Before requesting access, you are required to read the following:

• Rules of Conduct
• RPoL Terms of Use
• RPoL Mature Games Policy

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

1. Please provide your age and year of birth.
   
2. What is your current time zone?
   
3. What is your average posting rate?
   
4. What is your first language, if not English?
   
5. Why do you wish to join this game?
   
6. What are your expectations for this game?
   
7. What is your experience with gaming in general?
   
8. 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.)
   
9. 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.)
   
10. 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. You are pitching your character for the game. 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 200-300 words long.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Here are some answers to some questions you might have.

What is the Big Picture?

The Union is one the verge of war! Who that war is with will remain to be seen as we play the game, but there are many contenders indeed. The Union itself has imperial tendencies, running roughshod over the many kingdoms of Men, sending in their warmages in order to protect their interests abroad. They are locked in a cold war with several different powers, including the Vanished Kingdom and the Lost Cities of Elvendom.

Yet we begin instead within the hallowed halls of academia, where the next generation of bright minds are educated in the hopes of bettering the future of the Union. Here we will explore how young students will make friends, enemies, learn magic, and learn about the world in general. We will follow them through the roll of years as they learn more about themselves and discover what they are capable of when put to the Test.

If you'd like more information on the campaign setting, please send a request for access, and I'll be happy to grant access to the setting documents. :)

Who are the players supposed to be?

The player characters are students of either Llanthry or Wyverly Colleges in their Fifth Form, putting them at age 15 or 16. As enrollment in either of these schools is rather exclusive, the characters will need to either be one of the nobility or landed gentry, able to afford the schools' high tuition rates; or if the player prefers to play a lower-class character, they might be the ward of a wealthy patron or the recipient of a charitable fund that helps pay for destitute, but talented young magi.

Membership within the Great Houses is restricted. You have the freedom to create your own house of nobility or landed gentry, so feel free to come up with something that fits your character. If you really want to play one of the Great Houses, however, your character application needs to be really compelling before I even entertain the notion. :)

Some things to consider for your character:

• Has your character been attending the college since First Form (about age 5 or so) or are they newly matriculated.
• Who is the character's patron? Even if your character is part of a noble house, unless they're one of the Great Houses, their family answers to someone, in a sort of feudal lord kind of way.
• What magical talents does your character start the game with? Keep in mind the distinction between Common Magic, Guild Magic, and High Magic, as well as the differences between magic granted as a part of the land and as part of someone's ancestral bloodline. Basically, everyone has access to Common Magic, only specific magewrights at specific guilds have Guild Magic, while only bearers of titles have High Magic granted by land, and members of noble houses have magic granted by bloodline.

What do you mean by "home-brewed system"?

The system I'm using is more about using a quick resolution mechanic, to get the mechanics out of the way of the story and the fiction. Rolling a d20 with bonuses and penalties versus a specific target number is pretty easy to reason about. It is a level-less, class-less system that only inherits very broadly from its Dungeons and Dragons forbear and focuses more intently narrative, minimalist action.

If you are more interested in optimizing your build, killing everything in sight, and gaining treasure, this is probably not the game for you. Nor are we going to go into lengthy combats every time, with round by round blow-by-blows. That's not the point of this game.

I'm far more excited about exploring interesting characters in a fantastical milieu. :)

So this is freeform?

No. It's far more involved than simply freeform or even guided freeform or even freeform with rolls thrown in. We're using the Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition ruleset, with many of the class features, spells, et cetera from that system, but home-brewed to be able to play a game of Regency fantasy.

Luckily, there's a handy Reference: System document if you're curious.

What about 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.

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:


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. o
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:47, Mon 24 Apr 2023.