Notable Dates

• Applications: Open indefinitely
  
• Leadership Applications: Due at the end of the month
  
• Test Drive Meme: Here! We post new TDMs infrequently, so tracking the post for new top-level comments is strongly encouraged.
  
• Activity Check for July–September: Early October

Veilguard Notes

In case anyone doesn't know already, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is set to release on October 31, and a lot of promotional material is trickling out in the meantime.

To give everyone time to fully play the game without spoilers and ourselves time to figure out how to incorporate potentially contradictory new information into FR, we won't allow any game info in RP until we come back from our holiday break in early January. At that time we'll make a post breaking down how we're going to handle the new information in the game and incorporate things given FR's mechanics and AU timeline. Until we do that, we will not be permitting any player plots based on new info from DA:TV, any apps for new characters using DA:TV info (whether canon characters or OCs), or incorporating any new magic, lore, or setting information. This applies to information from the game itself and from side material like the audio drama, developer Q&As, the art book, etc. Essentially, any canon information that is new since Tevinter Nights is off-limits until we post in January. We're also putting a temporary stay on apping DA:I canon characters who are already known to appear in DA:TV, which currently means Morrigan, Varric, and Harding.

Our long-term plan is to incorporate as much of the new canon as we can in one way or another. This will likely include some minor retconning of details we invented for FR or tweaking new canon info slightly to fit, but there will also inevitably be things that just don't work with FR's AU timeline, nine years of RP history and world-building, or the large-scale magic we've invented for the modplot. DA:TV characters' backstories might also have to be substantially AU'd for them to be appable in FR, since the timelines have diverged since DA:I—a character who's been in FR's Minrathous or a member of the Grey Wardens for the last 10 years would have had a very different experience than they would in the canon DA timeline. So until January, everyone try not to get too attached to the way things are in DA:TV and make elaborate plans that hinge on the new canon. You can dream and loosely plan away—we're excited for new info too!—but please don't write a whole app for one of the new characters or get your heart set on using a particular new bit of magic or lore just yet.

For the same reason, even though they appear briefly in the comics, we presently won't allow anyone to app characters with ties to the Shadow Dragons or Veil Jumpers, or to have those groups exist in FR. Those two groups have very limited information currently available and are the most likely to be heavily affected by FR's AU timeline, including potentially not existing in FR at all and instead being rolled into existing FR orgs (like Riftwatch itself or NPC Tevinter resistance factions), so they're off-limits until we've learned more and had time to assess. The other protagonist factions (Antivan Crows, Mourn Watch, Grey Wardens, and Lords of Fortune) definitely predate the Breach in DA:I and have a substantial amount of pre-Veilguard canon information in either the games themselves or the books, so we'll continue to allow character apps and plot requests involving those groups as long as they don't require making up a lot of new information about those factions beyond what's already available in DA or FR canon, and we'll continue accepting apps as usual for members of non-Shadow Dragon Venatori-resistance/anti-slavery groups (such as those listed here).

For players who are looking eagerly toward RPing a Rook here and who weren't around nine years ago when the game started and everyone was apping their protagonists, our rule then was that they were appable as native OCs, but not as The Inquisitor or The Warden. They needed to be AUed essentially into original 'companion' characters in order to prevent any one character being The Protagonist of Fade Rift. We also didn't allow players to use specific canon details, such as the Inquisitors' canon surnames, the exact stories from Wardens' origin chapters, or romances with particular canon NPCs, that would then prevent other players adapting their own protagonists being able to use them equally or impose any familiarity or relationships on the people apping canon companions, instead they had to be at least lightly AUed to leave room for everyone. We expect that we will do something similar with Rooks, but we'll have to wait and see what Veilguard's canon is like to be able to say for sure how it will work. We'll have more info on that for you in January as well.


Our current mod plot is here. Go do things! Our next mod plot is planned for November, so everyone has September and October to continue playing with the prior plot or do player plots and war table missions without worrying about running into another mod plot.

Crystal Interference

The instability of the Veil that's causing the various strange effects across Thedas (as described most recently in the current mod plot) are getting stronger, and Riftwatch will find that this also seems to be affecting their sending crystals, which transmit information through the Fade. The primary observable side effect is message being lost or significantly delayed. The further people are from each other, the more likely it is that messages will not transmit or will only do so after a long delay. Messages will also occasionally be misdelivered, but this will only happen when a message is first sent or a connection is first formed, rather than in the middle of an ongoing conversation on an open channel.

You're not obligated to include delayed/lost messages in any thread at any given time, but you can employ it whenever it would make something more interesting—if you want to draw out suspense, cause misunderstandings between characters who don't realize what they said didn't go through, or have characters in the field have to make hard calls without consulting their bosses or resident experts for orders/help.

Gallows Changes

The Gallows' remaining residential tower has reopened. Housing is more limited, so characters residing in the Gallows may find themselves with more roommates than they're accustomed to. Roommates were randomly assigned but are not set in stone. If your character switches rooms, make sure you update the spreadsheet to say so!

We've also added a new block to this page for people who, thanks to the eluvians, decide to room permanently in either the underground Gwaren outpost or the Hunterhorn Mountains lodge and "commute" to the Gallows via eluvian. (It's faster than the ferry ride.) If your character wants to live in one of those two places instead of in the Gallows, that's allowed! No one will be ordered to live in those places, though, given their even-more-limited amenities.

War Table

War table assignments are available to claim at any time! You can review available assignments on the wiki and claim them on this post.

IC Leader Updates

As of today, Ness Tavane will be taking over as Quartermaster. Previously, Clarisse La Rue became Griffon Keeper and Cedric Carsus took over as Mediation Officer.

We're lifting our embargo on Diplomacy Division Head applications, so anyone interested may put in an application beginning today. As always, a list of all available roles is on the wiki and we review any applications we've received at the end of each month. If you have questions, feel free to toss them at the Mod Contact. Applications should be submitted here.