![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
FAQ
Rules | FAQ | Apps | Reserves
What kinds of characters are allowed?
Canon characters, Original Characters, Canon OCs, Fandom OCs, silent/malleable protagonists.
MMO protags are considered canon OCs and so only one of them can be in the game at a time. Fandom OCs are allowed as long as they don't interfere with canon or have strong relations to main characters. OCs will be judged to a higher standard to ensure quality.
For canon OCs (characters with little to no dialogue/background), headcanon is acceptable as long as it fits within canon.
What kinds of characters are not allowed?
No duplicates, AUs, Canon AUs or CR AUs.
This applies to canons with multiple universes, such as Marvel, so only one iteration of Captain America would be able to exist in the game at any time.
My character is an adult, will they be able to go to Hogwarts?
Yes! They will live in the Room of Houses, a special room created by the castle itself. From there, they will partake in night-time classes, taught by the very same professors that teach the younger students, using secret time management techniques.
In addition to these classes, adult students are also given a special kit to further help them with their education: Wally Whizhard's Kit for the Homeschooled Witch or Wizard
A mouthful, but an effective tool to quickly help adult characters in catching up to where they ought to be.
While students are at home for the summer, adult characters will attend summer classes taught by Ministry of Magic representatives. These classes will be focused on educating new adult wizards and witches about the modern-day wizarding world, magical law, the technique of magical teleportation known as apparition and an in-depth look at the Ministry of Magic and its various departments, with a focus on determining what sort of career they might be interested in after they've completed their education.
Additionally, they may take a trip to Diagon Alley any time they want by taking the Knight Bus. With trustworthy behavior, they may venture further out into the nonmagical world as long as they do not break the Statute of Secrecy, the law which forbids use of magic in front of muggles.
Is there a network?
Yes, of sorts! Characters are given a magical journal with which they can communicate with each other.
It looks and acts like an ordinary journal, except anything you write in it can be viewed by everyone else who has a journal like it. Whatever you write in yours will appear in everyone else's, and so on. Your name will appear with whatever you write, so everyone will generally know who they are interacting with.
Journals also come with an optional "howler" function, which works in the same way that a traditional howler works. A howler is basically a magical recording of the sender's voice. They are typically sent when a regular old letter isn't loud enough, or can't convey the level of... emotion, usually anger, one desires to express. The journals have a modified version of this, so that you may magically record your messages to other people in a quieter, more civil manner.
Users can also share photos with others using their journals by simply placing the photo against the paper, where it will magically appear for everyone else to see.
They can also filter their messages to specific people, simply by addressing them by name in the journal and continuing their message. It will only appear to the person whose name they've written down and no one else will be able to see it.
Students caught abusing journals to cheat or otherwise cause harm will find themselves punished appropriately, be that detention or lost house points.
Can I app a metamorphmagus/animagus/vampire/etc
In the Harry Potter universe, metamorphmagi/animagi are people who can transform at will. The former can alter their appearance, where the latter can specifically transform into a certain animal and only that animal.
You may request your character have abilities such as this, but only if it's fitting to their character, ie; a shapeshifter in canon, etc. Other creatures like vampires, werewolves, etc all have their own Harry Potter counterpart and we will happily work with you to incorporate it!
My character isn't human, what happens?
Generally, they can keep their body as long as it isn't anything too extreme. If they are robotic or electrical, they will acquire a human body upon entering Portus Novus, as technology doesn't work at Hogwarts.
My character did (bad thing), what happens?
It depends on the infraction! You can generally expect detention, a loss of house points and the like for a school-aged student. Older characters will find the authorities are much less lenient when it comes to breaking rules. You could find yourself detained at the Ministry, again.
If you do anything truly horrible, you might find yourself being sent to the wizarding prison, Azkaban.
Can I play an evil character?
You can! But see above for doing anything truly awful, at least... for now. In the future there will be mechanics introduced that will allow characters to align themselves with forces outside of Hogwarts, if they choose. For the time being, that particular mechanic is tied to an event that will happen in-game and open up more possibilities and alliances.
What happens if a character dies?
No magic is capable of raising the dead. When a character in Portus Novus dies, they are gone... unless they become a ghost, which is the only other way to continue playing them, and even then only those who truly fear death choose to remain as a ghost.
Please think carefully before you decide that you want to pursue a death plot, as it cannot be reversed once you do. Unless you bring them back as a ghost, you will be dropping them from the game upon death. If this is something you wish to do, please contact a mod before doing so.
Characters who have died in game may be applied for by someone else, but not the original player. They will have no memories of their former incarnation.
My character is dead at their canon point, what happens?
You have a few options! They may be surprised to find, inexplicably, they're alive and breathing again. Magic ordinarily cannot raise the dead, but whatever strange, mysterious force that brought you here seems to have done so.
Alternatively, you may play them as a ghost. Ghosts will have a lesser degree of magical ability, but may learn to interact with and touch other objects, with practice. In time, they may be able to learn how to channel their magic while retaining a semi-corporeal form in order to hold their wands. They will never be as magically powerful as living, breathing people, but they will be capable of magical and personal growth.
What is wizard currency?
Wizarding currency is made up of bronze knuts, silver sickles and gold galleons.
It's 29 knuts to a sickle, 17 sickles to a galleon.
no subject
• what is the overarching premise, if there is one? Is it more of a sandbox/SoL game?
• would characters who are dead need to be taken from a canonpoint prior to their spirit being separated from their bodies?
• are canon powers allowed, or no?
• If allowed, what nerfs are applied? (i.e., do powers need to be AU'd to HP equivalent? that sort of thing)
A few adult-character specific questions:
• would adults be taught separately from school-aged students, or integrated with them for learning?
• will they have a choice between a full education vs just learning enough Magic 101 not to be a danger?
• what would their room/board be like? would they have their own adult dorms that function more similarly to a standard university campus residence?
• can they obtain jobs? if so, would they be permitted to work in non-magical workplaces?
• can they teach non-magical subjects to students with faculty approval? (like english, literature, mathematics, art, basic trades, etc.)
no subject
• Overall, it will lean towards a SoL/Sandbox atmosphere, with light-hearted and fun events thrown in from time to time. Additionally, for those interested in the broader scope, the Ministry of Magic is actively investigating your appearance here and hoping to find a way to reverse it. Other plots will revolve around the Death Eaters and the continued search for their master 3 years after his death/disappearance, including opportunities for characters to explore and align themselves with the darker side of the Wizarding World.
•Yes, although you could app them as a ghost if you wanted to go for a different sort of play style. Ghostly opportunities are much more limited, however.
• Canon powers are not allowed. However, characters with any sorts of powers or strengths in canon will find that they might have an affinity for certain branches of magic. Telepaths, for example, would do well with memory charms. If a character is extremely powerful in canon, they might find their spells and incantations a bit above the rest in terms of strength.
• Adults are all taught via the homeschooling program, where they will mainly review their course material in the privacy of their living quarters. During the summer, when students are away for the summer holidays, they will take up residence in Hogwarts for the duration of the holidays. Adults will have plenty of opportunity to roam Hogwarts and the grounds, however, as there will be weekly practice sessions held at the castle for adults to put their studies to good use.
• Yes, as long as there's no risk, characters may opt out of a full education. They must practice their magic to some extent in order for their extra powers to begin to dissipate. The Ministry of Magic also asks that regardless, they remain in the wizarding world for the time being.
• Adults will be staying in Hogsmeade village, which is located just outside of Hogwarts. Initially, they will be staying at the Three Broomsticks inn, a small but cozy cottage-like pub. Characters may also stay in the Leaky Cauldron, a pub attached to Diagon Alley. Eventually, the Ministry of Magic will provide them their own one bedroom cottage in Hogsmeade, for cooperating and good behavior.
• They can! Shopkeepers in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley are always looking for assistants to keep things tidy. Until the Ministry knows that you can be trusted not to break the statute of secrecy, they ask that you not venture into the muggle world. They are willing to look into it in the future, but for now the risk is too great.
• If they express interest, they are more than willing to teach those things!
Disabilities
no subject
no subject
Asking for my own frame of reference.
no subject
Characters like Sans, or MLP characters would be good candidates for Metamorphmagi and Animagi. MLP characters could have a human body they transform into and an animal form that they feel more comfortable in. Sans could appear in a skeletal form and have the ability to alter his appearance to a normal human form if he wanted to blend in better.
no subject
no subject
Ghost rules
Specifically, in Luke's canon, he can physically interact with people and objects if he makes an effort. Is that an option?
Can ghosts still study magic?
Will ghosts be 'stuck' with their personality when they died, or can they actually, you know, grow as people?
If I want instead to have him being alive in-game, can I still take him post-canon and make him be "alive again", so he can keep his memories/character development from the time he was a ghost?
Re: Ghost rules
In cases like his, we are willing to bend the established rules of ghosthood. As he's had ample time in canon as a ghost, in Portus Novus he may have a little more control over his corporealness similar to that of a poltergeist. With concentration, he would be able to touch and pick up objects and have a greater degree of influence over the world than a normal ghost.
He would also not be bound by the same restrictions as other ghosts that dictate they usually remain near where they died, Luke would be able to move about the world freely and without restriction.
Luke would also still be able to study magic, though he will find difficult in managing his corporeal form while trying to channel magic until he can get the hang of it better. He won't ever be as strong as a fully living wizard, but he will be capable of magical growth as well as personal.
For your last question, for sure! You could either take him just before he died, or simply handwave the fact that suddenly, somehow he does have a living body.
We hope this helps and we hope you have plenty of options to play your character in ways you'll enjoy! If you need any other help or information, let us know!
Re: Ghost rules
no subject
(Anonymous) 2020-12-11 06:21 pm (UTC)(link)For some background, I created this character on request to be a professor at a magical university (this was before Rowling came out against the idea of magical universities) in Ireland. That meant that he was already a wizard in the Harry Potter universe. He came in as an adult and I had a whole history already laid out for him. (Hell, I had his family lineage and coat of arms worked out!) The premise for the forum was sort of the opposite of a lot of RPs I see these days: NO canon characters were allowed, and likewise no connections to them, other than anything normally encountered by students coming from Hogwarts. So by that standard, his only connections were to other original characters and some teachers at Hogwarts. (In private chat RPs, he developed a friendship with Lupin, but that was kept off-board, and in his profile, Lupin is only referred to as "an old acquaintance.")
So there we are: I have an adult wizard fandom character. Would he be a good candidate for this community? If so, would it be easier for him to be an adult or a teen? And would he keep his House?
(Here is his old profile, in case any more reference is needed: https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/ardnieuuniversity/prof-darius-saxen-t4457.html
Please excuse how it's written, it was....a long time ago, and I intend to give it a cut and polish for future applications.)
no subject
Your character would be a great candidate for the game! It would be completely up to you if you wanted to age him down or keep him the age that he is. We're aiming to give student aged and adult characters plenty of things to do, so it would be whichever you feel you would have the most fun with.
We also don't terribly mind bending JKR's established rules in favor of going with what's most fun. If you wanted him to be a "magical university" professor, there is no harm in handwaving it as part of his background. Perhaps magical university is something new the wizarding world is trying out? Or he's hired on to teach advanced magic at Hogwarts? You have plenty of options!
He would be able to keep his House as well, since it would be an established part of his background.
no subject
I'll polish up his profile, make him a journal, and then I guess we'll see if there's anything that needs more clarification or alteration. Thanks so much for the opportunity!