FAQ

[lucetimods]

Frequently Asked Questions

(The old FAQ can be found here.)

If you're looking for more extensive details of Luceti's situation, check out the Nitpicker's Guide. If you just want the bare-bones, read on.

Setting Questions

1. Where is my character?
You’re in Luceti. Around you are lush forests and towering mountains, and you get to stay in a cute, quaint little village. The village is a series of houses and apartment complexes, a system of cobbled and/or beaten dirt roads, a plaza at the center of town with a river forking through the village and bridges spanning over it. There is indoor plumbing and gas-powered stoves, as well as furnaces to heat the water and fireplaces to heat the house, so you can be comfortable. There are iceboxes for food and such, but they aren’t refrigerators. There's a fountain in the plaza, as well as a hole serving as an entrance to the tunnel system that passes under the mountains. There are several shops run by both characters and NPCs; a general item store, a clothing shop, a grocery, and a weapons shop are where character's items will appear after their arrival. All items are, of course, free.

Outside the village, there is a large mountain range and two lakes that are fed by one of the river outlets. There is a structure in the mountains that was uncovered in the event “The End;” the structure is an empty base. Beyond the mountains is a large desert, with the ruins of what was probably once a temple. For more information regarding the layout and features of the area, please refer to the Map/Housing post and the Nitpicker's Guide.

2. Barrier? What barrier?
There is a transparent barrier around Luceti preventing characters from moving further than the designated area. As of right now, the barrier extends well beyond the village in all four directions, and it can take hours or even days to reach it. The north and south edges are easier to reach than east or west. The barrier is impenetrable by any means and doesn't change unless dictated by an event.

3. Who's fault is this?
The Malnosso. The Filial don’t provide a lot of information on their torturers, but basically what you’ll know is that they are scientists performing experiments for the sake of collecting data. Why, how and what for, on the other hand, are topics you are free to explore in the game. For more details on what goes on during experimentation, check out the Nitpicker's Guide.

4. Is my money of any use in Luceti?
Nope, you’ve been robbed! There is no money here in Luceti, but you don’t have to worry about food or anything of the like. Any food, supplies or medicines you need will be provided for you.

5. Will there be events in Luceti?
Of course! It would be a boring game if there weren’t. Occasionally the events will be light-hearted and silly, but sometimes they’ll be dark and trying for your characters. Sometimes, they’ll even be neutral. They’ll usually run a week long, although more involved events have been known to last an entire month.

6. Is there health care?
Yes indeed! While there is healing magic able to be learned and a multitude of healers already within the village, there is also a clinic for the severely wounded/ill.

7. Are there monsters in the forest?
Not especially. There’s mostly the regular wildlife; foxes, squirrels, chipmunks, birds, rabbits, wolves, deer…the like. There aren’t random giraffes or dinosaurs or anything of the like though; keep in mind that these are forest animals. Some events will have monsters released into the woods and mountains, so be sure to pay attention!

8. What is time/day system like?
It is your average schedule; twenty-four hours in a day. There will also be seasons, just like on earth, summer, fall, winter and spring. The amount of light and dark in a day will pertain to the season.

There is one sun, one moon, and the phases are all normal unless events state otherwise.

9. Are there NPCs?
There are a number of NPCs that regularly interact with characters in the roleplay, all of whom post to the malnosso journal. Some are friendly, some not, some questionably trustworthy. The Nitpicker's Guide has more info on each of them.

There are a handful of unplayed storekeepers, who run their shops silently and seem extremely docile, almost to the point of emotionlessness. Any efforts to dredge information regarding the Malnosso from them is relatively pointless, although your character is more than welcome to try.

Character Questions

1. What can my character expect upon waking up in the Luceti?
Your character can wake up anywhere in Luceti, inside or out, provided they're within the limits of the barrier. When the boys wake up, they're shirtless and wearing loose-fitting white cotton pants. Girls will have knee-length, white cotton sundresses. Their clothes can either be folded neatly beside them, or they can find them later in the shops if you so desire. However, missing will be their money and items. Weapons (non-explosives, such as swords, staves and the like) can be found later in the weapons’ shop. Any other personal items (non-magical in nature) can be found in the smaller shops around the village. However, items like explosives and any magic-based items (materia, Link’s ocarina, wands, so on and so forth) need to be cleared with a head mod before they can be found. More details on this can be found in the Nitpicker's Guide. If certain items are important to a character's health, secrecy, state of being, or any such thing, they can keep them or find them nearby when they wake up.

Any powers, abilities, or super strengths they might have are weakened to 50% unless an event dictates it to be higher/lower.

2. How about the journal?
The most important item your character will find when they wake up is the journal, their window of communication with the rest of the village unless you're meeting face to face. It’s basically like a written live journal. A little picture, like your icon, will show up next to your comments on other’s entries. This way, others can see a snapshot of how your character is reacting to something. Also, the journal is magic, so it can imprint your voice, if you tell it to. There's more details about the function of the journal in Question #1 of the next section, or the Nitpicker's Guide.

If the journal is torn, destroyed, or stolen, it will repair itself and return to its owner within a day or so. Characters can put some distance between themselves and the journal without consequence, though.

3. How about the wings?
That's right, wings. Your character has been fitted with a lovely little pair of short wings of varying color. They're fully mobile and physically a part of the character now, and removing them causes death. They can't fly with them, but with practice they might be able to hover a bit off the ground. Overall they're pretty useless, though. More details in the Nitpicker's Guide.

4. What's with the Tags?
The Tags are markings the Malnosso put on the Filial to keep track of all their test subjects. It's this little barcode on the back of your character’s neck; it’s painless, and relatively easy to overlook, but marks your character as an experimental subject. Attempting to ‘cut it off’ is gross and pointless, since once the skin grows back, the tag will still be there.

5. Why is my character here?
The story you’ll probably get is that the Malnosso used some sort of device or ability to bring your character to Luceti, alter them so that they resemble the locals -called “Filial”- and experiment on the population, both as a whole and upon individuals. Of course, whether or not this is true is really up to what you decide to believe.

6. Can my character leave?
Technically, no. If you drop a character, the common belief is that your character was sent back to their world. In the case of someone else wanting to pick up that same character, they can; they’ll simply have no memories of their previous stay in Luceti. However, if you decide you’d like to pick your character back up again, then you can choose whether or not he or she will retain his or her memories.

7. Can my character die?
Yes. Your character is completely free to die. However, think carefully before deciding to kill your character off; there is a penalty for making the Malnosso work to bring your sorry ass back. First off, it’s gonna take at least a full week to bring someone back to life. It’s messy business, y’know. Secondly, there’s a price to pay. Your character will lose something important to them; a memory, a limb, a sense. Also, you will need to clear your death and penalty with a head mod before running through with it. For more details about Death Penalties and their requirements, see the Nitpicker's Guide.

8. How do the characters communicate within Luceti?
Ah, this is a big one. Communication is done through journals. The journals are hand written, but they are magical in their design. There is a small window that serves as the “icon,” where your character can be seen. Hacking is also somewhat vague; the general rule is that if your character is extremely intelligent/good with computers, they can encrypt/hack messages with less effort. The percentage of hackability is left to the mun’s discretion, but please do be reasonable and don’t abuse it. If something is unhackable, it’s unhackable. Additionally, if you are locking an entry please provide whether or not it is hackable, and a percentage on how easy it is to hack. Thank you!

9. My character has a magical ability. Can s/he use them in Luceti?
That depends on the ability! Spells, elemental and physical, songs, all that jazz is allowed. Characters can even learn such abilities from their canon fellows if such abilities are something that can be taught. However, we can’t allow summon spirits unless the character has received teachings from an NPC, simply because of the complications involved with some of them having personalities and acting of their own accord. You’re more than welcome to app a summon spirit, though!

In regards to the ability to summon a weapon into existence, characters can keep it. An example would be most characters in the Kingdom Hearts games.

In regards to spells and powers, consider their potency to be at fifty percent. Also, there is a specific brand of Luceti elemental magic that can be learned addressed in another question.

In regards to telepathy/precognition/etc., they too are limited to 50% ability. In addition, since telepathy can invade another character's mind, it can be considered as godmoding, so if you have a character with some sort of psychic ability, you must have some sort of permission post so players can tell you what your character is allowed to do when meeting theirs.

If you are still confused as to what your character can or cannot do, please contact a head mod with your question or ask here.

10. My character has a non-magical ability. Can s/he use them in Luceti?
Any natural talent, such as swordplay, hand-to-hand combat, etc; these skills are left alone. Anything like super strength or enhanced speed and agility is toned down as per the dampening effect; consider your character at fifty percent potential regarding this. So if your character can lift a truck, maybe now they can only lift a compact, so on and so forth. If you are confused about exactly how much weaker your character is, please contact a mod for specifications!

11. My character is an immortal who can regenerate and can't be killed!
Since powers are halved in Luceti, they might not be the case. If a character is torn apart or completely vaporized, that counts as a death. But regeneration in general is allowed; it will take longer and not be as strong, however, due to the power cap.

12. What if my character has already died in canon?
Doesn't matter! Characters can be taken post-death and be alive with no consequences in Luceti. They're not zombified or anything, just normal folk.

13. My character can transform! Is this affected in Luceti?
Generally it's allowed, though it sometimes depends on what they transform into or what said transformation requires to trigger. More often than not we have no problem with it, and if you're not sure, feel free to ask us! Also, the wings remain on the character regardless of their form.

14. What if my character isn’t human or humanoid?
All characters are permitted regardless of species, provided the character is a character and not, say, a random creature in whatever fandom of your choosing. We've had animals in Luceti (such as Amaterasu from Okami) and humanoids (like Sonic the Hedgehog or various robots). If you're apping a creature that is some sort of pet/companion to another, you should consult a mod to see if the character hasn't already been allowed to have that creature in Luceti! (A good example of this would be Pokemon.) Also, some creatures may not qualify to be apped, so ask if you're not sure that they're enough of a character.

15. What if my character has an animal companion? Can they come to Luceti with them?
Depends on whether or not the character has a personality that makes them appable, and how likely they are to be apped. For example, we've allowed characters to have the following:

-creatures that are physically attached to the character (such as Ashton's dragons in Star Ocean 2 or Ginko's mushi)
-creatures that spiritually attached to the character (such as Yuzuriha's Inuki from X)
-creatures that act as a character's weapon (such as Pokemon)

What we allow, but with certain limitations:

-creatures with personalities and large roles in canon but with no speaking role, those that can be or have been apped (such as Repede from Tales of Vesperia or Ash's Pikachu)

What we won't allow:

-a pet/creature from a character's world that has no physical or spiritual bond with them (such as anyone but Allen Walker getting Timcanpi)
-a pet/creature/companion with a significant speaking role (such as Keroberos from Card Captor Sakura)

Basically it's a case-by-case thing, so just ask a mod if it's allowed. Recently the Malnosso have begun to bring creature companions into the enclosure, so if your character has one, feel free to use the Pet Registration and bring them in. Only a character's pet or an animal close to them is allowed right now, not just a random creature from the same location. There are occasional events that allow that sort of thing, though, so keep an eye out.

16. In that case, can my character find a pet within Luceti?
Most of the animals in the village and the forest surrounding it are wild, but considering they can talk, it's plausible that a character might be able to convince them to come home with them. Try to be realistic about it, though.

17. What if my character has wings already?
Depends on the wing type. If the wings are always there (eg. an angel-type character) they are supplemented with the Filial wings, ie. having an extra, smaller pair of wings (the Filial style, for those with characters like Gargoyles who have a different sort). If they are wings that can be summoned and sent away at will (eg. the Chosen in Tales of Symphonia), they'll probably be allowed, so ask a mod if it's a concern. If the wings are essential to the character getting around (eg. a dragon or Navi the fairy), the regular wings are allowed, with the smaller Filial wings between them. It makes life awkward, but them's the breaks.

18. I want my character to have crazy cool mecha wings! Is that allowed?
Sorry, but no can do; if your character is robotic, then the wings are obviously inorganic, but serve the same purpose as organic wings. They are build to appear organic, and if they are removed then your character will “cease functioning.” AKA, die, just like an organic character. Multi-colored wings and such are allowed, of course; be as tacky as you like. The wing color is not significant; you can pick a color that fits the character or have something random and silly. You can also change the wing color if you want; all you have to do is repost their character info on the Taken Characters post.

19. My character can communicate with the planet/gods!
That's nice. But not anymore, sorry |D Any communication outside of the barrier is pretty much disabled, so you're SOL.

20. What's this I hear about Filial magic?
As a Filial, your character will be capable of performing magic! The spirits each have their own name and personality, but do not have a physical form; rather, he or she or it can be “heard” by your character, simply by listening carefully. Also, beneath these spirits are lesser spirits, which are the ones your character will come into contact with most often. The lesser spirits don’t have individual names, and are flighty and difficult to talk to in that they don’t usually waste time teaching any skills or giving any hints on performing magic. It takes a bit of a breakthrough to hear the “true” voice of an element, but with enough trying, your character can certainly succeed. No mod involvement is required unless you have questions, so feel free to show initiative and get things rolling without us.

Full details on all the spirits and how to communicate with them can be found in the Nitpicker's Guide.

21. My character suffers from some sort of disease, disability, or injury. Will s/he still have it in Luceti?
All mortal wounds are healed upon arrival; other than that, any kind of crippling disability or disease is left with them. Unless it’s something that’ll kill your character outright and relatively quickly (aka AIDS, anything that requires medication and/or hospital care) then your character still has it. Blindness, a bum leg, so on and so forth. If you’d like your character to be healed of this disability either before arrival or sometime during the game, please contact a head mod with your request.

22. Can our characters have jobs?
There really isn’t a need for jobs since food and clothes are provided. But if you want to start some sort of little business, then it's up to you. Think about what might be needed, or fun for your character. They're allowed to have some good times. Also, there is a school for the Filial. It is one of the largest buildings in the village, so it’s hard to miss. If your character wants to attend school, there is a school program available for everyone interested.

23. What should we do if we want characters to get married/have children, etc.?
This is a good question. Marriage between characters is completely up to the muns, there is no real mod approval required. However, if you wish to have a large wedding, or something that may as well turn into its own event/affect a lot of characters, you should ask a mod as to when a good date would be to set the wedding. This way, there won't be any major events planned for the day of said marriage. You don't want fire raining from the sky while you're walking down the aisle.

As for children, Luceti will allow children to be born. Please take into account that this isn't a CRACK RP, so there won't be any random/male pregnancies. If two characters (Yes, they have to be male and female... sorry guys, that's just how biology works) decide they REALLY want to have kids together, the muns MUST discuss this with a mod. It is a BIG decision and it can place strain on the game. Please make sure the child will be accounted for and that it won't just be some random fluke. Kids are serious, even in RP. For rules and details, check out here.

24. What about things like guns/cigarettes/narcotics?
Previously these things have been outlawed in Luceti. However, cigarettes are now permitted; feel free to find them in the grocery. There really isn't any kind of carding in Luceti, so yes minors can get ahold of them. Hopefully their caretakers are watching. Alcohol is distributed at the bar, so it would be up to the owner whether or not he or she will give any to your character. Narcotics such as marajuana, heroin, cocaine and other illegal substances are not in Luceti.

On the issue of guns; if you character has a specific gun he or she keeps in their CANON, he or she may find it in the weapons shop where the other characters would find things such as swords, etc (ammunition can also be found here in controlled amounts). However, if your character does not use a gun in his or her canon, please do not have him or her randomly picking up a piece. Thank you very much!

Player Questions

1. What is the format for RPing in Luceti?
There is a set posting format for Luceti for character journals, which is as follows:

As a regular journal.
Namely, just making a regular text entry. Self-explanatory.

As a recording device.
Your journal can record sound, so you can most certainly do an audio post. In order to do this, please put [Audio Post] or [Voice] or something in the subject line to specify. Please keep in mind that these don't need to run for about thirty minutes, so they shouldn't be ten paragraphs long.

For quick logs, or Action Posts.
We understand that logs are tedious and difficult to complete, so we're allowing the use of an Action Post. Simply put [Action] in the subject line of the post (or comment, if your comments turn out that way) and write out your character's actions using the following format:

[Adam walked down the road, his hands in his pockets. He glanced as the sky as he shaded his eyes with a hand; bright again today.] Wonder when we'll see some rain.

[Continuing onward down the street, he was stopped by a friend.]

Like so. Using this format will unify the way everything looks on everyone's flists and just makes it that much easier to scan through things without trying to differentiate between different formats. If your Action Post is too lengthy, please use the logs comm. If it runs over three paragraphs, consider that lengthy.

You can also combine formats, eg. have a [Voice / Action] post, where a character speaks over the journal and can be found somewhere in person at the same time.

2. I live in a different time zone. Can I still apply?
We're willing accept anyone from any place and any time zone! So no worries if you live outside of North America. We don't even ask |D

3. I want to app for [insert character]! Can I?
Just about any character in any fandom is appable as long as they're not already taken. Anime, video game, live action, movies, whatever. There are some exceptions, so make sure you check the rules about that. We also allow original characters. No fandom OCs, though. We also do not allow non-fiction (real) people. Characters based on real people will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis; generally it's allowed if the character has more fictional basis to work with and is only supplemented with their real history. (An example would be the Shinsengumi characters; the main characterization is taken from Peacemaker Kurogane, with some details taken from their real counterparts.)

In regards to character duplicates, please see the rules and/or talk to a mod before applying.

4. Is there a list of wanted characters I might check to see if I'm interested in any of them?
Nope, sorry. We used to have one, but it required too much upkeep and didn't seem to help much overall, so we got rid of it. Our players are very friendly though, so if you're not sure if they'd want a certain castmate, just ask!

5. What is your application schedule?
Applications are open for one week every other month. Application Interests (aka Reserves) are open two weeks prior to the applications opening, as well as during the cycle itself.

6. How many characters can I reserve/apply for at the same time?
Don't get excessive :| The most we've seen apped in one period is three. Be realistic and not greedy- Luceti's pretty big, so you might get overwhelmed by joining with too many at once.

7. What time period should I app a character from?
You can apply for a character from any timeline within reason- eg. as long as they've been seen in enough material for that particular timeline. For example, say you wanted to apply for Beast from Beauty and the Beast. You could app him from any time period in the movie, but you couldn't app his human form from the time before he met Belle, since he's never shown in that form aside from a few images and a narrative.

8. I have a journal account I've used before/am using somewhere else. Can I use it here?
Yes to the first! For the second, since Luceti is journal-based, you can use the journal if it is being used in a community-based RP. If not, then sorry, we'll have to ask you to make a new one. It just complicates things to have entries locked or labeled to a community; it's caused confusion in the past.

9. I have an application already written from another roleplay. Can I use it/parts of it here?
If you can alter it to match the style of Luceti's application, feel free! As long as you wrote it at some point in time, we don't mind if it's been used before. The only new part of the application we need is the samples, since they must be Luceti-specific.

10. I don't want to participate in an event. Do I have to?
Nope. Most events are optional, and even the plot-related ones that involve the entire village can be handwaved if you really want to. We couldn't possibly force everyone to take part in an event, so it's your choice!

11. I want to run an event! Can I?
Sure! Players run events and plots all the time. Small scale stuff that involves just a handful of people can happen whenever you like, but if you want to run an event that will involve a large number of people, or even the entire village, you must clear it with a head mod first. Usually we'll approve of everything, no problem, but we need details to make sure it doesn't conflict with any events we might have planned.

12. I want to fourth-wall people! Can I?
For those unaware, fourth-walling means that your character recognizes another as fictional and calls them out on it. If you have a character who can do this, we ask that you have a permission post so that characters who don't want you to can specify. If they give you permission, go wild!

13. Can I change the timeline my character comes from?
You can usually change the time period your character comes from, but it depends on what you're changing it to. If you want to canon-update your character, you can, but you must re-apply for the character with the changes detailed in your app; this includes new samples.

We do not allow timeline downgrades, eg. going back in time. If you want to take a character from a previous timeline, you must reset the character and re-apply.

Any more questions? Feel free to ask them here!