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modormenace) wrote2020-09-28 08:30 pm
FAQ
Please submit unanswered questions in the comments below, or to mod contact.
HOW MANY CHARACTERS CAN I PLAY?
There is a limit of four characters per player. You must be active with your current characters in order to apply for a new character. Players applying for additional characters will be evaluated based on recent activity with their current roster.
HOW MANY CHARACTERS CAN I PLAY FROM THE SAME CANON?
This will be assessed upon a case by case basis. In general, we would prefer that you play only one character per canon. However, if your characters never interact on screen, have no significant relationship to each other or reason to interact, or exist in different continuities they may be allowed. If you want to be certain, please reach out to us via the Mod Contact page.
I HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS!
Please refer to our APPLICATIONS PAGE with more information and policies.
CAN I REVERT MY CHARACTER TO AN EARLIER CANONPOINT?
Yes! In this case, you would submit it through the Canon Updates page as usual, making sure to provide us with a description of their personality at the point you'll be taking them from. Please note that upon getting a canon reset, your character will be losing all in-game memories, and will have to start from scratch again!
Questions are unscreened as of 10/4/2020.
APPLYING:
ARRIVAL:
HOW DOES MY CHARACTER ARRIVE IN THIS WORLD?
Your character will awaken on an examination table. An automatic audio-visual presentation is triggered welcoming them to the planet Earth. A robot offers out the palm-sized communicator. Your character will also be handed a dossier with an initial housing assignment, job, and powers. There is government housing in one of the five Gate cities (Heropa, Nonah, De Chima, Maurtia Falls and Jeopardy) and the employment has been chosen based upon their profile of your character.
MY CHARACTER IS NON-HUMAN? WHAT HAPPENS?
By default, nonhuman characters — be they fluffy, scaly, made of metal, or otherwise — are transformed upon arrival and given squishy human bodies to call their own, modeled as similarly as possible to the one they left behind.
However, if a player wants to keep their non-human character non-human, that's possible too! If the character has a way to appear as/be disguised as a human, they may well be left unchanged by the Porter. If they don't, one of their superpower slots will be sacrificed to either "ability to transform to and from a human form," or simply "is [whatever they were before]." Their ability to communicate regularly with humans can be included as part of the same powerslot that allows them to stay in their normal body. Please note this only applies to non-human characters who are appable as a character in the first place.
Giants or other implausibly large characters would require some scaling down, however; the Cape Canaveral base is just not large enough to accommodate the arrival of a fully grown Godzilla.
DAY TO DAY LIFE:
WHAT DOES A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN IMPORT LOOK LIKE?
ImPorts have many freedoms and social norms similar to contemporary life in the United States and other first world countries. More information is available via the primer.
WHERE CAN I LEARN ABOUT HOUSING AND JOBS?
Here!
WHAT ABOUT TRAVEL BETWEEN CITIES?
Only Registered imPorts have free clearance to use the Gates whenever they'd like to or without specific permission. Besides imPorts, Gate use is restricted only to military and government employees. In the case of emergencies or crisis situations, however, it can be used to quickly transport civilian experts or specialists. Unsettled ImPorts need to fill out some additional paperwork before they are granted free access. This access can be revoked if the ImPort is perceived to be a danger or gains criminal status.
WHAT ABOUT INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL?
Yes, Imports can travel internationally.
ACTIVITY REQUIREMENTS:
WHAT ARE THE ACTIVITY CHECK REQUIREMENTS?
Please go here for the activity page, which summarizes all of the relevant details. Meeting activity requirements on a monthly basis is a requirement to stay in the game.
HOW DOES HIATUS WORK?
You can hiatus for a maximum of one month. If there are extenuating circumstances and you wish to request an extension, please speak to the mods.
WHAT HAPPENS TO MY CHARACTER IF I HIATUS?
If you hiatus you may choose whether or not to "autopilot" your character for the duration, or port them out; porting out or dropping a character manifests ICly as a Porter glitch. That simple! When they are ported out, temporarily or permanently, their ID on the network goes offline.
NANITES & POWERS:
HOW DO POWERS WORK?
Character powers are derived from the nanites injected into them.
HOW DO THE NANITES WORK? HOW DO THEY GIVE MY CHARACTER ABILITIES?
The first job of the nanites is to stabilize ImPorts so they can survive outside the confines of their own universe. Their excess energy is converted into abilities. These abilities can mirror what a character possesses in canon, or they can be wildly different. Whether this is a bug or a feature has yet to be determined. These nanites also imPorts to regenerate even from the point of death. Since the nanites are capable of self-replication, learning, healing, and other various forms of organic adaptation, no consistent method of manipulation has been discovered by imPorts yet.
WHAT IF MY CHARACTER REJECTS THE INJECTION?
They can’t. The nanite injection is necessary for survival in the world of Mask or Menace: without them, your character will begin to die a wasting death within 72 hours of arrival. For this reason, your character will not be permitted to leave without receiving their injection.
WHAT ARE THE LIMITATIONS UPON MY CHARACTERS POWERS?
So long as you provide a reasonable set of checks and balances for your characters powers, we don’t believe in limiting your freedom. Any power your character has must have weaknesses and a means of being defeated. Your character cannot do anything that will break the setting.
CAN I UPDATE MY CHARACTERS POWERSET?
You can do so here.
COMMUNICATION & THE NETWORK:
WHAT ARE THE COMMUNICATORS?
ImPorts will upon arrival be given communicators — much like iPhones, in appearance and general function. In addition to the traditional manual network posting, imPorts will also be granted the means to access the network mentally, allowed by their nanites; this will allow an imPort to deliberately call up the network in their mind.
SO THE COMMUNICATORS CAN CONNECT WITH THE INTERNET?
Yes — the communicators can do anything that a smartphone can do, essentially!
WHAT IS THE NETWORK?
The network is a communication network closed to imPorts. You require nanites in order to access it, meaning that the native population is effectively locked out of accessing it.
CAN NETWORK POSTS BE FILTERED?
Posts can be filtered to up to eight people. Additionally, there is no such thing as a "Villains" filter, or a "known baddies" list, or "America's Most Wanted" lock. If you try using any filter like that, everyone will disregard it, as they don't exist! Likewise, you cannot create a filter excluding specific characters from posts.
CAN YOU POST ANONYMOUSLY?
Yes! However, it's not an inbuilt feature. You need to have the technical skills to know how to do it or know someone who can set it up for you.
WHAT ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA? DOES IT EXIST?
It does! And imPorts will find themselves quickly gaining a following due to their pseudo-celebrity status. The most popular ones are Bwitter, Bluetube, and QuikQuak.
REGISTRATION:
WHAT IS REGISTRATION?
Registration is swearing loyalty to the American government. It comes with a whole host of perks! As fully fledged American citizens, Registered imPorts can use their nanites as passports to cross the border into allied territories. They're eligible for several scholarships should they wish to pursue higher education, and they are guaranteed both housing and employment, provided they stay in imPort cities. They will be able to use Gates without question, and will be able to cross state borders without being stopped and investigated.
WHAT IS BEING UNSETTLED?
Unsettled imPorts are imPorts who do not swear their allegiance. They are unable to exit America's borders legally — and if they do, they will immediately be marked as AWOL — they will not receive any payment from the government, and their housing nor their jobs will be guaranteed to them. While they will be able to use the Gates, they will have to fill out paperwork regarding their reasoning — whether it's employment or educational purposes or simply by virtue of having friends in other Gate cities — and will undergo a check much like what one would expect from customs at an airport every time they use it.
DO UNSETTLED IMPORTS LOSE THEIR ASSIGNED HOUSING AND JOBS?
Characters who choose not to Register are given a grace period of one month to consider their decision. If they choose not to register at the next Arrival ceremony, their benefits will be cut and they will be asked to leave their government-provided housing.
HOW DOES AN IMPORT BECOME LABELED AS A CRIMINAL?
In order to be labeled as a Criminal, an imPort must first commit a crime and be caught and prosecuted for this crime. Typically, Criminals will be assigned a probation officer and a power nullifying anklet or bracelet. They will not be able to use Gates unaccompanied by their probation officer, nor do they receive any of the benefits that Registered imPorts receive.
HOW CAN AN UNSETTLED IMPORT REGISTER?
Since one (of many) of the intended effects in adding more restrictions to Unsettled/non-Registered imPorts is to convince any that fall into one of those categories to register, if they approach a military official at the Cape Canaveral base or during an Arrival ceremony and state they would like to register, they will be allowed to do and effectively "wipe their slate clean" as far as that past record goes.
CAN REGISTERED CHARACTERS GO UNSETTLED?
Yes, characters may change affiliations at any time. They will lose all of their benefits immediately.
HEALTH & DEATH:
WHAT ARE MEDICINE AND HEALTH CARE LIKE?
The world of Mask or Menace has medical technology that is generally about a decade more advanced than our own. Registered ImPorts will receive the highest quality free medical care, and should experience quick relief from pain and discomfort with any medications and/or treatments they're prescribed.
MY CHARACTER REQUIRES SPECIFIC MEDICATION OR TREATMENT TO SURVIVE. DO THEY HAVE ACCESS TO THAT HERE?
This is up to you. You are welcome to handwave this however you please: the government could set them up with medication right off the bat, or provide them with a limited dosage to open further plotting opportunities for developing the medication. That part is up to you!
HOW DO THE GATE CITIES ACCOMMODATE IMPORTS WITH DISABILITIES?
Given certain advancements in technology, the cities are better equipped for those in a wheelchairs! While automobiles hover, they can be lowered for easier access. Buses in particular will have extendable ramps for wheelchairs. Plenty of buildings in higher income or particularly busy areas will also have pathways for wheelchair users to access. They will also be better taken care of during the winter seasons. Otherwise, you are free to presume the accessibility is similar to that of real life! Characters may receive prosthetics free of charge upon arrival — or not — at your discretion. As the world of Mask or Menace is more technologically advanced than our own, prosthetic technology is also more advanced. Additionally, there are several characters in game who could create or modify prosthetic limbs, should you prefer to play that out.
CAN IMPORTS GET PREGNANT?
No.
WHAT IF AN IMPORT IS PREGNANT UPON BEING PORTED IN?
Your character would no longer be pregnant upon arrival. There would be no sign of miscarriage or any other related incidents, but it simply would not be there. Due to its sensitive nature and keeping in mind player comfort, we would like to advise any potential applicants to apply from a canonpoint at which the character has already given birth or a canonpoint at which their pregnancy has not yet been discovered, but we do ultimately leave this up to you! If you do decide to apply from a canonpoint at which your character is pregnant, we would like to warn you in advance that we expect that this subject matter be treated with the delicacy it requires; miscarriages and the discussion thereof can be extremely triggering subject material and we would like to preserve the comfort of our playerbase as much as possible.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AN IMPORT DIES?
On first death, if at least some remains are left intact, the nanites in their body will return the imPort back to the condition they were in when they were last ported in through the main Porter. The nanites utilize a limited amount of the element continuum in this process. As continuum is used up, subsequent deaths will become more challenging to be resurrected from, and will eventually include side effects such as reduced superpowers, missing limbs, and memory issues. Please note that all deaths, imPort or NPC, must be approved through the Plotting page unless clearly stated otherwise!
HOW DOES REVIVAL WORK?
Continuum is a natural resource treated in government facilities to work remotely, not directly "on" imPorts, in conjunction with the nanites. After it is refined is implanted into the nanites through use of military technology before it enters an imPort's body. When they disperse to aid in the resurrection process, their capacity to repeat and complete the same process successfully lowers drastically, which is why dying more than once will result in complications. Registration status has nothing to do with the effect of continuum or the resurrection process, as all imPorts have nanites in their system. It is an automatic process, but may have differing rates of resurrection time for different imPorts depending on player preference. Similarly, that means dying before a Swear-In will make no difference.
WHAT IF THEY DON'T LEAVE A BODY?
If an imPort is completely disintegrated, then yes, their resurrection would be more akin to porting out and in; whatever remains of the body or the nanites therein will identify the imPort in question to the Porter, allowing them to be "reconstructed" via porting back in.
WHAT ABOUT IMPORTS WHO DRINK BLOOD OR EAT BODY PARTS?
For vampiric characters, synthetic blood supplements are available in supply via local clinics or they may obtain them directly from the military. Characters who require human meat could receive synthetic meat from the military, as providing human meat would be highly unethical. Another alternative is being provided corpses that had been donated to science, but did not meet their required standards.
As for other sources of sustenance, the military can attempt replicating what the character needs to some degree! Synthetic replications are typically as effective as possible, but it is up to individual player discretion if there are any side-effects and how often it is provided to them.
Network queston:
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Our apologies for the delay in response. We did not receive this notification and are sincerely sorry you were left without an answer for this long.
You cannot create a post filtered away from just one person. The filters have a capacity of eight people at this time. We've amended the FAQ to include this information!
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Locations and International travel
Are imPorts allowed to travel to other countries?