Seasons Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
seasonsmods) wrote2022-05-14 08:34 pm
seasonsmods) wrote2022-05-14 08:34 pm
FAQ
FAQ
IC
Basics
What is Seasons?
Seasons is sex-friendly private Fantasy Game, set in the world of Ellipsa. Characters are given powers based on one of the four seasons and tasked with restoring the balance in the world. To survive in this world characters need to touch one another at least once a week (ideally once a day). The game also has some dark themes, which is why players should be at least 18 of age.
Who can join this game?
You need an invite from a player already in the game before you can join the game. Friends of the moderators of the game get an automatic invite.
Is the TDM free for all?
No. Those who were invited by their friends but aren't friends with the moderators can comment on this post to inform us they want to tag in the TDM and wait for mod approval.
Game Mechanics
Powers
Everyone has been sorted into seasons and they get powers based on them. For more information visit the power page.
Optionally, there is also magic to be learned. More information on magic here.
Touch
To remain anchored to the world otherworlders have to touch each other. This can be as simple as holding hands or something more intimate. The more otherworlders touch one another the better control they have over their seasonal powers and it's easier for them to learn new aspects of their powers.
And yes, sparring or just punching someone counts as a way of physical contact.
It's recommended you touch someone at least once a day but you can go on for five days without physical contact safely. They might feel a little tired before it, but after the five day mark they start feeling very weak, like something is off about their bodies and even more tired. Symptoms may also include a fever or a bad joint pains.
If characters fail to touch someone for seven days in a row they turn into a stone statue. This does not mean they're dead, just frozen until someone sacrifices something for them. Either a player character or a NPC can sacrifice any item (it can be just bought from the store -- some stores are even designed to sell sacrificial items). After being brought back they need to keep (at least) holding hands with someone for at least an hour to get their energy back or they will turn back to stone the next day.
Sacrificing is easy: characters just burn an item in front of the character turned to stone and say a nice thing. Any nice thing will do. Nothing will happen if a bad thing is said and you're just wasting an item.
Being turned into stone was a choice consequence effect made by the Power Holders because it's "better than being shred into pieces".
Characters will feel an euphoric rush from the touch. Basically they will feel a lot better. Their magical energy will also feel stronger and more stable the longer the physical connection remains.
Death
Death in Ellipsa isn't permanent for Otherworlders. Once a character dies, their body will disappear after half an hour (turns into dust) and a giant flower bud will appear in a specific place in the seasonal segment their character belongs to (this flower can be anything based on characters/player preference). This flower is the same one you received on your arrival as a phone charm.
The flower is protected by magic and cannot be harmed in any way. Once three days have gone by, the flower will bloom and the character will return to life in full health and in the same white clothes they once arrived to the world in. There are no lasting physical damages from dying and character can return to life as normal. However, if the player wishes, the magic can always fail a little and leave more permanent scars on person.
The flower appears in a certain place of the seasonal segment that is safe to visit, called a Flower Yard. Other characters will be able to know whose it is since the flower carries the scent of the one it belongs to. After the first death the flower will remain where it grew and from then on out whenever the same character dies they will return to the flower to be revived once again. On that moment, the flower will be a bud again when it's normally in full bloom.
The flower magic works by turning the character's essence into magic that gets teleported into the right Flower Yard. That essence then revives them back to how they were (but sometimes fails a little and may leave scars from their death if players want that).
Even if the characters wouldn't have their flower charms with them, they'll glow for the time it takes for a character to revive from their flower as a sign that this is in progress. A broken flower charm can be replaced by the Research Center and the state of it doesn't affect the revival process. It's mostly there to show the process of the revival.
After a character leaves the world permanently the flower will remain where it is, forever in bloom, but the scent that it carried is gone.
Upon revival any items and clothes that were on them and weren't collected by anyone (another otherworlder or a particularly quick monster) can be found back at the lost and found pins of the research center in the same condition they were in upon death. This is due to teleporting invisible fairies that wander the segments and send items that don't belong in the Seasonal Segment back to the city.
The flower can be something that only exists in the characters' world. It can even be a tree blossom, in which case a single branch of a tree grows to support the bud. The main thing about the flower is that is has to be able to bloom.
Currency
Money is mostly earned through a smartphone app called BankCrow. Some people still prefer cash, but it's largely a forgotten form of currency.
The currency in Ellipsa is called Moon Coins ( ☾ ) and in real life standards they're the same value as Euros.
Jobs
The Nightwake City provides a variety of jobs. All of the districts have various businesses around and are always looking for employees. Even the notable locations sometimes offer jobs for those who wish to work for them. You can use your imagination to come up with different shops and places of business.
Characters may also start their own business as long as they've been in the world for two months.
There are also three "big" jobs that are recommended to those with interest and skill:
Law Enforcement is also looking for cops and detectives to help catch criminals. (You start as a traffic cop for two months)
The Research Center is always looking for new scientists and even test subjects (especially in the mecha suit hangar).
Seasonal Guilds employ Power Holders to become Guild Adventurers that explore Seasonal Segments and help the natives with getting valuable resources from them.
Law Enforcement Uniforms
Casual uniform looks like this (either a short sleeve or a long sleeved version, can also have a skirt instead of pants), but this very uniform has the ability to transform into a suit developed by the Nightwake Researchers.
The suit has a built in connection for contacting the headquarters when necessary and also has a holographic map system. Protects the user from elemental magic, as most of the law enforcement cops are natives with no powers. The helmet goes into the suit. Also has neat little compartments for weapons or handcuffs. Suit also responds to the wearer's body for maximum protection.
Law Enforcement/Research Center Perks
Law Enforcement characters get a free airship licence course if they wish to get one (a driver's licence for airships, basically). They are also entitled to use any of the Law Enforcement's own vehicles (changes according to district).
Research Center characters get a free monthly set of potions (1 medical potion that helps delay flu symptoms, 1 potion for motion sickness, 1 potion that acts like an energy drink, 1 potion that upgrades strength and defense for three hours) and access to new technology. They also get a free traveling pass to use on airship busses/taxis for quicker traveling between home and work.
School
There are small schools around the district that characters can go into, but they don't go past high school levels. After that the research center and private tutors give lessons to those who want to learn more academics.
No one is forced to participate in school even if they'd be still in the middle of it back home. It's all optional.
There are also two special schools that characters can join: Magical Manor in Amberfall and Tower of Potions in Stormreach. There they can learn additional magic.
Housing
When characters arrive in Ellipsa they get a free apartment in the Nightwake City center. It's a basic two bedroom apartment with a kitchen, bathroom and even an optional balcony. Characters can live in these apartments rent-free for two months and then continue to live in them if they want to.
However, characters are allowed to move whenever they want. There are a variety of options that change depending on where in the city you move into. A character can even camp in the Seasonal Segments if they wish to, but this is not recommended.
All homes are completely soundproof and can be modified with manual means, but also in magical ways. There are special rewards items that can help characters with that.
Culture & Holidays
While the most districts are modeled after real life places, they're not meant to represent them completely. All of the different cultures in Ellipsa are native to the world. They're just very similar to the "real life" cultures, but not exactly the same - so don't be afraid to but your own spin on what kind of culture your characters experiences!
This also means food is largely the same kind that you can expect in similar real life locations, but sometimes due to the world being smaller now the ingredients may be very, very improvised on.
Holidays are largely the same in Ellipsa, but as it's lacking in religion (they believe in the Four Seasons being the rules and makers of the land, rather than any higher beings), any religious holidays are instead generic. So Christmas, for example, is closer to the Winter Solstice, but still largely has same colorful decorations and gift giving's.
Calendar & the Sun
Ellipsa's calendar follows the "real life" calendar. There are twelve months, all named the same as they are in our calendar. What month is is generally only matters for anyone's birthdays and when holidays are.
All days have 24 hours, with 12 hours being the day and 12 hours being the night. Day starts at 8 a.m. and ends on 7.59 p.m. Night starts at 8 p.m. and ends at 7.59 a.m. The day is the same length in every Segment, but sometimes the Winter and Autumn Segments may still seem dark during the day due to dark clouds in the sky.
Due to the energy provided by The Darkness, days can feel a lot longer. An hour may very well feel like a few hours instead.
Technology
Smartphones
Devices provided by the government in Ellipsa are high technology devices. They're normally small flip phones, but can be "folded" into larger devices (tablets or even laptops). If you find yourself in an outfit without pockets you can even turn your smartphone into a watch. The battery life of the devices is a week on full charge and they're very durable and hard to break.
If you, however, do end up breaking your phone, you can receive a new one but all your extra apps will have to be installed again.
The following apps have been installed automatically, but can be removed or edited:
- Calculator, Calendar, Camera, Gallery, Notebook, Sketchpad, etc
- BankCrow (Bank account info is held here. Also used to pay anywhere.)
- Cinder (An app to find platonic contact. For example just people to hold your hand. Keeps sneakily reinstalling itself after few days upon removal.
- Sinder (Dating app to find hook ups for sexy times. Isn't and cannot be installed on phones of those under 16 years old, but installs itself automatically after turn the right age. Won't reinstall itself upon removal.)
- Ellipsagram (The most popular social media side)
- Ellipsa Maps (Maps of all districts and segments and GPS)
- Ellipsa Store (App store with more apps to find)
- Frustrated Feathers (A game where you fling various birds at swine)
- Weatherfox (Default browser)
- A monitor that tracks characters' magical energy level (It's very useful for checking how much you have left while you're training or out on the Segments)
- A monitor that tracks characters' touch energy levels and alerts them when they're running low on energy
The App Store has other apps available, such as games (basically any mobile game, just make sure to edit the details if it's an actual canon game like Genshin Impact), useful apps for cooking or fitness, music apps etc, etc. Basically almost anything you would find in a modern world app store.
Accessibility
The smartphones are designed to change to suit the owner they're given to. They're equipped with text to speech, speech to text and voice commands. The smartphones are meant to be easy to learn how to use by anyone.
Ellipsanet
Ellipsanet is the communication system used all over Ellipsa. It's a strong network that works even at the far edges of each seasonal segment. As long as your device has battery life you'll likely be able to contact someone with it. The only exceptions are thunder- and snowstorms that will make some functions impossible to use, but even then texting will work.
The system also has an emergency channel which can't be opted out of but only alerts on emergencies based on your location. So if you're having a relaxing vacation in one of the summer-y districts and an emergency happens in the winter segment, you won't get a notice.
Ellipsanet also hosts a lot of sites that closely resemble modern day internet sites from a modern human world. For example "EllipsaEh?" helps with finding information you need, closely resembling a popular search engine.
OOC
Characters
What kind of characters are playable on Seasons?
Canon characters
Original characters
CRAU
Canonical alternate universe characters
Alternative series duplicates
MMO and tabletop original characters created by you
Non-Human characters
Children that can take care of themselves at least a little
What kind of characters are not allowed?
Fandom AU
Fanfiction characters
Author self-insert characters
Characters who have not been sufficiently developed in canon
Real life people
Adaptation duplicates for a character already in game
Other peoples' original characters
MMO Protagonists
We allow multiples of "Warriors of Light from FFXIV" to be in the game. However, we do not want any ties to NPCs that are not specifically discussed with the NPC player. (That means no getting married to any of them before entering the game, but having feelings for them is fine).
Please do not force pre-existing relationships with NPC players onto the players* if they have their own ideas or would like to play as they generally are in canon.
*NPC players are also not obligated to recognize every version of the malleable protagonists, but it is an option if they want to just blame it on the magic of this world. They can find themselves familiar with the names/faces of the WoLs and if there is no prior planning for this with the players, feel free to plot how much they would know about them or just leave it vague to learn about in the game!
Fate/... duplicates
We will accept different versions of the same servant in the game, as they are from different situations and timelines than the "originals".
This doesn't work with servants from individual timelines like Fate/Stay Night as they're both fundamentally the same servants with the same classes in all of the timelines.
Are players allowed to play multiple characters from the same series?
Yes, as long as they characters aren't too close to each other. They may be part of the same group in the canon as long as they have very little canon interaction, but playing siblings or love interests is a strict no. You are, however, allowed to play or handwave threads between your characters, as long as that's not the only thing you do.
How many character slots may each player have?
There is no character limit from January 2025 onwards.
Are there cast caps in this game?
There are not.
If your CRAU character experienced physical or skill changes in a previous game, what may be carried over?
Physical changes and mundane skills are okay, but special powers are not. Monster or animal changes can be applied, but they'd be purely aesthetic, aside from claws/fangs/wings which can be used/dismissed as needed. Curses (like a werewolf curse) may also be kept. At the same time, all of these can be dismissed upon arriving to the game from a CRAU.
Things like magical tattoos (for example) will be rendered to being normal tattoos (or dismissed completely if wished) but items that are magical will keep their magical powers.
Can my character have multiple CRAU?
Yes.
My character was injured in their canon point. How does this affect things?
Players are free to decide how the characters arrive in the world. The magic can heal them completely (with or without scars) or they can arrive wounded as they were. Their clothes are, however, in the condition they were in canon because the magic isn't omnipotent and something must be sacrificed.
Same goes for any curses or diseases you might want to casually leave out of your gameplay for a more pleasant time, especially if they would make it hard to actually play the character from your chosen canon point!
My character died in canon. What does that mean?
Your character will appear in full health. Any death related scars may remain and clothes will be in the same condition they were during their death. If you want a dramatic entrance, you may also take them with a wound that used to be fatal but is now "manageable" due to the world's magic.
My character has special needs (food, energy, etc). How can they adapt?
The Research Center will handle anyone with special needs and come up with a suitable solution. This all happens right after the arrival speeches and don't need to be threaded out. You may consult a moderator through FAQ or mod contact about how you want to handle it, or you may just decide something (whether it's magic or high technology).
Can my characters bring their pets with them?
Yes! Characters can bring one animal companion/pet with them as a freebie and any number of them with their inventory slots / canon regains.
If the animal companion has its own personality and it can talk and function like a normal character, they're appable and cannot be brought in as an animal companion (for ex. Morgana from Persona 5, Digimon Partners from Digimon, Team Rocket's Meowth from Pokémon).
Animal Companions (for ex. Pokémon) that are mount-sized and don't come in with the mount slot will be shrunk to a smaller size at first, but can be returned back to full size later through freebie rewards from the rewards page.
Animal companions can also be regained later through rewards.
How about Mounts?
Characters are allowed to bring one mount with them into the game. They'll be in the Research center stables, waiting for their partners. After that they can get them accessories to help them be smaller in doors or they can find them a place of their own anywhere in the city.
Mounts can also be regained later through rewards.
How many items can a character bring as an inventory?
Characters get six items from home that get brought with them (they will be at the the apartment character is assigned to at the beginning). These items can be magical or regular items. They can also be from the past or from the future, as long as the character has at some point owned them.
Clothes and accessories that are already on the character in their canon point don't count as an inventory slot and will just appear with the other items to their apartment.
Items in a set are 1 item. Ex: clothes/shoes together, a sewing kit, a medicine bag, etc. A Pokémon trainer can have a set of 6 Pokémon in their Pokéballs as one set. See animal companions and mounts above for details.
My character is a kid and can't really get a job...
The government of Ellipsa helps out otherwolders who are very young by providing them with enough funds to live comfortably. They can also provide them with a foster family of natives or they can find otherworlders to live with, but they'll still get monetary help.
Of course some jobs do let kids to work for them - like toy shops or candy stores. Mostly as product testers.
Can my character get pregnant in the game? What if my character is pregnant in canon?
No. There will be absolutely no pregnancies or any STDS happening or going around in this game. And if your character happens to be pregnant in their canon point, then their bodies will be in "stasis" and they will be told, that their babies are fine. Their bodies will look as they did before pregnancy but the parents will still know that somehow this "babies are fine" is the truth and they won't need to worry about them while they're here!
Character Powers
Do our characters keep their canon powers?
Yes. While we hope you will use your new powers, we don't want to take abilities away from characters. They will function as normal, unless an event begs to differ.
My characters' abilities are game breaking! What should I do?
You will be asked in your app if you need to nerf your powers and you can suggest how yourself. The moderators will then discuss options or approve of your own ideas.
My characters' abilities are similar to a game power. Can they master it faster?
Because the Power Holders powers are meant to be special and use a different source of energy from canon abilities, they need to be learned from the beginning and can't be "fast learned". This also means a character may know how fire due to their canon abilities, but sometimes only the Power Holds fire magic can solve a problem dealt with fire due to how the dark energies from "the Darkness" affect the world. We will always mark situations like this as clearly as possible.
My character has autorevival/resurrection powers in canon, can they keep them?
No. Any kind of death/autorevival abilities are not available to anyone who has them if they have them in canon, and all characters will be subject to the death mechanics available in the game. Please refer to Death in the Game Mechanics section above for more details!
Other
What happens in the characters' worlds while they're away?
Their worlds remain frozen to the same moment they left. Characters can appear from multiple points of time or from multiple different timelines from the same canon, which is just explained as "magic shenanigans" and told not to worry about it.
What about canon updates?
There are two ways to do a canon update.
1. Through death. After a character dies and is transferred into their flower to revive, they can spend two more days inside the flower and return with their new canon update. This way doesn't come with new clothes, but may make physical changes to appearance.
2. Disappearance. A character disappears temporarily from the world. They return after two days to the research center, complete with possible new clothes and appearance changes. During their absence their items and their flower will remain as is, assuring anyone still here that they're still around.
New items cannot be obtained through a canon update, but new abilities are always possible to come back with.
OOCly players comment on the taken page with their new chosen canon point.
How do hiatuses work?
Characters can either go on an autopilot mode or can be take part in a research center tests out of their own will, during which they're unavailable for contact. These tests aren't anything dangerous, nor do they hurt. They're just ways to see how the seasonal power energy inside characters works and how that could be adapted back to the natives.
How about drops?
Characters disappear due to their bad connection with Ellipsa's magic. This can be caused by anything and can be random at times. When characters disappear, all their unattended items and animal companions will disappear with them and their flower will remain blooming in the flower yard (but will no longer carry their scent).
When the character returns with their memories they can either change their season to something new and start all over again or they can return to their previous season while losing the last two abilities they learned.
Does this game have a Discord Server?
Not an official one, but we do have a player made one!
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Otherwise you're all good to go.
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