Basic Questions
When can my character come into the roleplay?
That is entirely up to you. If you want them to already know about what’s going on in the world, or if you want them to just now be discovering their powers, walking through the rift, or awakening as an angel or demon… that’s all up to you. Feel free to contact other players if you want to establish relationships beforehand.
Is there an age limit on joining the game?
No, there isn’t. Largely, because we’ve known 15 year olds who could write much better than 25 year olds, and 30-year-olds who write like the cliche teenager. We judge applications on content and trust that if you’re under eighteen, you will not click on or participate in threads with explicit rating.
Can I use the same livejournal for this character as I’m using for him/her in another RP, or do I have to make a new LJ specific to this game?
If you’re already playing the character in another game, it’s perfectly fine to use the same journal here. We do request that when they post entries in their journals, you indicate in the subject line that that post is for Beyond the Rift or for whatever other games you might be in, just to prevent confusion.
Setting
What’s the deal on Chicago? Where can my character go in the city?
The world that this takes place in is a lot like our world in names and waysthat things happen, but it’s different enough that even if you don’t know the city well, you can make up places within the city to go and are free to take creative license with it. If you’d like to know about the already-established game locations, take a look at this page on the wiki.
Can my wanderer stay someplace other than the Conrad?
No. Absolutely not. There is nothing other than the Conrad. :|
…If you couldn’t tell, that was a joke. Your wanderer may absolutely stay somewhere different! Depending on where they come through the Rift and who they run into first, they can also stay at the Main Gauche Apartments (contact magi), the Prophet’s wanderer complex (contact Jaqui), or one of many anonymous and unplayed homeless shelters in the city. Once they’ve gotten a little acclimated, there’s also a complex geared towards wanderers and supernaturals run by a woman named Tess (contact Rizzy). As always, if in doubt, contact the mods, and we’ll be happy to help you out.
Characters
If I pick to use a fandom character, can I choose where they are in canon when I bring them into the game?
Yes, if you choose a fandom character, you can bring them in from anywhere in their canon, even if their are other characters from that fandom from a different part of that canon. Please, make a note of just where you choose to bring them in from in their profile so that other players will have some idea (even if their characters are amusingly confused).
Can I play a wanderer from an alternate universe version of their canon? What about a wanderer from an original verse, or an original character from an established fandom? Yes, to all of the above. Applications will, of course, be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and if your AU character is too far or not far enough from their canon self or your original character is too over-powered, we might ask you to change a few things, but we have both AU and original wanderer characters. There may be one canon version and one AU version of a fandom character in play at a time - however, the AU has to have significant differences from canon to be acceptable.
Species and Abilities
How do my characters powers work?
That is up to the player’s own discretion. Thankfully, powers vary in characters here like hair color and painting style. Powers, even of those native to this world, are more individually specific than some wide, general guideline. If you have any questions or concerns about powers and how they might work or not, just contact any of the mods, and we’ll be happy to help you.
My wanderer doesn’t fit [insert Rift-race here] when it comes to their magic, elemental, whatever. Is this a problem?
No, it’s not. Wanderers have absolutely nothing to do with supernaturals, angels, and demons. They are not subject to the same rules and stipulations. However, if it makes it easier on you, feel free to have your Wanderer become a supernatural because of their journey through the Rift, and use the guidelines for that race. Just don’t worry about a Wanderer not fitting the mold.
My idea for a native supernatural human doesn’t fit any of the established Rift categories. Can they still have the power I want for them?
You are absolutely welcome to initially apply with a power that doesn’t fit the established “mold” for the supernatural humans, or to contact the mods to ask if they can have a certain ability. Unless it’s too extreme, there’s a pretty high likelihood that we’ll say yes - the Rift is changing things all the time, including the “generally accepted” categories of supernatural humans.
Can a demon/angel of one type have a child that’s another type? For example, can an archangel have a child that’s an angel of knowledge?
Yes - what, exactly, determines the type of angel or demon seems to be the factors influencing the child before they reach their sixteenth birthday - while this includes genetics, it also takes into account personality and life experiences.
Journals
When does my character get his/her journal? How does that work?
When your character walks through the rift, awakens, or discovers their power for the first time, an appropriate journal will appear by their bedside. It could be a typewriter, a leather-bound or spiral-bound notebook, a laptop, that’s up to you. They can read other people’s entries and choose to make their own entries private to specific people. They can also comment on the entries that they read. The comments will appear under the entry with their name next to it.
In the game, your character’s LJ functions as their journal. Posts they make there are visible to all characters unless marked otherwise.
What happens if someone gets their hands on another person’s journal?
They can write in it and say whatever they’d like. For all intents and purposes, it will appear in everyone else’s journal under the name of who owns the journal, not who writes in it. However, remember that journals tend to return to their owner if their owner is stationary for a certain period of time (it varies from person to person - it could be a few hours, it could be a day or so). So if you take a journal too far from the person it belongs to, it might just disappear and return to them.
What does the term [Locked to...] mean when used in entries?
It means that only the characters that the entry is locked to can read that entry in their own journals. The entry simply won’t appear in anyone else’s.
Terminology
What is canon-puncture?
Canon-puncture is when one (fandom) character is told that s/he is fictional, often by virtue of another character mentioning to them the work in which they appear, or by finding the work itself. It’s generally considered bad taste to canon-puncture a character without the mun specifically asking for it, and there is a rule in this game against canon-puncture without mun approval. You can find a handy guide to dealing with canon-puncture here.
And of course, if you have any questions not answered here, you can leave a comment here or email the mods at mods [at] beyondtherift.com.
