Before requesting access, you are required to read the following:
Game rules may be subject to change.
SECTION I. CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE
Applications will not be accepted on a first come-first served basis. Please take some time and give some thought to your character submission.
Game Master:
Name:
Home:
Height:
Weight:
Activities: (an enumerated list of hobbies and interests, e.g. art, cinema, rugby, video games)
Quote: "A quotable quote that your character is likely to say."
Relationships: Pick two or three of the NPCs and describe your character's relationship with them. One or two paragraphs max please.
Description: One or two paragraphs max please.
Personality: One or two paragraphs max please.
History: One or two paragraphs max please.
Strengths/Virtues: One or two paragraphs max please.
Faults/Weaknesses: One or two paragraphs max please.
Powers: Special abilities or traits that make your character unique. One or two paragraphs max please.
Here are some answers to some questions you might have.
What is the Big Picture?
The game is about how Borrowers from different parts of the estate (or even from the same family!) living their lives, sometimes coming together to achieve a common goal, sometimes being completely at odds with one another. The Borrowers are a tiny people living beneath the notice of human beings, often needing to "Borrow" everyday items that would go unnoticed by the Big Folk.
It has been many years since blood was spilled between the Tooks of the Manor and the Roses of the Garden, but the arrival of The Boy promises to upend the uneasy peace between them.
The time period is somewhat vague, but generally it evokes the mood and tone of a British-esque country manor and the surrounding estate during an era of gentle manners and so forth.
Who are the players supposed to be?
The players are characters that are part of this miniature society living on the estate. They can be part of one of the three major Borrower families, either a Took, a Rose, or a Linden. They can also be part of their own much smaller family or even a Borrower in hermitage.
They can even be something far more fantastical, like a fairy; a talking mouse or cricket; or even a tin soldier come to life.
What's your perspective on game balance?
I take a more nuanced approach to balance than is espoused in D&D. Remember that this game isn't about combat per se. As long as every character has something interesting to do, I don't see a really huge problem. Often in stories you have an ensemble cast of characters with widely differing skillsets. You can have Frodo, Sam, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn in the same company and the same story.
Style
I expect players to think about their characters' inner life and thoughts and feelings and be descriptive about such in their posts. Some players have only posted their outward physical actions, which is fine for some games, but not the ones I run. I'm interested in character arcs and narratives and emotional pay-offs and so forth.
Lay out your character's backstory gradually. The tendency of most players is to get it all out at the beginning, sometimes in the first post. I've had some players whose first posts were their entire backstory, with 1000 words or more.
Don't do that.
Not only is it contravention to the posting guidelines, but we're just getting to know the characters, the world, the story. The less you spill, the more that is retained. Leave us wanting more, instead of wanting to skim.
Collaboration
I expect players to be open to collaboration in the fiction. I'll rein you back if I feel you come up with something that contradicts the world, but players should generally be open to suggestions from other players and the GM. We're all in charge of the fiction together. You can write for another NPC, just as much as I can. Someone else can even chime in and move other characters around if their idea makes for a more interesting story.
I'm even okay with player characters moving other player characters, with each other's permission, of course. Comfort levels may vary, but if I was playing Doc Brown, and another was playing Marty, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for me to move Marty in such a way:
quote:
"Great Scott!" said Doc Brown.
"What is it, Doc?" Marty said.
If you do move another PC or NPC, be sure to be open to making edits if someone says you're doing something to make them go out of character.
Regarding Romance
I'll leave it up to the players whether they'll engage their characters in a romance. Personally, I prefer for romance to arise organically in the story, as opposed to something that is forced or the "point" or the main driver of a game.
Nice as romance is, my aims and interests do not revolve around romance, but instead are concerned with the overarching narrative and the character arcs I'm trying to build in complicated webs between the characters. Romance can play its part, and maybe even a vital part for some arcs, but keep in mind that it's only one part amidst many others.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:19, Sun 09 May 2021.
