rules/game info.
OOC RULES
Please be kind to your fellow players and remember that ooc ≠ ic. Characters are encouraged to work together and share information, but please do not infomod or godmod. Content warnings should be included in the subject line or at the top of a post, or alternatively, threads with mature content may be played in a character journal. Check-in activity is required to stay in the game. There is no strike system, so behave yourselves. If any concerns arise, please contact the mod.
GAME INFO
Achates is a short run mystery/survival game in a post-apocalyptic setting in which characters find themselves in an abandoned city infested with demons, and must battle against and/or alongside demons to survive long enough to find a way home. It is inspired by several Shin Megami Tensei games and previous dwrp games ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
cetana, matoushi, and austice. Game mechanics involve memory loss/alteration and optional monster transformation, and while there will be horror elements to the game (with all the blood, guts, and gore that comes with the genre), horror is not the main focus of the game.
The game is projected to last around one year/expected to run for a maximum of two years, with pacing depending on player activity and a conclusion driven by character decisions. Passage of time is NOT 1:1 with the real world calendar, but instead operates on flex time: ICly, the passage of time will be determined by plot beats and player posted logs, so it's entirely possible to speed run the entire game in one IC day if characters choose to do so.
The pacing is expected to be medium-fast, and events will go up after the previous event has concluded (with breathing room) rather than on a set monthly schedule, which will be announced on the game plurk several days in advance to give players time to prepare. If you prefer monthly events and a consistent schedule, this will not be the game for you.
There will be no test drive memes, but some logs will be open to the public.
Applications are always open, with a player cap of 30. Players are allowed one character in the game to start, and may app a second character after being active for at least two consecutive months with their first. There is currently no cast cap, but this may be subject to change in the future.
Canon characters, original characters, and silent/customizable protagonists are appable. At this time, duplicate characters and CRAU characters will not be accepted. New canons must be out for at least 1 month before they can be apped. There is no forced humanization, age limit, or size limit, with the understanding that very young/dependent characters and either extremes of size may have difficulty engaging with the game and its characters. Characters will be nerfed upon arrival, but may regain their canon powers through bonus activity.
There is no reserve system.
Activity check is check-in, will go up at the conclusion of each event rather than on a set monthly schedule, and will be open for one week. The check-in may ask for a summary of character activity, a vote or IC opinion, etc to guide the game plot, or just a simple "yes I am still here." While there is no thread count requirement for AC, the mod may contact inactive players via private message at any time to gauge continued interest in the game.
Bonus activity can be submitted after a character has been active for at least one month, and consists of a bundle of three threads, each with a minimum of five comments from you. Threads have no expiration date and can be banked for the future, but each character is restricted to five bonuses each calendar month.
Possible bonuses include general items, canon specific items, canon powers, canon memories, false memories, and plot clues. Please refer to the bonus activity page for more details.
Hiatus can be taken for a maximum of one month and cannot be taken for two consecutive months unless a mod is contacted. Players may be asked to drop if there is a pattern of frequent hiatuses. For the courtesy of other players, please use the drop page instead of idling out if you feel the game is not a good fit.
In case of any extenuating circumstances, contact the mod as soon as you're able.
Characters are nerfed upon arrival, but may regain their canon powers through bonus activity after one month in the game. Certain game-breaking powers may not be regained, which will be discussed with the player upon acceptance. If there is anything integral to the character's survival, they may retain that; this will be decided on a case by case basis.
Characters may also gain additional powers through interactions with demons and other methods which will be unlocked as the game progresses. These powers may include physical abilities, elemental abilities, ailments, and healing, and come at the cost of losing a memory. More information will be given as the game progresses and demon powers become available.
Characters arrive in the same state as their canonpoint. Any injuries and their severity remain, with the exception of fatal wounds which will be healed just enough to not be life-threatening, for the time being. They arrive with the clothing and items on their immediate person, excluding any pets or living things. Characters with hammerspace are limited to a maximum of five items previously kept in their hammerspace and will lose access to infinite storage.
Although characters arrive largely as they were at their canonpoint, there are several changes they will immediately notice:
More detailed information is given on the game's locations page, but as a brief overview, the game is set in a small town surrounded by forest, train tracks, and a wall. The eastern portion of the town has already been eaten away by darkness at game start, and erosion threatens to spread as time passes. The town, devoid of all human life, is instead overrun with demons that have contributed to the rampant destruction, reducing most buildings to rubble. Certain locations of interest remain standing, and more information is found on the locations page.
Past the town walls and towards the east is never ending darkness, effectively a void that emanates malice. Approaching the void will fill characters with a pervasive sense of dread, and entering the darkness is equivalent to death.
As the game progresses, further locations will become available in the form of "dungeons" connected to existing locations in the town, but the main setting will not expand past the city walls. It might shrink, though. The darkness is hungry.
All characters will arrive with mobile device called a "COMP", which may take the form of a phone, watch, goggles, etc per player discretion. The COMP functions primarily as a demon summoning program (more on demons below), but also as nagivation and as a universal translator. It can be used to communicate with other characters via text, voice, and video calls, both public broadcast and private. Characters do not have usernames on their COMPs. Display names will be the character's own names according to how they introduced themselves or how they are known to the person in question, although they can be changed to a stupid nickname if they ask their AI. Text can be formatted with color, font, and various symbols for all your kaomoji needs.
The map function is rudimentary and displays only the immediate surroundings, but can detect threats such as demons or other people. The COMP allows characters to see demons and somewhat understand their language, with an added effect of allowing physical attacks to harm demons, and mitigating the damage taken from demons.
Inactive COMPs can be found on the bodies of the deceased from other worlds (not town residents), but these COMPs will not turn on. Similarly, upon a character's death, their COMP will deactivate and lose connection to the AI. Searching amongst these non-resident bodies will reveal no full intact gemstones, but it may be possible to spot some gemstone dust or fragment no larger than a grain of sand. According to the AIs, characters have been brought here from other worlds in the past, although it was a long time ago and death came quickly for them. There was a fire. It's you guys' turn now, so try to do better!
One of two AIs (A☆L☆A or k5) is pre-installed into the COMP and serves as a guide. The presiding AI can be switched at any time.
Using the COMP, characters will be able to recruit demons and summon them as allies. Demons will be taken from the SMT games, but no knowledge of the games or the demons is required. They will be greatly simplified down to having one main element they are strong against, and one main element they are weak against, and two skills. A list of available demons can be found on the demon compendium page, which will be updated with new demons as the game progresses.
Characters can have a maximum of two demons registered in their COMP at any given time, but demons can be released to make room for recruiting a new demon. The recruitment process is up to the player, but typically involves some sort of negotiation in which they agree to join in exchange for items, a portion of the character's life force, an arm and a leg, etc. Alternatively, characters can defeat a demon and bully them into joining, but demons coerced with fear will have no loyalty to the character and may be quick to betray them.
When summoned, demons will stick around for the duration of the battle or task at hand before dematerializing and returning to the COMP, rather than sticking around all the time. Battles can be handwaved outside of mod run "boss battles". Demons who are defeated in battle will return to the COMP and be inactive, although they will slowly heal over time.
Death is not permanent, but revival takes several IC days, so players should be aware that due to the game's flex time, this may result in missing out on events. Please contact the mod to discuss death consequences and follow-up.
When a character dies, their body remains as long as it's being watched, and disappears the moment nobody is looking. After at least 24 hours, they will reappear inside the train with their injuries fully healed, wide awake and full of vigor, feeling the best they've ever felt in their entire life.
Dying will result in an altered memory, significant enough to change the character in a small but noticeable way. This altered memory can be further corrupted or restored to the original memory through bonus activity.
The mod can be contacted in a variety of ways, most reliably being on the mod contact page.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
panopte is the mod account.
achates is the main community, where logs will be posted.
achatesooc is the OOC community, where monthly updates, plotting posts and memes can be posted.
![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
achatesrpg is the game plurk, where announcements will be made.
cetana, matoushi, and austice. Game mechanics involve memory loss/alteration and optional monster transformation, and while there will be horror elements to the game (with all the blood, guts, and gore that comes with the genre), horror is not the main focus of the game.FLEX TIME
The game is projected to last around one year/expected to run for a maximum of two years, with pacing depending on player activity and a conclusion driven by character decisions. Passage of time is NOT 1:1 with the real world calendar, but instead operates on flex time: ICly, the passage of time will be determined by plot beats and player posted logs, so it's entirely possible to speed run the entire game in one IC day if characters choose to do so.
The pacing is expected to be medium-fast, and events will go up after the previous event has concluded (with breathing room) rather than on a set monthly schedule, which will be announced on the game plurk several days in advance to give players time to prepare. If you prefer monthly events and a consistent schedule, this will not be the game for you.
There will be no test drive memes, but some logs will be open to the public.
APPLICATIONS
Applications are always open, with a player cap of 30. Players are allowed one character in the game to start, and may app a second character after being active for at least two consecutive months with their first. There is currently no cast cap, but this may be subject to change in the future.
Canon characters, original characters, and silent/customizable protagonists are appable. At this time, duplicate characters and CRAU characters will not be accepted. New canons must be out for at least 1 month before they can be apped. There is no forced humanization, age limit, or size limit, with the understanding that very young/dependent characters and either extremes of size may have difficulty engaging with the game and its characters. Characters will be nerfed upon arrival, but may regain their canon powers through bonus activity.
There is no reserve system.
ACTIVITY CHECK
Activity check is check-in, will go up at the conclusion of each event rather than on a set monthly schedule, and will be open for one week. The check-in may ask for a summary of character activity, a vote or IC opinion, etc to guide the game plot, or just a simple "yes I am still here." While there is no thread count requirement for AC, the mod may contact inactive players via private message at any time to gauge continued interest in the game.
BONUS ACTIVITY
Bonus activity can be submitted after a character has been active for at least one month, and consists of a bundle of three threads, each with a minimum of five comments from you. Threads have no expiration date and can be banked for the future, but each character is restricted to five bonuses each calendar month.
Possible bonuses include general items, canon specific items, canon powers, canon memories, false memories, and plot clues. Please refer to the bonus activity page for more details.
HIATUS & DROPS
Hiatus can be taken for a maximum of one month and cannot be taken for two consecutive months unless a mod is contacted. Players may be asked to drop if there is a pattern of frequent hiatuses. For the courtesy of other players, please use the drop page instead of idling out if you feel the game is not a good fit.
In case of any extenuating circumstances, contact the mod as soon as you're able.
POWERS
Characters are nerfed upon arrival, but may regain their canon powers through bonus activity after one month in the game. Certain game-breaking powers may not be regained, which will be discussed with the player upon acceptance. If there is anything integral to the character's survival, they may retain that; this will be decided on a case by case basis.
Characters may also gain additional powers through interactions with demons and other methods which will be unlocked as the game progresses. These powers may include physical abilities, elemental abilities, ailments, and healing, and come at the cost of losing a memory. More information will be given as the game progresses and demon powers become available.
ARRIVAL
Characters arrive in the same state as their canonpoint. Any injuries and their severity remain, with the exception of fatal wounds which will be healed just enough to not be life-threatening, for the time being. They arrive with the clothing and items on their immediate person, excluding any pets or living things. Characters with hammerspace are limited to a maximum of five items previously kept in their hammerspace and will lose access to infinite storage.
Although characters arrive largely as they were at their canonpoint, there are several changes they will immediately notice:
- They will arrive with one minor item of sentimental value that was not on their immediate person and which belongs to a different character. This may be an item owned by the character as long as it was in the possession of another character at the apped canonpoint.
- They will find on their person a gemstone small enough to fit in the palm of their hand. Players will decide the gemstone's color(s) in the app, along with a general description of its appearance (polished or rough, speckled or striped, simple or complex, etc). All gemstones, however, come in one predominant color, and are chipped or scratched or damaged in some way. Damaging the gemstones result in emotional pain and/or memory loss depending on the severity of damage, and a stone damaged beyond repair is equivalent to death. Please contact the mod if the stone if damaged or given away.
- They will be missing two memories, and one additional memory has been altered, decided by the player upon apping into the game. More information is given on the applications page.
- A persistent hunger plagues them at all times, which can not be satiated with normal food and drink. For characters who do not eat, this feeling is replaced by the weakness, lightheadedness, diminished reflexes, loss of mental acuity, etc that typically accompanies hunger.
SETTING & LOCATIONS
More detailed information is given on the game's locations page, but as a brief overview, the game is set in a small town surrounded by forest, train tracks, and a wall. The eastern portion of the town has already been eaten away by darkness at game start, and erosion threatens to spread as time passes. The town, devoid of all human life, is instead overrun with demons that have contributed to the rampant destruction, reducing most buildings to rubble. Certain locations of interest remain standing, and more information is found on the locations page.
Past the town walls and towards the east is never ending darkness, effectively a void that emanates malice. Approaching the void will fill characters with a pervasive sense of dread, and entering the darkness is equivalent to death.
As the game progresses, further locations will become available in the form of "dungeons" connected to existing locations in the town, but the main setting will not expand past the city walls. It might shrink, though. The darkness is hungry.
COMMUNICATION
All characters will arrive with mobile device called a "COMP", which may take the form of a phone, watch, goggles, etc per player discretion. The COMP functions primarily as a demon summoning program (more on demons below), but also as nagivation and as a universal translator. It can be used to communicate with other characters via text, voice, and video calls, both public broadcast and private. Characters do not have usernames on their COMPs. Display names will be the character's own names according to how they introduced themselves or how they are known to the person in question, although they can be changed to a stupid nickname if they ask their AI. Text can be formatted with color, font, and various symbols for all your kaomoji needs.
The map function is rudimentary and displays only the immediate surroundings, but can detect threats such as demons or other people. The COMP allows characters to see demons and somewhat understand their language, with an added effect of allowing physical attacks to harm demons, and mitigating the damage taken from demons.
Inactive COMPs can be found on the bodies of the deceased from other worlds (not town residents), but these COMPs will not turn on. Similarly, upon a character's death, their COMP will deactivate and lose connection to the AI. Searching amongst these non-resident bodies will reveal no full intact gemstones, but it may be possible to spot some gemstone dust or fragment no larger than a grain of sand. According to the AIs, characters have been brought here from other worlds in the past, although it was a long time ago and death came quickly for them. There was a fire. It's you guys' turn now, so try to do better!
One of two AIs (A☆L☆A or k5) is pre-installed into the COMP and serves as a guide. The presiding AI can be switched at any time.
DEMONS
Using the COMP, characters will be able to recruit demons and summon them as allies. Demons will be taken from the SMT games, but no knowledge of the games or the demons is required. They will be greatly simplified down to having one main element they are strong against, and one main element they are weak against, and two skills. A list of available demons can be found on the demon compendium page, which will be updated with new demons as the game progresses.
Characters can have a maximum of two demons registered in their COMP at any given time, but demons can be released to make room for recruiting a new demon. The recruitment process is up to the player, but typically involves some sort of negotiation in which they agree to join in exchange for items, a portion of the character's life force, an arm and a leg, etc. Alternatively, characters can defeat a demon and bully them into joining, but demons coerced with fear will have no loyalty to the character and may be quick to betray them.
When summoned, demons will stick around for the duration of the battle or task at hand before dematerializing and returning to the COMP, rather than sticking around all the time. Battles can be handwaved outside of mod run "boss battles". Demons who are defeated in battle will return to the COMP and be inactive, although they will slowly heal over time.
DEATH
Death is not permanent, but revival takes several IC days, so players should be aware that due to the game's flex time, this may result in missing out on events. Please contact the mod to discuss death consequences and follow-up.
When a character dies, their body remains as long as it's being watched, and disappears the moment nobody is looking. After at least 24 hours, they will reappear inside the train with their injuries fully healed, wide awake and full of vigor, feeling the best they've ever felt in their entire life.
Dying will result in an altered memory, significant enough to change the character in a small but noticeable way. This altered memory can be further corrupted or restored to the original memory through bonus activity.
MOD CONTACT
The mod can be contacted in a variety of ways, most reliably being on the mod contact page.
panopte is the mod account.achates is the main community, where logs will be posted.achatesooc is the OOC community, where monthly updates, plotting posts and memes can be posted.