youroverlords: (Default)
The Overlords ([personal profile] youroverlords) wrote2013-08-11 08:14 pm
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FAQ

What is The City?
The City is a dimensional hole in the wall created by The Overlords. It's a place where people from all worlds can be dragged in at the Overlords' whims, and subjected to all manner of horrors. It's a fully functioning city, almost totally automated. Need a place to live? Pick one out. But you might want to make sure it's fortified and the last owners weren't.. eaten. Food, essential medical supplies are all handled courtesy of the city itself. However, defense is completely up to you. You can find basic weapons up to and including shotguns and basic weapons. There are not enough to go Ripley on the monsters at night, so please exercise good judgement. If you up the ante, the City will up the level of monster to keep the playing field just slightly in it's favor. The City gives you what you need but it's up to you to stay alive long enough to enjoy it.

During the day, it's your average metropolis. It's bustling with NPCs for your characters to interact with, full of shops and plazas. It has the same issues as any big city: overcrowding; the occassional mugging; a random hold up. It's manageable, and there are a spare few places where the hustle and bustle give way to trees and the serenity of nature.

By night, however, The City becomes an entirely different situation. The locals disappear into their barricaded homes, the shops shut down and lock up, and in the darkness that follows, the horrors come out to play. The monsters can be anything from the literal ghosts of your characters past out to destroy their psyche, to flesh eating slugs that find them in the moist sewer systems should they find their way into them. Perhaps they go down to avoid the packs of rabid dogs, or the mutant cannibals who roam the streets looking for a midnight snack?

For more information on specific locations and monsters within The City, check out this post here.

How can my character keep in contact with other people in The City?
There's no discounting the meaningful nature of calling upon people in person, but for those of your characters who would rather communicate long-distance, you're in luck! When your character arrives in The City, on or near their person will be a pocket-sized touch-screen communication device. This device (called a "comm" by the Overlords for brevity's sake) can be used for Video, Text, or Voice communication, in either a public or private capacity. Characters can use their comms to exchange files, or access past public transmissions, as well.

All comm posts are considered open and viewable to anyone. If you wish to keep your interaction private - please put "Locked to So-and-So" in your subject line for clarity's sake.

Who are the Overlords, exactly?
They're the ones who created The City, and who maintain it. They alter it, set monsters free in it, drag new people into it, and generally wreak havoc. Their motives are unclear; whether or not they have an ultimate goal to achieve by doing what they do is anyone's guess.


Activity Requirements?
Don't sound so nervous. This isn't a trick, we promise. When we decided to make this place, we wanted it to be a really relaxed environment where people didn't have to feel stressed out about making a certain number of posts to stay in. However, we don't want people to pop in then forget that the place ever exists. Currently the requirement is one post or thread per month. That's it. Just show us you're still interested.
Any characters who are inactive for a full month will be considered for removal unless you need to call a hiatus.

Character/canon limits?
Three characters currently per player. If you can demonstrate that you can keep all three consistent and active, we can look at upping the ceiling.

Canon limits - none.

Do you allow duplicates? AU's? OC's?
Yes yes and yes. If you're going to app in a similar version of a character, we do ask that you reach out and get permission from the player in game. For example if you want to app in the 2014 version of Castiel from Supernatural and there's already a standard canon version of Castiel in game? Just shoot them a note and get the OK.

Applications?
Currently suspended. We're small enough that we all know one another. Just ask to join to comms and post to the taken page.

Are there going to be events?
Yes! Some will be mod-run events that push along the Overlords' agendas, possibly twice-monthly (possibly less, possibly more), but we really want to encourage you guys, our players, to come up with events as well! The fun in community-based roleplay is the cooperation and collaboration between all the players involved, and if there's any way we can help you with a plot you want to run, then we'll be way more than happy to do it! We've given you a world, now we want you to interact with it however your character would do so! If your character wants to open a business, we'll add it to the list of locations (along with your contact info for people interested in using it for plots).

The sky is the limit, and hell, why even stop at the sky? Let your imagination and inspiration guide you. It'll be a blast, we promise!

Does my character bring anything with them from their world?
Yes! The clothes on their back, for starters. If your character has powers, their powers come with them as well - with the exception of abilities that bring people back from the dead. Special plot-related circumstances can be allowed on a case-by-case basis, but they must be mod approved. Your character may come in with one canonically accurate weapon or defensive item of their choice. E.g., if your character carries a shield and sword in their canon, they can either bring their shield or their sword.

What happens if my character dies In-Game?
Your character will remain dead for three days while the Overlords poke and prod at their corpse. After that, they'll be revived in the Cemetery with a penalty that you, the player, are allowed to decide! We mods can pick penalties for you, as well, if you're having trouble. Penalties can be anything from forgetting a person important to them, to losing powers, or their ability to speak. The Overlords are experimenters, so let your imagination run wild.


Can I import CR from a previous game?
At this time, we've decided not to allow CR from previous games. We would prefer for things to play out in-game from a fresh start.

How does my character get stuff in the game?
Shadow City, by days at least, is a thriving city with all the shops and services one could expect from a healthy business center.

As a favor to those that have been "adopted" to the City, every newcomer receives, with their tablet, a monthly debit account with enough money to cover normal living expenses plus a generous allowance for odds and ends- clothes, toiletries, first aid supplies, hardware, matches and kerosene...simply scan your tablet like a credit card and everything's taken care of!

Of course, some things will be scarce. Firearms won't be easily found on store shelves, though they'll occasionally turn up in other places, and ammunition is in limited supply. We recommend the local hardware and sporting goods stores for all your monster-fighting needs...

Where can my character live?
Shadow City has a wide array of unoccupied apartments and suburban homes that new citizens may simply move into. More adventurous citizens can choose to convert other properties into living space, as the city has a large variety of spaces, from shops and offices to parks to industrial areas. Customization is always an option and we encourage players to be creative!

Still have questions?
You can ask right on this post, in the comments, or you can contact one of the mods - our information is right over here!

quick q:

[personal profile] fangboner 2013-09-03 07:34 am (UTC)(link)
I loved my muse box thread! Could I have that count as 'game canon'?
sourgrowler: (pic#6675307)

Affirmative!

[personal profile] sourgrowler 2013-09-05 06:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Sorry for taking a bit to get back to! I hope the wait wasn't too long. I conferred with my co-mod, Methy, and we have absolutely no problems with that. :D
medicalert: (Default)

[personal profile] medicalert 2015-02-28 07:41 am (UTC)(link)
I thought this was mentioned/discussed somewhere in the first iteration of the game, but I can't find it, so... how far can characters go in an attempt to leave the City? Does something turn them back if they try to leave (other than the local law enforcement in, I think, the woods? Is there actually anything beyond the city? Do you walk out one side and walk back in the other? Or do you just keep going until you find yourself outside in the middle of nowhere after dark? XD
medicalert: (Default)

[personal profile] medicalert 2015-02-28 03:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Awesome, thanks!
neverrunslate: (Default)

[personal profile] neverrunslate 2015-04-27 05:46 am (UTC)(link)
In the last iteration of the game, Nick couldn't make bombs, and the impression I remember having was that they simply wouldn't work. Is it that or just that he can't get hold of the components? (Bearing in mind that he is patient and methodical enough to assemble the ingredients for any number of explosives from fairly common household items and chemicals....)
neverrunslate: (Default)

[personal profile] neverrunslate 2015-04-29 03:20 am (UTC)(link)
Vielen dank. :)