FAQ;
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So how exactly does this game work?
Asgard Eventide is a game about the power of social interaction. Characters are brought from their worlds into a place lacking in colour and emotion. Here, the gods are the only beings with "life", and even they are in danger of fading. It's up to the characters to bring colour and motion back into this world, and they'll be doing it by expressing life in it. The more characters interact and the more bonds they form, be it positive or negative, the more brilliant the world will get. Eventually, the world will face Ragnarok: the final battle. At that point, the game will end -- unless the world (ICly and OOCly) has grown strong enough to temporarily beat back the Giants.
Each character is brought in without their previous powers and under the protection of a single god. They then become part of that particular God House, and gain a power based on that house's properties. After that, they're mostly just expected to live and grow. However, the city is constantly subject to the whims and interpersonal conflicts of the gods, as well as being prodded and tested by the Giants, so things won't be dull. There will be contests between Houses, curses both city-wide and individual, and changes to the environment to keep people busy, as well as the occasional serious attack on the city (which won't always be a physical battle).
Do I need to know about Norse myth to play here?
Not at all! While many names and concepts in the game are taken from Norse mythology, it's all loosely inspired rather than accurate to any source. If you're a fan of the myths, you'll see some familiar faces and events referenced in the game, but this is an original setting. Keeping that in mind, your characters are welcome to recognize names and terms as well, if they would know about them in canon. However, we'd ask that players not assume anything about the NPCs or events based on any knowledge of the mythology they might have. You never know what we will and will not use in our crafting of this game. If there's something you'd really like to see us use, though, feel free to drop us a line on the suggestions page!
On another note, characters from other Norse myth-based settings (Marvel's Thor, Matantei Loki) are totally welcome in the game. They aren't necessarily even required to be in the God House for their own name, if you think they belong somewhere else. We're completely open to all sorts of IC confusion here.
What is the pacing like?
The time flow in Asgard is, ICly, just like it is on Earth. There are 24-hour days with normal day and night patterns and a sky full of stars, one white moon, and one yellow sun (though the stars won't match anything seen on any world). OOCly, however, the pacing will be ONE IN-GAME DAY = TWO IRL DAYS. For time flow purposes, the first OOC day of an IC day is "day", and the second is "night" (so if a day is Monday-Tuesday, Monday is day and Tuesday is night). However, you're always welcome to set your post at whatever time you'd like, and this is simply a rough guideline to keep things in order.
If you're ever confused as to what's going on when, there will always be two months of information on the schedule. The schedule contains notes on upcoming events, reserve/app openings, and other things you might need to keep an eye out for. The sun and moon icons let you know when days are changing ICly. Day change will also always be posted in the network community. These posts will include what day it is (i.e. Day One, Day Two, etc), the weather, and any events going on that day with links to the appropriate event info posts. Day Change posts are also welcome to be replied to ICly as mingles (so if there's a day where there's a heavy snow, everyone can react or go play in it).
What characters can I app?
Any fictional character from a fandom is welcome. TV shows, comics, manga, anime, video games, webcomics, whatever you can think of. We also accept original characters! The only characters we don't accept are fandom OCs or canon characters with too little canon as to be applicable. For example, your Homestuck fantroll is not appable, but neither is your character from Oblivion. Essentially, the character needs to have enough set personality for us to compare to canon. Silent protags from Persona games are acceptable, for example, because even though there are multiple options for how they talk, all of these options fall within a single overall personality, and comments from other characters + peripherals like manga and anime make for a solid personality. For a character who has a very small number (as in no more than two or three) of possible personalities/routes to choose from, where each of these routes has a distinct personality/story, we'll take it on a case-by-case basis. Overall, we're not likely to accept a character who is more than 1/3 - 1/2 headcanon.
For canon AUs and duplicates, we'll also take these on a case-by-case basis. You'd be welcome to app Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII when there is already a Cloud Strife from Kingdom Hearts in game, but we wouldn't allow Yamamoto Takeshi from Katekyo Hitman Reborn alongside his Future Arc counterpart. Basically, if you aren't sure if your character will be allowed, just contact the mods and we'll discuss it with you.
What's the posting format like?
Asgard Eventide is a community-based game with both network and log communities. Posts to the network should be made in asgardeventide in either video, voice, or text format. Please tag all network posts with your character's name in Western format (Firstname Lastname). This makes it easier for players outside of your fandom to know which name is which. If there is already a character with the same name, tag with Character Name (Canon). Actionspam is welcome in the comments of network entries, but the entries themselves must be network posts. When commenting to a network post, please tag the post with re: Character Name. In-person logs should be posted in asgardmeridiem using the form found on the comm's profile. Logs should be tagged with the name of each participating character in Western format. Logs can be in full prose or actionspam, and you're welcome to make open logs! In fact, we greatly encourage the use of the logs comm for random interaction and mingle posts, so don't be shy to make or tag such posts!
What are the activity requirements?
For each month's activity check, every player must provide two proofs of activity per character. Valid activity includes: one network post (private-to-self posts don't count), participation in one log (meaning 3 or more comments from your character), or a thread that includes ten comments from your character. Any combination of two of the three (two network posts, one log and one thread, etc) is acceptable. How's My Driving memes will be held every other month, and will be mandatory. On months with an HMD, activity check will include a link to your comment on the HMD.
Characters that do not pass AC will be given a strike. Strikes are erased by two consecutive months of passing AC, and a character that receives two strikes will be removed from the game. Any character whose activity is not posted to the AC at all will also be removed. Please see the hiatus post for information on hiatus exemptions.
What is your stance on fourthwalling?
Unfortunately, for the time being we'd like it if people refrained from fourthwalling as much as possible. For example, Harry Potter might canonically know about Superman, but should he meet Clark Kent in Asgard, we'd prefer if he didn't say so. Instead he could think something like "oh, he reminds me of Dirk Dent from Awesomeman!" Even if it's silly, it's easier to avoid anyone being told they're a fictional character. Fictionalised historical figures / religious figures may be recognised by people who would canonically know who they are (an American character would probably know who George Washington is), but in these cases it would be polite to contact the mun of the character being recognised for permission before doing so.
What happens when my character arrives?
New characters will arrive in the Circle Room in Gladsheim Palace, as described on the premise page. Upon waking, they will find themselves stripped of any supernatural powers they might have possessed. The room seems very grey and desaturated (though that will change in time), and they will be unable to leave the circle woven into the carpet until a maid arrives. The maid will be wearing the colour of the God House your character belongs to, and will present them with their welcome letter, a map, and their communication device -- a slim silver bracelet inset with a single coloured stone. The maid can and will explain the use of the bracelet as well as answering some basic questions about where the character is (she can explain anything on the locations page, but not beyond it), what they are there for (to bring life to the world, though she won't say more than that), and who their patron god is. She will then guide them to the door of the palace that leads to their god's district, and show them how to reach their Welcome Hall on the map. At that point they'll be left to fend for themselves. The maids are impervious to damage, and while they'll respond to conversation and friendly gesture, they will completely ignore any aggressive action or language. Push, shove, punch or kick at will -- none of these actions will effect her, or even make her budge a single millimeter.
So do they have to get jobs and places to live?
Yes and no. Travellers are given great respect in Asgard, as they are seen as saviors of the world, so the natives are happy to provide what they can. The Welcome Hall for each God House will have a room for each character, to be requested on the housing page after acceptance. The very basics will be provided for as far as food and clothing as well, so without a job your character will be able to live in relative comfort. However, if they want spending money or anything fancy, they'll have to go looking for a job. For the first month or two, characters can assume they are working for NPC businesses of whatever kind. After that, we'll be opening the game to player-run businesses!
On that note, the currency in Asgard is called the "rune". Runes are a square, light coin in copper, silver, and gold denominations. One gold rune is worth 9 silver runes, each of which is worth 9 copper runes. It's safe to assume that the worth of an item that costs one copper rune in Asgard is roughly the same as an item costing $1 USD, so one gold rune is approximately equal to about $100 USD. When dealing with very large amounts of money, characters might find themselves running into crystal runes. These are worth 90 gold runes, or about $10,000 USD. (obviously this is all slightly off math since 9s and 10s don't match but shhh) Usually though, anything done in big numbers will involve the Bank of Dvalin in the District of Heimdall. Each traveller automatically has an account as this bank, where they can deposit and withdraw cash, and from which direct transfers can be made for large transactions. Loans can also be made at the bank, though even travellers are expected to pay these loans back. Exact expenses don't need to be micromanaged unless you, as a player, want to manage them. Mods also don't have to be contacted about loans. Do, however, keep in mind that business may not be started until they are officially opened!
What are these God Houses?
Each character is brought to Asgard by one of nine Gods. Like everything else in the game, these gods are loosely inspired by gods of Norse myth and carry many personality traits from those classic characters. The Patron God for your character is going to be the one whose main traits match your character's personality best. Upon entrance to Asgard, players are given a communication device in the form of a thin silver bracelet with a single inset stone. That stone will be in the colour of your patron god, and it's in that god's district that the character will be released. It's also the district in which your character's Welcome Hall residence will be. Characters from one God House are likely to be treated with a mild decrease in excitement from the natives of another god's district, and might even be charged more for items bought in districts outside their own. It won't be a big enough difference to be a problem or even to be quickly noted, but it will be there. Also due to squabbles between the gods, your character's House will sometimes effect their role in events.
So they're missing their canon powers?
Yes, incoming characters will be stripped of any supernatural power that they had before arrival. This is everything from magic to immortality to telepathy to super strength. Regardless of canon's reasoning for your powers, they will be removed. Basically, we'd like everyone to be toned down to roughly human level wherever possible, so that everyone starts off on the same foot. If your character's ability has something to do with their ability to survive, please let us know and we'll talk about it, but as a rule there are no powers allowed! Physical combat training sorts of things like marksmanship or martial arts are left alone, however.
On the bright side, every character is given a new power on arrival! During the app process, players will select one of the two abilities possible for their character's God House. More information on powers and how they evolve is available on the houses & powers page.
What about inhuman characters?
Characters that are not human will find themselves modified on waking in Asgard. A humanoid character (like an elf, a vampire, a Homestuck troll, or even a vocaloid) will not have changed at all in appearance (robots will still be robots), but any superhuman strength or abilities that came with that body will be dampened if not nullified. For example a cat girl may still be able to hear better than the average human, and trolls can still see in the dark, but these abilities won't be perfect. Everything is lowered to a level that doesn't give too much advantage over other characters, but the exact difference is up to the player. For characters that are entirely inhuman, such as animals or giant robots, they'll be given humanoid form. Transformers can choose whether to be flesh and bone or just human-shaped and human-strengthed machine, and a rabbit could keep rabbit ears and the like, but they will be humanoid. If you want to be creative with their appearance though, go wild! A creature normally made of blue slime might have blue skin, a plant might have leaves for hair, etc. Players are always welcome to experiment, but please keep it within reason and in keeping with the nature of the character. Weaponized features like fangs and claws also need to be within function and reason for a human or human-like being.
There are a few special cases to take note of here, of course. Vampires may or may not still have to drink blood at the player's discretion, but they won't get any superpowers from it. The same applies to characters from Digital Devil Saga and their flesh eating or any other character that needs to eat people / photosynthesize / whatever else in order to live. Nobodies from Kingdom Hearts will still not have hearts. Trolls will be able to go out in the sun without being horribly burnt, but they might still sunburn faster than humans. If there are any questions on what you think is a reasonable change to your character, please contact the mods!
What if my character is dead/dying in canon?
If your character is dead at their canon point, they will be brought into Asgard alive. They may have scars or other signs of how they died and they may not -- up to you. They also will not have memories of an afterlife unless those memories are part of their canon. For example, shinigami from Bleach will show up alive but they will, of course, remember their time in soul society. However, Axel from Kingdom Hearts isn't going to remember anything past the moment of his death.
As for those who have terminal illnesses or injuries, curses, or anything else that is slowly killing them / making them go insane / turning them into a monster, those things will be slowed to a near-halt if not removed entirely. It's the player's discretion whether they would like their character to remain at the same level of illness/corruption that they are at their canon point or not, but it isn't likely to progress any further. Also keep in mind that with powers gone, supernatural illnesses are also rendered moot. Curses absolutely will not progress, etc.
How does the bracelet work?
The bracelet characters are given looks like a perfectly normal piece of jewelry. However, if they should press any finger to the gem (a round stone in the colour of your House), it will recognize that person as its owner and a holographic touchscreen in full colour will appear in front of the character. The angle the gem is pointed at doesn't matter. Move your arm, put the bracelet on your desk, or whatever you'd like -- the screen will always hover at a comfortable touching distance from the character's face.
The touchscreen includes microphone and camera features and can connect both to other bracelets and the main network. The default screen shows a keyboard, a window with recent network posts (looking much like an LJ comm), and a window with a list of contacts including every other Traveller in Asgard. These windows can be duplicated, closed, reopened and moved around just like on a normal computer screen.
From the network screen, characters can read, listen to, or view recent network posts, reply to them, and make new posts. Each post is made like it would be on LJ: text posts are just text, audio and video posts look like youtube embeds. Replies are posted in the same manner, and anyone with a bracelet is able to read as far back in publicly posted content as they wish to. Accidental posts are possible, but not terribly likely -- unless the gods just feel like embarrassing your character. (In other words, you are welcome to assume your character's bracelet turning on by itself if you'd like.) When making a post or comment, the posting screen will give your character the option of filtering to any person or group of persons on the contact list. So if your character wants to filter to their friends, they'll have to select each of those friends when making the filter. Generic or vague filters like "people who like pie" aren't possible.
From the contact list screen, characters can open continuous text, video, or audio feeds with a single person (somewhat like using skype), as well as leaving single message when the person they want to contact isn't available. These conversations will take place in the character inboxes on each journal, since they aren't actually being posted on the network. (more info on inboxes is on the welcome page)
What happens if my character loses their bracelet?
As long as they are within their own Welcome Hall, there are no ill effects to a character taking off their bracelet or leaving it sitting around. The bracelets are unable to be damaged, so no harm will come to them. However, outside the direct protection of the god's Hall, the bracelet is what identifies a Traveller as a Traveller. Without it, natives won't recognise the character as special at all, they can't access their bank account, and their powers won't work. Should they spend more than a few hours out without their bracelet, the character will also lose their sense of self. They'll become one of the empty grey nobodies of the city. This will last until a guard wearing the colour of their god shows up and hands them their bracelet. This is a good way to explain hiatuses, and will be an option whenever you take one.
What can my character bring with them?
Your character will arrive with whatever items were on their person at the moment they were taken. Anything that wasn't touching them doesn't count. Therefore, if your character was in the middle of a battle they'll have any weapons or armor they had on them at the time. However, if they were asleep, they might only have their pyjamas. If your character was naked at their canonpoint, they are still naked and will be released into the city that way. Also, any items that had supernatural properties have now become mundane. A magic sword is now just a sword!
Do pets count as possessions?
Pets/pokémon/familiars can be brought along with a character under the condition that they are not sentient characters themselves. If the pet would be appable on their own, they aren't able to be brought as a pet. For example, Pikachu from the Pokémon anime would be an appable character, and thus couldn't be brought in as a pet. However, Tsuna from Reborn could bring Nuts along. Characters may bring only one such pet.
How does this game address the language barrier?
All characters will find their primary language replaced by the native language of Asgard, which has no particular name. What this means is that the native language becomes the language that all characters speak and think in by default, when they aren't deliberately trying to speak in a particular language. Their previous primary and other languages will still be there and can be used at will, but won't be reflexive. To clarify, if a character is a native English speaker who also learned Italian, they are likely to respond in English in their canon without thinking. They have to think about it to respond in Italian. For that character, they will now respond in the native language of Asgard when they aren't thinking about it. English is relegated to the same place as Italian -- they are fluent, but they have to think about it to speak in that language. The same goes for reading and writing/typing. Even if a character was previously illiterate and remains illiterate in their old language, they will be literate in the native language.
So what are these curses you mentioned?
Events in Asgard will follow one of four possible formats, three game-wide and one individual. The types and frequency of events will be as follows:
•Plot Events; these will happen roughly every other month to begin with, though they'll speed up towards the end of the initial game plot. Plot events are the major events leading up to Ragnarok. They might be actual battles with the Giants or their agents, but they're just as if not more likely to involve spies, mystery, and changes in the world. These are the plots that will leave the most physical change on Asgard and the ones that will reveal more about the coming battle to the characters.
•Special Events; from holiday festivals to city-wide pranks by the gods, these events will most likely happen roughly once every month (more if they're very short, less if they're more involved). These are likely to be short, opt-in events with a fun theme.
•House Contests; every month, characters will get a chance to prove their growth as individuals and as teams by participating in friendly competitions between God Houses. The rewards for participating will vary, but will usually be rewards for the entire House rather than a single character. Teamwork will be encouraged in these games, but characters are always allowed to opt out (though they might not get some of the prizes if they do).
•Individual Curses at any time, a character might become subject to a curse from their patron god. These curses are given as punishment or prank, and should be mostly harmless. Players can curse their character at any time, and for any amount of time (but preferably not longer than a week, two at most) without consulting a mod, provided said curse isn't going to effect people outside of their own character and muns who have specifically consented. These curses can be anything from having your character stuck as a kitten to making them sing their words to having them body switch with another character. If you have a question about whether or not something is too large-scale for an individual curse, please contact the mods!
Do you allow player-run plots?
Yes, most definitely! If you have a plot you'd like to run, please submit it to the suggestions page for approval. Player plots will usually count as special events, though they could also be House Contests. Any involvement you might need from the gods just needs to be asked for and we'll do our best to accommodate you. There's more information on submitting player plots on that page!
What if my character dies in Asgard?
When a character dies in Asgard, their body fades away after about five minutes, along with any items they had on them. After that, it takes about an hour for them to reappear -- when they do, they're in the Circle Room again. The first time they die, they're handed their bracelet and any other items they had and politely escorted to the door to their district. Each successive death, it takes about an hour longer for them to revive, and when they do they might be a little... damaged. On the second death, they may have forgotten something small -- which room is theirs, how to get to their favorite shop, or something else. On the third, it might be something more important -- or they might find their body isn't working as it should. One eye may be partly blind, one hand might be a little numb, etc. The more often they die, the worse these effects will be, until characters begin to lose all use of certain parts of their body, or forget important facts or people. Past the first death, we'd like you to contact a mod for approval on what your character will lose.
Can I canon update my character?
Yes, you may! ICly, your character will go through the extended part of their canon in their sleep, as if they're dreaming it. When they wake up, they'll remember having gone home, but while they were "dreaming" they won't remember being in Asgard. OOCly, leave us a note on the taken characters page with your character's new canon point. If there will be a significant change in the character's personality, please explain what this difference will be in your comment.
What happens if I drop?
Dropped characters disappear overnight, when no one is looking. All of their belongings will be gone as well, and it will be somewhat like they never existed. However, if a different Traveller were to go to the Bank, they might find a consolation -- anything the dropped character would have wanted to give to a friend will be transferred to that friend by the Bank staff. This includes money, business deeds, items, and even pets. Anything gained while in Asgard is available the next time the recipient goes to the Bank.
If you've dropped a character and wish to pick them back up, you are always welcome to do so. If no one else has played the character in your absence, you can pick them up with no time limit by commenting to the application page. If someone else did play the character, you'll have to app in again the same as anyone else.
For new players picking up characters that have been dropped before, or players repicking after someone else has played the character for awhile, the character will not retain their previous Asgard memories upon reentry. For repicks by the same mun who last played the character, retaining memories is optional but allowed.
To clarify -- if you were to play Travis Touchdown from December through February, then pick him back up in April, he's welcome to remember his previous stay and you don't have to app again. However, if another player played him in March, you'd have to reapp, and he wouldn't retain any previous memories. The player from March also wouldn't be able to have him remember his stay from December to February. This is to prevent players from having to follow up on someone else's CR, and especially to prevent them from having to try to figure out what happened through handwaving.