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badfic_manor_mods) wrote2010-02-10 05:53 am
badfic_manor_mods) wrote2010-02-10 05:53 am
Information
I. BASIC SETTING
POWERS & WEAPONS
DEATH
PLOTS
II. PLACES
THE MANSION
GROUNDS
III. NPCs
SETTING (BASIC)
Basic Info: The setting is, outside of certain plots, a large Manor house that's something of a hybrid between an upscale mansion and the sort of thing you'd see in a large dormitory (or asylum). The building is set up with central halls, several common rooms listed below, and wings where the rooms and bathrooms/showers are. The area around the Manor is clear, with gardens, a small hot spring, and a gazebo; there's a large lake on one side of the lawns, and a thick forest outside the lawns.
Behind the building are several outbuildings, including a classroom, a garage, a courthouse, a haunted playground and a clinic building. Past the forest to the east is a desert area with a general store in it that restocks weekly. To the west, past the forest, is a beach area with ocean.
If a character goes far enough out into the "ocean" they find themselves returned closer to shore, no matter how they travel - air, boat, walking on the bottom, whatever; in every other direction, the outer boundary of the "grounds" and forest suddenly stops in a semi-visible opaque white barrier - the Fourth Wall - which isn't visible until someone is within about 30 yards of it. From further away, there's a sort of illusion effect that looks like forest and further wilderness scenery, and sky above. The Fourth Wall extends down as far as any character could dig, and up as far as anyone could fly; presumably there's something blocking it off on the top somewhere in low orbit.
The entire setting is a sort of pocket-realm controlled by The Author, a high school age fangirl who has no idea that she's meddling in people's lives. As far as she knows, the characters are fictional characters, with unexpected behavior being "muse weirdness"; assume she's familiar with your character's canon as you'd know it. Think of it as someone with minor godlike power and no idea it's actually real. While the setting has some stable rules to how it functions, it's pretty malleable, and some things about how the Manor itself works won't always conform to real rules of logic, instead following the Author's expectations.
Characters are brought from their universe to here suddenly and inexplicably, while dropped characters are returned back "home". In cases of a dropped character being picked up by a different MUN, it's assumed she somehow got an alternate, but close, version of the timeline - existing characters will remember the previous version, but you're not required to continue anything they were doing or recognize their CR. If you're apping in with canonmates, it is encouraged to check over headcanon, but this does mean there's some allowance for variance, particularly if there's been a previous player with the character.
When going between their reality and the Manor, memory isn't reliable - characters who are dropped and then picked back up by the same player have the option of remembering their past stay at the Manor, only hazily having dreamlike memories, or not remembering anything at all. The Author CAN'T influence the "home" universes other than kidnapping people. If you're doing canon-updates and what happened at the Manor would change how they behave in canon, feel free to handwave that they don't clearly remember whatever it is while they're back home, but otherwise, it's up to the MUN how much people remember when they return home. If you want to do a canon update WITH full memories in a way that would change the canon events, contact one of the mods with what the changes would be beforehand for approval, give a short description of the changes in the OOC post for the canon update - a notes post on the character journal outlining what changed is encouraged, too. (If you're apping in as a castmate to someone who's taken this option, it is still your option whether you want to assume they're same-version and include those changes, or go with canon and assume it's a different timeline.)
There aren't many stable "NPC" characters native to the Manor that have a clear personality and mind of their own; after all, part of why the characters are getting kidnapped is that the Author ... can't write people. The most visible of them who makes himself known occasionally is the Plot Bunny, a chain-smoking, cranky rabbit that lives in a hutch in the gardens. He exists in a sort of interim state where he's stuck acting as the go-between for the characters and the author, although his communication with the Author is limited. He can be found occasionally wandering the grounds, raiding the kitchen, etc., but tends to be fairly elusive; if you want an encounter with him or a character is going outright hunting him, just ping the mods or ask in chat; he's usually run by Birdy (shirhan blade @ AIM, kyanve@Gmail.com, kyanve @ Plurk).
Otherwise, most NPC "background characters" in plots that take place outside the Manor are mock-ups - they're stand-ins on about the level of the random wandering "color" NPC's in RPG's that don't have dialogue or have minimal "Welcome to Corneria" interaction, no real distinguishing traits or identifying features, and may not always even react to characters. For psychic characters, these will not actually sense as "people", but as some kind of empty construct, like a cardboard cutout of a person acting on simple scripts.
There's also the Third Person, a mysterious, invisible phantom who haunts the upper levels and rarely acts, and the Mary Sue that appears once in a while. While the Mary Sue will be part of plots occasionally with her presence announced when she's there, the Third Person is always present, and can be sensed as an elusive presence that never quite holds still enough to get a clear look at or communicate with.
The hallways of bedrooms have a room for everyone, labeled with a plaque with the characters name. The name can be written any way, shape, or form as long as it would be recognizable to the character. This means it can be a nickname, their full name, just their last name, an alias, etc. MUN's choice.
On arrival, characters will wake up anywhere on Manor grounds regardless of whether or not they remember falling asleep before appearing in the manor. You may have them waking up in their rooms, the lake, the middle of the desert, completely on MUN option, although the most common entrance is to wake up in their rooms. Wherever they appear, somewhere nearby is a Blackberry. These are any color with any decals the mun decides. The Blackberry will have a "contact list"; in place of phone numbers are basically ID numbers unique to each character, but names and any other information has to be added by the characters, and it is possible to post "anonymously" while blocking the ID number from showing.
The various video/voice/etc. posts are on a network of sorts; the server for this network is a Schrodinger's computer - it exists, but you'll never actually find the physical machine. The "Server" is purged at the end of every month. Characters can save posts to their Blackberry to keep them, but on arrival you only have access beginning with the feeds posted the week of your arrival.
Characters are also given ID cards that identify them as residents of the Manor. The information on these cards include: a name (whatever name shows up on their name plaque), a photo and a room number. These ID cards are used in order to pick up goods from the shop, and as credit cards during events that send the characters elsewhere.
Characters can share rooms, either at their initiative or MUN-agreement. When they (or their players) decide to move in together the door plaque will change doors, their clothes, etc. will automatically change rooms in the middle of the night, although if they don't know about this they can feel free to struggle with moving. On arrival, most characters will have a separate room unless requested by both MUNs involved; this doesn't need to be something the CHARACTERS would agree to.
Rooms will be numbered (001, 002, 003, etc.) and listed; there's a separate post for them here.
Links for maps and more detailed information on setting areas is lower on this page.
POWERS & WEAPONS
1) Powers and weapons are retained! Firearms, grenades, etc. will only have what ammo and number the character would reasonably have on them. (Yes, this means characters from games with unlimited ammo wouldn't have the normal "unlimited ammo".) If a character wants to use a "field trip" plot to restock, it will only restore what they had when they arrived. For the most part, unless there's some reason the player wants to nerf/limit/restrict a character's powers, they'll work the way the character's used to them working, with the exceptions listed below. In the case of summon spells and the like, please see the FAQ; they ARE allowed, but with some guidelines. In cases of conflicts between characters with massive differences in abilities, the godmod rules ARE still in effect, but we do expect it to be handled reasonably; squishy characters are squishy, and if there's any debate or confusion, we're more than happy to try to sort it out and arbitrate.
2) Instant-kill spells/powers/items will be permitted, on a limited basis. The player must have a permissions post written for their character in order to use their abilities, and in addition must clear their plots with the other character'ss MUN. If you do not have permission to kill their character, using the OHKO move will not work; your character can try to use whatever it is, and nothing will happen. (You're still free to play out the attempt.) If there is evidence of godmodding, a warning will be given. A repeat offense will result in banning from the community.
3) Fighting comes with the option of a roll (minor scuffles excluded as are fights where all combatants can agree on the outcome; if you're cool with writing everything out, by all means, GO FOR IT!). Requests for RNG aftermath and injuries will be determined by a d20; this is mainly something for large, chaotic events and incidents where you want to leave your character's fate up to chance or something's going on "off-camera". If it's a large, chaotic plot and you want to abuse your character with the NPC's and have them limp in with an idea in mind, feel free! Here's the damage breakdown:
1: No damage (or a couple of cuts, nothing to write home about)
2-4: Minor damage (a few bumps and bruises nothing requiring immediate or possibly any attention)
5-7: Some damage (sprains, serious bruising, dislocated limbs, etc.
8-10: Minor broken bones, minor burns, minor to moderate lacerations, etc.
10-12: More serious burns (first degree), more badly broken bones, concussions etc.)
13-14: (Serious concussions, more badly broken bones, serious hemorrhaging, second to third degree burns, etc.)
15-17: (Third degree burns, intense lacerations, shattered bones, some internal injuries, impaling etc.)
18-19: Serious injury and option of death. (Third and fourth degree burns, ruptured organs, serious internal hemorrhaging, loss of limb, etc.)
20: Death
Twenties can ask for a reroll.
4) If your character has a healing factor, regeneration, some form of immortality, etc. it DOES still function! The same goes for healing magic or other powers that could be used on other characters. If there's any question about how something in a plot or another character's powers would effect it, feel free to ask if you want help figuring it out.
5) On the above rules about powers, immortality, etc: There ARE plots that will nerf characters or where there may be restrictions and cases of things not working as usual; these will be clearly spelled out in the plot post, and any questions can be aimed at the mods directly or put in comments on the plot post! Common examples are survival plots (Resident Evil, Jurassic Park) where people with powers suddenly find them nerfed enough that they have to take the plot seriously and can't just breeze through it, or fluff plots where attempts at violence result in the powers not working and occasional temporary "punishment" - for example, attempts at killing NPC's in some peaceful plots will lead to getting turned into a cute fluffy animal for a few days, having powers stop functioning for a week or two, etc.
DEATH
If a character dies, their body will still be around, and can be moved, poked at, etc.; this will be treated as a permissions thing - if you want to mess with someone's dead body, clear it with the MUN first. There's several characters around the Manor that will do things like make an effort to move dead bodies to their room, or the morgue if that isn't known. Yes, this does mean you can make IC posts of "This is their body and what someone wandering in will find" to let people trip over it. If it's not handled after a few hours and you don't want them just left lying out, the Third Person will sometimes move bodies to either the morgue or their rooms, at your option.
Death will usually last for the remainder of the plot; at the beginning of the next plot on Monday, they'll wake up wherever their body was last, physically intact, although at MUN option clothing/etc. can retain any damage done, and it's not unheard of for characters to be disoriented or have some phantom aches/pains for a little bit. Exceptions to the duration can be made at MUN request if it's their only character or it's the beginning of a three-week plot; in most cases, those will be decided by a 1-7 type roll.
For characters with powers, they'll find themselves weaker for five days after they wake up; figure about a half-reduction. Summoner-type characters may find their summons harder to call or less inclined to listen to them.
- Optional Author Control: The Author can have brief control of your character on revival lasting 24 hours; this is a chance for your character to act wildly OOC. If you want to use this option, you can assume the power reduction is waived, but will want to talk to the Mods. Possibilities with this option include:
*You know how some characters get written habitually and badly OOC by fanfiction authors? An example being a particularly pointy and egotistical character going "whiny fluffy uke", or "X character gets written as a bitch by people who don't like her". For that day, your character acts like one of the fandom portrayals of them, however nonsensical or obnoxious that might be.
*Mary Sue possession, type A: Take your character and turn them into themselves, but the Mary Sue version. They will insist they are themselves, but anyone who knows them will probably want to beat their head on the wall.
*Mary Sue possession, type B: Your character is possessed by The Mary Sue, the NPC that basically embodies the Author's ideal self-insert character. They have all the usual obnoxious fangirl Mary Sue behaviors, do not realize how annoying they are and expect people to be happy to see them, and if called on not being the character, they may identify themselves as The Author.
Scars are at MUN option. If you don't want them to have a scar, they won't; if you do, they will, although it'll be realistic in comparison to the injury. <
Any chronic or pre-existing injuries do not go away on death; if your character dies of a sword wound, their canon tuberculosis will not go away. Exotic long-term poisons, curses, and such remain as well.
PLOTS
Plots will last anywhere from one to three weeks.
There is a (suggestion box) for plots! We welcome contributions, and do go trolling through the suggestion box for ideas; there's no guarantee we WILL use it, or when, but contributions are appreciated and we do often pull from it!
3) If you're not comfortable with a plot or don't want to be involved, you can opt out; in many cases, your character can be present but not affected. If it's a "field trip" plot that involves a setting change, you can make some arrangement with the mods, although generally it turns into a "lost time" incident - your character's nameplate and number are still around, but they're nowhere to be found for the duration, and when the plot's over, for them it's as if the last thing that happened was the previous plot. Full details are in the FAQ and as always, feel free to poke a mod.
4) Some plots will get IC announcements from the Plot Bunny, but quite a few go up with the characters getting to find out on their own ... the hard way.
II. PLACES
The following links connect to maps of the Manor, rooms, and grounds. We apologize for the current maps; they're somewhat relics that may not always be to scale, so common sense is fine. (No, a desk with computers is not smaller than an armchair.) However, the Manor itself is prone to not following logic in the sense that yes, the outside will be bigger than the inside, and a room may not necessarily fit in the space it seems to occupy from the outside.
THE MANOR
From the outside the Mansion looks like a totally normal large house. The floor plan inside is impossible (the floors don't match in size or shape, hallways go on far longer than they should, the house in no way matches the outside appearance.) There is only one door in and out of the house, that being the front door, although windows can be used as entrances/exits in a pinch.
(FIRST FLOOR):
The first floor is warm, inviting, and lived in. There's a very Victorian and upscale feel to most of the rooms, with some obvious exceptions; think of the big old luxury places that have modern amenities. Floors are hardwood with rugs for the most part, tile in the kitchen, furniture is real wood and somewhat ornate, and there's vases, small sculptures, and other decor.
a) Entry Hall: There's nothing overly special here; it's a pretty big foyer room. There's a huge central staircase that runs to the second floor with balcony-railings overlooking the ground floor. Doorways under the balconies lead to the parlor, game room, dining room and pool. The stairs to the basement are nestled in the corner, almost hidden. Light comes from a chandelier hanging overhead and some lights set into the ceiling.
b) Game Room: The darkest room in the house; most lights are table lamps and wall lamps. Inside there are a few arcade machines (Mortal Kombat, Pacman, Donkey Kong) a wii, an X-Box 360, a PS2 and PS3, a DDR machine, a pool table, an air hockey table, and a pinball machine.
It is also home to some of the most comfortable chairs and couches in the whole place. Unfortunately it has an opening and closing time. Characters will find themselves forcibly ejected from the room around midnight and will not be allowed in again until noon. Technology and games available can be assumed to be about mid-2011; most of the games are arcade/party type games, with a few fighting games, and generally won't include the canons of other characters in the Manor - although you can occasionally find your own canon if it's a video game.
c) Parlor: A few bookshelves on the back wall and a round table with leather-backed chairs. There's also a big screen TV and a shelf of DVDs. The majority are G and PG-13 with a handful of R-rated movies. Most of them are stupid comedies and tragic romances (and of course romantic comedies). You might get lucky and find your favorite movie/TV show but don't count on it. The exact roster of what's on the shelves can change whenever someone's out of the room, and as with the game room, it won't include other character's canons, although occasionally there'll be a slip and people will find a bit of their own.
d) Dining Room: The main feature here is a gigantic wooden table with enough seats for a large part of the Manor's population. There's a chandelier overhead, wooden chairs with fine plush cushions, and everything's very old and formal in appearance. The table doesn't set itself, but the silverware and dishes can be found in the kitchen and china cabinets.
e) Kitchen: The fridge, pantry, and cabinets are kept stocked with random food; in most cases, unless it's something unusual or exceptionally rare (or something the Author wouldn't be familiar with), it can be found here if you look. Food will restock basically whenever someone's out of the room. There's a fully functional stove, garbage disposal, the fridge, and a microwave, but no dishwasher; dirty dishes will eventually end up clean on their own if left long enough, but that takes longer. Dishes range from porcelain to plastic, with a similar range for silverware, and yes, there are chopsticks. The floating unlabeled rectangle is a door to the pool.
f) Pool: Good sized indoor pool complete with diving board. There are changing rooms with showers, and a small wood-panelled sauna.
g) Laundry Room: Even here there is no escaping laundry. The laundry room also has a mop, broom, vacuum cleaner, and basic cleaning supplies; the dryers and washers are modern.
h) Bathroom: Stalls, no tub or showers on this floor.
i)Locked: No one knows what's behind this door, in fact at the moment it's hidden behind a bookcase. It's a hidden door; the trigger to move the bookcase and open it is a book, although the exact position on the shelves moves. Currently how to enter is only known to Megamind, and past this door is stairs down to a small basement room with the power generator for the Manor and outlying buildings.
(SECOND FLOOR): Basic decor is much like the first floor; Victorian, formal, and somewhat rich. Lights are electric wall lamps.
a) Main Hall: Almost everything is off of this hallway. It includes a landing overlooking the entry hall and if you
look up you can see the third floor landing as well.
b) Bedrooms: (The map shows a bedroom on the north side of the hall, the bedrooms on the south side are identical, just flipped.) Every character gets their own room, marked by a bronze colored plaque with their name on it.
Whenever a new character arrives, a plaque materializes, or a new door if necessary. The door cannot be opened by anyone but the intended occupant. Empty rooms cannot be opened without special Author intervention; even explosives and people blowing their powers at it won't work. Every room is different in appearance.
They all follow the same basic plan but the decorations depend on the intended occupant:
They can be eerily appropriate complete with a few knick-knacks from home (which may include an extra round on ammo but no new weapons). In addition they cannot have an exact copy of their room at home. Most of their stuff will be missing. If you choose to give them a computer, it won't be exactly their computer from home, and may or may not have all their files etc.; think of the room as like a dorm room away from home.
It can be an over simplified version (for example, Harry Potter likes chocolate frog cards, let's wallpaper his room in them or Kinomoto Touya likes soccer let's give him a soccer ball shaped lamp), or it can be entirely inappropriate (pink and girly for a manly-man, a little girl's room filled with exercise equipment or weights, etc.)
The details of the room are MUN's choice; it's safe to assume that personal effects and some part of their normal wardrobe also appear here, and any items acquired during events that take place in other cities/etc. will appear here after the plot.
c) Bathrooms: Two bathrooms on opposite sides of the hall. This is the only room that cleans itself. (The map shows the bathroom at the right end on the hall the left is the same, just flip-flopped.)
d) Library floor 1: (That little rectangle in front is a door.) Huge round room at the end of the hallway that doesn't seem to make sense. It's invisible from the outside of the house, far too big for the available space, and there is no round room on the ground floor.
Just about any book, magazine, newspaper, comic, or manga could potentially be found here, although other people's canons won't appear and your own canon will only be there occasionally; as with the DVD collection, specifics might change when no-one's looking. There's now a second, third floor, identical to the first two, that is accessible via a small door on the second floor; this floor holds a library of books on magic, potions, and the like from the various worlds represented in the Manor's population where such is applicable.
Classic literature is available, as is history books, although which version of history might be a craps shoot; nonfiction of any sort is also available.
Decor's fairly typical upscale library - plush chairs, wood furniture, and an occasional globe, model, or display trinket; the magic floor has some protective wards scribed into the floor.
(THIRD FLOOR)
Very dark and a little creepy; dust settles on everything fast, the lights are dim and some bulbs burn out no matter what effort is made to keep them replaced. You may get the feeling you're being watched, especially in the dance studio.
a) Central Hall: rooms come off this hallway, also has an opened area overlooking the other floors. There are no locked doors up here; empty stretches of hallway are just empty, with typical Victorian haunted-house decor and the occasional mirror.
b) Library floor 2: Built around a balcony looking over the first floor.
c) Dojo/gym: pink foam floor, climbing ropes, fencing equipment, padding, boards, plastic breakaway boards, staffs, a few pieces of gym equipment and weights, various balls, bats, and nets. It's better lit than the rest of the third floor, and mostly less creepy, although the storage areas can be a little unsettling.
d) Dance studio/Music room: It's a pretty average ballet studio with mirrored walls. Towards the back of the room is a small raised area and a collection of instruments; there's basically a full orchestra if you go digging through the cases and shelves, as well as a random guitar.
e) Empty: Absolutely nothing in this room except dust and the occasional pattering of little feet up above.
f) Storage: Filled with damaged, broken, or old furniture, knickknacks, etc. Also a ton of cardboard boxes, many water-damaged, and each filled with pretty much anything from hats to love notes to fine china to school notebooks (all filled with random high-school class notes). You can also find random useful oddities here from time to time, things like fishing poles and tack and the like.
(BASEMENT)
a) Main Hall: You know the drill.
b) Locked: Changes and opens when needed.
c) Med Lab: Clearly made by someone with a vague understanding of medicine. The machines/medications are current (c. 2011) and most of what you would need is there. However it lacks certain machines and medications; see map for details. There's a side area with a morgue, and beyond the curtain (represented by that wiggly line) are several beds for patients to stay in. The waiting room looks just like the waiting room at any doctor’s office. Basically, think of it as something like a typical gen-practice clinic.
d) Labs: nothing too exciting, basically as advanced as a public high school's chem. lab. It's well lit by fluorescent ceiling lights and generally pretty clean.
e) Lab Storage: Exactly what it sounds like. Chemicals, test tubes, scales, Bunsen burners, etc. stored in here.
GROUNDS
(GROUNDS) Map
Stone Paths: Connect all outdoor points to one another.
Fountains: Highly decorated, actually replicas of Bernini's Four Rivers fountain (in Rome) and the Buckingham Memorial Fountain (in Chicago)
Vegetable garden: Pretty much every fruit or vegetable you can imagine. If someone isn't taking care of it, it might be a bit overgrown and hard to navigate.
Greenhouse: Plants from anywhere and everywhere (particularly rain-forest plants) also home to a bunch of tropical birds that are somehow kept up without anyone's interference; if you bring food in here, the parrots might steal it.
Picnic area: Three picnic tables, some waterproof wicker chairs, and a very large barbecue grill; charcoal and supplies can be found in the kitchen pantry and storage rooms.
Hedge maze: Layout changes constantly, fountain always in the center (this one a replica of the Apollo Fountain (Versailles), statues scattered throughout (most are replicas or close to replicas of various famous statues)
Track/Stands/changing room: Half-mile track surrounded by metal stands, American football field in the middle, and a few Project Adventure type apparatuses (zip line, trapeze, etc.) Next to the track is a cement building with lockers, showers, toilets, and changing area (resemble the changing rooms in a high school), with basic open showers.
Baseball field, soccer field, volleyball courts, tennis court: Exactly what they sound like, not particularly special, resemble those you'd find at a high school.
Benches: Four benches built around a grassy square with flowers and a replica of Donatello's David.
Garden: The garden is a huge botanical garden with twisting paths and flowers from around the world, also scattered with small sculptures; there's a small indoor area with a gallery of paintings, the exact content changing periodically. The garden has small gazebos and benches, a couple koi ponds, butterflies fluttering around, and a larger pond in the center; it's usually one of the most peaceful places on the grounds.
Changing rooms: By the lake; similar to those by the track but these are made of dark wood and the showers have no hot water.
Lake: Huge natural lake with dock (and two paddle boats) and wooded island in the center. There are several floating wooden platforms out on the lake, as well as a large ship being slowly built. There's fish in the lake - pretty typical trout/pike and the like.
Forest: Thick, dark forest surrounding the grounds. There are no real paths here, nothing to clearly follow. The squiggly line is the tree line. NOTE: THE MAP IS SLIGHTLY OUT OF DATE AS OF THE FOURTH WALL EXPANSION.
As of 5/30/11, the Fourth Wall has been expanded, significantly increasing the size of the grounds. The Fourth Wall is still present, but in different forms depending on where it's encountered; in many places it's still the same old wall we know and love.
Heading due west, past the forest, there is now a beach. The sandy area of the beach spreads out for about 20 miles, and the area is replete with palm trees, and wildlife such as seagulls, crabs and even a flourishing coral reef ecosystem.
Should a character attempt to escape the Manor by sailing the ocean, they'll find it's infinite. No matter how far out they go, they will not be able to escape. When they turn around finally, they'll find themselves quickly within sight of shore.
There is also a mysterious cave in the shallower areas of the water.... The cave is often empty, although some plots may see other things there.
Heading due east, there is a vast desert that goes on for ~60miles (100km). A few notable things live here, scorpions (some of which may be poisonous), fennec foxes, cacti, etc.) If your character reaches the end of the 100km, they will pass out and wake up in their rooms with the words "Ha, ha!" written on their walls.
There is a small shop/delivery center randomly in the middle of the desert, that has supplies for the Manor. It will provide amenities typically found in your local grocery store, with a few other items such as clothing. You will require your ID card to take items from the store.
Please read this for more detail.
Fourth Wall: Visible if you go far enough in the woods straight north or south, it is infinitely tall and surrounds the grounds completely. It's somewhat see-through and if you knock it it sounds like glass, although it is unbreakable. Through it is nothingness; just total darkness.
The Outbuildings: These were rewards for a past plot; basic info is here!
III. NPCs
a) The Author:
The one responsible for the Manor existing. She has some promise as a writer, but she's a good ways off, and she's lacking in maturity and patience; she has mostly absolute control over the setting, but no clue what's actually going on with the story. She's not evil, but it's a bit of a child-with-an-ant-farm scenario - she doesn't realize she's messing with real people, and she does have a taste for dramatics and dabble in horror occasionally. There's not much known about her, but characters can feel free to speculate, network, and try to research as much as they want. At present there's no real way to actually, directly contact her, although there's a few indirect ways.
b) Mary-Sues (perfectlysueish)
Technically there's only one, but during some plots she can be in more than one place at once; she's the Author's perfect self-insert, and thinks she's saintly, although in reality she's a bratty teenager. Depending on who she's targeting, the details of her appearance, history, name, and background might change, but it's basically window-dressing on what's a typical annoying fandom Mary-Sue character.
c) The Plot Bunny (mr_plot_bunny)
The Plot Bunny is, quite possibly the one true character the Author's come up with. In some respects he's a part of the setting, but his power over it is almost nonexistent - he might make threats, but there's nothing he can actually do in most cases. He's protected from violence by the characters; attempts at hunting him down and harassing him are encouraged, just contact a mod - typically, once someone does something that would actually HURT him, they find themselves holding a patch of grey fur and are, shortly after, turned into something cute and harmless for the remainder of the week. The Bunny is a cranky old misanthropic, cynical chain-smoker who doesn't like being here any more than anyone else; he's aware that they're all real, but knows he can't actually convince the Author of anything, although he does seem to have some limited ability to communicate back with her. He'll hold grudges and remember someone being obnoxious to him, but he can be bargained with and bribed.
d) The Third Person (the_3rd_person)
The most elusive of the NPCs. Think of the Third Person as like the little subconscious part of the Author's mind that's actually PRESENT in the Manor; "she" is a disembodied presence that's the source of that creepy feeling on the third floor, and is usually sorta dormant. Psychic characters might sense a vague presence there, but direct contact is next to impossible; it goes unnoticed. Someone really sharp who runs into messages on the wall and has psychic senses might notice it's the same presence responsible for said messages on walls. She does notice things written on the mirrors in the Ballet studio, although she may not always respond.
e)The Squirrels
For whatever reason, the squirrels of the Manor seem to have grown malicious and suspiciously organized; the Slasher-Flick Killer, on being "unmasked", was a mass of squirrels... they've acted as agents of nefarious intent for other plots, even put the power out for the Manor during a couple plots - and destroyed the original gerbil-powered generator the Author'd put in place. It's unsure if they're supposed to be acting that way or not; maybe they've become an embodiment of some kind of entropy in the system, or maybe the Author just likes fucking with people's heads and couldn't think of a better idea ... who knows? Either way, they seem to be in a special place with the Plot Bunny as persistent beings within the Manor that seem to actually have their own sentience.
f) Other NPCs
The only one persistent on the Manor is the Playground Ghost described in the link above about the outbuildings, who's a child-ghost that's fairly benign unless someone's causing trouble or acting aggressive. Otherwise, there may be other NPCs for specific plots. If it isn't otherwise stated, treat them as sort of "placeholder people" as described in the beginning paragraphs; in many cases they don't even really react to the character's actions. If there's any questions about them, the easiest thing to do is ping a mod or ask on the posts for specific plots, since there are variations in the pattern.
Navigation
Further Questions go here
POWERS & WEAPONS
DEATH
PLOTS
II. PLACES
THE MANSION
GROUNDS
III. NPCs
Further Questions go here
SETTING (BASIC)
Basic Info: The setting is, outside of certain plots, a large Manor house that's something of a hybrid between an upscale mansion and the sort of thing you'd see in a large dormitory (or asylum). The building is set up with central halls, several common rooms listed below, and wings where the rooms and bathrooms/showers are. The area around the Manor is clear, with gardens, a small hot spring, and a gazebo; there's a large lake on one side of the lawns, and a thick forest outside the lawns.
Behind the building are several outbuildings, including a classroom, a garage, a courthouse, a haunted playground and a clinic building. Past the forest to the east is a desert area with a general store in it that restocks weekly. To the west, past the forest, is a beach area with ocean.
If a character goes far enough out into the "ocean" they find themselves returned closer to shore, no matter how they travel - air, boat, walking on the bottom, whatever; in every other direction, the outer boundary of the "grounds" and forest suddenly stops in a semi-visible opaque white barrier - the Fourth Wall - which isn't visible until someone is within about 30 yards of it. From further away, there's a sort of illusion effect that looks like forest and further wilderness scenery, and sky above. The Fourth Wall extends down as far as any character could dig, and up as far as anyone could fly; presumably there's something blocking it off on the top somewhere in low orbit.
The entire setting is a sort of pocket-realm controlled by The Author, a high school age fangirl who has no idea that she's meddling in people's lives. As far as she knows, the characters are fictional characters, with unexpected behavior being "muse weirdness"; assume she's familiar with your character's canon as you'd know it. Think of it as someone with minor godlike power and no idea it's actually real. While the setting has some stable rules to how it functions, it's pretty malleable, and some things about how the Manor itself works won't always conform to real rules of logic, instead following the Author's expectations.
Characters are brought from their universe to here suddenly and inexplicably, while dropped characters are returned back "home". In cases of a dropped character being picked up by a different MUN, it's assumed she somehow got an alternate, but close, version of the timeline - existing characters will remember the previous version, but you're not required to continue anything they were doing or recognize their CR. If you're apping in with canonmates, it is encouraged to check over headcanon, but this does mean there's some allowance for variance, particularly if there's been a previous player with the character.
When going between their reality and the Manor, memory isn't reliable - characters who are dropped and then picked back up by the same player have the option of remembering their past stay at the Manor, only hazily having dreamlike memories, or not remembering anything at all. The Author CAN'T influence the "home" universes other than kidnapping people. If you're doing canon-updates and what happened at the Manor would change how they behave in canon, feel free to handwave that they don't clearly remember whatever it is while they're back home, but otherwise, it's up to the MUN how much people remember when they return home. If you want to do a canon update WITH full memories in a way that would change the canon events, contact one of the mods with what the changes would be beforehand for approval, give a short description of the changes in the OOC post for the canon update - a notes post on the character journal outlining what changed is encouraged, too. (If you're apping in as a castmate to someone who's taken this option, it is still your option whether you want to assume they're same-version and include those changes, or go with canon and assume it's a different timeline.)
There aren't many stable "NPC" characters native to the Manor that have a clear personality and mind of their own; after all, part of why the characters are getting kidnapped is that the Author ... can't write people. The most visible of them who makes himself known occasionally is the Plot Bunny, a chain-smoking, cranky rabbit that lives in a hutch in the gardens. He exists in a sort of interim state where he's stuck acting as the go-between for the characters and the author, although his communication with the Author is limited. He can be found occasionally wandering the grounds, raiding the kitchen, etc., but tends to be fairly elusive; if you want an encounter with him or a character is going outright hunting him, just ping the mods or ask in chat; he's usually run by Birdy (shirhan blade @ AIM, kyanve@Gmail.com, kyanve @ Plurk).
Otherwise, most NPC "background characters" in plots that take place outside the Manor are mock-ups - they're stand-ins on about the level of the random wandering "color" NPC's in RPG's that don't have dialogue or have minimal "Welcome to Corneria" interaction, no real distinguishing traits or identifying features, and may not always even react to characters. For psychic characters, these will not actually sense as "people", but as some kind of empty construct, like a cardboard cutout of a person acting on simple scripts.
There's also the Third Person, a mysterious, invisible phantom who haunts the upper levels and rarely acts, and the Mary Sue that appears once in a while. While the Mary Sue will be part of plots occasionally with her presence announced when she's there, the Third Person is always present, and can be sensed as an elusive presence that never quite holds still enough to get a clear look at or communicate with.
The hallways of bedrooms have a room for everyone, labeled with a plaque with the characters name. The name can be written any way, shape, or form as long as it would be recognizable to the character. This means it can be a nickname, their full name, just their last name, an alias, etc. MUN's choice.
On arrival, characters will wake up anywhere on Manor grounds regardless of whether or not they remember falling asleep before appearing in the manor. You may have them waking up in their rooms, the lake, the middle of the desert, completely on MUN option, although the most common entrance is to wake up in their rooms. Wherever they appear, somewhere nearby is a Blackberry. These are any color with any decals the mun decides. The Blackberry will have a "contact list"; in place of phone numbers are basically ID numbers unique to each character, but names and any other information has to be added by the characters, and it is possible to post "anonymously" while blocking the ID number from showing.
The various video/voice/etc. posts are on a network of sorts; the server for this network is a Schrodinger's computer - it exists, but you'll never actually find the physical machine. The "Server" is purged at the end of every month. Characters can save posts to their Blackberry to keep them, but on arrival you only have access beginning with the feeds posted the week of your arrival.
Characters are also given ID cards that identify them as residents of the Manor. The information on these cards include: a name (whatever name shows up on their name plaque), a photo and a room number. These ID cards are used in order to pick up goods from the shop, and as credit cards during events that send the characters elsewhere.
Characters can share rooms, either at their initiative or MUN-agreement. When they (or their players) decide to move in together the door plaque will change doors, their clothes, etc. will automatically change rooms in the middle of the night, although if they don't know about this they can feel free to struggle with moving. On arrival, most characters will have a separate room unless requested by both MUNs involved; this doesn't need to be something the CHARACTERS would agree to.
Rooms will be numbered (001, 002, 003, etc.) and listed; there's a separate post for them here.
Links for maps and more detailed information on setting areas is lower on this page.
POWERS & WEAPONS
1) Powers and weapons are retained! Firearms, grenades, etc. will only have what ammo and number the character would reasonably have on them. (Yes, this means characters from games with unlimited ammo wouldn't have the normal "unlimited ammo".) If a character wants to use a "field trip" plot to restock, it will only restore what they had when they arrived. For the most part, unless there's some reason the player wants to nerf/limit/restrict a character's powers, they'll work the way the character's used to them working, with the exceptions listed below. In the case of summon spells and the like, please see the FAQ; they ARE allowed, but with some guidelines. In cases of conflicts between characters with massive differences in abilities, the godmod rules ARE still in effect, but we do expect it to be handled reasonably; squishy characters are squishy, and if there's any debate or confusion, we're more than happy to try to sort it out and arbitrate.
2) Instant-kill spells/powers/items will be permitted, on a limited basis. The player must have a permissions post written for their character in order to use their abilities, and in addition must clear their plots with the other character'ss MUN. If you do not have permission to kill their character, using the OHKO move will not work; your character can try to use whatever it is, and nothing will happen. (You're still free to play out the attempt.) If there is evidence of godmodding, a warning will be given. A repeat offense will result in banning from the community.
3) Fighting comes with the option of a roll (minor scuffles excluded as are fights where all combatants can agree on the outcome; if you're cool with writing everything out, by all means, GO FOR IT!). Requests for RNG aftermath and injuries will be determined by a d20; this is mainly something for large, chaotic events and incidents where you want to leave your character's fate up to chance or something's going on "off-camera". If it's a large, chaotic plot and you want to abuse your character with the NPC's and have them limp in with an idea in mind, feel free! Here's the damage breakdown:
1: No damage (or a couple of cuts, nothing to write home about)
2-4: Minor damage (a few bumps and bruises nothing requiring immediate or possibly any attention)
5-7: Some damage (sprains, serious bruising, dislocated limbs, etc.
8-10: Minor broken bones, minor burns, minor to moderate lacerations, etc.
10-12: More serious burns (first degree), more badly broken bones, concussions etc.)
13-14: (Serious concussions, more badly broken bones, serious hemorrhaging, second to third degree burns, etc.)
15-17: (Third degree burns, intense lacerations, shattered bones, some internal injuries, impaling etc.)
18-19: Serious injury and option of death. (Third and fourth degree burns, ruptured organs, serious internal hemorrhaging, loss of limb, etc.)
20: Death
Twenties can ask for a reroll.
4) If your character has a healing factor, regeneration, some form of immortality, etc. it DOES still function! The same goes for healing magic or other powers that could be used on other characters. If there's any question about how something in a plot or another character's powers would effect it, feel free to ask if you want help figuring it out.
5) On the above rules about powers, immortality, etc: There ARE plots that will nerf characters or where there may be restrictions and cases of things not working as usual; these will be clearly spelled out in the plot post, and any questions can be aimed at the mods directly or put in comments on the plot post! Common examples are survival plots (Resident Evil, Jurassic Park) where people with powers suddenly find them nerfed enough that they have to take the plot seriously and can't just breeze through it, or fluff plots where attempts at violence result in the powers not working and occasional temporary "punishment" - for example, attempts at killing NPC's in some peaceful plots will lead to getting turned into a cute fluffy animal for a few days, having powers stop functioning for a week or two, etc.
DEATH
If a character dies, their body will still be around, and can be moved, poked at, etc.; this will be treated as a permissions thing - if you want to mess with someone's dead body, clear it with the MUN first. There's several characters around the Manor that will do things like make an effort to move dead bodies to their room, or the morgue if that isn't known. Yes, this does mean you can make IC posts of "This is their body and what someone wandering in will find" to let people trip over it. If it's not handled after a few hours and you don't want them just left lying out, the Third Person will sometimes move bodies to either the morgue or their rooms, at your option.
Death will usually last for the remainder of the plot; at the beginning of the next plot on Monday, they'll wake up wherever their body was last, physically intact, although at MUN option clothing/etc. can retain any damage done, and it's not unheard of for characters to be disoriented or have some phantom aches/pains for a little bit. Exceptions to the duration can be made at MUN request if it's their only character or it's the beginning of a three-week plot; in most cases, those will be decided by a 1-7 type roll.
For characters with powers, they'll find themselves weaker for five days after they wake up; figure about a half-reduction. Summoner-type characters may find their summons harder to call or less inclined to listen to them.
- Optional Author Control: The Author can have brief control of your character on revival lasting 24 hours; this is a chance for your character to act wildly OOC. If you want to use this option, you can assume the power reduction is waived, but will want to talk to the Mods. Possibilities with this option include:
*You know how some characters get written habitually and badly OOC by fanfiction authors? An example being a particularly pointy and egotistical character going "whiny fluffy uke", or "X character gets written as a bitch by people who don't like her". For that day, your character acts like one of the fandom portrayals of them, however nonsensical or obnoxious that might be.
*Mary Sue possession, type A: Take your character and turn them into themselves, but the Mary Sue version. They will insist they are themselves, but anyone who knows them will probably want to beat their head on the wall.
*Mary Sue possession, type B: Your character is possessed by The Mary Sue, the NPC that basically embodies the Author's ideal self-insert character. They have all the usual obnoxious fangirl Mary Sue behaviors, do not realize how annoying they are and expect people to be happy to see them, and if called on not being the character, they may identify themselves as The Author.
Scars are at MUN option. If you don't want them to have a scar, they won't; if you do, they will, although it'll be realistic in comparison to the injury. <
Any chronic or pre-existing injuries do not go away on death; if your character dies of a sword wound, their canon tuberculosis will not go away. Exotic long-term poisons, curses, and such remain as well.
PLOTS
Plots will last anywhere from one to three weeks.
There is a (suggestion box) for plots! We welcome contributions, and do go trolling through the suggestion box for ideas; there's no guarantee we WILL use it, or when, but contributions are appreciated and we do often pull from it!
3) If you're not comfortable with a plot or don't want to be involved, you can opt out; in many cases, your character can be present but not affected. If it's a "field trip" plot that involves a setting change, you can make some arrangement with the mods, although generally it turns into a "lost time" incident - your character's nameplate and number are still around, but they're nowhere to be found for the duration, and when the plot's over, for them it's as if the last thing that happened was the previous plot. Full details are in the FAQ and as always, feel free to poke a mod.
4) Some plots will get IC announcements from the Plot Bunny, but quite a few go up with the characters getting to find out on their own ... the hard way.
II. PLACES
The following links connect to maps of the Manor, rooms, and grounds. We apologize for the current maps; they're somewhat relics that may not always be to scale, so common sense is fine. (No, a desk with computers is not smaller than an armchair.) However, the Manor itself is prone to not following logic in the sense that yes, the outside will be bigger than the inside, and a room may not necessarily fit in the space it seems to occupy from the outside.
THE MANOR
From the outside the Mansion looks like a totally normal large house. The floor plan inside is impossible (the floors don't match in size or shape, hallways go on far longer than they should, the house in no way matches the outside appearance.) There is only one door in and out of the house, that being the front door, although windows can be used as entrances/exits in a pinch.
(FIRST FLOOR):
The first floor is warm, inviting, and lived in. There's a very Victorian and upscale feel to most of the rooms, with some obvious exceptions; think of the big old luxury places that have modern amenities. Floors are hardwood with rugs for the most part, tile in the kitchen, furniture is real wood and somewhat ornate, and there's vases, small sculptures, and other decor.
a) Entry Hall: There's nothing overly special here; it's a pretty big foyer room. There's a huge central staircase that runs to the second floor with balcony-railings overlooking the ground floor. Doorways under the balconies lead to the parlor, game room, dining room and pool. The stairs to the basement are nestled in the corner, almost hidden. Light comes from a chandelier hanging overhead and some lights set into the ceiling.
b) Game Room: The darkest room in the house; most lights are table lamps and wall lamps. Inside there are a few arcade machines (Mortal Kombat, Pacman, Donkey Kong) a wii, an X-Box 360, a PS2 and PS3, a DDR machine, a pool table, an air hockey table, and a pinball machine.
It is also home to some of the most comfortable chairs and couches in the whole place. Unfortunately it has an opening and closing time. Characters will find themselves forcibly ejected from the room around midnight and will not be allowed in again until noon. Technology and games available can be assumed to be about mid-2011; most of the games are arcade/party type games, with a few fighting games, and generally won't include the canons of other characters in the Manor - although you can occasionally find your own canon if it's a video game.
c) Parlor: A few bookshelves on the back wall and a round table with leather-backed chairs. There's also a big screen TV and a shelf of DVDs. The majority are G and PG-13 with a handful of R-rated movies. Most of them are stupid comedies and tragic romances (and of course romantic comedies). You might get lucky and find your favorite movie/TV show but don't count on it. The exact roster of what's on the shelves can change whenever someone's out of the room, and as with the game room, it won't include other character's canons, although occasionally there'll be a slip and people will find a bit of their own.
d) Dining Room: The main feature here is a gigantic wooden table with enough seats for a large part of the Manor's population. There's a chandelier overhead, wooden chairs with fine plush cushions, and everything's very old and formal in appearance. The table doesn't set itself, but the silverware and dishes can be found in the kitchen and china cabinets.
e) Kitchen: The fridge, pantry, and cabinets are kept stocked with random food; in most cases, unless it's something unusual or exceptionally rare (or something the Author wouldn't be familiar with), it can be found here if you look. Food will restock basically whenever someone's out of the room. There's a fully functional stove, garbage disposal, the fridge, and a microwave, but no dishwasher; dirty dishes will eventually end up clean on their own if left long enough, but that takes longer. Dishes range from porcelain to plastic, with a similar range for silverware, and yes, there are chopsticks. The floating unlabeled rectangle is a door to the pool.
f) Pool: Good sized indoor pool complete with diving board. There are changing rooms with showers, and a small wood-panelled sauna.
g) Laundry Room: Even here there is no escaping laundry. The laundry room also has a mop, broom, vacuum cleaner, and basic cleaning supplies; the dryers and washers are modern.
h) Bathroom: Stalls, no tub or showers on this floor.
i)
(SECOND FLOOR): Basic decor is much like the first floor; Victorian, formal, and somewhat rich. Lights are electric wall lamps.
a) Main Hall: Almost everything is off of this hallway. It includes a landing overlooking the entry hall and if you
look up you can see the third floor landing as well.
b) Bedrooms: (The map shows a bedroom on the north side of the hall, the bedrooms on the south side are identical, just flipped.) Every character gets their own room, marked by a bronze colored plaque with their name on it.
Whenever a new character arrives, a plaque materializes, or a new door if necessary. The door cannot be opened by anyone but the intended occupant. Empty rooms cannot be opened without special Author intervention; even explosives and people blowing their powers at it won't work. Every room is different in appearance.
They all follow the same basic plan but the decorations depend on the intended occupant:
They can be eerily appropriate complete with a few knick-knacks from home (which may include an extra round on ammo but no new weapons). In addition they cannot have an exact copy of their room at home. Most of their stuff will be missing. If you choose to give them a computer, it won't be exactly their computer from home, and may or may not have all their files etc.; think of the room as like a dorm room away from home.
It can be an over simplified version (for example, Harry Potter likes chocolate frog cards, let's wallpaper his room in them or Kinomoto Touya likes soccer let's give him a soccer ball shaped lamp), or it can be entirely inappropriate (pink and girly for a manly-man, a little girl's room filled with exercise equipment or weights, etc.)
The details of the room are MUN's choice; it's safe to assume that personal effects and some part of their normal wardrobe also appear here, and any items acquired during events that take place in other cities/etc. will appear here after the plot.
c) Bathrooms: Two bathrooms on opposite sides of the hall. This is the only room that cleans itself. (The map shows the bathroom at the right end on the hall the left is the same, just flip-flopped.)
d) Library floor 1: (That little rectangle in front is a door.) Huge round room at the end of the hallway that doesn't seem to make sense. It's invisible from the outside of the house, far too big for the available space, and there is no round room on the ground floor.
Just about any book, magazine, newspaper, comic, or manga could potentially be found here, although other people's canons won't appear and your own canon will only be there occasionally; as with the DVD collection, specifics might change when no-one's looking. There's now a second, third floor, identical to the first two, that is accessible via a small door on the second floor; this floor holds a library of books on magic, potions, and the like from the various worlds represented in the Manor's population where such is applicable.
Classic literature is available, as is history books, although which version of history might be a craps shoot; nonfiction of any sort is also available.
Decor's fairly typical upscale library - plush chairs, wood furniture, and an occasional globe, model, or display trinket; the magic floor has some protective wards scribed into the floor.
(THIRD FLOOR)
Very dark and a little creepy; dust settles on everything fast, the lights are dim and some bulbs burn out no matter what effort is made to keep them replaced. You may get the feeling you're being watched, especially in the dance studio.
a) Central Hall: rooms come off this hallway, also has an opened area overlooking the other floors. There are no locked doors up here; empty stretches of hallway are just empty, with typical Victorian haunted-house decor and the occasional mirror.
b) Library floor 2: Built around a balcony looking over the first floor.
c) Dojo/gym: pink foam floor, climbing ropes, fencing equipment, padding, boards, plastic breakaway boards, staffs, a few pieces of gym equipment and weights, various balls, bats, and nets. It's better lit than the rest of the third floor, and mostly less creepy, although the storage areas can be a little unsettling.
d) Dance studio/Music room: It's a pretty average ballet studio with mirrored walls. Towards the back of the room is a small raised area and a collection of instruments; there's basically a full orchestra if you go digging through the cases and shelves, as well as a random guitar.
e) Empty: Absolutely nothing in this room except dust and the occasional pattering of little feet up above.
f) Storage: Filled with damaged, broken, or old furniture, knickknacks, etc. Also a ton of cardboard boxes, many water-damaged, and each filled with pretty much anything from hats to love notes to fine china to school notebooks (all filled with random high-school class notes). You can also find random useful oddities here from time to time, things like fishing poles and tack and the like.
(BASEMENT)
a) Main Hall: You know the drill.
b) Locked: Changes and opens when needed.
c) Med Lab: Clearly made by someone with a vague understanding of medicine. The machines/medications are current (c. 2011) and most of what you would need is there. However it lacks certain machines and medications; see map for details. There's a side area with a morgue, and beyond the curtain (represented by that wiggly line) are several beds for patients to stay in. The waiting room looks just like the waiting room at any doctor’s office. Basically, think of it as something like a typical gen-practice clinic.
d) Labs: nothing too exciting, basically as advanced as a public high school's chem. lab. It's well lit by fluorescent ceiling lights and generally pretty clean.
e) Lab Storage: Exactly what it sounds like. Chemicals, test tubes, scales, Bunsen burners, etc. stored in here.
GROUNDS
(GROUNDS) Map
Stone Paths: Connect all outdoor points to one another.
Fountains: Highly decorated, actually replicas of Bernini's Four Rivers fountain (in Rome) and the Buckingham Memorial Fountain (in Chicago)
Vegetable garden: Pretty much every fruit or vegetable you can imagine. If someone isn't taking care of it, it might be a bit overgrown and hard to navigate.
Greenhouse: Plants from anywhere and everywhere (particularly rain-forest plants) also home to a bunch of tropical birds that are somehow kept up without anyone's interference; if you bring food in here, the parrots might steal it.
Picnic area: Three picnic tables, some waterproof wicker chairs, and a very large barbecue grill; charcoal and supplies can be found in the kitchen pantry and storage rooms.
Hedge maze: Layout changes constantly, fountain always in the center (this one a replica of the Apollo Fountain (Versailles), statues scattered throughout (most are replicas or close to replicas of various famous statues)
Track/Stands/changing room: Half-mile track surrounded by metal stands, American football field in the middle, and a few Project Adventure type apparatuses (zip line, trapeze, etc.) Next to the track is a cement building with lockers, showers, toilets, and changing area (resemble the changing rooms in a high school), with basic open showers.
Baseball field, soccer field, volleyball courts, tennis court: Exactly what they sound like, not particularly special, resemble those you'd find at a high school.
Benches: Four benches built around a grassy square with flowers and a replica of Donatello's David.
Garden: The garden is a huge botanical garden with twisting paths and flowers from around the world, also scattered with small sculptures; there's a small indoor area with a gallery of paintings, the exact content changing periodically. The garden has small gazebos and benches, a couple koi ponds, butterflies fluttering around, and a larger pond in the center; it's usually one of the most peaceful places on the grounds.
Changing rooms: By the lake; similar to those by the track but these are made of dark wood and the showers have no hot water.
Lake: Huge natural lake with dock (and two paddle boats) and wooded island in the center. There are several floating wooden platforms out on the lake, as well as a large ship being slowly built. There's fish in the lake - pretty typical trout/pike and the like.
Forest: Thick, dark forest surrounding the grounds. There are no real paths here, nothing to clearly follow. The squiggly line is the tree line. NOTE: THE MAP IS SLIGHTLY OUT OF DATE AS OF THE FOURTH WALL EXPANSION.
As of 5/30/11, the Fourth Wall has been expanded, significantly increasing the size of the grounds. The Fourth Wall is still present, but in different forms depending on where it's encountered; in many places it's still the same old wall we know and love.
Heading due west, past the forest, there is now a beach. The sandy area of the beach spreads out for about 20 miles, and the area is replete with palm trees, and wildlife such as seagulls, crabs and even a flourishing coral reef ecosystem.
Should a character attempt to escape the Manor by sailing the ocean, they'll find it's infinite. No matter how far out they go, they will not be able to escape. When they turn around finally, they'll find themselves quickly within sight of shore.
There is also a mysterious cave in the shallower areas of the water.... The cave is often empty, although some plots may see other things there.
Heading due east, there is a vast desert that goes on for ~60miles (100km). A few notable things live here, scorpions (some of which may be poisonous), fennec foxes, cacti, etc.) If your character reaches the end of the 100km, they will pass out and wake up in their rooms with the words "Ha, ha!" written on their walls.
There is a small shop/delivery center randomly in the middle of the desert, that has supplies for the Manor. It will provide amenities typically found in your local grocery store, with a few other items such as clothing. You will require your ID card to take items from the store.
Please read this for more detail.
Fourth Wall: Visible if you go far enough in the woods straight north or south, it is infinitely tall and surrounds the grounds completely. It's somewhat see-through and if you knock it it sounds like glass, although it is unbreakable. Through it is nothingness; just total darkness.
The Outbuildings: These were rewards for a past plot; basic info is here!
III. NPCs
a) The Author:
The one responsible for the Manor existing. She has some promise as a writer, but she's a good ways off, and she's lacking in maturity and patience; she has mostly absolute control over the setting, but no clue what's actually going on with the story. She's not evil, but it's a bit of a child-with-an-ant-farm scenario - she doesn't realize she's messing with real people, and she does have a taste for dramatics and dabble in horror occasionally. There's not much known about her, but characters can feel free to speculate, network, and try to research as much as they want. At present there's no real way to actually, directly contact her, although there's a few indirect ways.
b) Mary-Sues (
perfectlysueish)Technically there's only one, but during some plots she can be in more than one place at once; she's the Author's perfect self-insert, and thinks she's saintly, although in reality she's a bratty teenager. Depending on who she's targeting, the details of her appearance, history, name, and background might change, but it's basically window-dressing on what's a typical annoying fandom Mary-Sue character.
c) The Plot Bunny (
mr_plot_bunny)The Plot Bunny is, quite possibly the one true character the Author's come up with. In some respects he's a part of the setting, but his power over it is almost nonexistent - he might make threats, but there's nothing he can actually do in most cases. He's protected from violence by the characters; attempts at hunting him down and harassing him are encouraged, just contact a mod - typically, once someone does something that would actually HURT him, they find themselves holding a patch of grey fur and are, shortly after, turned into something cute and harmless for the remainder of the week. The Bunny is a cranky old misanthropic, cynical chain-smoker who doesn't like being here any more than anyone else; he's aware that they're all real, but knows he can't actually convince the Author of anything, although he does seem to have some limited ability to communicate back with her. He'll hold grudges and remember someone being obnoxious to him, but he can be bargained with and bribed.
d) The Third Person (
the_3rd_person)The most elusive of the NPCs. Think of the Third Person as like the little subconscious part of the Author's mind that's actually PRESENT in the Manor; "she" is a disembodied presence that's the source of that creepy feeling on the third floor, and is usually sorta dormant. Psychic characters might sense a vague presence there, but direct contact is next to impossible; it goes unnoticed. Someone really sharp who runs into messages on the wall and has psychic senses might notice it's the same presence responsible for said messages on walls. She does notice things written on the mirrors in the Ballet studio, although she may not always respond.
e)The Squirrels
For whatever reason, the squirrels of the Manor seem to have grown malicious and suspiciously organized; the Slasher-Flick Killer, on being "unmasked", was a mass of squirrels... they've acted as agents of nefarious intent for other plots, even put the power out for the Manor during a couple plots - and destroyed the original gerbil-powered generator the Author'd put in place. It's unsure if they're supposed to be acting that way or not; maybe they've become an embodiment of some kind of entropy in the system, or maybe the Author just likes fucking with people's heads and couldn't think of a better idea ... who knows? Either way, they seem to be in a special place with the Plot Bunny as persistent beings within the Manor that seem to actually have their own sentience.
f) Other NPCs
The only one persistent on the Manor is the Playground Ghost described in the link above about the outbuildings, who's a child-ghost that's fairly benign unless someone's causing trouble or acting aggressive. Otherwise, there may be other NPCs for specific plots. If it isn't otherwise stated, treat them as sort of "placeholder people" as described in the beginning paragraphs; in many cases they don't even really react to the character's actions. If there's any questions about them, the easiest thing to do is ping a mod or ask on the posts for specific plots, since there are variations in the pattern.
Further Questions go here