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FAQ
FAQ
OOC FAQ
What’s all this, then?
Ars Arcana is a short-run murdergame in the style of Airlocked or It's Curtains, based around characters from magical or supernatural canons! It is a one-shot, and is not connected to either of those games continuity-wise.
Sounds fun! How do I play?
Ars Arcana is a comm-based game. There will be weekly mod-posted logs to cover daily threading, but players are more than welcome to put up their own logs for IC special events! Every Friday, the mods will post an Investigation log for IC investigation of that week’s murder(s), and the trial log will go up on Saturday. In the event of a successful trial, executions will be posted and the characters will be free to leave the courtroom and continue about their business.
How long is this going to last?
We’re aiming for 5-7 weeks, including endgame. 1 OOC day = 1 IC day, except for investigations and trials, which are on a 2:1 day scale (meaning: investigations and trials take place on Fridays ICly, but Friday-Saturday OOCly).
How do reserves work?
Reserves will open on March 4th, 2022 at 1 pm EST, and close when all 20 slots have been filled. Apps will not be accepted without a reserve. Proxy reserves are allowed, however the person applying must comment to confirm their reserve within 24 hours.
How does apping work?
Apps will open on March 5th and close on March 18th at 11:59 PM EST. Please post your app with the same journal you used to post or confirm your reserve. Comments on the app post will be screened to protect spoilers. The game will be set to begin March 20th.
Is there a character cap?
We’re accepting a limit of 20 characters, with a 2 character cap per canon and 1 character per player. Depending on interest, and because this is a one-shot and not part of a larger continuity, we may end up upping the cast limit to 25.
What characters can I app?
Appable characters must be from magical or supernatural canons. This does not include science fiction canons or any canon where the source of "magic" is significantly advanced technology. If the supernatural elements of the canon are referred to in canon as magic (or sorcery, witchcraft, etc), any character is appable from it. For example, even though she herself is not a mage, Leliana from the Dragon Age franchise would be appable because magic is a known supernatural force in Thedas. However, the Doctor from Doctor Who would not be appable because even though his nonsense may seem like magic to his companions, it's based in technology.
Canons where supernatural powers are not referred to as magic or are specifically denounced as not being magic (Avatar The Last Airbender, Steven Universe, Fullmetal Alchemist) are allowed as long as said magic is not technology- or science-based. Fantasy stories that use the trappings of science fiction (e.g. Star Wars) still count as science fiction and are not allowed.
In the case of a canon like the MCU, where sometimes it's science and sometimes it's aliens and sometimes it's Just Magic, only characters with explicitly magical powers or from the explicitly magical installments of the canon are allowed. For example, Loki, Doctor Strange, and Wanda Maximoff would all be appable, while Black Widow, Captain America, and the Hulk would not.
In short, if the canon has magic and calls it magic, you're 100% good. If the canon has magic but does not call it magic, you're good as long as the magic isn't just a fancy word for technology. If the setting is overall mundane with some supernatural elements, only supernatural characters or characters from explicitly magical installments of the canon are appable. If you have any questions about appability or have a specific character in mind that you want judgment on, feel free to ask.
Customizable protagonists from appable canons (e.g. The Warden, Hawke, or the Inquisitor from Dragon Age) are allowed, and will count toward their canon's character limit. Tabletop OCs are allowed but will count as their own separate canon with a canon cap of 2. The first half of the password is Chrono.
All characters must have human-level intelligence and be at least fifteen years of age. Versions of historical figures are allowed, but must be demonstrably different from their real-world counterparts, such as Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. All powers are un-nerfed, with the sole exception of the power to bring the dead back to life (for obvious reasons).
My character is on the young side. Can I still app them?
That depends. The youngest we're allowing is 15 but we will allow characters as young as 13 or 14 if the character in question has, for lack of a better term, seen some shit. For example, King Tommen Baratheon from the TV show Game of Thrones would be allowed because he was aged up to 14, but his book counterpart who is only 10 years old would not.
But my character is dead in their canon!
Bring them anyway! You can either set their canonpoint seconds before their death, or have them remember it all and bring them straight into the game anyway.
What if my character isn’t human?
That's fine too! Non-human and Non-humanoid characters will retain their original form. Feel free to app Aslan.
What about my character’s powers?
Any characters with supernatural powers will still have full access to their powers at the start of the game. The only exception to this rule is that healing magic, even if your character is canonically capable of bringing back the dead, will be dampened to the level of being able to heal non-life-threatening injuries.
What are the activity requirements?
Living characters must submit two threads with a total of ten comments from your character with two different characters per week. Dead characters must submit half that (one thread with a total of five comments from your character). AC threads may come from the weekly mingle log, motives, or any player-posted logs from the check period. Trials are not eligible for the activity check.
Failure to meet AC without informing the mods will result in a strike. Two strikes in a row will result in an automatic death roll. AC will go up on Sunday for the previous Sunday-Friday, and will close at 11:59 pm (EST) on the following Friday.
Dead characters have AC?
Yes, you read that right. Because the dead will have a vital role to play in endgame, we're requiring just a little bit of AC to make sure that the dead are still with us.
Failure to meet this minimal requirement without informing the mods will result in a strike. Two strikes in a row may result in your character being ineligible for Golden End.
My character got deathrolled and I don't want to go yet!
And that's perfectly alright! Everyone gets one free opt-out at the start of the game that can be used at any time. Use it wisely. Once that opt-out is used up that's it.
Does this game have memory loss aspects?
It does not! The only memories that your characters will be regaining are the ones that they make here. :)
IC FAQ
Where am I?
Welcome to the Thanatos Institute for The Advancement of Sorcery and Spellcraft. Here, the brightest minds of the ages have gathered to further their knowledge of all manner of sorcery and compile it for the better of future generations, and all that good stuff.
...TITASS?
Nice.
So it's a magic school. Are you kidding me?
Hey now, this isn't some prissy boarding school. This is an opportunity, and you lucky few are the first new pupils that the Institute has had for ages, so you'd better be grateful.
Who’s in charge here?
The Alchemist runs this show, babe. So sit tight, 'cause you'll be here a while.
What if I want to get out of here?
Well, in that case, by all means. There's just one little catch, though. The only way out is with a blood sacrifice. All you've gotta do is kill one of your fellow Apprentices, and outsmart the rest to get away with it without getting caught.
What if they DO catch me?
We'll burn that bridge when we get to it. But let's just say that the consequences for getting busted are very... Eye for an eye, if you get me.
Who's this Alchemist guy, anyway?
He's the man with a plan, the big dog on campus, and the guy whose ass you're gonna want to start kissing if you wanna get anywhere around here. If you want to talk to him, you can head to his office. If you're lucky, he'll have time for a chat. He's a busy guy, after all.
Murder FAQ
Explain to me how the murders are going to work.
Every Tuesday a motive will be presented to the surviving apprentices by the Alchemist. It may be a threat, it may be a pleasant surprise, it may have no impact on you personally whatsoever but for all of you it will be your motive for murder.
In-game the murders will be discovered on Fridays with the log going up around 1 pm EST; this is purely for OOC convenience and to keep us all on a set schedule throughout the game. Once three people have ICly discovered the body there will be an announcement and a 24-hour period where a mod-led investigation will take performers through relevant areas to find clues to help them piece together the crime.
Trials will begin on Saturdays OOCly at 1 pm EST but ICly take place on Fridays after the investigation concludes. Using the clues found during the investigation the surviving performers will be expected to use them to figure out. At the end of the trial everyone will be asked to vote for the person they believe to be the culprit. If the majority of those present vote for the correct culprit, that person will be executed. Like the investigations, you will have a full 24 hours to figure it out.
But what happens if we vote wrong?
In the event of a majority wrong vote, we do have a back-up plan but it’s a one-time use. If that failsafe gets used, another incorrect majority vote will lead directly into a bad end.
What if the case is unsolvable?
We as mods will always work hard and keep a close eye on the case as it's written and will never intentionally give you an unsolvable case that isn’t endgame-relevant. We also ask that our players put forth an effort to play fair as well- after all, we're all here to make our characters suffer and write murder mysteries for each other, not to try and "win," so let's keep things fair and fun for everyone.
When will I know if I’m involved in a murder?
Death rolls will typically happen two weeks ahead - so case 1 will be rolled on the first day of the game, case 2 on the last day of peace week, case 3 on the Sunday after case 1, etc. So if you want to volunteer, either for a specific case or just in general, make sure you get in touch with the mods as soon as possible - or indicate on your app that you're volunteering. The longer you wait, the higher the chance is that there won't be a spot in your preferred case.
What happens to the characters when they die? Do I still get to play in the game?
Once you die, you are not out of the game. There will be a lot of things for your character to do! You might think you can sleep when you're dead, but you'd be wrong.
There's a few special things waiting for you in the afterlife that might help you and your living friends get a better ending!
Is there any way we can get things from home?
Of course, doll! For your first couple of weeks in the Institute, there will be a catalog where you can find some things that might've been brought with you, and even make special orders...for a price.
Any questions we didn’t answer here? Go ahead and ask below! You can also reach the mods on plurk at