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monsterdata2015-08-13 01:50 am
ryslighelpers) wrote in monsterdata2015-08-13 01:50 am
Frequently Asked Questions
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| WHAT KIND OF GAME IS THIS? Ryslig is a character-driven game with focus centered on how each individual character deals with becoming less than human over time. The current overarching plot involves the residents of Ryslig and how they deal with their newfound guests (based on character response and input) as well as a mysterious force simply known as The Fog. You don't need to ask mod permission to have your character get a job or do other mundane things, but certain slice-of-life elements of gameplay may be unavailable during some plot events. Genre-wise, Ryslig is mostly inspired by mid-20th century speculative fiction (think classic monster movies, The Twilight Zone, etc) and includes elements of horror, science-fiction, and fantasy. One thing to note, however, is that Ryslig is NOT primarily a survival horror game, but a body horror one. From the moment they first wake in Ryslig, characters are covered in bites and scratches. The wounds aren’t serious and will heal within a few days - the after-effects, however, will not: new arrivals have all been afflicted with a strange, incurable disease that according to both locals and current residents will destroy their humanity, turning them into Monsters. Basically, their clothes. No guns or knives or swords or cell phones, and no pets, either. Sorry, Pikachu. Some citizens (and even a few monsters) will help take care of new arrivals until they change, so you won't need money or food or a change of clothes until you’re on your feet (though you might not be able to find anything in 'your style' to wear here unless you commission it). There is no innate language barrier. Multilingual characters can switch to another language if they choose, though the person they're speaking to wouldn't be able to understand it unless they also spoke that language. By default everyone can understand each other, but deliberately using another language would still work. The written word is in an alphabet that everyone immediately understands. Magic. All powers will be nerfed upon arrival. Genius characters will still be geniuses and skilled fighters will still be skilled fighters, but characters cannot have any abilities that would be impossible for regular humans to attain. No laser eyes, no running at the speed of light, and so on and so forth. If your character is dependent on a magical item for their life-force or something similar in their canon, they no longer will be here. Essentially, everyone is human. For now. Characters with features like magical tattoos or other physical alterations (including minor cybernetic additions or minor parasitic growths) due to canon-specific circumstances can choose to keep those features but lose the abilities related to them, or do away with them entirely. 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. Nonhuman characters can retain aesthetic differences on human body parts, like unnatural eye color, skin color, or pointy ears, but must otherwise be humanized upon arrival. No additional body parts not seen on a human form, e.g. horns, tails, fur, wings will be permitted. Yes, there is! Every new character will be given a laptop-like device when they wake, but certain events may negate network availability. HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR NEW CHARACTERS TO CHANGE? New characters will remain human for approximately one month after arriving. Monster changes will universally begin for those new characters at the end of the month as the fog rolls in, showcased in a game-wide changelog. Characters may change at your own pace, with as few or as many changes occurring during the initial changelog as you want. After the initial changes, you may apply further changes to your character however you want, in a log or offscreen or whatever, as long as all MANDATORY changes are done within four months. Optional changes, as detailed in the bestiary, can be drawn out as long as you see fit. Just make sure to regularly update your monster description post as you go! Psychological changes are more flexible than physical changes. The ones listed in the bestiary are common traits (and only suggestions if they’re listed as optional). If you think a type of psychological change that isn't listed would work well with your character and their monster type, feel free to play that out. No, this decision is left up to the mods. However as we know there are sometimes a handful of choices that are absolutely unwanted, and we’d like for this not to negatively impact gameplay, all applicants are permitted to opt out of up to six choices. The only exception to this rule is any player that already has a character in game and doesn’t want to play a second harpy/arachne/etc; in that instance it is entirely acceptable to request not to be given the same monster, and not lose an opt out slot for it. The application has a section for listing your character’s key traits, as well as whether you’d like your monster to fit, conflict or have the surprise of asking for either! The mods will then make a decision based on these traits via comparison with a top-secret list of monster traits. 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). Initially, no. However a character can (through activity and participation) earn enough bonus coins to temporarily or even permanently change their monster. No. The pictures are just there to give a general idea and add some flavor to the page, and we definitely suggest getting creative with listed traits and changes. As a general rule, you'll always be able to keep your character with a mostly human-looking face unless you choose not to. Additionally it's permissible to (within reason) go above and beyond suggested changes with a little flair so long as those changes are purely cosmetic and do not give you an added edge in game: monsters based off of animals can grow in winter/summer coats, nymphs can shed plant growths when the seasons change, monsters can carry features from back home (LotR wargs versus a standard werewolf) etc. If you're unsure, ask! We keep the monster specific FAQ around for a reason, and we're happy to work with you on the creativity front. Every player is required to have a description entry in their character's journal, which will have a detailed list of the changes they went through (or will stand in as a placeholder for when they eventually change). This can be a copied and pasted list of bullet points from the bestiary or it can be put in your own words as you go along; please be proactive in checking the description entries of other characters when tagging with them. Don't worry about your icons, you can use the same ones you would always use-- or not! Monsters can take on five or less humans with ease and more than that with a little hard work. In a one on one fight between a monster and a human, there would be no contest. When it comes to pvp combat, every monster is about the same strength as every other monster. This is not a game focused on stats or power levels or who can beat up whom. If there is a fight between two player characters, work the result out between yourselves. If the mods have to intervene to decide the victor of a particular fight, it'll most likely come down to a coin flip. Have fun; play fair. WHAT IF MY CHARACTER DIES? Dead characters will be brought back the next time the fog rolls in (fog dates will be posted on the calendar so please make sure to take a look at them before killing your character off) feeling weak from revival for about a week or so. If a character dies more than twice, they'll start to lose memories of their home world. If they continue to die beyond that point, they may forget they were ever human at all - so try not to let that happen! As an additional side note, you can choose to keep marks from sustained injuries upon revival, or come back pristine as ever. It's to be expected. There's no set limit on how many NPCs your character can kill throughout their stay in the game (unlike player characters, NPCs do not come back from death) though keep in mind plot-important NPCs cannot be killed without mod permission. Don't be ridiculous and have your character kill 50 people every night, but as a general rule most monsters get hungry once a week or so. If you want your character to kill another PC, it's allowed but obviously the other player must agree. Additionally, monsters can feed off of one another as well as other human PCs, provided the players of those characters have given you permission ahead of time. Reserves are open on the 22nd and the 23rd. Apps will be open on the 24th to the 30th. This game will have one app cycle every month. Any canon character can be applied for (including dead ones) as long as they have enough canon to work off of. As a general rule, the app should be able to be under fifty percent headcanon in order for the character to be appable. If you have any doubts, feel free to ask. Player-made MMO characters are unfortunately not appable, though some characters from MMOs would be (such as major WoW NPCs, etc), and character duplicates/canon AUs are permitted provided they're distinct enough: Charles Xavier from movieverse and Charles Xavier from 616 = OK, whereas renegade Commander Shepard and paragon Commander Shepard = not OK. We do accept OCs. Please note that OC apps should be more detailed than canon character apps, and as such they may take longer to process. Unfortunately, at this time we do not accept player made AUs (such as CRAUs). Real people and mythological figures cannot be applied for unless they come from a specific canon. Example: you cannot app Abraham Lincoln from real life or Lucifer from the Bible, but you could app Abraham Lincoln from Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Lucifer from Supernatural. Due to the character-driven nature of the game, there is a current cap of four active characters per player. To submit activity and view a more in-depth explanation, visit the Permanent Activity Check Post. Activity check is 10 comments per month. In order to pass activity check for the month with a hiatus, you need to be hiatused for at least 14 days out of that month. They do not have to be consecutive. The 14 days must be within the actual month. For instance, while AC may run between August 25th and October 4th for the month of September, the 14 days hiatus must be entirely within the month of September in order to pass AC. While you're welcome to take another hiatus the month after, you cannot pass the activity check with hiatus two months in a row. You must pass with activity at least once in between hiatus passes. As well, you cannot retroactively hiatus. Meaning, if you don't have activity for the month and it's the end of the month, you can't put yourself on hiatus for the last two weeks even if you were gone. If there is an emergency or other circumstances you feel you deserve consideration for, please contact the mods. Characters who are dropped simply disappear. Hiatused characters have two options: the player can put them on autopilot and handwave their actions throughout the hiatus, or the character can disappear and reappear when the player comes back. Any character that has vanished from the game will have their names etched into a gravestone in the "nap graveyard," a mysterious, magical cemetery located within Bavan. There will be an HMD once every two months and we encourage everyone to post. It is not mandatory and we won't be policing anyone's participation in it (although harassment will be deleted and dealt with). You are required to have an HMD post in your journal, however. Canon updating in Ryslig works a little differently than in some games, and rather than returning home the character will fall into a deep sleep and have an extremely realistic dream of all the events from their current canon point up until their new one. They won't have any new clothes or items with them, nor will they have physically aged. You can submit a canon update on the app page using the "canon update" section. This also applies to characters who drop and reapp with their Ryslig history intact. Rather than going home and living out any new canon they are reapped with, characters will have instead dreamed all of their new canon. When characters drop, they are sent to a place called the Sea of Stars. The Sea of Stars is essentially limbo--a mysterious space between dimensions where all dropped characters exist while they are absent from Ryslig. Occasionally, the Fog God can trawl the 'shores' of the Sea of Stars for new individuals to snatch from other dimensions. This place is also where canon update memories are drawn upon. Reapped characters do not recall their time spent in the Sea of Stars. There will be a wide variety of events ranging from parties to mad science experiments to natural weather phenomena and civilian attacks. The fog will bring in events of character-affecting variety (such as amnesia, nightmares, etc) sometimes as well. As a horror game, Ryslig events tend to run darker, featuring violence and psychological dread. Once in a while, we may have a more lighthearted event to give the players some breathing room. You are also free to experiment with whatever scenario you want in the meme community. For every 10 comments you exceed the minimum activity check requirements your character will receive a seemingly worthless copper coin emblazoned with something analogous to what they turn into (wolves and bears for weres, bats for vampires, stags for waldgeists, devils for demons, that purple thing from McDonalds for shades, etc). Fill out the specified section for bonus AC on your AC check form to receive these coins ICly, and remember that they are character bound. These coins can be given to Mana in exchange for various rewards: monster swaps, trait changes, powers, candy, weapons, clothing, the Old Spice Guy-- okay, maybe not him. Everything else, though. WHAT IS THE FOG? Controlled by the Fog God, the fog is responsible for the characters’ appearance in Ryslig as well as their transformations into monsters. Fog Days are listed on the calendar and will ALWAYS have the following effects: ♦ All characters who have died in game will come back during the fog. They can either be fished out of the sea or appear somewhere close to where they died. ♦ Characters with a fog form will transform into it for the duration of the fog. Fog forms are the optional forms that monsters can take during a fog. Exaggerated versions of their designs, a monster will be able to grow as large as twice their normal size during this time, and gain additional limbs native to their design (so no wings for non-flying monsters) aside from additional heads. Their psychological changes are also enhanced, and they may lose some of their inhibitions and become more animalistic. The transformation to and from a fog form can be as easy or as painful as you wish. There is no time limit for when a player can first implement a fog form, and players are free to drop the form any time they wish. Yes! The native population of Ryslig worships the Day and the Night god, viewing each as two halves of a whole that keep balance in the world, though cities often prefer one over the other. The day god represents things like life, creation, prosperity, and community. The night god represents things like protection, self-reflection, meditation, and endurance through tough times. Classic scripture and myth pertaining to their origins paint the Fog God as an adversary that the Day and Night work together to keep at bay. (Nowadays, just about the entirety of Ryslig acknowledges that the Fog God is real and also pissed.) The leaders in this faith are known as priests. They tend to be over 50, the elders of their communities, and can be men or women. The teachings of the Day and Night tend to be fairly common-sense things: don't murder anybody, don't lie, don't steal, and so on. Cannibalism (or eating a human, even if you're not one) is considered the greatest of all sins and is considered to align a person with the Fog god permanently. There are rules about what to wear, what to eat, and how to live your life (though not every congregation follows these rules the same way, or even at all.) The level of devotion varies by city -- priests in Vandare are less strict and mostly preach the common sense rules while telling proverbs about how a crafty farmer tricked the fog god or how a princess refused to harm a stray moth which ended up being the night god in another form. Priests from Bavan barely preach; they care more about organizing charities and dinners and other community events. Prior to their town getting burned down and rebuilt, priests from Rota were quite strict and followed every tenet of their faith to the letter. However, they welcomed opportunities to preach to outsiders. Kulen, being an incredibly insular and devout community, are not nearly so permissive and will not share their faith with outsiders. The conflict between the gods is the overarching plot of Ryslig. While much about them is still unknown to most characters, their general backstories are as follows: There are four gods in Ryslig: the Night and the Day God; and the Fog God and the Fourth. The Night and the Day both have worshippers throughout Ryslig, but haven't been seen and don't seem to personally influence the peninsula in the way the Fog God does with her direct presence. The Fourth God came later, and acts primarily against the Fog God. The Fog God is the one who brings people to Ryslig and transforms them into monsters. She controls the fog that periodically blankets the peninsula, and wants to encourage monsters to be more monstrous. She also acts against the Fourth God, who was created by siphoning power from her. While she is largely an antagonistic figure, she also does like her monsters, and thinks of them fondly regardless of the hostility they show to her. Don't think it's anything like an equal relationship, though -- it's more the way one would think of a pet. Even if they're pets that keep clawing the furniture. Born Elias Liewen, the Fourth God was the human son of a mad doctor who siphoned the Fog God's power into his body to create a being powerful enough to oppose her. He was physically attached to and used as the center of the network, until the monsters of Ryslig freed him and he took position as a new god on the peninsula. He hates the Fog God and works primarily against her, and is associated largely with technology as suits his origins in the network and as a former science project. Each god seeks power over the other, and recruits the monsters in Ryslig to that end. To entice followers, they offer promises of power and safety in the form of boons. There is also a sizeable group of monsters opposed to both, or who don’t care about the conflict; these neutral monsters are not attached to any particular leader but are often aided by Mana, who herself is beholden to neither god. That depends on where you are. Bavan has the highest level of technology, with most of it being akin to what would have been available in the mid-20th century and some being in the realm of science fiction. Keeping with the feel of the game, the science-fiction technology will be closer to what was seen in earlier works of science fiction rather than more modern concepts. There might be bulky robots and sewn-together body parts being brought back to life; there probably won't be nanomachines or virtual worlds. Vandare is on a lower level of technology although frequent trade with Bavan has made it a little more modern. At the time, no. Any character who swims too far away will be met with fierce currents that increase in intensity until they become too much for even the most skilled mer or kelpie. Any attempts to cross the mountainous barrier separating Ryslig from the mainland will be hindered by a thick fog that returns them to the inner peninsula. Worst of all, they may become disoriented in the process and feel as if they happened upon some terrifying place or were lost for a lot longer than they really were. If any attempt is made to escape by air, the wind will become too strong and characters will either have to turn back or they'll be knocked from the sky. There are other monsters, but none of them are of the same species as player character monsters can be (so, there are no other werewolves or kelpies and so on). The locals are currently unaware of them, although there are urban legends and unproven sightings. About a day between adjacent towns (from Vandare to Bavan and the like). Double that for traveling from Vandare to Rota as they are farthest from each other. Bavan to the Bruten Islands, Rota to the Mountain Range, and Kulen to Strand's watch would also take about a day. Farther locations would take longer. Nearby locations (lakes and forests) take a few hours to travel to on foot from the nearest town. Monsters with travel forms can make swifter time, but automobiles (of the 1950s variety) and teleportation still trump all other options. Bavan is closer to the United States in the 1920's+, but fashion in any of the other towns will likely be more mid to late 19th century. The month and day will be the same as here, the year will be 155 subbing in for 2015. Next year, it will be 156, etc. If asked about it, people will say that they started back at year 0 when the monarchy/nobility system was abolished. Yes, absolutely! Feel free to make up little details like jobs and what kind of houses there are and the like. In general we're pretty flexible on the slice of life stuff as long as it fits with the setting (no iPhones and hoverboards), and isn't as extreme as blowing up all of Vandare or something, so feel free to do what you want. A list of player-run businesses can also be found here. There would be nothing relating to any of the gods other than a few odd people committing crimes in the name of their preferred deity. Nothing about any mysterious arrivals. Unsolved cases are a few run-of-the-mill murder cases no one confessed to (gangs are suspected), the disappearances of the logging crew in Lager Woods, and quite a lot of missing persons files (it's not an unusual occurrence for someone to go missing here). However, there are no missing people whose last names start with L. The L section is either just missing (in the case of files and folders) or ripped out (in the case of log books). Yes, there are sports. The most popular sports are hockey, football (European), and baseball. Bavan generally has 4 teams: North Bavan, South Bavan, East Bavan, and West Bavan. Vandare has two teams: Coastal Vandare and Inner Vandare. Vandare has various water-related activities such as surfing and canoe racing. Bavan has basketball teams. Roller derby and skateboarding are also popular in Bavan. Kulen doesn't believe in competition. They do some weird synchronized exercises, though. Games would be broadcast over radios, and everyone is technically in the same league. Yes, but after years of usage, they've become much more scarce. Dead bodies have no soul/energy to steal and taste like soap as the body deteriorates so only the monsters that actually consume humans would be able to do so. Dead meat works just as well as freshly-killed. The same can be said for blood. Solars are the equivalent of one U.S. dollar. Crescents are the equivalent of one U.S. cent. In the interest of keeping things straightforward, players should assume that monetary values are roughly the same as they are today. (No need to look up inflation rates for the 1950s!) Solar batteries like the kind you find on retro calculators. |
♦ SO WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED TO OUR CHARACTERS? ♦ WHAT CAN MY CHARACTER ARRIVE WITH? ♦ IS THERE A LANGUAGE BARRIER? ♦ MY CHARACTER HAS POWERS. WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THEM HERE? ♦ WHAT IF MY CHARACTER ISN'T A HUMAN? ♦ IS THERE A NETWORK? ♦ WHAT ABOUT PSYCHOLOGICAL CHANGES? ♦ CAN I CHOOSE WHICH MONSTER MY CHARACTER BECOMES? ♦ HOW WILL THE MODS CHOOSE, THEN? ♦ I DON'T LIKE THE MONSTER MY CHARACTER ENDED UP AS! CAN I CHANGE IT? ♦ DOES MY CHARACTER'S MONSTER FORM HAVE TO LOOK LIKE THE PICTURE IN THE BESTIARY? ♦ HOW WILL OTHER PLAYERS KNOW WHAT MY CHARACTER LOOKS LIKE? WHAT ABOUT MY ICONS? ♦ HOW STRONG IS A FULLY TRANSFORMED CHARACTER? ♦ WILL MONSTERS BE ABLE TO SPEAK IN NON-HUMAN FORM? ♦ WHAT IF MY CHARACTER KILLS SOMEBODY? ♦ WHEN DO APPS AND RESERVES OPEN? ♦ WHAT CHARACTERS CAN I APP? ♦ WHAT ABOUT OCS, PLAYER-MADE AUS, REAL PEOPLE, OR MYTHOLOGICAL FIGURES? ♦ IS THERE AN AGE LIMIT TO THE CHARACTERS I CAN PLAY? ♦ HOW MANY CHARACTERS CAN I HAVE AT ONCE? ♦ WHAT'S THE ACTIVITY CHECK LIKE? ♦ WHAT ARE THE HIATUS RULES? ♦ WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A CHARACTER HIATUSES OR DROPS? ♦ WILL THERE BE AN HMD? ♦ HOW MANY OOC DAYS IS ONE IC DAY? ♦ CAN I CANON UPDATE? ♦ WHAT HAPPENS WHEN CHARACTERS DROP? ♦ WHAT WILL THE EVENTS BE LIKE? ♦ HOW DO COINS/ACTIVITY CHECK REWARDS WORK? ♦ WHAT IS A FOG FORM? ♦ IS THERE RELIGION ON RYSLIG? ♦ WAIT, WHAT ABOUT THE FOG AND FOURTH GODS? ♦ WHAT IS THE TECHNOLOGY LIKE? ♦ CAN MY CHARACTER LEAVE THE PENINSULA? ♦ ARE THERE OTHER MONSTERS ON RYSLIG AND DO THE LOCALS KNOW ABOUT THEM? ♦ ROUGHLY HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR A CHARACTER TO TRAVEL ON FOOT? ♦ DO WERES CHANGE EVEN IF THERE'S NO MOON IN THE SKY? ♦ WHAT'S THE FASHION LIKE IN THE DIFFERENT PLACES? ♦ IF ONE WERE TO ATTEND SEVERAL RELIGIOUS SERMONS, WHAT SORT OF PICTURE ABOUT RYSLIG'S RELIGION MIGHT THEY PUT TOGETHER? ♦ WHAT'S THE CALENDAR IN RYSLIG LIKE? ♦ ARE THERE TELEPHONES IN RYSLIG? ♦ WOULD IT BE FEASIBLE FOR CHARACTERS TO SEEK OUT MORE COMFORTABLE LIVING ARRANGEMENTS AND WORK? MAKE UP BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENTS? ♦ WHAT KIND OF FILES DO LOCAL POLICE HAVE? ♦ ARE THERE SPORTS IN RYSLIG? ♦ CAN MONSTERS RAID GRAVES TO SATE THEIR HUNGER? ♦ WHAT IS THE CURRENCY IN RYSLIG? ♦ WHAT POWER DO OUR NETWORK DEVICES RUN ON? |
◉ MEME◉ OOC ◉ NETWORK◉ MAIN◉ NAVIGATION▲
no subject
Would any of these be a viable way of trying to learn more about Ryslig/the gods/provide some clues (or red herrings) about how characters might get home? Are there any in-game resources that could be threaded out or handwaved for motivated characters looking into the history of Ryslig to learn about lore or even uncover new stuff?
If monsters asked nicely (or paid off the right cop), could they take a gander at local police files to see if there were any... IDK, Ryslig X-files or something? Or find some Rota survivor to ask about their research?
Basically I have a character who's been poking around the continent and asking older characters things, so I thought I'd ask.
no subject
We're glad you'd like to engage with the setting! As of early 2019, mods no longer run lore-based expeditions. Not only do investigations require a significant amount of work in our end, but they also engage far less of the player base than a traditional mod plot. However, we recognize that certain characters crave investigations! Because of this, characters who wish to pursue the mysteries of Ryslig are responsible for guiding their own investigations and proposing their own outcomes. For instance, if you'd like Majima to dig deep into some X-files, you are more than welcome to bring that into the plot proposal thread as something to run yourself. We think that's a pretty swell idea! You can make up your own lore (the tree god was entirely RJ's idea), your own creatures (the shadow monsters in the age swap plot belonged to Nigh), and anything else you think will facilitate your fun in this game as long as you check with us first!
As crazy as it sounds, you're also free to propose a plot in which Majima works towards a solution to get home. Maybe he makes a portal with Marco's help (he previously made a portal home in a plot), or somehow connects with the Sea of Stars. Unfortunately, because of how Ryslig works, no solution will be permanent -- we're not ready for an endgame yet, and sending people home permanently sounds pretty close to one of those!
Ryslig's lore is far more fluid than you'd expect. We've found that rather than maintaining a textbook of answers, it's better to work with players and let them shape the setting. In the rare instances in which players brush against set lore, we will step in and let them know. Otherwise, the world is yours to mold.
We trust that you'll do great things with Majima, and we look forward to hearing what you propose.
no subject