faq
FAQ
What is the setting of this game?
The town of Silent Hill, somewhere in the United States. It's unknown exactly where (it's been referenced once in an official CD booklet to be in Maine, while the film erroneously suggests West Virginia). We do know it's somewhere where snow and cold weather is not unusual, and recent canon has referenced the "northern United States", so that should give you a basic idea. Basically, Silent Hill is meant to represent a "normal" American tourist town.
Can you tell me more about this town?
No problem! So can the wiki, if you are interested.
Silent Hill is a small town surrounded by wilderness. It appears to be somewhere in a higher-elevated region, as there are nearby woods and pine trees. The town itself is situated around a large natural lake known as Toluca Lake, with a same-named river stretching away from Silent Hill. It has everything a normal town should - plenty of restaurants and cafes, plenty of tiny shops and stores, motels, inns, apartment complexes, more hospitals than a small town should have, an elementary school (but not a middle or high school...), a theatre, and more. For a full list, check out the maps and locations posts.
What's this I hear about a religious cult?
Right, The Order! If you've only familiarized yourself with the Silent Hill film, I'm afraid you'll have a little catching up to do. The Order is a religious group who have made Silent Hill what it is now, separated from normal reality into its own world. Here they are trying to resurrect their God and create an eternal paradise, and they need your character's help to do it.
You can read more about The Order in that brief wiki article.
How did my character get caught up in this?
The members of the Order aren't just crazy religious fanatics - they're crazy religious fanatics with unfortunate amounts of power.
They've discovered a way to perform a ceremony that will allow to pull the souls of people into their world - meaning, to bring your character forcibly to Silent Hill. They see it as an answer to two problems. The first problem, and the one they will tell your character if asked, is that they want to "save" those who are unfortunately condemned to Hell because they do not know god's love. By bringing your character to Silent Hill, the Order hopes they can gain your character's belief and lead them on a path to "salvation".
What's the real reason they brought my character here?
By having your character in Silent Hill, the Order is able to harness their energy and lifeforce to give power to their god. The Order is trying to resurrect god so she can usher in "paradise". For being involved, the Order promises your character a place there, too.
Certain characters, however, may find that the town itself had its own reasons for bringing them in...
What happens when my character arrives?
He or she wakes up alone in a hotel room like this one. (The beds are sitting just behind the camera there, to the right side of the picture is a couch against the right wall. Those doors do lead out to a balcony, but not much can be seen through the fog.) On the desk is a sort of welcome package - there is a bottle of water, a small bag of what looks like very old potato chips, a pocket flashlight, a radio, a cellphone, and a sightseeing brochure with a picture of Toluca Lake on the outside. Here is the text of the brochure itself:
Welcome to Silent Hill!
Silent Hill, a quiet little lakeside
resort town. We're happy to have
you. Take some time out of your
busy schedules and enjoy a nice
restful vacation here.
Row after row of quaint old houses,
a gorgeous mountain landscape,
and a lake which shows different
sides of its beauty with the
passing of the day, from sunrise
to late afternoons to sunset.
Silent Hill will move you and fill
you with a feeling of deep peace.
I hope your time here will be
pleasant and your memories will
last forever.
Did you just say cell phone?
That's right - a small touch screen phone looking a whole lot like an iPhone. The phone will be one of your character's most important tools in the game. It has many functions - but first and foremost, it allows your character to communicate on the network with other poor souls trapped in the town. All posts to the network are made on silenthell_rpg (yes, this is a community-based game) and are made from this device. There is no other way to access the network. No computers or any other phones in the town will work.
What are the functions of the phone? What can it do?
A lot! There's an app for almost everything. Let's go over the major functions.
Text posts. Text posts can be however long you'd like. They are typed on an on-screen keyboard and sent out over the network. Comments can be added to any post. Any time there is a new post, your character will see "New text post!" on his/her screen. The post can then be accessed from there.
Text message. Slightly different in that these can only be sent to one or two recipients and must be shorter. A text message conversation can then happen over comments. These messages cannot be hacked or traced, which can occur on text posts.
Voice posts. Voice posts are made just like they are on LiveJournal. A character records a message on their phone and the message is posted on the network. Comments can then be left either in return voice or text. Any time there is a new post, your character will see "New voice message!" on his/her screen. The post can then be accessed from there.
Phone call. Phone calls can be placed, but only between two people. These will be played out in the community much like a text message conversation. But in voice. Obviously. Phones will display "Incoming Call from (name)" and allow your character to accept or deny the call.
Video post. VERY SHORT video posts can be made and put on the network, but nothing over two minutes long.
Pictures. The phone can take pictures. These pictures can be saved on the device and can be sent to friends.
Map. The GPS-powered map on the phone will help your characters navigate around Silent Hill. A destination can be entered and directions will guide your character there. The device will always be able to guide you to two places: The Order church, and the Lakeview Hotel. Other destinations can be saved by the character.
What about my character's powers?
All powers have been stripped from your characters on arriving in Silent Hill. These powers have instead been given to "god".
Who can I apply for? Do you have a policy on what characters are and aren't allowed?
Yes and no. As stated in the rules, all characters must be humanoid (not meaning strictly HUMAN, just human-like). We aren't accepting characters from web-comics, real people, original characters (at this time) or crack/gag characters. We are also not allowing any duplicates or alternate universes.
If you would like to play a child character, this is allowed at this time. However, it will come with conditions, and we ask that the child be at or around at least ten years old. Anything younger will be considered, but we cannot promise anything.
Is there an age limit at this game?
Yes. All players must be over the age of 16, due to violent themes. Also, any players participating in a sex log must be over the age of 18. The sex log must be locked and properly labeled. Sex logs involving characters under the age of 18 will be frowned on, but absolutely no sex logs involving characters under the age of 16 will be allowed.
What about language barriers?
Silent Hill is run on the power from the Order's god. As such, it has the ability to translate everything so that everyone is understood. In other words, congratulations! Your character now speaks English!
Characters can communicate amongst themselves in another language, provided they both knew the language in canon (for example, we've got no problem with a couple of Persona 4 characters chatting each other up in Japanese, but they'll both be able to understand and talk to the English-speaking James Sunderland now, too.)
How does time pass in Silent Hill?
It doesn't. We have calendars posted monthly, so things should run smoothly! Basically, one day in-game will last for four days real time.
For two real-time days, Silent Hill will have "day". The world outside will be brighter, although covered in a dense fog. Characters will not necessarily need flashlights to see unless they are inside a darker building. Some electricity and plumbing will work, and the monsters will be less-plentiful. Pyramid Head, for example, will not be around during the day at all. You can read more here about Silent Hill's daytime. This picture shows a good comparison of what the Lakeview Hotel would look like in the real world (top) and what it looks like during Silent Hill's day (bottom).
For two real-time days following that, Silent Hill will have its "night", known to fans of the series as the "Otherworld". The town becomes pitch dark and buildings become sinister. The streets are crawling with monsters. You can read more here about Silent Hill's nighttime.
The locations sections talk more about individual buildings and what transitions they made between day and nighttime, but if you have a specific question please feel free to ask it!
How are the communities used?
Good question. Here's what we've got so far:
silenthell_rpg - As stated above, this is where network posts are made via the character's cell phone.
silenthell_logs - This is where all logs are posted. Posts should be in third person. We prefer past-tense style prose.
silenthell_ooc - This is the OOC community, where players can introduce themselves, call hiatus, discuss the community, etc. All mod annoucements will be made here.
How will my characters eat? How will they live?
Housing is provided by the Order in the Lakeview Hotel. The room where your character wakes up is their own room, although they may be given a roommate later.
Food and drink is expected to be found by your character, and there are several places where this can be done (check out the locations posts and maps).
All medical supplies and weapons must be found somewhere in Silent Hill by your character.
Do I have to stay in the Lakeview Hotel?
Nope! Characters are free to establish home anywhere, although it should be noted that the hotel is the only place other than the Order church and Complex that is protected in Silent Hill - meaning it won't become infested with monsters. Such is not the case with places like the Riverside Motel, Jack's Inn, or any of the apartment buildings.
What happens if my character should die for any reason?
Since plenty of things can off them (such as monsters, falling out the window, starving) after their arrival, the Order is kind enough to bring people back to life as a weird way of thanking them for their 'donation' (meaning, their powers). Unfortunately, people brought back are deposited in the Brookhaven Hospital, which is full of monsters. They can request help from other characters through their devices, which will have been brought with them, or they can try to escape on their own.
The most a character can die is three times. Anymore than that and there will be penalties, as the Order is going to start saying 'fine, you keep dying, we're not going to bother healing you as well as before'. Such as, if a character dies a fourth time, they might be missing an ear in punishment. Maybe a toe. Something small but noticeable. More deaths mean more missing parts, so try to avoid that happening.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them below or get in touch with a mod!
CURRENT INFO
Reservations are OPEN.
Applications are OPEN.
LINKS
"Do not keep company with those who have no faith. For what is there in common between righteousness and evil, or between light and dark?"
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