FAQ

[thequietmods]

If your question is not answered here, ask in the comments.

Player Concerns What kind of game is this? How did my characters get here? What kind of characters are accepted? Can we app more than one character from a single canon? How many characters can we have at once? What if I drop a character? And a hiatus? How are those handled? Where do I go for plotting or talking to the mods? Not about problems, but just for fun. What do we need for activity check? How will we handle canon updates?

Character Concerns So, I'm playing a character that was played earlier, but the other player dropped them. What do I do? Can we have two different versions of the same character in the game at once? My character needs some kind of drug/food/medicine to live! What do? My character isn't human. How do we handle this? What if my character is dead? But what if my character's undead, a god, or a robot? What happens if my character dies in-game? What if my character has pets or summoned monsters? So, how about combat? So, what, no power limits? How do my characters communicate?

Player Concerns ››

1. What kind of game is this?
   The Quiet Year is based on a tabletop game where you and a group of friends control an entire village as they build themselves up over a year. Cards are drawn every week to present narrative choices that players will tackle.
   
   That's the tabletop version. This version will have a card drawn every real-life month to provide one or two events, ranging from "The group discovers a free Resource" to "wolves lurk in the woods, preying on livestock." This gives the game a rough lifespan of about four years.
   
   
2. How did my characters get here?
   Some outside force has kidnapped them and frozen them in thick, icy pillars. What the force is, what their purpose is, is unknown. A character will simply know that everything's gone dark, there will be a bright flash, and they'll wake up either in a puddle of ice or still needing to break out of their pillars.
   
   
3. What kind of characters are accepted?
   At The Quiet Year, we will accept OCs, canon OCs (including MMO characters), canon characters, canon AUs, and CRAUs.
   
   If a character appears in a work of fiction and he has enough of a personality and background to be apped, then feel free. If your character is an AU of a canon character, and that AU is a published one (Evil!Cole McGrath/Good!Cole McGrath, DCAU!Superman/Red Son!Superman, 2003 Anime!Pride/Manga Pride), it's also fine. However, if you're going "I want to play Carol Danvers from a coffee shop AU", then you're probably going to be declined. For the purpose of characters with multiple possible storylines or malleable protagonists, only the canon ending will be considered, well, canon. This means male Light Side Revan, Good End Cole McGrath, etc. For the alternate possibilities, they'll be considered AU apps. For ones that aren't so clear, such as the Mass Effect trilogy, it will be first come, first served.
   
   Silent protagonists (Chrono, Link, Persona MCs) will be accepted. Just go off of what the canon gives you in terms of personality and don't add anything too far out there and you should be fine.
   
   If you are playing a CRAU, a character with previous game history, we will need detail on any major developments they've had, how they've changed, and why.
   
   
4. Can we app more than one character from a single canon?
   As long as they're not heavily involved with each other, yes. Playing Master Asia and Domon is a no. Playing Batman and Bronze Tiger is just fine.
   
   
5. How many characters can we have at once?
   Right now the limit is three. This is subject to change.
   
   
6. What if I drop a character?
   They'll be swallowed by an icy pillar and transported back to the cave.
   
   
7. And a hiatus? How are those handled?
   The player will decide appropriate actions for their characters to take when they're on hiatus. Any projects they're considered to be working on will advance.
   
   
8. Where do I go for plotting or talking to the mods? Not about problems, but just for fun.
   Please use the OOC community for plotting. If players wish to work out private plots amongst themselves, that is fine. The mods won't say anything. But any event planning or large plots should be put on the OOC community so that everyone can see and comment.
   
   
9. What do we need for activity checks?
   Activity Checks will be performed once a month. To pass the monthly activity checks, you will need to provide two Activity Proofs, each Proof consisting of ten comments in a thread or a log or network post. You must reply to an Activity Check, even if you've failed. Failure to do so will be regarded as a drop. There will be exceptions on holiday months. More details can be found in the Activity Check page.
   
   
10. How will we handle canon updates?
    That will be decided on a case by case basis.

Character Concerns ››

1. So, I'm playing a character that was played earlier, but the other player dropped them. What do I do?
   There are spares of several characters from slightly alternate, but otherwise identical, universes or timelines.
   
   
2. Can we have two different versions of the same character in the game at once?
   Sure. As long as they're different enough. Like, someone could play Iron Man from the comics and Iron Man from the movies and it'd be fine. However, if you were to play a character that's essentially identical, such as Krillen from the anime and Krillen from the manga, then that's a no-go.
   
   
3. My character needs some kind of drug/food/medicine to live! What can we do?
   There are special herbs and plants that can be ground up to act as a panacea for any kind of special needs. Which ones will work will need some experimenting... Or an exchange can be made at the Totem.
   
   
4. My character isn't human. How do we handle this?
   They'll stay inhuman unless the player wants to alter them. In which case, they need to talk to the mods. We'll allow for partial humanizations if the player feels it's necessary. Keep in mind that the point of humanizing a character is to make it easier to interact with other characters, not to give them powers. Any attempts to make them stronger than they'd normally be or adding special abilities will end in rejection.
   
   
5. What if my character is dead?
   They'll be recovered at the point of death and healed. There will be nasty scars marking the mortal wounds (if any), of course. Whether or not they die when they return home, if they return home, is up for debate.
   
   
6. But what if my character's undead, a god, or a robot?
   Then they'll end up in the pillars, same as anyone else.
   
   
7. What happens if my character dies in-game?
   Then they're dead. In The Quiet Year, death is permanent. That said, if a deal is made with the Totem, something might be arranged.
   
   
8. What if my character has pets or summoned monsters?
   If a pet has near-human intelligence and enough personality to be considered their own character (i.e. Toothless, a Digimon, the cats from Sailor Moon), they cannot be brought in as a partner. Beings like Pokemon or summoned demons can be kept, as long as it's only at the limit to what your character carries in canon. They must be stored on their owner's person or within their body somehow, however.
   
   
9. So, how about combat?
   Combat will be rare and largely limited to dealing with wild animals threatening the community or their livestock.
   
   We're not going to argue or keep track of power levels. If the players want to do that, it's fine. However, keep in mind that a lot of players aren't going to care a lot about engine performance and beamspam output. If players want to acknowledge between each other that one character can beat up the other, that's fine.
   
   
10. So, what, no power limits?
    No, not really. When the mods and players say something happens, it happens regardless of Superman's presence. The question then becomes why it happens, which is a much more interesting thing.
    
    
11. How do my characters communicate?
    They'll gain the understanding of a truly universal language.
    
    When they wake up, they will find themselves gifted with strange gauntlets, sized to fit their dominant hand. The gauntlets project time, date, and network images/text in a holographic screen. They also have a number of small apps, such as a few basic games, a note-taking app, and an art app. For the sharp-eyed, the start-up screen lists this as v4.0.
    
    The gauntlets are rugged, but not invulnerable, and there are no replacements for a destroyed gauntlet without turning toward the Totem.