FAQ
Posted May 1, 2018 14:48:28 GMT -7
Post by Kitten4u on May 1, 2018 14:48:28 GMT -7
How old is this site?
We opened May 1, 2018. You can do the math from there.
Where does magic come from?
That is currently unknown. It's only been widespread for the past few years, and even then, only one in a million ends up being a mage. There simply hasn't been enough time or resources to research the source of magic or even much about how it works.
What's getting magic like?
People aren't born with it. Typically sometimes during the person's teenage years, though it can also happen when they're older, they'll get very sick. If they survive, suddenly they soon begin to display incredible powers.
How does magic work?
Rather than being a set of rules, or having it be more like a science, magic in Ascendant gives each person a more unique ability. While there may be many similarities between mages' abilities, it's rare to see any that are exactly the same and it's not uncommon at all for two mages' magic to operate under completely different rules. It's part of what's made researching magic and finding out the details so difficult. It's pretty safe to think of them as super powers or something similar to that. We tend to use the terms "powers" and "magic" interchangeably because of that.
Can I make a character that's not a mage?
This is a site about people who wield incredible power and their struggles against and alongside each other, so your character should be able to participate in this. So, any non-mage characters must have some sort source of magical power that allows them to compete with mages. For example, if a mage has a power that creates golems or empowers servants, you can play as one such golem or empowered servant. It's not necessary for the mage that acts as the source of this power to be another player's character. You can also play a mundane human whose powers haven't yet manifested themselves, but you still need to submit the character with all her future powers included in order to be accepted.
Can I make a non-human character?
Maybe. There's probably room for mage-built constructs, like golems, but we'd prefer to avoid letting people play races that have implications on the setting. In other words, it'd be okay for you to make a character whose power made them need to subsist on blood instead of food, but making a vampire that was created from another vampire and saying there's a whole vampire society would not be. Don't hesitate to contact a staff member to clear ideas with.
How long has The Academy been around?
It was founded in early 2017 (by the reckoning of the Information Age).
How many threads can I be in?
As many as you want. The only limit Ascendant has is on incursions. Each character can only be in one incursion at a time. Meaning, if a player has two characters, they can each be in an incursion. However, they cannot be in the same incursion; each character must join separate ones.
Can I have in a thread that doesn't have a sub-board?
Yes, just put it in the Academy's or universe's main board. Keep in mind for the other universes, sub-boards are where portals are, so it may be difficult to get to other locations without some kind of movement power.
Can my character have this power?
Probably. We're not too worried about people being overpowered, so the only way to get us to say no is if you try to make a power that does literally everything, or try to make a power that simply wouldn't be fun to play against. Put in some weaknesses to exploit and remember that we have a combat system. If the system says your attack failed, then it failed. Period. Make sure you can come up with reasons for your action to fail. If you have a very meta-based power, like mind reading or mind control, make sure that players have a way to opt out of that control and still have the power make sense because powers like that really should require player permission outside of incursions.
How do I balance my power based on the tables in the Powers thread and the suggestions in it?
We're not going to be huge sticklers about this. Those tables exist more to show the scale of power we're expecting (it's very very high). The only time we'll feel the need to step in is if someone is doing something particularly egregious, so balance your power however you think makes sense.
If I join now will I be underpowered?
Not really. The system was designed with new players coming into the game all the time in mind. The way the site's combat system works, the effects of a level difference between powers are usually pretty small, and the Zenith system is designed so that new players can catch up quickly. There will always be places for people of all power levels in event battles as well. So there's nothing to worry about, you won't be useless and you'll be able to keep up with high level characters.
What power types and immunities can I give this kind of magic?
Whatever you want! If you can provide a sentence or two of justification then you can use it. We're not picky. The important thing to remember is that the power types and immunities you choose will affect which other powers you succeed and fail against within the combat system. Choose based on what you think you should succeed against and what you think you should fail against.
How should we deal with characters who speak other languages?
In order to make things simple, we're assuming that one of the teachers at the Academy has a power that gives students the ability to speak each other's languages. So, language barriers shouldn't usually be an issue.
We opened May 1, 2018. You can do the math from there.
Where does magic come from?
That is currently unknown. It's only been widespread for the past few years, and even then, only one in a million ends up being a mage. There simply hasn't been enough time or resources to research the source of magic or even much about how it works.
What's getting magic like?
People aren't born with it. Typically sometimes during the person's teenage years, though it can also happen when they're older, they'll get very sick. If they survive, suddenly they soon begin to display incredible powers.
How does magic work?
Rather than being a set of rules, or having it be more like a science, magic in Ascendant gives each person a more unique ability. While there may be many similarities between mages' abilities, it's rare to see any that are exactly the same and it's not uncommon at all for two mages' magic to operate under completely different rules. It's part of what's made researching magic and finding out the details so difficult. It's pretty safe to think of them as super powers or something similar to that. We tend to use the terms "powers" and "magic" interchangeably because of that.
Can I make a character that's not a mage?
This is a site about people who wield incredible power and their struggles against and alongside each other, so your character should be able to participate in this. So, any non-mage characters must have some sort source of magical power that allows them to compete with mages. For example, if a mage has a power that creates golems or empowers servants, you can play as one such golem or empowered servant. It's not necessary for the mage that acts as the source of this power to be another player's character. You can also play a mundane human whose powers haven't yet manifested themselves, but you still need to submit the character with all her future powers included in order to be accepted.
Can I make a non-human character?
Maybe. There's probably room for mage-built constructs, like golems, but we'd prefer to avoid letting people play races that have implications on the setting. In other words, it'd be okay for you to make a character whose power made them need to subsist on blood instead of food, but making a vampire that was created from another vampire and saying there's a whole vampire society would not be. Don't hesitate to contact a staff member to clear ideas with.
How long has The Academy been around?
It was founded in early 2017 (by the reckoning of the Information Age).
How many threads can I be in?
As many as you want. The only limit Ascendant has is on incursions. Each character can only be in one incursion at a time. Meaning, if a player has two characters, they can each be in an incursion. However, they cannot be in the same incursion; each character must join separate ones.
Can I have in a thread that doesn't have a sub-board?
Yes, just put it in the Academy's or universe's main board. Keep in mind for the other universes, sub-boards are where portals are, so it may be difficult to get to other locations without some kind of movement power.
Can my character have this power?
Probably. We're not too worried about people being overpowered, so the only way to get us to say no is if you try to make a power that does literally everything, or try to make a power that simply wouldn't be fun to play against. Put in some weaknesses to exploit and remember that we have a combat system. If the system says your attack failed, then it failed. Period. Make sure you can come up with reasons for your action to fail. If you have a very meta-based power, like mind reading or mind control, make sure that players have a way to opt out of that control and still have the power make sense because powers like that really should require player permission outside of incursions.
How do I balance my power based on the tables in the Powers thread and the suggestions in it?
We're not going to be huge sticklers about this. Those tables exist more to show the scale of power we're expecting (it's very very high). The only time we'll feel the need to step in is if someone is doing something particularly egregious, so balance your power however you think makes sense.
If I join now will I be underpowered?
Not really. The system was designed with new players coming into the game all the time in mind. The way the site's combat system works, the effects of a level difference between powers are usually pretty small, and the Zenith system is designed so that new players can catch up quickly. There will always be places for people of all power levels in event battles as well. So there's nothing to worry about, you won't be useless and you'll be able to keep up with high level characters.
What power types and immunities can I give this kind of magic?
Whatever you want! If you can provide a sentence or two of justification then you can use it. We're not picky. The important thing to remember is that the power types and immunities you choose will affect which other powers you succeed and fail against within the combat system. Choose based on what you think you should succeed against and what you think you should fail against.
How should we deal with characters who speak other languages?
In order to make things simple, we're assuming that one of the teachers at the Academy has a power that gives students the ability to speak each other's languages. So, language barriers shouldn't usually be an issue.