thegreatestlittlemod | Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions
What kind of a game is this?
A panfandom fantasy game with some mild horror elements. Functionally, we're a mix between a jamjar game, an AU game, and a mission-based game.

Why a circus?
I've read a few things about circuses lately and had a cool AU idea from another game event, and wanted to throw them together.

What kind of horror elements are there?
Spooky with eldritch leanings, some body horror. Nothing too bad. I am a fantasy writer primarily, myself, so that's what we're focusing on more than the horror.

How do I join?
Submit an application! Gail will have to recognize your name, journal, or plurk name on the application in order to approve you, as this is currently a friends-only game.

So there's an application?
Yes, but the process is pretty simple. There's no application judgment, just some questions to get your character set up in the setting and ready for fun. Applications are open all the time, with no windows, so just apply when you feel like it.

How many characters can I apply?
One at a time, and up to three. We're not looking for a huge game, here.

Do you allow duplicates?
Within reason, yes. If you can make a case for why this version of Bucky Barnes is different enough from the current version of Bucky Barnes, we'll give it a go.

What about OCs? Canon OCs?
Totally welcome! We reserve the right to turn down canon OCs if they seem too over the top, but mostly we're easy here and know it's fun to make an OC from a canon setting.

What's AC like?
Non-existent! AC is a monthly check-in just to say you're still interested in playing along with us. There will be one warning made on plurk and on the ooc comm for people who have missed the check-in, then you will be removed. Just apply back in if you need to.

What happens if I drop?
The Ringmaster has decided you've completed your term of service, or else decided you're not useful to him anymore, so feel free to walk right out those gates. If you don't want to go, too bad, you'll get booted right out onto your face.

How about a hiatus?
You have three options: autopilot your character, have the Ringmaster send them off on a private mission for him, or simply disappear for the span of the hiatus. The character will return from the mission unable to remember a lot of the details ("I was rescuing somebody? I don't remember who, but I remember she was a pain in the ass") and from the disappearance not realizing any time has passed at all. Since there is no actual AC requirement, you can still post your AC check-in unless you talk to us to let us know you can't.

Is there a network?
Nope, but there is a bulletin board if people would like to leave messages. As players you can also set up character inboxes for messages left for each other. Actual physical messages. With ink on paper. We're old-fashioned here.

Can characters die?
Sure can. This can either be used as a drop mechanic, or they can wake up in their cabin the next morning with a few new scars and feeling terrible for the next few days. Revival is rough, buddy. Any deaths past your first one will have... consequences.

Setting questions
So this is a circus?
Yep! Old-fashioned, even, with wagons and animal shows and fliers put up around town with old-timey script and pictures, none of those fancy trucks or hydraulics or computerized lights. This circus travels the world(s) putting on shows. The entry fee is nominal, though money is also made through tickets for the handful of rides and games, and tips to performers.

What do you mean by worlds, plural?
The traveling circus visits all sorts of places. Not all of them are on Earth. Not even most of them are on Earth. How does it do this when all its props and animals and employees live in what basically amount to motorized wagons? Nobody knows.

Wait, we live in wagons?
Yep! With four sleeping bunks per wagon. It's a little tight, though not as tight as it might look from the outside, but we like it cozy here. There are amenities, like sinks and flushing toilets (one per wagon) and showers (in a separate pair of wagons just for this purpose), though if you'd rather take a bath there are wooden tubs behind the shower wagon you can fill with a hose. Not as much privacy, though. Down-time meals are communal, with a fire pit, portable stove, and stew pot for every four wagons, though there are also meal carts for the circus proper that can also feed hungry workers between shows.

What if my character needs a special diet or special accommodations?
The Ringmaster will provide. There might be a whole wagon just for vampires, with blackout curtains and coffins instead of cubby bunks, stocked with blood bags. Vegans will have meal options. All wagons have (magical?) lifts for people with wheelchairs or bum legs to get inside. If you have a need, bring it up, and something will be done to accommodate it.

How does the circus work?
Magic! No, seriously, everybody in the circus has their job. Maybe that job is setting up tents and then running errands, or maybe it's the lion and tiger show, or maybe it's creating illusions. We need people to put on shows for the audience, and also to run the popcorn stand.

Creating illusions, huh?
Yep! I did say the circus ran by magic, right? There are definitely actual magic shows going on in this circus.

Won't that get suspicious on non-magic worlds?
There will always be a non-magical explanation for the actual magic, and really, most people don't expect to see real magic in a traveling circus and are willing to suspend their disbelief. They can do amazing things with holograms and mirrors these days!

What's the technology level in general?
The circus itself seems to be from the early 1900s or so, as there are simple combustion motors, electric lights, and full plumbing, but it can also varies. Sometimes people will come in as science fiction geniuses and decide their act will involve their space age technology… if they can make it work with the supplies they have available. The places the circus visits will have wildly different technology levels, so something may be possible.

What kinds of attractions are there?
As many as you can think up, and more besides. We're keeping this open-ended so people can design their own shows and stands and performances. Think of anything you might want to put in a circus or a traveling faire, and it's probably there. Some staples include: a fun house with mirrors, feats of strength or agility or skill or all three, animal shows, carnival games, and clowns. No circus is complete without clowns.

Uh, clowns?
No, none of them are murderers or demons. We're pretty sure.

The animals aren't abused, are they?
We've got animal speakers in the circus who make sure their needs and desires are taken care of, don't worry.

How long does the circus stay in one town?
Two months. The first two weeks are set-up and advertising, then the next four are shows, then the last two weeks are for tear-down and travel to the next site. Missions sign-ups happen during the first two weeks, while missions themselves happen during those middle four.

How do we travel? You said we go between worlds, but they're wagons!
It feels to the characters as if the wagons are just trundling along, and for a few days a month everyone is confined to them while the circus moves. Not just one wagon, mind: they are all connected in a long train, so characters can move from wagon to wagon during those couple days of travel. What they see when on the bridge between wagons varies wildly: a freeway, a dirt road, endless stars, a deep red ocean, wildly rotating colors… and it changes between each wagon.

Who's driving these things?
The Ringmaster is in the very first wagon, but nobody can actually get to it. It seems like the wagon train just goes on forever, eventually looping around to where they started, but never reaches the lead wagon.

Can we talk to the Ringmaster?
Not while he's driving, but otherwise, sure! He will be the only mod-driven NPC in the game.

Are there other NPCs?
Sure, make 'em up. The circus is big. The mod will have a few set up for various tasks if they aren't picked up by PC, but they're not mod-driven and can be written into threads by anybody.

Character questions
How does my character join up?
Either by saying they want to join up, by finding something fishy about it and trying to investigate, or by visiting one day and waking up in a wagon the next morning. Seems like maybe you got kidnapped.

My character doesn't want to join the circus!
Too bad, it happened anyway.

That won't work, they'd run away!
Well, you can't. Trying to leave the circle of fencing the circus puts up when the wagon train stops will be impossible without permission from the Ringmaster. And trying to flee after accepting a mission in town just results in the character waking up back in their wagon the next time they fall asleep.

Does my character have to have an act?
Not if they don't want to or don't have a skill they want to show off!

So they don't have to work?
I didn't say that. There's lot of jobs around the circus that aren't putting on shows. The animals need fed, the trash needs picked up, the tickets need taken and money needs counted, decorations and advertisements need to be made, game stalls need to be manned, and wares need to be sold. People and animals sometimes get hurt, so there's even a couple doctors on premises. There's work for everybody.

What if they won't work?
Then they don't get to play, either. You only get paid if you work, so while you'll get to eat and sleep for free, you won't get new clothes or entertainment or get to leave the circus premises for some fun on the town when they're stopped for a show.

They won't cooperate! They'll just sit around and make life difficult for everybody!
The Ringmaster does have a solution to this little problem. Should you have a character you wish to bring to the circus who would absolutely not cooperate (or just if you feel like it), you can create an AU personality and history for them that would or, perhaps, has agreed to play along! This might be because they're in some kind of trouble and the circus promises to protect them, because of a spirit of adventure, or any other reason you can think of.

Wait, is this an AU game?
Only if you want it to be! This is an option for players, if they want to try out a different scenario for their characters or want to make sure they'd join a circus when otherwise they might not. You can have your character have been with the circus for years if you like, or just be a new arrival eager to try out a new lifestyle.

Is there the possibility for memory regain?
Absolutely! There are various mechanics within the game that allow for showing a character who they used to be, and if you want to play with this, you can certainly have various events trigger memories.

How about powers?
If you have them, you keep them! So long as you don't try to use them to destroy the circus or escape. You won't be successful, and the Ringmaster will be… mad.

Will AU'd characters be able to keep or regain their powers?
If you like! The AU is entirely up to you, and regains would work through the same mechanics as memory regains.

Can my AU'd character have new powers?
If you want, within reason! No making your perfectly ordinary human character into a god or anything, make sure it fits with whatever AU backstory you made, and nothing game-breaking, but if you want to play with your character having earth-bending or angel wings as part of their AU, we just want you to have fun.

My character is too big to fit in the wagons.
You can have them resize in order to fit, or you can have them sleep outside. For traveling, they can be housed in the biggest wagons with the animals. If they're bigger than, say, 30 feet tall, we're going to say they have to be resized to fit.

My character is an animal. Will they have to be humanized?
Nope! We have plenty of animal shows, and even a little petting zoo.

What about a mythical animal? Or somebody who looks completely inhuman?
Same deal. Some of the places we're going don't have Earth species, so they'll be a novelty but not stand out too bad. On Earth, they'll just be thought to be really well-done costumes. Make-up and prosthetics have really come far, these days.

Game Mechanics Questions
Regaining memories and powers: how does that work?
Memories and powers for the AU'd characters can come back multiple ways. There are attractions within the circus itself that can jog memories, particularly the fun house or any show involving magical illusion. Parallels in daily life or interactions can bring back memories over the course of your gameplay. Missions are often tailored specifically to jog memories and spark powers. Finally, there will be the opportunity for a kind of event which will open up even more memories.

Missions?
Every time the circus stops in a new town (or land, or world), there will be a sign-up for individual characters or groups to go out on an entirely optional mission. These vary wildly from something as simple as "find and purchase a couple goats" to "kidnap this person and hold them for ransom" to "play ten games of dice in a tavern".

Those seem really random.
They are. The goal of each one is to elicit emotions, and sometimes to get supplies for the circus itself. This is the bread and butter of the game mechanics beyond the nature of the circus itself, and will be based on questions asked of you in the application as well as events going on in game.

What about that last event thing?
This will be added to the game after it's been running a little while, once enough characters have earned the Ringmaster's trust, and/or once characters discover a few things about the Ringmaster. I'll explain it then.

Is there an overarching plot?
Kind of. There will be clues as to why and how the Ringmaster manages this circus and what he's after for people to look into, but this is an only-if-you-want-to kind of engagement. Mostly the goal is to have some fun in a traveling circus setting with magic and sometimes some spooky stuff, but for those of us who want a game goal, the game goal will be there.

Do we have a planned run time or endgame?
I definitely know what will happen if the game ever goes into endgame, but no set time frame for that to happen. It will depend entirely on the playerbase and what they do, don't do, and how long the game winds up lasting.

Will the game ever open up to being non-invite-only?
Maybe. If we get enough steam going, we last long enough, and people seem to want me to, I'd be willing to consider it.

Player-Supplies Questions
Have a question? Ask it below and we'll link it here once it's answered!

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

So about that whole "characters can die" thing - if a character has a condition that would be terminal (say, oh, an infernal machine where their heart should be that's ticking away toward meltdown), would they be handwavily magically stabilized, or would they have to seek out an IC solution (or AU something where they aren't living on borrowed time)?

I want to say that we'd be happy to do whatever is most fun for you. You could go the route that nothing changes if they're not AU'd, but if they died, they'd come back with the same amount on their internal heart clock as they had when they were taken, rather than starting at the death point again. We could easily tailor a couple quests for them that will help fix the problem. Or you could go with being fixed from the get-go if that feels like too much trouble for you.

Or you could even AU them to fix the problem, but then over the course of gameplay the problem comes back and then must be fixed via quests, if you feel like having your cake and eating it too.

So in canon V here has three 'familiars' of a demonic nature that he uses to fight with and who relies on him to keep them from dying. Two of them are pretty much animal like in nature and don't speak or act as independently but one has a distinctive enough personality that he could be played separately. I'm wondering for this type of interlocking character would need a separate app and journal seeing that he has a distinctive persona?

Do they have separate bodies outside of V's? You mentioned on plurk that they're from his tattoos, if I'm reading that right. If they are actually part of his body, and live inside him, then they'd be treated as such and would not need a separate app or take up the "special item from home" slot like a pet would.

I'd basically want to treat them as alters in a DID system, or as part of his powerset. If neither of these are accurate, can you give me some more details?

Ok so there's a bit of a background here that might be a bit spoiler but in canon, V's strength is that of a very sick human. He has a limp, and visibly gets more and more thin and gray and weak during the game until near the end. The tattoos are marks of the contracts V makes with his three nightmares (giant bird, giant cat and a black humanoid ooze) giving them an anchor in the world and also so he can call upon their aid for fighting demons. When he calls them, they take on a physical form to deal damage while he stands back until their foes grow weak enough for him to deal a final blow. So while they do have a physical body they aren't always hanging around physically. They often are dormant until needed but both the bird and cat do appear off and on just hanging around while he's waiting for Nero or Nico to catch up.

But O can see how they can be alters. They are representations of nightmares that were formed and a part of him in a way ( there's a huge spoiler as how that came about ) and during one point in the game they were stripped from him, and the tats all disappeared with them so yeah.

Yeah I'm gonna call these summons rather than pets, and thus one of his powers. You're good to not have to app them separately or anything.

Thanks it should be fun!

I just want to clarify something regarding AU'd characters. Because I noticed there is the possibility to regain memories and powers, which suggests that the character's memories have been altered, and their powers suppressed or taken. Which has so many interesting implications to explore but I couldn't tell if that was what was intended or if this is meant to be creating an AU of the character in a more traditional sense.

Either way I do love the premise you have going here.

I don't want to give too much of the metaplot away, but think of it more like possession than a true AU or a simple power suppression.

Would it be possible to do a plot where characters (player or otherwise) from a previous game stepped in to fix game-specific medical/soul issues that could not have been handwaved away?

(The part of it not just being handwaved in some fashion is the sticking point in my case - and this would only be if I brought Nita. Attempting to write it on my own also has not really sufficed, hence my feeling driven to ask. |D)

I'm not 100% sure what you're asking. Do you mean bring the character in as a CRAU which had a medical problem fixed in the previous game? If so, absolutely fine. I'm really not policing stuff like that right now.

If you mean bringing previous-game characters to this one in order to do a plot, that's going to be a little harder to swing but we can always discuss it :)

It's more the latter - Nita's tether to the VTE was never actually fixed, from what I understand, and leaving her soul/mind disjointed from her body that long plus tied to some underlying facet of the void doesn't sound like a good state to leave her in? ~~And makes it harder for her to be re-kidnapped elsewhere assuming people only focus on bringing those remaining lost voidtreckers home, which gets in the way of apping her new places.~~ (Like, I could do a whole thing with just me playing out the PtB being intent on saving her from the circus after having been unable to help her for two years? But I am not sure if that is something you would want to play out either.)

(I mostly want the catharsis of getting to play out that little arc-welding-slash-worldbuilding, though that relies on having both at least one castmate (non-CRAU) and one CRAU-mate willing to jump in. ^^;

I do understand this is highly unlikely, though.)

Hmmmmmmmmmm. I mean technically the Ringmaster could definitely fix that tether issue through in-game quests, without having to rely on other players coming in from outside the game. That's one thing those quests are for. But if you do get a CRAU-mate to come join the game, then sure, we could work on that plot with the CRAU-mate.

I don't really want random guest rpers in our comms, though. They'd have to actually join the game and play in the setting for a while, and engage with the plot that way.

On the one hand, Nita would not ask for it for herself (and her mental state would be declining the longer her tether goes unfixed, is my thinking) - on the other, handwaving it feels like saying 'this connection Nita had with the NPC from that game never mattered!' which I actively dislike even if it's just my impression.

Not planning on having people we don't both already know be involved for this, at least.

Oh, Nita doesn't have to ask for it or even want it. The quests are meant to be opaque. She might be sent to meet with somebody and accept a thing from them, and that person/thing helps advance her personal plot/tether issue. Especially if in this case not dealing with it will hurt her usefulness to the Ringmaster!

This is one reason I ask for themes and things the player wants to work on in their app :)

Frequently Asked Questions

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