asgardmods | FAQS: IC INFORMATION

faqs: ic information.

❧ what happens when my character gets here?
A brief description of the arrival process is provided on the premise page. Important to note is the vague feeling of discomfort before and after being pulled into Asgard. The magic that flows from Yggdrasil to form your world is different than the pure magic at its source, and your soul was never meant to make the journey between in quite this way. Being brought here so suddenly and inexplicably - it puts a strain on the spirit, but only for a moment. A brief second of drowning before bright sunlight and fresh air greets you within the pristine white and gold guest room of Glasheim Palace. Upon waking, you find yourself stripped of any magic or supernatural abilities you may have had and a thick, metal band on each wrist with a colorless crystal in the middle. After a moment, Frigg enters with a curious Sigyn trailing behind her, and they both invite you to meet the rest of the Gods of Asgard. The monthly intro event will (hypothetically) always be this introduction of new characters to the gods and any current Wanderers that want to greet them.

In meeting the gods, you will be asked to choose one to whom you would like to tether your soul. This bond is what will keep you safe from the magic within Yggdrasil that seeks to reabsorb the magic within you. The gods do not know what brought you here, but they fear that losing you here would mean the death of your world's leaf on Yggdrasil's branches, which has only just been born from their perspective. Protecting you now is the most important thing for them; figuring out what's happening and how to fix it comes later. After you've made your bond with your chosen god, the crystal in the middle of your bracelets will faintly glow with the designated color of your god. You will be welcomed into Asgard proper and free to do as you please.

❧ what's exactly is my character told upon arrival?
At this point in the game, the Gods are able to give a little more information than previous introduction rounds. As detailed on the premise page, Frigg and Sigyn welcome anyone just waking up, then take them to meet the other seven gods of Asgard. They'll be able to answer basic questions such as 'Where am I?,' 'Can I leave?,' and the like. The most important information they'll offer is the necessity of pledging to one of their hauses, and the present of Asgard's brand of magic. It can be assumed that any kind of basic setting question can also be answered here, though please ask if you have any questions about how a god or the gods in general would respond to something more specific.

❧ what's happening in the world right now?
The World Tree is still in its growing stages, which means that the magic overflowing from the well is wild and untamed. Colors seem more vibrant and at times strange in comparison to what you might expect. Plantlife swells and grows and dies from one place to the next. New lifeforms are springing up all over the world and warring amongst each other to claim new lands as their home. The chaotic presence of pure magic charges the air itself with a faintly crackling power, and odd magical mishaps occur at random. The idea here is that world is definitely still in a state of flux, where anything could happen at any moment due to the magic that makes up every atom in this place. At any given moment, characters in Asgard may have to deal with: war conditions between the different races and newly established kingdoms; curses or other magical effects that may come from the gods or from nowhere at all; and other varying large-scale plots throughout the course of the game. This state of magical flux can also be used for personal curses.

❧ what's happening in Asgard right now?
Asgard was built not so long ago by the gods in an attempt to create somewhere safe for the newly born human race to be able to thrive. The process for doing this is complicated. You can try to ask Odin for the details (and best of luck to you), but the basic explanation you might get from any god is that by claiming this land as their territory, the gods have infused the earth with their domains. In a sense, they have laid down their realm of influence in approximate distance to each other so that any who come within their boundaries are under their joint protection. Asgard itself is holy territory. However, this is all purely experimental, and so work must be done to fully and completely cement the gods' domains into place. Each god has their own district within Asgard that will embody the spirit of their domain, and the more people that occupy and develop the districts, the stronger their connection to Asgard becomes. As children of the Mother's spirit, they are setting down their own roots and trying to grow something brand new.

This also means that they are in the process of gathering people to the city. Right now, there are maybe a thousand human NPCs populating Asgard. The gods have no idea how many humans exist in the world, and even as they bring the Wanderers into their protection, they will still be seeking out these seedlings as well. As the districts continue to grow, residents of Asgard will be asked to contribute or participate in various goings-on. At any given moment, characters in Asgard may have to deal with: search and rescue opportunities, community outreach or god house competitions, threats and delights from their own realm of origin, and other varying small-scale plots throughout the course of the game.

Thus far, the biggest focuses have been on strengthening the relationships of the Wanderers (both with themselves and with the gods), and strengthening/defending the city. Various forces have threatened Asgard, from a large dragon destroying parts of the city, to an army of Wights that Wanderers had to do battle with. At this point in the city's longevity, the gods are reexamining their relationship with the humans they've decided to shelter -- they've proven themselves to be capable, and committed to the city and each other. This current stage of the game will focus on offering further opportunities for characters to meld with the setting, through various god jobs and and structured events.

❧ who - or what - are these gods, exactly?
The gods are immortal beings that were born from the purest magic in the well. Where the giants represent the Mother's body, the gods represent the Mother's spirit, and as such are more emotional and logic based creatures. Their bodies are physical and can be wounded but not killed, and their appearance is one that they've chosen, and the majority have since been unable to change again. Each of them has their own distinct personality and values, and each god has their own domain over which they preside. They consider each other family, although their relationships can vary anywhere from friendly to romantic to subservient and beyond. The point to draw from this is that they are very much just people with supreme power and a will of their own.

The gods' names, in order of age, are: Odin, Njord, Mimir, Skadi, Heimdall, Tyr, Frigg, Honir, and Sigyn. As the oldest and the wisest, Odin was chosen by his kin to serve as King of Asgard, and though they all have a say in what happens within their shared kingdom, his word is seen as the final authority. The means of infusing the land with their domains was Odin's design, but the decision to found Asgard was unanimous. The gods will all have differing opinions on humans and Wanderers and the world overall, but one thing holds true for all of them: all of the Mother's children are precious, and the World Tree must be allowed to thrive. All of their efforts are to that end, whether they prove to be successful or not.

❧ how do the districts work?
At the very center of Asgard is Gladsheim Palace, the castle where the gods live together, and Asgard's territory expands in a rough circle from that center-point. The city is split into nine districts, one for each of the gods in clockwise order: Odin, Njord, Skadi, Tyr, Sigyn, Heimdall, Mimir, Honir, Frigg. The districts vary in size and appearance, as the gods saw fit to represent their domains on earth in different ways. You can find details about the state of the world on the locations page, along with links to information about the individual districts. This information is very likely to change over time, as Asgard is still being developed and the PCs will have ample opportunity to provide their own influence as well.

The gods, by infusing their domains with the land here, are now bound to it in a very real sense. They have taken a vast amount of their magical essence - the purest of magic to come from Yggdrasil - and woven it into physical form. What effect this will have on them as individual entities or on Yggdrasil overall remains to be seen. What's important for you to understand as the player in terms of how this will affect your character is this: the gods are bound to the land, your characters are bound to them. By living within their district, you can contribute to the principles of their domain to feed energy back into the district and to the gods by proxy. It's like a very unintentional ecosystem. The more you thrive and grow within your god's district, the more the god's district becomes healthier and stronger!

❧ so what are we supposed to be doing?
It's true that characters aren't forced into any roles, outside of the fact they must choose a god to bond with as part of existing within the setting. Your character can do what they like here, wherever they lie on the spectrum between lawful good or chaotic evil. In short, your level of involvement in the mod-offered development of Asgard is completely optional, and going your own way is absolutely a valid choice.

For those looking for something more specific or structured, Asgard is built upon character investments of many kinds. The bonds that a person makes helps to grow their magic, so it's important for Wanderers to grow and interact with one another in a variety of ways. It's also vital to build a rapport with the gods that exist in this realm, which can be done through completing jobs and quests that they put forth -- this leads to rewards and various boons. There will be times when battle is necessary to defend the city, and thus they may be called forth to fight. This game is an even mix of slice of life and action/adventure where characters can involve themselves in the setting no matter which of those genres you might prefer.

The foundation of all of these activities, though, is growing the city of Asgard. This can be done in a myriad of ways, whether it's opening a business, hosting an event, causing some mischief, or what have you. Your character's actions can have a direct influence on shaping the game. We're literally building this city from the ground up. There are buildings set up out of the assumption that the humans - and now the Wanderers as well - will need shelter, obviously. But what else do people need? What else do people want? What do you want?

❧ how do curses work in this game?
There may occasionally be mod events that involve curses, but feel free to come up with curses that affect the whole game to toss on the plot suggestion page! The unstable state of Yggdrasil means that the pure magic that makes up every molecule in this place can affect your character in strange ways. Perhaps they spend a few days where the color of their skin changes with their mood. Perhaps can only speak in a whisper but hear all sounds like the entire world is turned up to 11. The idea is that you can make these curses just about anything you can come up with! Weird compulsions or the sudden inability to lie, whatever sounds fun (or horrible!) to put your character through. These curses can last anywhere from a few minutes to over a week, although we would ask you to let us know on the player plot page if you plan to make it longer than a week or so. The gods may also be capable of helping your character with their magical malady if you want to beseech them for help.

❧ what's the deal with these bracelets we have now?
Upon waking up in Asgard, you will find one thick, silver band on each wrist. They are about 2 inches wide of solid, curved metal, although you don't really understand what kind of metal it might be. It's weightless and fits you perfectly, fully enclosed so it can't be removed. If you focus on the way light reflects off the metal, you'll catch glimpses of little etched runes across the surface that you can only really see out of the corner of your eye. It always seems just out of sight, vanishing into smooth, undisturbed metal before you can make out any details. At the center of each band is a stone that begins colorless; once you bond with a god, the crystal faintly glows their designated color.

he bracelets are largely meant to be a practical thing: they serve as the conduit for the bond between you and your god, keeping you safe while you're here. However, as many Wanderers asked the gods to come up with a means for contacting each other, the bracelets now function as communication devices to access the game's network, as well as storage space for media and a map of Asgard. Instructions and details on how the network operates are over here.

❧ where are we supposed to live?
As mentioned, the one thing the gods did prepare for in welcoming new lifeforms into their space was shelter. Once you have made a bond with your god, you will belong to their god house, which is both a metaphorical and physical thing! Each district has its own unique housing units created by its god, and you will be assigned to one of these at random and invited to live there for the duration of your stay in Asgard. Food and clothing will be made available to you, but cooking and cleaning will be your responsibility. For detailed information about the housing situation in each district, go to the god houses page.

It's important to note that while you are certainly free to visit one another, you cannot spend the night in someone else's god house. You can spend all day there if you'd like, but around 8pm, a vague sense of unease will fall over you, almost like paranoia. By 9pm, it will grow into an intense feeling like you don't belong there. And by 10pm, you will feel the irresistible urge to leave. This feeling does not leave you until you are back in your own god house, where it then feels like releasing a breath you've been holding for too long. This only applies to the god houses; if you choose to build new accommodations in another district, you can live there without a problem. You just cannot stay in someone else's god house past 10pm. If you do wish to build another structure for your character to live in, please contact the mods about who will be staying there, as well as where it is!

❧ since you mentioned it, how is time reckoned here?
Days pass through a regular cycle of one sun and one moon, and we will be using a 1 OOC day = 1 IC day ratio. (We hope you'll forgive us, Eventide fans.) The gods do not have a means for measuring the hours of a day or months of a year, because what is an "hour" or a "year" to an immortal being? If you want to keep track of specific days or times, you will have to come up with a means to do so. As of January 2020, characters have begun to discuss a calendar system.

Even without a means of tracking it, however, general positioning of the sun will be consistent with patterns on Earth. There are no distinguished months but the weather does follow a typical pattern of seasons to display the cycle of a year. We're taking a slightly easier route on tracking time this go around, so for now, consider Asgard to follow the same general passage of time as Earth and the general weather of the west/midwestern United States.

❧ what about money? do we need jobs?
As of right now, there is no money circulating within Asgard. The Gods have no need for it, and the natives of Asgard have not yet created an economy. Thus, the typical attitude from them is “what is money? Why do you need it?”

While currency isn't quite a concept yet in Yggdrasil, basic trading is beginning to occur as more people and resources enter Asgard. However, you can handwave basic necessities like food and clothing as free gifts from the natives.

❧ how is the language difference handled?
Magic! If you ask any of the gods about it, they will show a faint amusement, as being able to communicate with one another is by far the least burdensome of all the magic they're expending right now. There is no name for the language of Yggdrasil, but all characters in Asgard think and speak in this language by default. They are still capable of speaking and writing in the other languages they might know, but it takes conscious effort to speak the translation aloud. If a character could not read or write their native language, they will not be able to read or write the Yggdrasil language either, although they will still be able to speak it fluently.

❧ what kind of technology exists in the world?
Overall, there is no technology that is native to Asgard. The "modern" amenities you might find in your god housing or around the city that would presumably be powered by electricity in reality are instead powered entirely by magic. They might look and operate in the exact way you would expect, with buttons, settings, and informational displays typical of that machinery. But they are not plugged into anything, and it may oftentimes be impossible to figure out how it's functioning at all. It's important to remember that all things in Yggdrasil are powered by intent; these types of magic-based "electronics" are controlled and operated by intending for them to work. If you need to turn on a stove, set the dial to the temperature you'd like it at and will it to burn. If you need to turn off the lights before going to bed, you can simply will them to turn off. Isn't that nice?

Characters that enter the game with any electronics or anything otherwise technological in nature will find that they do not function in any way upon arrival. The gods will explain that technology is a man-made creation, and this is a world of magic. If you want your tech here, you have to make it.

As of January 2020, with the efforts of Peter Quill and several other PCs, Asgard now has a wind farm located in the forest that is generating electricity for the city. Your character is welcome to utilize this system for their own technology-based projects by responding to the plotting post with your ideas. The energy capacity of the farm has yet to be tested and may present challenges in the future; plot wisely!

During the A Dangerous Deluge-ion event in June 2019, various electronics and mechanical things dropped into the city, leaving a bunch of damaged and functionless tech that could be scrapped and used to build other things by the intrepid character. This is our easy excuse for saying many of the parts you might need to build something simple could be found somewhere in the city, although anything incredibly advanced or specialized would require further plotting. We're happy to help facilitate PC efforts of this kind at any time; just let us know on the player plot page!

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