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Fade Rift Mods ([personal profile] faderifting) wrote2020-01-06 09:45 pm
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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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only
allthatgleamsisgold: (Default)

Vlast / Gleam | Guild Wars 2 | Rifter

[personal profile] allthatgleamsisgold 2024-04-14 12:04 am (UTC)(link)
PLAYER

Name: Green Rivers
Age: 38
Contact: [plurk.com profile] GreenRivers
Other Characters: N/A
Interests: Trite but true: anything and everything. Mostly looking for more adventure and mission-type plots with Vlast than political intrigue (though tossing him at the stuffiest nobility could make for some hilarious hijinks as well).

CHARACTER

Name: Vlast / Gleam
Canon/OC: Guild Wars 2
Canon Point: Path of Fire
Journal: allthatgleamsisgold
Age: 250+

Canon World

Tyria is not a world dissimilar to Thedas. There's a variety of races, there's magic, there's a parallel realm of dreams and demons separated by a veil, and there are dragons with hordes of hiveminded minions hellbent on wreaking havoc.

And oh boy are the dragons a problem.

As of PoF, the main story is focused on the Elder Dragon plot; the many dissonant factions of Tyria coming together to face world ending foes in the six Elder Dragons (draconic embodiments of various spectrums of magic, each of them, to a one, hostile in some fashion).
Presently, two are down, with four left to go.

Unfortunately, two wrenches have been thrown into the Pact's dragon-killing escapades. One; the dragons are part of a cycle that keeps the world intact, even if it causes cataclysmic decimation to the inhabitants of said world. Killing any more without anything to take their place would potentially tear reality apart.

The other problem is that the God of War, Balthazar, freshly freed from the Mists, has made a beeline to Elona so that he can slay Elder Dragon #3; Kralkatorrik.

There is one sliver of hope in this whole debacle; Glint's Legacy. She was Kralkatorrik's first child, freed from his hivemind long ago and bonded with the mortal races. She has had two offspring of her own, potential candidates to replace the Elder Dragons who will circulate and share magic rather than the devastating ten thousand year cycles of feast and famine.

Vlast is one such candidate for the role of Crystal Dragon Jesus. Or he was. He sort of died.
History

GW1 Wiki
GW2 Wiki

  • Vlast was born, roughly, circa 1075 - 1077 A.E. in Kesho where he spent the majority of his life

  • He briefly accompanies adventurers escorting him to his mother's lair in Guild Wars who protect him from Primordus's minions.

  • Vlast, at some point, returns to Kesho where he is raised by his Exalted attendants, led by Sadizi. They try their best, but there aren't exactly manuals on how to socialize a dragon. He is generally regarded as reluctant in the role chosen for him.

  • For a time he traveled between Kesho and his mother's lair, though in 1320 A.E. Glint sent him back to Kesho which would become his permanent home after her death in the novel Edge of Destiny.

  • Vlast spends the next decade fighting Kralkatorrik's branded, and lending some assistance against the lich ruler, Palawa Joko. A third front is added to that particular fight when Balthazar joins the fray with his army of Forged.

  • In 1330 A.E., Balthazar forms an alliance with Palawa Joko and the two break into Kesho to 'study' the Exalted to find out how they bound their souls to metal constructs. Vlast is forced to flee, and only Sadizi survives by locking himself away.

  • In 1330 A.E. Vlast is killed after a protracted fight with Balthazar. He leaves behind one last message for his sister Aurene.


    • Personality

    Vlast: Some advice: if you grow weary of your caretakers, offer a hiss or a swat of your tail and watch them scatter. Do not let them—or yourself—forget what you are.


    Vlast is rather old by human standards and very young by the standards of Elder Dragons. Thus he is an ornery mix of crotchety old man and rebellious teenager acting out in whatever ways you'd expect from a 250 year old young adult.

    His ill-tempered nature is not completely unjustified; he has been raised from a hatchling to fulfill his mother's prophecy and put an end to the cataclysmic dragon cycles by replacing the Elder Dragons with less predatory counterparts. It's a weighty destiny to place on a fledgling, and while Vlast was committed to his duty, he saw it as only that; a job that needed doing and only he could do.

    He overall sees his mother's plan as a sound one that would, ultimately, be beneficial to all. His resentment and frustration stems from how he feels trapped in his role and has let himself be shaped and molded to fit into it, as more tool than a thinking and feeling person. He struggles with the responsibility left for him to shoulder in the decade since Glint was slain by her own sire.

    Vlast's existence has been a painfully isolated one. His main caretaker, Sadizi, admits the dragon was never properly socialized and spent whatever free time he had soaring the desert skies alone. By the time the Exalted realized Vlast needed to bond with mortal races, it was past the point of no return. He either no longer could - or cared to - and they were left with a restless, impatient dragon who viewed them as insignificant.

    The birth of his younger sister offered a rare glimmer of hope for Vlast - perhaps he wouldn't have to endure alone. Despite the distance between them, Vlast and Aurene shared an empathic bond, and Vlast cared deeply for his younger sister.

    So much so that he was willing to give his life to protect her champion without ever having had the opportunity to meet her.

    Strengths & Weaknesses

    Vlast was raised to be a pawn in his mother's long, long game. However he grumbles, he can obey orders, though he will lash out and challenge any perceived weaknesses where he sees them - especially as he grows more used to the idea that he's no longer beholden to his mother's plans.

    His pragmatism and blunt personality combined with his proactive and independent nature, makes him a reliable ally in small groups. Though on the flipside, he becomes restless if there is no task immediately on hand. He can also be petulant and irritable.

    Vlast is well-educated, given his access to insights many mortals would (and did) kill for. He especially has a vast array of magical expertise. While his knowledge largely pertains to Tyria, Vlast is clever and adaptable, and could offer a fresh perspective.

    There are, of course, gaps in that education. The Exalted didn't exactly go over manuals of social etiquette with him, and he certainly wasn't attending soirees where he could pick it up as he went. He will struggle with social mores, especially as he lacks emotional maturity.

    He also has a tendency to bite.

    Physically speaking, he's a typical Qunari that's on the leaner side. He's mostly healthy, though there's external and internal issues in the right side of his torso where he sports a nasty scar - the lingering evidence of a large puncture surrounded by a webbing of burn scars. He may have gotten a new life in Thedas, but when the god of fire and war stabs you, you stay stabbed. The wound that ended his first life will trouble him for the remainder of his days.

    Powers
      Humanized:
      When we first meet baby Vlast in GW1, he's categorized under the Mesmer profession, so that will be his skillset when he falls out the Rift.

      Mesmers are magical duelists that utilize illusion and trickery to warp their opponents perception of reality. They create clones and phantasms and use the confusion to strike quickly with the considerable arsenal (laser-greatsword) they have access to.

      Mesmer can also cast boons on their allies and conditions on their enemies, and create reflective domes, short-range portals and teleportation, speeding up and slowing down time, invisibility, and transformation.


      Draconic
      Vlast is a dragon. Or was. Whatever the case, that presents its own host of issues, and may leave some residual weirdness when coming to Thedas. In Tyria, dragons are big, they are scaly, they can typically fly, and breathe magical energy that manifests in one form or another (fire, ice, death, magic crystals, whatever). Vlast is not an Elder Dragon, though he is of that lineage.

      Consuming and Circulating Magic
      In addition to their regular diet, dragons also consume magical energy. They're a bit like shoals of shellfish and other filter-feeders; they consume and circulate magic, filtering out pollutants, including Void energies making them vital to the ecosystem.

      Consuming too much magic, or hoarding large quantities within themselves without circulating it back into the world leaves them prone to corruption, becoming increasingly hostile and malicious. On the other hand, if they consume enough of a certain type of magic, they can also learn new skills from it.

      Brandstone, Connection vs Corruption

      Brandstone is the manifestation of a crystal dragon's magic.

      GW2 lore plays pretty fast and loose with what Brandstone is and can do. To start, it's a byproduct of dragon magic. It releases a sort of electric energy that, in large concentrations, can create a perpetual storm. It also hums; in the words of Josso Essher, the crystals "share a fundamental resonance that connects them [...] and makes them vulnerable to each other". Vlast and Glint use it to record their memories. Vlast and Aurene are able to use their own Brandstone to contain the spread of their grandfather's corruption. After Vlast's death, there are Elonian's collecting shards of his crystals to turn into weapons to combat Kralkatorrik's minions

      Branding is also the vehicle through which Kralkatorrik and his descendants can corrupt or connect with other living things.

      It is something all Elder Dragons and their scions can do; it is their most distinctive trait. Whether it's the former or the latter depends on the dragon's intent and the willingness of their target. Corruption is generally done against the target's will, and their mind is subsumed into the dragon's. Connection is made with a willing participant and their faculties remain intact. The latter creates an empathic link between the dragon and the person, able to share thoughts, emotions, and visions. The recipient is also able to draw from the dragon's powers, such as the Bond of Faith and Bond of Vigor the Commander shares with Aurene.

      It's a plot-point than Vlast never formed such a bond, though he is physically capable.

      If any of this remains in Vlast after coming Thedas, it may mean he will have a very high tolerance for raw lyrium, and some resistance to Blight (likely forming thick cysts as other dragons do or forming a Brandstone encasing to isolate and contain the infection for a time).

      Prophecy

      Another distinctive property of the crystal dragons is their ability to foresee possible futures.

      Unlike his mother, however, it seems Vlast is not particularly gifted on that front. As far as we can tell, he only ever foresaw his possible death at the hands of Balthazar.


    Suggested Nerfs

    Most, if not all, Mesmer spells already follow similar rules of line of sight, time and distance. For the clones, I'd stick to the in-game limitations of only being able to have three active at any given time, and that they'd be very limited in functionality.

    The only skills that might be iffy are the teleportation skills like Blink and Portal Entre/Exuant and Time Warp so maybe either heavily limit access to them or just nerf those entirely.

    I want him to retain his innate need to consume, filter, and circulate magic, and create small quantities of Brandstone as a byproduct of his spellcasting. He will be as reliant on Lyrium potions as he is on food and water to keep himself hale and whole. As he adjusts to the ambient magic in Thedas, he will become less dependent, but he will still need to consume them fairly regularly.

    As for his other draconic powers, if they aren't completely nerfed, I'd like for him to regain some (heavily) limited form of them through activity rewards.

    Dragon form: if he is ever able to regain this form I would suggest it requires
    • Several months of research and practice at least.

    • Serious shrinkage to about the average size of a Skyscale

    • Only able to be maintained for a few hours tops (much shorter depending on how much his magic reserves he burns through).

    • While he'd be able to create larger quantities of Brandstone with his magic breath, it probably shouldn't be more than a streak of twenty meters long by one meter high.

    • Post-transformation recovery could take a few days - a week to fully recover from depending on his access to food, water, Lyrium and rest.


    Corruption/Connection would require both player and mod permission and input.

    Prophecy should be used at mod's discretion. If you guys want to put it to use, have at it. If not, it will not be missed.

    Arrival Inventory

    Nuthin.

    Humanization

    A Qunari would fit him best, both physically and thematically. Naturally they have ties to dragon blood, and while he may not follow the Qun, he does struggle with duty vs freedom, depersonalization, and purpose and connection to it.

    Fit

    A dragon should fit just fine in the Dragon Age setting.

    Vlast would be an interesting fit in the DA setting, largely because Tyria is, in many respects, very similar to Thedas, while the social mores and values are wildly different. Detached as he is, Vlast has been at war for a long time so he's well used to being stuck in conflicts he has no personal investment in. Whether that latter part will change or not would be interesting to explore - especially now that he's been forced into a mortal body. Maybe the connection and purpose he felt he was lacking can be found in Thedas and her many conflicts? Or maybe he'll be driven deeper into his jaded cynicism?

    SAMPLES

    1 & 2
    faderifting: (Default)

    APPROVED + NOTES (OR QUESTIONS IF YOU PREFER)

    [personal profile] faderifting 2024-04-22 02:35 am (UTC)(link)
    WELCOME

    Your application has been approved contingent on the following:
    We apologize for the delayed response! We also apologize that despite our best efforts at wiki research (we're completely canon-blind), we're unsure about what some of the abilities you've mentioned entail as well as the scope of the abilities you're looking for here. From what we've seen, things like Mesmer seem to include a vast array of possible abilities and skills, far beyond what we'd expect any one character to possess all at once, and we're not sure which ones you intend Vlast to actually have.

    So we have two options to offer. #1, we've laid out below a set of powers, as we understand them, that we'd be comfortable approving right now. If this works for you, great! The app is approved.

    • He can create up to 10 phantasms and 3 clones at a time, which (like you mentioned) will be only work while within his line of sight.
      • The phantasms can last up to 10 minutes, but that time will decrease proportional to how many he has going at once (so, 1 phantasm for 10 minutes or 10 for 1 minute). The amount of damage they're able to do will be equal to the amount Vlast himself can do, which will also be divided among the phantasms in the same way as the duration.
      • The clones have similar time limits, and otherwise work as you described in your proposed nerfs.
      • Clones can be shattered to damage/confuse the enemy, but only in the sense that they can explode on Vlast's command and this can harm and disrupt—the other more complex shatter options listed in the wiki won't apply.

    • He can create a projectile-resisting dome as described in the Feedback spell, which can cover a maximum 20 foot radius and last for up to 20 seconds.
    • Teleportation will be limited to the equivalent of the Fade Step ability.
    • He can become invisible for up to 5 minutes, and the invisibility will be broken if he attacks or otherwise does something to draw attention like shouting or bumping into someone.
    • He can retain or regain the ability to assume draconic form, with the limitations you suggested, without the need for you to purchase it through activity rewards. He can arrive with that ability or regain it on whatever schedule you'd like.
    • He can need to consume lyrium as described, but won't be able to acquire any new magical skills through this alone. He can also have unusual resistance to raw lyrium, equivalent to a dwarf's.
    • He cannot be immune to the Blight in his default qunari form, but in dragon form can isolate it in cysts that will provide some limited protection, and it will remain contained in those cysts when he transforms back into a qunari. If there's a scenario in-game where you'd like him to interact with Blight corruption in dragon form, let us know and we can discuss how much he can handle before becoming infected.
    • He can create Brandstone, which in Thedas will be akin to a DAI Tier 4 material, associated with electrical/storm-related magic. In its raw form it can emit lighting akin to the Chain Lightning spell when thrown or struck with sufficient force. It can be forged or worked into items that will allow the possessors more precise/powerful electrical and/or storm-related abilities. We're open to ideas about what exactly that might be, and to letting that be something that you can explore in RP—if there's something you'd like to experiment with making with it, please drop it in the mod contact as with any new Research development and we'll review. Anyone (including you) who'd like to make weapons, armors, or other items out of Brandstone will need to purchase them as enchanted objects through our rewards system.
    • Any other magic not described here, including but not limited to corruption/connection, prophecy, and time-related magic, will be nerfed entirely. If, in the future, you'd like to use activity rewards to purchase a custom specialization that includes a limited set of other Mesmer abilities, we'll consider that.

    If this doesn't work for you as-is, then option #2: please give us a much more specific rundown of the abilities you'd like to have in game, how they work in practice, and what their limits are, so that we can review and consider those details. E.g., instead of Mesmer as a whole, which specific abilities or portions of those ability trees are you hoping to include? What exactly are you hoping Brandstone will be able to do in game? Do you plan for this character to have any non-magical abilities (i.e., combat skills)? We'll treat this as a Question rather than a Revision, so no need to revise the app itself, just respond to this comment within a week with the info.

    Before you start playing, please:
    ↠ Read the Rifter FAQ and particularly the sections relating to Arrival and Anchors.
    ↠ Join the Log, "Network," OOC, and (optional) Meme comms.
    ↠ Reply to the Taken List.
    ↠ Reply to the Player Contact List.
    ↠ Take a look at the most recent mod post concerning the state of the game and any plot sign-ups that may be ongoing.
    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.
    allthatgleamsisgold: (Default)

    [personal profile] allthatgleamsisgold 2024-04-22 03:49 pm (UTC)(link)
    All that sounds perfect, though I would like to keep his clone/phantasm count down to three tops if that's cool? I don't think I could keep track of what more than that would be doing in an rp sense.

    Also I'd like to clarify about the amount of abilities and how they work in gw2 (because I have so many brainworms about this game I'm so so sorry).

    Most of that massive list of skills you probably saw are weapon skills which are exclusive to whatever weapon is being used at the time. Mesmers kind of have the pick of the litter from the weapons available in game (They have access to the most variety out of the three scholar professions and are up there with Rangers and Guardians for overall access to weaponry).

    How that works is that players can equip two weapon sets to swap between in combat. A two-handed weapon like a greatsword, staff or rifle would count as one weapon set while one-handed weapons like swords, pistols, axes, daggers or scepters can be wielded in the main hand (giving three skills) with an offhand weapon like a focus, a shield, a warhorn, or another pistol, dagger or sword to round out the other two skills. This gives them access to ten weapon skills total. (For example, my Mesmer in game swaps between a staff to a sword/pistol combo).

    Their other five skills are on their slot bar and are comprised of one healing skill + three utility skills + one elite skill. It would basically look like this:

    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
    Weapon Skills
    Automatically slotted
    		 Slot Skills
    Player's choice (racial and profession skills)
    Main hand
    		 Off hand
    		 Healing
    		 Utility skills
    		 Elite
    Two-handed weapon


    They can change up those skills out of combat (I would give this mechanic the non-gameplay explanation/nerf that these spells require a moderate degree of preparation before being usable, and trying to juggle too many different spells at once can cause the spells to backfire), but yes, outside weapon skills, Mesmers are much more limited than they might first appear.
    Edited 2024-04-22 15:52 (UTC)
    faderifting: (Default)

    [personal profile] faderifting 2024-04-22 08:01 pm (UTC)(link)
    Yes, you can absolutely keep it to 3 overall! We're never going to object to nerfing things more. And that's very helpful to know about how GW2 skills work, great chart. We'll keep that in mind for any spec requests for additional skills in the future. Thanks, and welcome!
    allthatgleamsisgold: (lizard brain)

    [personal profile] allthatgleamsisgold 2024-04-23 04:19 pm (UTC)(link)
    excellent! thank you so much
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