Before requesting access, you are required to read the following:
Game rules may be subject to change.
Applications will not be accepted on a first come-first served basis. Please take some time and give some thought to your answers. Try to provide specific instead of generalised answers.
SECTION I. PLAYER QUESTIONNAIRE
- Please provide your age and year of birth.
- What is your current time zone?
- What is your average posting rate?
- What is your first language, if not English?
- Why do you wish to join this game?
- What are your expectations for this game?
- What is your experience with gaming in general?
- What are the sorts of things do you enjoy? (In terms of games, books, movies, et cetera. I'm interested in hearing about anything, really.)
- What are taboo issues for you? (For example, some people are averse to games that depict drug usage in any way. Others feel uncomfortable with current political issues.)
- Please provide a writing sample. (I'm mostly looking for correct spelling, adherence to the rules of grammar, good diction, interesting ideas, and so forth.)
SECTION II. CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE
Think of this second questionnaire like a pitch. When pitching your character for the game, keep in mind that some characters may not fit with the game I'm trying to run. Or perhaps won't fit with the characters other players are running. My philosophy is that there needs to be a synergy between the players, GM, and the characters so that we're all rooting for the same thing.
Which in my opinion, should be "a successful game".
Write a paragraph of text for a character, like you'd see in a story outline, describing the most essential elements of your character. What kind of arc do you envision for the character? What do you envision their story to be about? Try to capture what makes them unique as a character.
Compose your pitch in complete, grammatical sentences. No lists of abilities; no sentence fragments. It's okay to submit only one pitch, but would be better if you do more. Ideally, I would like to see three to five character pitches, after which I will pick the best one for a more in-depth focus. Each character pitch should be around 200 words long.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Here are some answers to some questions you might have.
What is the Big Picture?
The Quori have managed to create a utopia within their own Arc of the galaxy, but not all is well on the fringes of their civilisation. Not only are they locked into a cold war with their nearest peer rivals, the frontiers of their volume of space are plagued by problems that an infinite supply of Quori could not easily solve. Yet their numbers are few, and they cannot be everywhere at once. And while they are incredibly long-lived, time is not always on their side.
Indeed, many different powers are arrayed against the Quori, some open in their hostility and others hiding in the darkness, waiting to strike when the moment is right.
Who are the players supposed to be?
The players are members of a Quori noble household, which the players will have a hand in helping to create collaboratively in some way. Players can be the head of the household, scions of the house, or perhaps those employed by the house, like household guards or councillors. However, they must be intimately connected with the house in some way.
As a member of the Quori species, you are gifted with many different superhuman powers:
- Superhuman strength
- Superhuman speed
- Superhuman durability
- Superhuman sensory perception
- Flight
- Decelerated aging
Quori of different stripes have varying levels of the above abilities, depending on how gifted they are and how much they've trained their native physiology. In addition, members of most noble families have a unique ability that other Quori do not have. For example, the ruling House of Suns possessed an ability known as "the Sunfire", which was an inner power and energy that could be channelled from the body through the eyes, cohering into intense beams of light.
Does Earth exist in this game?
No. This game takes place in a reality unlike our own, though it may be similar. There are no humans, though their nearest counterpart may be the Quori themselves, at least in appearance.
What's your perspective on game balance?
I take a more nuanced approach to balance than is espoused in most game systems. 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 Superman and Batman in 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 08:35, Sun 11 July 2021.
