FAQ

[recollecters]

FAQ

PREMISE • RULES • FAQ • TAKEN • RESERVES • APPLICATIONS
REGAINS • HIATUS/DROPS • PLOT SUBMISSIONS • CALENDAR • MOD CONTACT • NAV

Game basics

What is the game about?

You can read about the full premise here. The short story is that characters believe they have lived out their whole lives on this planet and have lived in the city of Recollé for a while (or have purpose for being here.) Little by little they will experience changes in the city as panfandom elements collide and memories start coming back to them, leaving them with plenty of decisions to make.

What is the ic/ooc day ratio?

We function on a simple 1:1 system.

So what happens upon arrival?

Technically, your character never "arrives". Everyone is living in Recollé upon game start. Whether your character was born and raised in the city or moved there for a job or college, everyone has been in Recollé for a while. When you apply for a character, however, they will start to notice certain oddities that no one else does. In addition, they will receive an odd invitation to join the social media network "Retrospec".

The invitation is very sparse on the details, only stating that it is a new social media network they've been selected to test. Retrospec pops up for users on any device capable of using it at all times afterwards, regardless of whether or not they installed it. It mysteriously deletes itself from anything not privately owned by an in-game character after use; school computers, for example, will have the network installed whenever a character uses it, but after they're finished no NPC will be able to find the application.

Find our Retrospec guide here.

Is there a plot?

There is! The main plot of the game will be that characters will start to learn the mysteries of the city of Recollé and the new planet created after the destruction of the universe. Through the use of alternating bimonthly events and bimonthly plot changes, characters will earn back memories of their former lives. For more information on the main plot, please review the premise here.

What kind of events can I expect?

Events will vary between light-hearted fun and more serious plot-driven happenings, while the plot changes will provide players with plenty to discuss and explore in the months without specific events. It should be noted we have a plot submission post here, and that suggesting and running player plots can earn you memories or points toward item regains/world changes.

Are there NPCs?

While there are certainly many NPCs living in the city, some of whom are named like Mayor Mayer, Recollé's mayor, we believe in an emphasis on the characters in game rather than NPCs. Mod-played NPCs will have a minimal role if they have any at all, as we prefer for player characters to have the center stage. Players are free to make up various NPCs for the world for their own use, though we ask that they remember that NPCs cannot notice certain oddities going on as stated elsewhere.

Can my character burn down the city/Etc?

Come to the mods first for any large-scale plots, and be aware that ic actions have ic consequences. We reserve the right to say no to anything that might break the game or make things oocly difficult for us to plan around. To contact us about player plots please see our plot submission page.

What sort of IC consequences come from IC actions?

If a character commits any large sort of crime in the city (as based on plot submissions brought to us), we may determine that the character will be taken to court for judgement. From there a (handwaved) trial will occur in which characters will receive their sentence for their crime. Naturally, these sentences will vary from crime to crime. For instance, a murderer will be thrown into jail and sentenced to several years (or life) behind bars whereas a smaller crime such as petty thievery or shoplifting will require paying a fine and doing community service. Smaller crimes may also be passable without any sort of judgement or being caught at all! Please just let us know prior to anything major.

OOCly what this means is that the modteam will discuss with you what your options are. To follow the examples above, a character tried for murder will be kept in jail, but they will be able to have visitors and continued access to the in-game network and IC inboxes so the player can pass AC and earn regains. For a character tried for shoplifting, we may deduct points from your character’s point-bank and suggest coming up with a minor player plot or post for the game at-large. This plot or post may qualify for AC, but it will not qualify for bonus points.

This is all on a case by case basis! If it's a character's first offense for a minor crime, we may say that your character needs to pay a (handwaved) fine, do community service, and get a frowny face from the Mayor. If this is a larger scale or a repeated offense based on a character's background/in-game-actions, that's when we feel that the loss of OOC points may be relevant.

Generally speaking we just ask that players interested in any kind of crime speak to us and again, we will handle things on a case by case basis. The above is a general idea of how things will pan out.

Please be aware there is no organized crime within the city at this time, and characters with that in their background will have to have had it take place outside of the city prior to game start. We highly encourage players to start building things in game. Here and here are elaborations on that.

You can also read further elaboration on all of the above, and our stance on crime in the city, here!

Is there a network?

Yes, there is! The social media network Retrospec (conveniently located in the community of the same name - retrospec) can be accessed through any device which can connect to the internet. Cellphones, tablets, laptops...anything goes. Curiously, Retrospec can always be accessed even if the internet can't be. The social media network seems to be a mishmash of a journal site, forum, Twitter, and Facebook - there's a lot of options and there seems to be absolutely no guide on how to use the thing.

NPCs are incapable of viewing Retrospec entries and broadcasts if they are shown them by characters. Additionally, they don't seem capable of noticing anything amiss or hearing any of the odd things that may be discussed. Private posts are possible on the network but players are encouraged to set up IC inboxes for one-on-one interactions. Threads in IC inboxes will count as AC.

Find our Retrospec guide here.

What format should I use in the log and network comms?

Formats to be used in the comms are found in stickied entries on either comm. The network comm doesn't require you to use the forms offered, however; the codes are there simply if you want them. We do ask that you use the log comm form for any logs posted. Please also note that while you can make private network entries we ask that you keep anything network-related locked to one other person to your IC inboxes. Logs with only one other character may, however, go in the log comm.

What do you mean the NPCs don't notice anything wrong? What's wrong?

Our stock example is that horses are now chocobos. Every movie about horses? They're now about giant magical chickens. Every actual horse? Definitely a giant magical chicken. While in-game characters will at game start remember horses being a thing and find this weird as hell, NPCs will very firmly be of the opinion that there was never such a thing as horses. Hold your chocobos, man. World changes are tracked here, although they will always be announced to the game at large as they occur.

What happens if my character dies in game?

If your character dies in the game, they're transported to the morgue, located at the bottom floor of the hospital. However, doctors of Recollé will do their best to try to revive anyone on the verge of death or use characters' organs for donations.

Mysterious things happen inside that morgue though and after two days, characters will wake up in a hospital bed. Doctors will explain that they were able to restart your character's heart and heal their wounds while they've been unconscious for days. Upon waking, your character will also lose all of their regains including both items and memories and instead will be filled with a sense that they're missing something. Strangely, doctors won't have a clue what that means if your character tries to ask.

While your character may lose all of their regains upon death, they do have the option to buy them back in bulk packages for bonus points! Should you wish to take the step of having your character killed, we will discuss with you buy-back plan to hash out the best way to earn your regains back without having to repeat all of the work put in.

For characters who have immortality and have regained their immortality back, we will discuss separate options based on your individual character. While they may not die like a normal character we will happily discuss options for what will happen to your character should they wind up in a situation that would normally kill someone.

Consequences may apply for second or third deaths! Second deaths will involve a harsher regain buyback mechanic, and a third death will be permanent.

If you wish to have your character go through death, please contact us as we will work with death plots on a case by case basis.

Is sex or graphic violence permitted?

Please keep explicit sexual threads to private logs in museboxes or character journals, properly labelled with warnings. We would prefer to keep the comms relatively clean. We are fine with sexual interactions being considered game canon, but ask that the players be mindful of the ages of the characters in question. Graphic violence must be explicitly warned for and we ask that players try to match the tone of the game.

AU basics

How do the AUs work?

Basically, your character was born in Recollé (or anywhere else on planet Earth) and you get to make up what happened after that! Your character should be recognizable as being their character (i.e., there should be similarities and differences should be logical and explained) but having grown up in a different world with none of their canon happening to them they will obviously have notable differences. We will have AU workshops posted in the meme comm seven days before the test drive meme every application month so that players can connect their AU histories or get feedback should they so wish.

Please keep in mind that while your character can work other characters into their AU history, you must have the permission of the players of those characters and cannot work them in unless they are played. For example, if Anna from Frozen apps in the same round as Merida from Brave, the players could make their characters sisters. Since Elsa isn't apping in this hypothetical round, however, Anna could not make Elsa her sister, although she could list vaguely having an older sister which a future applicant could potentially make into Elsa if they so desired.

How does AUing a character work?

This is an excellent question! While we will be having AU workshops for players and potential players to share their ideas and help build a Recollé backstory, we understand it might be a little difficult to AU some characters given their canon background.

For example, say you are AUing Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy 7. Cloud was a soldier in his canon. One way you can AU him is by making him a war veteran who now lives a peaceful life in Recollé working as a delivery boy. Another example is AUing Jack Skellington from Nightmare Before Christmas. A Recollé version of Jack would be AU’d to appear human, but instead of being the Pumpkin King, he could be the manager of a costume shop who really, really loves Christmas and pines for the Christmas season all year round. All costumes are made by [name redacted], his girlfriend.

Generally speaking we encourage our players to be a little creative with their AU and stretch their imagination! Is your character a professor in their canon? Make them one here, too! How about an actual magical girl? Maybe they’re a child actress in a TV series about girls with magical powers. Please feel free to utilize our AU workshops and reach out to your fellow players to brainstorm. Workshops will go up seven days before our TDM and reserves open.

What does that mean for the canons in this AU?

In this world, similar canons are slightly nameswapped and exist in their place, for ease of not fourth-walling people. These can be made up at will.

Will my character get their memories back?

Yes! That's part of gameplay. While we go more in-depth on the regain mechanic over here, the basic idea is that doing something similar to a canon experience can net you a memory back. Participating in our plots and suggesting and running player plots can also earn you memories from your character's canon life.

Regains

How many memories can I regain per post/thread?

You may regain up to 3 memories from one singular thread! However, we do not have a limit for how many you regain per post so long as they are in different threads. For example, if you post a top-level comment on an event log, you may regain up to 3 memories in a thread with character A who responded to you, but you are also allowed to regain up to 3 memories with character B that you tagged out to.

Is there a time-limit on when I must turn in regains? What about backdating?

If a player is still actively tagging a thread, we do not have a time-limit/expiration on when you can turn in regains! However, we ask that players turn in memory regain requests no more than two weeks after the latest activity on a thread and vastly prefer that they are turned in at the time of actively threading. In terms of abilities, if you are doing a thread and would like to purchase an ability and backdate its regain, we would prefer that the backdate margin isn’t any more than a month even if you are currently tagging the thread.

The only time there is an exception to this rule is for freebie memory regains! Those regains must be applied for during the month the freebie is live and cannot be regained after that time. A freebie memory will also count as one of the three memories you can regain in one thread.

What if my canon is ongoing or receives new canon?

We ask that characters being played from ongoing canons (or canons that receive a new installment) adhere to the rule of new canons. This means that your character can regain memories and abilities already established in-canon at the time of your application, but anything new will need to wait a two-month period before being eligible for a regain. For canons such as television shows, we also ask that this two-month wait period begins after the episode in question.

What about items?

There is a section about regaining items and canon oddities such as Personas on the regains page previously linked!

What about skills and abilities?

While special skills will need to be regained via points, every day skills can be regained via memory regains. For example, a general sense of sword-fighting can be regained via a memory. However, being the only or supernaturally best person who can wield a specific skill/talent in canon must be regained via item regains. A specific example would be the following: Naoto Shirogane can remember she is a detective via memory regain. However, Kyouko Kirigiri would need to purchase an ability regain to regain her title and master skill set of being SHSL Detective.

What if my character was reincarnated in their original canon?

If your character was reincarnated in their original canon, they are able to get back not only the memories of their canon reincarnation but the memories prior to that. For example, if Usagi from Sailor Moon appeared in Recollé, she could regain her memories as herself and as her former life as Princess Serenity. In cases like these, we strongly encourage our players to focus on regaining the reincarnation memories first before attempting to regain the pre-reincarnation memories from their canon.

My character isn't human. What happens to them?

They will have been reincarnated as a human. However, their previous appearance may be regained at a later time.

What about weird hair and eye colors or other body changes?

In Recollé your character will have ordinary human hair and eye colors. The originals can be gained back through the regains system. This also applies in the case of missing limbs and such. Your character is free to have the missing limb at the start of their AU, but can regain its loss through the regains system.

Setting

What is Recollé like?

It's a modern-day city on Earth. Recollé is located in a mirror of the United States. However, where, precisely, is a bit of a mystery in and of itself. Sometimes it feels like New York, sometimes it feels like California. It's almost like the city itself is shifting but that's impossible, isn't it? Characters are free to have memories of traveling to other places around the US and other countries, and they're free to have memories of moving to Recollé from other places on Earth. For any major seasonal changes or natural disasters or anything that may occur that are dependent on specific locations, we will clarify in future mod and event posts.

For more information about Recollé, please visit our locations page. As a reminder, world-wide setting changes can be found here for easy checking, although we will be certain to alert players to any changes they should be aware of in our round up posts.

What is the culture of the city like?

The city of Recollé can be assumed to be a melting pot! As it's assumed that characters from all walks of life and all parts of the world have either moved to Recollé for work or school or were even just born in the city, it's safe to say that there's a mixture of different ethnicities and cultures blended together and it shows across all districts.

We strongly encourage the environment to be heavily shaped by the characters themselves and permit characters to have varying careers, businesses, cultural customs, and so on and so forth. We do ask, however, that any large changes such as giant buildings or etc just be run by us so that we are aware of what may be utilized later in-game!

What about languages?

If your character was born in the United States and has lived in the US, or was born and raised to have English as their first language then yes they are speaking English. As we allow characters to have backgrounds from other parts of the globe, it is optional for you to say that your character can also claim English as a second language. It’s assumed that characters transferring for school or jobs or moving to live in the city permanently would adapt to speaking in English to communicate with most of the other residents, though they may wish to speak in their mother tongue with their close friends and family who also speak the same language.

Alternatively, if your character is from another country in their canon you can opt to have them forget that they speak a different language and apply for a language regain at a later date. This option is entirely up to you.

Can my character leave Recollé?

While characters will have memories of being from other places or going on trips, no one has done so in a little while as of game start and no one has wanted to, either. While this is currently common knowledge, characters cannot leave the city except to go to the districts and areas outlined on our locations page.

Applications, Activity, and Etc.

Who can I apply for?

We accept canon characters, OCs, and customizable protagonists who demonstrate a specific personality that can be outlined in an application, such as Hawke or Commander Shepard. We do not accept Fandom OCs or CRAUs. There can only currently be two duplicates at one time in the event they are from different canons and demonstrably different - for example, Lego Batman and Dark Knight Batman could both exist in game at the same time, but no more than that.

However, we also will allow up to two versions of customizable protagonists. In this case the two protagonists must be from demonstrably different paths with different personalities. For example, a Female Mage Hawke who made wildly different choices from a Male Warrior Hawke can be applied while the latter is in game, but two Hawkes who made the same basic choices cannot be applied for.

In addition, we also ask that characters have enough canon to provide a solid personality and background to draw from for regains. Characters who are only named in passing or spoken about by other characters with little canon of their own are not accepted at this time. We may decline a reserve should we feel that a character does not have enough canon. Additionally, while we try to research canons at the time of reserve, we may not be able to judge accurately at that time and we may decline an application if we feel that a character does not have enough canon.

How long do I have to wait to apply for someone from a new canon?

You must wait two months from the English release date if there is one to apply someone from a new canon. If there is no announced or planned English release date, the rule is two months from the original release date, should this be a foreign canon. For canons that are getting an English translation or are in the process of being translated, we ask that you adhere to the same two month rule as well. So, for instance, even if a game is finished in Japan if it is in the process of being translated and released in English, we ask that you abide by the two-month rule for both characters and memories. Characters who do not have enough translated material at the current time may be rejected until a later date when more material is available!

This does not refer to the physical release date of DVDs for shows and movies, but to the air date. For shows such as RWBY which have an initial release to subscribers only, we ask that you honor the public air date available to everyone as the point to count from.

Can I apply for two characters from the same canon?

This is permissable only if the characters have not interacted or if they have had very minimal interaction. We will require you to write up a short paragraph proving or explaining their lack of interaction.

Can I mix canon sources for my application?

We ask that players do not mix canon sources for their applications if they are two completely different sources. If the canons relate to one another and are companion pieces rather than contradictions we will allow for this, but if there are direct differences to contradict parts of canon this would not be allowed. An example of canon-mixing that is not allowed would be apping a character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and supplementing comics material for them.

When are applications?

Applications are open the last 7 days of any application month, while reserves open 7 days prior to that. Applications will be bimonthly. You can always check the specific dates of any in-game events and activities on our calendar.

How many characters can I play? Any caps?

You may play three characters in Recollé. However, only one character may be reserved and apped per round. Furthermore, you must pass AC with your first character for one month before applying for a second, at which point you must pass two months AC with two characters before applying for a third. So, for instance, for a player wishing to apply during the month of February, they would need to pass January and February's AC with two characters with a link to each permanent AC comment reflecting this AC. Please note, the mod team may contact you privately about any concerns we have with your activity if you are looking to apply for a second or third character.

We currently have no cast, player, or game caps.

Are challenges allowed?

We will allow up to one challenge reserve and app per reserve. You must reserve in order to submit a challenge application.

What are the AC requirements?

Activity is checked at the end of every month. AC must be at least twenty comments presented in no less than two and no more than four threads. The minimum comment requirement for a singular thread is three comments from you. Anything less than 20 comments will be kicked back to the player as insufficient AC.

For posts or logs that you've posted yourself, the initial posting will count as one comment, and you will need a minimum of two consecutive comments to count it as a viable AC proof.

Proofs may be submitted in any combination, but please be sure to read how bonus points may apply over on the AC submission post. In addition, you must submit one proof of memory regain per month. Your activity must be submitted to your comment on the permanent ac post in the manner described on that post. AC may be submitted at any point during the month, but is due by midnight EST the last day of the month.

In the event that you fail AC, you will be given a strike. Getting two strikes will result in your being removed from the game. Hiatuses are not permitted after a strike. A strike can be removed by making the following month's AC.

Please note: this also goes both ways! Should you have a hiatus on record for the previous month, you may not take a strike for the following month. This will count as two months without passing AC, which will count as grounds for removal from the game.

What are bonus points?

Bonus points are earned for every additional comment you make over the AC limit, including comments to our test drive memes. The permanent activity post outlines how to submit these points to be counted, and they can be utilized on the regains page to purchase items, powers, pets, and more. Every additional network comment over AC gives you 1 points: this includes anything in inboxes which is text or technology based (phonecalls included). Every additional action comment over AC gives you 2 point: this includes both brackets and prose styled action comments.

Speaking of bonus points, can I claim them on backdated threads?

Yes! If you have a backdated thread, any tags done by you in the current AC month are eligible for bonus points! You may not use these for your AC proof, but they’re perfectly acceptable for bonus points.

How do hiatuses work?

Hiatuses last for one AC period unless discussed with the mods, as outlined on our hiatus & drop page. ICly, hiatuses can be done one of two ways: either your character is on autopilot for the extent of your hiatus or they lose their regains/access to Retrospec temporarily for the extent of the hiatus and behave like NPCs who find nothing to be the least bit strange about Recollé. While we accept hiatuses of up to one month, to qualify for a hiatus that allows players to pass without turning in AC the hiatus must be for 14 or more days. Players are not allowed to take a strike in the following month and must pass the next month's AC. Furthermore, should your hiatus cross over into the following month (e.g. the 15th to the 15th) you will need to submit AC for at least one of these months in spite of the 14+ days rule.

Can I turn in bonus points if I am on hiatus?

So long as you turn in your AC, you are free to turn in bonus points even if you’re on hiatus. Players may not claim bonus points if they do not turn in their AC.

How do drops work?

Drops involve the character losing their regains and returning to NPC status. Players in-game are allowed to continue playing as if the character dropped is still in-game but simply unaware of what's happening in-game and without access to the Retrospec network. Should a player wish to headcanon that their character left for some reason, please let us know at the time of your drop.

If in the future the canon character is apped with a new AU, this will be explained as a glitch in the character that allotted for this new backstory. Players who pick up the character are permitted to apply into an AU family the other character had if the other players agree, with the details of their AU being different working as a game mechanic glitch. They could also have a completely different history with the same glitch.

What happens if I drop and wish to re-app the same character?

There isn’t a minimum wait time for re-apping! The only time this is an exception to the rule is if you had failed AC and dropped or you had idled and were swept from the game. Should you reapply after this point, your first AC would be treated with a strike that must be cleared. This would mean needing to pass that month’s AC and the following month’s AC in order to be clear of the strike.

Should a player idle again, then they would need to wait one app cycle before applying again. Failure to meet AC or idling for a third time will result in no longer being allowed to apply for that character.

Characters who are re-apped by the same players will be able to retain memories they have already regained at the time of their drop. Items/abilities/appearances, however, will have to be re-earned and the player's points bank begins again at zero.

Will there be HMDs? What about Test Drive Memes?

While players are required to have a personal HMD in their journal, there will be a quarterly game-wide HMD. Please check our mod calendar for specific dates. The game-wide HMD is not mandatory but is strongly encouraged; however, you are required to have an HMD in every character journal upon acceptance to the game. Test drive memes will go up when reserves open during the application month. Please check our calendar if you are ever uncertain about the dates for anything, as it will have everything listed.

How does the TDM work?

The prompts are generally considered game canon and are meant to be played as either “your character is or isn’t impacted by them” to allow for characters to keep their TDM threads as canon should both parties agree! These threads are eligible for bonus points as well. Old characters are free to turn them in for the current AC month, and new characters are allowed to link their TDM threads for their first AC month for bonus points as well though only for the TDM from that character’s app round! So, for example, character A is free to TDM during the month of January, app in, and apply their TDM threads to February’s AC for bonus points. However, if character B TDM’d in January and did not app in until March, they would not be able to claim those bonus points as a new TDM will have occurred.

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( coding by fleeting )

Comments

RECEIVED QUESTIONS DIRECTORY

[recollecters]

Please see below for the various categories of questions received on the FAQ!

CATEGORIES

[recollecters]

Below are links to the category of questions you may have! Please do not leave questions or comments under these category comments! Please leave all questions on the main FAQ post and the corresponding category will be updated.

Categories are as follows:

APPLICATIONS/TYPES OF CHARACTERS THAT CAN BE APPED/APP QUESTIONS: Directory found here!

AU MECHANICS/AU QUESTIONS: Directory found here!

CANON-SPECIFIC QUESTIONS: Directory found here!

GAME MECHANICS: Directory found here!

REGAIN MECHANICS/MEMORY REGAIN QUESTIONS/ITEM QUESTIONS: Directory found here!

WORLDBUILDING/SETTING: Directory found here!

[orcish]

Will tabletop characters (player characters from Dungeons & Dragons, World of Darkness, Shadowrun, etc.) be appable? They're neither full-world OCs or customizable protags nor fandom OCs, but rather something in between, so I'm wondering.

[recollecters]

Hello! Thank you for your question. At this time, we are currently not accepting tabletop characters. We feel that player characters from these mediums would not have enough of a demonstrable personality or canon to stand on their own, though we may revisit this at a later date.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi there! I have a question about the ICA = ICC portion of this FAQ. I'm confused about this part in particular:

OOCly what this means is that the modteam will discuss with you what your options are. To follow the examples above, a character tried for murder will be kept in jail, but they will be able to have visitors and continued access to the in-game network and IC inboxes so the player can pass AC and earn regains. For a character tried for shoplifting, we will deduct points from your character’s point-bank and suggest coming up with a minor player plot or post that will not qualify for AC or bonus points.

I'm a little confused about the last part! I understand why the character would lose points, as that seems like a suitable IC consequence to me, but why would the plot or post that came from a small punishment be disqualified from earning AC? Would you mind elaborating on this consequence and how it works, please? It seems like it could cause OOC punishments for IC actions, which is why I'm a little confused about it.

Thanks in advance!

[recollecters]

Hello! Thank you for your question. The last part was simply an example and we do want to express to players that all crimes and punishable offenses will be addressed individually based on the crime in question. In the case such as above, we like to explain it this way. Let’s say that Billy gets caught for smuggling marijuana on an airplane or something in a place where it isn’t legal. Billy would not only have to pay a fine for his bail once he’s arrested (in this case, it would be the deduction of points from your AC bank) but he would also have to serve community service to clear his record (i.e. an offense in which he does time but isn’t rewarded, which mirrors the rule we’ve laid out about creating a minor plot or post that will not qualify for bonus points.) After discussing it as a mod team, we have decided to adjust the rule so that these posts could be used for AC proofs. However, they will still not qualify for bonus points.

We will handle all crimes and offenses on a case by case base, but this is our general rule of thumb so that players are aware of the types of consequences that can come from their actions. We hope this explains things a little better, but please let us know if you have further questions!

[bondsofsuffering]

SO HERE'S A NEEDLESSLY COMPLICATED SCENARIO.

The character I have in mind is Carona from Phantom Brave. The tricky thing is, the game has two story modes: one is the main game, and one is a bonus storyline with hours of new content that details an alternate story that's basically "what if everyone died at the start and a darker, alternate dimension version of the usually cheerful and optimistic protagonist appeared to help fix it."

That storyline obviously is a split off from the main storyline to begin with, but it also gives an opportunity to take a look at what kind of character the protagonist becomes under different circumstances, and has its own plot revolving around that. In that case, would Carona be an appable character, and if so would she have to be dark and gloomy as she is in that storyline, or would it be permissable to show her starting off closer to her main storyline self when in a good environment and slowly tip off into the darker side as she regains memories?

Also just figuring out how games with multiple routes that diverge significantly like that would be handled I suppose!

[recollecters]

Hello, thank you for your question! With more detail provided now we’ve reviewed the situation and have come to the consensus that since this is a bonus storyline and therefore not a part of the main canon, this canon AU would not count as an appable canon character.

In a case like this, since it’s a “what if” scenario that can be played or be dismissed, this does not count as a portion of the main canon that could really be supported as a separated version from the original character. As such, this falls a little too closely to our initial rule of no canon AUs centering on “what if” scenarios.

For games with multiple routes, we like to think of it like this: a game like this, or a game like Super Dangan Ronpa 2, where the main game is completed and the additional content is a bonus scenario, would only allow for the characters from the main storyline to be apped. However, a game like Tales of Xillia and Tales of Xillia 2 where both Milla and Fractured Milla are part of the main storyline and coexist despite being canon divergent of one another are allowed.

We hope this further answers your question!

[sunbloom]

yes I ask this question in every RP I look in the general direction of, sue me

I'm interested in apping, but I play from a couple canons where characters have partners that have personalities of their own and are required for powers. Precure is my go-to example (and canon); the main characters generally have fairy partners, who are voiced and have personalities while also being in the body of a plushie that flies. Without such plushie, or working around him/her in some cases, the characters can't use their powers. In a previous game I played in that worked like Recollé will, I worked around that by regaining the plushie in question, but that meant I played... a character and a quarter, I suppose.

So, question there is twofold. One, can I regain an item that has its own personality, provided that the resulting character was minor? And two, would you prefer working around that, or proceeding as described?

[recollecters]

Hello, thank you for your question! In a case like this where a character has a partner that serves as a minor character, we will allow for characters to regain partners that have personalities of their own. We will ask that players in these instances apply for different regains for the partner, the partner’s ability to fly, and then the character’s main powers.

We feel that this case applies to characters not only like the ones you’ve described but instances such as Pokémon, Digimon, or robotic companions.

We hope this answers your question!

[unwieldyfate]

Hi! This is probably a bit of a strange question so apologies in advance.

From the FAQ: Workshops will go up on the same day as our TDM and reserves open. I know that for this first month of the game this won't apply exactly as such, with there being a several-days gap between workshop, tdm and reserves. My concern here is if I take part in the workshop with let's say Saber here, come up with an elaborate AU and AU CR that I then play with in the TDM... could somebody still reserve Saber (and presumably have priority in apping) if I am late to that? I'm asking because unless I am misunderstanding, it could be a little unfair towards players who've already spent a couple of weeks playing and plotting vs. someone coming in fresh.

I hope that makes sense... thanks in advance!

[recollecters]

Hello, thank you for your question! That actually isn't true timewise since we missed editing one of them though the issue has now been corrected; workshops will always go up 7 days prior to the TDM in any application month now! The TDM will always go up with reserves except in the January round in which the TDM will be up for two days prior to reserves. As to taking part on the workshop or on the TDM, multiple players are of course allowed to workshop or TDM the same character.

We do not consider the workshop or TDM to be a reserve as to allow players the freedom to test different characters and scenarios before committing to an app. However, there is up to one challenge reserve and application allowed for any character, and our reserves will open precisely on schedule; while it is possible you may miss out on both reserve slots, we feel having this set up will allow everyone a fair chance to reserve the character of their choice.

[cupreous]

How would the game treat physical changes occurring as part of the AU, aside from the ones that are made when the character is apped in to make them fit the setting?

Like, I understand that characters who are nonhuman would be made human. What I mean is, say a character dyes their hair because of something that happens in their AU past, or gets tattoos, or piercings. Would that be acceptable since they would eventually realize that those are NOT normal, and they'd have to go through the process of having them removed and heal from the processes, or just deal with the new additions?

The same goes for characters who may have issues with substance use or abuse, such as smoking, drinking, drugs, etc.

And thirdly, on a similar vein, what about characters that stay in the game so long they physically age up? Would they be "stuck" at the age they are apped in at, or would younger characters (as an example) be able to have birthdays, graduate from school, develop their bodies through physical training, things like that? How would that work out with regains, memories, and canon updates?

[recollecters]

Hi, thank you for your questions! We’ll break these down in sections to make it a little easier to address each of your points.

Characters are allowed to dye their hair/get tattoos/piercings/etc in their AU past! We would leave it up to the players if they would like their character to figure out a way to remove and heal from those processes or if they’d like to roll with the new additions as they begin reclaiming memories.

In terms of vices and substance use/abuse, these are also allowed in the AU past but please keep in mind that above all else your AU should leave your character still mostly recognizable as themselves (i.e. we wouldn’t be able to accept a player who apped Harry Potter struggling with a cocaine addition without reasonable backing.)

With regards to your last question, since we do allow for players to app characters whose AU centers on living in the city of Recollé their whole lives, we do function under the rule that characters age up as time syncs up (our game functions under the 1:1 ratio.) A character can grow and change in the city while also regaining their memories and item regains. With this mechanic, it’s also safe to say that a character won’t necessarily regress. Our application form does allow for players to app characters whose AU age differs from their canon age, but we ask that it be a reasonable jump. For example, if your character is canonically 16 and you app them in as 18 they won’t physically de-age and their bodies won’t physically deplete from the work they’ve put into growing and training once they start regaining their memories.

We hope this answers your questions!

[coolblueiceman]

Itsuki-mun from above with one more question that probably needs a new top-level because it's on a totally different scale.

Chrono here is a dimensional ship commander in his home canon; it's very much a starship except even more ridiculous. I'm going to assume he can't have that here, given the travel restriction noted elsewhere, but I figured I'd ask for completeness' sake. The rest of his tech is probably doable, but dimensional space or dimensional technology on the whole is likely going to be unavailable and I wanted to have that cemented before I started writing.

[recollecters]

Hello again! You are correct in that, Chrono would not be able to reclaim his starship to travel anywhere. However, it is entirely possible for him to reclaim the ship at a small scale size (think anywhere between the size of a palm-top toy or a pullable wagon) without its dimensional travel powers. Later in time when things in the game open up we may revisit this and allow for the powers to be implemented into the ship, but for now dimensional travel is unavailable. Thank you for your question!

[occultured_gentleman]

First off, let me say that this game looks awesome and I am super excited to play in it. But I'm still trying to narrow down my list of muses and I had a quick question about characters and their AU selves.

How closely should their AU history mirror the canon one? I know the character has to still be recognizable, but are a few intentional changes acceptable? For example a poor character grows up in a wealthy family, or vice versa. Or perhaps someone who dedicated their life to learning swordplay has never even touched a weapon in this life? Or even a character who has a severe phobia doesn't have it in the AU. (Until certain memories are regained of course.)

tl;dr I'm trying to figure out where the boundaries are. I think half the fun of a setting like this is not the similarities between the character's two lives, but the differences and the way characters reconcile those differences.

[recollecters]

Hello, thank you for your question! We're so glad to hear that!

In regards to the AU history itself, it doesn't have to exactly mirror the one your character is coming from. The examples you've listed are perfectly acceptable for crafting your AU. The main component is just that your character's personality is mostly recognizable as their canon selves with some leeway based on their AU history. For instance, using the examples you've provided, a character who was poor in their canon history and unhappy about it and used it to drive them to do better for themselves could be AU'd to be someone who grew up rich and that drive has been located to something else like a sport or making their family name proud or what-have-you.

As mods we will be reading over all AUs closely and love seeing players come up with new, creative ways to integrate their character's personality into a different story. If you have any questions regarding crafting an AU or you want to bounce ideas before writing an application, we strongly encourage checking out our AU workshop (slated to be posted in our meme community on 1/6.)

We hope this helps clear things up a little and answers your question!

[uncagedbird]

Hey guys, this game looks awesome and I wanted to ask about 'royalty'. I'm thinking about apping Garnet from FFIX, and I wanted to know how best to translate the royalty status. So, I have two ideas:

- Actual royalty (the British royal family), where her family's status is purely ceremonial and they get all the same treatment celebs get
- Celebrity royalty (think the Kardashians, or further back, the Kennedys)

Which one of these would be more acceptable?

I'd like to swing with the latter-- and say she just grew up in Recolle after her parents moved from overseas-- but I understand if that's too difficult. Otherwise I am sure I can swing the former.

[recollecters]

Hello, thank you for your question!

We personally feel that in order to ensure that no character has a royalty status that's more important than anyone else in the city (PCs and NPCs included) and to keep a bit of balance in-game, we feel that the best route for something like this is more geared toward the celebrity route you wish to take. Recollé is a city designed to house all types and it's perfectly acceptable to swing Garnet's backstory to something of that effect!

If you have any further questions or would like further elaborations on this, please let us know, otherwise please feel free to pop by our AU workshop geared to be posted 1/6. We hope this answers your question!

[recollecters]

Is there organized crime?

There are currently no NPC-led organized crime gangs or organizations. While PCs are allowed to start organizing such things, we ask that you notify the mod team and also be aware of the possible in-character consequences of such actions.

[recollecters]

What is the culture of the city like?

The city of Recollé can be assumed to be a melting pot! We're allowing the environment to be heavily shaped by the characters themselves in that way so people can have varying careers, businesses, cultural customs, and so on and so forth.

[recollecters]

If my character isn't human or has a drastically different appearance than their AU self, am I required to use a PB?

Simply put, no. So long as you have an image of your character's human form (or a very detailed description) easily located in your character's journal that will suffice.

[recollecters]

How much divergence is acceptable?

In general, we ask that characters be recognizable as their canon selves with their core traits but any divergence that can be supported by their AU is encouraged! We definitely encourage players who want to play certain traits amplified or toned down based on their AU so long as your AU history backs these differences (in the application, we also have a section for personality differences that gives players rooms to explain what these changes are/how they came to be.)

We agree that a lot of the fun is making characters similar yet different from the original version and we also think part of the fun is that moral dilemma of regaining memories and deciding what kind of person they want to be from there on out.

[recollecters]

As far as simple memory regains, would players have to wait for mod approval before continuing a thread where one occurred?

Memory regains do need to be approved to be in use, but we will be doing those as quickly as we can! For very simple memory regains the turn-around should be fairly quick and in general we will be striving to approve those ASAP so we aren't holding up anyone's threads. For more complex memories, etc, we will have to review the trigger and the thread linked but otherwise it should be a simple process.

[recollecters]

What are the limits of AU options available in the setting?

Generally speaking, we like to stick to the rule of thumb that so long as it's in line with your character's canon or at least falls in line enough that your character is recognizable, and it's something that can occur in the basic modern world, it can be allowed in your AU! We do allow players to have high-ranking characters but they should never be the highest-ranking character; those will be NPCs at the game start though PCs can work up to those positions.

[greenlionhearted]

To clarify: when you mean there is a 2 month period from the release of canonical material until it's available for use on an application or to regain, is that 2 months from the broadcast/air date, or 2 months from a release of physical media?

Like, for shows that air all at once online like Voltron: Legendary Defender, or The Man in the High Castle, DVD releases are uncertain so one has to be a subscriber or buy a digital copy which is available on Day One.

But for something like RWBY, FIRST members get access to episodes on release day, with the public having access on RT's site and Youtube one week later, with DVD/Blu-Rays coming out usually 2 months or so after the season finale.

[recollecters]

Hello! For the 2 month release period for shows or movies, we mean after the air date. That said, for RWBY we will ask that people go with the public access air date rather than the FIRST members air date to be fair to everyone.

[greenlionhearted]

I saw the question above about big spaceships, but what about seafaring vessels? Would there be an IC limit or issue with storing something such as a galleon or large yacht-sized ship at either the piers on the Boardwalk, or outside Fort McCoy?

Not just as regains either, but like if a character wanted some kind of seafaring or otherwise nautical background, somewhere to moor their vessel (submarines too?) and do some traveling without getting too far away from the city.

Some idea of how restricted that travel would be would be nice, too! I was thinking there would be either physical limits (reefs, storm barriers, hideously impossible currents no sane person would steer towards), navigational equipment always just turning the ship to turn around despite character's efforts to override it, or just "they sail until they lose sight of the city but then it ends up on the horizon as if they turned around".

Just to give characters with ships space to maneuver, fish, explore underwater areas, give tours, do piratey things, etc.

[recollecters]

Hello! In all honesty…nah. Nah, so long as these vessels are reasonably sized for being docked at the piers or outside of Fort McCoy we can allow those (and so long as these vessels don't have special powers, etc.) As ships and submarines are more commonly found in the modern world we can allow this as an exception so long as players let us know ahead of time that their character would have something of the sort.

In terms of traveling and the like, if your character would venture out to sea let us know prior to any specific excursions they just might find something a little spooky-spooky mysterious depending on what's going on in the game. In general, it's safe to say that there are areas in the ocean for exploration and deep-sea fishing, but any ship that tries to sail out past a certain point will find that it can't continue onward whether from bad weather, faulty navigation equipment, or what seems to be a weirdly infinite loop of the same path.

For convenience sake, currently the ocean does cover quite a bit of ground! We can detail information about uninhabited islands that may be found and the types of wildlife in the ocean that can be found at the start of game if players wish to know that kind of information, but we hope this general information helps for now!

[obscultator]

So one of the characters I'm thinking about apping is an ordained Catholic priest and I'd really like to keep that aspect of him intact. Can it be safely assumed that the "world" of Recolle has major religions and that one of them is Catholicism?

(Bonus round: if there is a Catholic church, is Recolle a large enough city that it could be the seat of a Bishopric, complete with an NPC bishop? Does it have a reasonably-sized cathedral, and if so, which part of the city would it be in? edit: hurp derp i missed the bit about the Worship Corner in tribunal terrace, presumably it'd be there.)

Also, apologies if any of this is stated explicitly elsewhere and I missed it, but it sounds like Recolle is meant to be in the United States or some vague alt-universe equivalent. Is the location pinned down any more precisely than that, like whether the body of water it's on is the Pacific vs. the Atlantic vs. the Great Lakes? I totally understand if you'd prefer to leave that super-duper vague for handwavey purposes, but I figured I'd ask :B

[recollecters]

Hello, thank you for your questions! For game purposes, we are all working under the belief that Recollé is located on the planet Earth which is almost exactly the same as our own Earth save for some canons being minorly altered as to not fourth-wall characters. Recollé is located in a mirror of the United States. However, where, precisely, is a bit of a mystery in and of itself. Sometimes it feels like New York, sometimes it feels like California. It's almost like the city itself is shifting but that's impossible, isn't it? For any major seasonal changes or natural disasters or anything that may occur that are dependent on specific locations, we will clarify in future mod and event posts.

In regards to Catholicism, that's perfectly fine! Recollé is a melting pot of a city and we are more than okay with saying the city has a few major religions. As notated we do have the Worship Corner which is meant to encompass multiple churches and buildings of denomination along with shrines and other places of worship. We hope that this answers your questions!

[(Anonymous)]

This game looks really interesting and I'm looking forward to the workshop and TDM! Just a few questions:

- Is there a lower age limit for the characters we can app?
- Recollé is currently the only city in existence on this planet, correct? Where is it located?
- For characters' AU memories, how precisely does the game world parallel reality as we know it, e.g. is it basically the same Earth with the same countries and cities and major population centers, or have some of those things changed in this universe? I ask mostly because I have characters who come from specific cities so I was wondering if it would fit with the setting to have them refer to a previous life in (for example) LA and remember certain landmarks in LA, or if there would be an AU analogue they would be thinking of instead.
- If we app a character who in canon speaks a made-up fantasy language, would they be able to gain the ability to know this language via a regular memory regain, or would this count as a special ability?
- This is... probably a weird question and I apologize in advance lol, but. Say we want to app in a non-human character who has fully human intelligence, etc. but is closer in physical appearance to something like a cat or dog (or flat-out is a cat or dog, I guess). Could they be apped as a regular animal and then regain the ability to speak and think like a sapient being? Or would this be prohibitive due to the in-game importance of the Retrospec network?

Thanks for taking the time to read these!

[recollecters]

Hello! Thank you for your questions.

- Is there a lower age limit for the characters we can app?

There is not currently a lower age limit on the characters that can be applied for. Characters, so long as they have a reasonable amount of canon, can be apped at any age. We do allow for a little bit of leeway in terms of their AU age as well, but we ask that players keep this reasonable.

- Recollé is currently the only city in existence on this planet, correct? Where is it located?

Technically speaking, Recollé is the only city in existence on the planet but at the time of game start characters don't realize that. The rest of the Earth and the cities on it still seem to be perfectly fine for them. They are free to have memories of traveling to other places and other countries and they're free to have memories of moving to Recollé from other places on Earth. To borrow from an above question: "Recollé is located in a mirror of the United States. However, where, precisely, is a bit of a mystery in and of itself. Sometimes it feels like New York, sometimes it feels like California. It's almost like the city itself is shifting but that's impossible, isn't it? For any major seasonal changes or natural disasters or anything that may occur that are dependent on specific locations, we will clarify in future mod and event posts."

- For characters' AU memories, how precisely does the game world parallel reality as we know it, e.g. is it basically the same Earth with the same countries and cities and major population centers, or have some of those things changed in this universe? I ask mostly because I have characters who come from specific cities so I was wondering if it would fit with the setting to have them refer to a previous life in (for example) LA and remember certain landmarks in LA, or if there would be an AU analogue they would be thinking of instead.

The game world parallels reality exactly except for the cases of canons that would fourth-wall characters in game. For example, if we have characters from X-Men in game, the X-Men canon would just be a thinly veiled copy of X-Men so that it won't be like the characters' lives is on display for everyone. Something analogous exists to fill it in. To kind of go along with the above, it's definitely fine to have your character reference a life with real-life landmarks. Anything that can be found on the planet Earth is pretty much mirrored with the Earth Recollé is on, and as characters regain their memories the pieces will start to come together and pull in aspects from other worlds.

- If we app a character who in canon speaks a made-up fantasy language, would they be able to gain the ability to know this language via a regular memory regain, or would this count as a special ability?

For a language regain, characters can regain the memory of speaking another language but the ability to do so would count as a regain that must be bought back! The pricing varies based on the level of fluency and if the language has some special magical properties or allows the character to do something strange (think: talking to animals, influence over people, etc.)

- This is... probably a weird question and I apologize in advance lol, but. Say we want to app in a non-human character who has fully human intelligence, etc. but is closer in physical appearance to something like a cat or dog (or flat-out is a cat or dog, I guess). Could they be apped as a regular animal and then regain the ability to speak and think like a sapient being? Or would this be prohibitive due to the in-game importance of the Retrospec network?

Due to the design of Recollé and the city itself, every character must be applied for as a human being. Our apologies.

We hope this answers your questions!

Double characters question!

[linefacingforever]

I saw on the AU workshop that there was a Souji from the manga version of Persona 4 noting they had a twin named Yu. Would both Yu -- who would be from the anime/Arena sequal version of P4 -- and Souji be appable at the same time, given the differing personalities between the two of them?

[recollecters]

Hello, thank you for your question! As per our FAQ, two versions of a customizable protagonist are allowed only if the two characters have different routes and make different choices, thus behave differently and change the events of their canon. In the case of the Persona 4 protagonist, while the manga's personality differs from the game's personality, the two versions would also need to be from strictly different routes/endings in order to be simultaneously appable. These routes would also need to be outlined on your application for us to review before a final judgment is made.

We hope this answers your question!

[aoimine]

Hello! I'm down to two possible characters I'd like to bring to this game, and I know at least one of them could have a potential challenger. Now, we can only bring one character at a time, but is it possible to reserve more than one? And, in case of losing the app challenge, could I still app the back up character within the same app round? Thanks in advance!

[recollecters]

Hello! You may only reserve one character per round, and you may only apply for that character within a given round. That said, we do have an app round during February.

[dvaopnerfpls]

What's the policy on apping characters who don't have much canon information on them? As an example, D.Va here has an official profile and a fair number of incidental dialogue lines, but unlike other characters has never been featured in a cinematic short or comic, so most of her backstory and characterization have been fished out of implications based on what IS said about her and what she says to others. Is a character like that appable, or should I wait until she gets some more canon focus?

[recollecters]

Hi there, thank you for your question! For Recollé we ask that all characters that are applied for have enough canon to provide us with a reasonable background/history to draw from (for regains and to support their personality) along with a fleshed-out personality of their own. For a character like D.Va who has very little canon of her own that isn't derived from implications, we're sorry to say that at this time she would need to wait to get some more canon focus. We hope this helps!

[drunkle_qrow]

Say I wanted to app a character who worked for a government agency of some kind, such as the FBI, CIA, NSA etc... would I be able to say that they'd generally be dealing with issues similar to real world events? On that note, would I be able to imply that the government suspects something "weird" about Recolle that the character may be low-key investigating?

[recollecters]

Hello, thank you for your question! You can absolutely say that they'd be dealing with issues similar to real world events. However, we will say that the government doesn't suspect anything "strange" about Recollé since NPCs aren't noticing any of the fluctuations. As a compromise though you are more than welcome to have your character notate these weird shifts once the game starts and proceed with their investigations there. Should you app in and you would like to proceed with this option, please follow up with us and we're more than happy to work with you based on any ideas you have.

We hope this helps!

[seriedefragmento]

Hi! I saw your blip on organized crime in the FAQ, and wanted to press further on it due to the nature of the character I'd like to app. The character's canon reincarnation is capofamiglia, while his original self lead a band of mercenaries. What I'm attempting to say is that organized crime plays a substantial role in his narrative, and so I would like to know the guidelines and limitations in place if I were to have him be heavily involved with a crime syndicate!

[recollecters]

Hi there, thank you for your question! With regards to organized crime, we defer to this response and are more than willing to let characters start organizing their own crime circuits and etc. Recollé as a whole seems eerily quiet in terms of crime gangs and organized crime, but that doesn't mean there can't be stirrings of it that come to light as the game progresses. If you'd like to proceed with this route just let us know what ideas you have toward game start and we can work with you.

We hope this helps!