phantommods: (Default)
Phantom Thieves International Moderator Account ([personal profile] phantommods) wrote2017-09-21 08:40 pm

FAQ and Rules




RULES AND FAQ


You never see it coming

Application and Activity Check Rules


Application Cycles begin on the first of each month at midnight EST and remain open for 1 week. All applications will be processed within 72 hours of receipt on a first-come-first-serve basis.


Reservations open one week before the next Application Cycle at midnight EST and will be processed on a first-come-first serve basis. You may not challenge an application, the first person to reserve a character will have the first chance to app them.


All applications will be given up to two revision chances should they not pass muster in the first pass. Should your application not be approved after the second revision, you will have to wait until the next application cycle to app the character.


If your application is not accepted, you cannot reserve the same character in the next cycle but you may re-apply with them should the character go unreserved.


Players may app no more than one character in an application cycle and may play no more than 5 characters total.


Activity Check is posted on the first of each month at midnight EST and must be responded to within a week of posting. Activity requirements are threads equaling at least 10 comments from your character, involving at least two other characters. The minimum amount of comments you may have for a thread to be counted is 3 from your character. A post counts as 4 comments, but you still must have threads with at least two different characters. You may use threads within a post you make as activity. Threads and posts must from the beginning of the prior month and can be used up to the present date. Threads and posts made after Activity Check have been posted may be used for the current Activity Check, but if used they will not be applicable for the next Activity Check.


Activity results are posted on the 8th of every month at midnight EST. If you do not post activity by the end of the week, your character will be ejected from the game.


If you do not have enough activity but still wish to stay in the game, you may take a Strike for the month. If you take a Strike, you cannot take a hiatus or another Strike for the next two months - you must have activity for all your active characters.


If you wish to take a hiatus, you must declare it before Reserves open for the next Application Cycle. It exempts you from the following cycle. Hiatuses longer than a single cycle must be discussed with and approved by the mods, but we typically will not allow more than two months of hiatus.


Player Expectations and Content Rules


Players with a known, recent and notable record of harassment will not be accepted into Phantom Thieves International.


All players are to be respected. We ask that you refrain from attacking, gossiping, or otherwise defaming other players at this game. Should you have an issue with another player, you may ask them to not tag you, and that player is expected to respect that wish and not discuss the matter further. You do not have to like or even play with everybody, but we do require that you treat everyone with respect.


Phantom Thieves International is a game that will address and deal with heavier topics, but we do still ask that you show consideration of your fellow players. All posts that involve explicit descriptive content of sex or violence must be placed under a cut with the appropriate warnings. Implication or discussion of heavier topics is generally fine as the game itself warns of such content, but when in doubt it is better to use a cut than not. Implication, reference, and non-explicit descriptions are generally permissible.


Explicit, graphic descriptive posts regarding sex or brutal violence involving minors is forbidden and can result in a ban for the offending player.


FAQ


What is the expected flow of the game?

The game will alternate on a monthly basis between Investigation Arcs and Palace arcs. In Investigation arcs, you will have less focused objectives and free time to run player plots and develop CR. The overarching goals will be to investigate the next target. The following month will be the Palace dive, which will serve as the major events of Phantom Thieves International. Large logs will be run where players will delve into the Palace in order to change the heart of their target. During Palace Arcs, CR development will still be possible, and the fallout from the Change of Heart will occur at the end of the month.


How long is this game expected to run?

Due to the expected flow, the game will not quite meet the standard one calendar year most Persona games run off, but the length of the game will hold to the Persona format in terms of Palace number.


Can I app a character already from Persona? How does that work?

Characters from a Persona game may be apped but will still be AU'd into the game setting. They may retain their unique signature Persona if desired, but will all use the summoning mechanics of the setting. Characters whose stories take place in fictional settings such as the town of Inaba will need to select a real world counterpart, but they may still be from Japan and even possibly following similar plots as their home games. However it should be noted that only large metropolises are able to spawn Mementos, so some Persona characters may require more AU changes than others.


In what cities does Mementos appear?

At this time, most major cities in the world have a Mementos that takes on the form of the most-common transit the city uses. At the bottom of the FAQ there is a brief but incomplete list of potential cities where Mementos is, if you wish to have a city added simply post an FAQ question about if a given city has a Mementos, if the answer is yes we will add it to the list.


How does international travel through Mementos work?

When accessing Mementos from key points, you will see paths leading into the darkness with signs denoting the name of a city. If you go down those paths, you will navigate a dark tunnel filled with shadows for about an hour before emerging on the other side within the new city. Cities are only connected to some of the closer cities to them, so you might need to make multiple jaunts to get to where you want to be. LA is currently connected to Tokyo, Toronto, New York and Mexico City. New city connections can happen without warning as new tunnels just appear in Mementos.


I want to play a character from another country operating out of LA, is there anything special I need to do?

In most cases, no. Characters from other countries who are traveling through Mementos could potentially run into issues, but Shinji is able to obtain forged paperwork for their stay in LA and has rooms in the safehouse they can use if desired. This should be accounted for in your app but is otherwise not an issue.


How does language work in the Metaverse?

If you meet someone in the Metaverse, no matter their nationality or even species in the case of the guide, you can understand them through the power of the Collective Unconsciousness. Upon returning to the human world, when that character speaks their native language you will always understand them as if they were speaking your own, and they you. Guides who take animal forms in the human world will likewise always be heard and understood by people who have met them in their true form within the Metaverse.

It is important to note however that this will not give you any kind of language proficiency outside of people you have physically met in the Metaverse. Should you end up in a country that speaks a different language, you will still be a foreigner who cannot communicate with the locals.


What level of Asset is required to learn another language?

A Minor Asset is enough to be able to speak a language well enough to get by more or less, such as for a college student of that language if they were to study abroad. If you wish to be fluent, you need an Intermediate Asset which would encompass fully immersed speakers or bilingual individuals. A Major Asset in that language would be the same as holding a Doctorate in that language or its written work, exceptionally fluent and have studied it at length.


I want to play a bilingual character from the beginning but Infiltrators and Operators don't start with an Intermediate Asset, can I still do this?

Yes you may! In the case of all characters, if it makes sense for them to have a knowledge-based Asset such as being bilingual at the start of the game, we will allow it on a case-by-case basis. If allowed, you will have to spend all Notoriety you gain on that Asset until you have properly "bought" it, after which you can gain more Notoriety as normal.


Is the plot going to be jumping between cities or will remain centralized in LA?

The core plot will happen in LA, with vignettes and flavor being added due to the actions of Phantom Thieves in other regions. If players choose to run plots making use of the international mechanics, they will find willing allies over the world (and make characters from those countries that much easier to app) that may help in the final confrontation later down the line.


What are Guides? What do they know?

Guides are beings created by Igor to aid the Phantom Thieves. They know of their existence, though their opinion of Igor is up to the individual Guide and he doesn't tend to favor any one Guide over another or treat them with any particular paternal instinct, instead preferring to let them forge their own destiny. Guides have intrinsic knowledge of the Metaverse and the rules of Stealing Hearts. Within the Metaverse they appear as anthropomorphic animal-like beings, but within the real world they appear as the animal their appearance mirrors. Typically, guides are animals associated with Trickster mythology such as Ravens, Foxes, Cats, Spiders, Coyotes, and Crows, but they do not have to be. For example, Teddie from Persona 4 and potentially Koromaru from Persona 3 would most appropriately be played as Guides, as well as Morgana from Persona 5 upon whom the Guide species is mostly based.


Can Guides have a human form?

We will allow this on a case-by-case basis if it fits with the character, such as with Teddie who begins as a bear-like Mascot and eventually gains a human form. In this case, like Teddie, if examined their physiology will be strange, possessing no bones or organs found in normal humans.


What happens if my S-Rank Link drops?

You have two options in this case. The first is to have them continue to exist as an NPC and off-screen all interactions but retain your power set as-is. The second, which can be taken at any time even if you have been to this point using option 1, is to break the link. Your Persona will remain evolved in its final form, but you will gain none of the other benefits of an S-Rank Link, although you are free to pursue another should you choose to do so.


Is there any way to share an S-Link between multiple characters?

If you have a group of characters such as a Poly group or a very close-knit military unit, you may request a shared S-Rank Link. In this case all characters in the group would achieve it at the same time but only one person could use another group member's ultimate Persona (So if Yu Narukami has an S-Rank Link with his crew of Chie, Yousuke, Rise, Kanji, Yukiko, Naoto and Teddie, Yu might have Yousuke's Persona, Yousuke might have Chie's Persona, Chie might have Yukiko's Persona, and so on).


Am I able to app an Android character like Aigis?

Unfortunately we will not be able to accept Android characters, we are trying to portray a modern setting and such technology just doesn't exist, and allowing one Android would mean potentially allowing many which is something that could dramatically alter the game's feel. That said, we would be willing to consider Guides that take the form of smaller toy robots in the real world or programs/apps such as Tiki from Tokyo Mirage Session on a case-by-case basis.


CITIES WITH MEMENTOS


Buenos Aires (Argentina), Sydney (Australia), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Toronto (Canada), Shanghai (China), Cairo (Egypt), Paris (France), Essen (Germany), Athens (Greece), Mumbai (India), Tehran (Iran), Baghdad (Iraq), Tel Aviv (Israel), Rome (Italy), Tokyo (Japan), Karachi (Pakistan), Mexico City (Mexico), Lagos (Nigeria), Manila (Philippines), St. Petersburg (Russia), Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Johannesburg (South Africa), Seoul (South Korea), Barcelona (Spain), Taipei (Taiwan), Bangkok (Thailand), Istanbul (Turkey), Lima (Peru), Dubai (UAE), London (UK), Los Angeles (US), New York City (US), Ho Chi Minh city/Saigon (Vietnam)
NA🆅IGAT🅸ON
( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )
paintbrushes: (can I be excused I'm literally 10)

Guide questions!

[personal profile] paintbrushes 2017-12-05 11:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Can characters be apped as guides even if they are human in 'canon'?

Were guides all created at the same time, or are there younger ones and older ones?

If the latter: Could a 'veteran' guide be apped (obviously not with any extra assets for their experience, but one who's dealt with babysitting nasty crime boys in the past)? How long has Igor been at this?

For that matter, guides and aging in a physical sense?
moneymoneymoney666: (Look at this sword)

[personal profile] moneymoneymoney666 2017-12-06 12:05 am (UTC)(link)
So, given that I am gonna be playing a judge accomplice, just gotta ask. How is the Law gonna factor into this game, if at all? Are the police going to be after the Thieves or what?
vulcanblazer: (Default)

[personal profile] vulcanblazer 2017-12-06 12:39 am (UTC)(link)
So, for those unfamiliar with Persona 5, like myself...

How does one get pulled into a Palace or into the Metaverse itself? It was suggested that those who are wronged by society might get pulled in, but how does that work precisely? Is it unheard of from people to be pulled in unwittingly or unknowingly? And for that matter, how do people escape the Metaverse on their first visit? And do all those who end up there end up as a Persona user, or can people escape it without actually knowing what happened?

Essentially, I have no clue how the process works for first timers, though I do have an idea of how it plays out for experienced infiltrators.
onaroll: (Default)

[personal profile] onaroll 2017-12-06 12:34 pm (UTC)(link)
How exactly do Personas work? Is there a list of skills we pick from, or is it just ‘this one does Agi, heals, and physical strikes’? Is there a concrete mechanical basis for the things they can do or are they purely narrative?
terraburning: (Default)

[personal profile] terraburning 2017-12-06 02:38 pm (UTC)(link)
One more question: For the Social Link Personas, we're choosing from all Personas of the chosen Arcana. Does that include stuff like the DLC Personas from Persona Q and Persona 5 or is it just the normal ones?
righthandbrand: (Default)

[personal profile] righthandbrand 2017-12-06 08:55 pm (UTC)(link)
I have a question regarding AU backgrounds.

Is it preferred to keep things as realistic as possible or can we be vague about certain things? Religion is what I am looking at primarily. I have a vague idea of what I'd like to work with for a religious background for a character, but I also don't want to assume that certain groups exist in the world. Am I allowed to make up my own name for it, or is it better if I just remain vague and not declare a name at all?
Edited 2017-12-06 20:55 (UTC)
righthandbrand: (Default)

[personal profile] righthandbrand 2017-12-06 09:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Alright, that's cool. Thank you for the timely answer o/
lyrids: (♪ 0 8 9)

[personal profile] lyrids 2017-12-06 10:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Do Infiltrators' weapons of choice have to be... well, actual weapons? Or could one, say, use a microphone stand as a club?
occultured_gentleman: (omg you have to see this!!)

[personal profile] occultured_gentleman 2017-12-06 11:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Is everyone assumed to have awakened their persona and already cleared a palace before the game starts? Could some be more experienced than that? Less experienced?

Related to that, will there be any option for characters to tackle palaces connected to their background? For example, suppose a character's background includes corrupt parents, or teachers, or whatever. Could players run those palaces?

fifth_wheel: (Default)

[personal profile] fifth_wheel 2017-12-07 03:54 am (UTC)(link)
What are the general guidelines when designing our characters' personal Personas? How many skills should they have, at what power level, how many do they start off knowing, etc.
goldneedles: (Together)

[personal profile] goldneedles 2017-12-07 02:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Important followup question: Morgana turns into a bus in Mementos. Is this a thing all guides can do?

If so, can notoriety/link points be spent to become a sweeter car?
megacurious: (Thinking)

[personal profile] megacurious 2017-12-08 02:14 am (UTC)(link)
Is it possible for us to copy some portions of our previous apps to our PT apps? Because I can rewrite them if it doesn't.
megacurious: (Smiling)

[personal profile] megacurious 2017-12-08 04:24 am (UTC)(link)
Good to hear! Thanks!
kotoritori: (Default)

[personal profile] kotoritori 2017-12-09 01:33 am (UTC)(link)
Me again, different account. Just trying to sort of nail down how much I need to be doing. For example, I know in the actual game a Persona has 8 skill slots, but the main characters' Personas learn far more than this number of skills as they level up. Ryuji's Captain Kidd, for example, has 23 different skills as he advances.

I doubt you had every player coming up with a 23 skill spread in mind, so would it be better to hammer out a general list of a few low-level skills of different types with the assumption they'll 'level up' into their more powerful versions as the character goes along?

For example, the Black Rock Shooter Persona I'm designing for Mato here will focus primarily on Gun and Curse attacks. Is it reasonable to say she'll start with Eiha and Snap, and gain access to Eiga and Triple Down to replace them later on down the line?

Sorry if I'm being a bit overly specific here, but this is just the way my mind works. I definitely appreciate the loose guidelines and why they were implemented that way, but I just need a little bit of structure to work from or I'll end up going way too complicated on this. I may have already written a full 23 skill progression for this Persona.

Page 1 of 3