Frequently Asked Questions - General FAQ

[ryslighelpers]

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FAQ

We have done our best to answer the most commonly-asked and most obvious questions about the game on this page. Our Settings FAQ page answers questions dealing more with details about the world and the people of Ryslig.

Please be aware that as of August 2023, our official policy is that the mod team will not provide lore drops on request. We encourage players to take the initiative in creating their own lore and mythologies.

If you don't see your question answered here, you can also check the player-made FAQ database (thank you, Nico!) to see whether someone else has asked it in the past.

If you still have a question that hasn't been answered, you can always ask it using the comments on this post. However, we do ask that you check the FAQ database first, to avoid confusion and extra work for the mods. Thank you!

GENERAL INFO What kind of game is this? Ryslig is a character-driven horror game inspired by mid-20th-century speculative fiction. Characters must deal with the process of becoming less (or more?) than human as they change irrevocably into man-eating monsters. Ryslig is primarily a body horror game, with elements of science fiction, fantasy, and other forms of horror. [back to top] I've never been in a Dreamwidth game before. Do you have any advice? We understand that joining a new game can be a bit intimidating, especially if you aren't used to Dreamwidth roleplay as a culture. While we have every faith in our players' ability to learn as they go, there are several resources available to help you get into the swing of things if you're new here. This 2009 FAQ post covers a lot of the basics and the terminology commonly used in Dreamwidth roleplay. Given when it was made, obviously some of it is a little out-of-date, but it's still a good starting point! This Google document is a pretty thorough walkthrough for people coming to Dreamwidth from other roleplaying communities. Finally, this Tumblr account collects a range of advice and information on roleplaying more generally, if you're completely new to the hobby. You can also ask the mods or your fellow players, if you're feeling lost. We don't bite, we promise - even if our characters do! [back to top] What can I do here? Characters in Ryslig can interact with the setting in any number of ways - whether they align with one of the gods, look for a way out of their situation, or simply settle into their new life eating people. Ryslig is a fairly relaxed game, and players are free to do things like set up businesses, buy new locations or powers, or have their character throw a party or event. However, things are frequently thrown out of their normal order by plot events or the coming of the Fog, which brings monster changes and adds to characters’ unbearable hunger. Don’t get too comfortable! [back to top] What happens when my character arrives here? How your character arrives in Ryslig will vary, but a few things are constant: All characters, regardless of what they once were, arrive to Ryslig as fully functioning, normal humans. Had powers? Not anymore! Died in canon? Congrats, you're alive! Used to be a pretty pink sparkle-pony? Enjoy walking on two legs, you're a human now. Aesthetic choices like pink or blue hair are allowed, but no one can come in with fancy appendages or special powers. Characters arrive with their clothes (in most cases) and nothing else. No weapons, no technology, no pets, no tools. Cybernetic attachments or prosthetics may still be present, but they will have lost any special abilities or powers associated with them. Cybernetic body parts must function exactly the way human body parts would, but it's acceptable to make them shoddier if you'd prefer malfunctioning hardware. At some point soon after your arrival, your character will be given a laptop that allows them access to the RSDOS communication network. For more on how the laptops work, watch this space for our updated Settings FAQ! [back to top] What happens once my character is here? New characters will remain human for one month after arriving. During this time, they will find that they experience a range of reactions from the human population, who are generally very good at picking up on who is an outsider. Many humans will treat new arrivals generously, hoping to win their favour and protection when the changes occur. It is usually easy for new arrivals to find food, shelter, and information. However, other humans will respond with hostility to the newcomers, and may even attack or try to kill them. Of course, monsters have been coming into Ryslig for a while now, and many monsters have set up their own systems of support! New characters may find themselves directed to the Lighthouse, Hestia’s Place, or Crowe Clinic, all of which are god-neutral and provide support and shelter to newcomers. This includes information packs which can be assumed to include all information in the Settings FAQ, as well as a map of the peninsula. At the end of their first month, when the fog rolls in, the monster changes will begin. [back to top] MONSTERS How long does it take for characters to change? Once characters arrive in Ryslig, they have four months to complete all mandatory changes. Optional changes may take place during this time too, but can also be extended beyond the first four months. Monster changes can happen in any order, as quick or as slow as you like within the first four months. Do you want to delay all changes until month four? You're living on the wild side. Do you want to give your character insatiable hunger without the body parts or powers that will help them to feed? Also valid. The mods will always provide a 'change log' one month after a pool of new characters enters the game. This will signal the in-character start of monster transformations for your character and the start of your four-month mandatory transformation allowance; this always takes place during a fog cycle. After this initial log, players are free to write out monster changes at any time and aren't limited to foggy weeks. To see what changes are mandatory for your monster, and what changes are optional, you can check the Bestiary. [back to top] What monster will my character be? That depends! Would you like a monster that fits your character's personality or conflicts with it? Would you go with either fits or conflicts, whichever has the strongest match? Or would you prefer to roll the dice and get a completely random match? Our application has a section for you to choose which you prefer. We also ask you to list your character's key personality traits, which we would like you to flesh out and justify in your personality section. By matching these traits to our top-secret monster chart, the mods will sort your character into one of the 23 currently available monster types. This information will be released all at once by updating the Taken list to reflect monster assignments a week or so after arrivals. The announcement date changes a by a day or two every cycle, so keep an eye on the mod plurk for monster reveals. Please note that not all characters will get the most obvious choice, particularly if more fitting monsters are opted out. It's also important to note that the application traits are expected to fit the character, and revisions will be given if they don't line up (don't cheat because you really, really want a manticore, is what we're saying). [back to top] So I don’t get to pick my monster? What if I don’t like it?? You don’t get to pick your monster, but since we are aware that there will be monster types which people really do not feel able to play, you have the ability to opt out of up to six monster types on your application. (If you have other characters in the game, you may also opt out of their monster types without it counting towards the total) Once your monster type has been assigned, it is fixed - please do not appeal to the mods for a change of monster, as this is not something we do! However, characters can collect Mana coins through extra game activity, and these can be used to purchase temporary or permanent changes to their monster type. [back to top] Can returning characters get a new monster? If a new player apps a character who was previously played in Ryslig, they will be treated as a new app and will be given a fresh monster assignment. However, if you have dropped a character and then reapplied later, they are not eligible for a new monster. One monster per character per player. The exception to this rule is characters who initially joined the game before the bestiary changes in 2017, and did not take the optional re-sort when the changes were brought in. (This includes all characters who were dropped before 2017) [back to top] How will my character change? Monster changes can be anything you like, as long as it fits the criteria in the Bestiary! We encourage creativity in how you apply the traits and changes for your monster, and players are welcome to draw inspiration from their character’s canon, the natural world, or versions of their monster present in myth and legend. These changes can be purely physical, but you are also welcome to give your character new instincts and urges, psychological changes, and so on. You’re also welcome to go above and beyond the listed traits of your monster, as long as these changes are purely cosmetic and do not provide the monster with an added advantage. If you’re unsure whether an additional change is allowed, ask! We have a specialised Monster FAQ page available to help you out. [back to top] How will people know what my character looks like now? When you join, you will be asked to add a Monster Info page to your character’s journal. (An updated code for this, which can be less buggy, was also produced by one of our players - thank you, Talloran!) This post can be updated to include descriptions (short or long) of your character’s changes as they happen. Many people also find this a useful place to put any artwork or reference images for their character’s monster form. Please be proactive in checking other characters’ info posts when tagging them! In terms of icons, you are welcome to continue using your existing icons or to add new ones as your character’s monster changes take hold. [back to top] How powerful are monsters? What abilities do they have? Regardless of monster type, or of how they look, monsters are physically stronger than untransformed humans. An average monster can take on five humans with ease. Different monster types have different strengths, weaknesses, and abilities, but as a rule of thumb, all monsters are roughly equivalent in strength. This is not a game focused on stats or power levels or who can beat up whom. All monsters have the ability to speak when transformed, regardless of their form. This applies to fog forms as well as to regular monster forms. [back to top] What is a fog form? All monster types have the option to include a fog form. This is an optional secondary form for your character, which they can only change into at times when the fog is active - you can see when the fog is active on the events calendar. Fog forms are a more horrific, exaggerated version of your character’s usual monster form, and offer the opportunity to go all out with the body horror. A character can develop a fog form at any time. [back to top] Okay, but about the hunger…? All fully-transformed monsters, without exception, have to eat people in some form in order to survive. What this means may differ between monster types (some monsters have to eat human meat, while others feed on blood, souls, energy, or the water in the body) but nobody is exempt. This is a crucial part of how monsters survive and get their energy, and the hunger will get stronger when a character expends more energy – for example, if they use their powers or abilities, or if they die and have to come back. A monster's cravings can be anywhere from once each week to a month or two. More than two months will require extreme willpower and no use of powers or healing. Beyond this point, the monster will go mad with a desire to feed off humans and will attack both friend and foe until they are satiated. [back to top] Can monsters eat each other? Yes. However, bear in mind that this will count towards death totals (see Game Mechanics), and may cause loss of memory for the monster who gets eaten. Because monsters lose energy and gain hunger when they die, this is also not a sustainable solution for everyone! Eating a recently-resurrected monster who hasn’t fed yet will give less energy than eating a living human. [back to top] Can monsters share kills? Yes. It is absolutely fine for characters to arrange to share out the parts of a kill. However, the soul is indivisible, so only one monster can eat the soul – no sharing it! [back to top] SETTINGS MECHANICS What happens if my character dies? If your character dies outside the usual fog days, they will come back with the next fog. If your character dies while the fog is flooding the peninsula, they may either come back during the next fog week, or in this current one. However, please keep in mind that unless a character has received sped-up resurrection through a god, it will always take at least 4 days to be brought back by the Fog. They will resurrect either where they died, where their body is, by Lake Dala or in the graveyard – this choice is up to the player! They may have scars from their death, or they may be resurrected entirely healed, depending on player preference. Characters who are pledged to either of the gods can resurrect much faster (see the God Boons page for more information) and in the domain of their respective god (i.e., Dyster if they are pledged to the Fog, or the Arcade if they are pledged to the Fourth.) However, death is not cheap, and resurrection is not easy! After resurrecting, all characters will find that they are weakened for at least a few days, and will also have increased hunger as their bodies try to get back the energy that was used. Death also causes characters to lose one memory for each time they die. This can be a memory from home, or from Ryslig, and what they forget is entirely up to player discretion. If a character dies enough times, they will slowly start to forget who they are. The exception to this will be the first and second time a character dies, when the player will have the option to leave them with all their memories. This is up to the player - if you want your character to start losing memories immediately, or to lose memories on their second death, that’s fine, too! We recommend you keep a death tally somewhere in your journal, so that you can refer back to it to see how many times your character has died, and what memories they have lost. However, this is not mandatory – just helpful! [back to top] What if my character kills someone? Murders happen all the time in Ryslig – killing to eat is, after all, a core part of the setting. You do not need to ask mod permission to kill minor NPCs, and you are welcome to go into as much or as little detail as you like when it comes to killing native humans. Note that Ryslig natives are not resurrected when they die. No take-backs! Monsters may also kill one another. Hey, sometimes it happens! All we ask is that you make sure you have discussed this with the other player beforehand, as they will have to deal with the death added to their character’s count. [back to top] What happens when a character drops? If you want to drop your character, please comment to the Hiatus/Drop post so that we know to take your character off the list. Otherwise, even if you have told the mods through another channel, you will be considered to have idled out, and will be unable to re-apply for an additional 2 months. ICly, characters who drop will simply disappear. Their names will appear on a gravestone in the graveyard. Are they buried there? Who knows. They’re gone, and the most information you may be able to get is that they have been returned to the Sea of Stars. Any Mana purchases, businesses, locations, or other goods they have in-game can be inherited by other characters, provided you have discussed it player-to-player beforehand. If this includes a major location or business changing hands, please make sure to comment to the linked pages to let us know! [back to top] What if I need to hiatus? If you are going to be away or busy for a while, and you know you may struggle to make that month's AC, comment on the Hiatus/Drop post, using the form, to request a hiatus. You must be hiatused for at least two weeks out of the AC period to be exempt from Activity Check. In terms of what this looks like ICly, you are welcome to handwave any activity your character might have been up to while you were away! Alternatively, if you would prefer, your character may fall into a deep sleep, waking up when you return from hiatus. They will remain present in Ryslig throughout. [back to top] Can I change my character's canon point, or update them to include new canon? Yes! Canon updates are handled through the applications page. Canon updates are for record-keeping only, and do not go through a formal approval process. Players can canon update at any time (not just when applications are open). Once submitted, there is no need to wait for a mod response, and you’re welcome to begin playing from your updated canon point immediately. If you drop and then later re-apply with a canon-updated character, please include a link to your canon update information with your application submission. Characters who are canon updated will not leave Ryslig or return home, and they will not change physically as a result of the update. They will fall into a deep sleep, which can last for as long or a short a time as you choose, and will dream a vivid dream of everything that has happened between their canon points. When they wake up, they will be able to remember everything that happened in canon, as well as their Ryslig experiences up to that point. [back to top] Can my character start a business? Absolutely! We encourage it. If your character has set up a business in Ryslig, please head over to our Player Businesses page to give us a little information, so that people can be aware of the new business. [back to top] GAME MECHANICS When do applications open? Applications run on a two-month cycle. You can place reserves from the 22nd of an application month, and applications themselves are open from the 24th to the 30th. [back to top] What characters can I apply with? Ryslig is open to both canon and original characters. However, you cannot apply with the following: Fandom OCs (original characters from the universes of existing canons) are not allowed, since this can provide challenges for players who want to apply with canon characters from the same fandom. Malleable [MMO] protagonists. Real people, historical figures, or mythological figures. You can app versions of real or mythological people which come from a specific fictional canon (e.g. Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter), but the fictional canon must take precedence over the “real” version of events. Player-made AUs, including CRAUs. All canon characters must be apped based on their canonical experiences and personalities only. A character who is currently in the game. However, different versions of the same character may be allowed if they are from provably distinct timelines or versions of the canon. You are also allowed to apply with a new version of a character who has previously been in the game, provided that they have dropped. A character from the same setting as a character you already play, or with a significant relationship to an alternate-universe version of them. When in doubt, ask "if one character heard about the other character in passing, would they be motivated to seek them out?" If the answer is yes, we discourage apping the second character. This is to prevent playercest! If you are applying with a canon character, we would ask that they have enough canon to work off, and that no more than fifty percent of their application is headcanon. You are welcome to app characters who are dead in canon, as well as characters who are non-human or magical. All characters will revert to living, unpowered humans when they arrive in the game. [back to top] Can I re-apply if my application is rejected? You can re-apply a total of three times with the same character. This is to allow players the chance to adjust their applications and act on any issues raised by the mods. Remember, you can always contact the mods following a rejection to ask for an explanation! If your character's application is rejected three times, you will not be able to re-apply with that character. However, if more than three years have passed since the last rejection, you can contact the mods to ask whether you are allowed to re-apply. [back to top] Do I need to reserve? You do not need to reserve in order to apply to the game. However, we will give priority to applications with a reserve in place if we get two applications for the same character. [back to top] Is there a character cap? Each player is limited to playing a maximum of four characters at any one time. Currently, there is no cap on the total number of characters or players in the game, and we do not place a limit on the number of applications in an app round. [back to top] What is activity check like? The minimum activity check requirement is 10 comments over the month. In order to count for basic AC, threads must: Have been started within the current AC period (the dates for this will be in the monthly reminder on the OOC community). Include at least three comments from your character. Not have been counted in the previous month’s AC. If you have more than 10 comments, you can use these for bonus AC! When you join the game, you will be required to post a top-level for your character to the Permanent Activity Check post. Follow the instructions on the page to post your AC every month. A reminder to post your AC will go up a week before it is due, including the dates of the AC period. It is important that you follow the format given for AC, as we use an automatic checker – if you change the formatting, it can mess with the process of checking. A post will go up once the AC has been checked every month, listing players who have not responded or who have responded incorrectly. If you are listed on this post, you have five days to fix your AC. After that point, people who have not responded will be considered to have idled out. [back to top] How does bonus AC work? Bonus AC comes in the form of Mana coins, an IC currency which characters can use to trade with Mana for perks such as powers, monster changes, locations, or things from home. For each 10 comments which you have accrued in addition to your basic AC, you will earn one coin. Please check the information on the Activity Check post to make sure you understand what counts for bonus AC, as it is slightly different to the requirements for basic AC. Mana coins cannot be traded between players or spent anywhere except with Mana. [back to top] What is the difference between a hiatus and a strike? If you know you are likely to be away from your computer or otherwise unable to tag, you can ask for a hiatus by going to the Hiatus/Drops page. Then post to your Activity Check comment, linking to the comment where you took your hiatus. There are no penalties for taking a hiatus, but you must have been on hiatus for at least two weeks out of the month in order to claim an exemption from AC. If you didn’t see the disruption coming, or didn’t have a chance to post to the Hiatus page, don’t panic! You can still take a strike. In order to do this, just comment to your Activity Check saying that you are taking a strike. The main difference between a hiatus and a strike is that a strike has consequences for your future activity. If you take a strike, you must complete your full 10-comment AC for the next two months – you cannot take a hiatus or another strike in this period. The mods may also speak to you privately if we feel you are abusing the strike mechanic. If you need to hiatus for an extended period, or need to hiatus retroactively, please contact the mods directly. We try to be sensitive to personal circumstances, and will do our best to accommodate health problems or real-life crises. [back to top] What happens if I drop or idle out? If you drop through the Hiatus/Drops post, then you can re-apply with the same character at any time from the next application round. They can keep all their monster changes and memories of Ryslig, or you can choose to start them from scratch. However, you will lose any Mana coins you might have accrued. If you idle out, you will not be allowed to re-apply for a minimum of two app cycles. Otherwise, the process is similar to a properly-processed drop. In either case, please note that your character will be eligible for anyone else to apply after they are dropped. [back to top] Will there be an HMD? We post a game-wide How’s My Driving meme on the OOC community every other month, and we encourage players to post to it wherever possible (in fact, as an extra incentive, players can claim one extra Mana coin for one of their characters if they post to the HMD!) We also strongly encourage players to have a private HMD and/or opt-out post on their character’s journals, or to link to one somewhere on their journal. Please use all HMDs in the spirit intended. Any use of either game-wide or private HMDs to harass, bully, or personally insult another player is unacceptable, and the mods reserve the right to warn or ban players as needed if they are misusing HMDs. [back to top] Should I warn for triggering content? We do encourage players to warn where possible for content that is outside the normal scope of the game, but which may be triggering or sensitive for other players – for example, discussion of abuse, sexual content, severe illnesses, etc. We also maintain a database of common and player-specific triggers, if you would like more guidance on what things should be warned for. Please be considerate, and use cut-text if you are writing a long toplevel or one which contains potentially triggering content. [back to top] I have an idea for a plot! That’s great! We encourage player plots here at Ryslig, and will do our best to work with you to develop any ideas you have for large-scale game events. You can share your idea with the mods here. Please be aware that, while we love player plots, we are also wary of overloading players, so we will usually only run one game-wide plot (player-led or mod-led) per month. As a result, you may need to wait a while before your plot can be put into practice. [back to top] ASK A QUESTION ASK A MONSTER QUESTION

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Comments

[digiorno]

howdy! wasn't sure if I should drop this question here or on the fog boon page so hopefully this is okay.

it came up recently on plurk that there may be some misunderstanding by some players regarding how much of being a god follower is actually ic knowledge and how much is ooc only. the big issue here is the qualifications for tiering up and even the concept of tiering up itself — for example, is it fair to assume that the pattern of privileges granted by the fog such as access to dyster can be noticed icly? is the language surrounding what qualifies to increase standing with either god something commonly known by followers? it was my understanding that it was just based on the way it's stated on the page but it seems like that may not be the case.

by extension, would it be possible to differentiate between things that are generally ic knowledge, things that aren't a secret and may be passed on word of mouth but may not be accurate icly, and things that are not ic knowledge at all on that page? even just a marker for the tier up qualifications I think would be super helpful. obviously not a priority right now since y'all are in the middle of the bestiary revamp rn but it's a point of confusion that I had no idea about until I was today years old. thanks!!

+1

[crazyequalsgenius]

Mine was the plurk in question, so thanks for beating my work-tagging butt to this. ;)

I mostly want to be sure I'm not metagaming with this massive jerk as he's trying to figure out what Ryslig god politics look like, so he can use them for his benefit in some way. Thanks from me too, mods!

[zoomingupthathill]

Hi! For joint posts like the one r and I did this month, how does the body of the network post count for AC? We both wrote a lot for it, so I assume it would count, but I'm not sure how to submit it with the AC tracker. I've seen something about joint posts in the past, but I can't find any ruling on the AC page, so I decided to come here and doublecheck!

[ryslighelpers]

Hi Ashley! You may each count the body of the post as a single comment on your AC for the month. Thank you for reaching out to us so we know to add it to your comment count!

Application question

[grivences]

For the Opt-Outs section: I understand that if we are apping an additional character to the game that opting out of the monster type of our other character(s) would not count against our 6. i.e. if I opt out of Goblin for my second character bc Robin is in game and is already a Goblin.

However, is the same true for monsters/characters we have played in game previously, but are no longer in game now? i.e. I played Angela hevenly here in 2020, but dropped her in 2021, and she was a Minotaur. If I want to opt out of Minotaur for my next character, will that count as one of my 6, or will it be extra, like Goblin?

[ryslighelpers]

Hi Chris! You may opt out of any monster types for characters that you are currently playing in game. In your case, minotaur would not be an extra, but would count as one of your main 6 opt-outs.

[drowningman]

Hello again! Back with a hyper-specific scenario and subsequent question: Because Mister Scratch is still deep in pretending to be Alan Wake-land, and as a result how he's going to emotionally process (or not process) their individual monster-type changes, Vin and I have discussed the idea of Scratch temping them both to the same monster type for September if possible.

Would it be possible for us to do this, and if so, how should we go about?

I've looked at the FAQ database and seen that coins can't be stolen and used and that direct changes against one's will also cannot be bought, but I'm wondering if it could be justified as a spell backfire of some kind...? We're both happy to pay for the temps with our own respective coin counts or just Scratch's coins, depending on how this'd work out.

EDIT: If there's no way to logistically make this work, that's okay because we chatted further about this after I posted this and came up with a back-up plan just in case.

[ryslighelpers]

Hi Oscar,

Just as the previous answers state, Mana will not use her magic to give another character something against their will. This means that Alan must make some sort of deal with Mana himself, which could manifest as a temp monster change through a backfire. The only way for Scratch to influence this would be for him to plant some sort of idea in Alan's head beforehand.

[inseine]

Digging into the weeds about memory loss and death tallies.

I'm really inspired by Javert's muddy brains, and on the original FAQ, it was mentioned that Monsters who die enough times will believe they have always been a part of Ryslig. He hasn't died enough to strip him entirely of his sense of self, but I'm wondering if it is appropriate to mix up the Peninsula's memories with his own.

I can explain, I promise!

What I'm specifically referencing here is the war between Night and Day and the Fog zooming in to annihilate them both. Javert was here to experience the time pocket event that included insight into that war. Would it be appropriate for him to wonder idly how many centuries he's been a part of the peninsula's fabric, and then just get really confused about it if he tries to dig deeper into his head and tease apart fabricated memories to real gaps in what he can remember? Like speaking about the war as if he was there when it occurred, even though he wasn't. It's literally his head trying to compensate for the swiss cheese holes stretching all the way back to his birth.

If this is confusing please let me know, and if this is inappropriate, also let me know. Truthfully, this won't come up in a practical sense very often, but with close trusted fellows, it could happen. OR it could come up in passing without realizing how terrifying it would sound to someone else.

[ryslighelpers]

Hi Larissa,

This would be fine! Have fun with it!

[missleadingquestions]

mucho gomen and thank you for your patience with me asking 50 questions very suddenly in succession BUT a small settings question:

in reference to shoreline life and sealife, iis Ryslig home to sea mammals in addition to fish? Would merpeople expect to see cetaceans in the ocean, or only as far as like seals and such, or neither?

In addition, are there specific waterways and or sewers in Bavan that one could theoretically use for water-based travel (even if it's murky or gross) through said city? That one is... not event-related, just a curiosity

[ryslighelpers]

Hi Luc,

What sort of sea creatures one might see near Ryslig's shores is up to player discretion. Who knows what kind of funny little guys might wash up by accident?

As for your other question, Bavan has sewers and while water levels might be lower in some tunnels than others, a Merperson in travel form could easily make their way through those.

[dead_eyed_wolf]

I have a question about how certain forms of monster feeding affect higher up Fogs who have the "cannot be killed unless their heart or brain are destroyed" boon. Namely, soul-feeding and energy-feeding.

Pulling out a soul is not fatal to humans - what kills them is the body no longer caring for itself, right? Plus probably some kind of metaphysical withering.
Energy feeding is similarly not necessarily fatal, and it definitely doesn't destroy the heart or brain, it just might make them go into stasis for a time.

Is it possible for a monster with this boon to survive and recover from these feeding methods used on them?

Would it be kosher to have a monster whose soul is taken still live but perhaps act in a more autonomous, amoral fashion until the soul "regenerates" with the next fog?

[ryslighelpers]

Hi Triska!

Soul-feeding is always indirectly fatal, even to monsters. The soul of a monster cannot be regenerated by a Fog day. It can only regenerate through full resurrection, which means the monster's body needs to be fully killed first. If a monster with that god boon has their soul devoured, they will need someone to put their soulless body out of their misery before they are able to resurrect.

A monster's body without a soul is just as empty as a human's, and will not act autonomously.

Energy-feeding is fatal in most instances. Even if the monster stops feeding before they've devoured their full portion of energy, the feeding method does so much physical damage to the body that a human victim likely still won't survive.

If an energy feeder practices hard, their monster victims have a higher likelihood of surviving despite the physical damage. A monster with that Fog boon can survive most energy feedings, but if the feeding goes on long enough or is damaging enough to stop the heart or damage the brain, the monster will die.

We hope this helps!

[offtracks]

I have a jobs/setting question, I guess?

Ingo and Emmet have both been working in the Bavan subway system since their arrival, and we've been talking about eventually having them move towards taking it over. Possibly involving the death of their current boss, though we don't have any kind of set scenario just yet. Given that the subway is more of a public works situation than just a regular individual business, is this something we'd have to get approved or anything?

[ryslighelpers]

Hi Lu,

This would be fine! The brothers are welcome to take over management of the Bavan subway system. You are welcome to submit this to the Player Locations page if you'd like!

[digiorno]

hi y'all! a quick temp question . . . if i need to (coma) hiatus while my character is has a paid temp, does that temp time just get wasted or can it roll over into the next month?

[ryslighelpers]

Hi Anne,

This is decided on a case-by-case basis. Depending on the circumstances of your hiatus, we may allow the temp to be paused upon request.

[overlies]

a potential character question, mods!

makima and a few other devils such as herself are canonly hit with same-face syndrome— she sees humans as very identical to each other, and because of this cannot visually tell them apart. she uses cues related to gender, behavior and personality, along with a heightened sense of smell to compensate (so she instead tells people apart by their smell, because she is actually face blind). would keeping this be reaching too much, since everyone needs to be human with human abilities, or would this be plausible to keep? considering plenty of humans who lack in one sense train another to be heightened radically.

in summary: is she face blind and scent blind now with more suffering until that is regained, or is her scent still available to her to tell people apart?

[ryslighelpers]

Hi Owlie!

In this case, we believe it'd be plausible for Makima's sense of smell to be more refined than that of the average human being, but not quite as strong as she was used to in canon. Because most monsters may have some distinct smells to them, it'd be possible for Makima to try and distinguish them with player permission regarding the actual scent she'd pick up on. When it comes to human NPCs, though, she may struggle since their smells are more discreet and similar to one another.

[couldntsaveone]

qq about character deaths. would it be fine if Luffy ends up carrying some light scars from his first death? namely, faint scars from when his neck and shoulder were chomped on.

[ryslighelpers]

Yes, that's fine! Keeping scars from a character's death is up to player preference.

[dynamitedarling]

Hi - this is Vin, coming in hot with an appability question!

I'm hoping to bring in this guy - Doctor Darling from Control. Control is a separate canon set in the same universe as Alan Wake...HOWEVER, after much combing of in-game lore, there is nothing to suggest that Darling and Scratch would have cause to interact. Scratch would have no knowledge of Darling or the Bureau he works for, nor would he have any interest in him. Darling knows about ACTUAL ALAN WAKE, but I don't play the real Alan, and there's nothing to suggest that he would know about Scratch. Any lore documents from his canon that even hint at Scratch would just point him at the real Alan anyway - AND they were not documents assigned to his department of the Bureau.

TL;DR - Scratch and Darling are from the same universe, but not the same canon, and they wouldn't have reason to seek each other out. Am I correct in thinking it would be okay for me to app Darling?

I just wanna play a Science Guy for once!

[ryslighelpers]

Hi, Vin,

Due to the association between Scratch and Alan in Ryslig, and the shared universe which includes shared knowledge of a character (Alan), we would not consider this an appropriate character for you to app.

We hope this clears things up!

[worldisyours]

Hello mods! Got a few questions.

- I'm going to drop from the game soon. Will it still be possible for me to continue threads within the comms even after I drop? If yes, will the people I'm threading with be able to use them for bonus AC?
- If I start backdated threads in IC inboxes after dropping, would these be eligible for AC?
- Is it possible to backdate a drop?
- Is it possible to backdate a Mana purchase? I would of course do so before dropping.

[ryslighelpers]

Hi Crow,

We're very sorry to hear that you'll be dropping the game! To answer your questions:

- Continuing already-existing threads is just fine. Characters who have been dropped are removed from our communities, so they can't make new entries, but can still post replies to existing entries. These continued threads would fall under the usual AC rules, so Main AC if they're started within this month, or Bonus AC if they were started before that.
- New threads started after the drop would not be eligible for AC, regardless of where they've been started or whether they've been backdated.
- It is possible to backdate a drop, yes!
- Mana purchase backdates are possible, but discounts will not apply if they're backdated to an earlier month. Feel free to use the current month's reward thread and include a note that the purchase was made earlier, if needed.

We hope this helps.

[couldntsaveone]

Hi sorry to bother you guys again! I have two questions about monster changes.

First, Luffy is going to need to eat and almost immediately at the beginning of the month, since he died 2 times last month. However, since he hasn't fully finished his transformation yet, would that speed up his transformation or effect his way of eating? Since he needs to eat souls but he's technically not able to grab them yet. I'm just trying to figure out how he'll eat/how quick his transformation needs to be.

And two, for a transformation later on this month, it's mentioned that shades can have claws. Would it be possible for him to grow and shrink those claws? Like they become longer to help him feed and become shorter when he's more "normal".

[ryslighelpers]

Hi Medchan,

Monster changes are extremely flexible and up to the player to spread out, with the only rule being that they must be done within four months. Luffy can gain his feeding ability as early as you'd like, even if the rest of his changes haven't quite finished yet.

As for the claws, this is not a problem. Shades are shapeshifting monsters who have a humanoid 'default' form, but can shift their appearance at will whenever they like.

[jumpie]

hello there, mods! this may be a little silly but it is still poking at me to no end: how does energy feeding actually work? I’ve looked everywhere and couldn’t find it!

kelpies and mers have to drown their victims for it, for example, but what happens during/after? does the monster in question “suck” the energy out of them, do they have to touch for it to work, or do they just absorb it once the victim has drowned or so on……

[ryslighelpers]

Hi Owlie,

We tend not to detail feeding methods too much, to give players more creative liberty. Perhaps the execution of the energy feeding mimics something similar to a character's canon, or perhaps it's just a fun visual that the player themselves really enjoys. Generally, it's assumed that constant touch is indeed required for the energy to travel from the victim to the monster, but even that is more of a guideline than an actual rule.

So long as it doesn't go against the Bestiary, feel free to live your feeding dreams!

[overnightoaks]

Henry here is a geologist, so I would be remiss not to ask: What kind of rocks can be found on the Ryslig peninsula? Is it just the usual sort of rocks you would expect (sedementary, igneous, metamorphic, etc.) or is there anything out of the ordinary?

Also, I am thinking of incorporating some D&D lich lore into his monster design, specifically from the famous D&D lich Acererak, who is described as having precious gemstones embedded into the eye sockets and teeth of his skull in his demilich form. Am I correct in thinking I could use this sort of mechanic as part of the armored helm/mask etc. element described in the bestiary? If so, would Henry have to gather stones and stick them onto his skull himself, or would they just sort of grow/appear like any other monster changes? (Henry would not be using precious gemstones, just regular crystals etc. like agate.)

[ryslighelpers]

Hi Chris,

For your first question, there aren't that many precious minerals to find unless someone manages to dig deep down for a while, since the citizens of the Ryslig peninsula have already gotten to most of it themselves. Most of it, but not all of it. There is a lot of clay near the ocean, and hundreds of geodes around the Brasa volcano with very few diamonds (and yes, that would require digging near a volcano). Some fossils here and there... There isn't anything too remarkable to be found, though. It's all typical stuff.

For your second question, gemstones embedded in a Lich's skull sounds rad! Growing them on their own is more of a Troll skill, though. In this case, Henry would have to gather the stones himself.

We hope that helps!

[overlies]

a question about law enforcement! i know it says in the settings faq that local human law enforcement doesn't involve themselves with monsters (neither going after them or protecting them), but, would it be possible for a monster to "align" themselves/work closely with them, to lead to building their own division of business? like under-the-carpet deals, protection against monsters bought with human criminal sacrifices, revenge kills to keep monsters in line and so on? would this be a plausible thing to work with/handwave with npcs as time goes on and build up to, or no?

[ryslighelpers]

This is up to you. Most in the law-enforcement would be cautious of monsters, but if you'd like to align your character with them somehow, feel free to spin a tale out of that!

[jumpie]

hello again! question about the multiverse museums!

are we allowed to include future aspects in our characters lives for their exhibits (that they will experience in a future canon update), or are we limited to what they've experienced up until that point?

[ryslighelpers]

This is up to player discretion! There may be something on display related to their futures, but it will likely be stripped of its context, raising more questions than it answers.

[robussy]

it was mentioned in the faq that characters with cybernetic parts (androids, for example), could still keep their parts and come up a bit rusty/haggard, but they must function like a human does. would it be alright then, to app an android that was made to look and function as humanly as possible, yet still keep their non-human parts? can we give them human organs, too?

[ryslighelpers]

Thank you for the interest in Ryslig! Our clause regarding cybernetic parts mostly applies to prosthetics and small attachments, not androids as a whole. Humanization is an important part of the arrival, as it turns the character into a 'blank slate' of sorts before starting the changes to one specific monster type. If a character were to arrive with the majority of their body consisting of inorganic materials, it would have them lean too closely into the Simulacrum monster type, when they might be assigned something else. This means we would prefer any android (or robot, animatronic, etc.) becomes as human as possible.

We hope that explains it!

[makesascene]

Hello, mods!

Absolutely weird question, but- I'm planning on canon updating Leo towards the end of October.

I was planning on having him die due to this months sacrifice plot and be gone for a while after his death (for the angst), would I be able to say while he was physically dead/gone he was canon updated or would I need to have him come back then fall into a coma?

This is such a specific question, so, I figured I'd ask about it for clarities sake.

[ryslighelpers]

This would be fine, so long as it's clear to Leo that the events came to him in a dreamlike state, and he didn't actually go home during those few hours of death.

[makesascene]

Yes, another question!

Briefly, in game, there was a fourth follower only network made by Beat and I believe Joshua. Is that still in effect in game currently or was it retired at some point? I was interested in doing something with it, but wasn't sure what the exact status was of it.

[ryslighelpers]

Hi Sora,

Sorry for the delay! We've decided to try and breathe new life into this network, but we feel the best way to do that is to include it our revamp of the god boons page with reworked details. So unfortunately, it may be a little while. Stay tuned!

[heaven_sent]

Hey there mods, this is probably me thinking way too much into this but I don't want to step on any toes or the like. I was told tale of a church in Bavan that was, uh, in a state of disrepair/destruction/something of that kin. Pucci more or leeeeeess found out about this the second month of being in game (so April of this year) and has been slowly working on (and trying to get help from the locals where he can) to get it back up into a working shape. More along the lines of your typical small homey church kind of vibe than some vast cathedral since this man knows his limitations.

I mostly wanted to ask if there was/or you guys suggest a timeframe on how long that should/would take? Because lol I am entirely A Dumb and don't know how long this would even theoretically take with what would be available/the help he could in theory get in the city.

[ryslighelpers]

As long as Pucci got plenty of help from eager locals, he could have gotten the church back to basics by now in theory! Enjoy!

[(Anonymous)]

Hello! I'm reading over the various faqs I can find, and god boons/blessings and the like, and could not spot the answer I was looking for. Do either the 4th or the Fog offer straight up financial incentives to their followers, in line with several monster types being hoarding and greedy sorts? Like, in lieu of a power or mutation, here's a pile of treasure for your mer to possessively hoard?

[ryslighelpers]

This is a great idea! However, neither the Fog nor the Fourth are all that concerned with things as mundane as money, and... don't really know or care what it is.

That said, if a character were to ask for a power which allowed them to manifest (small, non-gamebreaking) amounts of money, provided that the power was somehow tied to the gods' general domains and interests, we would consider this on a case-by-case basis. As a reminder, the Fog's boons are usually in some way related to fear and monstrousness, and the Fourth's are usually tied to control and technology.

[sweartoyou]

If a character, as part of their everyday outfit, has a mask/helmet with "an internal device that supports fading eyesight" (meaning blindness, not a need for glasses) would that device still be functional (if desired), or would that be considered magical and need to have that feature purchased from Mana?

For more clarity: it does not fully remove their visual impairment, but does reduce the severity.

[ryslighelpers]

We will leave it up to you. Your character may arrive with the device fully functional, or they may arrive with the device nonfunctioning and needing a magical upgrade. Either way, the device cannot be stripped for parts later.

[overlies]

hey mods, i wanted to clarify canon updates, it says that characters don't leave, neither do they physically change. what about in the case where a lot of time has passed for the character, enough time in which they have inevitably grown? i'm asking for shoyo, who is 16 right now, and the canon update i'm considering is, well. considerable! ten years have passed and he would be 26. would he at least grow, in this case (like during his sleep?) or would that be impossible?

[ryslighelpers]

After talking it over, we've determined that the answer of "characters don't physically change" is outdated, and arguments may be made for physical growth on a case by case basis.

In this case, we would allow Shoyo to physically age to his corresponding age through a Fog day. After he awakens from his canon update, the Fog would realize that something is amiss and just as with monster transformations, her presence would affect his body and adjust it to match his current age.