FAQ

[collectedmods]

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is Collected? What kind of game is this?

Collected is an invite-only mutlifandom, horror-centered roleplaying game that takes place in an abandoned mall. The game will deal with horror themes like survivalism, post-apocalypticism, violence, monsters, and the supernatural. The focus for Collected is for characters to survive in the mall amid mysteriously supernatural and unfortunate happenings to unravel the mystery of who, or what brought them here - and more importantly, to find out what happened to the people who were there before.

The projected game length is one year.

What if my character has a special diet?

They will be able to find what they need by scavenging through different stores inside the mall.

What if my character is dead or injured when they arrive?

Magically, they will arrive in complete health! Whether it be alive and in a new body, or all their injuries being healed, they will mysteriously be gone when they awake.

How did my character end up here?

As far as they are aware, they simply woke up there from whatever canon point you choose upon acceptance into the game! The technical answer is they were simply taken from their world and put right into this one.

Where will my character be staying?

Once your character is awake, they are free to stay virtually anywhere they want inside the mall! There will be no one regulating or forcing the characters to stay in any one place, so wherever they would like to call home is open to you! If they want to stay in the local H*t T*pic, they’re free to sleep on the floor or in the back. Or if they want to haunt the gym, they’re free to do that. All they would have to do is assess how safe it is, and try to forage for items from other department stores to be able to survive.

What type of technology is available on site?

Technology is present at the mall, but a lot of it will be either janky, or might need some jerryrigging in order to function properly. Generally, the outlets work, although the power isn’t very consistent. Characters won't wake up with any devices, but will be able to pick their own model of phone over at the local B*st B*y. They will need to charge their phones every now and then to keep the battery up. As far as other devices, they can be plugged into whatever outlet they find in the mall but will work 50% of the time depending on how the electricity feels that day.

Unlike the electricity, the water inside the mall works perfectly fine. Any water fountains, showers, or anything that really requires the use of water found within the mall will produce water that is clear. So, yes - there is working plumbing in the toilets!

Do you have a network? How does my character access it?

Yes! There is a network established inside the mall characters can use. It seems like back when this place was up and running, there was some sort of forum up that mallgoers posted to, though any older posts have been scrubbed off the site. The site name, Mall Watch, doesn't give many clues as to what this network was for.

Either way, currently, characters can access it through the phones they find in the electronic stores or using the computer cafe. In fact, its the only site that will load on their devices. All they have to do to use it is open up their phone and shoot out a message on the forum! And if they can’t use their phone for whatever reason, go ahead and boot up that computer and do the same from there. Characters can make their own accounts (and choose their usernames) for the forum! Don't forget to write down your password somewhere.

The phones characters can find work just like any other older-model phone; they take (bad quality) photos and send texts. However, if you want to post any photos to the forum characters will have to go to the computer cafe to upload it manually through a USB to the computer.

What about animal companions?

Characters will not be arriving with their animal companions, as all the pet food in the mall is mysteriously gone. Wonder why!

What if my character tries to leave?

The door and windows are unlocked, so while your character can certainly try to leave, we recommend they shouldn’t. Due to the environmental conditions outside of the mall’s door they will not be able to survive for very long, or in general, for that matter!

My character dies, what happens?

This is pretty simple, your character can’t die! If they are wounded in any way, critically or otherwise, they will simply go through a healing process consisting of that character’s body re-stitching itself back together. It is a slow and painful process, the length of time depending on how severe the wound is. For example, if your character gets stabbed, it will only take about an hour of work to stitch itself in one piece. But if an entire limb is cut off, it will take upwards to a day or more depending on how bad it is. Your character will be awake the entire time, and experience the process from beginning to the end.

For non-human characters, the process is the same! Only it will be adjusted depending on what material they are made out of. Luckily for them, if they’ve never experienced pain, they’ll be able to now!

APPLICATIONS, CANON UPDATES, ACTIVITY

What characters are appable to Collected?

We accept all canon characters from different mediums! Currently, we are not accepting: AUs of canons, CRAUs of characters, and multiple doubles. Silent protagonists are going on a case by case basis!

Is there a character age requirement?

There is no age requirement.

Can I app from a newly released canon?

In order to be respectful to people who haven’t viewed that media yet we’re implementing a wait time of one month before a character from a newly released canon can be apped.

Is there a character limit? How many can I apply for at once?

Currently we’re allowing players to have up to two characters in game, with only a one character limit being allowed per application cycle.

Can I play more than one character from the same canon?

Unfortunately, we aren’t allowing players to play more than one character from the same canon.

Is there a cast cap implemented?

Yes! Currently we are only allowing 4 characters from each canon.

What happens if I want to app a non-human character?

Non-human characters will stay as they are if apped into the game. Nothing will be changed about their bodies!

Do you nerf powers?

Characters will arrive with their powers intact, but if they are game breaking then we will adjust it accordingly so your character can have a fun time in game!

However, in regards to healers, or characters with healing powers, there’s a special rule put in place for them. They can have their healing, but the strength of their powers will be lessened to where they won’t be able to use them effectively/as quickly. In addition to that, they will experience pain if they choose to heal something!

When are your reservation and application rounds? How do they work?

Reserves will be open on a four day period, and will open and close at the same time - 6PM PST. Applications will open the day reserves close, and will last exactly a week before closing at 6PM PST on the 26th.

What is AC like? How does it work?

Activity checks always happen at the last week of the month to give players enough time to turn everything in. Currently, activity checks look like this: 15 comments from you across 3 threads of any length.

If you can’t make AC for whatever reason, we have implemented a strike system. Players can choose to take a strike if they can’t make come up with AC when activity check comes. You can have no more than one strike at a time, so the next month after you take one you must make AC otherwise you will be swept from the game.

We will be making warning plurks the day before AC closes. By the time it officially is closed, if you don’t comment on the activity check, your character will be swept from the game once AC is complete.

Can I hiatus? What happens when I drop? Can I re-apply for the same character after dropping them?

Hiatuses are available in either of these options: a 2 week hiatus means you only submit half ac (7 comments from you instead of 15), and a full month hiatus means no AC (only a check-in).

Characters can either be put on auto-pilot or have the option of being put to sleep that will last the entire duration of the hiatus period. If they’re on auto-pilot, they will do exactly as they usually would do normally. If being put to sleep is chosen, other characters will have to protect and keep an eye on your character’s body until they wake up the day your hiatus has officially ended.

If a character is dropped, their belongings will still be there (like their phone, things they earned during monthly haunting missions, things they came into the game with), but their physical body will simply disappear without a trace. ICly, they will go back to your chosen canon point with no memories of what transpired. Re-applying with that character, however, can mean a few things. You have the option of making that character regain their memories from their first stay, or simply starting fresh.

What can my character arrive with?

We're allowing characters to arrive into Collected with five items of the player's choice, so they don't necessarily have to be on their person at the point they are taken. As far as where they will be when the character arrives in game, they will be scattered all around the mall - so it's up to them to try and find everything before someone else does.

How do canon updates work?

Canon updating a character works similarly to the second option, above. ICly, they will still be in the setting, but their physical body is forced to sleep once the request to update a character is submitted. Once approved, they will magically wake up a day later with new memories. To the character, it will feel like they have gone back to their canon and lived out those events. To everyone else, it will appear that they never actually left.

If that character has any physical changes, or a change of outfit, any characters watching over that sleeping body will find that it’s disappeared! And the next day they will return in the same spot, down to the centimeter, with their new canon updated look.

ARRIVAL

What happens to my character when they arrive?

Your character will be waking up on the first floor of the mall. It’s flooded, so they’ll be in for a surprise! The water is black in color, with a foul odor emitting from it, and will stain your clothing the very same shade. Characters will notice, once they are no longer submerged, that anything the water touches that is made of steel, or iron, is extremely corroded.

It’s up to your character to get out of the water and onto the escalators leading up to the inhabitable second floor. All their clothing they came with will be soaked as a result! Feel free to pillage some stores to try for a new wardrobe.

Is there a currency?

No. Because all the stores are unmanned, uninhabited, and out of business, there is no currency for characters to use to purchase items. They can take things as they see fit, with no consequences, at the copout 90% of the items in the mall are damaged or decrepit.

Where are my characters at?

Once escaping murky waters at arrival, characters will quickly notice that they are in a mall! Although it’s seen better days - it’s decayed, and clearly abandoned.

What items can be found?

Generally, anything that you can find in a regular mall could theoretically be found here. The only caveat is, since the mall is so rundown it’ll be harder to find items in good condition - or the specific items they want, in general. Say there’s a clothing store, but there’s only a handful of shirts that haven’t been eaten by moths yet. Or you find a vending machine in one of the hallways, but it’s been pilfered and the only things left are jelly beans.

What do the stores look like?

The stores look like any typical store you would find in a mall! Except dilapidated, clearly run down, and lived in. Some display cases may be broken, leaving broken glass shattered on the floor. But characters will still be able to find items exclusive to that store of varying quality - some will be good, and some will be bad.

What's outside?

If any character takes a look outside one of the many windows located inside the mall they’ll be greeted with the site of a parking lot - with dry and cracked concrete, a vivid orange sky, devoid of any plants and life. The doors and windows to the mall are unlocked, the entrance to one of the many parking structures on site connected to the second floor of the mall. No one will stop the characters from exploring outside, but unless they can stand the heat from a radioactive sun.. It might be best for them to stay inside, for now.

What's this about 'Hauntings'?

Each month, a few stores will mysteriously start to have hauntings. These issues are varied - they can range from fires, to pest infestations, to things that are blatantly supernatural. How these issues arise at the same time each month is unknown to the characters, but the most important part is that if characters go investigate, they’ll receive a reward! These hauntings are open monthly for everyone to participate in.

And that's a reward system?

That's right! We established a reward system like this so characters will have a way to get new items while helping build CR. You don’t need to sign up for anything, just simply turn in a submission form detailing what happened. And the more, the merrier! The items your character will receive are based on what store experienced that haunting that month.

Anything else?
Ask in the comments below and we'll get to you as soon as we can!



NAVIGATION