bathymetric | FAQ (R1)

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FAQ (R1)

THE GAME.

Hang on, what is this, again?

This is Unknown Seas! It's a one-round murdergame for relaxing or pouring a bunch of time into as we all wait around at home needing distraction from world events! We're gonna take a bunch of fictional characters and just hecking kill most of them over the course of like two months, this is self-care.

Okay, but like... what's the premise? And who's in charge of this whole operation?

Glad you asked! Unknown Seas takes place in a mysterious closed facility under the ocean, where characters are encouraged to kill each other to earn their freedom! I'll explain more of the setting in the IC section, but if that elevator pitch sounds good to you, you might well be in the right place! This will also be a self-contained story, though I do reserve the right to toss in a sequel hook or two if things go in a direction where they seem like a good idea. That said, no prior knowledge of murdergames or any specific canon is needed to enjoy this game! Nope, not even Bioshock.

This game is going to be run by Lyndon (

lovebelievesin), a longtime murdergame veteran who is here to be the change he wants to see in the world and fill a couple empty months with a murdergame. Yeehaw!

How do murdergames... work?

Great question! So the main comm,

unknownseas, is where pretty much all of the magic is going to happen. Every week there will be a new log with toplevels for each day. Any given day, you can feel free to put up a comment in reply to the day's toplevel with what your character is doing, providing a few prompts for other players to bounce off of, and they can reply to you for that sweet sweet cr! Be sure to tag around to other players' toplevels too, if you get a chance.

So far so normal, right? Well, the other main ingredient in a murdergame besides, well, the game, is the murder! The first week is all sunshine and rainbows and getting to know each other in the face of impending death, but from the second week on, Friday is given to murder! There will be an investigation posted at 12pm EST, where characters get to wander around until they find a body and then look for clues towards who might have done the murder! Then, on Saturday at 12pm EST, the trial will be posted! Everyone gets to go to the trial room and argue it out until they find the murderer! Then the next week they get to do the whole thing all over again! Unless of course you get tapped to be part of a case, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Wait, what happens ICly on Saturdays, then?

:)

Uh... how many characters can I play? Is there a cap?

Characters are limited to one per player, with a cap of two characters from any given canon! While this is a relaxed game, getting characters out of their usual comfort zones and into all kinds of weird relationships is half the fun of this kind of thing! As for the overall character count, there's a soft cap of 25 characters, with the option to toss in a couple more if more people are interested. I'll just get a little extra modding help.

What characters can I app?

Any applicable character 18 or over is appable with no strings attached, but characters ages 16 and 17 are subject to scrutiny and require justification of maturity - basically, have they been through enough that they qualify for the exciting world of murder?

Characters can be apped from any canon in any medium, with some exceptions (though I reserve the right to veto) and conditions:

Original characters are allowed, but the app will be slightly longer given the need to explain their canon to me! Fan OCs are acceptable provided they are entirely unconnected from the canon narrative at large, and will still require an extended writeup and will receive additional scrutiny app-wise.

Playable characters from video games where the player shapes their personality will be allowed provided you can provide a definitive worldstate in your app! Please be respectful to any fellow players from your canon, though, and tell them your worldstate if they ask.

Characters based on extant real people such as internet celebrities or actors are not allowed - I'm fine with you bringing in Fate/ John Wilkes Booth or whoever, but you can't show up playing Jim Sterling.

Characters who are dead at their canonpoint are not appable! "Moments before death with healed wounds upon arrival" is fine, but full-on dead people not so much. Corporeal undead are fine, ghosts unfortunately not so much.

Characters already present in the game are not appable! No doubles, basically.

CRAUs are not allowed! Nothing against them, but for this game they're just not gonna gel.

What if my character isn't human? Like a vampire or a big bug or something?

Well, that's a layered issue! I do require that characters be of at least human sentience (please no pets), that they leave something that can be called a body behind when they die (a gem or pile of coins or whatever is fine), and that while here they be killable with a difficulty on level with a normal human. No weird vampire conditions! But if a character has a special diet (blood, bugs, etc) or any other kind of non-standard physiology you want to play with, you're more than welcome to! The staff is very accommodating. But you're also free to call their physiology a power and make them a normal human as part of the power nerfing! Basically, bottom line: we can talk, just make sure to pitch what you're doing in your app if your character falls into this category.

Okay buddy, when are reserves? Apps?

Well, I'm sure glad you mentioned both, because you need a reserve to app to Unknown Seas! Reserves are going to open Friday, March 27th, and apps will open immediately after and close Saturday, April 4th! Then the game will start on April 5th, unless all apps are in and there is unanimous support for starting early!

As far as reserves go, if you feel like changing feel free to comment in reply to your original reserve, and if you want to withdraw your reserve please let the mod know ASAP!

How active do I have to be? And why SHOULD I be active?

Well, each week at AC time, you'll be expected to turn in ten comments from your character, from a maximum of two threads! If you let me know you're not making AC it won't be a big deal, but if you don't let me know beforehand or you miss two weeks, your character is getting slated for death either in a case or an execution, depending.

As for why you SHOULD be active, that's where regains come in! For every thread of five comments from your character or more (multiples of five comments in a thread DO mean more regains!), your character will receive a token for a small, randomly chosen item! This could be anything from trash to a beloved keepsake from home (or someone else's beloved keepsake from home!), so going out and getting that cr gets your character stuff to play around with! Pretty neat, huh?

Hang on, walk me through the behind the scenes of the murder thing?

Well, every Sunday or so, one or more culprits and victims will be rolled (or chosen, in the case of volunteers) by your mod and tapped to start putting a case together (earlier than Sunday if more than one body is expected to hit the floor). That process is pretty simple, and we can go through it when we get there together! If you are picked as culprit and cannot be present on Saturday, please let the mod know as soon as you are tapped and he will reroll, with your character slated for death the next week. There are no full opt-outs.

IC FAQ.

Hang on, where am I?

Hello, test subject! This is a state-of-the-art private facility with private accommodations, where you will be undertaking an experiment regarding psychology of groups in the absence of certain stimuli.

Is this the part where you say "enjoy your stay" in a weird creepy way?

Your enjoyment of the exercise is relatively incidental to The Professor's goals.

Don't you usually have to volunteer for things like this?

Of course.

Who's this professor guy, anyway?

While his name will remain anonymous, he will be remotely controlling the experiment and introducing any needed variables, ad communicating with you when and how he sees fit. There will be at least one member of staff on-site to facilitate any other needs.

So is there like... internet? Social media? A network?

What kind of signal do you think you'd even get at the bottom of the ocean? You will be provided with a personal identification device, which in this case is just a fancy word for a small non-branded tablet. Treat it with care, if you don't mind. It contains rules and information on your fellow test subjects, which will prove invaluable if you wish to engage with them. Also, you can play Snake on them.

Hang on, what happened to my powers?

Well, it doesn't take a world-renowned professor to realize that your powers might be a risk to the stability of the facility! Also, this is an experiment, and variables must be reduced, so your powers have been removed for the duration of your stay.

So what, we just... live here for a while?

Indefinitely, actually! The only way the experiment ends is through your actions - The Professor cannot terminate the exercise remotely except as a last resort. If you want to get out, you're going to have to kill another test subject and get away with it.

What happens if they do find out it was me?

Well, you alone leave the exercise! But likely not in the way you were hoping.

Hang on, so... how much murder am I going to see?

The Professor expects, once the ball really gets rolling, one or two bodies per week from the second week on. If there is reluctance, which there almost certainly will be, he is willing to offer... motivation. Motivation will be provided on Tuesdays, beginning on the second week.

How are the other test subjects going to figure me out, though?

Glad you asked! On Saturday (in the real world, late Friday in yours), following the investigation on Friday, the test subjects will be brought into a special room for a trial! You'll all argue it out, and in the end, you'll vote for a guilty party! Majority rules.

And what happens to that person?

If it is the guilty party, they are removed from the exercise. Violently.

Okay, but... what about The Professor and the on-site staff? Where do I take my complaints?

The Professor will only contact you at specific points determined at his sole discretion. However, the Professor's Assistant will be available on-site during daylight hours for as much or as little contact as you prefer to have with her. Any other on-site staff members are available at their own discretion.

Hang on, how are you going to ensure this isn't just a week of starving and sleeping on the floor?

Well, there are rules in place for that, but of course as long as you wish to remain in the program, your health and fitness needs will be provided for. Food, water, a place to sleep... we'll even grant you locking doors for your rooms! Natural causes are just so dull, don't you think?

Okay, and finally... what happens on Saturdays, if you guys are having the Friday trials during that time?

Don't worry about it!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

So I've got a bunch of questions about OC suitability/power loss that I'm all going to ask here under name headers.

Surolam Arcel
1. She's legally blind, and has the ability to talk to inanimate objects, and her cane in particular often talks to her to inform her of her surroundings and such. I was wondering if I apped her, would it be possible for her to keep the ability to communicate with just her cane?
2. Also, since her cane is somewhat necessary for her to get around, would she keep it when brought in?

Nira Tyr
1. Thanks to being a chosen of Terrakion and the mechanics of her particular version of the Poke-verse, she's considered a Rock-type, and thus has rocky skin/flesh, along with several rocky protrusions on her shoulders and back. Her neck scars (see icon) also resemble melted rock instead of burnt flesh in parts. Would it be possible for her to keep the rocky texture/protrusions but be vulnerable to normal weapons again? Also, would it be possible for her to gain normal human vulnerability while also keeping the elemental weaknesses of a Rock-type?
2. Her connection with Terrakion allows her to substitute her willpower for her physical strength, since she's actually kind of sickly. Could she keep enough of that to not be collapsing constantly the instant she gets up?
3. She also has a walking stick she keeps at her side, which is somewhat necessary for her to support herself. Similar to Surolam, would she be allowed to keep it as an accessibility aid?
4. The tabletop game she was originally from sort of happened alongside the plot of the 1st gen games, but she and her team didn't contribute to it-in fact it was kind of a joke that Red kept showing up as an NPC who got stuff done super-fast while they solved other issues that were unique to the game plot. Is that enough disconnection from the canon narrative? The whole thing could be considered an AU of the 1st gen games anyways.

Coriander Bliss
1. In the tabletop game I'm taking her from, she was 15, but could I take her from long enough after post-game that she's 16 now?
2. In the tabletop game she was from, she had interactions with Professor Oak, Looker, and Zinnia, but the plot was unique and had nothing to do with the canon games. Would those interactions be allowed in her backstory?

Adeline Merrow
1. She's a cyborg, and her implants give her gills, a retractable finned tail, and subdermal implants that can dampen the effect of a blow once per battle. How much of that would she be allowed to keep?
2. The game she's from was an Undertale/Pokemon crossover, happening post-Undertale. One of her traveling companions was an Undertale canon character (Mettaton), but since it's all post-canon I'm wondering if that counts as disconnected enough.

Alright, I'll tackle all of these one by one!

Surolam
1. That would be fine with me! Just make sure to give the cane some attention in your personality traits section, even just a couple sentences.
2. Sure! Any accessibility aids of that nature are fine to come in with characters, unless you would find it more narratively interesting to have a replacement provided by the NPCs.

Nira
1. I'm certainly fine with making choices for The Aesthetic, so the rocky parts are fine but yeah she has to be as vulnerable to normal weapons as anyone else. If you would like her to have rock-type weaknesses to play around with for narrative purposes, that's fine too!
2. Enough to stand and move is fine, yes.
3. Absolutely! Or, as above, a staff-provided replacement can be provided.
4. That should be fine as long as no one apps Red! If someone does, please make sure to communicate with the player before game start regarding how they want to handle that.

Coriander
1. Given that she's an original character I'll say yes, but your summary of her canon in your app will have to include particulars of what happened in that year, and you'll still have to account for the maturity clause.
2. How significant where these interactions? Are we talking "met them once" or "Oak was our mentor NPC the whole way through and we did jobs for Looker and Zinnia constantly?"

Adeline
1. The gills and tail are fine, though the gills would be rendered vestigial during the course of the game. The subdermal implants would not be removed, but would be non-functional.
2. I would prefer Mettaton's presence be removed if possible, should you app her.

I've decided to go with Nira, but just in case there are further rounds/games and I decide to bring Cori to one:

Oak was the mission control NPC, but his role was mostly in the background, simply providing our characters with their starter Pokemon and an explanation of the situation, and also sending someone from his world along when one of the original party members got possessed. He could probably be replaced with a generic professor character fairly easily.

Looker and Zinnia showed up as NPCs after one mission, but pretended to be someone else. However, later during the finale, they were revealed to be part of a multiverse-protecting group and saved our characters from the main villain, as well as providing them with the information they needed to unlock Mega Evolution for their Pokemon. I could also replace them with more generic "agent" NPCs, though that would remove the part where one of Cori's teammates who actually knew about Pokemon was able to recognize and be suspicious about them.

Also I realized that I had another question for Cori: Her starter Pokemon, Fern, was able to talk. Would that have to be removed if she was a regain?

How much would be allowed would depend on the particulars and rules of that future game/round, but good to know! (If you do change your mind cori-wise, feel free to comment here or pm the mod account and we can hash it out here/there.)

As to your question, pets of any kind would not retain the ability to talk, no.

oh wait, another question-would a "service animal"-type Pokemon count as an accessibility aid enough to be brought in with her, or not? either way works for me, I just realized I should probably ask this quick!

It should be fine, yes! Just remember that pokemon are completely depowered, just like any character.

Yeah, makes sense. Would her Absol be able to keep a slight bit of her ability to predict disasters, just enough to warn Nira when she's about to collapse? Basically nothing more than what a normal seizure alert dog could do.

bit of a silly question, but!! about the two characters per canon rule, does this count for all forms of the canon or would different installments be considered their own thing?

like for example, different final fantasy games that usually have different casts, fire emblems, etc

it would definitely be a franchise-by-franchise basis, depending on how connected the installments are! final fantasy or fire emblem games are disconnected enough that it would probably be fine (though if there was too much interest in one i'd probably have to throw in a franchise cap of 6), but something that's more "separate stories in the same world" would be a little different, if that makes sense!

totally makes sense! thank you very much

so this is a horrid question to ask at three in the morning but how godawful a thing are we permitted to put in the regains machine as far as animals go

i'm not saying that the guy i am considering did horrible things with leeches in the name of science but i'm not not saying that

and given the series the leeches are. a bit large. not unreasonably so overall but unreasonably so for leeches. picture a black deflated football and you've got the idea. requiring two hands to pick up. no actual powers outside of being squirmy.

oh my god what a thing to wake up to, thank you

if in fact the man did do terrible things to a leech, i will allow him a leech buddy, so long as its sole ability is its wiggles, yes.

things these leeches canonically know how to do on their own include being unreasonably large, squirming around a lot, eating food, and dying if someone looks at them funny. so it will not be a problem on its own and is in fact easily destroyed if needs be.

awesome, though, thank you! i will bear this in mind.

Just a quick last minute question:

As fare as IC profiles go, would keeping aliases be alright if it were significantly alter the way the character would act?

Hm, potentially! Please feel free to describe the alterations and what alias you would like to request in the "Other Concerns" section of your application, and I'll PM your account with an answer upon acceptance.

Do the characters wake up in the facility with their own clothes on? I ask mainly because there is currently something literally locked onto Therion that he cannot remove at his canon point, and also so I can figure out regains.

They will, in fact! There will be a little more on this once the Living Quarters section of the locations is done and up, but characters will have their own clothes and an extra outfit or two (which have yet, at the time of this writing, to be decided on 100%).

Excellent, thank you!

If we have any electronics as regains, are we allowed to include things like charging cords with them?

That works just fine, yes! Just quickly mention the charger is included in the item description.

Hell yeah, thank you!

god lyndon i'm so sorry

1. Will characters who are Big McLargehuge get scaled down at all/is the facility designed to accomodate them?
2. Is it fair to say a powerless Jasper could have the amount of strength a baseline human being who happens to be ~8 feet tall and shredded might?
3. Also, obv the superhuman strength and speed, helmet, and spindashing would be gone but since her not needing to eat, sleep, or breathe are all passive attributes inherent to the fact that her real body is a rock, could she keep those? Or would it be preferable to give her human needs?

1. I'm actually going to leave this up to you! Someone Jasper's size could in fact get through the facility, with some squeezing through doors and a lot of things being awkwardly sized, but it could be done. So basically "is original size or fun size funnier for you?"
2. Yup! Physical strength is physical strength!
3. She could keep those! However, in the interest of staying here meaning anything, for some unexplained reason she can now drown! Trading one sonic the hedgehog power for another...

Threads we use for AC can't be turned in for coins, right?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

FAQ (R1)

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