Cog Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
henleinmods) wrote2013-07-13 02:58 am
henleinmods) wrote2013-07-13 02:58 am
FAQ
| What will we eat and drink? |
| Throughout the city are storehouses with canned rations, but not all storehouses will be accessible at once. Rations are most commonly dehydrated beef, crackers, and powdered eggs. Characters may also hunt and eat any non-poisonous creatures in the bestiary. Water is available most everywhere, but the temperature only ever ranges between tempid to boiling. |
| Who will control the storehouses? |
| Storehouses are controlled by the Eye. It will recognize your ID bracelet and give you just one ration every two IC days. ID Bracelets can be stolen, though, so keep them safe. It would be an awful shame if someone stole or copied your number code and stole your food. New ID bracelets will only be given if a character had it on them at the moment of their death. |
| How often will Henlein shift? |
| Every ooc month, the city will shift, changing the current map and the locations of available resources. The change may also make things a bit more spacious or a bit more cramped within the city. The one area that will always remain the same is the prison. |
| What happens if we're in a restricted area when the city shifts? Will we be blocked off from the others in the game? |
Those who are trapped after a shift will find that all buildings are locked with no way to gain entry. This includes any store houses. The only things that will open are hatches that lead back to the prison labyrinth. If you plan on doing any extended plots within these areas, we ask that you let a mod know. |
| Is there anyway to alter the mechanics of the city? Can we reroute water/lava/steam pipes for our own use? |
| If your character has the proper tools, materials, and know-how, then you may alter pipelines. Please let a mod know, for our own records. Character cannot in any way stop the shifting mechnisms of the city. |
| Can we destroy water/lava/steam pipelines to create havok? |
| Yes! Please talk to a mod first. Using the city as a tool is encouraged! |
| Tell me more about the memory cogs! |
| Memory cogs are small and come in either bronze, silver, gold, and sometimes other materials. On them are etched strange symbols, along with the same prisoner number your character was assigned. If the cog is new and the memories etched into them have not yet been recovered by any person, the symbols will glow with a bright white light. Once used, the glow vanishes, leaving dull white symbols behind. To use one, your character simply inserts it into the slot on the back of their head. Once the memory is experienced, it is forever returned to your character's mind. Removing the cog is easy, just grip the bit that sticks past the edge of the slot and pull. It should remove with ease. What you do with your cog after that is up to you. Bronze cogs typically hold memories with the least importance. This could be something small like a background character's name, the image of a room or house they once lived in, or a date such as a birthday or anniversary. They are almost never full moving memories. These types of cogs will generally be handed out simply through the passage of time within the game. How they are distributed will depend on the events going on at the time, but will not require active participation in the event to acquire them. Silver cogs are memories of more importance. Think of these as ten second movies of some significant event in your character's life. It can also be a sensory memory of some sort. A birthday song, a passionate night, a touch, the smell of someone's perfume, a lullaby, a final word, all of these are good examples. Please keep these ones brief, though. These cogs will be awarded through smaller plots that require some but not a great deal of involvement. Gold cogs are the most important memories. These are the names of close family and friends as spoken by your character's voice. They may be twenty minute to an hour long memories of significant events in your character's life that you chose for them to lose. These come from the completion of large game-wide events and are awarded to characters who participated for the majority of it. Cogs of miscellaneous metals that also hold memory symbols may be found throughout the city. These are almost never found as new and won't hold any prisoner numbers. Misc cogs are fragments of the memories of those who lived in Henlein before you. These will be placed through events and will be available to those who wish to participate. We allow you to choose how many memories your character will lose, and how important, frightening, or horribly embarrassing those memories are. This is so that you can chart your own character development within Henlein. We ask that two mandatory memories are missing: the names of everyone from your canon, and the recollection of committing the crime for which your character is charged. It is also incredibly important that your character does not become unrecognizable from the removal of these memories. If you would like to remove an important character defining memory, but worry that the removal of it might change their personality, you may state that it is a 'corrupted memory'. Though they remember how they felt about the event, the details of a corrupted memory elude them until the cog is replaced. Memory cogs may be shared between characters! Simply by allowing another person to insert the cog into their slot, they will see and feel everything that is on that cog. In the same way, memories may be stolen. If a villain wished, they could steal your memory and have access to anything that might be there. That could mean a happy memory, or something you feel deeply guilty about. Unused cogs fetch quite a prize. If you choose to sell your own unused memories or the stolen unused memories of others, you could earn all sorts of useful resources and tools. You may even be able to earn something from home. Or, if you're truly evil and spiteful or just have some secrets to hide, you can destroy a cog. They're surprisingly fragile. A drop from about two stories would be enough to shatter them. Be careful, though! Who's to say those are your actual memories that you are recovering? From time to time, through events, false memories may also be delivered. These could be the missing memories of the crimes for which you have been charged. It'll be up to your character to determine what is real and what is false. |
| Can we alter the memories on a cog? |
| No, the memories are embedded deep into the cog itself and delivered through the edges. Removing the white symbols on the outside will just break the cog as a whole and not change the memory within it. |
| Tell me more about crimes! |
| The crime for which your character is sentenced will shape their future within Henlein. Event-based item gains as well as the type of prosthetics that they will end up with will reflect their crime, forming them into better criminals. For example, a character charged of murder might gain a hand with new very sharp fingers. Someone charged with theft might be gifted with new found flexibility and secret compartments in their person for hiding things. What your character does with these things is up to them. They can use it to help them try to find a way out, or they can use it on one another. Crimes will be placed into general color-coded categories and those that are guilty of them will wear jumpsuits of that color for easy identification. MURDER - The killing of any person, regardless of pre-meditation, intent, method, or motive. ARSON - The setting of fire that results in the injury of others and/or destruction of property. THEFT - The act of taking the property of another, regardless of its tangibility. TREASON - The act of betraying ones loyalty through espionage or abandonment. BATTERY - The act of injuring another, even in the case of self defense. DESTRUCTION - The unrestrained destruction of nature or property by means other than fire. In the event that your character's crime falls in two or more categories, the crime assignment will be up to the mun. For example, if a character robs a house, sets it on fire which kills three people still sleeping inside; the mun will be able to choose between theft, arson, and murder. When it comes to actual canon villains, it is suggested that the crime they are assigned is for something that they haven't done. If you have someone so big and bad that's done them all, that's fine! It might just piss them off not being able to remember the big crime that landed them here. When you do go to write the false scenario for their crime, we do ask that it isn't from canon, but an original scene. |
| What is Henlein's OOC to IC day ratio? |
| Every two days that pass OOCly is one day within the game. |
| So there's no network? |
| No, there's no official network. If players wish, they can build and use radios. Please remember that if someone does create a radio, that the post will be audio only and only arrive to other characters with radios as well. Radio posts will still be placed in the main comm, with proper labeling. |
| How is death handled? Is there a penalty of any kind? |
| When a character dies, they will awaken on the Turner's glass one IC day later. It is then that they might notice that they didn't come back to life unchanged. One body part of the mun's choosing will be replaced with clockwork parts. Metal rods and connectors emerge from scarred tissue. Organs can be replaced in this same way with the only noticeable change being that the organ is hard when the torso is prodded. Any parts replaced this way will have no feeling and will need mechanical repairing if damaged, even if the part is internal. |
| I play a robot. How will the death penalty work for them? |
| Rather than seeing their body parts slowly replaced with mechanical parts, robots and androids will notice that their components will be replaced with new ones. It might start as something small, but soon it'll be hard not to notice that the city is slowly changing them as well. |
| Can we make our own upgrades to our prosthetics? |
| Sure, granted that your character has the proper tools, materials, and know-how. We ask that you keep things sensible. If you want to add something like a flamethrower, please ask a mod first. |
| Why are sexual crimes not included within the crimes to choose from? |
| Sexual crimes were not included to help prevent possible harmful triggering. Since death and events within Henlein help evolve the guilty into a better criminal, we did not want to help shape characters into better sex offenders. In addition, this is not in fact a sex game. And we ask that if any characters ever do develop close enough CR that they keep it a tasteful fade-to-black, and feel free to continue in a more private setting such as a musebox. |
| Can we exchange jumpsuits or identities with others? |
| Sure thing! It may be a good idea to make note of any such switches in your character journal for your reference and the reference of others. |
| Can I add or subtract the number of memeories that my character has lost after they've entered the game? |
| You may increase the number of missing memories, as long as it doesn't cause any inconsistencies within your character's gameplay so far. Also, please keep in mind that no removal of a memory should alter the characterization of your muse past the point of recognition. Subtracting the number of missing memories is possible as long as it doesn't ruin your continuity. You may never ICly claim to have recovered a memory without earning it first. |
| What happens to dropped characters? |
| They seem to vanish, but if you venture to the outer-most wall you may find their face immortalized in its metal surface. What happened to their bodies is still a mystery. Faces will remain on the wall, even if a character is re-apped and currently active within the city. |
| How does Activity Check work? |
| The first Saturday of every month an activity check meme will go up in the OOC community. In order to pass activity check, we ask for at least a total of twenty five tags from you. It can come from any combination of threads, as long as each thread has at least three from you. There is a ONE strike system. If you fail to meet activity without explanation, your character will be placed in probation. A subsequent failure to make AC will result in removal of your character. If a character is lost this way, you must wait one app cycle before reapplying for them. Remember, passed acs are required to apply for additional characters. |
| How does Hiatus work? |
| Hiatus are free and may be granted for any reason, stated or not. A hiatus may not be longer than 3 weeks and can not save a character from AC more than once every three months. |
| Will there be any HMD memes? |
| Every two OOC months there will be a How's My Driving meme and participation will be mandatory. Those who do not post with their characters will not be able to pass AC for that month. It is not mandatory to leave feedback, but players should be open to suggestion to help encourage the best out of all of us. It will be possible to critique the game and its mods as well! The HMD will also be heavily moderated and any destructive criticism will be deleted as needed. |
| What characters will need to be altered for the sake of gameplay? |
| As long as you have flesh and fit reasonably within the setting, you will not need to change. If you wish to humanize a character, that is an option, but not a requirement. Becoming an android is an option for non-organics and canons that contain scifi elements. Androids will suffer the same death penalty consequences as other robots. Over sized robots, such as Transformers, will become human sized, but may retain their robot status. Werewolves, and vampires may choose to remain unchanged. |
| Are powers or abilities lost? |
| Only the ability to firebend/control fire, destroy planets, immortality/invulnerability, the ability to summon creatures, and the ability to fly will be nerfed or removed. Most other powers or special abilities will remain intact. |
| What characters are allowed? |
| Any original character, canon character, or fandom oc that comes from a canon that requires the creation of an original character such as World of Warcraft or table top games. |
| What kind of characters are not allowed? |
| CRAUs, AUs, non-canon multiples, and gender-swaps are not allowed at this time. There may only be one version of a character in play at one time with very few exceptions. If you have any questions about whether or not your character falls under this, please contact a mod. |
| What about customizeable or silent protagonists or those with little canon? |
| Each of these will be judged on a case-by-case basis. Silent protagonists will need ample canon evidence of their motivations and only one version of a customizeable protagonist will be allowed in game at any time. Those with little canon are encouraged to contact the mods before applying. |
| I want to play from a canon that's been released recently. How long do I have to wait? |
| We ask that you wait three weeks from its publication before applying for that character. |
| My character needs grief seeds/special food/Zombrex/other canon-specific objects to live. Will those things be available? |
| For the ease of gameplay, those needs no longer exist. Any curses or illnesses that require a certain item are now lifted. Vampires may choose whether or not to remove their weakness to sunlight or the need for blood. |
| What can a character bring from home? |
| Other than a small piece of jewelry or other tiny items, nothing else may be brought into Henlein. This is especially true for weapons, but don't worry. The city is looking forward to turning you into your very own weapon. There will also be oppertunities to earn items from home. |
| What about characters who share a body? |
| Sorry, but one character per head. For example, if you had Doc and Omega from Red vs Blue you could app Omega in an android or human body alone. Or Doc alone. But not both. |
| Is there anything special that I have to do to apply for a second character? |
| When applying for a second character when one is still in play, we ask that you provide two passed ACs with your first character. This is to help cut down on serial apps and ensure that only those who are active within Henlein hold character spaces within casts. When applying for a third active character, we will want to see one passed AC for both characters in order for a third to be considered. |
| Can you challenge a reserved application? |
Yes. But we look at the reserved application first. We do ask that if you challenge an application that you submit it before 24 hours have passed since the application you are challenging has been submitted. If you turn it in first, we will still wait to look at the other application. |
| How many characters may I play at any one time? |
| Muns may play no more then four characters at once. |
| Are there caps on casts or the game? |
| Right now there are no caps on casts or the game its self. This may change as the game grows. |
| Is it possible to canon update? |
No. Once a character is apped, they will be stuck from the canon point that you chose. This decision is to help keep things from becoming too complicated in regards of memories. |
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Basically, my character was severely ill and going blind at the time of his death. I'd like to keep at least some measure of the illness & vision loss as characterization points. Is that possible, or are all diseases/degenerative conditions reversed upon arrival?
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Mainly, the disease and the gradual degeneration of his eyesight are penalties for overusing his rather extensive powers, and I'd like to keep that check-and-balance system in place if possible.
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And using it as a check for his powers is definitely more than alright with me. I think you're good. :)
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Can't wait to app!
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For the samples in the application, it's mentioned that a few threads of 20 comments each is allowed (whether in conjunction with a setting-sample, or as a collection to serve as the sample section). Does that mean 20 comments for the whole thread, or 20 comments total for the character being applied (so, at least a 40 comment thread if it is with one other person)?
Characters cannot remember the names of anyone; does that include titles as well? How about characters' relations to one another? For example, Thor and Loki are both princes; would they forget that rank, or the fact that (for most of their history) they were raised as brothers? Or will that be left to players' discretion?
In terms of lost memories, especially when it comes to the lesser memories/bronze cogs: how much of that needs to be directly from the canon material? Some canons will naturally have less canon to pull from than others, especially in terms of smaller memories; within reason, is it allowed for players to create or extrapolate upon canon for these lesser details? If so, should these be included in the application, or should they just be approved by a mod if/when they are put into play?
Somewhat related, should we have a list from the onset of what memories are lost? From what I've read, it looks more like it's being left up to the player as time goes on, instead of needing a strict outline of what exactly has been lost/is available to regain, but I figured I'd ask just to be sure!
And last question! Characters cannot remember the crime for which they are imprisoned; do they also forget other crimes they have committed in canon, but for which they are not being incarcerated?
Thank you so much for reading all that; sorry for all the questions!
I'm just really excited/interested?no subject
For the samples, we need 4 threads with 20 comments each, making a minimum of 80 comments in total. These threads can come from the same entry, a Dear Mun entry, old games, our test drive, or anywhere else from DW or LJ.
Titles are up to player discretion. If you and your castmate want to play out a complete blank slate or a vague memory you can. They both have really interesting possibilities as far as interaction and character development within Henlein, especially in how things may change once those memories are returned.
What memories you want to be missing is up to you, as long as they are in the realm of the character's personality, history, and canon as described in your application. The more memories that your character is missing, the longer it will take for them to return back to normal. That length of time is up to you.
It's suggested that muns keep track of memories regained within their journals. We'll soon have code for tables and such to make this easy to keep track of in the starting guide info page. As for how to know when they are returned, every memory returned will be awarded by a mod. Bronze ones will be announced in event descriptions, stating what sort of character names can be remembered and how many might be on the cog. These can be decided upon by the mun.
Silvers and golds will need to have certain requirements to earn, described in the event writeup that they will be awarded at the end of. These ones will be awarded by the mods personally to those whose characters achieve these requirements ( either plot driven things, or general activity within the event ). As far as what memories within the silver or gold categories are returned, we will likely contact the player and discuss what memories they'd like back out of the ones they've listed in their journals as lost.
They can remember doing past canon crimes, but the specific criminal event that they are charged with should be missing. This is so we can give false memories of that event. This part of it is admittedly geared more towards heroes who would believe up and down they did nothing wrong and then gain these false memories of actually doing it and then have them begin questioning who they might really be. As for our villains, these crimes are a little less important and are just another wrong deed in the many and the gain of false memories about it may or may not make a difference to them. It depends on the crime that the mun chooses. For example: some villains may pride their selves on being excellent thieves with strong loyalty that never need to spill blood, and the false crime might be murder or treason. While they know they are guilty of crimes, the false crime might still cause that self-questioning, or cause shame, guilt, or disappointment.
Never be sorry for asking questions! Making things clear and being here for you is our job. It's always a pleasure, and thanks for reading all of this.
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(Anonymous) 2013-07-31 07:39 am (UTC)(link)no subject
Thanks for the question. :)
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Or even - what if I wrote up a separate page with history/world notes and junk, and then listed it in the app? Would that work? Or. skldjflskje what do /cries
I hope this isn't a stupid question aaaa I just want to be as thorough as possible ;;
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Id say that if you have "extra notes and junk" put it in his journal somewhere. But if its relevant to his character and personality you can go ahead and include it in the app, whereas if it is something on the side you can feel free to leave it in the world notes guide on your character's journal, perhaps.
Does that make sense?
Not a stupid question at all! Its a good one and pointed a flaw in the apps page for me. Thanks for taking the time to ask! <3
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Thank you again!
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:)
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I'm going to write another one anyway, but I just want to be sure! ouo
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Honestly considering most people write their samples as their intro log/network post in most apps Ive seen at games this would be a refreshing breath of fresh air.
I do ask that if it hasnt been written semi-recently you might want to get something a little less dated perhaps?
Go for it! :)
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The reason I'm wondering is because Gabriel here is also known as Sylar and I wasn't sure if he would forget that name as well.
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Or would they completely forget who these castmates are, no matter how close?
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Talk it over with your canonmates and make sure you guys know what youre doing and if youre keeping track of what memories your character has regained and/or lost in your journal you can put this down there too.
We're letting people play with this however they want as long as at the core the character remains the same.
Hope this helps! :)
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If your character has the power to create fire out of nothing and shoot it at people it is reduced in efficacy but still usable.
Thanks for the question! :)
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But it totally can be. And from there it's up to you. :)
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Would teleportation be allowable, even if it's capped? Technically she has the ability to teleport herself, others, and objects, but generally refrains from teleporting herself due to some childhood trauma.
Aaaand assuming she can still use this power -- since she kind of had a mental breakdown so severe it rendered her incapable to performing the calculations necessary for her ability, she now depends on a "massage machine" which attaches to the back of her neck and exudes ~calming vibrations~. Would she be able to use that, or would that dependency be unnecessary here?
Thank you!
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So if you're fine with that, I will allow it.
If you wish to keep her dependent and the machine is small enough I would say sure, bring it with her. If it is too large for her to wear on her person then I would say remove the dependency.
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(Anonymous) 2013-08-12 08:09 pm (UTC)(link)no subject
But in case you needed a link.
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What about weapons etc which are technically attached to a character in a sort of metaphysical/metaphorical manner? i.e. Keyblades from Kingdom Hearts, which are attached to the Heart of their user and can be manifested with strength of Heart (if they've been passed the right to it).
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Allen from D Gray Man has a right arm thats a weapon. For example. I couldnt really say "no leave your arm behind".
In this case knowing Kingdom Hearts canon it would actually make sense to keep the darned thing because its literally attached to his heart and also because someone like Sorra had memory loss and still kept it. In canon.
Unfortunately there will be locked doors that even the keyblade wont be able to open around this game, because we would have to nerf that power. But thats probably par for the course.
If you have a different canon/weapon in mind feel free to ask here or PM the mod account.
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One last one, about the "summoning" part! Does this include say ghosts or stuff a necromancer might summon or is it more like Final Fantasy summon spirits? And what about monsters formed from emotions? (i.e. Vanitas in Kingdom hearts...again, hfff.)
Oop ONE MORE QUESTION--in the FAQ it states characters will be human-sized! What about Awakened Beings from Claymore? They can wear the guise of human but some of them tend to sort of...grow. Would they remain shrunk or have to stick to their form? So I guess this includes shape-shifters as well :|a
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Does he break off part of himself in order to create it? Am I reading it right?
Edit: I didnt see the edit till after sorry! But I think Claymore Characters...Ill allow it if you're willing to limit use a bit. Also good luck fitting something of that size in the prison.
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But on a more serious note...Yeah I would ask if we could remove/nerf that. Sorry.
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no yup that's totally good :'D
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and god ikr riful's hugeno subject
Will Henlein have a special spirit world/reflection, would you like me to use common sense with it, or would you rather I have Aaron unable to move into it here?
I am good with having him unable to, it doesn't really effect anything else he can do and just give him some internal drama.