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RULES
Please be kind to your fellow players and remember that ooc ≠ ic. Characters are encouraged to work together and share information, but please do not infomod or godmod. Content warnings should be included in the subject line or at the top of a post, or alternatively, threads with mature content may be played in a character journal. Passing monthly AC is required to stay in the game. There is no strike system, so behave yourselves. If any concerns arise, please contact the mod.
GAME INFO
PREMISE
Austice is a short run, panfandom, character development focused, mystery game in a small town setting, with inspiration drawn from previous DWRP games ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
cetana and yogen. There will be horror elements to the game, with all the blood, guts, and gore that comes with the genre, but horror is not the main focus of the game. It's just a mildly spooky town. Your characters will be fine.
The game is expected to run for a maximum of one year, depending on pacing, with one main event posted at the start of each month and potentially smaller mini-events in between. These events may involve small investigative missions, but are initiated by the characters and not via an OOC sign up list.
The game operates on a 1:1 time scale to the real world calendar. Monthly events will go up on the first Saturday of the month whenever the mod wakes up, and AC will be due on the last day of each month. There will be no monthly TDMs, but occasionally there will be prompts on the main event logs open for TDM purposes.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cambium is the mod account.
austice is the main community, where logs will be posted.
penitente is the OOC community, where monthly updates, plotting posts and memes can be posted.
cetana and yogen. There will be horror elements to the game, with all the blood, guts, and gore that comes with the genre, but horror is not the main focus of the game. It's just a mildly spooky town. Your characters will be fine.
The game is expected to run for a maximum of one year, depending on pacing, with one main event posted at the start of each month and potentially smaller mini-events in between. These events may involve small investigative missions, but are initiated by the characters and not via an OOC sign up list.
The game operates on a 1:1 time scale to the real world calendar. Monthly events will go up on the first Saturday of the month whenever the mod wakes up, and AC will be due on the last day of each month. There will be no monthly TDMs, but occasionally there will be prompts on the main event logs open for TDM purposes.
cambium is the mod account.austice is the main community, where logs will be posted.penitente is the OOC community, where monthly updates, plotting posts and memes can be posted.APPLICATIONS
Applications are currently open by invitation from a current player. In order to invite another player, you must have completed AC for your character for at least one month, meaning hiatus and check-ins are not included. There is no reserve system.
Players are allowed one character in the game to start, and may app a second character after passing AC for at least two consecutive months (first month check-in counts) with their first. There is currently no cast cap, but this may be subject to change in the future.
Appable characters include canon characters, original characters, and silent/customizable protagonists. At this time, duplicate characters and CRAU characters will not be accepted. New canons must be out for at least 1 month before they can be apped.
There is no age or size limit, with the understanding that very young/dependent characters and either extremes of size may have difficulty engaging with the game and its characters. There is no forced humanization and canon powers remain, although they may be tempered depending on the nature of the power; this will be discussed with the player upon acceptance into the game.
Players are allowed one character in the game to start, and may app a second character after passing AC for at least two consecutive months (first month check-in counts) with their first. There is currently no cast cap, but this may be subject to change in the future.
Appable characters include canon characters, original characters, and silent/customizable protagonists. At this time, duplicate characters and CRAU characters will not be accepted. New canons must be out for at least 1 month before they can be apped.
There is no age or size limit, with the understanding that very young/dependent characters and either extremes of size may have difficulty engaging with the game and its characters. There is no forced humanization and canon powers remain, although they may be tempered depending on the nature of the power; this will be discussed with the player upon acceptance into the game.
ARRIVAL
Characters arrive in the same state as their canonpoint. Any injuries and their severity remain, but those with fatal wounds find that they will not die from them. It'll still hurt, though. Please refer to the "Death" section below for more information about the game's death mechanics. For characters who are dead in canon, they may be apped from the moment of death, or post-death only if they have a canon form post-death (eg. a spirit, either as is or possessing a body or object). If their post-death form is horribly multilated or blown to smithereens, we can try to work something out, but remember you're the one who wanted this, not me.
Characters also arrive with the clothing and items on their immediate person, excluding any pets or living things. Characters with hammerspace are limited to a maximum of five items previously kept in their hammerspace and will lose access to infinite storage.
Although characters arrive largely as they were at their canonpoint, there are several changes they will immediately notice:
Characters also arrive with the clothing and items on their immediate person, excluding any pets or living things. Characters with hammerspace are limited to a maximum of five items previously kept in their hammerspace and will lose access to infinite storage.
Although characters arrive largely as they were at their canonpoint, there are several changes they will immediately notice:
- They also arrive with one minor item of sentimental value that was not on their immediate person, and belongs to a different character in their canon.
- They will find on their person a gemstone small enough to fit in the palm of their hand. Players will decide the gemstone's color(s) in the app, along with a general description of its appearance (polished or rough, speckled or striped, simple or complex, etc). All gemstones, however, come in one predominant color, and are chipped or scratched or damaged in some way. Damaging the gemstones result in emotional pain and/or memory loss depending on the severity of damage, and a stone damaged beyond repair is equivalent to death. Information about gemstones can be found here.
- They will be missing two memories, and one additional memory has been altered, decided by the player upon apping into the game. More information is given on the applications page.
POWERS
As stated above, characters arrive with their canon powers, although if they need a medium and do not have it on their person at their canon point, the medium will need to be regained through bonus points. Exceptions to the above are any powers that may be considered game breaking; this will be discussed upon apping, if not already done beforehand.
Characters with powers will find that they come a little more difficult during the day, almost akin to when they first learned to use their powers. From sundown to sunrise, however, the dampening is gone and powers can be used as usual.
There may be opportunities for characters to learn minor in-game powers in the future, I haven't decided yet. You guys will need to unlock this.
Characters with powers will find that they come a little more difficult during the day, almost akin to when they first learned to use their powers. From sundown to sunrise, however, the dampening is gone and powers can be used as usual.
There may be opportunities for characters to learn minor in-game powers in the future, I haven't decided yet. You guys will need to unlock this.
SETTING
More detailed information is given on the game's locations page, but as a brief overview, the game is set in a small rustic town in the middle of nowhere, with boundaries set by a large body of water, a forest, and train tracks running through a plain. The train schedule is erratic, and may be responsible for the arrival of new characters and/or canon items requested through bonus activity. Characters are free to board the train, swim across the water, wander through the forest, etc, but will not find anything of importance outside the game's setting, and if the character is unable to return, they're out of the game.
As stated above, canon powers appear to be weaker during the day and stronger at night, the time of day and number of hours varying between sundown and sunrise as the seasons pass. The vast majority of NPCs will make their way indoors before sundown, as the darkness brings in a thick fog, and the thick fog creates monstrous distortions throughout the town. A representation of the foggy nighttime town can be found in this video (tw: eyes), in which characters may approach monsters and other strange structures only to find them reverting back into whorls on a tree, or a smudged window pane, or even other characters. All distortions will appear as normal again when the character is close enough to see detail through the fog, dependent on the character's eyesight.
Animals can be found in the water and the forest, although they're all a bit "off" in some way, be it extra pair of legs or double jaws. Think "biblically accurate," as termed by Wolfie. You can try to kill them. Then they will try to kill you.
Characters may chose to live on their own, in communal housing, on the streets, etc, with communal housing being unlockable in the near future after the start of the game. Overall, it's a quiet place with lots of empty space and not a lot of people.
As stated above, canon powers appear to be weaker during the day and stronger at night, the time of day and number of hours varying between sundown and sunrise as the seasons pass. The vast majority of NPCs will make their way indoors before sundown, as the darkness brings in a thick fog, and the thick fog creates monstrous distortions throughout the town. A representation of the foggy nighttime town can be found in this video (tw: eyes), in which characters may approach monsters and other strange structures only to find them reverting back into whorls on a tree, or a smudged window pane, or even other characters. All distortions will appear as normal again when the character is close enough to see detail through the fog, dependent on the character's eyesight.
Animals can be found in the water and the forest, although they're all a bit "off" in some way, be it extra pair of legs or double jaws. Think "biblically accurate," as termed by Wolfie. You can try to kill them. Then they will try to kill you.
Characters may chose to live on their own, in communal housing, on the streets, etc, with communal housing being unlockable in the near future after the start of the game. Overall, it's a quiet place with lots of empty space and not a lot of people.
NPCS
There are few memorable NPCs in town, aka please don't make me play two dozen NPCs by myself again, and named NPCs exist largely to help integrate characters into the setting and make general OOC knowledge ICly learned through handwaved interactions.
As stated above, NPCs will not be found outside after sundown unless explicitly requested by a character. During the day, they can occasionally be found around town, although sometimes they disappear when you lose sight of them and won't be seen for days at a time. A list of interactable NPCs can be found on the NPC contact page.
As stated above, NPCs will not be found outside after sundown unless explicitly requested by a character. During the day, they can occasionally be found around town, although sometimes they disappear when you lose sight of them and won't be seen for days at a time. A list of interactable NPCs can be found on the NPC contact page.
COMMUNICATION
There's an auto-translator. It's magic.
Upon arriving in town, characters will be able to "register" with the town official by providing a drop of blood or something similar, after which characters will receive a flip phone that opens on the long edge, like a Nintendo DS. Characters will enter a username of their choosing, and can contact other characters via text, calls, and/or video once they've learned and recorded the other characters' usernames. Messages can be sent to one person or a group of people. General public broadcasts are also an option, but they will be delivered to all characters and NPCs with a phone.
If characters have their own phones, they will be able to contact one another but will not have access to the town's messaging system. With these personal phones, reception is very spotty around town, with calls ringing and ringing but never connecting, and texts marked as sent but remaining unread.
This is all completely optional, and characters may choose to refuse or register at a later time.
Upon arriving in town, characters will be able to "register" with the town official by providing a drop of blood or something similar, after which characters will receive a flip phone that opens on the long edge, like a Nintendo DS. Characters will enter a username of their choosing, and can contact other characters via text, calls, and/or video once they've learned and recorded the other characters' usernames. Messages can be sent to one person or a group of people. General public broadcasts are also an option, but they will be delivered to all characters and NPCs with a phone.
If characters have their own phones, they will be able to contact one another but will not have access to the town's messaging system. With these personal phones, reception is very spotty around town, with calls ringing and ringing but never connecting, and texts marked as sent but remaining unread.
This is all completely optional, and characters may choose to refuse or register at a later time.
INJURY AND DEATH
Injuries obtained in game are non-fatal, just like injuries a character arrives with from their canonpoint. All the pain and suffering remains, though, until the person is stitched up and bones are reset, and even then the healing process takes some time for full recovery.
Non-fatal injuries take the normal amount of time to heal, but the healing of otherwise fatal injuries is expedited to anywhere from a week to a month depending on severity. Lost body parts will rot away as new ones grow in, a character drained of blood will slowly refill their veins, a character who is poisoned will feel sicker and sicker until it is out of their system, etc.
Tangentially, characters will not be able to die of hunger or thirst, although neglecting food and water will still result in that gnawing emptiness in the stomach and parched pressure of the chest. Neither will they be able to die of extreme temperatures, although the numbing cold and blistering heat are still miserable.
There will be opportunity for deaths in mod-run missions, but will always be opt-in by the player. Deaths that occur in threads must be agreed upon by both players. The only way to truly die in this game is if the character's gemstone is broken beyond repair.
Non-fatal injuries take the normal amount of time to heal, but the healing of otherwise fatal injuries is expedited to anywhere from a week to a month depending on severity. Lost body parts will rot away as new ones grow in, a character drained of blood will slowly refill their veins, a character who is poisoned will feel sicker and sicker until it is out of their system, etc.
Tangentially, characters will not be able to die of hunger or thirst, although neglecting food and water will still result in that gnawing emptiness in the stomach and parched pressure of the chest. Neither will they be able to die of extreme temperatures, although the numbing cold and blistering heat are still miserable.
There will be opportunity for deaths in mod-run missions, but will always be opt-in by the player. Deaths that occur in threads must be agreed upon by both players. The only way to truly die in this game is if the character's gemstone is broken beyond repair.
ACTIVITY REQUIREMENTS
To remain in the game, players must complete AC by the end of each month by submitting thread proofs to their toplevel on the permanent AC page. New characters are exempt from AC for the first calendar month they join, but must still submit a check-in proof to their toplevel for AC. A reminder will be given upon acceptance.
Currently, AC consists of one of the following:
These threads may be started in the current or previous month, but only comments from the current month will count towards the comment count.
IC inbox threads may count as one of the proofs but not all. There will be no reminders posted on the game plurk or OOC community.
Currently, AC consists of one of the following:
- One open post/toplevel + one to two threads from a different post/toplevel with a combined total of at least 10 comments from you
OR
- Two to three threads with a combined total of 15 comments from you
These threads may be started in the current or previous month, but only comments from the current month will count towards the comment count.
IC inbox threads may count as one of the proofs but not all. There will be no reminders posted on the game plurk or OOC community.
BONUS ACTIVITY
Threads that are not used for AC can be submitted for bonuses. To request bonuses, AC must first be completed for the current month; new characters must submit AC in lieu of the newbie check-in pass. Unlike threads used for AC, there is no expiration date for bonus activity threads, and they can be banked for the future.
Threads for bonuses must have at least five comments from you, and are submitted as a bundle of three threads per bonus. More information about bonuses can be found on the bonus activity page.
Threads for bonuses must have at least five comments from you, and are submitted as a bundle of three threads per bonus. More information about bonuses can be found on the bonus activity page.
HIATUS AND DROPS
As failure to complete AC results in a drop from the game, please utilize the hiatus/drops page accordingly. A hiatus cannot be taken two months in a row, and must be requested at least five days before the end of the month. In case of any extenuating circumstances, please contact the mod as soon as you're able. For the courtesy of other players, please use the drop page instead of idling out if you feel the game is not a good fit.
MOD CONTACT
The mod can be contacted in a variety of ways. Most reliably is the mod contact page. All comments are screened by default, so if you want to send something anonymously, please use a sock account or otherwise you won't be able to see the reply. Other options are given on the mod contact page.
QUESTIONS
Pertinent information from general questions will be added to this page as they come up. For questions about the game in general, please ask below for other players to reference. Canon or character specific questions may be asked below or through other forms of mod contact.