InsaneJournal

the faq.

when is the game set? the game is set in april 1933 and takes place in america. see the wiki page for all major events that occurred during this year and the setting page for more information about this era. how does the circus travel? by train! the steam engine is still the most common and most efficient mode of transport in the early 20th century. so what exactly are these powered humans? are they flying around saving the world? the result of an experiment gone wrong? the truth is, no one really knows how these people got their powers. there are rumours that their parents took part in some scientific experiment or that they're the product of a government funded military operation. other people simply believe they're the next step in human evolution and that eventually everyone on the planet will have powers. what is known though is that the other countries in the world have yet to announce the presence of their own powered beings. so far the US government is remaining tight lipped on the subject and focusing their efforts on the country's economic troubles. as far as people donning a cape to save the world, it's yet to happen. most superpowered individuals have found themselves the subject of intrigue but, ultimately, ostracism. in a country where jobs are extremely hard to come by, it's one more way of cutting down potential applicants. as for those people who've attempted to turn to crime with their powers? they all seem to mysteriously disappear.... are any powers off limits? how powerful can my character be? at the moment healing and weather control are off limits purely because they negate a lot of potential plot. in terms of power strength, be sensible. there shouldn't be an all seeing, all knowing precog or someone capable of knocking down an entire building with a single punch. remember that weaknesses are just as important as strengths when it comes to powers. is there a character limit? at the moment there isn't. hopefully everyone knows their own limitations by now and how much time they can give the game in order to make a judgement on the number of characters to app. can i have five characters all with main acts? no, that would be a tad unfair and also upset the balance of the game. the holds page will be monitored to ensure that no one category is heavily outweighing the others. if that happens then there will be a stop hold on a category until things even up. so all the characters in the game have superpowers? not necessarily! some members of the circus will be normal humans; primarily the roustabouts but also those who were performers before the birling brothers started chasing powered humans. the idea is that most of these people will be npcs but a small number will be allowed to be apped. how does the journal system work? thanks to maria carter, or more specifically her powers, everyone on the circus is able to communicate with each other via written tablets. every member of the circus has been issued with a notebook which is linked to all the others, so if you write a journal post in it voila! it shows up in everyone else's. private posts are identified by [private to maria] and strikeouts represent words which have been scribbled out or erased and are unreadable to everyone else. eg. june would you like to go to the pictures with me hi june, how are you? i want a strong man but they aren't listed on any of the acts pages! there are plenty of circus acts which haven't yet found their way onto the main act, sideshow and supporting roles pages. all you have to do is pitch the idea on the holds page and (providing it works for the game) it will get added in. i'll also let you know which category they fall into. where do logs go? logs, scenes, narratives and ic notices (telegrams for instance) belong in the ic community onedaystand ooc posts go in, you guessed it, the ooc community thebackyard my character didn't get paid! unfortunately this is depression era america and times are tough, even for a circus as unique as the birling brothers. bosses and performers will always get paid, with the very rare exception. roustabouts and supporters however don't have this guarantee and may walk away on pay day with nothing. robert birling will promise to catch up with you next time but it's worth keeping this in mind: the more the birlings owe you, the less desirable you become. it isn't unusual for a roustabout to keep his mouth shut and accept only 4 weeks pay when he's actually owed 8. how does my character wash? where do they get their water from? the water tent, as explained in the glossary, circulates around the lot dispensing water for numerous uses: filling water buckets for performers to wash in, watering the animals, spraying the ground to keep the dust down, filling the drinking-water barrels placed around the lot (they have blocks of ice in them and a tin cup on a chain), and hosing down the elephants. there are two tents (one male, one female) in which buckets of water hang by a string to wash those who step underneath them. classy. where do the community names come from? the red wagon is the boss's office. traditionally it was always painted red (as it is in the birlings circus) but even when this practice stopped it was always called 'the red wagon'. one day stand is the usual duration of a circus's time in town. the back yard is the section "off limits" to the general public. i have a question that's not on this page. no problem! ask away by posting a comment below. chances are someone else is wondering the same exact thing.