Paracelsus Academy (Mods) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
paracelsus_mods) wrote2014-05-10 01:19 pm
paracelsus_mods) wrote2014-05-10 01:19 pm
Entry tags:
FAQ
Characters
Q: How old should my character be?
Between 16 and 20 years-old. Students come to Paracelsus at 16 and graduate at 20.
Q: Does my character have to be European or European ancestry? A lot of the Houses are from there.
No, actually. The Houses are European, but they spread over most of the world in the nineteenth century. There are very different magic traditions across the globe, and we hint at some of them in the game's files, but Paracelsus is focused on the Houses' tradition. However, every House has representatives in countries across the globe; if you want to play an Indian character from House Schellenberg or a Thai character from House Weatherford, knock yourself out.
Q: Does my character have to be rich?
A lot of mage families are rich, especially the older ones, but a good number are middle class or even poor. Basically, your character could come from a lot of different socioeconomic backgrounds. Mages tend to cut more privileged than mundanes on average, but an average doesn't speak to the variety of experiences they have.
Q: I want to play a teacher! How does this work?
You're free to, and in fact encouraged! However, we want the game to be about the students primarily. We look at teachers as really interesting side characters: they may have their own plots and be fun to read and write about, but the protagonists of the story are the students.
Q: What's the idea behind those skill slots?
Basically, they're not meant to limit your character, but focus them. For example, let's say you have a character who is a fantastic sword fighter but she also plays the flute in band and is okay at soccer. You'd take swordsmanship as the skill, and she can still do those things! The skill slot represents serious skill -- so our swordswoman is a future Jaime Lannister. Someone who uses theirs for soccer is a future Pelé; someone who uses their skill slot on playing violin is a future Yo-yo Ma. The skill slot represents incredible, future professional or competitive levels of talent, not for hobbies. This is why someone could use it for a third school of magic; it also represents very serious dedication.
Q: Why does everyone have to use an anime or manga PB?
Because the mods are weeaboos.
Houses
Q: What do Houses do, in short?
Houses are your character's extended family and the political alliances they are expected to fit in. They also determine where your character draws energy to cast spells from.
Q: Can I make up my own House?
You can, but we have limits on this. We would prefer it be a smaller House with very close political ties to one of the six major ones we made up. We are putting the spotlight on those to make the game's metaplot more focused and easier for the mods to direct. We prefer most characters be in these Houses for this reason, but we'll work with good ideas.
Q: What about House Dracul and House Skraelling, which are mentioned briefly?
These Houses are excellent examples of Houses a little outside of Paracelsus Academy's orbit! Scions from them can be students at Paracelsus, though, but they are rarer than the other Houses mentioned. If you want to apply for one, ask the mods! As long as we don't have too many (which is defined arbitrarily by the mods' gut instinct), it should be fine.
Q: Does my character's last name need to be their House name?
Not necessarily! A lot of families have their own names, because Houses are very big. Some people do take their House's name as their last name, but there is a lot of variety out there. Name them whatever you like.
Q: Can my character be from House Almagoras?
Not quite. Almagoras was almost entirely wiped out, but some of their children escaped to relatives' Houses and were adopted. No one has gone after them... yet. They're officially members of whatever House took them in, but they drain magical energy from their surroundings as described here. However, these characters are very rare, so we will limit the number that can be applied for. This will entail some degree of first come, first serve. Ask before applying for one, please!
Plot
Q: I want to run a plot! What do I do?
We love player plots! Just come ask the mods about it. We don't have an application or anything. We'll help hook you up and get the information we need.
Q: How much mod plot will there be?
There will be some. We don't plan for this to be a plot-heavy game, where mods have to push the cart all the time. However, we will do so sometimes, especially to eventually push the game to a conclusion. The mod plot will be primarily action-focused and involve conflict between the different Houses, because these are the mods' strong points in GMing.
Q: So there will be a lot of fighting in the mod plot?
Damn skippy.
Q: How long will the game last?
About one year IC, so about two years OOC (since we have a 2-to-1 IC:OOC ratio). We reserve the right to change this but it won't be by a lot.
World
Q: You mentioned other traditions of magic. What are those like?
A lot of places didn't have Houses. Every place had the way mages draw on magical energy set by bloodline, but some never coalesced into Houses. Orphans from some of these traditions entered the Trenton Corporation, but most of them are regional powers outside of the House system. These include a bureaucratic tradition in China and Korea, shamanistic traditions found in North America's native populations, methods of instruction and practice from Near Eastern mystery cults from antiquity, and others. If you want to explore these through a character, come talk to the mods and we'll work with you.
Q: Some of this information is pretty thorough, like the mythology. Will it come into play?
Probably not. We wanted a well-fleshed out world, but we plan to keep Paracelsus Academy's plot to the school itself.
Q: How old should my character be?
Between 16 and 20 years-old. Students come to Paracelsus at 16 and graduate at 20.
Q: Does my character have to be European or European ancestry? A lot of the Houses are from there.
No, actually. The Houses are European, but they spread over most of the world in the nineteenth century. There are very different magic traditions across the globe, and we hint at some of them in the game's files, but Paracelsus is focused on the Houses' tradition. However, every House has representatives in countries across the globe; if you want to play an Indian character from House Schellenberg or a Thai character from House Weatherford, knock yourself out.
Q: Does my character have to be rich?
A lot of mage families are rich, especially the older ones, but a good number are middle class or even poor. Basically, your character could come from a lot of different socioeconomic backgrounds. Mages tend to cut more privileged than mundanes on average, but an average doesn't speak to the variety of experiences they have.
Q: I want to play a teacher! How does this work?
You're free to, and in fact encouraged! However, we want the game to be about the students primarily. We look at teachers as really interesting side characters: they may have their own plots and be fun to read and write about, but the protagonists of the story are the students.
Q: What's the idea behind those skill slots?
Basically, they're not meant to limit your character, but focus them. For example, let's say you have a character who is a fantastic sword fighter but she also plays the flute in band and is okay at soccer. You'd take swordsmanship as the skill, and she can still do those things! The skill slot represents serious skill -- so our swordswoman is a future Jaime Lannister. Someone who uses theirs for soccer is a future Pelé; someone who uses their skill slot on playing violin is a future Yo-yo Ma. The skill slot represents incredible, future professional or competitive levels of talent, not for hobbies. This is why someone could use it for a third school of magic; it also represents very serious dedication.
Q: Why does everyone have to use an anime or manga PB?
Because the mods are weeaboos.
Houses
Q: What do Houses do, in short?
Houses are your character's extended family and the political alliances they are expected to fit in. They also determine where your character draws energy to cast spells from.
Q: Can I make up my own House?
You can, but we have limits on this. We would prefer it be a smaller House with very close political ties to one of the six major ones we made up. We are putting the spotlight on those to make the game's metaplot more focused and easier for the mods to direct. We prefer most characters be in these Houses for this reason, but we'll work with good ideas.
Q: What about House Dracul and House Skraelling, which are mentioned briefly?
These Houses are excellent examples of Houses a little outside of Paracelsus Academy's orbit! Scions from them can be students at Paracelsus, though, but they are rarer than the other Houses mentioned. If you want to apply for one, ask the mods! As long as we don't have too many (which is defined arbitrarily by the mods' gut instinct), it should be fine.
Q: Does my character's last name need to be their House name?
Not necessarily! A lot of families have their own names, because Houses are very big. Some people do take their House's name as their last name, but there is a lot of variety out there. Name them whatever you like.
Q: Can my character be from House Almagoras?
Not quite. Almagoras was almost entirely wiped out, but some of their children escaped to relatives' Houses and were adopted. No one has gone after them... yet. They're officially members of whatever House took them in, but they drain magical energy from their surroundings as described here. However, these characters are very rare, so we will limit the number that can be applied for. This will entail some degree of first come, first serve. Ask before applying for one, please!
Plot
Q: I want to run a plot! What do I do?
We love player plots! Just come ask the mods about it. We don't have an application or anything. We'll help hook you up and get the information we need.
Q: How much mod plot will there be?
There will be some. We don't plan for this to be a plot-heavy game, where mods have to push the cart all the time. However, we will do so sometimes, especially to eventually push the game to a conclusion. The mod plot will be primarily action-focused and involve conflict between the different Houses, because these are the mods' strong points in GMing.
Q: So there will be a lot of fighting in the mod plot?
Damn skippy.
Q: How long will the game last?
About one year IC, so about two years OOC (since we have a 2-to-1 IC:OOC ratio). We reserve the right to change this but it won't be by a lot.
World
Q: You mentioned other traditions of magic. What are those like?
A lot of places didn't have Houses. Every place had the way mages draw on magical energy set by bloodline, but some never coalesced into Houses. Orphans from some of these traditions entered the Trenton Corporation, but most of them are regional powers outside of the House system. These include a bureaucratic tradition in China and Korea, shamanistic traditions found in North America's native populations, methods of instruction and practice from Near Eastern mystery cults from antiquity, and others. If you want to explore these through a character, come talk to the mods and we'll work with you.
Q: Some of this information is pretty thorough, like the mythology. Will it come into play?
Probably not. We wanted a well-fleshed out world, but we plan to keep Paracelsus Academy's plot to the school itself.