rivelatamods: Frequently Asked Questions

Rivelata Mods (

rivelatamods) wrote,
@ 2008-02-15 23:23:00

Entry tags:

~page: faq

Frequently Asked Questions
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Living in Rivelata (Characters)
• The World of Rivelata
• The Journal System
• The Garnet of Journeys and Magic Training

Playing in Rivelata (Players)
• Allowable Characters & the Application Process
• Character Drop and Death

Living in Rivelata (Characters)

›› The World of Rivelata

Can you summarize the plot?

Your character wakes up on a ship and is ushered off into the antique-like city of Rivelata, which is on the coast of a land only referred to as the "New World", a beautiful and deadly place rife with adventure, just waiting to be explored.

Shortly after Rivelata had been founded (100 years ago), a young girl named Immaculada discovered a strange, large crystal. It was apparently magical, as when she touched it, it "activated" and made her ageless. More importantly, for a year after that, droves of confused individuals poured in to the city, lost and looking for direction. However, despite their disorientation, they eventually decided to make Immaculada the Queen of the city, much to the original settlers' dismay - but alas, they were outnumbered.

Rivelata has since been populated with a mix of the descendants of the original settlers and the people from other worlds... But now, the century is up, and once again, new individuals are coming. These individuals, however, are perhaps not so agreeable - they are your characters. They will want to go home, revolt, try to oust Immaculada, etc. But a queen who has held the throne for 100 years will not give it up so easily...

What is the setting like?

Extremely reminiscent of the Caribbean, Rivelata is set in a tropical climate, and all the inhabitants dress in distinctly period clothing (a big mesh of the 15th-19th century fashions together). The architecture is a lot like that of European countries preceding the 20th century, and is especially Mediterranean-influenced. Currency is gold, silver, copper pieces.

For a full description on the city, the environment and even the technology and magic within Rivelata, please see the Story & Setting page!

How does time pass here in comparison to real time?

24 hours to a day as it is with us, and for reference it follows about EST (GMT -5) time. Logs, obviously, do not coincide with this time frame and you're welcome to write those as you wish.

How do characters understand one another's languages?

The magic of the Garnet makes it so every language is translated to universal "Rivelatan". If you wish for your character to use his/her native language at times, feel free, but you should add a note on the English translation so that other characters can reply.

How do characters make a living/pay for their food/get a place to live?

You begin in the city with 5 silver ladies, which is the equivalent of $500 USD. They will probably need to get some kind of job or offer a service in order to continue to make money.

For your convenience, please refer to this table:

Coin	Earth Worth	# to a Golden Eagle	Worth in Rivelata
brass bit (BB)	0.10 USD	10,000 BB = 1 GE	worth an ale at most taverns, a cigarette/cigar, or an individual piece of food (fruit, fish, bread, etc.) in the marketplace
copper pence (CP)	1.00 USD	1,000 CP = 1 GE	worth a pound of salt, a "pack" of cigarettes, or a meal at a tavern
pewter knight (PK)	10 USD	100 PK = 1 GE	an uncommon coin among the lower class, most often in the hands of merchants; worth a pound of cotton, a set of basic clothing (shirt & pants), an expensive dinner at a restaurant, or a night at a tavern
silver lady (SL)	100 USD	10 SL = 1 GE	largest denomination of coin any civilian sees in their life; worth a pound of uncommon spice, a week's worth of new clothing (shirts, pants, and socks), a small chest, a solid lock, a pair of leather boots, an axe / sword / other one-handed weapon, or a rowboat in ill repair
golden eagle (GE)	1,000 USD	1 GE	rarely seen outside of the hands of lords and the wealthiest of merchants; worth a masterwork one-handed weapon, a half-suit of armor, a sturdy row-boat with oars and rudder, or a month's worth of rent at a tavern (2 meals a day + evening stay)

›› The Journal System

How does the journal system work?

When your character arrives, they will be given a small, leather journal and a feather pen that never runs out of ink to go with it. Inside this journal, your character will find their name and a small picture of them and with it. Amazingly, if one writes in this thing, it actually writes back! It won't tell characters the name of the person with whom they are speaking, but there will be a small picture (i.e. an icon) by whatever that person says. And, if you experiment with the book enough, you're sure to figure out how to do other things with it; such as making recorded entries.

This is how characters communicate with each other in Rivelata. The main

rivelata community represents this. It should also be noted that characters can not write in someone else's journal and that private/locking capabilities are disabled.

My character is illiterate/blind/etc, how will they be able to communicate?

All entries, comments, and speech in Rivelata is defaulted to a universal "Rivelatian". If they cannot write for some reason, they can speak to the journal instead and it will record them talking; this includes "animals" that normally would only be able to speak with beings of their same species (which is true for the sake of logging only). If they are blind, everything will be in braille, however anything resembling images and scratched out words will not be translated for blind characters.

How do images/blood/presses/page to page transfers work in the journals?

Anything drawn, blotted out, or "pressed" into a character's journal can be transferred between all of the journals. The pages can also be ripped, burned, and otherwise mangled and all of that will transfer between the pages so long as the pages are not ripped out entirely. Please also note that while pre-existing entries can be ripped out of individual journals, they cannot be erased from the "group" journal as represented by the

rivelata community.

When a character dies, what happens to their body and journal?

The body and journal remain wherever they are left. However, if the deceased character is picked up/re-apped, their body and journal will be gone without a trace, and their entries from before will not be accessible.

›› The Garnet of Journeys & Magic Training

What is the Garnet of Journeys?

It's a very large, glowing red crystal in a cave on an island around Rivelata. It was activated 100 years ago by the Child-Queen Immaculada, and is what is pulling everyone into the New World. But why? How? Is it possible to deactivate it, or use it to bring everyone home...? That remains to be seen, but it is very clearly tied to Zikhadhara and his powers.

My character has a magical ability/weapon/pet/etc. in their canon - will it be here?

Anything that requires "magic" (that is, any sort of power at ALL that is "not normal" in the context of our world) will be severely watered down, especially if they have to call on a source of energy in their home as it doesn't exist here. Physical objects and creatures may come along, but they won't be guaranteed to be fully functional, or at all. For example, if you've got a magical sword, it'd probably become a lot like an ordinary sword, save just a tad more powerful. If that sword happens to draw its power from a source local to your canon, it's not going to be magical at all.

If my character continually trains to regain their magical abilities, will they be able to get some power back?

Definitely! It takes a few weeks, however, for any signs to show, and after that, even then, they will never reach their full power that they had possessed before. The maximum is 75% and should take about 6 months to regain.

It should also be noted that items also lose much of their original power, and that unlike characters, items cannot improve beyond their suppressed power level.

Can characters learn magic from other fandoms?

Yes, however, not all magic styles can be taught. For the styles that can be taught, however, there aren't many limits as to who can learn them -- even characters who have no magical background may learn if the style will allow it. It should be noted, however, that a student can never surpass their teacher when it comes to crossfandom magic.

For more information on this, please contact the moderators.

Table of Contents • Living in Rivelata (Characters) • Playing in Rivelata (Players)

Playing in Rivelata (Players)

›› Allowable Characters & The Application Process

What fandoms can one apply for?

Anime, manga, video games, books, TV shows, etc. However, if it's particularly obscure (such as a webcomic character), you may be asked to provide sources. If you can't, and there is no sufficient proof of this character's existence, you probably won't be able to apply for them.

When applying for an Obscure Fandom character, at least two summary sources of the fandom's canon must be linked in the Notes section of the application. At least one of the sources must include a reference to the character you are applying for, their place in the fandom's canon, their personality, etc. Pretty much anything that's an officially published work available in English is allowed. If it's only available in a different language (and doesn't have subtitles or any translations at all), you can't apply for it.

Can one play more than one character from the same fandom?

You may only play 2 characters in the same fandom. Additionally, interaction between these characters needs to be kept to an absolute minimum and thus the two characters cannot be too closely related (blood/adoptive relation, friendship, alliance, etc).

How many characters can one player have?

You can begin with as many as two (2). If you have been active for at least one month (successfully complete an activity check), you will then be allowed another 2. The same thing will happen for the next two months after that. However, the maximum amount of characters you can play without additional restrictions on activity is eight (8).

There is a special option for veteran players of Rivelata, raising the true maximum number of characters to twelve (12). If a veteran player is interested in these additional slots, please contact one of the moderators for the requirements.

Can there be doubles of the same character that appears in two different fandoms (ex. Squall from FFVIII and Leon from KH)?

No. Only one version. You can only apply as a different version if that character happens to be dropped.

My character isn't human or has funky body parts, such as wings or horns - will they be changed at all?

Nope. Their physical appearance and genetic makeup and all that stays pretty much the same. Same goes for clothes - they will come here wearing whatever they happened to have on at the time they were taken away, albeit tattered and dirty.

Can I apply for an animal or animal-like/part-animal character?

Yes. They must be of a significant intelligence to be player independently instead of as a 'pet', however. A guiding factor here would be whether or not the character was assigned a specific voice actor for the role. Thus, characters like Simba, Pumbaa, Timon, etc. from The Lion King would be acceptable.

How about machine-like characters?

Also yes. However it must be implied that the character has both something akin to a 'soul' and a physical body to be pulled into Rivelata. Thus, characters like Bob, Dot Matrix, and AndrAIa from Reboot would be acceptable. The characters cannot simply be "AIs" / Artificial Intelligences or Robots in the traditional sense.

›› Character Death & Dropping

How do we handle a character being dropped or dying?

The character is assumed to be taken back to their home world by the crystal. Or, they can simply be killed, or had gotten lost in the jungles... even if they happen to die, however, this actually leaves room for another version of the character to be pulled in by the crystal. Perhaps it didn't like the first version of that character well enough.

I dropped a character and they didn't die - can they keep their memories if I re-apply for them?

Yes, but only if they have not suffered "death by re-application", which is when the character was applied for by a different player after you dropped them. But if they haven't, you are free to bring them back with their memories as long as you give an explanation of where they were/what they were doing somewhere in your application.

My character is dead - can they come back?

If they've died then they aren't going to come back, but you can take them up again from any time period in their canon before they died.

I wish to restart my character - can I do this and how?

You can, but please do not, however, treat this as an easy "restart button" if you are unhappy with the way your character is turning out. This should not be done on a whim.

But if you decide this is the only way, please follow these steps:

1. Post to the OOC community that you will be restarting your character and, preferably, the reasons why.
2. Wait one week (7 days) before re-introducing the character to the game. Note that there is no need to submit a new application.
3. Remember to treat the restarted character as if they had been re-applied for by someone else. This includes, among other things, no memories whatsoever of Rivelata and erasure of any entries they made in the journals. The new version of your character should also be taken from a different point in their canon, and please be sure to use the same tag as before in both communities.

Table of Contents • Living in Rivelata (Characters) • Playing in Rivelata (Players)

If you have a question yourself, feel free to ask it here via comment, or email the mods at: rivelata[AT]gmail[DOT]com.

ROLEPLAY • STORY & SETTING • RULES • F.A.Q. • ADVERTISEMENT • CALENDAR
CHARACTERS • APPLICATIONS • OC APPLICATIONS • RESERVED • TAKEN • WANTED • CANON UPDATING
PLAYERS • HIATUS & DROP • PLAYER CONTACT (locked) • MOD CONTACT (locked) • NAVIGATION

(31 comments) - (Post a new comment)

	roseofbritannia 2008-04-19 05:01 am UTC (link)
	Random question! Is there anyway a character can get hold of a gun somewhere? Or, if not a gun, any other type of weapon? Like a sword or a dagger of some such? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	rivelatamods 2008-04-22 05:09 pm UTC (link)
	Guns are probably hard to find, but a sword or a dagger from a weapons shop is possible! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	L-LOL TOO LAZY TO LOG OUT OF SET-UP JOURNAL DX tokyo_pink 2008-06-29 04:05 pm UTC (link)
	I have a question about applications. Say that we signed up as the same character, but in a different RP. Can we just send you the samples used there, or do we have to think up of another sample? Because I play as Ichigo in discedo and I'm apping for her here as well. Thank you for your time. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: L-LOL TOO LAZY TO LOG OUT OF SET-UP JOURNAL DX rivelatamods 2008-06-29 04:10 pm UTC (link)
	It's okay to re-use samples! (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	Re: L-LOL TOO LAZY TO LOG OUT OF SET-UP JOURNAL DX tokyo_pink 2008-06-29 04:11 pm UTC (link)
	YAAAAY! Thank you! I was unsure since the samples are based on that RP rather than on actual events in the manga. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	whatisyourwish 2008-09-04 02:54 am UTC (link)
	If a character's magical ability is stronger to begin with, will they retain more of it when they first arrive in Rivelata, or will they be able to get it back faster? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	rivelatamods 2008-09-04 04:48 am UTC (link)
	No, they will get their powers back at the same rate and to the maximum percentage as all of the other characters :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	emoemoticon 2009-01-05 11:46 am UTC (link)
	Character related question-- Say, if a character gets his arm cut off right before coming to Rivelata... Will he still be bleeding to death or will it just be healed (with the arm still missing of course)... Just... Not bleeding? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	rivelatamods 2009-01-05 07:01 pm UTC (link)
	That's an interesting question! Can you please describe the scene just before they get pulled to Rivelata just a little more? (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

emoemoticon
2009-01-05 10:33 pm UTC (link)

Ok, so the character I'm talking about is Yukimi from Nabari no Ou. He got his right arm cut off with a sword when fighting an enemy and after killing her, rolled over onto his back to, well, die I suppose. (He did survive though, only he had his memories of the one he was protecting erased... I was planning to take him just as he'd rolled over onto his back, but before his memories disappeared.)

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	rivelatamods 2009-01-07 02:07 am UTC (link)
	He'll arrive bleeding, then, but he won't die from it. Even if it were something he could feasibly die from in real life, he will be attended to by a guard on the ship (quick bandage job) before he can die from it. If need be, a guard would (attempt to) show Yukimi how to use the recording feature immediately, if it was his dominant hand that was cut off. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	chappi_fan 2009-01-07 06:29 am UTC (link)
	A couple of questions, somewhat similar to emoemoticon's: I'm planning to take a character after a battle, where she is heavily wounded. How would that work in her arrival? Would she be somewhat bandaged by a guard, but need further help upon coming to the island? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	rivelatamods 2009-01-07 06:41 am UTC (link)
	It depends on the severity of her wounds. I'm familiar with Bleach, though not caught up, so if it's anything like what I've seen from Bleach then yes a guard could bandage her very crudely on the ship before getting to shore. However, like in emoemoticon's instance, no one would force her to go to a medical facility - at least no NPC guard would. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	chappi_fan 2009-01-07 06:45 am UTC (link)
	Well, unfortunately, it's a bit more serious than most of the injuries. It was at the point where she shouldn't even have been conscious, finally passing out. (It was a large impalement wound to her mid-section.) Would she wake enough upon arrival to manage some sort of journal entry, in hopes to gain some sort of help? (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	rivelatamods 2009-01-07 06:59 am UTC (link)
	Wow that one's massive. Actually I just remembered she's supposed to arrive fairly well sapped of her powers, so I imagine that would translate into "not being conscious" for her Arrival. We can definitely arrange for guards and PCs to help her without a journal entry first :) (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	chappi_fan 2009-01-07 07:22 am UTC (link)
	Alright, thanks~ If that's the case (and she's accepted), how would that sort of thing be organized? Would I need to make some sort of post in the ooc comm, or would a mod need to be notified? (Sorry about all the questions- Just want to be sure of things!) (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	rivelatamods 2009-01-07 12:19 pm UTC (link)
	What would be really weird is if both of the bloody characters arrived on the same boat... Not a problem at all! We're instituting a new system where a "Welcome Wagon" greets a boat of characters, so you should be notified in your Acceptance comment all about that! ^_^ (Reply to this) (Parent)

bloody_count
2009-08-18 08:02 am UTC (link)

Greetings. I recently reserved Alucard from Hellsing and I have a few questions regarding.

1. Will he be allowed to have both guns with him? They are part of his "form", so to speak, but from reading the previous questions, it seems guns are not available here, but I wasn't sure if they could be brought with the characters.

2. Alucard's master is not here. While that might be such a problem in the beginning, over time the magic that binds him to the Hellsing family will more than likely start to weaken and he'll descend deeper into madness. I'm curious as to the limit the mods are willing to allow him to go. I understand he can't go stark raving mad and slaughter everyone indiscriminately, but just a general idea. :)

3. Most rp's don't provide an npc food source for vampires, and I'm assuming Rivelata is the same way. Alucard doesn't have any problem being charming to get supper and the like, but I just figured I'd mention it.

4. I understand that powers and the like are "watered down" and that's to be expected – I doubt Alucard would be able to summon many of the souls inside him or even his hellhounds – but I'm wondering if he'd be allowed to retain his powers even if he meets the game's requirements of six or so months. As it is, he won't regain even the game's max without his master present, anyway.

5. Are residents allowed to explore the jungle and other areas? Reason I'm inquiring is because unless Alucard has the ability to kill a few monsters every now and then, he'll start wanting to butcher other things, like other people in the city, which would be a very bad idea. But if he can pit his violence against the bad things outside the city, such will soothe his homicidal tendencies.

I apologize for the grocery list of questions, but as the Midian is quite the complicated character and I want to play him as well rounded for the game as possible without losing the traits that make him awesome. But thanks in advance and I hope to play him here soon! :)

(Reply to this) (Thread)

rivelatamods
2009-08-18 12:33 pm UTC (link)

1. He can have his guns with him. The issue would be gaining some sort of ammo for them over time(even though Hellsing's ammo appears to be unlimited, it wouldn't hold true in Rive. XD) But yes, he can bring them with him.

2. It's fine for him to gradually begin to descend into madness, provided an Integra doesn't show up, all that we ask is that any major damage against the city itself or player characters be discussed beforehand with the mods or the players of any characters he wants to go all crazy on, respectively.

3. We actually DO have an NPC food source-- the Blood Pool, as mentioned in the Story and Settings page. That doesn't mean that Alucard couldn't get his food source from human victims, if you wanted--nameless villager NPCs are always fine to be attacked, and if you wanted to plot that with any player characters, that's fine. I know this isn't his usual method, just wanted to say that's an option. :3

4. He would begin to gain his powers progressively, just like everyone else, but he'd by now means be as powerful as he was in his canon.

5. YES! We actually encourage it! If he really wanted to go very deep into the jungle to explore what's out there, it would need to be discussed with mods--so we can tell you what he'd would find, but just going into the jungle to hunt Shadhavar is cool and you don't need permission for it--lots of characters do so to keep their skills sharp, actually.

Hope that answers everything! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them here.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	rivelatamods 2009-08-18 12:34 pm UTC (link)
	*by no means. Edited it and missed that. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

bloody_count
2009-08-18 06:20 pm UTC (link)

Thanks for the guidelines! I do appreciate muchly.

1. He'd have a few magazines for each stashed away in his coat, so that's not a problem.

2. Perfect. I don't think he'd run mad all that quick - as of now the seals are in wonderful condition, but he will start to sharply miss the presence of his master.

3. Ah, I must have missed that. Kudos for reading at four am. Yes, I doubt there's a blood bank just around the corner, so he'd have to revert back to the old way. But as for making any more like himself, I can work around that, but would other players be able to "make the choice", as it were?

4. Understood and expected, actually.

5. Ah, wonderful. He'll probably want to make trips out as far as possible, he's a curious little vampire and needs distraction.

I'm sorry to be a pest, but these just occurred to me and I hope it's all right to ask more.

6. Will he be allowed to have his coffin? It is moderately requisite, considering he will not have access to his Master and the seals which keep him somewhat sane will be weakening. His coffin is a place for him to regenerate, without it he will grow weaker and weaker until he finally goes dormant again.

7. I'm not a member yet, so the housing page is locked for me. Is it possible for Alucard to perhaps have a basement-sort of dwelling? Or at least a place with no windows? The sun doesn't hurt him, per se, he just loathes it.

Thanks for answering and I'm sorry to be bugging you guys constantly! >

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

rivelatamods
2009-08-18 06:52 pm UTC (link)

3. The info about the Blood Pool is right here. A little further down the page, if you wanted to check it out. :3 I'm...a little unsure about his capabilities to change women into vampires here, so that will have to be discussed with the other moderators and we'll get back to you.

6. Yep! He can actually arrive in his coffin, if you'd like--it'd be something interesting for the shipworkers to see, I imagine.

7. We actually don't assign housing, but he can easily find a dark, creepy place to sleep in--there are lots of abandoned homes around.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	speedforceflirt 2009-10-06 06:28 pm UTC (link)
	Probably should ask this BEFORE I app him... At the point in canon that I'm taking Wally, he doesn’t know of the Speed Force. None of the speedsters in the DCU did. So would he still have his speed all watered down? Or not at all? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	rivelatamods 2009-10-08 03:57 am UTC (link)
	It would still be watered down. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	speedforceflirt 2009-10-08 05:52 pm UTC (link)
	Alright. Thanks you. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	honorableshadow 2009-10-07 06:01 am UTC (link)
	I am pretty sure Kuwabara's ability to call forth the Spirit Sword is thrown out the window, but what about his sixth sense? Also, I just noticed that there was a Kuwabara here before. It doesn't look like he died(?), but do I have to know what went on with him before I apply? I'm sorry if the answers to these questions are so obvious. OTL (Reply to this) (Thread)

rivelatamods
2009-10-08 04:01 am UTC (link)

Both his sixth sense and his ability to call forth his Spirit Sword would not immediately be available, but he would regain these abilities back over time.

The sixth sense would probably start returning within the first few weeks(though it would naturally not be as powerful as it would be canonically) --any other abilities would take longer.

Nope, you don't need to know--drops without noted fates(such as deaths) are labeled as disappearances. He can be reapped without any problems.

Hope that helps!

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	neme_morifacias 2009-10-17 02:41 pm UTC (link)
	Just a question on the Canon Summary of the application. I am playing Sephiroth basically from Crisis Core, rather than after the whole Compilation deal. Do I still need to summarize that part of his canon or can I keep it to Crisis Core? Thanks! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	rivelatamods 2009-10-24 05:51 am UTC (link)
	Apologies for the late response! You only have to summarize the Crisis Core canon, not the rest. :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

eatshootsnleves
2009-10-28 02:33 pm UTC (link)

So, hey.

I'm kind of- DM'ing (NPCing? Fie upon all acronym'd verbs) the townspeople to a pretty heavy extent, over hereabouts. Lady War is one thing, 'cuz it's the character's power to control others, but Roy is only interacting with this (somewhat elaborate) setup I'm trying to write.

I just wanted to check with y'all: is this cool, as is? Is there a limit to how terribly cataclysmic this can get? I imagine so long as we're only brawling in the marketplace it's all good, more or less on a level with vampires draining NPCs in alleyways and Richard painting the town, er, red.

But, hey. She is War.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	rivelatamods 2009-11-03 03:26 am UTC (link)
	Sorry for the late response. The log is fine as is; you don't have to change it. :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

(31 comments) - (Post a new comment)

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