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STATE OF THE GAME: Applications.
We are quickly approaching Agoge's cap of 50 characters, and as such, we feel it's only fair to tighten and clarify our application standards, and how processing of applications is going to go moving forward.
WHENEVER WE HIT OUR CAP.We're currently processing four applications and, should we accept all of them, we'll have one slot left in the game. Once this slot is filled (or if it's filled and we don't perpetually hover around 45-49 players, which would frankly be hilarious), we'll close apps. So, what happens next?
If we have space, we'll open apps on the 7th of a given month, after we've tallied AC and swept idlers. If we're at cap, applications will remain closed until the next month we have available character slots. This is to spare your sanity and ours (especially ours), so we aren't constantly opening and closing apps as soon as someone drops. However, once we open applications, they'll remain open indefinitely, until we hit our character cap.
APPLICATION REJECTIONS.As stated, we'll also be tightening up our standards for applications a bit.
Moving forward, we'll reject an application if we feel it needs substantial revisions in two or more sections, simply because we're essentially asking you to rewrite the app at that point. This will vary on a case-by-case basis, as some revisions will be more minor than others, but that's the general guideline for revisions-vs-rejections from now on.
SAMPLES & YOU.We want to state that samples are the most important part of applications in Agoge. If a section of an application is lacking or mediocre, but the samples are strong, we're more than willing to let the application through anyway. The rest of the application exists to contextualize your samples and let us know anything else we may need for fitting your character in the game, but the single most important part of your application is always samples.
What we're looking for in samples are:Please choose wisely when selecting your samples, because they're the best indicator of what we can expect from you in game. They have been a huge deciding factor in how applications are processed in the past and will remain as such. And, while we don't mind threads from memes like TFLN or the like, please provide threads that feature your character as they exist in canon.
- Creativity, vibrancy, a sense that thought was put into the playing of the character.
- Consistently giving the person you're tagging with something to reply to.
- A character who matches the one described in the personality section. As such, it's wise to give us samples that highlight key points in your app, if possible.
- No smut samples; samples that involve smut will automatically go to revisions.
SOMETHING I CALL PERSONALITY.Personality sections will also undergo closer scrutiny, being the second most important part of applications. As such, we feel it's pertinent to clarify what we look at first and foremost.We don't mind brief personality sections - we encourage them, in fact - but we're looking for depth of understanding. A shallow personality section coupled with lackluster samples will result in a rejection.
- Cohesiveness and clarity; traits should fit together to make a complete character.
- A focus on the character's thought process and feelings. How do they interpret the world and why?
- Examples that establish a clear link between cause and effect. For example, we know Luke Skywalker endures some pretty dubious treatment from Darth Vader, but he forgives him for it. But why does he forgive him?
- Flaws that mitigate strengths and genuinely create difficulty for the character.
- Meet our hard cap of 1,500 words per section.
POWER NERFING.A major appeal of Agoge from the onset was the idea that your character would be in period settings, using period technology and subject to the struggles that come with it. While we don't ever intend to institute complete power nerfing, we do want to level the playing field for all characters. Super powerful characters will be toned down so they don't overwhelm fellow recruits. If you don't want to play a character without their powers, or having to in some way hide them, we ask you to reconsider if Agoge is the right game for you or your character.
Specifically, we have to nerf:We're also going to start requesting players suggest their own nerfs and give revisions for this, if necessary. We don't want you to feel punished by the restrictions placed upon your character, but we aren't familiar with every canon (or even most of them) and think this is the best way to work out what you'd like best.
- Huge spellbooks that cannot be easily defined by a pre-organized list of spells; i.e., it's fine for characters to know many spells, but they have to be listed, and if the character knows too many hugely powerful ones, we reserve the right to put limitations on them.
- Hammerspace is automatically nerfed out of hand.
- Summoning things from other dimensions is either completely nerfed or seriously limited.
- The spontaneous generation of objects, especially without limit.
- Seriously increasing the strength or durability of weaponry or armor without limitation.
If you have questions about a character's powers before applying, please take them to our FAQ!
AND ET CETERA.For written histories and OCs who require the world section, we'd just like to note that these do not need to be exhaustive! Broad strokes are fine; we don't need every single small detail.
What we want from world breakdowns, first and foremost, is for the application to set firm rules for the character to follow. Something to make them feel grounded.
For histories, we're looking for enough to contextualize the character's past and behavior. Essentially, wikis that insist on listing out a character's every action (stares at The Walking Dead wiki) are overkill for us. So don't feel the need to go overboard and feel free to use bullet points if that's easier.
Questions? Comments? Concerns?
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I remember reading something about apps being permanently open and there being a queue for applications posted after cap is hit. Was there a discussion on this that I missed or was this post the mods' final decision regarding processing apps after we reach cap?
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So, in the interest of not accidentally trapping someone in a queue for overly long, we decided to scrap that. However (and I just realized this is unclear, so my bad; I'll edit it into the main post), we aren't returning to monthly applications in full; basically, whenever we open applications, they'll remain open indefinitely until we hit our character cap again.
Re: Questions? Comments? Concerns?
no subject
no subject