MOD POST ↠ March Update

[faderifting]

MARCH (DRAKONIS)

ORGANIZATIONAL/OOC UPDATES

OOC Calendar

A reminder that we now have a permanent calendar. If you have a player plot or a log/event that affects the game as a whole, please make sure that you add it here! To do so you can leave a comment on the calendar itself or contact us if necessary.

OOC dates this month:

TEST DRIVE MEME: Now!

RESERVES: March 4 (11:59 EST) - March 14 (11:59 EST)

ACTIVITY CHECK: Due by March 14 (11:59 EST)

APPLICATIONS: March 14 (11:59 EST) - March 19 (11:59 EST)

Application Rule Updates

We're making a few changes for the March application round, both to our character caps and disallowed categories, and to the application itself. Please read carefully before beginning the application process!

Character Cap Changes

Beginning this round, we will no longer be accepting applications for Grey Warden characters unless they are canon companions. Wardens now outnumber PC members of every other IC organization, so to maintain balance among PCs and save room for new Wardens to join the game as the result of future plot events, we are capping their ranks until further notice.

We are partially lifting the bans on Dalish and Tevinter characters. Both groups remain overrepresented, with the Dalish in particular outnumbering all nationalities except Fereldans and, by the narrowest possible margin, Free Marchers. However, we will now be accepting applications for any Dragon Age canon characters from these groups, not just canon companions. Going forward, players will each be allowed one character that is either Dalish or Tevinter but not one of each.

We are raising the cap on elven characters to two per player. Although elves on the whole are not underrepresented in the game, city elves are; we hope this allows more room for them. As we said above, at most one elf per player may be Dalish. Additionally, elf-blooded humans will count toward each player's elf count, even though they are human, since they generally share some elven perspectives and/or second-class status.

All other character caps remain in place: one mage, one companion, one rifter per player, and three characters total.

All of our caps and limits are intended to promote balance in PC perspectives and prevent characteristics that should be uncommon from becoming so prevalent that the social dynamics and rarity that make those characteristics enjoyable to play are lost. We'll continue to revisit them each app round and revise them based on the game's demographics.

Application Changes

The Native Character application has been updated with a new section regarding character opinions and affiliations. The Rifter application has been updated to add a field for canon point. If you are applying for a new character this round, please make sure that you are using the most updated version of the relevant application when you begin writing. If these sections are left out, we will ask for revisions.

Mod Team Applications

We're looking for mod assistants to help out with a few different tasks. If you enjoy playing NPCs, GMing threads, or writing game setting/flavor information, we could use your help! The time commitment would be flexible: we're looking for a few people who can take on specific projects or commit to reliably tagging certain plot threads as they're available to do so, so that we can provide more of this content overall, not for someone to single-handedly take over all NPCing or GMing. If you're up for it, please submit the NPC/GM Mod form below to the Mod Contact and let us know.

<b>Your Name:</b> <b>Prior Experience:</b> None required! <b>Interests:</b> Are you only interested in specific types of GMing (action, diplomacy with NPCs, etc.)? Would you be interested in writing setting information or IC news announcements? Etc. <b>Estimated Availability:</b> In general, how much are you interested in doing? This can be vague--we'll be asking people to take on individual tasks, not to commit to anything long-term.

We're also looking for players who would be willing to occasionally help out when we receive an application from a canon the mod team isn't familiar with. This would be a consultant role, which would involve reviewing an app for accuracy to canon and potentially answering questions from us about the canon world or character powers. The time commitment involved will be minimal and may never come up at all. Any players who would be willing to lend their expertise if needed should fill out the App Consultant form below to the Mod Contact with a list of canons you'd be comfortable helping with.

<b>Your Name:</b> <b>Preferred Contact:</b> <b>Canons You Know Very Well:</b> <b>Canons You Know Sort Of Well If We Don't Have Anyone Better To Ask:</b>

We'll accept applications for both of these roles on a rolling basis.

PLOT/IC UPDATES

Emprise du Lion

The OOC and IC posts for Phase 2 of Emprise du Lion will be posted tomorrow, 3/3. The open post will include several new areas opened up by player actions in Phase 1, and we will also open sign ups for another round of mod plots which will focus on new developments and discoveries in the aftermath of the first round. These will be primarily geared towards investigation, exploration, and research rather than combat.

ICly, the Inquisition's efforts in Emprise du Lion will come to a close around Drakonis 15. Most characters should return to Skyhold at this time. The remainder of the month will be left open for player plots and war table operations (which we'll resume posting shortly). For currently scheduled events, check the calendar and the plotting tag in the OOC community.

Inquisition Demographics

We've put together a bunch of information about the population of Skyhold on the Skyhold page. It breaks down the relative numbers of mages, templars, and refugees currently present in and around the fortress, and provides details about their demographics, opinions, and attitudes toward both current events and other populations. We ask that you consult and keep in mind this information when using NPCs in the background of your RP. Please also remember to contact us about any action that would prompt a response from the NPC population so that we can make sure to provide you with additional information about their specific reaction.

Sharing IC News

On a similar note, remember that we have an IC Rumor page. We recommend tracking comments to this entry. This isn't just for gossip about who is sleeping with who, but is also the best and easiest way to keep your fellow players apprised of what's going on around the Inquisition. Any action that was public or could otherwise have become common(ish) knowledge can be posted here, meaning things like outbursts, fights, significant arrivals and departures, serious injuries, unusual behavior, disciplinary actions, meetings/gatherings, research projects, discoveries, plans, announcements, the results of adventures or missions, and so forth. IC news travels quickly around the Inquisition but OOC none of us have time to read every thread to make sure that we are as familiar with recent events as our characters would be, so please help each other out by making use of this!

Contacting the Advisors

You may also notice that the advisors have added a second inbox to their group journal that is just for reports. This should also be used when making them aware of IC developments that they should know about but that don't need an immediate written answer. The advisors' inbox should be used for messages and questions that really require an answer. Basically, if your message could essentially be boiled down to "FYI this happened" it goes in reports and if it's "will you allow me to do this?" it goes in the inbox. This is to help the advisors' players distinguish between things that require their immediate attention before plots can progress and things that are just meant to keep them in the loop.