Hey, everyone! We have a few updates on changes and plans for the future. We’re presently working on the DMC Faction Information, to be updated (hopefully) within the next two weeks, and then we are going to be tackling the Negaverse Information thread. Because the Negaverse and affiliated threads are very large, this may take us a little longer than usual but we are hoping to get that done within the next month and a half or so--especially because we will also be running the Star Festival in mid June!
We will not be running a typical raffle, however there will be IC rewards and roleplay opportunities to help grow your characters!
We also have an announcement regarding the use of items for growing characters. While the rules are staying the same for everyone else in the shop, we have made an amendment to the rules to allow artists to use more items to grow their characters. If you are in the growth item thread and a staff artist is growing using more items than we typically allow, please know that this is an approved benefit of being a shop artist.
Our artists work very hard to provide the shop with free art, and sacrifice their time to roleplay to instead meet the art needs. To artists that meet an established set of art requirements, they may grow their characters using more items.
Side Swap Thread
The first major change for today is the updated Side Swap thread! We’ve made a lot of changes here, mostly to streamline information and expand on information for all factions. The thread has been changed from Faction Swapping: Corruption, Purification, and More to Side Swapping: Corruption and Purification. Side swaps have been organized by factions and moved into a different post set, including standard Corruption into and Purification out of the Negaverse, the Dark Mirror Court, Mauvian Side Swaps, Youmafication (and Half Youmafication), Youma Purification, Recorruption and Repurification (Double+ Side Swaps), and an updated FAQ. We’ve updated side swap forms to make it easier to have relevant information and help guide the approval process.
There are some other changes, so we request that everyone please review this thread before sending in future side swaps. Side swaps already in progress don’t need to be revised! In the future, some of the information here (particularly youma and half youma) will also be put into other threads (including the character creation threads and Negaverse information thread).
Destiny City Guidebook
We have also updated the Destiny City Guidebook! We've made a completely new thread and archived the old one so we could reorganize and rewrite the information.
We've organized information about the schools and when we have more information to add to the schools, we will make an announcement about it. We've logged extra information about Destiny City and some locations all players are free to use, and we have a new system for logging player owned locations they wish to share. For all information, please see the new thread! If you have any questions, or would like to know any additional information about Destiny City locations, please let us know and we can add it!
If you have any questions, please feel free to direct them to The Space Cauldron we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2021 2:30 pm
Hey, everyone! We have two topics to touch on today: Journal Requirements and a Character Cap.
Journal Requirements
This is a small change that was previously mentioned but did not have an official announcement; having a journal set up was a previously unstated rule but the intention was always that after a character is accepted into play and has the required art, the player must set up a journal for them so we can update the Master Character List. While some resources, such as the Icon Thread, are completely optional, we need an updated Master Character List to ensure that there are no overlapping names or spheres. When characters are stamped but do not have a journal set up, it can become easy to miss these characters.
We need players to please review all of their characters and, if you have an acquired, stamped character, please set up a journal for them as soon as possible. You do not need to format your journal in any way, but we would like to request that you at least have the approved quest information in the journal.
If you have civilian journals and the character has since powered up, please make sure you have the powered information in their journal and ask a staff member to move your journal to the appropriate section.
We’d like to ask all players to please try to do this as soon as possible. We understand the Star Festival is currently going on and priorities may be focused on event completion, but before the end of the month please make sure that you have set up a journal for all of your characters. It will make more work for staff if we have to go through characters that don’t have journals and reach out to players, so please help us so we can use that time on other projects, like finishing up the Information Threads so we can roll out our next meta.
Character Cap
This was first announced a few months ago and we are rolling out the first stage of our Character Cap. As of today, In the Name of the Moon is implementing a character cap. We will be using a point scale that only factors in ungrown characters. Characters who have reached their final stage, or who do not have another stage to grow into, will not be counted towards the character count. This means a player can have an unlimited amount of third stage characters, civilians, or youma, because they do not have growth requirements to reach to grow.
First stage characters will have a value of two points. Second stage characters will have a value of one point. Mauvians who have not unlocked their humanoid form have a value of one point; once they reach their humanoid form, they count for zero points.
As of today, players cannot obtain new characters unless they do not meet or exceed 30 points. This means, a player with fifteen first stage characters will need to grow at least one of them to be eligible to claim another through MYO, raffle, custom, crown tokens, or other shop hosted event.
A character that has been posted for growth and has been added to an artist’s worklist, added to an MYO artist’s worklist, or added to the grab bag will be counted as the rank they have been posted to grow to. For example, if a first stage character has been posted and is in the grab bag, it will only count for one point, as they have reached second stage requirements and are on their way to being grown.
Characters who have double side swapped and lost a rank, or characters who have lost a rank for another ICly plotted reason, will be counted as the highest IC rank they have achieved. If you have a third stage character who double side swaps and returns to second stage, they will accrue 0 points because they have already ICly earned their third stage.
Characters that have been killed can no longer be played and will not accrue any points towards the character cap total. Characters who are out of play and may return or on hiatus still count towards the character count cap tally.
Players will not be able to acquire templated alt art if they have have 30 points. While they are still free to acquire unlimited MYO alt art of their characters, regardless of plot reasons, they will not be eligible to acquire templated alt art for any character if they meet or exceed the character cap total.
From this point forward, when a player wins or claims a new character by any means, they must PM The Space Cauldron with a list of all of their characters and their achieved rank so we can have a staff resource that includes and up to date list of everyone's status.
We understand that this system may be confusing or frustrating so we plan to release it in stages so we can monitor the effect on the shop as it rolls out. The current plan is to reduce the point cap by 5 points every two months. Theoretically, by September 1st the point cap will be reduced to 25 points, 20 points by November 1st, and 15 points by January 1st. This will be a trial phase and corrections to the system may be made as issues arise and are addressed. Questions or concerns can be sent to The Space Cauldron!
We want to give as much advance notice as possible so players can prepare for this change moving forward. We appreciate everyone’s patience while we work with this new system! This information will be updated into the Read First thread at a later date, if only because it is slated for a revision in the upcoming months. In the near future, we will also be updating this information into the Character Cooldown thread for easy reference.
Other Notes
The Star Festival will conclude on July 4th. After the conclusion of the event, we will return our focus to updating Information threads! The Dark Mirror Court Information thread update has been slightly delayed but will be releasing within the next two weeks; after that, the Negaverse Information thread is our next priority. The Questing Handbook and Read First Thread will be updated in our final stretch of thread updates, but we are moving closer to being completely updated.
We are still anticipating running our meta within the next few months, but there isn’t a specific date planned yet. When we are closer to finishing the necessary updates to the shop and can comfortably plan when to run the meta, we will make a more transparent announcement about this.
We hope everyone is having fun and we look forward to what the future will bring!
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Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2021 10:07 am
Hey, everyone! We have a few updates to touch on! We have information and thread updates on Journal Requirements, location the Character Cap information, and revision to the DMC Information Thread, along with a new thread for Mirrorspace and the Mirrorscape! We also have information on future projects, and players are invited to send in questions or requests for more detailed information on Negaverse related topics to be included in the future thread updates. Please see below for more information!
Journal Requirements
We have updated the Acquired Stamping thread with a note about journals:
Quote:
You must set up a journal to play your character. Civilian journals without an approved powered side must be set up here, and powered journals must be set up here.
This information will also be updated into the Read First Thread, along with other updates, when we update that thread. It is currently planned to be among the last group of threads updated before we move into meta preparations due to its nature as a resources for information on all other threads; when we finish updating them, we will update the Read First thread to reflect all other updated information and links!
Players still have until the end of the month to set up their journals and post for a Master Character List Revision to have their journal updated there! Players must set up journals for all new characters before they begin roleplaying them. We need to keep updated resources to make sure there is no accidentally name or sphere overlap, so please help us by creating journals promptly! As of August 1st, the staff may reach out to players who are active in the shop but do not have journals set up for their characters.
Players must record growth requirements in their journal, but beyond that they are not obligated to format their journals in any particular way. We need to have a clear record of character’s growth, so even if you are posting all of your growth RPs in the form to grow your characters, we are asking that moving forward, players at least be able to link to those growth posts if they are unwilling to link the individual roleplays in their journal. While it is also preferred to have their official art in the journal, this is not required.
Remember, if you are interested in Fourth Stage for your character, or other special RP Opportunities, an updated journal with their RPs is required!
Character Cap
We have made updates to the Character Cooldown thread and added information on the Character Cap here as well! The thread has been revised and is now an information thread titled Character Cap Limits and Cooldown Registry. The thread has been cleaned up a little bit and will be updated as the character cap limit decreases over the next few months. When the character cap decreases, we will make an announcement to remind players and update the thread.
Dark Mirror Senshi Information Thread
This thread has been updated to match current Faction information threads! We recommend anyone with a Dark Mirror Senshi, or anyone interested in them, review this updated thread. The update gives a bit more information on Faction goals, rank abilities, and general information that might affect play. There are no huge changes to abilities or purpose, but things have been updated to include all MQ&A Questions and get everything properly updated. The major change here is that information on Mirrorspace and the Mirrorscape has been moved to its own thread to allow for better organization and ease of access; the new thread can be found here and is located in the Mirrorspace and Mirrorscape subforum. Both threads link to each other!
Current Projects
The Negaverse Faction thread is already in progress and is going to feature a very large update. This thread is very out of date and does not completely reflect the state of the Negaverse. At present, we feel it is ineffective to have information on Negaverse Agents, Corrupted Senshi, and Youma and Half Youma officers combined in one thread, so we will be creating multiple threads to properly represent these factions, their abilities, and their role within the Negaverse. There will be some repeating information across the threads, as they all operate under the Negaverse umbrella, but the goal is to streamline information and make sure players have access to easy to complete and easy to find information about their characters.
In addition to Faction information threads, we will also be reviewing all Negaverse related threads, including the IC Training Guide, Branch Signups, Medals, Personal Youma approval, the Negaverse Intelligence Database, and creating a new, fuller writeup for the Dark Kingdom/Rift.
This is an incredibly large project that we are actively working on, but we anticipate at least a few weeks before our next update due to the sheer volume of these threads and the need for them to be updated together.
After this, the shop will be working on the Questing Handbook, where we will have forms and information for all questable factions, including Youma and Half-Youma.
If players have any questions they would like to see addressed in any Negaverse updates, please send them to The Space Cauldron! If you need an immediate answer about something, please use the MQ&A Thread, but if you would like any detailed information added to the Negaverse Information threads, please PM the mule so we can incorporate this information in our updates!
Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2021 9:44 am
Hey, everyone!
We have a few announcements for today, but we’ll have more updates coming later this month!
MYO
Moving forward with the approval process for new artists, we have a small change in how we would like to request players submit artists! In addition to linking to the artist and their samples, we would like to ask players to provide links to at least two samples of art in the specific style they are requesting! Some artists offer multiple styles and it can be difficult to peruse all of their pieces to try and determine which styles can be approved. Some artists only work out of tumblr or twitter, so a link to their tagged art would be helpful in streamlining the process!
We have also added that all MYO art must be at least slightly forward facing so that we can clearly see all uniform requirements! Players are allowed to get dynamic poses if they so choose, but need to be aware that some poses will not fit on our certs. This isn’t an issue if you aren’t interested in getting a cert, but it’s just something we wanted players to keep in mind if they like to get certs! The full information can be found in the MYO Slots Information thread!
Character Cap
The information for this has been updated just slightly to reflect that when someone is at character cap, they are ineligible for all templated alt art, both civilian and powered. Players can still choose to get MYO alt art, but for the time being there is a temporary restriction on alt art that can be purchased through credits or crown tokens. There may still be opportunities to win alt art through other means, but if so that will be announced when the opportunity becomes available. This information has been updated in the Character Cap Limits and Cooldown Registry thread!
Journals
Just a reminder that we are still asking players to make sure they have journals for approved, arted characters set up! If you have not yet done this, please do so! We are working on cleaning up the Master Character list and, when that task is completed, if any players have not yet set up a journal for their character, staff will make a placeholder journal for their character until they do so. We are asking that all journals include the approved journal and a character’s current shop official art. You can use either a cert, or the official art. This will be requested in the rules in the future as well so we just want to give players advance warning; this makes it easy to identify and keep track of characters!
General Shop Rules
We have updated a few of our shop rules for a bit of clarity! We have included several unspoken rules regarding the transfer and play of characters and the additions include information that covers three topics: characters cannot be co-owned, characters cannot be sold for any monetary value, and templated art can only be used in an official shop capacity; while you can use the templated art for reference to obtain new artwork, the actual templated art cannot be used to officially represent your character. These rules have been updated on the first page of the thread, as well as in the Read First Thread.
Future Updates
We will be finalizing and releasing the Negaverse related thread updates within the next few weeks! After that, we will be revising our Questing Handbook thread, and the Read First Thread and front page. We are still planning for a meta this year and will be trying to release it before the end of the year December holidays, however we may wind up with an adjusted Halloween event this year if the two events are expected to overlap. We want to be transparent about this to let our players know what to expect and will give more updates as we get closer to running things!
The Space Cauldron
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Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2021 7:00 pm
Hey, everyone! We have a lot of updates for tonight! We have eight Negaverse related threads that have been created or updated! We’ve tried to make it easy to go over all of the changes and have given a brief paragraph about some of the updates! We’ve also added an optional Character Cap Point Tracking thread for players who want to keep track of their characters in the guild. We’ve updated the Questing Handbook, and also made some changes to the Locked Names and Spheres on the Masterlist! Additionally, there is an IC Negaverse Announcement to release a new Negaverse Resource! Information about everything can be found below!
Updates to Faction: Negaverse Agent Thread
The old Negaverse thread has been repurposed into a new thread dedicated to Negaverse Agents. Information about Corrupted Senshi, Youma, and the Rift have all been moved to new threads to provide the most information. We have updated a lot of information in this thread, including specific information about each rank and their abilities. Very little has actually changed, but the information was gathered into one place and updated based on MQ&A questions. We have plugged in information about Half-Youma into this thread. All Negaverse Faction threads link to each other and other Negaverse-relevant threads in the first post.
Updates to Faction: Corrupted Senshi Thread
A completely new thread has been made for Corrupted Senshi. This thread compiles all of the information about Corrupted Senshi, including a basic summary, Negaverse Tools and Resources, information about specific rank and rank abilities, and information on Late Blooming Senshi and Ascended Senshi. There are some changes here! For example, we have adjusted Ascended Senshi so that they no longer must be completely emotionless; there are still drawbacks that come with Ascending, but players have more choice in determining how much personality their character loses. Corrupted Senshi have also been given some clearer rules and access to abilities that were previously locked to them; Eternal Senshi can now channel their energy through a Captain to awaken new members of the Negaverse. Corrupted Senshi typically cannot awaken new officers because they do not operate on the same magical wavelength but, like Generals, they can work as a battery to help charge a Captain to allow them to awaken new officers. Corrupted Senshi can only awaken others at third stage, but because they have absorbed more Chaos into their body and given themselves over to Metallia, they can awaken officers the same as Generals. All Negaverse Faction threads link to each other and other Negaverse-relevant threads in the first post.
Updates to Faction: Youma Information Thread
A completely new thread has been made for Youma. This thread compiles all of the information about Youma, including a basic summary, a post on Feral, Humanoid, and Greater youma, information on Youmaglia, Information on Personal Youma, Player Controlled Youma (the rare youma characters players can quest for and bring into play as official shop characters), and an updated FAQ for youma. All Negaverse Faction threads link to each other and other Negaverse-relevant threads in the first post.
Updates to the Personal Youma Approval Thread
The Personal Youma Approval Thread has been updated slightly; the first post has been updated with links and a little more information to help people plan and design their personal youma. The form has been updated a bit to assist with this as well! Everything else about this thread, including the approved Personal Youma log, is staying the same; we just wanted to make some information more accessible!
Updates to the Negaverse Training Guide (IC Information Guide)
The Negaverse Training Guide has been updated with more relevant information! It was last updated several years ago so had some out of date information. Please remember that all members of the Negaverse must be exposed to this information within the first two weeks of joining; this applies to both newly awakened and newly corrupted characters. This is basic information that your character should know, and any superior officer tasked with watching over a new member of the Negaverse would be obligated to make sure they know this information! We recommend everyone with a character in the Negaverse read over this thread just to know what information it details.
Updates to the Negaspace and the Rift Thread
We have set up a new thread for information about Negaspace and the Rift; this information has been put in the Negaspace and the Rift subforum and has been updated to reflect all current information on these locations. Negaspace/The Dark Kingdom has been updated to include information about the Castle and rooms within it, the barracks, the medical ward, the computer rooms, the city, and all the resources available. There is additional information about how characters can request and customize their offices or living space. There is clearer information on the Hall of Shadows, and we have updated the Rift information to include information about terrain, resources, weather, and general facts. We have also included information on some landmarks, such as the fallen Knight Academy, and the Tower that Corrupted Senshi must travel to in order to Ascend. There are some new locations listed here, such as very small buildings that travelling Negaverse Agents can use to stock up on supplies or rest for the night, so everyone is encouraged to give this thread a look over if they want to know more!
Updates to the Negaverse Intelligence Database
The Negaverse Intelligence Database has been adjusted just slightly; only the first two posts have been edited. The first post has been made into an OOC information thread with links and information to help players who might be interested in submitting information or ICly using any information. All posts were moved down to make room for the second post, which is the updated TOC and the beginning of the IC resources available to the public. We have also added a little extra information to help players understand how they can submit information, and what information is and is not available to the public.
Updates to the Negaverse Branch Roster
The Negaverse Branch Roster has been remade and set up in a new thread! The old thread was out of date and didn’t have posts reserved for us to add more information so we have archived the old thread and set up this new one. While it is not mandatory to post which Branch your Negaverse character is in, it is helpful to staff when planning events to know who might be able to participate in what capacity. Players are encouraged to enroll their characters in Branches and post, both for staff to keep track of things, and so that other players might be able to plan for their events, too. We have added links and more information, and will update the thread regularly! We have not moved over information about players who signed up for a Branch in the old thread, so if you have a character in the Negaverse and you can, please post in this thread! You can post any time the information needs to be updated.
Updates to the Questing Handbook
The Questing Handbook has been updated and renamed [INFO] Character Creation Information and Forms. This update has cleared up a lot of information and answers many questing questions that we’ve gotten over the years. There are a few major changes here, including a new post for Half-Youma and Youma characters, who now have their own form! No faction has gotten new mechanics or changes to how they are stamped, but we have given more clarification to the process and tried to collect frequently asked questions, as well as make the format easier to work off of. The forms have been updated to give more information and have revised hobby, virtue, and flaw samples; they still match the old forms, so previous quests won’t be affected! There’s just more information to help when writing knew characters. Knight rules have been revised to allow players to choose Wonders that only existed 500 years ago, and Senshi can now have spheres that are only 500 years old instead of a thousand years old. The fall of the Silver Millennium still happened a thousand years ago, but some worlds may have been more advanced than Earth was at that time so can have slightly more ‘modern’ inventions as spheres; ICly, locations on Earth may have been named after places of lore that already existed on other worlds, so this doesn’t affect our IC timeline but it does open up more options for players!
Updates to the Character Cap Points Tracking Thread
This is a completely new resource that is completely optional and was set up based on player request. Players can choose to keep track of the total points they have towards the character cap in any way that they like, but if they prefer to keep a log somewhere in the shop, we’ve set up the Character Cap Points Tracking Thread in the OOC Chatter subforum! This thread will be stickied and players can use it if they want to. Instructions for setting up a post are in the thread, but the format is only suggested because this is an optional resource for players who want to use it!
Updates to the Locked Sphere and Name List
While updating the Questing Handbook/Character Creation Information and Forms thread, we wanted to review our Locked Names and Spheres. Over the years, our rules have changed somewhat on naming mechanics so we have a few names that have been removed; we have reviewed some spheres that have been locked and decided that provided players follow all other rules, a few other spheres can be released for play as well.
For complete transparency, the following names have been removed:
Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory have been removed; we already allow ‘heaven’ and ‘hell’ type locations from other cultures and religions, so these should be valid based on the way we have always approved Wonders. However, we ask that players keep in mind that these are only the names of the Knight Wonder their character might serve on; these would not actually be the locations in any religion or mythology. Axis Mundi; this is more of a concept than a valid location or questable Wonder so we are removing it because it is not viable and also not needed on this list Rota and Dioptase; these were important NPCs from very old plots. To prevent their names from being accidentally removed from the locked list, they are being moved to their faction and rank appropriate section to be listed as ‘deceased’. Balzac and Beejees; while some of these are valid locations, they were locked from previous events. It is impossible to keep track of very old events or disposables, so we are removing these from the list. If these, or any other name on the list, were names used for an important NPC, please contact The Space Cauldron so we can get details and move them to a different post where they can be listed as a deceased and out of play character rather than just locked. Zeus, Cronus, Ouranos, and Hades; these were names reserved for the Parallel Senshi that were going to be brought into play, however the shop will not be introducing these characters. While they might have existed as powered characters in another universe, they do not exist in this one, so any valid Wonder or Celestial Body that utilizes these names can be quested for. Clinoptilolite, Mordenite, Vesuvianite; these names were locked because they were associated with a mineral a canon character was based on. The old Negaverse rules stipulated that minerals with different names were locked as soon as one name was claimed. These names were locked based on that. Since that rule is out of play, these names are now valid (though Ptilolite and Cyprine, the actual namesakes of the canon characters, are still locked) Kutnohorite, Alumopharmacosiderite, Biotite, Calcite; these names are removed from this list because they were old disposables and/or they were alternate names of minerals that were brought into play and needed to be locked because the mineral had already been claimed. “Gemstones that are not also minerals” ; this is being removed from the list because of redundancy. Negaverse names must be minerals. Some minerals are also considered gemstones, but gemstones that are not minerals will not be valid. “Extremely religious sites or locations of great importance to a religion are likely to be turned down”; it has been incredibly difficult to keep track of what sites should be considered important to a religion or culture. We also already have many locations that could be considered religiously important that are in play. While we are removing this specific rule, we ask that if players are knowingly borrowing the name from a site of great religious or cultural importance that they be respectful. We also ask that players remember that Wonders are not the same religious sites. Wonders share the same name as these locations, and might for any number of reasons. Please do not pick a name you know to be religiously important specifically to be offensive or attack others. We trust that everyone has the best intentions at heart, so we ask that others do the same.
For complete transparency, the following spheres have been removed:
Paradise, Youth, Miracles, Creation, Oblivion; these were on the locked list for a variety of reasons but can be open for play provided players are mindful that these spheres have the potential to be problematic. We request that any player who is seeking these spheres please be mindful and expect to work with staff to ensure their magic is appropriate. ‘Paradise’ is in play as a Wonder so exists as a physical location (which is not valid as a senshi sphere), ‘youth’ should be respectful and not used for anything that pushes pg-13 limitations, ‘miracles’ should be fine provided the magic is within stampable limits, ‘creation’ should be fine provided magic is not based on ‘creation of all things/the beginning of all things’, oblivion’ should be fine provided it is not the absolute ‘be all/end all’ type of oblivion. Holy; this has been removed from the list because ‘Holy’ itself would be an invalid sphere, not a locked sphere. ‘Holiness’, however, has been added to the list in its place. Directions; this sphere was locked for an event that did not come to fruition. The character involved will be repurposed at a later point in time but the sphere is valid for questing (but must be respectful to the existing spheres of the North, South, East, and West and not overlap abilities) ‘Spheres involving Royalty’ ; this has been removed from the list in this capacity but has been clarified elsewhere. Senshi of Kings or other royal positions will still be denied because of the fourth stage titles that utilize King/Queen and Prince/Princess. Mist, Future, Despair, Permission, Bounty ; these were the locked spheres of several Parallel characters, but because these characters won’t be introduced into shop we are removing their spheres. While these characters canonically existed in our shop, they were in another universe. These spheres would still be available for claim in this universe, with the non-parallel Senshi. The only parallel sphere that is not returned for questing is ‘Thunder’ which has been moved to the ‘canon’ sphere list because of Jupiter’s canon senshi magic.
IC Negaverse Updates
The Negaverse has an optionalIC Announcement to release an IC update! The Negaverse has acquired a Hospital and is adjusting it to meet their needs and better take care of their agents. Players with Negaverse characters can post in the thread if they have questions or want to socialize, but players can also handwave that their character attended or get this information from a handwaved announcement that went out on the tablet the night of the RP.
Future Updates
gaia_star The next threads on our list are the Read First Information Thread and the Front Page of the Thread! We’ve been waiting to update these threads until all of our other major threads were updated. With everything else out of the way, these should be the last two threads we need to get updated before we can start finalizing meta things and get that rolled out!
And if you couldn’t tell, we’re really excited for this! This meta has been a long time coming.
Literally, years in the making!
If you haven’t had the chance to familiarize yourself with the information threads yet, we strongly encourage you please do so!
Everything we’ve updated is in some way relevant to the upcoming meta!
Nothing will be neglected when we finally get to release the rest of our hard work!
So, we hope you like the moon and deep space things...
Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2021 9:58 am
Hey, everyone!
We have some exciting news! This update marks the last of our planned updates before we turn all of our focus on finishing meta things and getting it up and running in the nearish future! We do not have specific dates yet but can concretely say that we will be running the meta this year, and it should completely finish before the holidays pick up in late November.
The meta will likely overlap standard shop events, like Halloween, but we fully intend to still host a few spooky shenanigans as well!
We’ll post more information as we finalize plans, but for today our updates include the Management Q&A, the RP Events Bulletin, the Civilian, Chaos, and Order RP Bulletins, the Read First/Introduction thread and the front page of our Main Thread!
Management Q&A
The Management Q&A has a slightly updated introduction post! This is just to be a little clearer, and has been updated to clarify that Sweenys_Revevnge is keeping an eye on the thread to post questions for the rest of Mod Staff to discuss! If you want to make sure your question is seen as soon as possible, please make sure to quote them!
RP Events Bulletin
The RP Events Bulletin has a slightly updated introduction post! This thread is very old, so we reformatted it and cleaned it up a bit. The general content has not changed, but we just wanted to freshen it up a bit!
Civilian, Chaos, and Order RP Bulletins
The Civilain RP Prompts, Chaos RP Prompts, and Order RP Prompts have been archived; these threads were rarely used. Instead, when the shop has RP Prompts, they will be posted in the RP Events Bulletin and announced in the main thread and in the Discord.
★ Introduction [Rules, Information, Guidelines] ★
Previously our ‘Read First’ thread, this thread has been updated to include everything you need to know about our shop, including a ‘Getting Started’ post for new and returning players! We’ve cleaned up all of the information and added a full list of resources and links here. If you ever need to find anything, you can check this thread! We have also linked to the Introduction thread from the front page of the Guild information!
Main Thread
The front page of our Main Thread uses a lot of the same information as our Introduction thread, and because that was just updated we wanted to update the front page, too! Some things were grossly out of date, but we think the front page now best reflects the current state of our shop!
We’ve made a lot of updates to the shop in the past few months, and if you’re afraid you’ve missed anything or just want a solid overview, please check out our Shop Policy and Updates thread! While the Meta is our current focus, in the future we also plan to update the Hiring Thread and the Custom Procedure Thread.
Thank you to everyone who has been so patient with us while we rolled out these updates, and we hope you’re as excited for the future as we are! As a thank you, between now and 11:59 PST August 31st, anyone can claim one Crown Token!
The Space Cauldron
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The Space Cauldron
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Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2021 3:00 pm
Congratulations!
The 2021 Meta has concluded! We want to thank everyone for their participation in this meta. We had a lot of fun running it and are excited and hopeful to see what plots come from these releases! We will have a survey up within the next few days to get feedback from our players and see how we can improve future events.
The Vanguard is now a questable Rare Faction! If you played a Cadet during the meta you will need to fill out a Questing Form and post it for stamping in the Acquired Character Thread. For this event only, these characters do not accrue points towards the character cap. They will be worth 0 points at first, second, and third stage. All Vanguardians acquired past this point in time will follow standard character cap points.
All players who participated in the post-battle ORPs have earned their characters. You must get your character stamped to continue playing them. The art you have acquired does not have a weapon because you are required to choose a customized weapon during the stamping stage; moving forward, a weapon will appear on the art. Players who do not want their character permanently may forfeit their character; ICly, their characters will have gathered on the morning of November 2nd and returned to Velencya. These characters may be quested for in the future should players change their mind, however at that point in time they will need to be purchased like other characters and will follow the same rules for character caps. The current art will be recolored and given out in future shop events for players to create new characters with. If you are a player who completed all requirements for your Cadet but played them as a disposable in the final battle, you earn three crown tokens. If players want to forfeit their Cadet and return the art to the shop to be recolored can also claim three Crown Tokens. To forfeit the character, please just PM The Space Cauldron to let us know, and post your claim in the Crown Token thread! Your character will be listed on the Master Character list to preserve their name.
Caedus and Lyndin are permanently available NPCs! If you would like to request roleplay with either of them, you can find information about them in their journals or in the NPC Information thread. Please PM The Space Cauldron if you have any requests or questions! Between now and the end of the year, Laurelite is also available for any RP request for Negaverse characters; she may be available for select plots elsewhere, but she can be utilized in the same capacity as the NPC General Sovereigns through the end of the year. Cosmos can be requested for RPs presently, but ICly she will have been gone through November 7th.
Life on Wonders and Homeworlds has also been unlocked!
All Order characters who participated in the meta are eligible to unlock a few extra things, but full information can be found in the Deep Space information thread!
The Negaverse has found fortune with this turn of events, too: they’ve unlocked the ability to utilize Deep Space Assault!
Using Velencian technology, the Negaverse has been able to secretly develop weapons capable of firing concentrated Chaos into carefully selected targets. While this costs a lot of energy, it allows for long-distance corruption and destruction of Wonders and Homeworlds.This information is incredibly private; only Mauvians and a few third stage Negaverse characters will be trusted with this information and they cannot share it. Mauvians helped develop it but understand that this is a secret project, and only third stage characters who are not at risk for purification or sabotage will be ICly and OOCly permitted to plan and coordinate these attacks.
All threads should be updated as of this announcement, but we may continue to make adjustments throughout the week if things were missed! If you have any questions, please PM The Space Cauldron!
An ORP for the Dark Mirror Court will begin tomorrow; participation is optional and will ICly take place on the evening of November 1st. It will be a battle ORP and should last for about a week and a half.
While this is the end of releases for now, energy continues to spread throughout the universe. There’s no telling what else this might unlock, but maybe there’ll be something else to celebrate during the Winter Holiday Event...
Archideus’ energy washed through the universe, and while the spread was slow it gradually spilled into corners untouched by light for centuries. For a millennia.
The Moon had been the first to feel the blessing, and the Code Piece tucked away had time to sit. To think. To plan.
In ancient times, when the Code had been stronger, it could break off pieces of itself and share its power. New Wonders were selected. New Knights charged with their protection.
It had been a long time since the Code had to choose new wonders. New Knights.
The Moon was a lonely place, and once there was a Moon Queen who did not need Knights.
Now, she was gone. The Moon remained, protected only by her decaying machines.
The Code was all alone, with more power than it should be trusted with. It had been corrupted once before, trapped in the Rift for so long that it had been tainted. Even now the trickle of darkness lurked, and it was slow to filter out. If something were to attack the Moon, if something were to truly corrupt it, the outcome could be catastrophic. The only logical thing to do was to free itself from such power, to share it with someone who could protect it.
Moon Knights should not be easily mistaken for Cosmos Knights; unlike Cosmos Knights they should not have pastel rainbow gradients and should instead rely strongly on blocked color. While some gradients may be allowed, they should not easily be mistaken for Cosmos Knights.
*Moon Knight designs should not heavily use ruffles or lace and should lean more towards mature/elegant designs; pearls and crystals or gemstones associated with the moon may be common in knight uniforms or accessories.
Symbol:
In the Past: Unlike other Knights, there were no Moon Knights in the past. The Moon previously had the resources to protect itself and, with Earth being a haven and training ground for Knights, they did not feel it was necessary to utilize the Code. After the fall of the Silver Millennium, they lost their protectors and their defense systems have fallen into some disrepair. The Moon used to be one of the most powerful forces in the Galaxy, if not the Universe. There are many mysteries yet to be unlocked, and untapped power that must be protected. The Moon was renown for its technology, diplomacy, and ability to maintain peace. The planet itself was well protected, both by the Moon Princess and her royal family, but by the other Senshi of the Sol System.
Moon Knights have no powered past life; their past lives were unpowered civilians. They have no ancestors that ever guarded the Moon and have no past life ties to the Moon. They could have been civilians on any world, be it Earth, the Moon, or any other NPC world; with player permission, they could be civilians from player owned worlds in their past lives. Players who obtain a Moon Knight must be aware of these differences when questing for them. Because these are new and rare, all uniforms should be expected to undergo extra staff review; these characters cannot be won in customs but can be purchased with Crown Tokens using the information for rare characters.
In the Present: Moon Knights are a rare faction and do not follow the same rules as standard Knights. This is the first time any of them are serving as a Knight; they may be newly awakened civilians chosen by the Cornerstone Code Piece on the Moon or they may be Negaverse Agents who are purifying and did not have a Powered Past Life. The Code Piece on the Moon was supercharged with energy when Archideus exploded during the 2021 Meta, and as such it has enough strength to break off pieces of itself and assign new Wonders to protect on the Moon. The Code Piece on the Moon can sense a starseed that has the potential to guard a new Wonder; when it is assigning a Wonder, it will summon that person to it to receive its blessing. This is the only time a member of Chaos can come to the Moon; the Code Piece can summon a Negaverse Agent who wants to purify (and any Royal attempting to purify them) to the Moon, where Cosmos can be waiting if they need a Royal.
Moon Knights are the only Knights who are not reincarnations of powered characters or ancestors of previously assigned Knights. They cannot bring any Chaos characters to the Moon, even after they are assigned a Wonder. They do not have an Ancestor to guide them and they do not have powered past life memories. When they visit the Moon, they may have brief civilian memories of their past life, but these won’t be as strong as other past life memories. However, if they visit their past lives’ homeworld, they may have more vibrant memories of who they used to be.
All Moon Knight Wonders are ICly chosen and assigned by the Code Piece on the Moon; this roleplay cannot be handwaved and must be done between the player and the mule. Wonders on the Moon cannot be in the Moon Palace but would be in other locations on the Moon and should reflect themes and aesthetics of the Moon. Many buildings and structures are crafted in white marble and in Indo-Saracenic architecture is prevalent. Gardens are common, and the Moon is well known for its practical extravagance. Each structure has a purpose but is artistic and impressive. However, due to the decline of the Moon Kingdom, all of these structures have fallen into disrepair. Like other Knights, they can restore their Wonder by visiting to clean it up, by growing stronger, and by Transcending. Like other Order characters, they can restore life and can eventually create a sustainable Wonder. While they can travel to their Wonder like other Knights, they cannot access the Moon Palace from the outside. They can access the Celestial Theater and the Code Piece located within just by calling with their Starseed; because all Moon Knights must be given their Wonder by the Code Piece, they will always know of the Celestial Theatre’s existence. They can only be transported here when they are meditating and calm; they cannot use it to escape battle and, while there is no cooldown, players should not be accessing the Celestial Theatre without permission. Generally, all requests to visit should be approved but will still need mule approval.
Like Earth and other Celestial Bodies that we have been able to observe from Earth, all features on the Moon are concealed in magical bubbles that hide them from view or observation. If any technology is used to observe the Moon or explore it, they will never find a Moon Knight’s Wonder; it will appear like empty space and cannot be observed or breached. The Moon’s natural protection conceals all potential Wonders, even those that are not yet claimed. In the empty space between Wonders and potential Wonders, the Moon appears like simple, rocky terrain and is comparable to what we know of it on Earth. It is only once a Wonder has been given a Code Piece that life can begin to flourish there and plants can begin to grow.
The Moon has no natural weather, but once a Wonder has been claimed, it may have magical localized weather that exists only in the atmosphere above the Wonder. Some Wonders can be connected, if plotted, and share these things, but otherwise each new Wonder operates separately from each other. The Moon is typically cool, but not cold; it may fluctuate in temperature depending on the Wonder, and once a Wonder is created and the location claimed, the magic may bring about seasonal changes or temperature differences.
But, the Moon was not the only world to receive strength from Archideus, and there were many dark secrets in the universe. Earth was not alone in life, though it was alone in health. As Archideus illuminated the sky it became a beacon, a calling. It was a symbol of something more. It was a spark of light in an otherwise dark universe, and as soon as that energy stretched through the galaxy, through the universe, it called to them.
Not just the dark, evil things that lurked. That slept.
It called to the worlds ravaged by time, to the Senshi who had survived, alone. Isolated.
As the energy from Archideus faded, absorbed into their worlds, it gave them a chance to regain what they had lost. To fight against their own Chaos.
The power that flooded through them was an invitation–a promise--of something else. Something alive. Something that could make them strong, that could save them. Could save their worlds.
And maybe, they could save Earth, too. If only they were willing to make the journey there.
Deep Space Senshi are rare characters and follow different rules than any other characters in the shop. As such, only players who have been active for three consecutive months, or who have at least one third stage character, are eligible to play one.
Deep Space Senshi are not born on Earth; these Senshi are aliens and as such can have some alien features. However, they must always be humanoid and have limitations to how alien they can be. These Senshi have been alive on their respective homeworlds since the fall of the Silver Millennium, or as recent as two hundred years ago. After the fall of the Silver Millennium, the universe suffered a steep decline in life and sustainability on worlds.
Populations fell and worlds had decreased sustainability; natural disasters might have become more common, crops might grow smaller and with less frequency, and worst of all--Chaos began to spread, and hastened their decline. Each world has an individual Chaos; it is not like any of the Chaos found on Earth and is not necessarily sentient or even remotely as powerful as the Negaverse, but it is enough that it has put a strain on the Core of the World. Deep Space Senshi may come into play having previously reached the rank of Eternal Senshi, but because of this Chaos and the weakened strength of their world, they have lost access to those powers. They will come into play as Basic Senshi but will have full knowledge of their abilities. They will have the same growth requirements as regular Senshi, and will have the same erratic magic fluctuations as Late Blooming Senshi: their magic will fluctuate between being weaker or stronger than how it was stamped, or their magic may manifest in abnormal ways, such as by attacking the wrong target, or manifesting with a more powerful effect but at the cost of reduced uses or draining the senshi to near exhaustion. These oddities may be handwaved but should be ICly noted by the character.
They will grow stronger on Earth and should take their restored strength back to their Homeworld to combat the Chaos there. By the time they reach third stage, they should be preparing to fight the Chaos--hopefully with the allies they’ve made along the way. Only third stage Deep Space Senshi are eligible to defeat the Chaos, and they must send in a plot to do so. This should be done with at least a few other people and cannot be done alone. Deep Space Senshi must destroy the Chaos on their world before they can unlock life on their Homeworlds, or the ability to achieve a sustainable world.
Alien Biology
Players will be able to create their own alien species but there are some major restrictions. Deep Space Senshi share the same limitations that Past Life Senshi could have. In ordinary circumstances, they can have lifespans of a few hundred years (typically no more than 500) but due to the instability on their worlds, their Homeworld has been siphoning extra energy into them to try and combat the Chaos. Characters would have stopped aging when the Chaos infected their world, and they will remain in an ageless stasis until they come to Earth, where they begin aging normally again.
Deep Space Aliens should function similarly to humans; though they may be more or less resistant to things like weather, seasons, allergies, poisons, etc. They should not be stronger or more physically capable, or have any alien features that would give them an advantage on Earth (such as gills that let them breathe underwater, or eyesight that lets them see in the dark). They should be nearly identical as humans internally, and should not have extra or altered organs, should have human blood-types, and should generally be receptive to the same types of treatments and medications as a human. They should not have any magical abilities, such as shape-shifting, but they may have limited biological abilities that can be observed in nature (such as bioluminescence) that manifest while on their Homeworld. They may have nonhuman abilities that manifest while they are on their Homeworlds, but this should not be assumed and needs explicit approval. They may have alien features that give them an advantage on their homeworld (such as gills that let them breathe underwater on their world but due to a difference in aquatic composition, they cannot on Earth; or, they may have enhanced eyesight that lets them see in the dark on their world due to an increased flow of power by nature of being on their world). These must be approved by staff prior to coming into play.
In powered art, Deep Space Senshi:
Must be humanoid, bipedal characters.
Can have vibrant or non-human colored skin, textured skin, animal or fantasy ears that are close in size to a human’s, or non-human pupils without extra approval. Skin textures or patterns should not be mistaken for Transcended or Ascended markings. Anything that can easily be hidden with a glamour and does not add additional features (such as extra appendages) does not have limitations.
Fur and scales may cover up 10% of their body and not tie into the 15% of extra appendages they are permitted.
May have animal or fantasy-like features, but extra features or appendages should be no more than 15% of their body in art. This means, extra appendages should only take up about as much space on the art as the character’s arm.
Can have extra cosmetic features or appendages. Extra features or appendages might include horns or antlers (that are either dulled or too sensitive to be used as weapons) that are no more than half a foot in length and width, fangs (that could reasonably fit in a human mouth and cannot be used to do extra damage), or tails (prehensile tails would not be permitted; the tails can swish or move but cannot be used to grab anything or lash out to do damage). Deep Space Senshi may have wings, but these must be small and can flutter but cannot be capable of flight. They cannot be mistaken for Eternal Senshi wings; they should be smaller than standard Eternal Senshi wings and should not be located below the shoulder blades. They can be black or white and feathered, or be bat wings, but they must not look like Eternal Senshi wings.
Cannot have additional arms, legs, or largely altered appendages/limbs. They should not have additions that would give them a battle advantage (such as larger hands to do more blunt force damage, or differently shaped feet that allow them to run faster).
Players must be willing to work with staff when it comes to art; they are encouraged to outline the features they want for the art before getting an artist to work on it. All Deep Space Senshi designs must be approved by staff, whether they are MYOs or done on templates. Deep Space Senshi do not need to look abnormal or nonhuman; they can pass for human if a player chooses; if they do not have any alien features, they do not need extra approval. If they cannot pass for Human as soon as they arrive on Earth, Deep Space Senshi will need to meet with a Mauvian to receive an item that allows them to take on a human glamour while powered down if they choose. When they power up, they will appear in their natural form and cannot wear any sort of glamour to conceal this.
Homeworld Lore
There is extreme flexibility in how a player wants to write their Homeworld Lore, but there are a few important things to keep in mind!
The Homeworld will have had no contact from any external worlds since the fall of the Silver Millennium. They would have been isolated, typically by the Chaos that was polluting the world. They would not have been able to have communication off of the Homeworld and would not have been able to leave or accept visitors. Senshi would have no idea what happened to the outside universe between then and now.
Homeworlds must have fallen into decline and lost their ability to support life; there should have been notable population decrease and ability to support life beginning after the fall of the Silver Millennium and spanning until roughly a hundred years ago, at which point in time there should be no life remaining but the Senshi. By present day, the world would be in its final stages of life. The population should have fallen and animals should have died out as well. The Senshi should be the only person remaining, and food should be scarce and cannot adequately support life.
Chaos should have spread across the World; this Chaos can manifest in many ways, but it is a singular entity and not affiliated with the Negaverse of the Dark Mirror Court. It is not capable of corrupting the Senshi in the way that the Negaverse can, but the Chaos will attempt to consume the world and drain all of its energy. This Chaos can have a negative impact on the Senshi; it can make them more erratic or irritable and can make them more susceptible to corruption from the Negaverse, but this is player choice and is IC flavor text.
Senshi Backstory
The Senshi must have been born either before the fall of the Silver Millennium, or as recently as two hundred years ago. The Senshi’s backstory should be in line with the information listed in Homeworld Lore. The Senshi would have stopped aging at some point in time during their natural lifespan and would have physically remained the same age due the magic of their Homeworld trying to preserve them and keep its protector alive for long enough to fight the Chaos.
The Senshi should have awakened in the same way as a present day Senshi, and should have had a Mauvian awaken them when they were between the ages of 7-27 (or respectively appropriate ages for species with differing lifespans). Deep Space Senshi will have awakened between these ages but physically could have aged to any point in their natural adult life span; this means that a Deep Space Senshi might have physically stopped aging when they were no younger than 18, or they might have been later in life when they stopped aging. If a player wanted, they might choose to play a Deep Space Senshi who stopped aging when they were outside of the range to awaken (such as in their 30s or later). Deep Space Senshi might have been preserved on their world, but they will begin to age again once they arrive on Earth.
Deep Space Senshi no longer have memories of their past life self, however they have full memories of their life. Due to their unnaturally long lives, they may have gaps in their memories or forget major things. They may recall their memories by taking trips to their homeworld. Deep Space Senshi may know the past life incarnations of present day characters, but they cannot know meta information or player information they are not approved to have.
Arriving on Earth
Deep Space Senshi have one chance to get off of their world; the explosion of Archideus across the universe has given each world a little bit of extra energy, and Deep Space Senshi will feel an instinctive pull from their starseed that draws them to Earth. If they focus, they will be teleported to Earth. This will cost them no energy, but the trip may be overwhelming after living in isolation on a dying, Chaos-polluted world. All Deep Space Senshi will be able to speak the common Earth language, but they may be unfamiliar with Earth slang and will struggle to read English. Even if they had ever visited Earth before, this current incarnation should be completely foreign to them.
They would need to catch up with Senshi or Knights to understand what is going on there but would understand that the key to saving their world lies in recovering their strength and reclaiming their power on Earth. Deep Space Senshi are used to fighting Chaos so may have a unique approach for how to deal with the Negaverse; everyone may have different reactions. Deep Space Senshi can be corrupted just like other Senshi; if they become corrupted, their magic immediately stabilizes thanks to Mirrorspace or the influence of Metallia.
Leaving Earth
Deep Space Senshi can return to their homeworld at the same rate as a normal White Moon Senshi, however they do not have a Senshi Cell Phone to do so. They will need to have one made for them by a Mauvian on Earth before they can return. They will feel their world pulling them if they have been gone for too long, if only because their planet is crying for help as the Chaos continues to consume them. OOCly, the Chaos will never consume a world because of inactivity or lack of action, but ICly the thread should be expected to grow or worsen until it is handled.
Defeating the Chaos and Restoring their World
When a Deep Space Senshi has reached third stage, they are strong enough to take on the Chaos on their world, but they will need to recruit some allies to help them. Even at third stage, they are not strong enough alone. Somewhere on their world is a Chaos seed that has embedded itself and has continued to grow in strength and reach. Often, the Chaos seed is trying to work its way into the Core of the world to try and completely consume it. While this Chaos is not ICly strong enough to corrupt a Senshi, it is strong enough to drain the world of life, and eventually kill the Senshi.
When a character has reached third, the player must PM The Space Cauldron with a plot to locate the Chaos Seed on their world, details on how they will confront it, and who they will be fighting it with. This Chaos can manifest as an illusion, a physical monster, or a psychological attack; this is up to the player and how they feel the story would best be told. There are no set rules about how this battle can go, but the Chaos Seed must be destroyed; once it is destroyed, the manifestation of the Chaos will dissolve and the world will begin to heal. The Deep Space Senshi will be able to Transcend (either after this battle or at some later point with an additional Transcendence plot), life can be restored, and they can work to make their world sustainable again.
Differences between Deep Space Senshi and normal Senshi
There are several key differences to keep in mind when playing Deep Space Senshi; if it is not listed here, please assume that they function in the same capacity as regularly obtained Senshi!
Deep Space Senshi were not born on Earth and are not human. They are at least two hundred years old by Earth standards but stopped aging at some point during their adult life as their world siphoned energy in them to keep them alive and fighting the Chaos. If they were an adult at the time the Silver Millennium fell, they can be over a thousand years old.
Deep Space Senshi do not have past life memories; those memories have long since faded. They may have missing memories due to their old age, but can also be assumed to have or be able to recover complete recollection of their life. They cannot know meta information but could have known past life incarnations of characters born in present day.
Deep Space Senshi cannot Transcend before the Chaos is purged from their worlds. They must reach third stage and rally allies to defeat the Chaos on their Homeworlds. They cannot have life on their worlds of any kind or have a sustainable world until the Chaos is defeated.
Deep Space Senshi do not have Senshi Cellphones upon awakening and must get one from a Mauvian; if they cannot pass for a human, a Mauvian can make them a glamour to help them do so. Because they are naturally humanoid and Senshi, the Mauvian glamour can let them pass for a human civilian for any duration of time that they want. They can reprogram a new glamour if their identity is compromised, but they cannot change appearance while powered up.
Deep Space Senshi have erratic magic like Late-Blooming Senshi, only they keep this erratic magic until they purge the Chaos from their world.
Deep Space Senshi can read the text on their homeworlds, but they must learn English text. They can speak English because they should have been taught it as the common language of the universe when they were younger and it was relevant.
Deep Space Senshi cannot have been fourth stage in a past life but they can unlock it in present day.
Deep Space Senshi must have been awakened between the age of 7-27 (or respectively appropriate ages for species with differing lifespans) but they can arrive on Earth at whatever age their aging was frozen; this means that a new Deep Space Senshi might arrive on Earth as a basic senshi at “fifty” years of age.
If you are interested in questing for a Deep Space Senshi, please make sure you use the updated Senshi Form
To summarize the full list of updates that have rolled out on this page, as well as a few minor edits to the shop:
Moon Knights are released. Deep Space Senshi are released. Crown Tokens have been updated to reflect Moon Knights and Deep Space Senshi; the requirement to claim a rare character with Crown Tokens has dropped from being active for six months to three months. Questing Forms have been updated for Deep Space Senshi Uniform Guidelines have been updated for Deep Space Senshi (MYO and Custom Procedure threads) The Character Cap was supposed to be 15 Points as of January 1st, however to adjust to shop updates and features, it will instead be dropped to 20 points on January 1st; it is still planned to drop to 15 points, however this has been delayed to March 1st. Enhancements:
Ethereal Armor - Has been updated to include Vanguardians Enchanted Weapon - Has been updated to include Vanguardians Forgotten Spell - Has been updated to include Half-Youma/Youma
Winter Holiday Event has opened! [Meta threads and Halloween threads will gradually be moved to the appropriate subforums; information threads have been unsticked but remain in the thread for the time being]
The Space Cauldron
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The Space Cauldron
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Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 3:55 pm
Hey, everyone!
Thank you so much for your patience while we closed up our Winter Holiday Events! We’ve still got some updates to do to the shop to get us completely caught up, but some of these projects are a little big. In the future, we’d like to update the Custom Procedure thread with cleaner information and possibly a more organized template sorting system, but because this has an art component to it we’re also going to prioritize owed art. We’ll make an announcement when we have progress on this update, though!
Today, we have a few things we’d like to go over!
The Celestial Theatre
The first major update is the inclusion of the Celestial Theatre in the Deep Space Cosmic Almanac! While much of this information is the same as it was in the meta, it now includes a little more information on the Code, who can access the Theatre, and what information the Kiosk can provide. Players can submit plots (and information) to the mule to have their character gain access to information that the Moon Kingdom would have known about their Player Owned Worlds if they choose to!
The full information can be found in the thread, but the update is spoilered below!
The Celestial Theatre
The Celestial Theatre is a large, domed room within the Moon Palace; it is separate from the rest of the palace and does not follow standard rules for visitation or arrival. Once, there might have been seats to accommodate guests, but the floor is currently empty. White marble walls give a timeless, ethereal look to the room, but it shows the telltale sign of age and disrepair. There are large cracks in the walls, and stained glass windows by the door have been broken out. At some point in time, a marble statue was completely blocking the door, but it seems as though it lost its battle with time and crumbled in such a way that the door is now passable.
Celestial images are painted all over the white ceiling, and the whole thing is reminiscent of a living star map--only, it is impossible to tell what anything is supposed to be. The shapes on the ceiling move slowly, as if in real time; it is not a complete image of the sky, and sometimes shapes appear and disappear from view as they move to the edges of the map.
Except, in the center of the ceiling, is a bright white star that seems to be constantly illuminated. Something about it seems strained, and all visitors will inexplicably know it is the Galaxy Cauldron, and will know Cosmos is there. Looking at the image of the Galaxy Cauldron fills any visitor with warmth.
All visitors to the Celestial Theatre will find themselves with a five pointed star brooch pinned to their uniform. It shimmers with the blessing of Cosmos. While guests are here, they will have access to some information that was previously off limits--most notably, a console in the corner of the room. While it is badly damaged, when anyone wearing the brooch approaches, it powers up. Text appears on the console’s screen, it is illegible.
However, the console responds to verbal inquiries as though it is an automated information kiosk. This console is capable of giving information about player worlds as would be known by the general public prior to the fall of the Silver Millennium. Players must get permission to obtain information about other players’ characters and worlds; because the machine is old and finicky, it may sometimes give information to one group but not another. The console can give as much or as little information about player worlds as the player decides; it cannot give canon information except in special plots.
There is only one door leading out of the room and it leads into a long, empty hallway. While there appear to be arches and doorways, they have since crumbled and appear otherwise impassable--except for a small, open room at the other end of the hallway.
The room shares similar architecture to the rest of the Moon Palace but the purpose of this room is difficult to imagine. There are no decorations. No furniture. No windows or doors.
And yet, in the middle of the room, on a single pedestal, the piece of the Code recovered from the fallen Knight Academy sits. The Code is the source of energy that connects all Knights and grants them their individual powers, and this large piece is known as a Cornerstone Piece. This Code piece is sentient and can communicate with Knights with both words and images. When it chooses to manifest, it does so at the podium, and appears as a fine, glowing mist that seems to pulse and ebb as if it has some sort of heartbeat.
This piece of the Code has been charged with energy and is capable of assigning new Wonders to unawakened Knights and Negaverse Agents who did not have Wonders in their past life. All Moon Knights must be assigned their Wonders by the Code Piece. The Code Piece has the ability to summon potential candidates to its room by the Celestial Theatre and can assign them a Wonder on the Moon. It cannot purify Negaverse Agents, but Cosmos can, and is easily reachable from within the Celestial Theatre.
The Code can summon anyone to it, but it can only assign Wonders to civilians who would have otherwise remained unpowered, and Negaverse Agents who do not have a Wonder to protect; it cannot assign Wonders to awakened characters, Mauvians, or Velencians. A Youma or Half-Youma must be purified by a Royal and a Court but can be assigned a Wonder. The Code will only summon a Negaverse Agent who is ready to purify; any hostility will be immediately reject the Agent from the Moon. It is impossible to teleport elsewhere on the Moon, and the Celestial Theatre will not activate for anyone still aligned with Chaos.
The Celestial Theatre has different accessibility rules than other parts of the Moon Palace; the Code can deliberately summon soon-to-be Moon Knights to it at any point in time. Any Non-Chaos character who is attempting to get into contact with Cosmos but cannot reach her, or who feels they need something but don’t know what, may be summoned here at any point in time. Once they arrive, the Cosmic Brooch will appear pinned to their uniform. The Brooch can be kept as a memento, but if they ever wish to return to the Celestial Theatre they must put the Brooch on and think about it. The Brooch will teleport them to the Celestial Theatre. Mauvians, Senshi, Knights, Phenomenal Cosmic Powers, and Vanguardians can earn this Brooch, and some civilians may also be eligible; anyone who attempts to visit with hostile intentions will be denied. Chaos characters cannot earn a brooch no matter what their intentions; they must purify to earn one. The Brooch can only teleport one person; they cannot bring a guest. However, once someone has earned a Brooch they can guide others on how to reach the Celestial Theatre. There are no cooldowns between visits and it costs no energy to travel to the Celestial Theatre; the Brooch can be used to teleport someone from nearly all locations, but it may not from in pocket dimensions (Such as Mirrorspace or Negaspace, or a Meta/Event location). Characters can travel to the Theatre and visit the Code Piece if they like but they cannot access other parts of the Moon through the Theatre. The Celestial Theatre does not follow the below rules for reaching all other parts of the Moon Palace.
Meta Survey
We appreciate everyone who sent in a response for our Meta survey! We will be using this information to try and plan and improve future shop events! We don’t have any major shop run events planned for the near future, but we will have some Rehoming Events!
Grab Bag Update
We are diligently working through our Grab Bag updates, but we’d like to request that any player who has posted for a Grab Bag and hasn’t been contacted about the art to please review their claim and make sure the information is up to date! Please remember that our artists are using the information that you post to pick up the pieces, so the more information you have, the better chances you have of being picked up by someone who can get started on your art immediately! If your claim has ‘Will discuss with an artist’, please update your post with as much information as possible. You can update with reference images, physical descriptions, mood boards, colors you like or don’t like/styles you like or don’t like, anything, but our artists need an idea of what you are asking for before they can pick up the art. Please make sure your post has as much information as possible, including expression, template, reference images, links to current art, etc. If you are choosing CC, please make sure you include any information; if an artist contacts you with a CC Sketch and you don’t like it, they are not obligated to make any changes. To ensure that you are getting art you want, please make sure you include any information that can help!
Even if your claim is exactly what you want and has all of the information you want to give the artists, we are asking everyone who is still looking for a grab bag artist to edit their post and make sure to quote In the Name of the Mule in your claim; if you don’t know where your claim is, or would prefer to PM the mule, you are welcome to do that as well! We want to make sure no claims have been missed and that players are still satisfied with the information they’ve provided in their claim. Thank you!
Fourth Stages
We will always continue trying to improve the shop and run fun events; we know the question of Fourth Stages has been in the air for a while but would like to assure players that we do have new Fourth Stage characters on the way, and we have been keeping an eye on active third stage characters to nominate! We appreciate every player nomination sent in and read through all of them. If you feel that your character, or another player’s character, should be considered for Fourth Stage, please see this thread for more information, including a form you can use to make nominations!
General Communication
Our final topic to touch on for today is just a gentle reminder to everyone that we’re all here to have a good time and have fun. We know the world is a stressful place, and we hope everyone knows they are welcome and wanted here. We have many passionate and creative players and sometimes thoughts or opinions might not always align. We know everyone here has the best intentions at heart, but we ask that as we enter this new year, everyone please try to be considerate and conscientious of their words during these conversations. It can be very difficult to tell tone, so we just want to ask that everyone please keep that in mind! We encourage open communication, so if you aren’t sure that your tone is coming across as intended, please be ready to clarify! Similarly, if you are unsure about someone’s tone, please feel free to politely ask them to clarify. This might best be done in private to encourage honest communication; we are not encouraging anyone to try and pick fights or make a public spectacle when the end goal is to just better understand and respect each other! We know everyone has different communication methods, and because we are a large group of people we don’t want anyone to accidentally wind up with hurt feelings; we encourage transparency and open communication so we can all be respectful to one another!
Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2022 12:03 pm
Hey, everyone! We have a number of updates for today, most of which are corrections, clarifications, or small adjustments! This announcement includes information related to Mauvian Character Limit, MYO Approval Submissions, Growth Item Limits, Character Caps, Moon Knight Summons/Signet Rings, Vanguardian ComTech, Unlocking sustainable life on Homeworlds/Wonders, Crown Token Costs, and Art Guidelines: Faction Uniforms (Senshi Wings and General Clarifications). We still have more we're working on but wanted to get these out for now!
Mauvian Character Limit
Players were previously limited to one Mauvian per player, but as of today, we are removing this limitation. Mauvians will remain rare characters, and once a player completes the humanoid growth requirements for their Mauvian, they will be able to acquire another one. Because the Mauvian Senshi stage is optional, they do not need to complete those requirements before getting another Mauvian. Mauvians will go on the regular powered cooldown. The Mauvian questing form has been updated just slightly to include the following:
Quote:
Is this your first Mauvian?: (If yes, please just put yes; if no, please link to your most recent Mauvian’s growth claim, growth log, or RP log that shows they have unlocked their humanoid form)
MYO Approval Submissions
To help streamline the MYO Approval process and make sure we have all information submitted as early as possible, we are going to be asking that all new MYO Artist and Art Approval Submissions use the following forms! This information will be added to the MYO Information Thread:
Quote:
When submitting a piece of art for approval, please submit the following form to In the Name of the Mule:
[b]MYO Art Approval Form[/b] [b]Character[/b]: (Please include the character's name and a link to the journal or quest for the character you are getting art of) [b]Current Art:[/b]: (Please include a hyperlink to their current art; do not use an [img][/img] code; use a [url=]x[/url] code) [b]Growing to:[/b] (What rank is your character growing to and are they undergoing any changes? Changes include things like side swaps/partial youmafication/ascending/transcending/etc) [b]Has the character reached requirements and/or gotten plots approved?[/b] (You can get art approved before they have reached IC requirements so it is ready to be dropped when they do, but you must be nearing completion of growth requirements. If you are getting art that reflects any changes that require plot approval, such as side swaps/youmafication/ascending/transcending/etc, have you sent them in and gotten approval? We may not be able to approve art if you have not sent in a plot and begun the approval process but we will work with players.) [b]Have you reviewed MYO procedure?[/b] (Please make sure that you send us a sketch and flats before the final stage of art; if staff misses something in the approval stage we will not punish players for our mistake, but players need to send us art that shows us a sketch of the outfit before it is lined, and it should either have colors in the sketch [i]or[/i] flats after the sketch is approved. If something changes between an approved WIP and the final art that does not meet guidelines, the art may not being usable as official art, so please be thorough when getting changes to design approved during this process.) [b]MYO Art for Approval:[/b] (Please include a hyperlink to the image; do not use an [img][/img] code; use a [url=]x[/url] code) [b]Artist:[/b] (Please include the artist's name and a link to the artist's social media page, commission information, or other website that they use)
When submitting an artist for MYO consideration, please submit the following form to In the Name of the Mule:
[b]MYO Artist Approval Form[/b] [b]Artist Name[/b]: (Please include a name and a link to at least one website where they can be credited; this can be a social media page, a commission resource link, or some other link that would allow the artist to be properly credited) [b]Artist Samples[/b]: (Please include a link to a sample of finished art in the style you will be commissioning)
Growth Item Limits
The growth item limit per stage has been a bit confusing and we want to simplify the rules regarding their use. Instead of the previous rule that allowed a player to use growth items to cover 1/3 battle requirements, 1/3 regular requirements, and 1/3 solo requirements, we have adapted a hard number of growth items that can be used per stage. Players will now be able to use growth items to replace 1 Battle, 3 Regulars, and 3 Solos at first stage, and 2 Battles, 4 Regulars, and 3 Solos at second stage. Like roleplays, these can swap down but not up. Henshin Pens can be used to replace 1 Battle, 1 Regular, or 3 Solos; Luna-Ps can be used to replace 1 Regular or 3 Solos; Star Candy can be used to replace 1 Solo. This does not affect a player's ability to swap battles to cover regulars or solos, or to swap regulars for solos; it only affects how many growth items can be used to cover specific requirements.
The information regarding character cap has been a little confusing so we have updated it to clarify our interpretation of the rules in the Character Cap Limits and Cooldown Registry thread. The rules are not changing, only being reworded to simplify and clarify character cap limitations. Previously, the wording in the Character Cap thread stated "This means, a player with fifteen second stage characters will need to grow at least one of them to be eligible to claim another through MYO, raffle, custom, crown tokens, or other shop hosted event." We have reworded this to state, “This means, a player will need to have fourteen points or less to be eligible to claim a new character through MYO, raffle, custom, crown tokens, or other shop hosted event." The thread also stated "Additionally, players will not be able to acquire templated alt art if they have 15 points or more." and we have reworded it to state, "Additionally, players will only be able to acquire templated alt art if they have 14 points or fewer."
Vanguardian ComTech
The Vanguardian Information thread has been adjusted and expanded upon just slightly to more clearly explain the GPS function and sensing auras of other powered characters. The Information thread now reads:
Quote:
A GPS Locator is an optional feature. Velencians are not like other powered characters; they cannot power up and so do not have an energy signature or the ability to sense energy signatures. Velencian ComTech naturally has a Vanguardian GPS system that allows them to locate other members of the Vanguard who have the GPS system enabled. This GPS system can also pick up any powered character within a mile, however much larger signatures can be picked up from further away. The GPS registers different factions and powered ranks so the wearer can determine strength by judging the size of the dot as it appears on the GPS. The GPS can be programmed to show different factions as color coded based on personal choice; the GPS recognizes commonly encountered energy signatures such as Knights, Order Senshi, Negaverse Agents, and Corrupted Senshi. Chibi Senshi and Deep Space Senshi will appear as Senshi, Half-Youma will appear as Negaverse Agents, Mauvians may not appear on the radar until they are within sight or very near to the Vanguardian (unless they are in their humanoid form), and PC youma or other strong youma may show up; weaker youma may create a blip but be difficult to track. Velencians can opt out of appearing on other Vanguardian GPS systems if they so choose, but they can otherwise use the GPS option to locate other members of the Vanguard. The GPS can be disrupted by magical means, technical failures, or plot related flaws.
Moon Knight Summons/Signet Rings
Information on acquiring a Summon and Signet Ring for Moon Knight have been expanded upon in the Knight Information and Quest thread. Because these characters did not have powered lives before now to inherit these artifacts, they have a slightly different method of acquisition.
To receiving the Signet Ring or Summon, they will first need to find a safe place to house their personal piece of the Code given to them when they are first awakened or purified into a Moon Knight; while this can be handwaved, this will always happen shortly after the Moon Knight’s awakening and introduction to the Cornerstone Code Piece on the Moon. Like other Code Pieces on Knight Wonders, once this small piece is placed into a safe place on the Wonder, it will sync with the natural magic and energy of the Wonder. It will lose its ability to speak; the new Moon knight cannot place their Code Piece anywhere but within their assigned Wonder and they cannot take it off of their assigned Wonder.
At a subsequent visit, the Knight can begin unlocking things (appropriate to their level). Only one thing can be unlocked per visit; a Knight cannot earn their Signet Ring and Summon in the same visit.
To earn a Signet Ring, the Moon Knight can visit their Personal Code Piece and will notice that it is glowing and seems to have something inside. If they reach into the glowing orb, their Signet Ring will manifest for them to claim. This Signet Ring is forged by the new power recently added to the area.
To earn a Summon, the Moon Knight will find an old artifact with latent magic somewhere on their Wonder. They will not be able to tell what the magic is, only that the artifact is important and has something special about it. If they take this artifact to the Personal Code Piece and place the item inside of it, it will magically supercharge and create a new Summon. This Summon will embody the spirit of the Wonder, manifested through the artifact that has been preserved there for so long and brought to life with the new energy flowing through the Wonder.
Moon Knights have not yet unlocked an Aspect but this will be released at a later date!
Unlocking sustainable life on Homeworlds/Wonders
This is a small clarification to the information in the Deep Space Information Thread regarding unlocking life and sustainable life on Homeworlds and Wonders! If your character is purifying from any Chaos faction at third stage, roleplays done while in a Chaos faction won’t count towards unlocking sustainable life on their Homeworld/Wonder. The 25 roleplays to unlock a sustainable world must be done while they are in connection to their Homeworld/Wonder. The roleplays do not all need to feature attempts to restore their Homeworld/Wonder but over the course of roleplays it should be mentioned that they are working on it or trying to improve themselves, and it should be written that they are trying to restore their Homeworld/Wonder or improve it in some way. As soon as a Deep Space Senshi reaches Eternal, their roleplays can be counted towards the 25 needed to unlock a sustainable world but they must purge the Chaos from their world before they can unlock sustainable life.
Similarly, roleplays done while in a Chaos faction cannot be applied towards unlocking any animal life and only new roleplays can be used towards this. Deep Space Senshi can accumulate the RPs to unlock life once they reach Eternal and before their world is purified, but they must defeat the Chaos on their world before any of this life can appear. The life will not appear until a subsequent visit after their Homeworld purification plot concludes but can arrive all at once or in small bursts depending on player choice.
Crown Tokens Costs
We are reducing the Crown Token cost of a few different types of characters; these are reflected in the Crown Token Thread!
The new costs will be:
MYO Mauvian Cat form and Humanoid Form** (Rare*) : 5 [Previously 7] Templated: New Half-Youma without Civilian Art (Rare*) : 8 [Previously 11] Templated: New Vanguardian without Civilian Glamour Art (Rare*) : 8 [Previously 11] Templated: New Half-Youma with Civilian Art (Rare*) : 12 [Previously 15] Templated: New Vanguardian with Civilian Glamour Art (Rare*) : 12 [Previously 15] Templated: Youma (Rare*): 12 [Previously 15] Templated: New Guardian Cat**: 12 [Previously 15]
Any player who has purchased art within the last 3 months as of this date is eligible for a refund to cover the difference in cost; please just PM the Space Cauldron with a link to your claim!
Art Guidelines: Faction Uniforms
We are working to make our rules clearer and easier to follow, especially for MYO artists! We’ve added a little extra information to a few sections. If you have finished templated or MYO art approved already that do not perfectly adhere to these rules, the art can still be dropped. These clarifications will only affect new art. We have added the following to our Art Guideline Information in the MYO Slots Information and the Custom Procedure thread:
Dual Senshi Wings
The wording about dual wings has been confusing in the past and has led to some varying standards, but as long as senshi have at least one complete pair of wings, they will meet uniform requirements. Having a second, smaller pair to complete the ‘dual’ sets is optional and we have updated our information to reflect this.
In the uniform checklist: “(WMS) Eternal Senshi need dual, white, fluffy butt-wings, (DMS) Eternal Senshi need dual, black, fluffy butt-wings, (Corrupted Senshi) Eternal Senshi need dual, black, bat wings” have been reworded to say “(WMS) Eternal Senshi need a pair of white, fluffy wings at their lower back. A second, smaller set of wings are optional. ; (DMS) Eternal Senshi need a pair of black, fluffy wings at their lower back. A second, smaller set of wings are optional. ; (Corrupted Senshi) Eternal Senshi need a pair of black, bat wings at their lower back. A second, smaller set of wings are optional.”
We also have some clarification on the size of Eternal Senshi Wings; in the Is the (WMS/DMS/Corrupted Senshi) Eternal? section below each faction’s checklist, where you can find expanded information on requirements, we have updated the information to say:
White Moon Senshi
Is the White Moon Senshi Eternal? If so, they must have either three stripes on their senshi bottoms to denote rank, or they must have at least three layers of fabric to denote rank. If the Senshi is using layers to denote rank and already had three layers of fabric at a previous stage, they must gain an additional layer of fabric. They must also have a pair of white, feathered wings. Both Eternal Senshi wings should be visible no matter what angle the character is at; the wings do not have a minimum size as long as they can both be seen at all angles, but they do have a maximum size; if they are standing with their arms straight out, the wings should not expand past the character’s elbow. The wings should be attached to the lower back, just above the butt. Wings should not extend above the armpit or below mid thigh; wings should not expand the entire length from the armpit to mid thigh but they can take up 3/4 of that space on any design. Because senshi wings can be done in so many different styles, there is some variation in how they can appear based on artistic interpretation of feathered wings, but the general size/mass should not exceed what is presented in these samples [1] [2]. Dual sets of wings are optional and may appear similar to these samples: [1] [2]
Dark Mirror Senshi
Is the Dark Mirror Senshi Eternal? If so, they must have either three stripes on their senshi bottoms to denote rank, or they must have at least three layers of fabric to denote rank. If the Senshi is using layers to denote rank and already had three layers of fabric at a previous stage, they must gain an additional layer of fabric. They must also have a pair of black, feathered wings. Both Eternal Senshi wings should be visible no matter what angle the character is at; the wings do not have a minimum size as long as they can both be seen at all angles, but they do have a maximum size; if they are standing with their arms straight out, the wings should not expand past the character’s elbow. The wings should be attached to the lower back, just above the butt. Wings should not extend above the armpit or below mid thigh; wings should not expand the entire length from the armpit to mid thigh but they can take up 3/4 of that space on any design. Because senshi wings can be done in so many different styles, there is some variation in how they can appear based on artistic interpretation of feathered wings, but the general size/mass should not exceed what is presented in these samples [1] [2]. Dual sets of wings are optional and may appear similar to these samples: [1] [2]
Corrupted Senshi
Is the Corrupted Senshi Eternal? If so, they must have either three stripes on their senshi bottoms to denote rank, or they must have at least three layers of fabric to denote rank. If the Senshi is using layers to denote rank and already had three layers of fabric at a previous stage, they must gain an additional layer of fabric. They must also have a pair of black, bat-like butt-wings that are small and decorative. These must be black. Both Eternal Senshi wings should be visible no matter what angle the character is at; the wings do not have a minimum size as long as they can both be seen at all angles, but they do have a maximum size; if they are standing with their arms straight out, the wings should not expand past the character’s wrist. The wings should be attached to the lower back, just above the butt. Wings should not extend above the armpit or below mid thigh; wings should not expand the entire length from the armpit to mid thigh but they can take up 3/4 of that space on any design. Because senshi wings can be done in so many different styles, there is some variation in how they can appear based on artistic interpretation of bat wings, but the general size/mass should not exceed what is presented in these samples [1] [2]. Dual sets of wings are optional and may appear similar to these samples: [1] [2]
Knight Symbols
Previously it was only mentioned in the uniform guidelines for Knights that they are the only ones who should be using their symbols, but this is important to distinguish in all factions to ensure Senshi or other factions are not accidentally incorporating Knight symbols. We have added this to the Uniform Guideline checklists for all non-Knight factions (adjusted to be faction appropriate):
[-] Symbols reserved for other factions (listed below)
Are they using symbols from another faction? Some symbols are reserved for specific factions. Symbols that are faction locked include the Vanguardian Emblem and Knight Symbols, which are spoilered below for easy access. The Five Pointed Star can be used by Mauvians provided they cannot be mistaken for a Cosmos Knight, and while characters may use a five pointed star very sparingly in other designs, it should not be used as a singular motif and should also not appear on a Senshi’s Brooch or Tiara. If a character’s design looks too similar to another faction, players may be asked to replace any symbols, no matter how sparingly they are used.
We have also added an imgur gallery of Knight symbols, colors, and themes to the MYO for an easy to reference gallery; "A gallery of Knight symbols, color themes, and appearance themes can be found here." has been added to the Can you clearly identify the symbols of the Knight's assigned Planet or Celestial body? , Are the colors of the uniform predominantly from the color swatch of the Knight's assigned Planet or Celestial Body? , and Can the Knight uniform be mistaken for any other faction? sections of the Knight Uniform Guidelines.
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Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2023 1:51 pm
April Updates
Hey, everyone! We just wanted to do a quick rundown of what’s been updated recently! Some of our threads fell a little behind over the Holiday season but we’re trying to catch up and stay more up to date!
The Cosmic Almanac (Present Day) - Updated April 7, 2023 ; all new entries have been linked in the Pages of the Almanac, and we’ve updated the Moon Visitation Dates for the Moon Palace! Because some of the Full Moons fell on different dates in different timezones, we extended those visitation dates to four days instead of the usual three.
The Order Database - Updated February 10, 2023; all new entries have been logged and we have cleaned up the OOC information and Table of Content by splitting these into two posts. We also added links to the TOC to make it easier to navigate the thread. There is also a new post for Vanguardian entries!
The Negaverse Intelligence Database - Updated February 10, 2023; all new entries have been logged! We have also set up an additional post for Vanguardian entries!
The Personal Item Log - This should be updated with everything that’s been sent in as of May 2020, but if there is an item that has not been added, please let us know so we can get it added! If an item has been Acquired but is still listed as Approved, please PM The Space Cauldron so we can get things updated!
Side Swapping: Corruption and Purification - This thread reflected the old standard that side swapping needed to happen within one week, and stated that identities could only be compromised for a week before the character received a new glamour. Characters have two weeks to side swap or get a new glamour after being compromised, so we have updated the information to reflect this!
Journal Updates
As we continue to try and improve access to information and resources, we would like to be transparent that in the upcoming months we are going to be strongly pushing for all players to set up journals for their characters. With as many characters as we have in play and for as many years as the shop has been open, it can be difficult tracking down approved quests and art when a player has not set up a journal for the character.
If you have a character in the shop and have not yet set up a journal, please do so by July 1st. At that point in time we will be setting up a thread with the approved quest and art of every character we can locate so we can link to that information from the Master Character List. This isn’t meant to shame or frustrate anyone who has not yet set up a quest, but we need to have access to the approved quests of characters who are in play so we can have an accurate and up to date log of names, spheres, powers, and art. We understand that some players without journals are no longer active in the shop so this is mostly meant to serve as a placeholder for their characters until/if they are able to set up their own journal.
We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding in this! We are only asking that players set up a journal with at least one post that contains their approved profiles and their official powered art.
More information will be available on this in the upcoming months, but we hope that this advance notice gives everyone enough time to set up all of their journals! If you need help locating a stamped quest or trying to find art that might have been lost, please let us know and we’ll do our best to help you!
The forms for templated art and grab bags have been updated slightly! We’re asking for a little more information in these forms to make sure that our artists have a better understanding of what players might be asking for, especially when they are posting for grab bags! The new forms have been updated in the thread and, moving forward, we will ask that everyone use the new forms. If you already have a character posted (either in grab bag or otherwise) you do not need to update the form. However, if you have a grab bag that has not yet been picked up, it is encouraged–but optional–to edit your post with an updated form.
As more Senshi and Knights reach third stage and unlock sustainable locations, we wanted to reward continued RP and dedication to their Homeworlds/Wonders. As their bonds strengthen and their worlds continue to restore, a natural progression seems to be giving their world the ability to carry more guests back and forth with them. So, Senshi and Knights can now earn the ability to bring more guests as they meet certain RP Requirements:
Once a Senshi or Knight has unlocked a sustainable world, every 25 solos or roleplays with at least 500 words written for that character can unlock an additional guest slot for them to bring with them when they travel to their Homeworld or Wonder. There is presently no cap to this and as long as a character is committed to restoring their Homeworld/Wonder and is regularly visiting it, their bond will continue to strengthen and allow them to comfortably bring more guests. A player will need to send in the 25 solos or roleplays to the mule to indicate that their character has unlocked an extra guest but they do not need to submit a plot to unlock the extra guest; this is something that will just naturally take less energy.
While players can submit plots to allow their character to bring a larger number of guests with them, this would allow characters to bring more guests outside of approved events.
This is just a small expansion for the usage of IC RP Items to enhance the roleplay experience for players who have obtained these. IC RP Items (including one time use items as well as permanent accessories) cannot be given to another player or character, but ICly a character who has obtained one can choose to use it on someone other than themselves.
IC RP Items that can be used once can be used on another PC or NPC with approval, and Permanent Items may be used on NPCs. Because of the nature of Permanent Items, they are not eligible to be borrowed unless their usage directly states or implies another person can be involved with their usage (such as the Sparkling Earrings that allow two characters to have a telepathic link). However, because NPCs are often vital parts to our characters’ stories and because they are not eligible for IC RP Items, it may be possible for a PC to share an item with them. For example, a powered character and their NPC civilian sibling might be in a situation where the PC lets them borrow their Silver Whistle (which, when blown, disorients all opponents within fifteen feet). Or, a Negaverse Agent might use their Engraved Medallion (which lowers powered aura by one rank) on their approved, bonded youma NPC. Permanent or multi-use items will need to be approved by the mule and may not work with all items or situations.
Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2023 8:55 am
Hello, everyone!
It’s been a while since we had an update so we just wanted to go over a few of the things we’ve been working on and updated recently!
Past Life Roleplay
We’ve made an update to our rules about playing characters in the Past Life Subforum; previously, characters could only be played up to the rank they had ICly earned in present day. However, with the introduction of Deep Space Senshi, it means that characters are capable of arriving at first stage and should still reasonably have memories of their interactions with characters who have been reborn and are in play already. To encourage more past life roleplay and give more past life opportunities, we have changed the rules to allow players to play their characters at first, second, or third stage regardless of their present day rank. Characters cannot be Transcended or Fourth Stage in the past unless they have earned it in present day, though it is worth keeping in mind that Transcendence was very rare in the past!
We also have a bit of clarified and updated information for some Velencian things! These have been added to the FAQ section of the Vanguardian Information thread:
Can Velencians go to Negaspace? Can they enter the Dark Kingdom or the Rift?
Under no circumstances can a Velencian be taken into the Rift, but with a Negaverse Agent ranked second stage or higher to vouch for them, they may be granted a small work space within the Castle. They would need to be chaperoned at all times, and if the Vanguardian got into any trouble, the Negaverse character would be held accountable. Players interested in this should send in a PM to The Space Cauldron to discuss intentions and we can give more specific guidance and suggestions.
While a Velencian might be permitted access to the Dark Kingdom, being there for a prolonged period of time would eventually be very draining. The energy gathered in their Source Stone might protect them for a bit, but afterwards the Dark Kingdom would begin to drain the Velencian, too. A fully charged Source Stone could protect them for up to eight hours, but a lesser charged Stone will fade much quicker. Without any stored energy, a Velencian could comfortably be in the Dark Kingdom for up to two hours before they begin to feel tired, and by the three hour mark they would begin to feel incredibly fatigued. By the four hour mark, they would need to go home and rest. The exception to this is Lyndin's house; he has special protection from the Chaos installed into the building that allows anyone inside the building to be protected from the effects of Negaspace.
Are Vanguardians allowed to invite non-Velencians to the shared household provided by Lyndin? Can Velencians who have opposed Lyndin stay or visit this location?
It is highly encouraged that Vangurdians do not have non-Velencian guests over at the house, as some Vanguardians may not be on friendly terms with those their allies associate with. It could risk the security, safety, and privacy of the Vanguardians and generally speaking it would be considered rude not to get permission from all members living in the house before having guests over. If a guest is over, we ask that players please be incredibly conscientious of this; they should nor do any damage to the house, snoop, or gain any insight about the Vanguardians. Characters should never be powered while over.
Vanguaridans who opposed Lyndin may be welcomed into the house, but we ask that players please PM The Space Cauldron to plot this out; Vanguardians who openly ally with Caedus or know his location might cause issues if they were in the area or attempting to sabotage efforts, so this is something we would prefer to work out with players. It is possible for Vanguardians to work together on projects even if their core ideals differ, but we just want to make sure everyone can have a comfortable safe space for their characters so there should be no conflict driven plots occurring at the house.
Certing Updates
We have a few updates to our Certing Thread to streamline the process and clarify the existing rules! If you have already posted for certs this won’t affect you, but moving forward we have a few updates:
If you do not fill out your challenge, a generic, faction appropriate phrase will be used. Your certist will not come up with a unique phrase for your character, so expect common phrases such as "For the Negaverse.", "In the Name of [Faction/Wonder]", etc. MYO art must be dropped in thread before it can be used for certs. For the foreseeable future, the shop is going to aim to have certs every three weeks; as we enter a busy time of year we want to have more straight forward expectations. ‘Faction’ has been added to the cert form; this will help identify factions such as Deep Space Senshi clearly and streamline the certing process.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out! Halloween is right around the corner and we’re looking forward to sharing some spooky prompts…
The Space Cauldron
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The Space Cauldron
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Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2023 6:37 pm
Thanks to the efforts of General Aquamarine working with General King Lepidolite and Queen Laurelite, the Negaverse is implementing a new program! Negaverse characters are eligible for financial compensation to incentivize and reward them for their efforts. The information below has been updated into the Negaverse Tools and Resources thread for Negaverse Agents and Corrupted Senshi. Youma may be eligible for some sort of salary as well, however this can be discussed through PMs. More information can be found here.
Please make sure to read through to see how it affects your character! Staff will work with players to ensure this doesn’t negatively impact any plots they currently have or are planning to have, but our hope is that this will open more roleplay opportunities and allow Negaverse characters to reach their full potential.
Thank you to Sunshine Alouette for submitting the proposal and working with staff! Negaverse players are always welcome to submit ideas to the mule so if you have any ideas you would like your characters to be involved with, please PM The Space Cauldron!
Salary
Salary determination requires taking into account a character’s rank, length of service, standing with the Negaverse. Salary is typically expected to be supplemental pay, but agents who also have a Negaverse sponsored job (as is common in the Infiltration branch, where the Negaverse can set them up with a job that will aid them in branch duties) may have this bonus tacked onto their typical salary for that position.
Salary is determined by meeting certain benchmark goals as well as a flat base pay. A first stage character will get a base pay of $1600 per month, a second stage character can get $2000, a third stage character can get $2500, and a fourth stage character can get $3000+. This salary will increase depending on years served, especially in the case of agents who have shown consistent and thorough performance while meeting quota. This can be assumed to be +$100 per month for years served. Time spent where the character did not power up for personal reasons will not accrue any bonuses unless OOCly approved.
This is a loose parameter for what to expect and we will work with players who want to earn more or less, so please PM to work out specifics if you want to use more than the basic parameters above! Players who want their character to be eligible to earn a higher salary can be easily approved for this; if your character has projects or events they are working on for the Negaverse, have accumulated at least ten medals, or regularly spends (or is willing to spend) their ‘35 hour work week’ doing Negaverse aligned duties (such as Infiltration positions in Destiny City, Negaverse tasks or paperwork around the castle, or training themselves/others/etc.) they will be eligible for higher pay.
If a character is younger than 18 years old, their salary may be put into a bank account owned by the Negaverse to be transferred to them upon their 18th birthday; until then, they will have a bank card to use but may need to work with a superior officer to access large sums of money. Financial aid classes and guidance are available. Due to Mauvians’ technological skills, they can leave a clean trail to avoid any tax or audit issues. If a character chooses to forego their salary, the Negaverse can pay the amount of their salary in the form of a donation of their choice, or do some other goodwill for the city in their honor (such as setting up scholarships or investing the money back into the Negaverse and its projects).
One Time Bonuses
Upon reaching second stage, all Negaverse characters are eligible for a one time $500 bonus. Upon reaching third stage, all Negaverse characters are eligible for a one time $1000 bonus. This can only be granted once; if a character does multiple side swaps and returns to the Negaverse, they do not get an additional bonus for regaining lost ranks. If a character has reached a rank prior to this release, they will be compensated with their bonus with their first paycheck.
Recurring Bonuses
These can be distributed based on need/player desire. If a character has ICly been going above and beyond in such a way that is documented in RP (shown in RP, not just handwaved or headcanoned off screen), they might be spotlighted/rewarded for their dedication. There might be bonuses for gathering starseeds, draining energy, taking down enemy combatants, running successful missions, etc; players interested in this option should reach out to the mule to discuss what they are hoping for/what fair compensation they are seeking. Bonuses can be treated as accomplishing certain tasks that go above and beyond, or as ‘overtime’ for work already expected of them.
OOC Exemptions from Salary
If a player wants to avoid changing their character’s living situation or has plots that require their character to remain within a certain pay bracket, there are some ways to ICly navigate this and we can work with players OOCly to find a plot explanation that satisfies them. Some explanations might be sudden and unexpected bills (home repair/increased living expenses/auto accidents/family emergencies/etc.) that constantly drain any extra funds they might have been eligible for. In some rare cases, there may be some issue within the Negaverse that would limit funds reaching them, such as a Captain/General redirected funds that should go to them elsewhere, but this is not commonplace and would require a plot. We are willing to work with players to ensure this doesn’t disrupt plots or character types they want to play, but we do want to open up the doors for the Negaverse to begin to adequately compensating their workers.
ICly, this information would be distributed as a notification on the Negaverse tablet and characters would be encouraged to give their information as soon as possible so they can begin receiving payment. The first payments will be sent out at the end of October and will include the entire month's pay and any earned bonuses. Payments are not retroactive prior to October and will roll out on a biweekly schedule starting in November.
Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2024 4:47 pm
Knight Updates
A magical fluctuation rippled through the universe, resonating and reverberating through each individual piece of the Code. Thankfully, their protectors managed to come together and stabilize the oddity before any damage could be done–and because of their heroics, the Knight faction has grown stronger! They have unlocked Cosmic Resonance–the ability to shift their weapon into an alternate form as well as unlock a secondary magic pool. Additionally, they have expanded their magic pool and now have more magic to draw from. More information can be found below!
Knight Updates: Weapons and Magic (Cosmic Resonance)
After stabilizing the Code, Knights have expanded their weapon and magic capabilities! Each individual Code piece has now been stabilized and can better calibrate with its Knight Guardian and the Wonder it is tied to. As a result of this restored power, Knights can now will their weapons to shift between one of two forms and can tap into a secondary magic pool.
Any Knight who participated in the event is eligible to unlock these abilities immediately upon reaching third stage, but any new Knights or Knights that did not participate in the plot must fulfill additional requirements. These can be permanently found in the Knight Questing Thread but are also listed below. Knights who participated in the event will use the modified form that was posted in the event thread. If a character is not yet third stage, players must wait until they have posted the character for growth before they send in a PM, but participation in the event at any rank allows a character to unlock with reduced requirements.
Knight players who did not participate in the event will need to fill out this form and send to The Space Cauldron to unlock more abilities! While Knights who did not participate in the event will need to have done five RPs or Solos on their Wonder as well as five battles once they reach Knight stage, the reduced requirements allow Knights who participated to unlock after only three RPs or Solos on their Wonder and three battles once they have reached Knight stage.
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Unlocking Cosmic Resonance
Once a Knight has reached third stage and is properly in tune with their Wonder, they can improve weapon and magic mastery by attuning with their Code Piece. By completing some OOC RP Requirements and a small IC plot, they can unlock an alternate weapon form and an additional magic pool that allows them to use a totally different Knight magic or temporarily transform their weapon into a lethal weapon.
Restrictions: This Quest can only be completed by third stage Knights; players must PM The Space Cauldron with information as outlined below before pursuing this plot.
To Complete this Quest:
Your character must be at least a third stage Knight. Your character must have at least five completed solos or roleplays that take place on their Wonder. These should showcase your character bonding with their Wonder or becoming closer with it in some way. This might include working to restore it, having past life memories related to the culture or history of the Wonder/speaking to their ancestor, completing rituals or trials, or any other meaningful experience. Your character must have located the Code piece on their Wonder. These roleplays can be done at any point during your Knight’s development and you can use roleplays from any growth stage. Your character must have five battles once they’ve reached third stage to show them improving or becoming proficient with their weapon and magic. The player must PM The Space Cauldron to indicate that they would like their Knight to unlock additional forms or magic. Players can use the following form:
[b]Knight Journal[/b]: [url=???]Character’s Name[/url] [b]RP Links[/b]: (Please include links to five completed solos or roleplays that take place on the character’s Wonder and showcase your character bonding with their Wonder or becoming closer with it in some way. These RPs can take place at any rank. Please also link to five completed battle RPs that have taken place since your character has reached third stage; this should showcase them improving or becoming more proficient with their weapons and magic)
[b]Current Weapon[/b]: (Please include the description of their current weapon) [b]Current Magic[/b]: (Please include the description of their current magic)
[b]Alternate Weapon Form[/b]: (This is an alternate form your weapon can take. It can be similar or completely different from their current approved weapon but it must follow Knight rules. It must be a timeless artifact and it must not be lethal. Your Knight will only have one item but they can shift it from its original form to its alternate form. This will become easier with practice and eventually they will be able to seamlessly shift the form. Knights can channel their magic from either form.)
[b]Secondary Magic[/b] : (This is an alternate magic pool your Knight will be able to tap into. Knights can access this magic [i]or[/i] their original magic regardless of what weapon form they have, and using one magic will not deplete the pool of the other magic. Players have two options for this: 1) create an alternate magic that follows standard Knight rules and reflects their power themes or 2) their weapon will shift into a lethal weapon. This magical weapon should be timeless and cannot be a firearm or weapon that requires any ammunition (bullets, pellets, arrows, etc.) but it can be sharp enough or bladed to do lethal damage. The lethal weapon should be similar to at least one of their non-lethal weapon forms and should be considered a temporary lethal enhancement. Other characters cannot wield a Knight’s lethal weapon, as they must be holding it to channel the magic. This magic pool will typically be 45 seconds and players can channel it by turning it on and off.)
[b]Plot[/b]: (To unlock this ability ICly, your character must visit the Code piece on their Wonder. [color=red]They may have noticed some anomalies when summoning their magic, such as shortened cast time, weakened or distorted magical effects, or feeling incredibly drained afterwards. Their weapon may be incredibly draining to summon, or may appear warped or malformed, or extremely fragile. The weapon and magic should never do lethal damage but this is designed to be short term story flair.[/color] These effects are not required; a character may simply just feel a strong pull to their Wonder. Upon convening with the Code, they will feel the urge to present their weapon, at which point in time the Code piece will envelop it in a warm light, allowing the Knight to tap into their new abilities. Upon request, the Code [i]can[/i] speak to them to answer questions, so please include what conversation you are hoping for so we can guide the Code’s dialogue for you! The staff can either RP this out with a player or offer prewritten dialogue for a solo. While characters may instinctively know how to tap into their new magic or shift their weapon form, it will still require practice to become proficient)
If a player is unsatisfied with their Alternate Weapon form or magic, it can be revised at a later date, but it may require a small plot if anything is already ICly in use. If players want to unlock a secondary magic but not an alternate weapon form, or vice versa, they can do this. Please just include this in your form when you submit. If you choose to only unlock one or the other and later want to unlock more, please PM in this form again again and include all presently unlocked abilities.
Magic Pools
Additionally, this update will separate magic pools; rather than Knights having a single magic pool for all of their magic, they will now be able to tap into up to three different magic pools. At first, Squires and above will be able to use only their original base magic pool, but once they unlock their Summon they will now be able to access a different magic pool to fuel their summon. Once they complete the quest to unlock a secondary magic pool, their secondary magic will have a pool of its own. The new summon magic pool is now 45 seconds, and the secondary magic pool is expected to be 45 seconds as well but may differ slightly based on the magic submitted. A Knight’s summon can be channeled at the same time as their original magic and their secondary magic, but original magic and secondary magic cannot be channeled at the same time. This change affects all Knights, whether they participated in the event or not!
Because of the above update, the following information has also been updated:
A second manifestation of magic has been unlocked, meaning that Royal Knights can use their previous Knight magic or their Royal Knight magic. Royal Knight magic has a second channeling pool that typically lasts between forty five seconds and a minute depending on abilities; abilities at this stage are more powerful than a third stage Knight would be permitted. Once they deplete their magic pool, they cannot recast their Royal Knight magic They can cast their normal Knight magic. Because these exist in two different magic pools, a Royal Knight and Knight could reasonably use both attacks in battle, however the Royal Knight magic must be approved before use in RP.
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A second manifestation of magic has been unlocked, meaning that Royal Knights can use their previous Knight magic or their Royal Knight magic. Royal Knight magic has a second channeling pool that typically lasts between forty five seconds and a minute depending on abilities; abilities at this stage are more powerful than a third stage Knight would be permitted. Once they deplete their magic pool, they cannot recast their Royal Knight magic They can cast their normal Knight magic. Because these exist in two different magic pools, a Royal Knight and Knight could reasonably use both attacks in battle, however the Royal Knight magic must be approved before use in RP. This magic is different than the secondary magic pool that can be unlocked by completing the Cosmic Resonance quest. If a Royal Knight has completed the quest, they will be eligible to have three magic manifestations, all with different magic pools, as well as a fourth magic pool for their summon.
To channel magic, the Knight needs to touch their Signet Ring and focus briefly on the call of their Planetary Allegiance. While Aspects can be summoned in battle, they cannot use both their Aspect and their Wonder’s channeled magic at once. If they try to tap into their Magic Pool, their Aspect will automatically go inactive.
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To channel magic, the Knight needs to touch their Signet Ring and focus briefly on the call of their Planetary Allegiance. Aspects can be summoned in battle, and can be used when a Knight is channeling from other magic pools as well. However, an Aspect's abilities will drain twice as fast if used at the same time as other magic is channeled. This includes magic from their base magic pool, their Summon's magic pool, or their secondary magic pool (if the Knight has completed the Cosmic Resonance quest to unlock it). If a character is channeling a Summon and magic from another magic pool, the Aspect will still only drain twice as fast; it does not compound when using both.
For the Summons to manifest physically, the Knight must tap into their Magic Pool; this means that they must choose whether or not to have their Summons manifest or channel their magic. While they can channel both at once, it means that their magic pool depletes twice as fast. However, when summoned, the Summons will automatically add +10 seconds to the Knight’s available channeling time.
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For the Summon to manifest physically, the Knight must tap into their Summon-specific Magic Pool. This magic pool is separate from their natural magic pool, or any secondary magic pool they have unlocked by completing the Cosmic Resonance quest. A summon’s magic pool lasts for 45 seconds and channeling can be turned on and off at will. Knights can channel their Summon in tandem with either their primary or secondary magic; because the Summon utilizes its own Magic Pool, it will not deplete any differently if the character is also channeling either their primary or secondary magic as well.
Summons will no longer get a +10 second duration to the Knight’s standard magic pool but will instead utilize their own magic pool!
Cosmic Resonance is a Knight specific quest that allows Knights to unlock an alternate form for their weapon and a new magic with an additional magic pool. Only third stage Knights who have met the requirements listed there are eligible to unlock these features. By completing the quest, Knights can unlock a secondary form their weapon as well as a secondary magic pool. Knights can only ever have one weapon at a time, so this ability only allows them to shift their weapon between up to two approved forms. The secondary Knight magic is a separate pool of magic and can either be written as a traditional Knight magic pool or it can allow the Knight to temporarily transform their weapon into a lethal weapon.
The Space Cauldron
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The Space Cauldron
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Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2024 7:26 am
Hey, everyone!
With Star Fest concluding, we have a few updates we’d like to share! We have some art guideline clarifications for all art moving forward, some updates for journals and templated art forms, and a major update for Brigades and Courts!
Art Guidelines
Senshi Sashes - Belts
Regarding Senshi bows and sashes, we have a bit of clarification on how belts can be used to meet guidelines! Not all belts can qualify as a sash, so if you are designing a White Moon Senshi, Corrupted Senshi, or Dark Mirror Senshi, please review the following!
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Belts that incorporate bows or bowtails into their design can be used as a sash substitute but they typically cannot be used alone unless they are substantial and clearly decorative, such in the case of cinches and cummerbunds. Obi wraps and obi square knots are valid. Wide belts may qualify, especially when the belt is clearly fabric, but they must be clearly decorative and cannot be functional. Belts that do not meet those qualifications may still be valid if they are designed with connected bowtails, ribbons, or hanging fabric that substantially contribute to the design. Twisted fabric, grecian rope, cords, strung beads, and thin belts cannot be used to substitute as a sash.
This information will be added to the Custom Procedure Thread and the MYO Art information threads! If you have a design you'd like to use but are unsure if it works or need suggestions to make it fit guidelines, we'll be happy to help you if you PM the art to In the Name of the Mule!
Transcendence Markings
Regarding Transcended Markings, we just have a small update to cover the minimum amount of markings that must be visible!
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At a minimum, visible Transcendence markings must take up the same amount of space that could be expected for a forehead symbol and must be easy to see on the skin.
Characters can have Transcendence markings under their clothes but for art purposes, at least a small amount must be visible to distinguish the character. It does not need to be on their forehead, but wherever it is must cover, at minimum, the same amount of space as a forehead marking.
Journal Updates
In an effort to create more transparency and clarity on our approved and acquired characters, we have been encouraging players to set up their journals and get them updated on the Master Character List. It is required to set up a journal when you get a new character. We are still asking that people please set up journals for their characters if they have not already! Journals must have your approved quest and all official art for the character. Please update your journals to include these things if you have not already!
We have updated the information in our Civilian and Powered Journal threads but the major changes made here are just to reiterate that your journal needs to feature the character's stamped quest information as well as display or link to all official character art. It also has updated information about what can be edited on a character's profile without needing any revisions and clarifying what things need to be posted for a revision before they can be updated.
Our staff have been compiling approved quests and art for characters that are acquired but do not yet have a journal. We will be making a thread to host these profiles so we have easy access to the information. The Master Character List will be updated to link to these posts in place of a journal until their player can set up a journal for them. While we still have a great deal of work to do for this project, it is in active development so if you have not set up a journal for any of your characters, we strongly suggest that you do so as soon as possible! This is not an attempt to punish or embarrass anyone but we really need to have these characters properly logged somewhere easily accessible. Thank you for understanding!
Templated Art Forms
We have updated our templated art forms; you can see the full forms in the thread, but the major change is that journals must have the character’s approved quest and all official powered art must be posted in the journal. Make sure you save and host any art to your own server or site, and not from a Discord link or link provided by the artist. If you are struggling to find any of your official art, please let us know and we can try to help! Other smaller changes include linking to the most recent stage of art for a growing character (or any civilian art if applicable for a new character), as well as listing which artist/s that you have spoken to and who have agreed to do the art. Other changes to the form are simply synchronizing the Grab Bag and Standard Art forms to match more!
These threads were previously named [UPGRADE] Unique Art and [UPGRADE] Templated Art; these titles do not accurately reflect the full use of the threads, which are also used for new characters and alternate art claims. The threads have been updated to [OFFICIAL ART] Unique Art and [OFFICIAL ART] Templated Art to better reflect their purpose! The artist availability in the Templated Art Thread is also being revised so please keep your eyes on that as availability is updated!
Brigades and Courts
We have some major updates for Brigades and Courts and strongly urge players who are interested in forming their own (or who have their own already in play) to please review the Teams, Brigades, and Courts Information thread. Many small changes were made to expand playability and some restrictions have been lifted. However, unlocking certain Brigade/Court features now require RP and a plot to unlock. If you have a Brigade/Court that has already unlocked these features, you will be grandfathered in but this will affect all future Brigades/Courts who have yet to unlock these features.
The most major of the updates are included below! These are all OOC updates and will not have an IC tie in, so players can play with these updates immediately!
Joining Multiple Brigades/Courts
Previously, characters were limited to being a member of only one Brigade or Court at a time. As of this update, characters can now join multiple courts however they can only be the leader of one. Because characters can join multiple Brigades/Courts, anyone joining an established Brigade/Court will need to develop a relationship with members prior to joining. Characters cannot be added to an established Brigade/Court offscreen nor can this development be handwaved. Characters will need to do at least three roleplays with Brigade/Court members before being given full Brigade/Court perks and being added to their official roster. The following form will be used:
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Character Name: (Include a link to their journal) Currently affiliated with: (Include the names of all Brigades/Courts they have already joined) Leader of: (Include the Brigade/Court they are a leader of; if they are not a leader, please just put N/A) Joining: (Include the name of the Brigade/Court they are joining) RPs: (Please include three finished RPs with existing Brigade/Court members where you have written at least 500 words)
The above form is only for characters joining an already established Brigade/Court! Characters who are creating a new Brigade/Court together will use the following form:
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Brigade/Court Name: What does your Brigade/Court call itself? Leader*: (If there is no leader, please indicate this!) Founding Members: Which characters are coming together to form the Court? Players may have multiple characters involved in this, but there must be at least two different players involved in the creation of a Court! Roleplays: The founding members of the Brigade/Court must have at least five roleplays together to establish themselves. These must include all founding members; it cannot be fragmented portions of the group. They can be civilian RPs or powered, but they should show the group coming together and forming bonds. They can be regulars or battles. What brought this Court together/what are their goals? What do these characters have in common, what will keep them together, and what will they continue to work towards? Plot to reach Headquarters: A Brigade/Court must unlock their Headquarters to become official; until they reach their Headquarters, they are only a team. To reach Headquarters for the first time, the group must have a plot that solidifies their bond to each other. This might be coming together in a big battle, working together to accomplish a goal, or any plot that showcases their bonds and loyalty to each other. This plot will differ for each group, so please just consider what goals your Brigade/Court has and what connection they share. Your plot should emphasize what they hope to encompass. Once they have completed this plot, they will feel a pull towards their Headquarters. When they arrive together, they will officially become a Brigade/Court and can be added to the register. Headquarters Description: This is typically just a room with the necessities the Brigade/Court will need to function. This might include tables to work on, places to sit, storage, or basic amenities. Headquarters may be more furnished if the Brigade/Court was established in the past, and may be more decorative or stylized. Even Brigades/Courts established in present day may find that the area is themed on them or has special features based on their needs. The more a Brigade/Court invests into themselves, the more the Headquarters will reflect their efforts, however it may still be required to furnish or renovate the Headquarters. A strange magic provides the space here but it cannot create things out of nothing. Please describe the state of your Headquarters as first discovered, but know that you can revise and expand this as the Brigade/Court develops and improves it. Please describe the area, be it architectural, amenities, window-views, etc; please also indicate if the Brigade/Court is newly founded or if it existed in the past as well.
This form has been edited from the previous form to help players better establish a build up to forming their Brigade/Court. Major changes include requiring five roleplays between the founding members as well as clarification to how a Brigade/Court can be established through a plot. Brigade Banners/Court Wands are not required to establish a Brigade/Court but Headquarters are. Brigade Banners/Court Wands can only be earned after a Brigade/Court is established so they have been given a separate form to be sent in after a Brigade/Court has been established. Information about this can be found below.
Established Brigades/Courts will be added to the appropriate Brigade/Court/Team Registry. When Brigades/Courts/Teams are added, they will also have a date to indicate when the information was last updated. We hope this will help players looking for Brigades/Courts find active groups that might suit their plot needs. Players can message the mule at any point in time to confirm that the information is still correct, and staff will update the date to ensure players know the information is accurate. The following form for the registry has been modified; while the form is slightly different for Brigades/Courts, the simplified form for this update is as follows:
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Brigade/Court Name: Leader: (If there is no leader, please write N/A) Current Members: (Who is a member of the Brigade/Court? Don’t include rank but please include names and journal links) Bonded Mauvians: (For Courts only: Does your Court have any Bonded Mauvians they are working with?) What goals does this Brigade/Court have? (What brought the group together? What are their goals, what do they hope to accomplish, and what areas of interest do they have?) Brigade/Court Abilities (Please include what Brigade/Court Abilities you have available to plot with. These include the Brigade Banner/Court Wand (for bubbling starseeds and purifying Half-Youma/Youma) and the Brigade/Court Strike.) Are you available for plots? (Please link to a plot thread or any player contact information the players can use if they need to reach out for plots. You can also use this section to include any information you would like to share about plots, such as what plots you are looking for or if you are accepting new members!) Date Last updated: (Please remember to periodically PM the shop mule to confirm your information is accurate, especially if you are available for plots! Players may check this before reaching out to anyone so it is important to stay up to date!)
When you are ready to submit for a Brigade Banner/Court Wand, your Brigade/Court will need to send in the following form:
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Brigade/Court Name: Please use the official Brigade/Court name Court Wand/Brigade Banner:* (This part of the form differs somewhat if the character is in a Knight Brigade or in a Senshi Court so please see the appropriate information thread for the specific form. The general form of each has been simplified here for the announcement.) Please specify if this is an Item for a Leader or for the whole Brigade/Court. Please include a description of the Brigade Banner/Court Wand. Plot: The Brigade Banner/Court Wand can only be unlocked after a Brigade/Court has been established. This must occur after they have visited Headquarters for the first time. The plot may be a continuation of their plot to establish the Brigade/Court but it must be its own plot. Banners/Wands are typically unlocked in a time of great need or after a significant accomplishment; this may be in a battle (such as to permanently dust a youma), out of need (such as to aid in purifying a youma/half youma alongside a fourth stage or to sustain a starseed), or as a reward for some other meaningful accomplishment. This plot should show that the Captain is effective, or that the Court can work together to get a job done. This will be unique to each Brigade/Court so previously established plots and future goals will be considered during the approval process. While the entire group doesn't need to be present, at least four members of the group need to be involved in unlocking the Banner/Wand.
Headquarters
There was previously a distinction that Senshi Headquarters needed to have been on the Moon and that Knight Headquarters were in a mysterious hall in deep space. This layout does not necessarily work for all characters, as they may not have had any ties to the Moon. Headquarters for Senshi and Knights can now exist on either the Moon or in some mysterious nebulous pocket dimension. Information about Headquarters has been modified to reflect this and expand on existing information:
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Headquarters:
Brigade/Court Headquarters function as a study/gathering area that have magically appeared to meet the needs of the group. Headquarters may either be a new location created for them by some cosmic force or it may have belonged to the group in the past; Headquarters established during the Silver Millennium areas may be more stylized or decorated based on the care from the previous group. Brigades/Courts established in present day may find that the area is themed on them or has special features based on their needs. The more a Brigade/Court invests into themselves, the more the Headquarters will reflect their efforts, however it may still be required to furnish or renovate the Headquarters. A strange magic provides the space here but it cannot create things out of nothing. Upon arrival, Headquarters might already have tables to work on, places to sit, storage, or basic amenities. Headquarters may be one room or it may have several rooms; the larger a group is, the more space they might have.
Headquarters are not located on Earth; they can appear either in a pocket dimension in deep space (where they might have windows that depict the vast universe but without any identifiable celestial bodies) or on the Moon (where characters can look out of the windows and recognize the Moon). Despite Headquarters being on the Moon, groups cannot access Headquarters or the Moon more often by using alternate methods of transportation to reach the Moon (such as Moon Pearls or Star Brooches). Group Headquarters are in an isolated ward of the Moon and groups will find that the doors leading outside of their Headquarters are always locked. However, inside their Headquarters, groups may discover a magical portal that allows them access to Headquarters located on the Moon as well as Headquarters located in the mysterious deep space Hall. These locations can be extensions of each other or different locations to serve different purposes! The portal between the two areas will feel like stepping through a door and there is no limit to how often they can travel between the locations during a Headquarters visit.
It is impossible to see or hear other groups in the area, or feel energy signatures, so Headquarters are very isolated and safe to allow private meetings. It is impossible to find information about who built these rooms or who has maintained them; even Brigades/Courts that were established during the Silver Millennium cannot recall how they came to be, only that they were created for them by a trusted source. The Headquarters will always feel safe, and while here, members will find that they are naturally more in tune with each other. They may have an innate sensation for how to access Brigade/Court powers; this might manifest as instinct, or it may manifest as brief flashbacks if the group established during their past life incarnations and already had access to the abilities at one point in time.
Only members of the group may then enter their Headquarters. The entire team does not need to be present to access Headquarters, but at least four members must be present to use Group Teleportation. The group must use their Group Teleportation to come to this room if needed, but they cannot leave their Headquarters and explore. They may visit their Headquarters once every two weeks using Group Teleportation. Groups can also unlock portals that lead to individual Wonders/Homeworlds from Headquarters, allowing characters to be connected to others in their group and travel (with OOC permission). The blueprints or pre-built prototypes for these magical warp pads can be found in Headquarters or some can already be installed. Groups that existed during the Silver Millennium may have already installed landing points on individual Homeworld/Wonders, but new groups may need to install the warp pads themselves to activate them. These landing points will remain fixed and should not be moved after installed. Once every two weeks, members of the group can travel by themselves to Headquarters from the landing point on their Wonder/Homeworld. From there, they can access Headquarters by themselves and, with OOC player permission (and IC character permission), they can travel to Wonders/Homeworlds of their teammates. This two week cooldown is separate from standard Wonder/Homeworld travel and Group Teleportation magic. Characters can stay at Headquarters for as long as they like provided they have the supplies to last there.
Details about Headquarters may be worked out through PMs if you have any specific requests or questions!
If a Court already has Headquarters on the Moon, upon any visit they can discover a doorway that leads to a secondary Headquarters located in deep space. If a Brigade already has headquarters in Deep Space, they may find a door that leads to an available area on the Moon. These locations can be extensions of each other or different locations to serve different purposes! Brigades/Courts do not need to have any ties to the Moon during the Silver Millennium to gain access to a room.
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