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FAQ.
The modteam reserves the right to change anything below as needed, at any time. The playerbase will be alerted of these changes.
Game Mechanics | Vampirism | Worldbuilding
'Short-term musebox'?
The game has a planned ending and I intend to reach it in 4-6 months. It has no real AC and is invite only, so it's a musebox, not a game.
Since it's planned, can characters influence the outcome?
Yes! While I have an ultimate ending in mind that should answer the questions of the game (why were your characters brought here? Why do they have vampire powers? What's going on in this world?), characters and players influence the shape of those outcomes, and the mechanics of play. If players are obviously more interested in one game mechanic over another, obviously that mechanic will get more play. If characters show a particular interest in certain aspects of the setting, those aspects will be focused on.
And, perhaps most importantly, character choices effect certain outcomes, like if certain NPCs live or die, what gods are favored, and the survival of certain towns and other populated locations.
What is activity like?
It's a check-in on the first of every month. You have three days to respond!
What if I don't respond in those three days?
You will be swept! Swept characters cannot be re-apped for a month (AKA, wait til the 3rd of the next month before apping). If you are swept twice, you are limited to just one character in game. If you get swept again, you're banned from the game.
Doesn't that seem kind of harsh?
Not really, considering you don't have to do any comments to make AC. You just have to show up once a month on one of 3 days.
Is there bonus AC?
Yes, you can accumulate bonus points by linking threads with 10 comments. Bonus points don't carry on into next month, you can just use them to buy special plot opportunities / coupons in the following month's event.
On the first month, obviously you won't accumulate points.
Bonus points will be RNG'd if you sign up for special plot focus, so the more you have, the more likely you will be chosen for the plot opportunity / coupon. You can only have a maximum of 5 bonus points a month, however.
How many characters are allowed?
At the moment, only two characters are allowed per player. Only 20 players are allowed. This may change at any time; players will be alerted.
At the moment, there is a franchise cap for 3 characters. This means Spider-Man from the comics and Captain America from the movies count under the same cap. This is to keep the game from becoming unbalanced in favor of one particular genre, etc. This may change based on how big or small the game gets.
When can I app?
At the moment, apps are open all the time. This may change at any time; players will be alerted.
This game is invite-only. How do I get an invite?
Anyone friends with the head mod's (my) plurk (~wehwalt) has an invite. Any of those people can give an invite to a friend. Anyone can get an invite from someone already in-game.
What kind of characters can I play in this game?
All kinds. Canon characters are welcome, along with OCs. The game is made for human-shaped characters, though, and nonhuman-shaped characters will be allowed on a case-by-case basis to see if humanization or some other accommodation will work. Malleable protagonists are fine, as well as OCs from MMO settings (like WOW).
However, several character types aren't allowed. AU characters where the AU is not found in canon*. Native OCs, fandom OCs, and historical people** are also off the table.
*(For example, playing a character from What If...? is fine. Making up your own What If AU that is not represented in real media is not.)
**(For example, playing Alexander Hamilton from Hamilton the musical is fine. Playing Alexander Hamilton from Hamilton by Ron Chernow is not.)
What ages are allowed for characters?
Characters must be at least older than 10, but I'm willing to bend this rule if you can make a good argument. I mostly want characters who are mature enough to really consider the morality of killing someone to keep living, so this is a place where mental age would factor in. I reserve the right as a mod to say some characters, despite being over the age of 10, are still too young. For example, I'd be wary around someone apping a thirteen-year-old from the Babysitter's club, but I'd have no problem with an 10-year-old from a horror canon.
My character has disabilities, and needs special accommodations. What can they expect?
This is up to you. If you want Professor X to appear with his hoverchair, that is totally fine. If you want your character to be freed of an internal ailment or an invisible disability, that's cool, but you also don't have to. I want people to be able to play out their character's disability if they want to, but since every character is different, it's fine if you'd like them healed by the vampiric transformation. Just let me know in the app!
If your character needs special medications to get through the day, and you don't want to heal them of that, they may need to pray to a special god in order to receive them. Let me know in the app, again, and I'll give you the details-- or just ask here!
My character is human-shaped, but they have some light nonhuman characteristics, like cat ears, a tail, etc. How will that work?
They can keep small characteristics, but will lose the powers associated with them, so if they have cat-eyes that enable them to have inhumanly good sight, that's gone.
This is a case-by-case basis thing, so feel free to ask here and I'll give you an Official Mod Ruling.
My character is human-shaped, but has nonhuman internals. How will that work?
If they're some kind of humanoid alien, their internals can stay the same, but any alien-esque powers they have are gone. For example, the Doctor can still have the wrong number of hearts, but they can't regenerate.
If your character is an android or whatever that looks human but has robot parts inside, congrats, they're now a squishy human.
If your character is an android or whatever but doesn't look human, they will have to be humanized. Get yourself a PB.
What if my character is human-shaped, but they can't pass as-
Shh. Just ask below for the specifics, and I'll talk it over with you. Case-by-case basis, but at this time no particular type of character isn't allowed on sight, so long as they have human level intelligence (Dobby is fine, Chi Yamada is not).
How does dying work?
That depends on the event! Most events will have an opportunity for your character to die, which you can choose regardless of bonus points. We will let you know what the death will entail before you choose it, and what it will cost the character, or potentially gain them. In some occasions, the deaths will be permanent.
What if I'm in a situation where it would be IC for my character to choose the permadeath option? I don't want to stop playing them!
That might happen, and if it does, it will never be a 'mistake' your character made, but something they choose to do in order to save lives. Please don't view it as failing the game! Try to approach it like it's the end of your character's arc, where they go out pretty nobly tbh.
If it does, you will be able to automatically app another character, skipping any line there may be in apps, and ignoring any caps. This is called a death app.
Characters brought in under a death app will have special powers other vampires don't have access to.
What state will my character arrive in?
Whatever they were wearing and carrying from the canon point you pulled them from. If they had anything digital, however, it will be bricked.
So an old fashioned pocket watch would still work (unless it got damaged), but a digital watch would no longer tell the time. Same with any kind of higher technology-- a colt would work until you ran out of bullets. A laser gun would stop working entirely.
Even though they're technically analog, I'm gonna say machine guns would not work to keep me, personally, from going insane.
Magical objects will be decided on a case-by-case basis
This is a finicky subject so feel free to ask before hand, please feel free to talk it out with me as needed.
What if my character is injured on arrival?
You have two options! Either your character is automatically healed, or they arrive in their injured state. If you choose to have them arrive injured, that's fine, but the only way they can heal is to feed. They will feel extreme, wild hunger along with their injuries, and it may get to their head and cause a lack of self control. How you play this is up to you!
How does the network... work?
There is no technological network. Characters can send telepathic messages to the network at large, or to inboxes (if you choose to set an inbox up). There is no locking threads on the network at large, so take any private psychic messages to the inbox.
These psychic messages can include words, feelings, images, information-- anything you can send with your mind.
However a weak vampire, a frightened vampire, or a vampire with a lot of adrenaline in their system cannot access it. Vampires with naturally volatile tempers may need to meditate to access the psychic network. You need to be somewhat calm.
If you want special html to use to denote psychicness...
γThis is my suggestion. You don't have to use it! It's just my best approximation of something fancy looking. Feel free to do whatever you want, here; I'm not trying to judge.γ
HTML for that is here:
How does my character become a vampire?
In your app, you will pick three vampire abilities, and you will be tied to those abilities for the rest of the game.
Can I change my character's vampire abilities once I'm in the game?
Not at the moment! However, if this is something enough players want, it'll happen. NB, that's how most mechanics will work in this game.
What will my character know about their vampire abilities? How will they learn?
Characters apped in will have an automatic knowledge of their powers, but not practical-- they'll have to experiment with them to understand what it feels like, etc. Their knowledge is as if they read up on the subject, but they have no memory of the action reading.
This will be detailed in arrival logs.
My character already has powers. How will they show up in game?
Characters will lose their previous powers, and those powers will be replaced with their vampire abilities.
The character I'm apping is already a vampire. How will that work?
Your character retains any outward appearance of vampirism, but their previous powers and abilities will go away just like any character, to be replaced by SANGUI's in-game vampire abilities.
Can characters get pregnant?
No, they're all dead.
Can vampires eat solid food?
Yes. But too much and they'll get an upset tummy :(
How often does my vampire need to eat? Are there any special ways they need to drink blood?
That depends! The vampires of Sangui are affected by holy dates in the religious calendar, called Feast Days. Feast Days will always coincide with an in-game event, focused around how your character will get sustenance on that day. Various obstacles will surround that process, moral or practical, so your character gets to make choices about what kind of vampire they are, and utilize their vampire abilities. Some vampire abilities will be a huge hindrance, but some will be hugely useful. This is to encourage teamwork and problem solving.
How does my character learn about and experiment with their new vampire abilities?
Upon entering the game, your characters will awake with some sense of their abilities, not unlike if someone whispered them in their ear, but it was difficult to understand and they don't remember the actual conversation. Vampires are free to experiment with their abilities; it will only take 1-3 weeks (depending on what you want to play around with) to attain mastery.
Does this game allow for 4th walling?
No
What is this game called? What's the setting?
In the game SANGUI, the main setting is Sangui.
In the what?
Sangui is the setting of the game. The game is called SANGUI. This provision is to keep me from going insane.
Tell me about Sangui.
Sangui is a land currently in the brink of an industrial revolution. The best jobs are at factories, which choke up smog and are owned by rich aristocrats. The people of Sangui are largely wary of vampires, and do their best to guard against being a snack. The rich like to think they're above such silly superstitions. Because of this (or maybe something else?) a rumor has started that the aristocracy is courting vampires in order to gain the secrets of life eternal.
Rich or poor, everyone worships either Kismet or Prosper, the two gods of the land. Figuring out which god to personally follow is a spiritual choice that one declares officially at the age of thirteen. There's a ceremony and everything.
Tell me about SANGUI.
Scroll up.
Tell me about the goddess Kismet.
Kismet is the goddess of day. She brings blessings upon sunlight, growth of crops, and the bonds of trust and safety. Her blessed creatures are fawns, small brown birds, grey cats, and animals with brindled fur. Pigs are sacrificed to Her on blessed days. She stands against evil done in broad daylight, and seeks to unmask liars.
Tell me about the god Prosper.
Prosper is a god of the night. They bring blessings upon moonlight and deep sleep. They ward against nightmares. Their blessed creatures are spiders, river fish, serpents, and anything with cloven hooves. Oxen are sacrificed to Them on holy nights. They stand against the compulsion to be earnest, and believers acknowledge that good can be done secretively, without reward.
What is this rumor of a third god?
The gods of Sangui are ever in flux. Once, Sangui had three gods, but worship of the third has fallen, and none know what that fallen god represented or acknowledged.
I don't want to interact with gods or religious characters. Can I still play?
You might have a hard time of it. The gods and their patronage / interests is an integral part of the game's plot, and Sangui is a highly religious country. If you're worried about blasphemy, these gods are about as serious as the deities in Skyrim. The only term taken from an actual extant religion is the term 'feast days', but there are no saints in Sangui.
What are feast days?
Days that commemorate important heroes and warriors in Sangui's past. These are quasi-religious holidays, but they require offerings to certain gods. Strangely, they also affect the feeding cycles of Vampires.
Who rules Sangui?
King Magni X rules Sangui, and has since he turned sixteen. He is a largely absent king, some even say he is a puppet of his chancellor Regis Harlimen. The king mostly lets Regis and the aristocracy rule while he goes on way too many hunting trips. At the ripe age of ninteen, he is soon to marry his first cousin, Scarlet.
Was all of that info relevant?
It will be, shh.
You mentioned NPCs are a big deal of this game?
Yes! There will be various NPCs throughout, who your character will get to meet, converse with, and possibly kill... or save. Which NPCs survive or die will obviously affect the shape of future plots.
Pel I know how you feel about kings and-
Shhh.
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Thank you for this question, it made me realize I'd forgotten to put this on the FAQ!
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