Q&A | FAQ
Ask your questions here and we'll add them here as they're answered.
Q: So what's the game?
A: Urban fantasy set in San Francisco, present day
Q: Yeah, but what does that mean?
A: It means that there are magic and supernatural beings in our "everyday" world.
Q: Do we know about it?
A: Yes, to an extent. There's plenty from the supernatural/preternatural world that is kept hidden from humans, and there's plenty of misinformation. The random guy on the street isn't going to be a preternatural scholar and will probably have a lot of wrong ideas about the supes.
Q: What's the point of the game?
A: Pretendy funtime gaming in a modern setting where your character isn't trapped in some random location.
Q: A lot of this seems like ripoff of Anita Blake and Harry Dresden.
A: Yep. The game is an AU blend of both Blakeverse and Dresdenverse, but you don't have to know either canon to play in this game. We've provided you with all the information you need to play within the universe's rules.
Q: Why did I have to hunt around to find that?
A: Because people will have certain misconceptions if they think of this game as being strictly related to its source canons. Since this is an AU mishmash of mythology and mechanics from both worlds, it's effectively an entity of its own rather than being beholden to either source canon.
Q: Does that mean I can app Harry Dresden?
A: NO. This is an OC-only game. Any canon characters will be NPCs only and will only have brief, plot-specific appearances. Do not try to app Harry, Anita, Jean-Claude, the Leanansidhe, etc.
Q: Can I play a unicorn/ghost/the Loch Ness Monster?
A: Not as your first character and not definitively yes or no. You'll have to present good characterization in your application and a good argument for why your character is playable and not game unbalancing.
Q: I played for a while and dropped, but now I'm returning to the game. Do I have to start with a "standard class" or can I bring in something a little different, since I've already proven I can play by the rules?
A: You may app a non-standard character if you've played in epicentric before, but the players who vote on your application have the right to reject your non-standard app and request that you return with a standard character before they consider your special character.
Q: I want my human character to become a vampire/shifter/human servant/wizard. Can I just do it in game without checking with the mods?
A: No. We're fine with such in game developments as long as they're logical, but you will need to clear the new status' powers and power potential with the mods before you move forward. We will also require that you write up the new powers and post the addendum in the app post for your character in epicentric_apps. We'll unscreen it and that will be considered part of your character's official "character sheet." If your character is in the game, to effect this change in status, you must come to an agreement with another player. You may not simply assume that an NPC did it.
Q: My changeling will be making the Choice. Do I need to clear it with the mods?
A: See the prior question. Just run it by the mods to clear the new status' powers and power potential, please.
Q: I'm leaving the game and want to move to a new game with the same character journal, does it matter what I do with the posts from this game?
A: It's your journal, but as a courtesy to your fellow players at epicentric, we request that you do not delete or lock the posts related to epicentric play. You are not the only participant in those posts and it is vastly unfair to your fellow players to delete their writing without consultation. An attempt to return to epicentric after such an action will be regarded with some prejudice, though you may still apply for a new character and submit yourself to community judging, knowing that voting opinion will be weighted based on all comm history including deleting journals and posts.
Q: I want to bring in a character from another game. Can I bring him/her in with their existing game canon/memories intact?
A: That depends upon the game. For instance, you may not bring in a polychromatic OC with their game memories simply because the City does not fit into this game's universe mechanics. You may be able to bring in an OC from another urban fantasy game with their memories intact, but that will have to be judged on a case-by-case basis. In no case may you bring in any kind of canon character from any canon.
Q: Why can't my vampire or shifter be a psychic or spellcaster? They can in Dresden canon.
A: Because we're using Blake-verse rules for vampires and the majority of shifters, and they're significantly more powerful in Blake canon than in Dresden canon. To give them magic in addition to their myriad potential powers is to twink them out unbearably.
Q: What about modern media? Does True Blood run on HBO? Can my werewolf rent American Werewolf in London?
A: Yes and yes. The only real world media you can't reference in this game are the Anita Blake series and the Dresden Files series. Feel free to have your werewolf mock AWiL or have True Blood viewing parties. They're fiction here and there. Just with a bit of a different spin in Epicentric's universe.
Q: Speaking of Dresden Files, what about the war with the Red Court?
A: Since this game uses Blake-verse vamps, the Red Court war never happened. At the moment there are no overt hostilities between the White Council and the Vampire Council.
Q: So what's the game?
A: Urban fantasy set in San Francisco, present day
Q: Yeah, but what does that mean?
A: It means that there are magic and supernatural beings in our "everyday" world.
Q: Do we know about it?
A: Yes, to an extent. There's plenty from the supernatural/preternatural world that is kept hidden from humans, and there's plenty of misinformation. The random guy on the street isn't going to be a preternatural scholar and will probably have a lot of wrong ideas about the supes.
Q: What's the point of the game?
A: Pretendy funtime gaming in a modern setting where your character isn't trapped in some random location.
Q: A lot of this seems like ripoff of Anita Blake and Harry Dresden.
A: Yep. The game is an AU blend of both Blakeverse and Dresdenverse, but you don't have to know either canon to play in this game. We've provided you with all the information you need to play within the universe's rules.
Q: Why did I have to hunt around to find that?
A: Because people will have certain misconceptions if they think of this game as being strictly related to its source canons. Since this is an AU mishmash of mythology and mechanics from both worlds, it's effectively an entity of its own rather than being beholden to either source canon.
Q: Does that mean I can app Harry Dresden?
A: NO. This is an OC-only game. Any canon characters will be NPCs only and will only have brief, plot-specific appearances. Do not try to app Harry, Anita, Jean-Claude, the Leanansidhe, etc.
Q: Can I play a unicorn/ghost/the Loch Ness Monster?
A: Not as your first character and not definitively yes or no. You'll have to present good characterization in your application and a good argument for why your character is playable and not game unbalancing.
Q: I played for a while and dropped, but now I'm returning to the game. Do I have to start with a "standard class" or can I bring in something a little different, since I've already proven I can play by the rules?
A: You may app a non-standard character if you've played in epicentric before, but the players who vote on your application have the right to reject your non-standard app and request that you return with a standard character before they consider your special character.
Q: I want my human character to become a vampire/shifter/human servant/wizard. Can I just do it in game without checking with the mods?
A: No. We're fine with such in game developments as long as they're logical, but you will need to clear the new status' powers and power potential with the mods before you move forward. We will also require that you write up the new powers and post the addendum in the app post for your character in epicentric_apps. We'll unscreen it and that will be considered part of your character's official "character sheet." If your character is in the game, to effect this change in status, you must come to an agreement with another player. You may not simply assume that an NPC did it.
Q: My changeling will be making the Choice. Do I need to clear it with the mods?
A: See the prior question. Just run it by the mods to clear the new status' powers and power potential, please.
Q: I'm leaving the game and want to move to a new game with the same character journal, does it matter what I do with the posts from this game?
A: It's your journal, but as a courtesy to your fellow players at epicentric, we request that you do not delete or lock the posts related to epicentric play. You are not the only participant in those posts and it is vastly unfair to your fellow players to delete their writing without consultation. An attempt to return to epicentric after such an action will be regarded with some prejudice, though you may still apply for a new character and submit yourself to community judging, knowing that voting opinion will be weighted based on all comm history including deleting journals and posts.
Q: I want to bring in a character from another game. Can I bring him/her in with their existing game canon/memories intact?
A: That depends upon the game. For instance, you may not bring in a polychromatic OC with their game memories simply because the City does not fit into this game's universe mechanics. You may be able to bring in an OC from another urban fantasy game with their memories intact, but that will have to be judged on a case-by-case basis. In no case may you bring in any kind of canon character from any canon.
Q: Why can't my vampire or shifter be a psychic or spellcaster? They can in Dresden canon.
A: Because we're using Blake-verse rules for vampires and the majority of shifters, and they're significantly more powerful in Blake canon than in Dresden canon. To give them magic in addition to their myriad potential powers is to twink them out unbearably.
Q: What about modern media? Does True Blood run on HBO? Can my werewolf rent American Werewolf in London?
A: Yes and yes. The only real world media you can't reference in this game are the Anita Blake series and the Dresden Files series. Feel free to have your werewolf mock AWiL or have True Blood viewing parties. They're fiction here and there. Just with a bit of a different spin in Epicentric's universe.
Q: Speaking of Dresden Files, what about the war with the Red Court?
A: Since this game uses Blake-verse vamps, the Red Court war never happened. At the moment there are no overt hostilities between the White Council and the Vampire Council.