FAQ: Starting Out
Feel free to comment on this post if you have any questions that have not been addressed or require further clarification.
※ Starting Out
How is my character born?
After experiencing his/her dream, your characters wakes up and finds him/herself in a sticky, viscous liquid. While this syrupy substance is breathable, s/he may choke on it from shock and confusion. Whether simply reaching out or struggling free, your character breaks out of the cocoon without any clothing or memories--nothing other than that one dream. Upon birth, a guide is waiting to greet your character. This is how everything starts out in Edensphere.
Where does my character start out?
Generally all characters are born in The Hall of Beginnings, a white room in Square Zero (the level comprised of leaves and branches of the Majestic Oak). However, please be sure to pay attention to the current events or plot posts in the OOC comm for other specifications.
What is a birthday log, and is it mandatory to participate in one?
This is an RP log of a character's arrival in Edensphere. (Examples can be found here.) Players are not required to participate, but it is recommended especially to those who would like some help 'breaking in' their characters and easing into Edensphere's setting and concept. In the event that you have not yet completed your birthday log, you will still be allowed to post a journal entry with your character or reply to other entries written around the time of your character's birth. Please include the line "I think I found the missing sock" before your yes/no response to the Birthday Log portion of your character application.
Does my character have anything to start out with?
The guide who is assigned to greet your character will provide him/her with a towel, a set of clothing, a map of Edensphere, a pouch of coins*, and a paper journal**. Please note the special properties of both the coins and the paper journal. (See next two questions for details.)
What's so special about the coins?
The coins are not metallic but made from bark of the Majestic Oak and other substances from the Scavengers' Yard. Although the coins may be properly dissolved and digested, anyone who eats them will show signs of nausea and fatigue until the coins have completely left the body. Medics will be able to give coin-poisoned patients some medicated gum made from the tree leaves. While patients can throw away the gum and eat proper food, they must get a new piece of gum immediately after meals.
What's so special about the journal?
The journal is made of special paper from the tree in the midst of the sphere, and its special nature makes it so that anything written in the journals can be seen by all others who possess one. It's a great way to communicate with others except nothing is ever private. All messages from one person to another can be seen by everyone else unless completely stricken, inked, blotted, or otherwise completely covered up. More information about journal communication is detailed in the next question.
What kinds of entries go in my character's journal?
Anything that can be written into a paper journal can be an IC journal entry. Like paper in our world, writing can be made illegible, struck out, completely obliterated, accompanied by doodles, and so on. If your post includes images, please place these behind an LJ-cut in consideration for others. We would like to stress that NOTHING is private; please remember that there's no such thing as 'Private//Unhackable' entries or any filtration of that sort.
Where does my character go after being born?
After being born, a guard will recommend that your character obtain a job while leading him/her to the temporary residential area. Housing assignments are income-based; therefore, your character absolutely must obtain a job to secure permanent housing. If your character does not obtain a job within three weeks, s/he will be forced out of Square Zero to live elsewhere.
How does my character obtain a job?
There are two ways to get a job: (a) ICly approach someone who holds a position of authority over your chosen procession, or (b) directly post to the appropriate thread in this post. Please pay attention to the availability of a job before requesting one since some are limited availability or require a specific skillset. If the job you would like is unavailable, you will need to select another one. Regardless of which method you pursue to acquire a job, you MUST post to the appropriate thread so that we can add you to the list and keep track of who is or isn't employed. If your character has a job and is not currently listed, please comment to let us know where they're working.
Why wasn't my character approved to have a certain job?
When choosing a job to pursue, please bear in mind your character's particular skills and personality. A character shown to be clumsy in canon would be a very bad choice in the medical unit, for instance, and a character with no tact might not be the most successful merchant. There are definite perks to some of the jobs, but please consider where your character would be best suited rather than what sort of pay/housing you personally think you want. Similarly, if your job choice has an IC supervisor, they will have a say in whether or not your character is hired, so be prepared for that.
Can my character get a job change?
If you do not want your character to have two jobs but have found something that is better suited to him/her, then your character can have a job change. His/her housing will be affected by the job change unless s/he is living with another working character who can maintain the same residential assignment.
Is there a limit to how many jobs my character can have?
Considering the nature of most of the jobs in Edensphere, the mods believe that characters can hold two jobs at most.
How do I log with my character? What is 'quick logging'?
Communication or interaction (usually written in third-person prose) that is not written in journals are 'logs'; these are posted and tagged in edensphere_log. To set up a log, post an HTML entry in the log community using the formal log format specified in the profile. Then, feel free to invent and detail a situation for your log; it may be posted as incomplete in anticipation of other character responses. 'Quick logging' is an action thread that takes place within a character journal; usually it's logged out on the fly and never formally posted in the log community. In order to track these informal logs as activity, we request that you please link to your thread with the 'quick log' format indicated on the log community profile.
Am I allowed to write a log with just my character in it?
Yes, this is completely acceptable. Some players just want to give certain situations better context or provide a citable indication of an event that has happened to their character, and they write a single-character log or monolog(ue) for these purposes.
Are we allowed to IM log?
It is an acceptable means of completing a log provided that it is eventually posted to edensphere_log. While it is faster and more convenient for some players, we warn not to rely on them completely--an observation of some other RP communities indicates some players use this means to enforce cliques and exclude others who are struggling for interaction.
Does what I'm doing count as in-game canon?
Anything that is not citable in logs or journals cannot and will not be counted as in-game canon. Mods cannot regulate what people choose to play or do on their own; if there are any complaints about OOCness, GMing, or meta-gaming, the mods and helpstaff will be unable to defend anyone who has not provided background context for questionable journal entries or other arguments. Assumed interactions can be cited in either the OOC community or in OOC notes log entries or character journals.
Can my character get his/her name back?
Yes, in the same way that a character can regain his/her memories. However, please contact mod staff for plotting and more details.
※ Starting Out
How is my character born?
After experiencing his/her dream, your characters wakes up and finds him/herself in a sticky, viscous liquid. While this syrupy substance is breathable, s/he may choke on it from shock and confusion. Whether simply reaching out or struggling free, your character breaks out of the cocoon without any clothing or memories--nothing other than that one dream. Upon birth, a guide is waiting to greet your character. This is how everything starts out in Edensphere.
Where does my character start out?
Generally all characters are born in The Hall of Beginnings, a white room in Square Zero (the level comprised of leaves and branches of the Majestic Oak). However, please be sure to pay attention to the current events or plot posts in the OOC comm for other specifications.
What is a birthday log, and is it mandatory to participate in one?
This is an RP log of a character's arrival in Edensphere. (Examples can be found here.) Players are not required to participate, but it is recommended especially to those who would like some help 'breaking in' their characters and easing into Edensphere's setting and concept. In the event that you have not yet completed your birthday log, you will still be allowed to post a journal entry with your character or reply to other entries written around the time of your character's birth. Please include the line "I think I found the missing sock" before your yes/no response to the Birthday Log portion of your character application.
Does my character have anything to start out with?
The guide who is assigned to greet your character will provide him/her with a towel, a set of clothing, a map of Edensphere, a pouch of coins*, and a paper journal**. Please note the special properties of both the coins and the paper journal. (See next two questions for details.)
What's so special about the coins?
The coins are not metallic but made from bark of the Majestic Oak and other substances from the Scavengers' Yard. Although the coins may be properly dissolved and digested, anyone who eats them will show signs of nausea and fatigue until the coins have completely left the body. Medics will be able to give coin-poisoned patients some medicated gum made from the tree leaves. While patients can throw away the gum and eat proper food, they must get a new piece of gum immediately after meals.
What's so special about the journal?
The journal is made of special paper from the tree in the midst of the sphere, and its special nature makes it so that anything written in the journals can be seen by all others who possess one. It's a great way to communicate with others except nothing is ever private. All messages from one person to another can be seen by everyone else unless completely stricken, inked, blotted, or otherwise completely covered up. More information about journal communication is detailed in the next question.
What kinds of entries go in my character's journal?
Anything that can be written into a paper journal can be an IC journal entry. Like paper in our world, writing can be made illegible, struck out, completely obliterated, accompanied by doodles, and so on. If your post includes images, please place these behind an LJ-cut in consideration for others. We would like to stress that NOTHING is private; please remember that there's no such thing as 'Private//Unhackable' entries or any filtration of that sort.
Where does my character go after being born?
After being born, a guard will recommend that your character obtain a job while leading him/her to the temporary residential area. Housing assignments are income-based; therefore, your character absolutely must obtain a job to secure permanent housing. If your character does not obtain a job within three weeks, s/he will be forced out of Square Zero to live elsewhere.
How does my character obtain a job?
There are two ways to get a job: (a) ICly approach someone who holds a position of authority over your chosen procession, or (b) directly post to the appropriate thread in this post. Please pay attention to the availability of a job before requesting one since some are limited availability or require a specific skillset. If the job you would like is unavailable, you will need to select another one. Regardless of which method you pursue to acquire a job, you MUST post to the appropriate thread so that we can add you to the list and keep track of who is or isn't employed. If your character has a job and is not currently listed, please comment to let us know where they're working.
Why wasn't my character approved to have a certain job?
When choosing a job to pursue, please bear in mind your character's particular skills and personality. A character shown to be clumsy in canon would be a very bad choice in the medical unit, for instance, and a character with no tact might not be the most successful merchant. There are definite perks to some of the jobs, but please consider where your character would be best suited rather than what sort of pay/housing you personally think you want. Similarly, if your job choice has an IC supervisor, they will have a say in whether or not your character is hired, so be prepared for that.
Can my character get a job change?
If you do not want your character to have two jobs but have found something that is better suited to him/her, then your character can have a job change. His/her housing will be affected by the job change unless s/he is living with another working character who can maintain the same residential assignment.
Is there a limit to how many jobs my character can have?
Considering the nature of most of the jobs in Edensphere, the mods believe that characters can hold two jobs at most.
How do I log with my character? What is 'quick logging'?
Communication or interaction (usually written in third-person prose) that is not written in journals are 'logs'; these are posted and tagged in edensphere_log. To set up a log, post an HTML entry in the log community using the formal log format specified in the profile. Then, feel free to invent and detail a situation for your log; it may be posted as incomplete in anticipation of other character responses. 'Quick logging' is an action thread that takes place within a character journal; usually it's logged out on the fly and never formally posted in the log community. In order to track these informal logs as activity, we request that you please link to your thread with the 'quick log' format indicated on the log community profile.
Am I allowed to write a log with just my character in it?
Yes, this is completely acceptable. Some players just want to give certain situations better context or provide a citable indication of an event that has happened to their character, and they write a single-character log or monolog(ue) for these purposes.
Are we allowed to IM log?
It is an acceptable means of completing a log provided that it is eventually posted to edensphere_log. While it is faster and more convenient for some players, we warn not to rely on them completely--an observation of some other RP communities indicates some players use this means to enforce cliques and exclude others who are struggling for interaction.
Does what I'm doing count as in-game canon?
Anything that is not citable in logs or journals cannot and will not be counted as in-game canon. Mods cannot regulate what people choose to play or do on their own; if there are any complaints about OOCness, GMing, or meta-gaming, the mods and helpstaff will be unable to defend anyone who has not provided background context for questionable journal entries or other arguments. Assumed interactions can be cited in either the OOC community or in OOC notes log entries or character journals.
Can my character get his/her name back?
Yes, in the same way that a character can regain his/her memories. However, please contact mod staff for plotting and more details.