FAQ

[bastionmods]

Do I have to play Bastion to app here?

No, you can play in this game without having played Bastion. We are only borrowing the setting from Bastion; all of the events and NPCs will be original to this game. Any knowledge you will need about the setting will be in one of the information posts. That said, we still recommend that you go play Bastion, because it is a really awesome game.

Can I app a character from Bastion?

Certainly! We decided to make a few changes for this game, so all of the NPCs are going to be original characters. You are more than welcome to app any of the Bastion characters in OU or AU form.

How does my character arrive?

Your character will wake up somewhere on the Skyway, with no memory of what happened the night before. Ideally the part of the Skyway they're on will bear some resemblance to their home world, but this is not required. Once your character is awake, they will either need to make their way to the Bastion on their own or be rescued by someone currently living in the Bastion. No matter where a character starts, some part of the Bastion will be visible, and it won't take them more than a day to reach the Bastion. Once they arrive, they will be greeted by the NPCs and invited to stay.

What is my character told when they arrive at the Bastion?

Every new arrival will be given a basic run-down of what the Calamity is and how their world is one of many that has been destroyed. They will also be given an amulet with a Shard in it, and told to keep it on their person at all times. If pressed for more answers, the NPCs will tell your character any information that is readily available on the Setting, Timeline, and Terminology pages. Each character is also welcomed to stay at the Bastion, and requested to do their part in restoring the Bastion and helping the people there survive.

So my character has to help rebuild the world?

Sort of. The world itself can't be rebuilt, it was shattered in the Calamity. The Bastion is the only place left that can sustain life for an extended period of time. However, the Bastion was damaged in the Calamity, and in order for it to be a viable long-term settlement repairs must be made. The NPCs can handle the repairs, but the necessary parts are scattered among the Skyway. Your character will have to help recover those parts.

Is there any way for my character to go home?

As of right now, no. If they ended up on the Skyway, it is presumed that their world was one of the many that were destroyed. However, the Bastion is said to be able to work miracles, so it is entirely possible that they key to restoring planets may be buried within the Bastion somewhere.

What about money and housing?

Everything is done on a barter system. You can assume that your character has housing and three square meals a day. But in return, they must do some kind of work to help the Bastion. Freeloaders will get stern lectures from the NPCs. As of right now, there are two options for housing. One of the restored buildings is an apartment complex, full of small, one-bedroom apartments. If your character does not want to live there, they are welcome to build their own shelter in the Bastion.

How do I post in this game?

All posts are done to the IC comm, thebastion. The amulets can work as a short-range communicator of sorts, but that function only works within the Bastion, and even then there is no 'private' function on it. All secret conversations will have to be done in-person.

Can I canon-update my characters?

As of right now, no. Since their world is destroyed, there is no way for them to go home and canon update.

How do we handle characters who are from the same canon, but different canon points? What about AU characters?

Unless two characters from the same canon are apped at the same time and appear on the Skyway at the same time, everyone is assumed to come from different versions of their world. In the case of both characters being OU, it will be assumed that the differences between their worlds are negligible at best.

So does this mean my character can find statues of their loved ones on the Skyway?

Yes, but only during a character's entry into the game. During later explorations, they can only come across statues of people they know (even themselves) if they specifically come across an area that is part of their destroyed world. Also, it is encouraged that you talk this over with any castmates beforehand.

Can my character die?

Yes. However, death is permanent. If your character dies, you are effectively dropping them, and you will not be able to reapp them. Please note that you need mod permission before you can kill your character.

Can someone else app a character who has been killed in-game?

They can, but it will be a different version of that character. OUs will be the same as explained above, where they come from a world with negligible differences. For AUs, that specific AU cannot be apped again.

How does time work in this game?

1 in-game day = 3 RL days. Once the game starts, a game calendar will be made and linked here.

What if I have a question that was not answered here?

First, check the rules page. If it's not answered here or there, then reply here with your question, and the mods will get back to you ASAP.

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Comments

[shiromadoushi]

My friend and I are thinking of apping the duo of Bakura Ryou and Yami Bakura. In canon, they share a body and ideally, we'd like for them to continue to do so in the game. Would this be possible? Both characters would have their own accounts and apps, but just continue being in the same body.

[bastionmods]

Either having them share a body or having them each have their own body is fine, it's up to you. Though keep in mind, if they share a body, only one of them at a time can participate in events.

[thirdoutofthree]

So my character has a little squirrel-like pet that travels with her. Can it come with her to the Bastion? It isn't sentient and couldn't be played as a standalone character.

[bastionmods]

Yep, that's fine! Just be sure to mention it in your app.

[toobig]

hey! I plan on reserving Gale from Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner sometime in the near future, and I've read up on abilities in the FAQ and stuff but I was wondering:

Gale has what's called an Atma or Asura form called Vayu, essentially his demonic form pushed onto him by the Atma virus in game due to God going mad and blacking out the sun. The way this works is that they must transform into their Asura form and fight off other demons in game and devour them, or they'll go crazy with hunger lust and devour their teammates and people they care about.

I understand that he wouldn't be able to eat other people and simply eating the raw flesh of monsters/animals would quell the desire (just not as much all at once) so that's the fail safe-- but I do plan on him struggling with his cravings and possibly lashing out at others (in vain, obviously,) and possibly having to be contained until he knows he can just eat raw meat (something that's never thought about in game despite them eating raw meat in cans???)

my question I guess would there be any limits on this and if so, what are they? is he allowed to have this happen, or would something keep his cravings from happening?

[bastionmods]

The Bastion itself has a special feature to prevent people from fighting or harming each other. Basically, it sends out good-feeling vibes that completely drain the anger/hunger/whatever is causing the bad thoughts right out of the person. So Gale would be alright within the Bastion, any time he gets hungry enough to consider eating someone, the Bastion would take steps to prevent it from happening.

Out on the Skyway, though, there is no such feature, and it would be up to himself to keep the hunger pangs at bay.

OOCly, you would need permission from the other player involved before Gale could eat anybody. Since death is permanent, and eaten characters would have to be dropped, this is not likely to happen. The other option is to eat NPCs, and if it reaches that point then we can discuss that option in private.

You knew this was coming

[croceamors]

So how many shards would it take for there to be a moon?

Re: You knew this was coming

[bastionmods]

The question is, do you want just the moon, or an actual day/night cycle to go along with the moon? Because one of those is way more expensive than the other.

[lamentingly]

In regards to the OU/AU thing, where would a canon AU rank in that? For example, if I were to app Future Gohan from DBZ, would I be apping him as an AU Gohan, or as OU Future Gohan?

(I imagine it's the former, but I wanted to be sure.)

OH! Also! I imagine characters that have been killed in canon wouldn't be applicable, given the nature of the game. But as far as the physical conditions of a character when they arrive, would they arrive in whatever state they were in during their canon point?

[bastionmods]

That would be a OU Future Gohan.

And yes, you are right. Whatever condition they are in when they arrive is how they will stay (until a healer finds them or they get dragged to the hospital), so it would be best to pick a canon point where Gohan is not mortally wounded.

Also, dead characters can be apped, but they would have to be apped prior to their death in canon.

[doesnotfrolic]

Hi, new player, thinking of apping someone and have a question about powers relating, amusingly, to a previous question asked here.

So... if someone, who asked previously, got their full moon 24/7 how do you deal with a character who goes kinda crazy in the light of a full moon and only gets better when the full moon sets which will never happen without a proper day/night cycle?

Cause in this canon the full moon causes insanity in mermaids and I was going to ask how to deal with that, but if there's a full moon all the time that could be a problem.

[bastionmods]

Would cloud cover affect it? There is heavy could cover for 10 hours each day, during which the sun (and presumably the moon, if/when we get one) is blocked, making it dark as night.

[y_axis]

So I know that powers are restricted to three times a day OR always on. Where would Pokemon movesets fall into? In-game, most already have limitations to how many times the Pokemon can use them. (More powerful moves having less PP to be used.)

Just something I was wondering for my app!

[bastionmods]

We really should put this some where since it's come up a few times and we always wind up saying it somewhere else. But anyway.

Pokemon are restricted the same, so what basically happens is that each move a Pokemon comes in with will be dropped to 3 PP regardless of strength. But any seriously destructive moves will also be reduced to not do as much damage, stats-wise.

[cryptgirl]

So the FAQ talks about spending shards to learn talents (or practicing). Does this mean the character will lose their talents from canon upon arriving in the Bastion? Like if my character is a master swordfighter in canon, would they have to learn the sword all over again or spend shards to learn it?

[bastionmods]

Nope! Innate talents (things that were trained or somehow passed on to your character, which have everyday uses and are not 'finishing move' kinds of attacks) stay with the character when they enter the Bastion, and they are not limited in the way canon powers are. Swordfighting would fall under this category, and your character would keep those skills.

[blackblooded]

And here comes Hydok with a power question.

So let's talk about Caelondian booze...

How do Spirits function? Would Black Rye up the three power uses a day to five power uses a day (assuming you're treating powers as black tonic attacks)? Would Leechade heal wounds whenever a character attacks an opponent?

Basically does the booze actually work. Also if so how many can a character carry/use?

[bastionmods]

I would say yes, Black Rye would do that, since we are treating powers like black tonic attacks. And yeah, Leechande would heal wounds whenever a character attacks an opponent. Basically, whatever they do in the game, they do in the Bastion as well. The only difference is that a character has to actually drink it for it to work.

I would say they could carry any number of Spirits, so long as they had a way to carry them (a backpack, bottles in a loop on a belt, etc). However, for the purposes of this game, we're going to say they can only do one Spirit at a time. I have decided that it would take (on average) about two hours to work one Spirit out of your system. So, you could only do one every two hours, and after two hours the effect of that Spirit would wear off.

major spoilers in this post for persona 3

[sealkun]

Hello mod-chamas!! I was hoping to bring Minato Arisato (or Makoto Yuuki) into the game and I have a few questions on how to go about it:

1) I was hoping to bring Minato from after his sacrifice at the good end of the game ( in January). Without giving too much away, basically after Minato 'sacrifices' himself to save the world and although he's supposed to die soon after, he manages to keep going until March. Since his world is destroyed with the Calamity, it would also make sense that he has his soul in this game as well and therefore his sacrifice would pretty much be useless. Would it be possible to bring Minato sometime during this January-March period

2) Minato has the power to use multiple Personae as part of his power, since the world has ended and he is effective relieved of his duty to save it, he would not have access to any others besides the one he used in the final battle. For the sake of simplicity it functions like a Pokemon, being able to be summoned during battle as well as having their own skills. The main question here is that because some of Messiah's skills are either passive or might be a little overpowered, I need some help in limiting them or how to go about limiting them. Of course, Minato needs his "Evoker" in order to summon his Persona, and without it and without extremely stressful situations, it's nigh impossible for him to summon Messiah. In addition, some of Messiah skills are gained through levelling up in game, so they could be unlocked with Shards? Would the above limitations (evoker+shards to unlock power levels) be enough or would I need any additional restrictions?

Here's a full list of Messiah's skills:
Megidolaon (Active, Almighty Element) 85 SP - Inflicts severe Almighty damage upon all enemies
Regenerate (Passive) - Restores a bit of HP every turn.
God's Hand (Active, Physical Element) 14% HP - Inflicts severe Strike damage upon one enemy.
Salvation (Active) 60 SP Removes status ailments and fully restores party's HP.
Invigorate 3 (Passive) Restores a bit of SP every turn.
Absorb Pierce (Passive) Absorb Pierce attacks.
Enduring Soul (Passive) Restores all HP upon death once per battle
Magic Skill Up (Passive) Enhances all Spell-based attacks by 50%

Re: major spoilers in this post for persona 3

[bastionmods]

1) That would be alright. Just specify it in your app somewhere, and be sure to explain it. I am canon-familiar with Persona 3, but I am not sure if the other mods are, so writing it as if someone who is canon-blind is reading it would be best.

2) Skills would be gained the same way abilities are gained in the Bastion. Messiah can start out with whatever skills would be reasonable to have at the point in the game you would be taking Minato from. From there, the rest can be purchased. Passive skills would count as 'always on', and not take up one of the three uses a day that everyone gets. Active skills, however, would be counted under that limit. You can separate the skills into two lists ('always on' and 'three a day') for your app, too.

[uluithiad]

hi there, mods! ive been combing through all of your info pages to prepare for possibly apping soon, but i have a few questions just to assure i have everything right when i do app

first off, regarding the ability and talents sections: sam is pretty handy with a lot of different skills already, including gardening, cooking, some survival skills, sewing, and herbology. would these skills be acceptable to take in-game, or would they count as skills sam would have to regain through the abilities and talents system? also - through most of his canon, he has a large pack of survival supplies, elvish rations, pots and pans, and other items. would taking this in-game be alright?

lastly, something i wanted to check up on - including other castmates during sam's arrival on the skyway as statues will not make them unappable from their original universe, right?

[bastionmods]

Sorry for the delay!

Sam would keep those abilities and talents. The talents section is moreso meant for characters to gain new skills that they do not have in canon. So don't worry, he won't be losing any of those skills just by being brought to the Bastion.

As for Sam's things, as long as he physically has them on him at the point you are pulling him from in canon, he can bring them with him when he arrives. If it's stuff in the immediate vicinity (like, for example, if he's stopped to rest for the night and put all of his things on the ground near him), then he would probably only be able to recover about half of his things.

And you are correct. We're going with the 'multiple worlds' idea here, so Sam is more than welcome to find statues of his friends right there when he wakes up, and if anyone wanted to app them later they would still be able to.

[gottalovetheboots]

Hello, if, hypothetically, a character had powers but required specific materials to use said powers, would they fall under the three times a day rule? Or would the need of a specific material to make these powers be enough of a limiter?

[bastionmods]

Hello there!

It would still fall under the three a day rule. However, the specific material would be easy to obtain, since characters can use shards to create things from their home worlds.

An incredibly specific question

[alwaysintense]

So, say a character wished to bring in a castle. Three stories tall, so it would end up at 800 shards. But would the fact that the castle is mobile (walks, not flies) and was created to fight giant monsters affect the price at all?

Re: An incredibly specific question

[bastionmods]

It definitely would affect the price. I'll discuss it with the other mods, and we'll come up with a price for it.

[onebodyonemindonesoul]

Potential apper with some random questions:

1) How much do characters ICly know about what the Monument can create and how much each thing costs?

2) What happens ICly if a character tries to get the Monument to do something it can't do (not enough shards, an effect the mods have vetoed, etc)?

3) Does the daylight here cause characters to tan and sunburn as usual?

4) Do monsters leave behind anything other than shards when they're killed? Like hides, weapons, or anything edible? (Bonus question: What weapons do gasfella carry?)

[bastionmods]

1) ICly it's been figured out through trial and error, and the NPC Nathaniel is the one who explains what's listed in the rebuilding page.

2) It just won't do it. The process is "use data entry pad to tell the monument what you want to make" -> "put enough shards into the monument" -> "thing is made". If there's not enough shards, then the monument won't make whatever is requested. If it is something we have vetoed, then the Bastion itself will outright refuse to make it.

3) Yep! For all intents and purposes, the 'day' and 'night' work just like any day and night found on a normal planet.

4) Not usually, no. The only exception to this is boss monsters, who carry cores, as well as plot coupons sometimes. Gasfella carry either hammers or axes.

oops rvb spoilers ahead!

[metainstability]

Pardon! I'm working on my app, and I've run into a little bit of a snag.

The character I'm apping as had, at one point in canon, seven distinct artificial intelligence personalities implanted within his mind, all of which are rather important to his current cohesive personality, even though they would have been deleted by the point in time I am apping him at. Would it be alright for me to write short biographies for them to help explain Meta's current state, even if they will never actually make an appearance in-game?

Re: oops rvb spoilers ahead!

[bastionmods]

As long as you write it in a way that shows they have been deleted, and that the information is more to show this character's personality, that is alright.

[actor]

hey there! i combed over the faq/rules twice, so i really hope i didn't miss this anywhere, but:

the character i'm considering for the game doesn't have a corporeal form. would he be given one upon entry, or would he remain in his intangible canon state?

[bastionmods]

Sorry for the delay!

Which option would you prefer?

[flair]

I noticed you take fandom OCs, so I was interested in apping a character from the Pokémon world! She'd technically be an OC, as the only thing we have for her is an old character design from when they wanted to put her in RGB but couldn't because of memory restraints -- it's this cutie right here.

Would I be allowed to do that? If so, would I be using the OC application form?

[bastionmods]

Sorry for the delay!

Yes, that would be alright. And yes, use the OC app, but be sure to specify any connections she has to the other canon characters, and remember that for canon OCs they can only be minor connections (so, things like 'battled Misty on a couple occasions' or 'happened to be from the same town as Red' or along those lines).

[onethirdthesoul]

Do you take CRAU/previous game memories?

[bastionmods]

At this time, we do not take CRAU characters.

[emissaries]

Just wondering, since I didn't see this answered anywhere else - what happens if someone falls off the Skyway?

[bastionmods]

Two possibilities:

1: they fall onto another chunk of the Skyway which happened to be situated right below the piece they fell off of.

2: they fall into eternity and never stop falling.

[scary_music]

Can the Monument be used to regain lost memories?

It would be a terrible thing if Ibuki ever got the idea to use it for this...

[bastionmods]

We haven't actually discussed something like memories being regained via monument before, so before we decide we're curious to hear what your plans for Ibuki would be if she got her memories back.

[twinked_witch]

For future plotting purposes...

Megaera, currently, is a fifth-level Wizard, and has the basics for using spells (subject to the three-per-day limit). Unlike her devil powers, her Wizard magic's capable of growing as she survives encounters; that is, she could potentially level up in Wizard. This leads to two questions:
1) Is she going to be able to level up over time, unlocking higher-level spells as she clears enough encounters, as per how things work in her old world? Or would she need shards to learn more advanced magic (presumably on either a per-spell or per-spell-level basis), or be unable to develop them entirely?
2) Normally, Megaera needs access to book copies of spells to learn them. Would she be able to use Shards to either expand Patchouli's library (with Patchouli's permission) or build her own for being able to get at such spells?

[bastionmods]

Megaera would need to purchase both spells and spell books from the monument. Since spell books and spells are linked in D&D, there are a couple ways we could go with this.

Method 1: each spell gets its own spell book, and when she purchases each book she gets that spell along with that book.

Method 2: Megaera buys a spell book for a one-time cost, but to use each spell within that spell book she would have to purchase the ability to do so. She repeats this process for each book of spells.

Method 3: Megaera buys a spell book AND the spells all at once, for one large shard cost. She repeats this process for each book of spells.

We are alright with any of these methods, though we ask you choose one and stick to it from this point forward.