InsaneJournal

• who runs this shindig and how stable is this game of theirs?

  Lis & Dora do! We've been running Gates for over a year now. This is a moderate-paced, emphasis-on-good-writing place for those players who like being in the driving seat as much as being driven. We've clocked at least twenty years between us RPing, modding and being modded so we'd like to think we know what we're doing. We can be reached at gatesmods@gmail.com.

• what characters can be played?

  Firstly -- this game is predominantly original character-based. However, anything from Hellblazer canon can feasibly be worked in, provided you explain how it fits into the setting. That aside, we're going to assume you want to know the character types in At The Gates. There are three 'types' of characters:

  • Category 1: Angels, demons, beasties -- these are preternatural beings who have never been human, will never be human or have left human so far behind they can only pretend at it. As this game is all about Heaven and Hell duking it out for souls, you'd expect to see a handful of the Heavenly Host and the Pit's favourites on the chess-board and any other sundries for flavour besides. This is that category. It is, however, restricted -- to keep numbers in balance and to make sure we're happy with how they're being handled. Interested players merely need to give the mods a head up about wanting to apply.
  • Category 2: Humans with abilities -- there's three ways to have preternatural abilities and access to magic in this world. Further details are available on the Factions page but in short: you can buy magic (Market-goer), you can learn magic (Occultist), or you can be born with magic (Natural). Combinations of the three are possible, though to be a Natural Occultist with Market-magic means you'd be Dead Serious about this world behind the veil; more often it's the Occultists, the ones who teach themselves magic, who pick up supplementary magic via the Market.
  • Category 3: Mundanes. Humans with no current access to magic but who have somehow fallen into the path of the preternatural world, enough for the Library to hand them a journal and let them stick around. (More on those later.) Mundanes are those who for whatever reason have discovered the preternatural world's existence either before the game starts or immediately before introduction -- new characters can learn of magic along the way, and of course a mundane can eventually become a magician themselves.
  
  
• what kind of abilities can they have?

  Sky is the damn limit here -- you are limited only by your creativity giving out. However, you are going to be limited to one general ability -- 'telepath' or 'super-strength' or 'probability manipulation', etc. -- in the case of Natural abilities, and exercise restraint when writing Occultist and Market-goers alongside beasties. We're gunning for a roughly even power-spread between people but obviously, those who have been around a long time and learned a good deal are going to have more power and access to magic than those who just realized magic isn't just in books last Tuesday, after all. Proportionality is the name of the game. Examples, however:

  • Angels: Own personalised form of telepathy: in-between them it’s the likeliest form of communication as “speaking” is a human construct. They can also “address” people or anyone else telepathically and you’d need incredibly strong mental defenses to keep an angel out if they wanted a conversation. Teleportation and so on. Healing, insta-exorcism and shapeshifting/illusion-type abilities are pretty generic.
  • Demons: If they have telepathy, they’re less likely to work together as a unified force, a la the angels and more to work independently, the self-obsessed little bastards. Transmogrification for some, likely a certain amount of imperviousness.
  • Market-goers: Magic purchased is introducing a foreign substance into the body -- think sub-dermal piercings and you'll get an idea. It is rarely a natural fit, and even then it will never be a Natural fit. Market-goers are often frowned upon by Occultists as being too lazy to work for real power or knowledge, and by Naturals as being poseurs. That said, you can buy some big magic by way of the Market... you just have to appreciate that it's neither permanent nor truly 'yours' to rein in.
  • Naturals: The clue is in the name: powers like this are going to be pretty much instinctive, use-wise but the control of them is down to the individual and the power in question. Naturals can build on power via purchase at the Market or going into the Occult -- but Naturals will hit up against the difficulty of the difference of working with magic if this happens. Occult magic is hard work, Merchant magic is going to feel bodily ‘foreign’ when you’re used to working with something that is a part of you. Naturals who do build up their power-base are probably going to initially struggle.
  • Occultists: It’s generally going to be the book-learned stuff, and various strains of that. Magic here isn’t going to be instantaneous, it’ll require preparation and ingredients and rituals, spells and words if you’re doing something a bit quicker. Occultists are closer to the mundanes than they are to Naturals: even beginning to get to use magic means having studied and is going to require a lot of concentration, practice and so on to be even able to snuff out a candle with a spell. Still, occult magic is ritualized and thus it’s more reliable: if you have the ability and have built up skill over time then providing you have the right (nasty) ingredients, you’ll be able to follow proscribed rituals to do bigger works. It works based on how much time you’ve devoted to it all -- necromancy is going to be a big damn deal, but a blessing is not.
  
  
• what is the difference between a Merchant, a Vendor and a Market-goer?

  Fine print. A Merchant is literally that, someone who operates as a shadowy figure within the larger Market and runs its inner workings. A Vendor is a seller of wares in the Market. The details will vary from character to character, but Merchants and Vendors may be considered as much an occupation as anything -- you can be an Occultist but also a Vendor, or have been born with Natural-type abilities. A Market-goer is one of our ability categories, i.e. you bought your magic from the Market as opposed to being born with it (Natural) or having learned it (Occult).

• what kind of characters can't you play?

  You are not able to play any of the major angels/Hell demons in Biblical canon; this is purely to limit power. (See here for more specifics, including lists.) It is very boring when a character is so powerful they can overcome everything thrown their way -- for both the player of said uber-character and for the players of everyone else’s. Level playing field, so Michael and Lucifer are off the scenes for other reasons, but for now, think ‘equatable characters’. (So no Beelzebub, no Metatron.) Similarly, gods of old pantheons -- Egyptian, Greek, etc. -- are not playable. Other than that, we’re open to argument. The mythos of this game is expanding and adaptable: what’s listed on the cast-list already is obviously acceptable but if you have a burning desire to introduce some version of beastie not currently listed and can argue why and how it exists in this 'verse, it’s entirely possible.

• what's the location?

  The game is predominantly based in London, England. Partially this is a nod to Hellblazer and partly because RPlandia seems so set on being America that we decided to change things up, partly because London has been the site for various sub-cultures on the rise to find their home. Mostly, ‘just because’. The other main location and one referred to is Rome, because it’s the birthplace of the Libraries and home to headquarters.

• can you base characters elsewhere?

  You can base characters anywhere you choose to! However, the predominant game interactions are likely going to be happening in London and Rome just because of the game-focus. Because of the journal-system, you can feasibly tap into the network from anywhere in the world -- and of course, if you have Library access, you have portal access.

• what is the Library?

  In short? Big Brother of the preternatural world. A system to safeguard a sort-of truce between Heaven and Hell, the Libraries are strictly neutral and devoted to observation and monitoring the state of balance between the black, the white and the shades of gray in between of the magic-using community. They're also the ones making certain the rest of the world doesn't find out about this one and thus if you make a magical mess, you'll be dealing with a pissed off Librarian on clean-up duty.

• how do the journals work?

  If knowing about magic makes you a Library member, so to say, consider the journal your Library card. (Yeah, yeah, a horrible metaphor.) The journals are physical books -- leather-bound, nondescript and given to you by the Library upon acknowledgment of your existence. The Library being the Library, they are extremely well-informed and aware of when "fresh meat", as it were, hits the magical community. Once they have you on their list (and that may very well be before you even know what is happening to you), you will be the recipient of a journal sans much in the way of explanation. They are linked up to one another and thus what you write in one, shows up in another, in your handwriting (as does anything you drop on the page). Whilst the default 'setting' is that everyone can see what you write, you can direct it to people, or groups of people. It involves various mini-incantations however and it's done via Library magic rather than personal, so the journals aren't going to recognize 'that blond hot chick I saw at the club' for example. The warding works on two levels. An in-built spoken-word system that is integrated into the journal for mundanes, requiring no magical knowledge whatsoever and a more adaptable system for those magic-users expected to spend time in the magic world and learn warding. Thus a Natural would know how to ward to a person via whatever magic they're comfortable with and a Mundane would simply speak 'warded to -name-' and it would work roughly the same way. However, one is individual magic and the other is Library magic -- it depends which you wish to rely on.

• how does the portal system work?

  The portals are big damn magic and again, run by the Libraries. In each Library basement is a set-aside ritual space that has been carved and cast to work as a 'portal' to other Libraries. They're ancient, they're long-lasting and they're stable -- rare for workings this big -- but they're extremely difficult to create and the only people who know how to make them are in Rome and they aren't telling.

• when is this set?

  Now. 2010, November as of the game's start -- this game runs concurrent with reality, with just the small difference of an entire other-world existing alongside the mundane one.

• is it a Hellblazer game?

  Not precisely. Whilst we have taken Constantine out of the Hellblazer series and elements of his world -- namely the gritty, noir-aspect of magic and the magic world (plus London!) we’ve added in elements from Supernatural, Neil Gaiman, BtVS and a dose of originality to boot.

• do I need to have read Hellblazer?

  Not at all (though we certainly appreciate when anyone does!). It's original enough that you won't recognize the entire setting and bringing in original characters, you can quite happily play along, none the wiser to what is Hellblazer and what is us.

• is there a character limit?

  Being all happily self-aware adults, we would hope you limit yourself to what you can handle. Otherwise, no, there is no character limit. We might question application for another character if you’re not currently playing your others. However, we do have a limit on types you can play -- namely, Category 1 types: the angels/demons/beasties.

• why are the angels/demons/beasties limited? how do I apply for one?

  Being somewhat more powerful beings than humanity and definitely being less human than humanity, angels and demons and their ilk are a restricted category -- we definitely don’t want to end up with an overabundance of them in comparison to humans for example. If you feel like applying for one, drop a line to the mod-mail and let us know.

• what about NPCs?

  If you would like your character to have a supporting NPC for errand running purposes, for example, you are welcome to get them one. However, NPCs will not have a PB and if they make more frequent appearances/get involved in story lines, you might want to consider turning them into a played character.

• is there an activity requirement?

  Yes. As outlined in the rules, one piece of writing per character per month. It’s a pretty small requirement and obviously, it’s the minimum, but there is a minimum bar set.

• what about character death?

  On the table and very possible. No, players are not to run about and arbitrarily kill other peoples' characters, but this is a nasty world filled with cruelty. And death? It happens. We ask players not to make that decision lightly, but to nonetheless be aware of it as a viable storytelling option.

These are basic, because if you’re here, then we want you to be. And if you’re applying and accepted, we definitely want you to be here. But for argument’s sake:

• Do not write other people’s characters for them; godmodding is generally acknowledged as a shitty thing to do, so don’t do it or we’ll find some creative way to punish you for it.
• There’s an activity requirement. It’s small because we’re busy players with busy lives, but it’s going to be adhered to because it is small -- and we’ll likely have something to say if you are just skating by on the bare minimum. A piece of writing, per character, once a month. Can be a mini-log, a significant comments thread, a log, whatever -- so long as it’s actual writing rather than an announcement that kittens are cute. It’s not all that much, especially when the expectation from RP players is that they like to RP. This is, however, not just a 'you must post something' activity requirement. Let us put it nicely in bold, for the curse of RPGs is that of clique and this is one we seek to avoid here. Activity is required across the game with the game, not just a small sub-section thereof. This is not a PSL; if you seek out one of those, please go and find one. There will be plot to bring everyone together, excuses for all characters to interact, so if you are sticking to a small set of interactions, expand your horizons, potentially blow your mind and join in or risk a warning.
• Check your drama at the door. Dislike a player? Dislike their handling of a character? Grab the definition of IC versus OOC and double-check; only then contact the mod-mail with extracurriculars. We’re all here to play, to have fun. If you have an issue, talk to the player concerned. If you’ve exhausted all other avenues, then hit the mod-mail. It's worth noting that while we have a rule which is set in place so as to avoid clique-y circle-jerking, players are not required to RP with everyone. We are going to encourage everyone to stretch past their comfort zone in terms of writing and writing partners, but if players have standing issue with one another which cannot be resolved, then we ask them to act like mature adults.
• Plot is a good thing. We love it, and we love people who come up with it by themselves. Generate it and we will love you. However, any major stuff going down that maaaybe we ought to know about before you implement -- do us the favour and drop us a line via mod-mail clueing us in on what’s going to happen. If it all gets a bit screwball, we reserve the right to step in, but in this place, we hope you’re all innovative enough to be little fonts of amazing creativity.
• Hiatuses. Allowable -- life supersedes RP and should be of higher priority. If you need to step away, please e-mail the mods or post on the OOC community. However, we will not allow long-term hiatuses: you cannot disappear for six months and just squat unproductively in the game. Anything longer than six weeks will require a discussion with the mods, and a solution between they and the player will be hammered out.