FAQ;; so how does this work
[ RULES] ✖ FAQ]
Superpowers & Identities
✖ What happens if my character isn't human?
If your character is fluffy, scaley, or made out of metal, they can say goodbye to that look! Upon arrival, all characters that are massively, distinctively inhuman will arrive in a new body, created to look as similar to their old body as possible. If there is some way for them to appear human (be it a transformation power or a hi-tech disguise), they make keep their old body. They can also be given such a power upon entry. Lastly, if the obviously inhuman mutations or growths can be hidden, they may be kept on the condition that they take up a power slot.
✖ Does my character have to have a superpower?
Yes, as a matter of fact they do. But never fear, that doesn't mean that your everyday businessmen and slice-of-life teenagers are out of the running! The 'Porter has a nasty habit of messing with powers, and that works both ways. Demigods enter the City with less than they're used to, and normal folks land with a skill or two they might not have had before. It could be something earth-shattering and lifechanging, or it could be the most mundane skill to ever be discovered. It all depends on the player and how they want to play it! If you're hard-pressed on what kind of power to give your character and don't care much what kind they have, just use something completely useless! Not everybody needs to be able to take on the final boss with ease. Give this site a glance or two for useless power ideas.
✖ What are the limits on powers?
The 'Porter likes a good bit of destruction and mayhem as much as the next person, but she likes her island in one piece. Anyone with godly power levels or too many skills will find themselves limited in some way or another. A good rule of thumb (but by no means the final word) is that three is probably the maximum, fewer if they're all offensive or extremely powerful. For more on this, you might want to give the Application FAQ (under Application Grading) a look!
✖ Does everyone have a superpower?
Only the imPorts have powers! So while yes, everyone with access to the Network is a metahuman, the people collecting your rent and serving your coffee are plain old, run-of-the-mill people. There are quiet whispers of imPorts who have left the City permanently after being 'Ported in, but if they're still alive and active no one's heard anything about them recently.
✖ Do I need a secret identity?
It's not a law or anything, just a very very good idea. Public opinion on the imPorts nowadays is a little more relaxed than it was when they first started arriving (the chances of having rocks thrown at you have gone down nearly eighty percent!), but most of the common folk are somewhat wary of metahumans. Looking and acting human is the best way to guarantee less awkward conversation, better service, and at some stores and restaurants is the only way to avoid getting kicked out. Most residents are willing to live and let live, but people will always be suspicious of the new and strange. And well, certain supervillains don't exactly make public relations too easy, do they?
✖ What are the dog tags for?
Upon arrival, every import gets two things: a network communicator, and a set of dog tags. Your dogtags work as your imPort identification. They open your assigned M.A.C. room, allow access to your free bank account and safety deposit box, and look pretty cool if you're working the military stylin's. One tag is stamped with the hero alias you gave the 'Porter when you arrived, and the other with the four digit number of your assigned apartment (somebody does check to see which apartments are occupied and which have been abandoned). They're also the keys to your apartment, and are magnetically set to open whichever apartment door is assigned - and all of them open the front door. When an apartment is deemed unoccupied, the key code changes and the old set of tags doesn't work.
✖ Are we getting paid for this 'hero' business?
Remember the bank account your dog tags open? Every Thursday, Stark Industries routes two hundred dollars into each account. Granted, even if you're staying in the M.A.C. for free, that's just enough to get by. Or, you might have thrown away your tags in a fit of anger directed at the 'Porter. If you went into your safety deposit box first (two to three business days after your arrival and registration, of course), you could take out a very well manufactured green card. As of yet, this is the only identification that the 'Porter supplies, so birth certificates and driver's licenses are your own problem. On the bright side, it means that you're legally eligible to work! And even if you forgot to pick it up, well. It's a big city. You'll be able to find some corner of it that'll pay you under the table. Of course, if you want to be Legit, you can always register with ol' Uncle Sam for temporary citizenship-hold down a steady job, vote in local elections, and pay taxes just like your NPC neighbors.
✖ Wait, my character can vote?
If they're of legal age, haven't committed any major felonies in game, and go through the proper hoops to register, then yes! Heck, even the Mayor of the City is a meta, just like you. Registering gets your character access to a Social Security Number, and with that and the Porter-supplied green card, you can register to vote, get a driver license, register for schooling, get a job, and so forth. They have hired government goons workers loitering around both Stark Tower (where the Porter is housed) as well as the MAC, eager to sign you into the ranks of respectable people. Of course, not everything that comes with it is a positive thing...
✖ You guys really like this whole taxes thing, huh?
Really, we just like giving rich characters something to bitch about! As of February 1st, 2011, all registered imPorts (that's you) have a specialized income tax. The rates totally suck, they aren't the same that the NPCs pay, and maybe they'd go down if you people stopped destroying everything you touch, like the subway system or the business district or the harbor for the sixth time this year. And no, we really don't expect you guys to try filling out W-2 forms for a roleplay.
The taxes are progressive, based on (net) income, and look like this:
$ 0 - 20,000 : 2%
21,000 - 50,000: 3%
51,000 - 99,000: 5%
100,000 - 150,000: 10%
151,000 - 250,000: 15%
250,000 + : 20%
✖ But what if my character isn't a legal adult?
The Child Protection Agency knows your character exists, and will be doing their best to get them to a classroom. Emancipation and evasion are acceptable alternatives if your character isn't the "school" type. However, you may want to find an adult willing to claim temporary guardianship, lest the precocious preteen irritate someone with CPA on speed-dial. Of course, how successful these government agents are in regards to your character is entirely up to you!
Going Home & Coming Back
✖ Why is the 'Porter bringing heroes in?
A few weeks before the first imPorts appeared in the fall of 2008, the City's entire police force vanished without a trace. In order to fill the power vacuum, an entity calling himself Iron Man built a machine that could bring in heroes from across the multiverse. Unfortunately, there was a limit to how specific he could be, and the only prerequisite is the potential to be a hero. This means that those equipped with nothing but the good in their hearts (or lack thereof, in some cases) get dragged in and given powers, but those with powers or skills but not a trace of goodness might be sucked in, too. Because everyone gets powers when they arrive, almost anyone can be said to have the potential of a hero. It's not a very efficient system, but any attempts to alter the 'Porter since then have incurred its own wrath. It seems that the programming is both sapient and extremely defensive, so trying to manually reprogram or destroy it aren't very good ideas - unless you want to get 'Ported to the middle of the Atlantic.
✖ What happens when you die in the City?
Really, you should learn to be more careful. But don't worry, the Grinbitch likes to keep her pieces on the board. You'll be resurrected - though it comes with a price. No one knows how long you'll be gone for anymore, and your powers might not come back with you.
✖ Whoa, whoa, stepping back into OOC for a sec - WHAT do I have to do if my character dies?
The in-game character death process has, in fact, been updated! There are now three things to keep in mind:
• Your character will not come back right away. The new system is that they can either be gone for a minimum of five days at the player's choice, or you can pass the decision onto the mods, who will then randomly generate a number between one and fourteen that you will then have to stick to. A little gambling on the part of the player and a lot more uncertainty for the imPorts!
• Their powers will be latent for a while after they get back. The minimum is currently two weeks, but it can be longer at your discretion. Their powers can also return bit by bit, or one of them might not return at all - your options are flexible as long as you keep us informed!
• Before you kill anyone, run it by us. Character deaths primarily need to be cleared by the mod team, preferably on the Plot Post. The other thing to keep in mind is to talk to your cast and CRmates. Character deaths should be important to anyone close to them, and somebody your character is friends with might have some objections.
✖ With the longer restrictions on death, what happens to my activity?
You are not responsible for keeping a dead character active, and while they're being resurrected they are essentially on hiatus. If, by your choice or ours, the time spent in stasis exceeds one week solid, said character is exempt from activity check via the hiatus rules. The maximum time that a character can be in stasis like this is currently six weeks, so don't abuse it! You'll also need to let us know on the hiatus page proper to avoid any mishaps, since sometimes our Activity Check robot loses track of who's dead at any given time.
✖ Can I canon-update my character?
Of course! Canon-updating does, however, require a few things. First of all, it must be approved by the moderators on the canon/power update post. Once that has been approved, you need to notify the OOC community and then exPort the character for a minimum of 24 hours.
✖ Can I exPort my character without canon updating them?
Yes! For the character, it will be as though no time has passed, and they just blinked and arrived back in the 'Porter labs. They may then proceed to freak out about however much time they lost. Again, run this by the moderators, because it should only be done while the player is on an inactive hiatus.
✖ What happens to my character if I drop?
Two possible things: Either they get exPorted the day that you drop them, or you can go through a plot in which they die and then just don't bring them back. The mods actually encourage this, since it adds to the in-character uncertainty surrounding death and port-outs. If you re-app them later, however, they will still be without their powers for a minimum of two weeks.
In Character Knowledge & Details
✖ What exactly is the City?
The City is essentially analogous of New York City, with a slightly more boring name and the benefit (or drawback) or superpowered residents. While a parallel, it is not a cut-and-copy replica; most of the landmarks still exist, thankfully, but native New Yorker characters will quickly find themselves aggravated trying to rediscover where all the subway stations are. As for the rest of the C&C world, it was completely mundane until a certain coding error in mid 2008, and things just sort of went downhill from there. What this means for you is that there is no alien life, no hidden mystical artifacts in the Andes, and no cavorting demigods on Olympus. At least, that's how things were. The world's gotten a bit more complicated in the meantime; for you adventurous types looking for more info, check out the world FAQ.
✖ Okay, I see some weird stuff there, but is most everything else the same?
For the most part, sure. Pop culture and entertainment are almost identical to the real world (well, except for all the fictional material that disappears when new characters show up, of course), but world politics and even some history is pretty divergent. For example, though 9/11 occurred, the American wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were much shorter than their real-world counterparts, troops were systematically pulled out of combat by 2008, and there's no longer a direct military investment in the Middle East. The presidential roster is a bit different after the Clinton era; President Kirby was elected in 2000, and was followed by Vladimir Abraham in 2008. Abraham will be up for re-election in 2012. (Don't reelect him.)
✖ What's this about source canon disappearing?
Since the City is situated in an alternate of our universe, it stands to reason that character's own canon exists here too. And you'd be right! Right up until said character arrives there. The second anybody gets to the City, everything related to their canon vanishes. The source itself, the animated spinoff that included them, the cheap merchandise and the fanworks all disappear. The everyday people who have lived in the City all their lives will remember reading/watching/playing it, and the creators will still remember making it, but no physical or digital copies can be found (though there might still be concept designs and the original information on, perhaps, the original author's computer). The only exceptions are private works. For example, a fanfic author can write a few pages and save without any trouble, but as soon as they try to put it online it will glitch out and disappear.
✖ Can the canon material ever come back?
It has the potential to. If every single character from a universe (and related universes) gets 'Ported back home, the canon is then permitted to exist. That doesn't mean that it all comes back, or even that some of it starts coming back slowly. It just means that if people try to make the canon or related merchandise again and haven't closed the factories in a fit of frustration, the finished product won't disappear off the assembly lines anymore.
✖ Where exactly is the M.A.C. and what does it look like?
Information about the M.A.C. and Stark Tower can be found on the locations post, and should be fairly complete! If you have any further questions, ask here and we'll add it there as soon as possible.
✖ Where in the world is the Grinbitch, and how come she can mess with the imPorts whenever she wants?
Officially, the program known currently as the 'Grinning Bitch' resides in the 'Porter - the two are one and the same. This was hypothised some months ago by a few observant imPorts, and proven correct when she proved that she could 'Port them not just into the City, but around it as she pleased. This seems to only be true for metahumans, but as of yet no one has figured out why…
✖ If the cops are gone, how can a couple hundred metas keep the City safe?
The police have only ever disappeared once, and while it was a great tragedy and a troubled time in the City's history, things are almost back to normal. Between active police in other cities, those who had been in training, and those who have entered the force since then, the police numbers are at a skeleton force but thankfully operational! Add to that the fact that several of the high level officers happen to be imPorts and you've got a stressed but functional force. The police cast is an extremely organized and clever set of players, and got together a whole ton of information here! They're who you want to talk to if you're thinking about causing a ruckus, getting arrested, or joining the force!
✖ Where did the cops go?
No one's figured out why (and she's not too talkative on the matter), but it seems like the 'Porter is the one who got rid of them. A little more than a year after they vanished, a few thousand (mostly fresh) animated corpses in uniform reappeared all over the City. And yes, they were contagious. The streets were cleared with a minimum of damages (and infections), and life was almost normal for a while. Where exactly the police were for thirteen months and how they died remains a mystery, and probably one that you don't want to know the answer to.
✖ Then what's the legal system like?
With the sudden lack of police system and subsequent halt of arrests, criminal law came to a rather abrupt halt in 2008. Fortunately for all, the new arrivals included a few attourneys, who helped get the system up and running again. While it's now impossible to find their canon, a few residents might see a stunning resemblance to the trial system in the world of Ace Attourney, and there's a reason for that. The majority of criminal trials in the City work this way now (though civil law remains unchanged). For more details, your best bet would be to read this or speak to a lawyer in person!
✖ So I've heard about this beehive thing…
You mean the HIVE. And no, no you haven't. Nobody has. It doesn't exist.
✖ … What?
Or rather, it doesn't exist now. Long story short, the HIVE was your usual coast-spanning hub of scum and villainy - they tried invading the City a couple times, tried to secede from the United States, and so on - that got beaten back and bombed off the map. Later, what wasn't incinerated in the blasts were erased from the very fabric of existence. Lachesis holds grudges, you see.
✖ ... Awesome. Well, can I leave the City?
By all means! It's a big wide world out there, with continents to explore and cultures to discover. There's even a few countries you won't find on any other Earth, if you're geography buff enough to know where to find them. Keep in mind, though. North America and especially the City have gotten pretty used to metahumans. They may not always like them, but there haven't been any witchhunts for a while. The rest of the world might not be so welcoming. There's an important difference between warily accepting and suspiciously fearing. But if you just want to stretch your proverbial legs, remember that the City is made up of more than just the island! There are plenty of boroughs and satellite towns to have a look at.
✖ What kind of stores are there?
Since it's the same essential world as the one the players are used to, pretty much anything you can buy in reality can be bought in the City. A few of the big brand names are just a little different - 'Best Buy' is called 'Superior Purchase' here, 'Dices' is the go-to place for pizza delivery, and 'Wall-Mart' reels back prices on more than just building material. These are just a few examples, and there might be several versions of each.
Anything we missed? Ask here!
If you're looking for the archived comments on the old FAQ, that post is located here.
Superpowers & Identities
✖ What happens if my character isn't human?
If your character is fluffy, scaley, or made out of metal, they can say goodbye to that look! Upon arrival, all characters that are massively, distinctively inhuman will arrive in a new body, created to look as similar to their old body as possible. If there is some way for them to appear human (be it a transformation power or a hi-tech disguise), they make keep their old body. They can also be given such a power upon entry. Lastly, if the obviously inhuman mutations or growths can be hidden, they may be kept on the condition that they take up a power slot.
✖ Does my character have to have a superpower?
Yes, as a matter of fact they do. But never fear, that doesn't mean that your everyday businessmen and slice-of-life teenagers are out of the running! The 'Porter has a nasty habit of messing with powers, and that works both ways. Demigods enter the City with less than they're used to, and normal folks land with a skill or two they might not have had before. It could be something earth-shattering and lifechanging, or it could be the most mundane skill to ever be discovered. It all depends on the player and how they want to play it! If you're hard-pressed on what kind of power to give your character and don't care much what kind they have, just use something completely useless! Not everybody needs to be able to take on the final boss with ease. Give this site a glance or two for useless power ideas.
✖ What are the limits on powers?
The 'Porter likes a good bit of destruction and mayhem as much as the next person, but she likes her island in one piece. Anyone with godly power levels or too many skills will find themselves limited in some way or another. A good rule of thumb (but by no means the final word) is that three is probably the maximum, fewer if they're all offensive or extremely powerful. For more on this, you might want to give the Application FAQ (under Application Grading) a look!
✖ Does everyone have a superpower?
Only the imPorts have powers! So while yes, everyone with access to the Network is a metahuman, the people collecting your rent and serving your coffee are plain old, run-of-the-mill people. There are quiet whispers of imPorts who have left the City permanently after being 'Ported in, but if they're still alive and active no one's heard anything about them recently.
✖ Do I need a secret identity?
It's not a law or anything, just a very very good idea. Public opinion on the imPorts nowadays is a little more relaxed than it was when they first started arriving (the chances of having rocks thrown at you have gone down nearly eighty percent!), but most of the common folk are somewhat wary of metahumans. Looking and acting human is the best way to guarantee less awkward conversation, better service, and at some stores and restaurants is the only way to avoid getting kicked out. Most residents are willing to live and let live, but people will always be suspicious of the new and strange. And well, certain supervillains don't exactly make public relations too easy, do they?
✖ What are the dog tags for?
Upon arrival, every import gets two things: a network communicator, and a set of dog tags. Your dogtags work as your imPort identification. They open your assigned M.A.C. room, allow access to your free bank account and safety deposit box, and look pretty cool if you're working the military stylin's. One tag is stamped with the hero alias you gave the 'Porter when you arrived, and the other with the four digit number of your assigned apartment (somebody does check to see which apartments are occupied and which have been abandoned). They're also the keys to your apartment, and are magnetically set to open whichever apartment door is assigned - and all of them open the front door. When an apartment is deemed unoccupied, the key code changes and the old set of tags doesn't work.
✖ Are we getting paid for this 'hero' business?
Remember the bank account your dog tags open? Every Thursday, Stark Industries routes two hundred dollars into each account. Granted, even if you're staying in the M.A.C. for free, that's just enough to get by. Or, you might have thrown away your tags in a fit of anger directed at the 'Porter. If you went into your safety deposit box first (two to three business days after your arrival and registration, of course), you could take out a very well manufactured green card. As of yet, this is the only identification that the 'Porter supplies, so birth certificates and driver's licenses are your own problem. On the bright side, it means that you're legally eligible to work! And even if you forgot to pick it up, well. It's a big city. You'll be able to find some corner of it that'll pay you under the table. Of course, if you want to be Legit, you can always register with ol' Uncle Sam for temporary citizenship-hold down a steady job, vote in local elections, and pay taxes just like your NPC neighbors.
✖ Wait, my character can vote?
If they're of legal age, haven't committed any major felonies in game, and go through the proper hoops to register, then yes! Heck, even the Mayor of the City is a meta, just like you. Registering gets your character access to a Social Security Number, and with that and the Porter-supplied green card, you can register to vote, get a driver license, register for schooling, get a job, and so forth. They have hired government goons workers loitering around both Stark Tower (where the Porter is housed) as well as the MAC, eager to sign you into the ranks of respectable people. Of course, not everything that comes with it is a positive thing...
✖ You guys really like this whole taxes thing, huh?
Really, we just like giving rich characters something to bitch about! As of February 1st, 2011, all registered imPorts (that's you) have a specialized income tax. The rates totally suck, they aren't the same that the NPCs pay, and maybe they'd go down if you people stopped destroying everything you touch, like the subway system or the business district or the harbor for the sixth time this year. And no, we really don't expect you guys to try filling out W-2 forms for a roleplay.
The taxes are progressive, based on (net) income, and look like this:
$ 0 - 20,000 : 2%
21,000 - 50,000: 3%
51,000 - 99,000: 5%
100,000 - 150,000: 10%
151,000 - 250,000: 15%
250,000 + : 20%
✖ But what if my character isn't a legal adult?
The Child Protection Agency knows your character exists, and will be doing their best to get them to a classroom. Emancipation and evasion are acceptable alternatives if your character isn't the "school" type. However, you may want to find an adult willing to claim temporary guardianship, lest the precocious preteen irritate someone with CPA on speed-dial. Of course, how successful these government agents are in regards to your character is entirely up to you!
Going Home & Coming Back
✖ Why is the 'Porter bringing heroes in?
A few weeks before the first imPorts appeared in the fall of 2008, the City's entire police force vanished without a trace. In order to fill the power vacuum, an entity calling himself Iron Man built a machine that could bring in heroes from across the multiverse. Unfortunately, there was a limit to how specific he could be, and the only prerequisite is the potential to be a hero. This means that those equipped with nothing but the good in their hearts (or lack thereof, in some cases) get dragged in and given powers, but those with powers or skills but not a trace of goodness might be sucked in, too. Because everyone gets powers when they arrive, almost anyone can be said to have the potential of a hero. It's not a very efficient system, but any attempts to alter the 'Porter since then have incurred its own wrath. It seems that the programming is both sapient and extremely defensive, so trying to manually reprogram or destroy it aren't very good ideas - unless you want to get 'Ported to the middle of the Atlantic.
✖ What happens when you die in the City?
Really, you should learn to be more careful. But don't worry, the Grinbitch likes to keep her pieces on the board. You'll be resurrected - though it comes with a price. No one knows how long you'll be gone for anymore, and your powers might not come back with you.
✖ Whoa, whoa, stepping back into OOC for a sec - WHAT do I have to do if my character dies?
The in-game character death process has, in fact, been updated! There are now three things to keep in mind:
• Your character will not come back right away. The new system is that they can either be gone for a minimum of five days at the player's choice, or you can pass the decision onto the mods, who will then randomly generate a number between one and fourteen that you will then have to stick to. A little gambling on the part of the player and a lot more uncertainty for the imPorts!
• Their powers will be latent for a while after they get back. The minimum is currently two weeks, but it can be longer at your discretion. Their powers can also return bit by bit, or one of them might not return at all - your options are flexible as long as you keep us informed!
• Before you kill anyone, run it by us. Character deaths primarily need to be cleared by the mod team, preferably on the Plot Post. The other thing to keep in mind is to talk to your cast and CRmates. Character deaths should be important to anyone close to them, and somebody your character is friends with might have some objections.
✖ With the longer restrictions on death, what happens to my activity?
You are not responsible for keeping a dead character active, and while they're being resurrected they are essentially on hiatus. If, by your choice or ours, the time spent in stasis exceeds one week solid, said character is exempt from activity check via the hiatus rules. The maximum time that a character can be in stasis like this is currently six weeks, so don't abuse it! You'll also need to let us know on the hiatus page proper to avoid any mishaps, since sometimes our Activity Check robot loses track of who's dead at any given time.
✖ Can I canon-update my character?
Of course! Canon-updating does, however, require a few things. First of all, it must be approved by the moderators on the canon/power update post. Once that has been approved, you need to notify the OOC community and then exPort the character for a minimum of 24 hours.
✖ Can I exPort my character without canon updating them?
Yes! For the character, it will be as though no time has passed, and they just blinked and arrived back in the 'Porter labs. They may then proceed to freak out about however much time they lost. Again, run this by the moderators, because it should only be done while the player is on an inactive hiatus.
✖ What happens to my character if I drop?
Two possible things: Either they get exPorted the day that you drop them, or you can go through a plot in which they die and then just don't bring them back. The mods actually encourage this, since it adds to the in-character uncertainty surrounding death and port-outs. If you re-app them later, however, they will still be without their powers for a minimum of two weeks.
In Character Knowledge & Details
✖ What exactly is the City?
The City is essentially analogous of New York City, with a slightly more boring name and the benefit (or drawback) or superpowered residents. While a parallel, it is not a cut-and-copy replica; most of the landmarks still exist, thankfully, but native New Yorker characters will quickly find themselves aggravated trying to rediscover where all the subway stations are. As for the rest of the C&C world, it was completely mundane until a certain coding error in mid 2008, and things just sort of went downhill from there. What this means for you is that there is no alien life, no hidden mystical artifacts in the Andes, and no cavorting demigods on Olympus. At least, that's how things were. The world's gotten a bit more complicated in the meantime; for you adventurous types looking for more info, check out the world FAQ.
✖ Okay, I see some weird stuff there, but is most everything else the same?
For the most part, sure. Pop culture and entertainment are almost identical to the real world (well, except for all the fictional material that disappears when new characters show up, of course), but world politics and even some history is pretty divergent. For example, though 9/11 occurred, the American wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were much shorter than their real-world counterparts, troops were systematically pulled out of combat by 2008, and there's no longer a direct military investment in the Middle East. The presidential roster is a bit different after the Clinton era; President Kirby was elected in 2000, and was followed by Vladimir Abraham in 2008. Abraham will be up for re-election in 2012. (Don't reelect him.)
✖ What's this about source canon disappearing?
Since the City is situated in an alternate of our universe, it stands to reason that character's own canon exists here too. And you'd be right! Right up until said character arrives there. The second anybody gets to the City, everything related to their canon vanishes. The source itself, the animated spinoff that included them, the cheap merchandise and the fanworks all disappear. The everyday people who have lived in the City all their lives will remember reading/watching/playing it, and the creators will still remember making it, but no physical or digital copies can be found (though there might still be concept designs and the original information on, perhaps, the original author's computer). The only exceptions are private works. For example, a fanfic author can write a few pages and save without any trouble, but as soon as they try to put it online it will glitch out and disappear.
✖ Can the canon material ever come back?
It has the potential to. If every single character from a universe (and related universes) gets 'Ported back home, the canon is then permitted to exist. That doesn't mean that it all comes back, or even that some of it starts coming back slowly. It just means that if people try to make the canon or related merchandise again and haven't closed the factories in a fit of frustration, the finished product won't disappear off the assembly lines anymore.
✖ Where exactly is the M.A.C. and what does it look like?
Information about the M.A.C. and Stark Tower can be found on the locations post, and should be fairly complete! If you have any further questions, ask here and we'll add it there as soon as possible.
✖ Where in the world is the Grinbitch, and how come she can mess with the imPorts whenever she wants?
Officially, the program known currently as the 'Grinning Bitch' resides in the 'Porter - the two are one and the same. This was hypothised some months ago by a few observant imPorts, and proven correct when she proved that she could 'Port them not just into the City, but around it as she pleased. This seems to only be true for metahumans, but as of yet no one has figured out why…
✖ If the cops are gone, how can a couple hundred metas keep the City safe?
The police have only ever disappeared once, and while it was a great tragedy and a troubled time in the City's history, things are almost back to normal. Between active police in other cities, those who had been in training, and those who have entered the force since then, the police numbers are at a skeleton force but thankfully operational! Add to that the fact that several of the high level officers happen to be imPorts and you've got a stressed but functional force. The police cast is an extremely organized and clever set of players, and got together a whole ton of information here! They're who you want to talk to if you're thinking about causing a ruckus, getting arrested, or joining the force!
✖ Where did the cops go?
No one's figured out why (and she's not too talkative on the matter), but it seems like the 'Porter is the one who got rid of them. A little more than a year after they vanished, a few thousand (mostly fresh) animated corpses in uniform reappeared all over the City. And yes, they were contagious. The streets were cleared with a minimum of damages (and infections), and life was almost normal for a while. Where exactly the police were for thirteen months and how they died remains a mystery, and probably one that you don't want to know the answer to.
✖ Then what's the legal system like?
With the sudden lack of police system and subsequent halt of arrests, criminal law came to a rather abrupt halt in 2008. Fortunately for all, the new arrivals included a few attourneys, who helped get the system up and running again. While it's now impossible to find their canon, a few residents might see a stunning resemblance to the trial system in the world of Ace Attourney, and there's a reason for that. The majority of criminal trials in the City work this way now (though civil law remains unchanged). For more details, your best bet would be to read this or speak to a lawyer in person!
✖ So I've heard about this beehive thing…
You mean the HIVE. And no, no you haven't. Nobody has. It doesn't exist.
✖ … What?
Or rather, it doesn't exist now. Long story short, the HIVE was your usual coast-spanning hub of scum and villainy - they tried invading the City a couple times, tried to secede from the United States, and so on - that got beaten back and bombed off the map. Later, what wasn't incinerated in the blasts were erased from the very fabric of existence. Lachesis holds grudges, you see.
✖ ... Awesome. Well, can I leave the City?
By all means! It's a big wide world out there, with continents to explore and cultures to discover. There's even a few countries you won't find on any other Earth, if you're geography buff enough to know where to find them. Keep in mind, though. North America and especially the City have gotten pretty used to metahumans. They may not always like them, but there haven't been any witchhunts for a while. The rest of the world might not be so welcoming. There's an important difference between warily accepting and suspiciously fearing. But if you just want to stretch your proverbial legs, remember that the City is made up of more than just the island! There are plenty of boroughs and satellite towns to have a look at.
✖ What kind of stores are there?
Since it's the same essential world as the one the players are used to, pretty much anything you can buy in reality can be bought in the City. A few of the big brand names are just a little different - 'Best Buy' is called 'Superior Purchase' here, 'Dices' is the go-to place for pizza delivery, and 'Wall-Mart' reels back prices on more than just building material. These are just a few examples, and there might be several versions of each.
Anything we missed? Ask here!
If you're looking for the archived comments on the old FAQ, that post is located here.