Frequently Asked Questions

Generally speaking, unless there's unforeseen circumstances, we get back to applicants within 24 hours. If we have not got back to you and it's been a few days, it's possible we haven't received it, and will need it resent, or we'll need someone to comment on the character page to ask us to go check our spam folder. Sometimes things get tossed there for unknown reasons.

Note: Everyone will get responded to. No one will be ignored!

That means you need to be 18 to play. This is because graphic violence and other mature situations are allowed in game. They are required to be put behind a cut, but they are permitted.

Something to keep in mind, however, is while we do in fact allow sex scenes in game and find absolutely nothing wrong with them, if that is all you are doing you may be asked to leave the game. There are other roleplays out there that are specifically for smut only, but this isn't one of them.

No – you have to be 18 to play. Sorry, there’s no getting around this rule. This is not a reflection on you – we have nothing against you and we’re not making any judgment on your ability to write or roleplay. This is about legality and the bottom line is that this game deals with adult situations, played out by adult players. And if an adult player is playing adult situations with a person below the age of consent? That is a crime. We will not expose any of our players to the risk of finding themselves on a sex offenders register somewhere.

We are an original character game. Please don't attempt to join with a fandom character of any description, no matter how minor they were in said fandom. If we find out a character has been taken in that's fandom specific, that character will be removed. Also, just to save everyone's sanity--try not to go for a character that isn't exact canon, but is just like canon. If we can see similarities and there are too many, you will be asked to edit or may be flat out rejected. Be original!

All characters in the game must have at least three weaknesses. This is to ensure that characters are well balanced and, at the end of the day, flaws and weaknesses can really make a character interesting. Nobody's perfect.

We recognise that it can be hard to come up with three weaknesses that fit your character concept and which are interesting and original to play. Which is why we have come up with this handy reference guide to help you out! Your character weaknesses do not have to come from this list, it is simply there as an aid and if you wish to come up with your own, feel free!

That's alright, we do all styles here, so you can do whichever you're more comfortable with. Some of our players play via a messenger such as AIM, but also, many of our players are happy to do scenes by email, GoogleDocs, or private message, to be posted when you finish. It should be noted, however that you are expected to interact with others. If you aren't comfortable on AIM, gtalk or our chat, then you need to be active in the OOC community or email, so that you can still connect with other players.

Everyone at times has problems with other players. No one's perfect! If speaking to them does not work or you are too uncomfortable to talk to them about things, please contact a mod. Do not let things go and let problems go unattended. Chances are if someone is doing something with you, they are doing it with other players as well. We as mods are very wary against abusive types of players--we do not want it in our game period. However, we can't guard against it if we do not know it is happening.

Obvious errors, from grammar, spelling, and format; or a blatant disregard of the rules in any way. For example, if you're underage. We will not make exceptions. If you have sections of your application that are not filled out with the requirements we have, you're going to get rejected. We try to state clearly our requirements in the application, and expect them to be followed.

The probationary period was brought in because we recognise that not everybody apps well. Having a probationary period means that we can have some discretion when we receive a borderline application which we would otherwise feel we had to reject. It gives players a chance to really show what they can do. Conversely, we also know that someone's application is not and can never be a reflection of how they will mesh within a game.

We do not have a set time scale for this. What we ask is for you to establish your current character within the game before applying for another, or if you currently have multiple characters in the game, that you show that you are consistently active with all of these before bringing another in. We have left the time scale flexible on this because we recognise that players are all very different - some players may establish their character(s) within a very short period of time, other may take longer.

The out of character community is locked so only members of it can see it. This is the same for the contact list. It is to guard against random people IMing players, stalking, etc. Once approved, you will be able to see all of these things when you're logged in. You will also have access to the chat once you have an approved account.

Yes you can, contact us at eidoloncity@gmail.com

Also, if you have game-related questions (for example, you want something from the information clarified), you can submit you question here. The benefit of this is that when we answer your question there, it gets added to the FAQs - generally, if you're not clear on something, other people are confused as well, so you'll be helping the entire community out - as well as saving us having to answer the same question over and over!

Each post should be headed as follows:-
Who: [Characters involved in the scene]
Where: [Location(s) of scene]
When: [Time of day]

Don't forget, NC-17 scenes MUST have a rating warning added. NSFW works best, and please don't put in the description what it is that's in the scene that needs the rating--those words will get picked up by filters as well!

Also keep in mind that open scenes must be marked as open. If they do not say they are open, consider them closed and unable to be tagged on.

- Nobody likes their open scene going ignored. So if there's already several open scenes that haven't been taken that game-day? See if it's possible to take one of those instead of putting up a new one of your own – unless there's something you need to do at a specific time or location, of course. :)

There are two tags that will need to be put onto posts. First of all, there's the characters. What this is, is a listing of the characters in the scene. The character names should be put in only in lower case, and only using their commonly used first name. For example, if a character's name is David, but they go by Dave, you would put 'dave' in the character tag list. For characters scenes with more than one character, it will be listed in two ways. Both characters names will be listed separately, as well as listed as a pairing. This pairing needs to be listed alphabetically.

We recognise that people have lives (amazing, isn't it?) and can't always get scenes done exactly when they need to be done. To aid this, we've slowed time down for the game. Each new game day is heralded by a mod post in the comm detailing the date, the weather and any events happening that day, so you know where you are.

Check the list of taken PBs before applying. All pbs must be within 5 years of age of your character's apparent age. We will not accept a pb for a 16 year old character who's in their thirties. Or even late twenties. Now, what is acceptable is using age-appropriate pictures of a pb. Some people have been around for just that long, and there are images available when they were an appropriate age. If you use those? You're all good. But we will try and keep an eye on things, so please don't start with pictures of them at the right age, then replace them with older ones.

No. And no. Did we mention no? There's a lot of no going on here. If you're looking for a teenager pb, or close to: here you go! There's over a hundred posts there, males and females alike. Same for other types of PBs - there's thousands of different people at Hollow Art, and a great search function to help you find what you're looking for! If you need further help any other pb: Try Here.

The majority of this game takes place in Eidolon City itself. That is the life your character knows and the one which he/she lives day to day. Who they are in Eidolon City and their interactions there are what drives this game.

Alongside that, if you play a Waking character, there is the chance to play out glimpses of the real world through 'dreams' which your character may have. The direction the real world takes has influence on the direction of the game being played in Eidolon City, therefore your characters interactions in game can have an effect on the plot in a number of ways.

It is intended that the majority of the game will take place in Eidolon City - especially at the start. The 'real world' angle of the game is there as an additional extra for people who want to play it, and eventually there may be mod-run plots involving events in the real world. However, rest assured that anything that goes on in the real world will have an impact on Eidolon City in one form or another, so Aspects are not going to be missing out!

The real world aspect of the game is set sometime in the near future from present day.

The backstory is that a woman came to prominence, who is generally known only by the title of The Prophet. Her aim was to bring about world peace and harmony - and she's being very successful in this.

The game starts during her accomplishment of world peace and harmony - it's well on the way, but not totally there yet. People in the real world are, however, sure that it will be achieved within their lifetime.

Although the Wakings are all residents of Eidolon City, in the real world they come from all over. They are spread across the globe. If you are playing a Waking, they can come from anywhere you like. They can be from any country of origin and any ethnic background.

One thing to note, though, is that all citizens of Eidolon City have been there for at least a year, meaning that your character will have at least a passing knowledge of the language!

The short answer is that Eidolon City isn't real, but the people living in Eidolon City don't know that. Eidolon City is an illusion - albeit an all singing, all dancing, very real seeming illusion. Some people (known as Wakings) in Eidolon City can have limited access to the real world, but this access they experience as dreams - so, when they sleep in Eidolon City, they sometimes dream of the real world and what is happening in it.
So!
The Dream = the real world
Eidolon City = collective illusion

No. No one that is contributing to the city is related in their real lives. The Wakings are scattered across the globe in reality, so it's unlikely they've ever even met before their respective comas, never mind be any kind of relation.

For the city, it's a timeframe that takes bits and pieces from the 20's, 30's and 40's. For the real world/dreams it's set slightly ahead of the current time. It's not got a specific year date on it, either for the city or the dream.

Nobody knows who the Prophet is, or where she came from. Very little is known about her background, only that she emerged onto the world scene and started achieving what some herald as miracles. Nobody knows how she achieves the things she does - possibly she'd just very good with people - but the simple fact is that she'd changing the world, one day at a time.

The Betrayer was once one of the Prophet's most devout followers and supporters, until they realised what the end point would be. They tried to tell the Prophet what she was doing, where she was leading the world, but was unable to make any impact, and so the Betrayer left the Prophet, informing her that they would try everything they could to stop her.

What the Betrayer sees is the effects of the peace that the Prophet is offering. Because, eventually, the Prophet's message will infect firstly the entire human population of the world, and then spread further to affect every living thing on the planet. And the Betrayer believes that the world cannot exist without balance, that by taking away the balance, the world will eventually be destroyed.

No, the only person in the real world who knows about the existence of Eidolon City is the Betrayer.

Clicking on the question will bring up the answer beneath it. :)

Eidolon City is a creation of the human mind. It is a shared illusion, but an illusion which is so real that those experiencing it do not know that it isn't real. As far as the citizens of Eidolon City are concerned, it is reality.

Eidolon City is a city from a time past - from the early days of the twentieth century. It is a city of forgotten glory, where the buildings and the streets suggest a time of prosperity which has passed. It is a city which has been plunged into the grips of a depression, where there is a wide gaps between rich and poor. It is a place of extremes.

Eidolon City was formed by people in the real world, our world. Only one of these people was aware that Eidolon City would be created. This person is known as The Betrayer, though nobody in Eidolon City has ever heard that name.

It was the Betrayer who took the decision to sacrifice people to create Eidolon City and it was the Betrayer who brought about that sacrifice. Everyone else was an unwilling participant who didn't even know what was happening.

Eidolon City is a creation of the massed subconscious of the coma-victims, those people who would become referred to by the Betrayer as the Wakings. The city is not a modern day city, but rather a city which appears to be from the late 1930s-1940s, though the exact time period is vague. It is very much like a city from an vintage movie.

For the game, the population is made up of three character types. All characters are human, they all look the same, they are all simply citizens of Eidolon City, but their origins are different.

The citizens of Eidolon City fall into three categories - Wakings, Aspects and Others (Citizens), though these names are used simply for ease of reference, characters do not refer to themselves or each other by these names in game!

The first thing to bear in mind with Eidolon City as a place is that it is not real. This is an important concept to grasp. Clearly it's not real as in you can find it on the atlas you have on your shelf at home, or look it up on googlemaps, but more than that, it's not real even in the universe in which this game is set.

Whilst Eidolon City, being an shared illusion, doesn't strictly comply with any given time period, it does largely keep with the era around the late 1920s-late1940s. The clothing, cars, technology etc all come from this period - as do the level of healthcare and the disease around.

This is just an overview of the kind of things which can be expected. It's not meant to be the be all and end all, but just a general guide to what does and doesn't fly to that you can get a feel for things.

What is around

As far as your character is concerned, there is a whole world outside Eidolon City. There's things going on, other places, there's even a war overseas. Your character may have relatives living outside the city somewhere, in another town, state or country. But, your character never leaves Eidolon City for one reason or another. The 'why' of that is up to you, but they don't leave, and nobody they know outside the city comes to visit.

No - we have purposely taken the decision that there should not be a set layout for the city. This is to fit in with the fact that nothing in Eidolon City is actually 100% fixed - it's all an illusion, therefore there is a certain amount of malleability there, as you will see from reading the information pages.

No, it is not a college town. Anyone with a proper higher education got it from elsewhere.

Yes, you can. All we ask is that we keep common types of places to a minimum. For instance, while there are likely a ton of diners in the city, we have one listed because that's where significant people go. If there are too many places of the same type, it will be harder for people to get interaction there, where as if someone were to set an open scene in the one listed diner, then anyone could be likely to take it if their character can be hungry at that time. As such, we ask that if there are already two or three places of any type in play, please don't make any more!

THe Konovich Syndicate differs from the DiGiovannis mainly in that it is not an exclusive 'family' business. Anyone can rise within the Syndicate, even if they are not connected by blood or marriage. The structure of the Syndicate is much more of a meritocracy. They work on trust and skill - though they are no less ruthless and some may say they are even more so.

Whilst this particular mob element in the city takes the name of one of the families involved, power is actually shared between the heads of five city families: DiGiovanni, Hagel, Giacomo, Bartelucci and Walker. Rumour has it that the heads of all of the families may report to one boss-of-bosses, but this has never been proved and it may well simply be that the five family heads run matters in association with each other.

Dreams for the purposes of this game have been given their own comm because they are a reflection of something very different. As you may have seen from reading the general game information, the dreams of Wakings are actually insights into another world - the real world.

When Wakings dream of the real world, they do so because each Waking has a dormant psychic ability, it is this ability that allows them as a group to created and maintain Eidolon City - and it also has the effect of allowing them to experience the real world in some form or another. They do this in the form of dreams.

No, when Wakings dream, they don't actually wake up. A Waking's dream is more like astral projection, or an out of body experience. The type of dream they have depends upon the type of Waking they are, but no Wakings actually wake up from their coma.

No. It isn't required, it's something you can do if you want to. If you're playing a Waking character and you want to write dreams though, they should be posted in the 'dream scene' content type/ Drean com.

The Wakings dreams are something which we're intending to give more details for as the game progresses, so that people can keep track of the kind of things that their characters would be experiencing. The idea is that the real world is changing and the Wakings will experience different aspects of that change through the dreams. Exactly what they experience will be down to player discretion, but guidance will be given through time updates during the game.

Aspects dream, they just have normal dreams, unlike the Waking's dreams. Posting of any dreams for Aspects will go in the Eidolon City com, not the Dream com.

Yes, characters of any sexual orientation are allowed in game!

Unfortunately, this game does not have non-human characters in it, therefore it appears that your character will not fit in the game environment. If you would like a game that does involve non-humans, we suggest: Praelitis.

Yes! There can be very little in common between the two! People always dream they can do things they cannot, this is no exception. Be creative!

A significant person is the name given in the game for considering player characters. It isn't something that the characters themselves would be aware of, but it's a concept that is useful to consider when looking at the game.

Whether your character is an Aspect of a Waking, they will have a full lifetime's worth of memories about Eidolon City and their lives. As far as your character is aware, they have lived their full life to date. They cannot actually tell how much of that they have actually lived and how much of it is a creation of the shared illusion.

No, all citizens of Eidolon City have lived there for at least a year. Nobody is new in town.

No - these people are people in the real world. They do not feature in the world of Eidolon City and therefore are not playable characters.

No, sorry - in order to be able to put events and plots in play, we've taken the decision that all the top-level characters will be NPCs and not available for open play. What that means is that you can't play the 'big bosses', the people with ultimate control. What are available, though, are anyone from the next stage on down. So, if you wanted to play the head of one of the families reporting to the mob boss? That's fine. As are senior captains in the police etc. You just can't play anyone who has the ultimate decision - everyone's got to have a boss somewhere!

Absolutely not. There is absolutely no correlation between family relationship and character type. What your character is and who they are is completely random - it's up to you, there is no set rule here folks. For example, a set of siblings can be a waking and and aspect, it's all mix and match.

Okay, let's take an example - if you're playing an aspect of the Wicked Stepmother and someone else is playing your character's daughter - that daughter does not have to be an aspect of Cinderella. That daughter does not have to be an aspect at all.

The short answer is no. The more in depth answer is: only in specific, specialized cases. Most of the time, you'll be required to have them appear the same, at least in general terms (ie:the same pb). In rare cases, there can be differences, such as if a person is developmentally disabled in the real world, they may appear as a child in the city. If you want to apply for a character who is different in the city than in the real world, please detail and explain on your application how they are different, and why.

No - if you are playing a Waking, your character does not have any kind of actual playable psychic ability - either in the current game, or in their real world history. You are, of course, welcome to play a character who believes they have some kind of psychic ability, such as a medium or tarot card reader, but they don't, in fact, have any ability of the kind.

No. Waking types are consistent, and will not change regardless of how many times they are 'reset' in the city.

Short answer: yes.
Aspects are very real within the confines of Eidolon City, in fact within Eidolon City there is no discernible difference between any of the citizens, whether they be Aspects, Wakings or NPCs. The difference is that only Wakings exist in the Real World. Aspects and NPCs have no lives outside of Eidolon City. If all the Wakings were roused from their comas then Eidolon City and everything and everyone else in it would cease to exist.

Yes, the Aspects we have listed are just suggestions, if you want to come up with your own, that's fine. However please bear in mind that this isn't a fandom game. Although we are after Aspects which cover mythology, fairytales and some classic types of literary character, we're not after characters from novels, or modern day fictional characters. No characters from your favourite TV show or movie please. We're not after Mr Darcy, or Frankenstein.

As long as the constants make sense for the Aspect you want to play, that's fine, you can change them!

No. If you want anything more that goes along with the type of Aspect that you have, put it into their personality, their weaknesses, etc, but they can only have three constants.

Because Eidolon City is an illusion, death isn't really death. Dying in Eidolon City does not mean that, in the real world, someone in a coma is suddenly going to drop dead. Only real world happenings and events can kill a coma victim. That means that if their Waking self in Eidolon City drops dead for some reason, that doesn't affect their state in the real world. It doesn't make them die there, nor does it make them wake up there.

Because Eidolon City is an illusion, death isn't really death - especially not for Aspects. Aspects are formed by the collective unconscious, and they are formed because they are needed in one form or another. This means that they will always be present in one form or another. Thus, if an Aspect dies in Eidolon City, that Aspect will reappear again, just not in exactly the same form.