
I want to apply with an Original Character as my first muse. Can I do this?
Yes, we have decided to allow original characters to be apped without having played a canon character in game before.
Can I apply with a character that has been at another roleplaying game previously and retain their memories and history from that game?
Yes, we are now accepting CRAU characters with some limitations. Please read the rules as well as the notes for CRAU applications on the applications page.
Can I apply for an original character from an established world?
Right now we are not accepting canon OCs.
APPLICATIONS
[see also RULES section under APPLICATIONS].
I see some really long applications. Do I need to have five comments worth to get in?
No, you don't. You will also see we approve some shorter applications. What is most important is that you show that you understand the character and can write well. Being wordy or not is more of a stylistic thing, though longer applications do tend to have more info.
Can I just link to a wikipedia background page?
Yes. However, if there is no wiki page, it will be necessary for you to write a short background that covers the most major events that your character was involved in. This doesn't need to be longer than a few paragraphs.
Can I write a background even if my character has a wiki page?
Sure! If you like writing backgrounds or even just think the wiki one isn't good enough, you are welcome to write your own. It's just not necessary for all applications.
I think the mods missed my app...
THEN WE ARE SORRY DX Please send us a PM, email, or comment! But remember, if there's a whole bunch of apps around yours then we have not yet checked those either. We try not to overlook any so please let us know. If there's an issue with your application specifically, we will do our best to contact you.
How often do you go over applications?
We go over applications on the first and third weekends of the month. Please note that this is a new system for us and make have a few bugs to work out, but if it's been more than a few days after the weekend your app should've been reviewed, please feel free to send us a message to check in!
ACTIVITY AND ACTIVITY CHECKS
[see also RULES section of ACTIVITY & HIATUSES for more information]
When do you do activity checks?
Once a month, on the last week of the each month. For example, the activity check reminded for June is most likely to be posted around June 23rd. The AC post will be checked and PMs sent out on July 1st. Those who received AC PMs then have a week to reply to avoid being dropped from the game.
What happens if I know I can't make activity check?
Just let us know before the AC period ends and make it up the following month by submitting three proofs instead of the regular two.
What if I miss AC/forget to tell you guys that I can't make it?
A PM will be sent to the character journal to notify you of such. You will then have one (1) week to reply to the AC post with proofs of activity and PM the mod team back notifying us of such. If you do not, your character will be considered inactive and dropped, and you will have to wait two weeks in order to reapply and bring that character back to Adstringéndum. It's "character squatting" (that is, just holding onto a character without doing anything with him/her) to keep a character that you do not play enough to pass the Activity Check... So please remember to update!
What if I'm on hiatus and miss an activity check/my second post for that month?
If you're going on a hiatus, let us know! Post in the Hiatus Post, link us to that post in your character's AC thread and we'll take note of it. If you're on hiatus for more than two weeks, you will be exempt from one activity check. Do not post to the OOC comm (only hiatuses logged to the Hiatus Post will count towards activity checks!).
What if I'm on hiatus for more than one month?
We ask that your hiatuses don't last more than one month for a fandom character, or two for an original character, if it's possible to control. Being inactive for a few months and holding onto that character isn't fair to the people that interact with them and others who would like to app them. But, we know that some things in real life are just uncontrollable. Please do your best to check in and let us know by email if you need an extension. These will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Eventually, being on a continuous hiatus will mean forfeiting your character. It's not that we want to be mean, but if you're not around to role-play, there's no sense in having the character. You're welcome to apply again if/when you're able to come back.
What’s this I hear about a mandatory HMD?
Every three months (for the ACs covering March, June, September, and December) we’ll post a comm-locked post where you can post a header comment with your characters or you can link to a personal HMD on your character’s account and we’ll freeze the comment to direct HMD comments there. You must include a link to your comment on the HMD in order to make AC for these four months. We’ll give everyone a couple weeks to post in. ANY FORM OF HARASSMENT ON THE HMD WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. We reserve the right to swing the banhammer if we see this happening.
What happens if I don’t post to the HMD?
First offense, you’ll be making up AC for all of your characters for the following month. HMD is part of the Activity Check when it comes around, and not doing it is not meeting all the requirements. Hence the term mandatory. Second offense is an AC make-up and a strike on your record. I know it seems harsh to level a strike for missing HMD, but if the punishment every time is just making up AC for missing HMD, some people might not do it at all, making a mandatory HMD pointless. Third offense is your third strike, you’ll be out of the game.
WORLD QUESTIONS
How does my character get here?
Because of the scientists' error, individuals, things, and places are being drawn into a place known as Adstringendum. When your character arrives, they’ll be in a small, ruined city surrounded by an expansive cave system, a very rocky beach, cliffs, wild and dangerous wastelands, and a vast ocean.
How does my character communicate with everyone else?
Upon arriving in the world, your character will have a PCD (Personal Communication Device). They may find it near them, mysteriously placed in their belongings, or even handed one by a complete stranger. The network is the primary way of communicating with everyone. For more information, please see the IN-DEPTH PCD GUIDE
What kind of effects does Adstringendum have on my character?
The city itself, aside from events, has one major effect on most of the people in it - they do not age. At all. For the few not affected as much, aging is slower and will eventually stop. Hair and nails still grow; cells die, but they are replaced perfectly. Children will perpetually look like children, and elders will not die of old age. Wounds will heal at the normal rate for the character.
What are the areas of the world called?
The world is divided into two main zones. The Safezone is an area about four miles across, surrounded on one side by an ocean and the second main zone: the Wastelands. The Safezone seems to have originally been a city, but it’s in a state of disrepair. The Wastelands are wild, unstable, and dangerous.
For more information on these areas, please see the IN-DEPTH WORLD GUIDE
Who are the "Animus"? What do they do?
The Animus are spirits, essentially, and the word means "spirit" in Latin. They're ethereal beings that exist in a spirit world. As their world was compressed along with other physical realities, they became stuck in the makeup, unable to take form or truly interact with the environment as they normally would.
So, they are quite cranky. They will take advantage of you if you're in an out of body, spirit form (such as when you die, not like Shinigami and whatnot). And since they cannot interact with the world itself, they take out their anger on the people. If they work hard enough, they can take away your voice, or change your genetic make-up for a period of time. It really depends on how they feel like showing their disdain. The Project constantly tries to see if there is a way to stop them from involving themselves, but so far nothing has worked - and only angered them further.
As of the shift that took place in August 2014, the Animus seem to have disappeared… But they may or may not be as gone as they seem.
So, is there like, a big organization in charge of everything?
Not exactly, no. However, that doesn't mean one can't develop. The Unified Universe Project (the first group of scientists) was just doing what it could to make up for causing everything to become screwed up in the first place. However, they were caught in an explosion during a conflict with a new group of scientists. Feel free to have your characters create their own organizations, and don't hesitate to message the mods with ideas and plots involving NPC characters!
Is there a way out?
So far, no. People do come and go from time to time, but it's never purposeful and while some return after a time and remember their experiences in Adstringendum, more do not. There have been a few in-character attempts at escape, but none have been successful. Feel free to message the mods about any potential escape plots you would like to do with your character.
POWERS
What about my powers? Can I use them here?
Yes, you can, with some limitations, of course. There may be fluctuations in that ability due to the very nature of the dimension, but in general you may. The mods will announce when powers are suddenly unattainable or enhanced, etc. But because you have your powers, we ask you to BE RESPONSIBLE with them. Don't go blowing up the place, please! If you want to cause massive damage, clear it with the mods via an email to the mod account.
Sweet! I can use my powers, so now I can pwn everyone!
No, not necessarily :/ You can use your powers, but anything that has to do with altering time won't work here. The world involves time getting squished, after all. Traveling through space is also a bit of a problem as well, so characters' teleportation abilities won't work in Adstringendum either. As for claiming "my character is way stronger than yours" because they're from another series and have strong abilities... well, that will happen, but there are consequences for using a lot of power. The Safezone is the most stable area, but the place as a whole is still being held together with the equivalent of space duct tape. Going Super Saiyan gazillion will probably not only piss off the Animus and have them knock you into a pond of goo or something, but it may also cause a rip in space-time.
So yes, you do have your abilities, but it is advised not to use them all to their limits. And if someone says “that's okay, my low power can kill you,” while in some cases that may be true (like if Aizen from Bleach wanted to blow up Card Captor Sakura), we ask you to be nice to other players. You cannot control things that happen to someone else's character, so if you want to fight them without your full power for whatever reason, go ahead as long as you and the other player have discussed things. Just don't blow up the world. For character death, see below.
Furthermore, if your abilities require another unique character (such as Naruto-series' summon creatures--Pakkun, Gambunta, Manda, etc), chances are you will not have that ability here if the character is not present and applied for. You can't pull your friends across space-time, after all!
DEATH
[see also IN-DEPTH CHARACTER DEATH GUIDE]
What happens if I die here?
Since the spirit world has been compressed with the "real" world as well, you will return here, but your soul will enter your body as it is upon your death, so you may be in a lot of pain when you come back. If you were blown to pieces, those pieces will come back together. It has been revealed that the Animus are responsible for this, as they don't like people coming into their spiritual state and so they will take something away from you while you're in your spirit form, be it a possession, memory, or ability. You can be dead for the period of time you want for your character, be it an hour to a week or more, but you will eventually have to come back. Any possessions your character arrived with will remain in the city, and your character's body will remain exactly as it was upon death until the character is revived, and will not decompose.
As of the world shift in August 2014, it’s unknown exactly how return from death works. However, OOCly the process is still the same regarding prices.
Do I need permission for Character Death?
All character deaths must be approved by a moderator at least 48 hours in advance. This is more for records purposes and to be sure that death is not used too flippantly (or frequently, in some cases), and not because we want to moderate your creativity on death. If you have a plan to kill off your character, please contact us (either by email or PM) with the following information:
RESETS, CANON UPDATES & DROPS
What is a character reset/update and how do I do it?
A character reset is what it sounds like; the character is being reset and returns to Adstringendum without any memories of their previous time. We understand there are times when a character may need to be reset for a variety of reasons, ranging from needing to update to a further point in their canon, to realizing the character has gone OOC and needs a fresh start, and we allow character resets to help with these situations. Don't abuse the privilege, however, and do not use it as a crutch to get out of OOC situations. Try to remain IC instead.
A canon update is when a character disappears for a short time (a minimum of a week) and 'updates' to a later canon point. They will return to the game in whatever state they are in at that new canon point, and will not have remembered Adstringendum while in their world. However, they will regain their memories instantly upon their return unless they have been gone for far longer than a week in game time. Please contact a mod for more info if your character will be gone for their update for more than a few weeks. An updated character will also have to pay a 'price' like the ones paid upon death, but far more minor.
To reset or update a character, take the following steps:
- Email or PM the moderators to request permission for the reset or update. Provide the following information: RESET
UPDATE
We may take about 48 hrs to get back to you on this. - If a reset or update is approved, the character disappears from Adstringendum for a minimum of one week and the character cannot be played during that time (any backlogging aside). We place this time limit in order to allow you the player to refresh your canon and work out how your reset character would be played. Also, this time allows the characters in-game to in-characterly realize someone has disappeared and react as needed. If for any reason you need a character to disappear for a shorter period of time, we can discuss it, but a week is the standard.
- When a RESET character returns, they will have no memories of their prior time in Adstringendum. It will be a fresh start for them, as if they were new arrivals to the city.
- As of May 2012, when an UPDATED character returns, they will retain memories of their prior time in Adstringendum.
- Death prices remain even after characters are reset/updated. Resets are not a way to get around character deaths. While they do not have to begin with the price lost (if they lost a memory of someone, they can return with those memories intact), that price will be repaid over time (slowly lose their memory of that person). This is a process that takes no longer than a month.
- A character can only be RESET or UPDATED once every six months.
If you have any other questions, please contact us.
Are there penalties for Drops or Resets?
RP is about encouraging interaction and the building of character relationships. As such, serial applying and dropping, or serial resetting, is discouraged. We know that some characters just don't work out, or things need to be fixed, but resetting/dropping too often handicaps characters' current/potential Character Relationships. Just be careful how often you do it, as sometimes this will have to be factored into an application review, or consideration of a reset.
EVENTS
Do I have to participate in events?
Generally, no. We like to give you the option of opting in or out of any given event. When the event is set for the month, you'll be able to tell if it's something everyone will be affected by, or if it's something you can avoid. In a gender-bender event, for example, you can chose whether or to afflict your character(s) with the condition. In the event of an earthquake, your character will undoubtedly feel the rumble, but it is your choice as to whether or not they respond to it or are affected further. If you have questions about a specific event, feel free to ask on the event's description post.
How are events made/chosen? Do we get any say?
Generally, the mods select timely events and arrange them in the calendar posted just before the start of a new month. And we do accept suggestions for events! In fact, we occasionally (it's a big task, so it may not happen every month) offer up a poll of events suggested by you, the players, for the community to vote on for occurrence in-game. We do ask that if you suggest events, you are reasonable. After all, we do have to somehow make this work in-game for everyone involved. But they can be big events (changing the very landscape of the city) or small events (no shoes allowed). Anything goes.
Can I have a player-based event?
If you wish to have a player-made event that would greatly affect the game in some way, please be sure to clear it via the moderators first. A minimum of two weeks should be given to the moderators to allow for their questions and the questions of the community as a whole.
CHARACTER QUESTIONS
Can my character get paired off with someone?
Only if both you and the other player consent to it! Obviously, you can have a one-sided love, but you are not permitted to force a pairing on another player.
Can my character get pregnant?
While we realize some players may want their characters to have children or become pregnant, we do not allow characters to have pregnancies come to term. Due to the compression of planes, there's no way for the child to gain a new soul, and so it cannot be born alive. (This is also for practical reasons -- infants are individual characters of their own who impose major burdens on their caretakers, won't be able to speak or use the network for years, and present issues with caring for them if the parent characters should drop.)
If you are set on a plot where your character becomes pregnant but ultimately does not give birth for one reason or another, you must contact a moderator with a detailed plan of what will happen. You must provide the following information: characters involved, how this will impact your character, how this will impact other characters closely related to yours, the reason you want to do this plot, what will happen during each month, the end result, and impact on your character. We realize this may be a lot of information, but this is a plot that should be taken seriously and not made up on the fly.
For something small like a pregnancy scare or any other false alarms, no mod approval or notice is required.
Under no circumstances can males become pregnant.
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