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Prismatic Mods ([personal profile] prismods) wrote2020-02-15 08:46 pm

Application FAQ & Guide

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APP PROCESS AND MECHANICS
HOW MANY CHARACTERS CAN I APP? ▶ Each player can app 2 characters per round and 5 characters in total.

CAST/GAME CAP? ▶ There are no cast or game caps at this time. We may consider them in the far future, but it is unlikely.

APP ORDER ▶ Please note that we do not process apps in the order they are received. We tend to start with the canons we're most familiar with and send replies in batches, so if you see people after you getting responses, do not fret! (If it's been a week and you haven't heard back, though, please smack us.)

WHY IS MY APP TAKING SO LONG? ▶ Apps may take a while to process due to various reasons, including app length, lack of canon familiarity, power nerfs, and real life commitments.

EXPIRED RESERVES ▶ If you submit an app after your reserve expired, it can only be processed in the event there are no other apps for the same character. If someone else has apped the expired reserved character, the original reserve's app will not be considered unless the newer one is rejected.

CAN I APP AGAIN AFTER BEING REJECTED? ▶ Yes. We explain why we reject each app in our rejection notices, so please don't be discouraged. Think of them as pointers for next time!

REJECTIONS ▶ Everyone is allowed up to 3 rejections. If you are rejected for the third time, you will be banned from the game. This especially happens if you continue to make no effort to improve your app or do not follow basic guidelines. Those who make an effort get more leeway and will only receive a strike, which will apply if they get in the game.

ABUSE OF THE APP SYSTEM ▶ Abuses of our app system are also subject to strikes and warnings. If we feel that a player is gaming our apps system, we shall be issuing strikes and warnings. This can involve, but isn't limited to: persistently submitting apps with missing or lacking information for extra time, consistently getting revision requests for whatever reason, apping and dropping as a way to avoid AC, etc.


APPABILITY
ALLOWED ▶ The following are allowed:
✓ Canon characters

✓ Original characters

✓ Silent protagonists/malleable protagonists with enough of a demonstrated personality in canon

✓ OCs from particular genres with malleable protagonists or fully customizable characters, such as tabletop RPGs or MMOs.

✓ Any character that demonstrates a degree of sapience/sentience comparable to that of a normal human or above.
NOT ALLOWED ▶ The following are not allowed:
✗ OCs that have imagined relations to canon characters. (I'm looking at you, Karen Uchiha.) This includes any original characters who may be married to, engaged to, born from, or have previously dated canon characters within canon.

✗ Original characters in canons that aren't tabletop/MMO settings and canon OCs from any canons that do not have a malleable protagonist. This is to avoid potential complications, especially regarding series without any set guidelines on original characters. We only accept OCs from particular genres with malleable protagonists or fully customizable characters. Examples include Final Fantasy XIV, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Dragon Age, etc.

✗ Characters already in game.

✗ Characters with little to no personality in canon. We do not consider characters that require 50% headcanon for the app's personality section to be appable. However, they can be apped if they fall into the range of appable characters listed in the previous section as long as enough information is known and what is presented does not go against what their known role is, e.g. Matt from Death Note suddenly being a go-go dancer in his past.


TWO CHARACTERS FROM THE SAME CANON ▶ A player may app two characters from the same canon provided that they don't have a lot of previous, current, or potential interaction together. It's alright for these characters to acknowledge each other in the game if it is required as long as it does not involve playercest, i.e. roleplaying with yourself.

MULTIPLE VERSIONS ▶ Multiple versions of the same character may be apped alongside one another if their memories and personalities are different enough. (e.g. Link from Ocarina of Time and Link from Breath of Wild, MCU Spiderman and M616 Spiderman, etc.)

The same goes for canon AUs, which refers to any official series that takes place in an alternate universe. In other words, these alternate universes must be official spin-offs or otherwise separate stories that have enough material to constitute an appable character. (e.g. Final Fantasy 8's Squall Leonhart and Kingdom Heart's Leon)

MULTIPLE ADAPTATIONS ▶ In general, we allow for characters from different adaptations to be apped alongside one another provided that there are some differences between the two and that the canons are self-contained, with the caveat that the players can only reference events, appearances, and personality traits from within their own adaptation. (e.g. Geralt from The Witcher and Wei Wuxian from The Untamed would be allowed to be apped alongside characters from the original books)

Given that each adaptation has to be self-contained, apping characters such as Joker from Persona 5 alongside Joker from Persona 5: Scramble or Persona 5: Royal would not be allowed.

If you are unsure or in case of complicated canons that require case-by-case decisions, you may ask for confirmation through FAQ or Mod Contact.

MULTIPLE PROTAGONISTS ▶ We'll be handling this on a case-by-case basis, but in general, if the protagonists are different enough to count as their own character, we'll allow it! Examples:
✓ Minato and Minako from Persona 3 Portable (due to their distinct personalities)
✓ Several versions of Dragon Age playable characters (due to race, gender, player choices)
✓ Warriors of Light from Final Fantasy XIV
✓ Characters like Male/Female Robin, Corrin, and Byleth from Fire Emblem (due to routes, gender, romantic interests)
Please ask if you're not sure about the character you're intending to apply for.

For characters who need to acknowledge one protagonist as canon, please talk to the players involved!

AGE LIMIT ▶ If you think they shouldn't be having sex and/or are not mature enough to handle sexual themes, they're not allowed. Age-wise, our hard limit is 15. Characters over 15 and under 18 must put up mandatory opt-out posts for interaction with adult characters or any adult situations.
  • We offer a physical age up to characters that are in an unfortunate circumstance where they are actually a much older person but trapped in a child body that may be younger looking than 15. (e.g. Shinichi Kudo from Detective Conan, Claudia from The Vampire Chronicles) In this scenario, their mental age should be well above 15 and they must pick an appearance that is physically at least 18 years old to be apped.

  • If people wish to age up their 15-year-olds that are normal, but mature teenagers to 18 and above, we would also allow it on a case by case basis, provided the characters' behavior at the age of 15 is similar to that of or near an adult.

  • In a situation where we have a child genius who is under 15 years of age physically with no extenuating circumstances (such as being an old person trapped in a child body), we would not offer the age up option at all and suggest another character is apped.

  • In a situation where a character is mentally a child, but trapped in the body of an adult (such as the situation in the Shazam movie, or Chibi-Usa from Sailor Moon in a certain part of the show), we would not permit characters to be apped if they were under 15 mentally, especially if their mental maturity would not match their physical age and would also be uncomfortable for people to interact with.

  • In a situation where a character's race makes them look younger than they actually are (such as manakete from Fire Emblem, hobbits from LotR or lalafell from Final Fantasy XIV), we would consider their mental state and personalities before allowing them. In that scenario, the characters look young, but are considered adults by their race. If their behavior/personality was too childlike, we would not permit them to be apped.

  • Robots and other non-human characters with alternative life cycles are acceptable so long as they do not have a child-like/infantile appearance or personality and demonstrate enough intellect and maturity to handle violent/stressful/sexual situations.
SENTIENT COMPANIONS ▶ Talking animals and other sentient, intelligent companions (e.g. Ben from Umbrella Academy, Red XIII from Final Fantasy 7, Navi from Legend of Zelda, Meowth from Pokemon, Morgana from Persona 5, Luna and Artemis from Sailor Moon) may be apped separately if 1) they have sufficient individual canon, and 2) they are mentally mature enough to handle the game's sexual themes. Otherwise, they may be brought by a character and take up one slot of their inventory.

CANONS WITHOUT OFFICIAL TRANSLATIONS ▶ Characters from canons without official translations may be apped from so long as you provide links to whatever sources you can find or, in the event that no fan translations exist, add in a brief summary of the character and their canon in the history/background section of your application.

However, we have some suitability requirements regarding these characters:
  • Firstly, the canon must have been out for a significant period of time, such as in the case of manga or novel serializations, new small patches to MMOs, or new mobile game events. This is done on a case-by-case basis, but a good rule of thumb is to consider whether there is a significant plotline or body of events to refer to.

  • Secondly, the canon will not be receiving or is not announced to have an official English release. In this case, we ask that you have comprehensive and accurate canon sources for your information such as complete story translations rather than short written summaries, reviews, or theories.

NEW CANONS ▶ Characters from new canons may only be apped from two rounds after the canon's official release date. (e.g. a movie released in January may only be apped from in March) The same applies to new characters who are introduced in ongoing canons such as serializations, MMOs, mobile games, etc. As far as old characters with new canon are concerned, there is no need to wait, but we will remind you to use spoiler warnings and opt-outs where applicable!

We have some specific rules that we'd like players to keep in mind regarding these updates:
  • In the case of new and extreme plot developments, we ask players to wait two rounds before apping or canon updating to these. (e.g. Final Fantasy XIV's Shadowbringers, Fate Grand/Order's Cosmos in the Lostbelt, and Naruto's Boruto: Next Generations)

  • These also affect ongoing novel or movie serializations (e.g. Marvel, Lord of the Rings, Frozen) as they are similar to the above circumstances. In such cases, players will also need to wait two rounds.

  • If the character in question is featured in a mobile game event or video game DLC, we will be counting from the event/DLC's release date to avoid further complications.


CRAU
IS CRAU ALLOWED? ▶ Yes. Just fill in a summary of the details of their background/history in their previous game(s) within the appropriate app section. Characters with AU histories are not allowed, and we prefer you to app characters that retain their canon selves for CRAU!

WHAT ARE CRAU CHARACTERS ALLOWED TO BRING? ▶ CRAU characters may bring the following:
  • Memories of interactions that have helped open up the character to experiences that the player doesn't want to re-hash into developing all over again.

  • Memories that help the character in their progressing storyline with other characters played by the same people that the player wants to continue in our game (e.g. cross-canon friendships, romantic relationships, etc.)

  • CRAU memories that affect the character and allow them to remember friends/incidents from past games are allowed so long as no infomodding takes place for characters not involved.

  • Knowledge gained in previous games regarding worlds, technology usage, workings of cross-canon CR's worlds so long as there is no infomodding.

  • Inanimate physical possessions like a network device from a previous game, or something that's not vehicle-sized or larger. These will take up one inventory slot each. However, as we want to encourage gaining new companions and experiences in Prismatica's setting, we will not allow CRAU pets.

  • Changes in muscle mass or body weight may be kept. However, CRAU characters can't bring along any dramatic physical changes (animal parts/transformations, etc.) or powers obtained from that game. Tattoos and implants acquired from previous games would also disappear.
CRAU MEMORIES, CONTINUED ► If the character being apped with CRAU memories had close CR from a previous game with a character that is now being played by someone new, they will need to ask said player permission to keep any knowledge about said character. For example, if Character A knows from a previous game that Character B is an axe murderer, the player of Character A must ask the player of Character B if they can retain that knowledge, especially if Character B is trying to keep their identity hidden.

In addition, CRAU characters do not strictly need to keep all their CRAU memories. Players may handwave or retcon developments for their own convenience.

However, if you will retcon nearly everything from your CRAU, we recommend that you start anew instead!

ITEMS FROM OTHER CANONS ▶ We will not be allowing cross-canon items to be brought in as we prefer to not have cross-canon complications tied to characters in the game. Instead, we would like to encourage characters to start anew and attempt to rebuild something similar using the current game's settings.


APP GUIDE
GENERAL - READABILITY ▶ Submitted apps must have proper grammar, punctuation, and capitalization. The app format must also be clean and easy to read. No obnoxious coding. Fonts must be no smaller than 11px or 1em. Apps that are difficult to read will get an automatic revision. No exceptions.

GENERAL - CANON FAMILIARITY ▶ Please write the app under the assumption that the mods are not familiar with your character's canon. Apps that do not do this take longer to process, if not merit a revision.

BACKGROUND ▶ Information on your character's canon, background and history goes in this section. You can link the character's history/wiki page here and provide any additional CRAU notes. Please provide as much canon information as possible aside from the wiki page if needed, and let us know where to look so we can process your app faster!

If nothing on the internet exists for your character, please provide a write-up. This write-up may not be written by someone else. We only need to know about the key facts and events essential to the character's development.

All OCs will have to provide their own background and history by default in bullet point or paragraph format. Kindly provide links if they are already available.

PERSONALITYNo word limit, but personality sections under 500 words or over 1000 words will be evaluated with more scrutiny. They will also take longer to process!

In this section, describe your character's personality using bullet points or paragraphs. We operate under the 3 C's: clear, concise and comprehensive. We want to see the character's key strengths, flaws, motivations, and their relationships with others in canon. Make sure to provide canon examples to back your points up! If CRAU changes are involved, please note them here as well.

POWERS AND ABILITIES ▶ You can either write out their powers or link them in this section. Characters may keep their canon powers and abilities in Prismatica. For more information, please refer to the Characters section of the FAQ.

If apping from tabletop or video games, please avoid describing your character's abilities as the meta of the game would. The following are a bad and good example of this:
BAD: My character is a Level 30 black mage. Here is a list of her spells. Fire: Small fire damage to a single target. Thundara: Medium electric damage to a single target. Stun: Has a 65% chance to stun a single target upon use.

GOOD: My character is a black mage, so she specializes in black magic! This means she can cast elemental spells. Since she specializes in lightning magic, she can summon and manipulate bolts of lightning. She can also stun people with a zap of her wand. Her magical aptitude is pretty average as far as mages go in her world. She has clairvoyance magic, but this will be nerfed in the game.
Even when linking powers, you still have to note which of your character's powers need nerfing or player permission! Providing nerfs for your character is highly recommended, as this will help us process your app faster!

We currently do not have a power regain system in place, but you may nerf your characters as you see fit and have them regain their powers later on in the game so long as these powers are not game-breaking (see the Characters section of the FAQ).

INVENTORY - ALLOWED ITEMS ▶ Your character is allowed six inventory slots not including the clothing they have on them when they arrive. The items may be anything so long as they're not a) game-breaking like the Tardis or an Infinity Stone, or b) a vehicle. A unusually bigger item will not take up more slots.

Although vehicles can't be brought in, they can be recreated with the assistance of the locals if the character produces enough Chroma. This is a lengthy process, so don't assume they will regain their vehicles within a week's time from arrival. In other words, don't worry about it!

INVENTORY - SLOTS ▶ Please refer to the following guidelines for inventory slots.
  • Every item with a special, unique ability or power-up will take up one inventory slot. Otherwise, the item will not take up a slot and will count as clothes if the character is wearing it.

  • If the character is not wearing the item (e.g. the earrings are in a box, the hat is stored away in hammerspace), it takes up one slot.

  • Things that come in sets will take up one inventory slot. (a complete outfit with accessories, a suit of armor, matching jewelry, a first aid kit, a set of throwing knives, etc.)

  • Containers filled with a definite number of the same item take up one inventory slot. (e.g. luggage with 3 sets of clothing only, a jar of a dozen cookies, a box of thumbtacks)

  • Containers themselves take up one inventory slot if they are used to hold a variety of things. (e.g. a bag with a book and a potion takes up 3 inventory slots)
INVENTORY - PETS AND SUMMONS ▶ Any pets, summons, familiars, etc. you want your character to bring along should also be listed in the inventory section. Pets and the like are allowed provided they are 1) both canon and significant for the character, 2) not game-breaking and 3) are in line with our other guidelines.

If the pet/summon is too large to reasonably keep in an apartment, they will arrive shrunken down for easy porting. Players can choose how small they want their pet to be.

Please exercise discretion when bringing in pets. A zookeeper definitely won't be allowed to bring their entire zoo! The maximum number of pets one may have is six. Please be reminded that each pet counts toward one inventory slot.

Due to their nature, summons are sometimes counted as abilities/powers rather than pets. Thus, they don't take up an inventory slot. The maximum number of summons one may have is six.

MOONBLESSING ▶ Sanguis, Cordis or Iris. Moonblessing does not have to match your character's preferences or personality.

SAMPLES - THREADS ▶ Provide at least two AC-length samples for network threads/posts or log threads/posts that have been written in the past year. They don't necessarily have to be from our TDM or this game. Meme/Musebox threads are acceptable as well so long as they're not crack or AU threads.

If submitting top level threads + comment log threads, two (2) threads from under the top level will be sufficient, one thread from one top level/one thread from another person's top level or one thread + network/text style thread.

Please make sure these threads aren't behind a locked post! Otherwise we won't be able to check your samples.

Or...

SAMPLES - NARRATIVE ▶ Write out your own narrative sample using the game's setting or any other, you are welcome to submit that as well. The narratives must contain character introspection, spoken dialogue/conversation and reference to their canon point where applicable. If submitting a narrative (with no interaction with other characters) as a sample, only one sample is needed. If writing a sample using the game's setting, you may use the prompts available below.

We discourage general "Where am I? Who am I?" samples. Please write your sample as if your character has already spent some time in the game's universe.

When writing a sample, please focus on showcasing the character's voice. If you need to throw an NPC or two in your sample, you're free to do so! But if the narration isn't focused on your character, that's an automatic revision.

All samples must reflect the canon point the character is being taken from, as well as any CRAU if applicable.

SAMPLE PROMPTS ▶ If you can't think of anything for your sample, feel free to use the prompts provided!
  • You are thirsty. In the outskirts of Lunatia, you find an oasis surrounded by crystals and neon-colored trees. There is water to drink, but no food to be found. You are about to eat the last of your rations when a unicorn appears, interested in your food. Legends say showing kindness to a unicorn will bring you good fortune, but eating its meat will grant you immortality. What do you do?

  • Somewhere in Level 2, a Prismal gets angry at you for ruining their prized Duranduran dahlias. You didn't do it, but you certainly saw their child, a Sanguis Prismal, rampage across their garden earlier. They seemed to be hungry, like a wolf. Said child hides behind their mother, guilt-ridden. What do you do?

  • An incredibly good looking Prismal wants to treat you to dinner. However, the rings on their fingers tell you they are also one of the Umbris, a dangerous group that controls the Caihong district from the shadows. They are insistent that you go out with them, offering you lavish gifts each time you refuse. There are no Moon Knights immediately in sight, but you feel the power of your moon shining within you... What do you do?

  • You are lost and hungry in the outskirts of the Lyestellus Kingdom, where dragon Prismals and the majestic dragons of old live peacefully. In the mountains, you find a dragon small enough for you to catch and cook. However, you are stopped in your tracks by a martial arts expert from Amegahara, looking at you with the eyes of a tiger. She styles herself a guardian of the mountain and says that if you wish to harm the dragons of Lyestellus, you must first give her the thrill of a fight. However, defeating her will win her hand in marriage, and she absolutely doesn't want to marry the likes of you! What do you do?


ANYTHING ELSE?
All questions regarding player characters interacting with the game's setting can be found in the Characters section of the FAQ.

Direct any other questions to the FAQ.