Fade Rift Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
faderifting) wrote2020-01-06 09:45 pm
faderifting) wrote2020-01-06 09:45 pm
Applications
APPLICATIONS
Applications generally always open (unless otherwise announced and noted) and will be processed on a rolling basis, as quickly as possible.
Before applying, please read the FAQ and the Rules. In addition to a lot of other useful information, the Rules page details the caps and restrictions in place for certain character types. Native characters need to conform to Fade Rift's World State and should take a look at the Timeline of major events that have occurred in the game's version of Thedas. You may also want to check out this post about our incorporation of Veilguard canon and characters.
↠ Reserves
↠ Format Notes
↠ Native Application Form
↠ Rifter Application Form
↠ CRAU Application Form
↠ Canon Updates
↠ Apping Previously Played Characters
RESERVES
To reserve a character, you can comment to this page with a blank comment. You'll have one week to edit your comment to link to a completed application. E.g., you can post a blank comment for Dagna at 1 p.m. on June 1 and will have until that same time on June 8 to finish your application and edit the comment to include it. Do not update your comment until your application is complete. Expired reserve comments will be removed after the deadline passes. Consecutive reserves for the same character are not allowed—you must wait at least one week after your reserve expires to reserve the same character a second time.
FORMAT NOTES
Please paste your application into the comment body, rather than linking it. The subject line of your comment should include your character's name and canon (if they have one). Please don't include any images or adjust the app's style—it's plain to make it easy to read. Also, please make sure you're truly finished with your application before you post it; there are no app deadlines to meet so no rush, and we get notifications for every edit you make, which can get annoying very quickly. And note that we do strictly enforce our word count limits, even if you're only a little over!
If you need help with samples, check the the test drive meme for prompts—you're welcome to either link threads or write starters, whichever is easier for you.
NATIVE APPLICATION FORM
PLAYER
Name:
Age:
Contact:
Other Characters:
Interests: What sort of RP are you hoping for in Fade Rift? Are there particular aspects of the world you're hoping to dig into? Types of plots or threads you're excited about? Do you love action scenes? Political intrigue? Rescuing lost animals? This doesn't have to be long or complex and there is no right answer—it's to help us make sure our plots stay in line with people's interests.
CHARACTER
Name:
Canon/OC:
Journal:
Race:
Nationality:
Occupation:
Division:
Mage or Not:
Age:
History
This section has a 500 word limit. Bullet point timelines are fine! We're less interested in a list of every event in a character's canon/life, and more interested in a description of key moments that shaped the character.
For Dragon Age canon characters, you're welcome to just link to the wiki and then fill in any holes or significant headcanon as needed. If your character has been off-screen for a while since their last canon appearance, please provide a write-up of what they've been doing since their last appearance. For AU'd canon characters, please link to their canon history and write up their AU history. For OCs, just write their history.
Personality
Please describe your character's personality in 300-500 words. No need to touch on every aspect of their being, but do hit the key traits and motivations (as you see them) and demonstrate balance.
Opinions & Affiliations
This section has a 300 word limit. Please briefly note your characters' opinions on topics such as the Chantry, the Qun, the Mage/Templar War, Thedosian race relations, and anything else you feel is worth mentioning for a particular character! If your character is currently or has previously been a member of an IC organization or identifiable group other than Riftwatch, please also briefly describe their relationship with that organization or group. This includes obvious things like Templars, Seekers, Circle Mages, and Grey Wardens, but it can also be used for less organized groups such as Dalish elves, landed nobility, etc., if you have something you'd like to say on the topic that isn't covered in the personality section.
Adaptation Notes
If your character is being AU'd from another canon, please explain in 300 words or fewer how the adaptation you've chosen is a good fit for your character. This should include things like why you've chosen to make them a mage, or a particular race, or a member of a particular organization. How do these choices reflect essential aspects of their canon character? What key features are you adding or subtracting from the canon version of their story and why? There is no single right answer to this question; there may be lots of plausible ways to AU a given character. We're interested in understanding why you've chosen the things you've chosen as part of evaluating your grasp on the character and on the setting.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Basically, what are they best at, and what are they worst at? How can they assist Riftwatch and where will they be a liability? This can include personality strengths and weaknesses as well as any skills or special abilities. It is not necessary to pick a class or to provide lists of specific Dragon Age skills or skill trees, but you can use classes and skill trees as a reference to discuss what your character is and isn't good at, such as saying a mage is good at primal magic but useless with entropy, etc. It's sufficient to give us a general idea of areas and level of ability, but please make sure you mention any magical ability or significant skill/resource/connection you hope to rely on in-game. Please make sure to read and comply with the FAQ sections on character abilities.
Inventory
Please list any notable objects your character will be bringing with them. This doesn't have to be exhaustive, but weapons, magical objects, and items with plot importance must be listed if you plan to use them in the game.
Motivation
What brings your character to Riftwatch? This can be as brief as "he's got a sliver of weird magic in his hand he'd like Riftwatch to deal with" or "he wants to help," though more complex reasons are welcome, and shouldn't be more than 200 words.
SAMPLES
Please provide 2 samples. It doesn't matter if they're written or linked and we don't care if you prefer brackets or normal punctuation, but at least one of your samples must take place in the game world, and at least one must be a log rather than network tags (or their setting-appropriate equivalent). They can be of any length, as long as taken together they provide a good sense of your character and your writing ability. If we feel they aren't sufficient, we'll ask you for more.
RIFTER APPLICATION FORM
PLAYER
Name:
Age:
Contact:
Other Characters:
Interests: What sort of RP are you hoping for in Fade Rift? Are there particular aspects of the world you're hoping to dig into? Types of plots or threads you're excited about? Do you love action scenes? Political intrigue? Rescuing lost animals? This doesn't have to be long or complex and there is no right answer—it's to help us make sure our plots stay in line with people's interests.
CHARACTER
Name:
Canon/OC:
Canon Point:
Journal:
Age:
Canon World
In no more than 500 words, please describe the world your character comes from. Don't try to cover everything, just focus on the key points that an unfamiliar reviewer would absolutely have to know in order to understand your character and their abilities.
History
Please provide a summary of key points in your character's history in no more than 500 words. Bullet points are fine. If there is a wiki history for your character available, please also provide a link in addition to your summary. We're less interested in a list of every event in a character's canon/life, and more interested in a description of key moments that shaped the character.
Personality
Please describe your character's personality in 300-500 words. No need to touch on every aspect of their being, but do hit the key traits and motivations (as you see them) and demonstrate balance.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Basically, what are they best at, and what are they worst at? Where can they help and where will they be a liability? Give us a general idea of areas of expertise and level of ability. While this needn't be 100% exhaustive, any powers/magic/significant areas of expertise not listed here cannot later be used in game.
If your character has superhuman abilities, please describe these abilities in plain terms. Although Fade Rift is based on a video game, we don't write about abilities or attacks as if they are occurring in a video game. For example, characters will not have an ability called "Whirlwind" that enables them to spin in a circle and strike things with a sword. Just tell us they can use a greatsword and they're agile enough to spin in circles with it.
Please make sure to read and comply with the FAQ sections on character abilities.
Suggested Nerfs
Many (if not most) abilities from other canons will be nerfed or adapted to Thedas. We want rifters to be unique and retain what makes them fun to play, but not to be so powerful that they render natives and especially unpowered characters superfluous to missions. A list of universally applied power limits is in the FAQ (http://faderifting.dreamwidth.org/966.html#nerfs). These nerfs will apply to all rifters unless we discuss a specific exception with you. Additionally, we may place other limits on rifters' abilities to prevent them from being too powerful compared to natives and unpowered characters. So if you have a high-powered character, we encourage you to use this section of the app to suggest your own nerfs or let us know what's most and least important to you about their powerset so we can take it into consideration when we establish limits.
Arrival Inventory
What will your character have with them in the dream they arrive from? Please go ahead and list weapons, technology, and magical artifacts, though they may disappear in the passage through the Fade. And please note that we do mean what they have with them in their dream; they can arrive in plainclothes with their usual belongings from a dream about buying groceries, or they can arrive in a gorilla suit with a deflated hot air balloon from a dream that was a little less mundane.
Humanization
Please describe any ways that your character's canon form differs from that of a normal real world human. This should include all physiological differences, even if they're purely cosmetic (for instance, hair or eye color if not standard real world colors). Passage through the Fade will convert each character into a Thedas-standard human, elf, dwarf, or qunari. This means that in every physiological respect, both internal and external, they will be a member of one of those races.
If your character is not a human, elf, dwarf or qunari in their canon, which would you like them to exit the rift as?
Fit
Is there a reason you think this character would be particularly interesting in this setting? Are there particular aspects of the world you're hoping to dig into? Things about your character you think Thedas will help you explore? Will they have a personal connection to an issue, or act as a foil to another character/group/opinion? Give us a sense of what you think your character will bring to the game world and what you think they might take away from it. Basically, why did you choose this character in this game? This shouldn't be more than 300 words.
SAMPLES
Please provide 2 samples. It doesn't matter if they're written or linked and we don't care if you prefer brackets or normal punctuation, but at least one must take place in the game world, and at least one must be a log rather than network tags (or their setting-appropriate equivalent). They can be of any length, as long as they provide a sense of your character's voice and internal narrative. If we feel they aren't sufficient, we'll ask you for more.
CRAU APPLICATION FORM
PLAYER
Name:
Age:
Contact:
Other Characters:
Interests: What sort of RP are you hoping for in Fade Rift? Are there particular aspects of the world you're hoping to dig into? Types of plots or threads you're excited about? Do you love action scenes? Political intrigue? Rescuing lost animals? This doesn't have to be long or complex and there is no right answer—it's to help us make sure our plots stay in line with people's interests.
CHARACTER
Name:
Canon/OC:
Last Canon Point:
Previous Game:
Arrival Point: (At what point in the past game is your character arriving in Thedas?)
Journal:
Age:
Canon World
In no more than 500 words, please describe the world your character originally comes from. Don't try to cover everything, just focus on the key points that an unfamiliar reviewer would absolutely have to know in order to understand your character and their abilities.
Canon History
Please provide a summary of key points in your character's history in no more than 500 words. Bullet points are fine. If there is a wiki history for your character available, please also provide a link in addition to your summary. We're less interested in a list of every event in a character's canon/life, and more interested in a description of key moments that shaped the character.
Past Game History
Please provide a link to the main navigation for the game your CRAU character is arriving from, as well as a summary of key points in your character's prior game history, in no more than 500 words. Bullet points are fine. (There's no need to recount the basics of the game setting, we'll get that from the link.) We're less interested in a list of every event, and more interested in a description of key moments that shaped the character into who they are now.
Personality
Please describe your character's personality in 300-500 words. No need to touch on every aspect of their being, but do hit the key traits and motivations (as you see them) and demonstrate balance. Please make clear which aspects of their personality are from canon and which have changed as part of the CRAU. While it's expected that characters will have changed as a result of their experiences in other games, we expect that they will still remain true to the fundamental nature of the canon character, and that any development will logically follow from the events described in your history sections.
Prior CR
Please list 2 to 5 of your character's closest relationships (of any kind--canonmates or cross-canon, platonic or antagonistic or romantic) from their past game and briefly explain what that relationship was and how it influenced the character's development. This section shouldn't exceed 300 words.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Basically, what are they best at, and what are they worst at? Where can they help and where will they be a liability? Give us a general idea of areas of expertise and level of ability. While this needn't be 100% exhaustive in detail, any powers/magic/significant areas of expertise not listed here cannot later be used in game.
Please note which skills or abilities are from canon and which were developed in your prior game. If your character has superhuman abilities in canon, in their past game, or both, you can choose (1) to keep their canon power set, (2) to keep their game power set, or (3) to lose both. Your character cannot keep both game-granted abilities and canon abilities. If your character's canon abilities were removed in their previous game, you can choose to have them regain them in FR.
If your character has superhuman abilities, please describe these abilities in plain terms. Although Fade Rift is based on a video game, we don't write about abilities or attacks as if they are occurring in a video game. For example, characters will not have an ability called "Whirlwind" that enables them to spin in a circle and strike things with a sword. Just tell us they can use a greatsword and they're agile enough to spin in circles with it. And while we don't want to hear about saving throws or hit points, we do want a sense of the scale of their abilities, so please do include some ballpark parameters for stuff like how big a thing can they lift, how big a ring of fire can they create, how long can they stay transformed into a spider, etc.
Please make sure to read and comply with the FAQ sections on character abilities.
Suggested Nerfs
Many (if not most) abilities from other canons will be nerfed or adapted to Thedas. We want rifters to be unique and retain what makes them fun to play, but not to be so powerful that they render natives and especially unpowered characters superfluous to missions. A list of universally applied power limits is in the FAQ (http://faderifting.dreamwidth.org/966.html#nerfs). These nerfs will apply to all rifters unless we discuss a specific exception with you. Additionally, we may place other limits on rifters' abilities to prevent them from being too powerful compared to natives and unpowered characters. So if you have a high-powered character, please use this section of the app to suggest your own nerfs and let us know what's most and least important to you about their powerset so we can take it into consideration when we establish limits.
Arrival Inventory
What will your character have with them in the dream they arrive from? Please go ahead and list weapons, technology, and magical artifacts, though they may disappear or be bricked or altered by their passage through the Fade.
And please note that we really do mean what they have with them in their dream. They can arrive in plainclothes with their usual belongings from a dream about buying groceries, or they can arrive in a gorilla suit with a deflated hot air balloon from a dream that was a little less mundane. Since your character is arriving from a dream, they may be able to regain canon items, animals, etc. that were not permitted in their previous game.
Humanization
Please describe any ways that your character's canon form differs from that of a normal real world human. This should include all physiological differences, even if they're purely cosmetic (for instance, hair or eye color if not standard real world colors). Passage through the Fade will convert each character into a Thedas-standard human, elf, dwarf, or qunari. This means that in every physiological respect, both internal and external, they will be a member of one of those races.
If your character is not a human, elf, dwarf or qunari in their canon, which would you like them to exit the rift as?
Fit
Is there a reason you think this character would be particularly interesting in this setting? Are there particular aspects of the world you're hoping to dig into? Things about your character you think Thedas will help you explore? Will they have a personal connection to an issue, or act as a foil to another character/group/opinion? Give us a sense of what you think your character will bring to the game world and what you think they might take away from it. Basically, why did you choose this character in this game? This shouldn't be more than 300 words.
SAMPLES
Please provide 2 samples. It doesn't matter if you write a fresh top-level style starter for the app or link us to existing threads, and we don't care if you prefer brackets or normal punctuation, but at least one must be a log rather than network tags (or their setting-appropriate equivalent). One must take place in the world of Fade Rift, and the other in your previous game. They can be of any length, as long as they provide a sense of your character's voice and internal narrative. If we feel they aren't sufficient, we'll ask you for more.
CANON UPDATES
Once in Thedas, rifters don't return to their home universes unless they are dropped and later reapped by the same person. However, your character may acquire new memories from time after their originally apped canon point while asleep and traveling in the Fade. (If your character is a dwarf, please contact us for alternate options.) Your character will not change physically--no new scars, no overnight aging--but the memories will feel as real as if they've experienced them directly. This option is available to both canon and original rifter characters.
If you would like to use this mechanism to update your character, you can do so by submitting the following form as a comment during the rifter application period.
APPING PREVIOUSLY PLAYED CHARACTERS
We allow reapps of dropped characters by both the previous player and new players. Unless their players make other arrangements, dropped native characters generally fade into the background or are sent away on long-term missions. Dropped native AU characters may be reapped by their previous players with their in-game memories intact or by both previous and new players as a new person entirely, with a clean slate. Dropped rifters will have disappeared mysteriously from Thedas, unless killed off in-game prior to a drop. Previously played rifters may be reapped by their previous players with their in-game memories intact, or by both previous and new players with a clean slate.
Dropped Dragon Age canon characters are a little trickier. For characters who were only briefly present in the game or who were dropped a long time ago, it may be possible to retcon their involvement entirely and allow a new player to start fresh. For characters that were around for a while and may have established CR that other characters can't easily retcon, you can work with other players to determine what to keep and what to discard from character histories, and we can work with new players to allow for (selective) memory loss via an in-game mechanic.
If you plan to app a Dragon Age character, we recommend checking for a tag to see if they've previously been played, then contacting us to let us know if you're interested in a clean slate. If you don't want an entirely clean slate, most players who app previously played DA canon characters make OOC posts after acceptance to ask people to recap their previous CR, if any, and decide what CR to keep or change on a chase by case basis.
JOHN CONSTANTINE | CONSTANTINE (2005) | RIFTER
Name: Koke
Age: Older every time
Contact:
Other Characters: Josias di Jaconissa
Interests: The standard but also let's chuck an exorcist at all of Thedas' demon stuff, huh?
Name: John Constantine
Canon/OC: Constantine (2005)
Canon Point: End of movie, before visiting Chas' grave
Journal:
Age: 41
Canon World
The standard Earth-Except-Supernatural-Stuff-Is-Real. The film deals primarily with Judeo-Christian mythology (specifically Catholic), but there is implication of a wider net - mention of dragons and some other beasties, celtic amulets, runes. As such I play him as coming from much the same diverse supernatural landscape as his comics counterpart.
History
(CW: Suicide)
- John Constantine is born an American for some reason. He's also born able to see the true faces of the supernatural beasties that inhabit his world. This makes things quite difficult for him.
- His parents entirely reasonably consider this to be a mental health issue and try to get him treatment. Due to the time period this was happening during and the fact no treatment was ever going to help, John gets to experience some pretty shitty medical procedures.
- John commits suicide at 15. He's technically dead for two minutes before being resuscitated. While dead, he goes to Hell, and as time moves differently there, he's there for what feels like a lifetime. Due to this, he now knows his visions are real.
- Insert training montage. Okay so no actual details on what happens next but safe to say he takes this knowledge and starts to do research, find contacts, etc etc in order to become the exorcist/demonologist/magician/occultist/con-man we meet later.
- He's also aware that due to having committed the sin of suicide, his soul is now eternally damned to Hell. A lot of the cases he takes on are an attempt to essentially cancel this out and buy his way into Heaven.
- Some bad stuff happens. It's not explicitly stated that he goes through the same as his comics counterpart, especially when the girl-taken-to-hell incident doesn't need to happen for him to be damned, but there's mention of "the good old days" and implication that he's fairly washed up when we meet him. This seems to point to Something (or a fair few Somethings) having happened.
- Movie events. John is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, vastly speeding up the deadline on him trying to get redemption.
- Is approached by Detective Angela Dodson regarding the suicide of her sister. Though he initially declines to help, he realises Angela is being targeted by demons and as such there is something worth looking into. Between the events surrounding her sister, as well as a thread he was already investigating independently, a plot to unleash Hell on Earth is revealed.
- Along the way, as attempts to prevent his involvement, two of John's long-time associates are murdered. As a key part of the ritual necessary, Angela is taken. Chas, John's apprentice, is killed during the attempt to rescue her. Gabriel, an angel John had considered an ally, is revealed to be behind the plot, a harsh betrayal.
- As a last resort, John commits suicide again, prompted Lucifer himself to arrive to take him to Hell. John points Lucifer towards what's going on, and he steps in to stop it. As 'reward', John asks for Angela's sister to be forgiven for the sin of suicide and allowed into Heaven. Due to this sacrifice, John himself is forgiven, and begins to ascend to Heaven - Lucifer prevents this by healing and reviving him, as well as removing his lung cancer so that he has more time to damn himself again.
- John quits smoking.
Constantine (2005) on Wikipedia
Personality
John Constantine is an asshole. He's rude, selfish, bitterly cynical, sarcastic and irreverent. Born with a "gift" which has heavily shaped his life, along with the knowledge that both God and the Devil exist and are waging a proxy war over the souls of humanity, he has developed a dark view of the world which is rarely pierced by anything lighter to change his mind.
What friendships he has cultivated are often strained and tense, frayed over time both by his abrasive attitude and his selfishness. The weight of his Damnation often means that he acts as though his needs outweigh those of the people around him, or becomes myopic in pursuing a goal without giving due consideration to the risks.
It makes a vicious cycle. His desperation and recklessness has led to loss, friendships falling apart and people dying, which in turn feeds into the asshole attitude, keeping people at arm's length as an offensive-defensive armour against further hurt.
Unfortunately, John has a natural charisma that somehow balances all of this out. His irreverent attitude and wry sense of humour create an air of "cool", which, paired with his ability to understand people and his cunning intelligence, leaves him perfectly able to talk with people, persuade people, and gather allies and friends.
The problem for him is that he usually ends up caring more than he'd ever like to admit. It would be much easier if he could just use people, con people, or ignore those in need. Some of this feeds his asshole armour - fake it till it's real - as well as there being something of a fatalistic streak - he's already Damned, so why bother trying to be good and nice. But he can never quite stick the landing, and always, inevitably, ends up giving a shit.
This means that when he does get hurt, his reaction is some serious wrath-of-God anger. He is vengeful, cruel, and violent, and there is little chance of forgiveness. When he knows someone has done wrong, and especially if it has personally impacted him in some way, he will rain down fire.
Some of this is wrath at God, or the whole situation of the world, rage against the injustice of being some random pawn on a board he didn't choose, but there's also a big boatload of righteousness bundled in as well. When you know literal demons are real, of course you're going to consider yourself better than them - as well as anyone who parlays with them.
By the end of the movie, though, John's left in a different spot. Forgiven, tight deadline removed, he's no longer an animal caught in a trap, trying - and failing - to gnaw its own leg off to get free. He opts against vengeance with Gabriel, and quits smoking, both attempts to stay clean both spiritually and physically. But how long that will hold out after a lifetime of bad habits is hard to tell.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- Psychic. Naturally able to see the true forms of supernatural beings and do Zener Card level stuff. With correct equipment can astral project into other realms or "surf the ether" - see the connections between events/places/items and possibly the future.
- Magician. He never takes the title in his particular canon, but John is shown to have extensive knowledge of and use a variety of rituals, symbols, incantations and objects to have certain effects. Some of these are literally tattooed on him.
- Con-man. Fairly good at talking himself into and out of situations. Opportunistic, cunning, and thinks fast on his feet.
- Detective. Able to piece together puzzles and follow the threads of connections. Has the understanding and experience of how people - and other beings - behave in order to tell when something is significant or not, as well as predict movements and hunt motives.
Weaknesses
- Just human. Squishy, mortal, relies on weapons and other items to give him any kind of advantage. Can manage a fist-fight well enough but is not professionally trained or anything fancy.
- Myopic and judgemental. Knowing the big truth of the world for so long has left him pretty bad at listening to anything that doesn't immediately fit in that sphere.
- Melancholic. He skews depressive, low mood, and self-destructive (disguised in socially acceptable types such as smoking, alcohol, casual sex). It's best not to leave him alone with his thoughts too much.
- Asshole. His entire personality section.
- Nicotine addiction.
Suggested Nerfs
The "magic" system in the movie, and the different characters which use it, implies that it isn't necessarily the person who carries power, but that power is in the world and can be tapped into with the right knowledge. I'd leave it to mod discretion whether John's 'magical' knowledge of rituals and similar will work in Thedas' natural magic-scape.
I would prefer that his psychic "sight" remains intact, though I'm not actually sure when it would be relevant.
Arrival Inventory
- His usual outfit
- Lighter
- Various amulets and little useful relics
- A copy of the bible
- One pack of nicotine gum
Humanization
N/A
Fit
John's here to give me another rifter to vicariously live through as I attempt to keep learning about Thedas. He's also here to get neck-deep in the magic stuff and especially to bring his perspective of demons and related matters to smash against Thedas' theological landscape.
TDM
An old fun and SFW post from Eudio
And here's a waaay older thing of him being Mad, to cover all bases.
QUESTIONS
Before we can approve your application, we have some questions! You do not need to revise your app. Respond to this comment with your answers.
Please respond within 48 hours. (You can request an extension, but please note that you can answer these questions as casually as you want-- don't stress about it or worry over phrasing!) If you have any questions, let us know.
Re: QUESTIONS
So in the movie there are a lot of supernatural beings living day to day alongside humans, and are indistinguishable from them in appearance. John, however, is able to see physical characteristics that show them as being non-human. What these characteristics are depend on the being - demons have weird shiny eyes, angels have wings, there's a very scary old lady on a bus we see in a flashback to his childhood who goes full wraithy ghost face at him. This isn't shown as being constant - the wings aren't there the entire scene he's talking to Gabriel - but he definitely doesn't have choice or control about it (or he would've had a much happier childhood). In RP where this applies to other characters I usually let the other player decide if and what, but if I were to say stick my own ex-character, Richie Gecko down in front of him, he'd probably see snake eyes or scales. Things like that.
It also seems to cover a more traditional idea of ESP in that he's able to describe the image on a card face down in order to get into Papa Midnite's club. They're more weird Beatrix Potter type cards than Zener Cards, but same principle.
Magic
This is kind of hard to answer definitively, sorry. John's world is one where all the rituals, ceremonies, incantations, relics, spells, symbols or superstitions you could come across all have a chance of being 100% legit. Silver against werewolves, iron against fairies, salt for protection. Water is a universal conduit, used for astral projection, while holy water burns demons and is used to return himself from astral projection to Hell. The exorcism prayer works on possessed people, but so does trapping the possessing demon in their own reflection and then smashing the mirror into pieces. A Celtic amulet deadens a priest's psychic abilities, but could also protect someone from outside influence from a supernatural creature.
In this landscape, John is essentially analogous to a chef. He knows a whole bunch of recipes, a whole bunch of ingredients, and he knows how to apply both. Some recipes are like baking bread, and need to be followed exactly in order to not unleash something horrible, while others can have parts substituted, or fancied up - the difference between making scrambled eggs with milk, or making it with crème fraiche. He can also make something pretty mean out of last night's leftovers, or just throw some instant noodles in the microwave.
There is very much an air of macguyvering stuff. Taking what he has on hand and putting the pieces together to be effective. However, all of these things are from his version of Earth, not Thedas. So, to me, I'd probably assume that some things are multi-universal - water as a conduit, for instance. But, I would assume the exorcism prayer probably isn't going to work on Thedas demons, because they're not from that theology. On the same track, holy water won't be useful, and the spear of destiny would probably just be a rusty bit of metal. But it then becomes a question of whether he can find and use substitutes, or amalgam stuff from his world into Thedas stuff. Going back to the chef analogy, if Thedas doesn't have chicken, can he use [insert fantasy bird] instead? Can he learn Thedas native recipes? Can he learn to put Thedas native ingredients that he's never dealt with before into old recipes?
None of his magic has a real power source aside from the theology it comes from - and even then, you have things like the electric chair from a prison becoming a significant object because of how many people have died in it. And as for things being draining or him having limits, absolutely, though it's more about how much physical exertion is involved. Holding down a possessed person while reciting the exorcism prayer with no breaks is tiring. So is running through Hell. He's literally beaten at the end of the movie, has absolutely 0 options left, and it's only luck and desperation that sees him manage to save the day.
Whats in its pockets
For the amulets and stuff I was mostly thinking of some symbol key things he uses to identify what demon is possessing a little girl, and maybe some random things like a couple of silver coins, a piece of bone from a hanged man, maybe some paper charms. Whether they actually do anything depends pretty much the same as the above.
APPROVED + NOTES
Your application has been approved, with the following notes:
Welcome to Fade Rift! Before you start playing, please:
You're then welcome to post an introduction to the OOC comm! Since your character is arriving via rift, you're welcome to post a rift arrival log or to begin RP in the Gallows and simply handwave that members of Riftwatch met your character on their arrival through the rift, helped them close it, and brought them to Kirkwall. If you have any questions, let us know.
Re: APPROVED + NOTES
The thing I think I haven't managed to make clear is that John doesn't have any magic ability in himself. In his world, anyone can do magic if they read the right books or are otherwise taught. To give him magic capability in Thedas the way I think you're suggesting would be giving him powers, basically, so I'll just go with him not having anything. Which is totally fine for me! It'll just make him very 'poke everything with sticks', and therefore a perfect fit for Research :D
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