FAQ
Game Basics | Setting | Characters | Tarot Cards | Laptops/Journals | Terminology
Game Basics
Why so many communities?
A few reasons.
First, it helps keep things organized with regards to what’s happening where. If something’s in the whiteboard community, you automatically know that everyone else in the compound can see it, while in the journal community, it can vary.
Also, keeping AA journal entries to one comm means that (a) you don’t have to constantly update your character’s friends list in order to keep up with in-character journals, and (b) you know at a glance what’s AA-specific, which is nice when you have characters in more than one game.
Is there an age limit to play?
You have to be at least 13 years old, if only because that’s the minimum age to sign up for a LiveJournal.
That said, this game will deal with mature concepts, and the mod is picky about writing quality. If you can write well and aren’t bothered by violence, offscreen sex, and disturbing concepts, you’re welcome to apply — just leave the smut alone, and don’t try to circumvent the measures LiveJournal puts in place to keep you from seeing it.
It should go without saying that you shouldn’t participate in any explicit logs, either, and God help you if the mods catch you lying about your age.
Why are there rules about explicit adult content?
Because of things like Strikethrough. Because, as the earlier question states, there may well be people under 18 playing. Because no one wants their account suspended because someone’s parents complained to LiveJournal about the horrible things their precious baby read on the internet.
With proper warnings and use of LJ’s adult content setting, those of us who are legal adults get to have our smut and cover our asses at the same time.
How do I mark a log as explicit?
First thing: explicit logs go in your character’s journal, never the main log community. When you go to make a post, there’s an Adult Content option just above the “Post” button, which gives you an option marked “Explicit Adult Content”. Select that.
These are the options on the Post an Entry page for adult content.
Then you post your entry like you usually do.
When you go to link your log in the log community, you’ll want to warn people, again, that it is adult content. Here’s a handy little form that you can edit as needed:
Pick one of the reasons for the 18+ warning, or put in your own, and put your summary and link where indicated, then post away.
It’ll look like this:
Summary: SUMMARY_GOES_HERE.
Link: LINK_GOES_HERE
How can I edit the wiki?
If you’d like to have control over what goes on your character page on the wiki, create and edit pages about plots you’re taking part in, etc., we’d be happy to have you. However, for the sake of keeping wiki-spam to a minimum, we’ve had to create a specific category of players that are allowed to post. So once you create an account (you can do that here), you just need to let the mods know your wiki username, and we’ll give you posting privileges.
What happened to the old mods?
Jaqui killed and ate them.
…No, not really. About two months into the game’s first run, it died rather abruptly. A few months later, Jaqui asked Goo if he was going to revive AA. He said no, and offered her the game and backstory with his blessings. She then conned bribed blackmailed got Beka to help out, and your great modly team was born. Jaqui does all the work, Beka takes all the credit. Or something.
Goo may be coming back as a player at some point, if he’s not too busy with other games. Pk’s status is, as of this writing, unknown.
Can I volunteer to be a mod?
That depends. Has there been a call for new mods? Are you someone the existing mods have extensive experience RPing with? Can they trust that you won’t lock them out of the mod account and mess with the game in a fit of drama? Do they know you to be responsible? If the answer to all of these questions is ‘yes’, then the answer is OH GOD YES, PLEASE.
…If not, then sorry, no.
Setting
Why is everything abandoned?
The areas around the Parlor and compounds have been abandoned for some time due to the fighting. There is a war on, after all. Other areas of the City are still inhabited, and people still shop, get drunk, go dancing, all that fun stuff — just with the constant threat of an attack from either side hanging over them. The City isn’t exactly kind to its normal people.
What’s outside the City?
The World.
What, you wanted a serious answer? Okay, here goes: the City’s surrounded by a rather desolate stretch of land. There are roads, and food, supplies, and people native to this world enter and leave the City on a regular basis. However, the City is where the war is, so if your character tries to defy their calling by getting the heck out of Dodge, they’ll find that the road out of the City abruptly turns into the road back in. Like it or not, your characters are stuck there, and the Oracles get annoyed when people try to leave.
Where can my character go?
There are various places within the City itself that your characters have access to. Check here for a full list.
Can my character move out of their compound?
In theory, yes. However, none of the normal people in the City will want to shelter someone who was brought in to fight. It’s like inviting a big shiny target to stay with you.
If your character’s going to be out of the compound for more than a night or two, their options are either finding someone on the other side to take them in (and without a tarot card for the other side, they’re at the mercy of whoever’s putting them up as far as actually getting inside or even being able to see the place goes), or squatting in an abandoned building (which isn’t precisely safe).
Characters
Can I pick where my character comes from on their native timeline?
Absolutely. Just note their point of departure from canon in your application.
Are AU characters allowed?
Yes. However, for the sake of interaction, there will always be a spot open for a canon-compliant version of the character. If you choose to bring in an AU version of a character, you get no say in whether or not the canon version shows up, too, and you’ll have to be very in depth with your application to convince the mods you have a grip on the original character, and can manage a consistent AU.
Just as a note, we’re defining AU as anything that directly contradicts canon. A character taken from another point in history is not an AU. (In-game example: pre-Glove Suzie Costello.) Expanded backstory, also not AU, as long as, again, it doesn’t contradict what we know. Though if the expanded backstory involves another character in-game, you’d want to check with their mun before working it into said backstory if both are canon. Just sayin’.
How about original characters?
Characters from original worlds are more than welcome, though we’ll ask that your app include some in-depth background information.
Original characters from established fandoms will require permission of the character’s canonmates, though.
I really want to play a character that’s already in the game. Is there a way I can do that?
That depends. If the existing character is an AU, all you need to do is apply for the canon version of the character. We like canon characters, and we want more of them.
However, if the canon version is already in the game, you’ll need to make your version of the character distinctly AU, as there’s no point in having two of the exact same person. Furthermore, your AU character will require the approval of the existing canon character’s mun. If the mun is fine with it, then you’re (mostly) good to go.
We do require that for any duplicate, you already have at least two active, non-duplicate characters, and it’s better if they’re from different fandoms. This is meant to be a pan-fandom RP, not an exercise in fandomcest, and variety is your friend. (If the character you want is on reserve, though, you’re free to talk to the prospective mun about who gets to be the original and who gets to be the duplicate — an established player with a character on reserve may be more than happy to allow a new player to have their AU and take the reserved as a duplicate character.)
Hey, what about Time Lords? Does a different regeneration count as an alternate version of the character?
Given that regeneration gives a Time Lord an entirely new body and personality, a different generation doesn’t count as a duplicate character, and you don’t need mun approval (if Doctor Who has shown us anything, it’s that multiple versions of the Doctor can coexist — even if they don’t get along).
However, for the sake of variety, the two-other-characters rule still applies.
What if my character has multiple personalities?
That’s completely up to you — you can play all of them, or you can have someone else apply for another personality when you submit your own application. Other personalities don’t count as AUs or character duplicates, so knock yourself out.
Tarot Cards
What happens if my character’s tarot card is lost or stolen? Can it be destroyed?
Tarot cards are indestructible. Rip them, and where there were pieces, there will be a whole card. Burn them to ash, and they’ll reform. The reformation process takes place within a second for a simple tear, up to thirty seconds for complete incineration. To people sensitive to such things, the cards will read as unalterable facts of the universe. (To use a Whoniverse example, Time Lords will react to the cards in much the same way they react to Jack Harkness — they’ll probably be a bit uncomfortable with them, as things untouched by time shouldn’t exist, but the discomfort can be overcome.)
Of course, they can still be lost, so if you burn your card and flush the ashes down the toilet before they can reform, the card will reform itself somewhere in the sewer system. Good luck getting that back.
If your character’s card is lost or stolen, it’s up to them to find it again. Until they do, not only have they lost access to all their card tricks, but they won’t be able to get into their compound or their bedroom.
On rare occasions, an Oracle might be persuaded to redraw for someone who’s lost their card, but it’ll take a lot of work, and is subject to the redraw rules outlined below. (The lost/stolen card will find its way back into the Oracle’s deck after the new card is selected, but not until then.)
How do tarot abilities and ‘card tricks’ work?
This is largely up to your character, and your own creativity. For the Minor Arcana (suits), each suit ties into a different element, which can be manipulated in numerous ways by touching the card. Air manipulation, for instance, can be used to eavesdrop (changing the composition and density of the air between you and your target so that it transmits sound better), to warm or cool an area (manipulating the warmer and cooler air currents), to torture someone (pull the air from their lungs so they can’t breathe — and it leaves no marks!), or for any number of other purposes. Your character will likely find a few techniques that suit them — these are their card tricks. If you’re familiar with tarot symbolism, you can also use the card imagery to suggest specific tricks for your character.
The Major Arcana, though, aren’t associated with elements, but rather with archetypes. Major Arcana abilities can be developed in two ways: you can choose a power/card trick for your character (with mod approval), and the mods will select a Major Arcana card for you that fits your character and their power, or you can select a card that describes your character, and use that as a jumping-off point to find a power that fits the archetype. Major Arcana cards offer a lot more flexibility in just what your character can do, but even they have their limits.
I don’t like my character’s card. Can I get a different one?
Maybe.
The Oracles don’t like to be bothered with redraws, so if your character needs a new card, they’d better have a damn good reason, more than them not liking their interpretation. If they grow as a person, and the card no longer seems to fit them, and that’s been shown through roleplaying, they’ll get a redraw. Likewise, characters who’ve been active and are using their cards may get the option to upgrade to Major Arcana.
If a character wants to switch sides, and has demonstrated that they’re really dedicated to the change, they may be able to convince the Oracles to redraw for them, as well.
Redraws should never be easy, though, and it’ll take multiple examples of the change in the logs before the mods will consider allowing one.
(For a somewhat extreme example, say Johnny Evilguy, who has the Devil as his card, is convinced by the love of a good and virtuous woman to give up his evil ways. In her arms, he declares that his evil days are behind him, and now he will help the hopeless and protect the innocent. Good for him! The Oracles aren’t going to buy that right off, though, so he gets no redraw. Maybe he helps old ladies cross the street, saves drowning kittens. Also good, and if he keeps that up, the Oracles will consider it. However, there’s still the chance that this is only an elaborate ruse on Johnny’s part — he is a devious bastard, after all. However, if he does all of the above, and then gives up something he truly, deeply wants for the sake of the greater good, the Oracles will let him redraw, because he’ll have proven the change is genuine.)
(Oh, and please, never actually use that plot. Your mods will cry. Evil people can fall in love without magically turning good, and we will modsmack you for being out of character unless you’ve just done an exemplary bit of roleplaying that really makes us believe the change happened.)
Can my character keep using their old card tricks after a redraw?
That depends. A character changing cards in the same suit will keep theirs, even if they’re switching between Upright and Reversed. They have control over the same elements, so the same tricks apply. If they change suits, they don’t keep their tricks, since they’re working with different elements. (They may, however, be able to use the techniques from their old card tricks to create different effects.)
When moving up to Major Arcana cards, it really depends on the card. Certain cards will have elemental attributes built in, and others won’t. The Sun can be associated with fire, but only with the life-giving, warming aspects, not the destructive aspects. Someone who was given The Sun after having, say, the Four of Wands might find that any card tricks that used Wands’ fire abilities to provide warmth and light would work, but they wouldn’t be able to set people on fire anymore.
Can two characters use their cards together for a combined effect? What about characters opposing each other using their cards?
There are several possibilities for what can happen in those situations, and the possibilities become near-infinite when you bring the Major Arcana into the mix. To keep things simple, we’ll just cover the Minors here… If you’re unsure about a Major Arcana card, ask a mod, and we’ll look at it on a case-by-case basis.
The Minor Arcana are all elemental, and certain elements work together more easily than others, though, again, possibilities are limited mostly by the creativity of the muns and their characters.
A few interactions to get you started:
Fire + Earth: Earth can smother fire, but it can also be used to transmit fire’s heat.
Fire + Air: Air can extinguish small fires, and feed larger ones.
Fire + Water: Water extinguishes fire, and fire boils water away.
Water + Earth: Water erodes earth, and earth absorbs water. Earth and water working together, though, can make things like mud or quicksand.
Water + Air: Air carries water — think of steam, or mist.
Air + Earth: Earth can stop or redirect the flow of air, and air can carry earth away (think of a tornado picking up dirt and rocks and carrying them off — or, for a cooperative twist, think of sand storms and dust storms).
Characters who control the same element can either combine efforts for a much bigger effect, or can try to cancel out/take control of what the other is doing. (How successful they are depends on how familiar they are with manipulating their element, personal willpower, etc.)
Do characters with Minor Arcana cards need to have a ready supply of their element, or can they create it out of nothing?
This depends on the element. You can’t create earth from nothing, but someone with earth abilities can manipulate gravel, sand, dirt, concrete, and stone. Metal can only be manipulated with great effort, and glass is too far removed from sand to be manipulated directly. A small amount of water can be pulled from the air if it’s humid, and most living things are made up of a great deal of water, which can be manipulated or extracted. Air is everywhere, though dramatic gusts of wind are a lot more difficult indoors — you’ve only got so much freely-moving air to work with. People with fire abilities appear to create fire from nothing, but what they’re doing is drawing heat from something else… Either their own body heat, or ambient heat in the area. Using ambient heat will make a room much colder for a relatively small flame, though if that flame has sufficient fuel, it will then reheat the area around it. In most cases, it may be more practical to carry matches or a lighter.
Laptops & Online Journals
What are the laptops for?
Laptops give your character access to the online journals (automatically loaded up when the laptop is opened) and the internet. People familiar with the 21st century internet will find some familiar sites with slightly different names: Spiffipedia, uToob, the ever-popular Boggle search engine… So, yes, your characters can link YouTube vids and reference Google and Wikipedia. They’ll just have different names.
What happens if my character loses or breaks their laptop?
Laptops are a bastard combination of magic and technology specifically designed to resist… just about anything. You could probably stop bullets with them and still log on just fine, and characters who cause electromagnetic disturbances and otherwise fry technology (Dresenverse wizards, for instance) will still have no effect on the laptops.
If a laptop is lost, it’ll show up in its owner’s room within 24 hours.
Can laptops be used by someone other than the original owner?
If someone leaves an open laptop sitting around, yes. However, once a laptop’s been shut down or closed, only the original owner can boot it up again.
Can private/locked entries in the online journals be hacked?
Yes, assuming your character has sufficient technical skill to hack the journals, or sufficient magical skill to perform a scrying.
Are there ways for characters to send messages to each other besides the online journals?
Each compound has individual mailboxes for swapping notes within the compound — there’s no regular mail service in the Necropolis, however. There is phone service, though, and rooms are equipped with telephones. Messages can also be left on the whiteboards, if you don’t mind them being readable by anyone who walks by.
Terminology
What does [locked to: ] mean?
In journals, it means that only the characters a post is locked to can read the entry, unless someone hacks the journals. When used on log posts, it means that only the listed characters can participate in that log.
What’s a mun?
Another word for a character’s player. According to the Urban Dictionary, it derives from the word “mundane”… But then, that’s the Urban Dictionary, so take anything there with a grain of salt.
What is canon-puncture?
Canon-puncture is when one character informs another character that they’re fictional. While certainly possible, given the fact that people are brought from several different worlds, it’s usually considered to be in bad taste to tell someone as much without mun permission. Not everyone takes well to being told they’re a figment of someone’s imagination.
What is muncest?
Muncest, or self-threading, is when a mun does a thread in which two of their own characters interact with each other. While not a bad thing by default, as sometimes it’s far more unrealistic to expect your characters to ignore each other in group situations, when all you’re doing is playing with yourself (perhaps a better word would be munsterbation?), it tends to lead to other muns and their characters getting left out. This defeats the purpose of the game.