~*Character Types*~

There are two types of playable characters in this game. There are Wakings and Aspects. Both character types are indistinguishable to anyone in the city, they merely have different origins and abilities.

~*Wakings*~
Wakings is the in-game name for those residents of Eidolon City who are, in fact, people in the real world who have been put into a coma by the Betrayer. As a group, they are the creators of Eidolon City and of the world in which Eidolon City sits. Without the Wakings, Eidolon City would simply not exist (for more information in this regard, please review the Game Play page).

Wakings do not know they have any lives other than those in Eidolon City. They do not remember being the selves they were prior to the coma, or that they are, in fact, people in another world or that there is even another world to be a person in. As far as they are aware, Eidolon City is real. However, whilst they do not know what is happening, they do experience the 'real world' (ie the world in which they are in a coma in) from time to time, by way of dreams. These dreams do not happen every night (or, at least, the Waking does not recall them every night), and when they do happen, they are not always fully fledged. Sometimes there will be nothing more than a snatch, other times it may be an all singing, all dancing dream.

These 'dreams' are a result of the Waking briefly escaping the shared illusion which is Eidolon City, and the dreams are linked to a Waking's dormant psychic ability, rather than them actually waking up out of their coma. It may be helpful to view them more as out of body experiences, or astral projection. The Waking gets a view of the real world which would not otherwise be possible, and it is this which adds to the dreamlike quality of the experience.

A Waking perceives different facets of the real world, depending upon what the focus of their dormant ability is, and though this focus can influence the character's personality and behavior, it does not necessarily dictate a set behavior within Eidolon City (ie, the dormant psychic ability does not need to have a set effect upon your character's personality).

The 'dreams' each particular Waking experiences are a glimpse of the changes the real world is experiencing and the different types of Wakings have different points of view from which to see these changes.

There are three different types of Waking (type must be chosen at character creation).

Wakings Types
Commons	The Commons Wakings are most anchored to the individual scale of the real world. Their dreams are flashes of survivors, of the small-scale changes in life that may be echoing a larger trend. Commons Wakings are the most likely to recall details about their real-world selves or the loved ones they left behind when they entered Eidolon City, though these details always escape when they eventually return to their comatose states. The Commons Wakings are the ones most likely to return to Eidolon City with a sense of something forgotten, a dream that they cannot quite shake.
Spires	Wakings of the Spire share broader views of the world around them; they see the shifts in weather, population trends, ecology, and more. A Spire Wakings' view is the most detached of the three, not unlike a scientist or a doctor. They see an overview, the larger results of small-scale interactions in the world. Spire Wakings can recall recent history of the real world easier than most, though, as with the Commons, these recollections slip away whenever they re-enter Eidolon City.
Tides	Tides Wakings have the roughest hand dealt to any of the Wakings. Their dreams come unpredictably, varying between those experienced by the Commons and the Spires, but also switching between past, present, and future dreams their counterparts have had. Tides Wakings rarely glean much understanding from their dreams, often waking in Eidolon City with feelings of confusion.

~*~


~*Aspects*~
Aspects are essentially, a glitch in the system. As the city is a reflection of the minds that played in to create it, a construct of the dark part of human nature, Aspects are something else humanity requires to continue. It was just something that was overlooked by everyone but the hopes and dreams of humanity, the deep down needs of people in general.

What they are, are the embodiments of fantasy. The world may need good and evil, and all manners of shades of grey to maintain itself. But humanity as a species, the spirit of it needs something else as well. Humanity needs fantasy. The elements of it, the ability to dream. They need heroes to cheer for, villains to condemn, underdogs to watch triumph, true love to prevail...they need all of those things and more. Humanity needs a good story, they need elements that are beyond the simple concepts of good versus evil. They need struggle and conquerings, temptation and chastity. They need the hunt, they need gods, they need figures that are time tested and true, members of the collective unconscious just as much as any real people were.

Aspects come in different flavors, but all amount to the same types of beings. They have no 'real' world equivalent, for one. They weren't someone else before (as the Wakings in the city were). They're the embodiment of ideas. Old gods, fairytales, figures from humanity's long term history, figures most everyone can recognize in one form or another. (which is why, for Aspects, they are always familiar to everyone they meet.) Now, these translations are not literal. Such as, the big bad wolf is not actually a wolf; Prince Charming isn't actually royalty; and the incarnation of a god does not have god-like powers (so no calling down thunderbolts, or making vines grow up out of the ground). What they do have are strong themes that no matter how many times they are incarnated, will remain true. Each Aspect has to have three constants in their lives that fit in with what they're the embodiment of.

For example, an aspect that is the embodiment of Little Red Riding Hood, no matter how many times her incarnation changes, will have certain things that are steadily present. For instance, they always need to have an oppressive force in their life, a dark, sinister shadow of someone close to them, which would be their personal Big Bad Wolf. They will always have an elder matriarch figure, and perhaps every incarnation will need to make a long, potentially perilous journey of one description or another.

Advantages
- Aspects sometimes just in their constants have advantages, such as inspiring those around them to positive action, or constantly having certain influences in their lives.

Drawbacks
- Perhaps the biggest drawback to Aspects is they do not have any representation in the real world. Literally, they're figments of people's imaginations, and so if the city dies, they go with it. There is no waking up and dealing with a brand new world, this is it for them. They also don't experience the dreams - if they dream, then it's not of the Waking.

Suggestions
Below is a list of Aspects just to give you some guidance as to what is the kind of thing that the game is looking for. It is not complete, and if you wish to come up with your own, we're more than willing to consider them! Also, if you wish to play an aspect in the list below with different attributes, we're willing to consider this as well. Giving examples just seemed to be the best way of giving guidance.

For each Aspect, we've specified three possible constants, again, this is for guidance purposes only. It's the kind of thing we're looking for. If you want to come up with your own, we're more than happy to look at them. And in any event, the constants listed below are just bare suggestions - if using them within an application, please flesh them out and don't just list them - we want to see how they integrate into the character! :-)

~*Suggested Aspects*~

~*Fairytale characters*~
Little Red Riding Hood	Has an oppressive force in her life Has an elder matriarch figure Must make a journey of some description
The Stepmother	Resents children Extreme vanity Always willing to use every asset at her disposal to get what she wants
Snow White	Oppressive female figure set against her Inspires people to help her Inspires creepy obsession
Sleeping Beauty (Briar Rose)	Oppressive female figure set against her Inspires lethargy Is compelled to sleep inordinately long hours
Belle	Ailing father figure Stockholm syndrome Attraction between she and 'inappropriate' mates
Beast	Tends to want to 'keep'(read: imprison) people Disfigured Obsession with beauty
Cinderella	In a submissive position within a family (doormat tendencies) Hard worker Tendency to daydream
Prince Charming	From an influential family Hero complex Incapable of backing down from a fight, foot fetish
The Black Knight	Obsessively secretive about his identity Relentless Prone to fits of jealousy
Bluebeard	Prone to fits of jealousy/rage Unrepentant at all times Serial monogamist
The Headless Horseman	Territorial Homicidal Obsessive
Robin Hood	Kleptomania Driven to fight the status quo Inspires followers
Peter Pan	Arrested development Dependency on an older female figure (Wendy-type) Runaway
The Huntsman	Suffers with intermittent attacks of conscience Can be swayed from their loyalties by a pretty face Reluctant hero
The Evil Queen	Power-obsessed Immoral Ruthless
The Ugly Stepsisters	Inferiority complexes Obsessed with physical beauty Tendency to fall for people who do not return the feelings
~*Mythological Gods/heroes, etc.*~
Death/ The Underworld	Logical Emotionless Just
Mother Earth	Giving Nurturing Motherly
The Hunt	Focused Good at planning Sees people/the world in terms of 'predator' and 'prey'
War, Murder and Bloodshed	Devotion to a specific cause Prone to rage blackouts Drawn to create and participate in violent confrontations
Music and Poetry	Flighty Creative Not entirely connected with reality
Wine and Merriment	Popular Carefree Inspires casting off of inhibitions
~*Emotions*~
Love	Passionate Biased Forgiving
Hate	Driven Unforgiving Confrontational
~*Shakespearian characters*~
Romeo	Overwhelmingly dramatic about all things Falls in 'love' often Obsessive
Juliet	Naive Attracted to the 'wrong' type Lives a very sheltered life
Mercutio	Hot-tempered Family orientated Spiteful
Hamlet	Self-centred Obsesses about things beyond all reason Overdramatic
Ophelia	Suicidal Devoted to a single person Pushover
Iago	Sadistic Jealous Undermining