faderiftooc | MOD POST ↠ November Update

NOVEMBER UPDATES

Fallow Mire

The Fallow Mire will remain the Inquisition's focus for a few more weeks. Our goal with focusing on single areas this way is to keep characters from being so spread out across the map that spontaneous RP is impossible. However, with this and all other areas we "unlock," characters can travel between the Mire and Skyhold as long as you make reasonable allowances for travel time. Basically, feel free to come and go, but don't swap back and forth between the two every day.

A second phase of limited plot opportunities--to wrap up the missing scout issue, the plague, etc.--will be posted next week, taking into account what characters have discovered during the first phase.

Rifter Arrival

The rifter arrival log will be posted later today (Saturday the 21st). Unlike last month, it will be an open log, so no participation sign-ups are necessary.

Sending Crystals

We know there's been some uncertainty about sending crystals and exactly how they work, so we thought we'd better clear up the basic logistics. This information will be added to the expanded Setting/State of the World page that's currently in the works and is provided here for reference in the meantime.

The Inquisition's mages and enchanters continue to work to understand and unlock the full potential of the cache of "sending crystals" discovered in Skyhold. The current version has some limitations, and there is a lot they still don't understand about them, but here are the basics of what they've discovered so far:

Sending crystals are chunks of dull blue crystal, roughly rod-shaped and about two inches long. The crystals can broadcast to all Inquisition crystals, to a single named individual, to a group of named individuals, or to a group within a certain distance from the sender. The sender tells the crystal who they want to reach before beginning the message, by touching it and saying their name or names. To reach every Inquisition crystal they would just say "all" or say nothing; in the absence of other instructions the crystal will default to contacting everyone. To connect with everyone in Skyhold, while "everyone in Skyhold" would not work, the user could say "all within half a mile" and that would probably cover it.

The crystals can be turned on and off. There is a two-handed twisting motion required while saying the word "on" and the user's own name or "off." While off, the crystal will not relay any messages, but will store received messages for later listening. When there are messages, the crystal will emit a very faint glow.

While on, the crystal delivers messages in the order in which they are received. When speaking directly to an individual this will effectively resemble a phone call with a direct line. When dealing with a group it will be more like the tag thread it is OOC: each message will arrive one after another rather than resembling a conference call where people can talk over each other.

When a person first uses a crystal there's a sort of 'binding' process that links a person's name with their actual physical person, so that the crystal can recognize that the person turning it on matches the name they're saying. Don't ask the mages how this works; they can't really explain it yet. It just worked one day and here we are. This does not limit a person to using a single crystal, but it does limit them to being contacted by a single name. Once you turn a crystal on as Joe Smithson you can receive messages for Joe Smithson on any crystal, but you cannot receive messages under any other name. This only affects turning crystals on and receiving messages by name; talking over someone else's shoulder or through a crystal already activated by another person is always possible.

At present there is no 'caller ID' equivalent. The only way to tell who is talking is if they introduce themselves or are recognized.

The researchers have not yet discovered a way to "skip" messages that are stored while a crystal is off or to return to specific parts of a conversation. It's very annoying.

ICly, the crystals are a finite commodity and specialized technology that's still in its beta stages at best. Not all NPC scout and mission groups are issued crystals, based partly on need and partly on the anticipated danger that a crystal might fall into enemy hands. OOCly, if your character is working with the Inquisition, you can assume they have access to a crystal.

Information about how crystals work is spread haphazardly, via word of mouth or initial instructions when your character receives one, so it's perfectly fine for characters to not know how to send private messages, turn off a crystal, etc., until they're told.

Dropped Characters

Dropped characters who have never tagged are assumed to have never arrived. Dropped characters who have been RPed are off-screened in a way that makes sense and facilitates re-apping. We keep a list on the Hiatus & Drops page for player reference. If you have questions about a character on the list, please let us know.

Dropped characters from any canon can be re-apped by the same player or by a new one. If you are interested in picking one of them up we recommend contacting the mods before apping so we can discuss your options; in most cases, especially this early in the game, there will be leeway to allow changes to AU adaptations or their assigned off-screen activities. We also ask that everyone be reasonably flexible in allowing players of re-apped characters to reset CR or otherwise deviate from what previous players have done. If you have any concerns or issues, please contact us.

Bonus AC

This month we are going to begin to roll out the Bonus AC rewards system. You won't be able to spend your points right away, but you will be able to begin earning them! In order to encourage broad CR, rewards will be based on how many different characters you RP with each month, with bonuses for RPing with characters new to the game and for helping to create open plot opportunities.

You'll be able to spend your points on IC rewards like special armor or weapons, specialization training, mounts and rare pets, etc. For more information, please see the updated AC Page.

Character Cap Changes

As we've mentioned in the past, one of our goals here at Fade Rift is to provide an RP environment that--while obviously not 100% faithful to Bioware's version of Thedas (hello, rifters!)--roughly approximates the dynamics of that world. To this end, we've reviewed our character limits in light of PC demographics. Currently, characters from Dalish clans make up more than 15% of PCs, which is more than any nation except Ferelden (17.7%, yes we do really have pie charts) and as much as Orlais and the Free Marches combined. Characters from Tevinter, at 10%, are the next largest group after Fereldans and Dalish. To prevent these rare origins from becoming so commonplace that what makes them unique and fun to play is lost, we will no longer accept applications for Dalish or Tevinter characters other than canon companions. These caps will remain in place until the demographics shift.

One way this can happen is by the game population increasing substantially. In that vein, beginning in December we will raise the limit on maximum characters per player from two to three. In order to app a third character, a player must have made full AC with both of their characters during the Activity Check immediately preceding that app round.

All other character limits--one mage, one elf, one rifter, one canon companion or advisor--will remain the same for December.

We have updated our App Guide to include a list of underrepresented character backgrounds that we would be glad to see more of, in addition to the previous list of rarer concepts that should be used sparingly.

Player Plots & Other Opportunities

ICly, the Inquisition has re-asserted its presence in the Hinterlands following the Herald's death. Characters should feel free to RP in that region whenever they please, and to use Test Drive Meme threads as canon as long as all characters involved have been accepted.

In a similar vein, we'd like to direct your attention to the new War Table page. In the near future it will contain additional quest and mission opportunities, but right now it is a place for you to let us know if there is something your character wants to pursue, so that we can provide you information about the results. For instance, if your characters are doing experiments on rifter marks, trying to see how they react when brought near fade-touched materials or whether rifters can be bound like spirits, or hunting through the library for information about the name "Corypheus," let us know! We'll tell you what they'll discover.

If you have an idea about an adventure or plot you'd like to run for other players, whether it's an adaptation of something that happened in the series or something totally new you've made up, we'd like to hear it! We've put a form on the Plot Ideas & Requests page that you can use to give us a heads up so we can give you the OK. It has a bunch of fields on it, but they're mostly there to provide some guidance about the kind of info that's helpful to us. It's okay if your idea is small or not entirely fleshed out. Just give us what you have, and if we need more, we'll let you know. Running a plot that is open to other characters is another way to earn AC rewards.

If you have an idea for a bigger plot that you aren't comfortable managing yourself, you can tell us about it there too, and we'll put it in our plot bank for potential future use.