∝FAQ
General game questions.
- ► Is this game a sequel? Indeed it is! Gauntlet is a direct sequel to crucible_rpg; the events here follow the plot that took place over the course of Crucible, a summary of which can be read here.
► Do I have to read all that? Certainly not! It's handy if you'd like some background, but is by no means necessary reading; Gauntlet can be experienced with no knowledge of past events.
► Crucible had a time limit, will Gauntlet be the same? Yes and no! Crucible was restricted to a year's game time; the lifespan of Gauntlet will depend on how, why, when, and to what extent the characters accomplish (or fail!) their assigned missions. The game plot itself will determine the length of the game and will be heavily influenced by player and character actions, but will be at least a year in length. It could be longer depending on what happens, but never any less.
► Crucible had multiple endings, so does that mean Gauntlet will, too? It does! Like Crucible, Gauntlet has five possible endings to the in-game events, spread along a spectrum of Best, Good, Neutral, Bad, and Worst. Which one the game receives will depend solely on character actions.
► What are the endings? That is a secret at this time. ;)
► Crucible had times when the applications were closed, will it be like that here? In a manner of speaking! Gauntlet applications will close during major missions, aka large plot events, in order to spare new characters the troubles of being dropped in the middle of big events. The Application page will indicate when apps are closed.
► What about canon updates? How do you handle those? Canon updates can take place at any time at the player's discretion; the character in question will vanish from the ship only to reappear a few days later with update in tow. Before this you will need to send an updated application with all the new pertinent information to the mod mail at gauntletmods@gmail.com.
The only time that this may not be done is during major missions.
► Is there a roleplay chatroom? There certainly is, but it is entirely optional and just for fun. If you'd like to talk with your fellow players, fool around, share stories, etc., feel free to drop by gauntletlounge on AIM at any time.
► Is the game open? Yes it is!
Game universe questions.
- ► So...space? Space it is. Gauntlet will take place primarily on two different ships, which are listed in the How-To: the Uesugi and the Hawking. Additionally, certain missions and game events will bring characters to various space stations, planets, and even other ships! The world of gauntlet_rpg is an expansive one, with a substantial governing body and military force in the Intergalactic Alliance, which comes with its own set of rules.
► How does my character learn all this? Like the Premise itself, the How-To is an in-game reference for all characters; they really did receive the Admiral's hologram message and they really do have that manual available via their Spheres. The manual contains all the basic information that your character should need and, if they desire to know more about the Gauntlet universe itself, they may ask DIVA herself in the public forum.
Alternatively, a quicker route to information would be to ask any of the crew commanders (Nemaeus and Farix), those being mod NPC characters precisely for this purpose, or characters that took part in the Crucible storyline.
► ...but what's a Sphere? A Sphere is a communication device roughly the size of a baseball made of very shiny silver metal with a hidden panel full of very colorful and interesting buttons. These little devices serve as a network that characters can access and communicate with using very detailed holograms; they hear and see whoever it is they are speaking to (as well as what's around them, or what they point the Sphere at), they can contact several people at once (which facilities thread-hopping if you are so inclined), and they can direct their communication only at one or two recipients (done through posts locked to specific characters). Sphere communication is the primary means of character interaction; all Sphere posts will be made to the main community, gauntlet_rpg.
Keep in mind that Sphere communication can lead to physical interactions as well, which can be played out in the usual journal entry style (Dialogue and [actions]). Prose logs in the log community, gauntlet_logs, on the other hand, are strictly for person-to-person interaction without the Spheres.
The Spheres themselves can record, play back, be directed at a single person (aka locked to one character in posts), accidentally activate, or become damaged. Characters can even draw on them or get customized colors, but please, no tampering! Repair takes time.
► That sounds complicated. Is there a lot of complicated technology? This is the future (relatively speaking). The halls do have a certain metallic shine and most everything is metal, plastics, or space industrial upholstery unless indicated otherwise. The doors whoosh open automatically, a lot of stuff is voice-activated, robots and droids take care of most of the drudgery, and using the toilet might be a little difficult for characters that aren't used to indoor plumbing.
However, interacting with this technology is at the player's discretion; you don't have to know every little detail to complain about how bad synthesized eggs and bacon taste. Gauntlet is free-rein in that you can choose for yourself and for your characters what troubles they have with their rooms, their ships, or their fellow crewmembers.
► Speaking of that, are there crew other than the characters on the ships? Yes there is! In fact, the regular NPC crew of the ships outnumber the characters themselves. They come in all shapes and sizes, from regular humanoids to giant crickets to walking shrubs. For the most part, they go about their duties and free time on their own; when NPC crew become involved in missions or interact on a significant level with the characters, there will be mod posts indicating as much.
Outside of mod posts, please, feel free to interact with the regular crew at your leisure. Did your character hit it off with a sweet lady and spend the night? Does your character play holocards with regulars down at the pub? Did they get in an argument over cooking techniques? Be creative! The only restrictions are fairly straightforward:
Talking, fooling around, drinking, starting a knitting club: okay.
Fighting, killing, stealing, getting an alien babe pregnant: not okay.
If you would like to start a character plot wherein there is a fight or genuine malice between crew and characters, please contact a mod. For the most part, the crew is quite genial and tolerant of otherworlders, so a case must be made for violence first!
► Hey, I just noticed that "biosphere" on the Uesugi; how does it work? That is, essentially, a natural environment contained within the ship! Think of it as a giant garden, which is maintained by the environmental management crew, who are, essentially, gardeners and park rangers. The biosphere exists as a refuge for crew and civilians that need something natural in their lives, as well as a source of raw, natural resources that are not synthesized, which can include herds, food items, and even animals from the described regions!
Of course, because the biosphere is relatively small in size and limited in scope, it must be treated with respect and care.
Character questions.
- ► Who can I apply for/how do I apply/when are applications open? Please see the Application page!
► Does my character keep their powers? Yes, to an extent! Powers are limited only to what is on their person, comes from their person, and is generated by their person. For example, Professor Xavier keeps all his mental-based powers because he is a mutant and thusly, his abilities are inherent to his biology, while Lina Inverse wouldn't be able to cast any of her Slave spells or the Ragna Blade because those involve calling upon a power other than herself. Similarly, a Final Fantasy VII character with a summon Materia would be able to use the summon in question because the summon is housed in the Materia, whereas a Final Fantasy X character would not be able to utilize summons because the Fayth for their summons still reside in their home dimension.
Long story short, if their powers are self-generating, they can keep them! If they are not, then I'm afraid they will find themselves less capable than they were.
► Then what about weapons, and powers from weapons? Weapons of any type are a-okay! Provided they had their weapon on their person at the time that they were pulled into the game. If their powers come from their weapons or are generated by their weapons, then that is perfectly acceptable.
This does include very large weapons as well, i.e. Gundams, Zoids, an X-Wing fighter, the Batmobile, etc. If your character was in, on, or touching their vehicle of choice at the time of their arrival, then it will arrive along with them. But remember: whether or not your character is actually assigned to the Hawking, all overly large items (or if your character is an overly large item) will be housed in the docking and storage bays on that ship.
And lastly, about sentient weapons: if it can be applied for as a separate character, the general rule is that it does not come along with your character. So, for example, Ash Ketchum may have several of his Pokémon with him, but not Pikachu, seeing as Pikachu is a fully developed character on his own. The only exceptions are weapons that can't be seperated from the character in question (i.e. Ichigo Kurosaki's Zanpakuto).
► So they've got their powers AND their weapons: does this mean characters can fight with one another? Yes it does! But keep in mind that fighting between crew and civilians is forbidden according to Interplanetary Corps Regulations. If your characters are caught, they will be punished!
...but that doesn't mean all fights are discovered. ;D As always, work out major fights between characters beforehand and, if you so choose, contact a mod so that the command crew may become involved to break it up and issue reprimands.
► What if my character is a villain? Can they conspire against the ship/crew/other characters? Evil characters may indeed attempt nefarious plans if they so desire; all characters are given the benefit of the doubt upon arrival, so the opportunity is there! Just remember to contact a mod for approval and planning before your villain begins to unleash their plots within the game.
Of course, if your villain is not the planning type and begins to wreck the ships at random, expect swift disciplinary action! It is entirely possible to remain incarcerated for the entirety of the game, so be sure to choose wisely when making mischief!
► Does my character arrive with their things? Characters arrive in the game with only what they were carrying or what was within a five foot radius (five feet exactly, in fact) around them. If they were, for some reason, standing in their closet, then they will arrive with quite a few things! If they were in the shower, then they will arrive naked.
When they enter their cabin for the first time they will find that all their possessions - at least, those possessions that fit in the room - have been transported there. As for large items such as mechas, there will be a notification message waiting for them in their cabin informing them where their vehicle is housed. The Hawking has multiple bay areas, so players may choose to have exclusive storage space or share it with others at their discretion! There is space for up to three mechas per docking bay (or two if one is really big.)
► So can they buy things? Everything your characters need to maintain a basic standard of living is available (clothes, food, bedding, toiletries) free of charge! It's not all the same; think of a supply store on a small military base. Your basic black and white boxer briefs are available, but if you're looking for a silken dressing robe from Persia, you're not likely to find it.
However, if your character greatly desires something other than the typical fare, then they will want to talk to the fleet's Requisitions Officer.
Gameplay questions.
- ► How does time work during the game? The game runs in real time, which means that an hour is an hour, and twenty-four hours is a single day. The official timezone for Gauntlet is Central Standard. All timed events will be planned around CST.
► Okay, so what does my character do on their ship? Between missions? Not very much! Vital ship duty posts are taken care of by the NPC crew, which leaves the non-vital duty posts to the character crew. But what are those?
The answer is up to you! What do YOU think your character would be good at? Are they scholarly? Perhaps they take up a voluntary post in the ship's database archive on the Hawking to do research on the subject of their choice. Are they a scientist? Then they might be able to help the NPC crew on the Uesugi keep their labs running or their research in order. Are they a tough, experienced fighter? They could assist or run combat drills, simulations, and training on the Uesugi. Are they good with kids, animals, and creative ship repair? Then they might just want to volunteer to help out on the Hawking, which has no NPC crew at all besides robots!
The bottom line is that you may tailor your character's post in Gauntlet to suit the character as well as your own tastes. If you absolutely can't think of anything and feel that you need to make reference to their duties (which is not in any way a requirement!), then feel free to ask a mod (or a mod character) for a duty assignment!
► What happens when there's a mission? The roleplay kicks into overdrive! Missions are the major 'events' of the game and can vary wildly. Perhaps teams of the combat and tactical crew will be exploring an abandoned space station, or the crew of the Uesugi: Medical Division will be called to aid wounded on a recently attacked colony, or the ship itself may become caught up in a residual anomaly caused by the stolen Gate. At all times, the fleet is in pursuit of The First, but the kind of trail that The First leaves behind can be of many different flavors!
Every mission and every change in the game status will be reported in a mod post that contains both IC and OOC instructions, such as was done in Crucible originally (as seen here and here). Most missions will be announced by DIVA directly to the crew, detailing in character what is happening, and a mod will fill in the rest for players following that. There may be some missions announced without IC help, such as unexpected emergencies, but rest assured, all will be explained directly to players within that post!
► Hey, does that mean characters on different ships do different things? It certainly does. Each and every mission will have specific roles for both ships, sometimes favoring one more than another. If it's a combat-heavy situation, those on the Uesugi will have more to do. If it's a tactical (aka a puzzle or riddle) mission, then the crew of the Hawking: Science Division will have time to shine. That isn't to say that someone on the other two ships can't figure out the riddle, or that a tactician can't put up their dukes and fight, but it won't be their job. And often, there will be other factors for them to deal with.
Of course, each mission will be different, with needs and goals unique to each event!
As for the civilians in the Hawking: Civilian Division, they will never be included in a deployment, but that isn't to say that they won't have parts to play in events as well. ;)
► When do missions happen? The timing and duration of missions vary, as well as how much downtime there is between them. A mission can last anywhere from a few days to three weeks, though will average out to seven days or so. The ratio of downtime is relatively the same, though keep in mind that other events may happen between missions, such as stops on planets or stations for supplies, shore leave, or other surprises!
On a more day-to-day basis, characters do, of course, have free time and can spend it as they wish. Travel between ships is permitted during off-duty hours, with transporters available for them to use to travel from ship to ship. The destination of choice would be the Hawking: Civilian Division, seeing as it has recreational facilities!
► How do I keep up with this? Other than the mission post itself, the current game status will be available to view on the Plot page. This page will contain what the ship is doing; during downtime the page will be understandably sparse, while during missions it will contain a duplication of the mission post (seeing as it is likely to get lost in the flood of character posts), updates on the mission status as required, and eventually, the plot of the game up until the present.
► Can my character get hurt during missions? Can they die? There wouldn't be a medical ship if they thought no one was going to get hurt! So yes, there is plenty of physical danger and risk of injury. All injuries and illness will be handled in the Uesugi: Medical Division.
As for death: it is permanent. There will be no revivals should a character be killed during the game and no careful dodging of this rule by killing off a character then reapplying for them. Dead characters can be reapplied for, but only after a month downtime and only by someone other than the original mun.
This rule is in place to give death some measure of gravity during the game. Believe it or not, dying is a big deal, and we will be trying to keep it that way.
► What if a character has abilities that can revive the dead or revive themselves upon death? These are allowed, with this stipulation: the character must be revived in under a minute. This means that the person or force must have been near the individual at the time of death.
And, of course, it is preferred that you inform a mod of your plan of action. Should revivals be happening with increasing frequency, this allowance will be removed.
If you have any other questions.
- ► Please, feel free to ask them here. A mod will respond as promptly as they are able and, should your question be especially pertinent to the game, it will be added to the FAQ.
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