asgardmods | FAQS: OOC INFORMATION

faqs: ooc information.

❧ give me the cliff's notes: what is this game about?
In a nutshell, Asgard Genesis is a game about creation and discovery. Characters are brought into a city that is magnificent aesthetically and bare bones in nearly every other way, and they have the opportunity to develop the world around them into what they want it to be... and into what it needs to be in order to withstand the ever-mounting threats from outside the false sense of security the city of Asgard offers.

Think of this like the earliest stages one of the many video games in which you prepare yourself, your home, and your companions for a distant but inevitable war.

And believe us when we say: One day, that war is coming.

❧ wdo we have to be familiar with Nordic mythology to get the most of this game?
The world of Asgard Genesis is honestly very loosely based around Norse mythology, borrowing more from concepts and ideas than strict lore and legend. In this verse, Yggdrasil (or the World Tree) is heralded as the Mother of all things and through Her, all things are born from magic. The concept of Yggdrasil is explained as a well of magic that is constantly overflowing, and where the overflow runs, the World Tree grows. First came the giants, representing the Mother's body, and then the gods, representing the Mother's spirit. Together, they formed the sky and the sea and what would eventually become land. All other life has slowly followed after, and human beings are the most recent to appear in the world.

The Mother's youngest children live such extraordinarily short lives compared to the rest, and the warring of the stronger races threatens their very existence. The gods saw their plight and decided to help them, as all of the Mother's seedlings are precious, and thus they formed the kingdom of Asgard around their castle for the purpose of bringing the humans under their protection. They were only a few months into this process when the first Wanderer arrived. And then another. And then another. As the gods saw these new children appearing in the realm, ones that did not belong this close to the Mother's essence, they found themselves beset with a new task: protect these seedlings of the World Tree until they can be sent back to their homes. This is where the game began, with the first Wanderers being taken under the gods' ward as they seek answers and battle the chaotic development of Yggdrasil. Since then, it has become increasingly apparent that the gods were drastically unprepared for the Wanderers' arrival, and Yggdrasil is (in a small but nonetheless critical way) deteriorating as a result.

❧ what is this game's relation to Asgard Eventide?
Asgard Eventide was an RPG that began on LiveJournal in 2011 and migrated to Dreamwidth, where it was then taken over by Faith (the original head mod of Asgard Genesis) and Autumn in 2013. The game ended in 2015, but Faith loved the setting so much that she wanted to revisit it in a way that would be new and exciting both for our players and for us as mods.

In terms of the game itself, there will be some very obvious parallels to the old game - but no knowledge of Eventide is necessary to play in Genesis, which stands largely independent of its predecessor. There will never be a direct nod to Eventide's events, as this game takes place long, long before Ragnarok. In fact, there's a nearly 20,000 year difference! Asgard has only just recently been established, and as such, the players will be following the gods along in their journey to establishing their kingdom as the beacon of hope for wayward children. We consider Asgard Genesis to be its own timeline in the multiverse, meaning it is not the exact same world that we played in for Eventide. Consider it Yggdrasil-2, where some things are exactly the same and some things are dramatically different.

One thing we felt was important in building this game was taking this world and making it our own in a way that invited heavy involvement from our players. The characters in game have the ability to not just react to the world they now exist in, but also to contribute to it and change it. We want you as the player to be able to guide how we move forward in the game, through building the setting and creating relationships between characters and the present gods. We heavily encourage player plots so the gods will be available to help facilitate things with any extra spark of magic you might need, within reason of course. Please contact a mod if you have any ideas at all for what you'd like to see next in this new world of our own making!

❧ what will the game's pacing and events be like?
We expect the game to be medium-paced to slow, depending on the month and player initiative. As per discussion that took place in June, we are currently hosting one main plot and one mini plot per month. There will also be consistent opportunities to fill your own agenda based on monthly posts detailing what will be occurring in each god’s domain, particular curses that can affect Wanderers during this time period, and any other player plots going on or in the works. Events can range in tone from slice of life to action-focused - the whims of Yggdrasil are (in part) yours to mold.

The general tone of Asgard Genesis will remain on the lighter side, with our darker plots pertaining largely to the war state of the world or any curses or magical afflictions that might mix things up. All of our events are considered optional, and you're free to determine your character's level of engagement in the plot. Events will be announced in brief in a mod post at the beginning of every month, with more details released the week before the event is set to begin. We also welcome and encourage player plots, and are more than willing to make space in our calendar to let those player plots take center stage - so if you have anything you would like to be advertised on the monthly calendar or mod post, please let us know on the plot suggestions page.

❧ where will gamplay take place?
The main communities for Asgard Genesis are

asgardgenesis, our network community, and

asgardchrysalis, our logs community. After the network's creation in July, all characters should have an IC contact post in their journal for use as well. Comments on these posts are valid for AC!

You are welcome to post to either community at any time. Please remember to tag all posts you participate in with your character's tag, which will be created for you when you join the game in Canon - Givenname Surname format. This includes other people's posts that you respond to. This will make tracking your activity easier for monthly activity checks, as well as making it easier for us to peep on your threads like voyeurs. ;)

❧ what are the activity requirements?
We will be requiring one of the following to pass AC:

ten comments in log format
fifteen comments in network format
a combination of five comments in log format and ten comments in network format.

All comments posted within the AC month count towards your overall activity, including comments on IC inboxes since they operate on the network. This means that if you have ten comments from July in a log that was started in June, those ten comments are still valid for AC. To counterbalance allowing backtags to be valid, however, we will limit the age of the original post to two months prior to the activity month. You may also use a thread from our monthly test drive meme for AC, as long as you provide at least one other thread from within the game. We reserve the right to request alternative activity proofs if we feel it's necessary.

Activity checks will be posted on the 1st of each month and will end at 11:59PM on the last day of the month. You may submit your AC at any time during this period. Failure to meet AC requirements or to respond to the AC post will result in a strike. After two consecutive strikes, you will be removed from the game. If we notice a habit of failing one month and passing the next month and so on, we may put you on a probationary period during which you will not be allowed to pass AC with a strike. Continued abuse of this system will result in your removal from the game. We strongly advise that you track the !activity check tag in the OOC community so that you don't miss out!

❧ what happens if my character dies in game?
Death in Asgard Genesis is temporary. However, the gods have no experience with maintaining the lifeforce of a creature like this, especially one that does not belong in this realm. The resurrection process will be difficult, messy, and lengthy. When a character dies in Asgard, their body and any items they had on them fade away not entirely unlike the infamous finger snap from the Avengers: Infinity Wars (spoilers in the link, if you haven't seen it!). They wake up three days later in the castle, in the same white room from their arrival, although Frigg is not quite so happy to welcome you back to consciousness this time.

There are consequences for death in game that begin immediately with the first death and escalate to a point of complete loss. Death consequences progress as follows:

first: something is always slightly off, like a constant ringing in the ears or a muscle that won't stop twitching. maybe a joint pops in a way it never used to, or a certain part of your body is always sore.
second: something is no longer working the way it's supposed to, like the loss of movement in a hand or a constant forgetfulness. maybe you lose hearing in one ear, or can't quite taste food anymore.
third: something is missing completely, like the loss of an important memory or movement in an entire limb. maybe your god power is weakened to a fraction of its strength, or you lose your sight completely.
fourth: you do not return. the tether between your soul and your god's has frayed into snapping and your life cannot be recovered.

As you can see, in game death will be handled quite seriously. You must report any deaths to the mods so we can keep track of it, and so we can get you in contact with Frigg's player to potentially thread out your reawakening if you are interested.

❧ can I canon update my character?
You may do so at any time! Please make sure to respond to the taken characters page to inform us of the new canon point. Current options for your character while they are canon updating are as follows:

coma: your character falls into a deep sleep and cannot be woken by any means for a period of time.
disappearance: your character vanishes from the world and returns with the new memories.

How long your character is incapacitated for is up to you entirely! If your canon update involves significant changes your character's personality, please contact the mods to discuss how this will affect your portrayal of them in the game.

❧ what do I do if I need to take a hiatus?
We completely understand and welcome you to take a break from the game at any time. Please make sure to respond to the official hiatus page to notify us that you will be away. Hiatuses longer than one month require mod approval beforehand; please contact us if you have any extenuating circumstances that may need a longer hiatus or that may keep you from being able to post an official hiatus. Current options for your character while you are on hiatus are as follows:

auto-pilot: your character is assumed to continue with their regular activities.
coma: your character falls into a deep sleep and cannot be woken by any means for the duration.
disappearance: your character vanishes from the world and reappears at the end of your hiatus.

As far as AC goes, we will waive AC requirements for the month if you have posted an official hiatus that lasts two weeks or longer during the AC month. That means a hiatus from May 14 to May 28 will exempt you from May's AC, but a hiatus from May 28 to June 11 will not exempt you from June's AC. Only hiatuses posted on the official hiatus page will qualify for an exemption.

You will still be required to respond to the AC post at some point during the AC month, even if you have a hiatus exemption. Failure to respond to the AC post will result in a strike. Hiatuses posted on the OOC comm but not the official hiatus post will not be counted for an AC pass.

❧ what if I want to drop?
We'll be very sad to see you go, but we understand! Please make sure to respond to the drop page to let us know you will be dropping. Dropped characters simply disappear from the world as the tether between them and their god is very suddenly severed. Any belongings they had on them also disappear with them. Friends of the dropped character will be able to find any other belongings they left in their room untouched and free for claiming.

If you drop a character and wish to pick them back up before anyone else has applied for them, you may simply reclaim them by letting us know on the application page. Your character may retain their memories of Asgard only if they are reclaimed in this way, although this is optional. If another player applies for them, or if you apply for them again after someone else has played them, they cannot retain any memories of being in Asgard in any iteration.

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