#obsfaq

[obscuraxrp]

if a muse is dragon-beast blooded, would they be able to shapeshift into a full fledged dragon at any point?

Hello anon! With the proper ranks taken in their shapeshifting skill, beast-blooded are able to take the form of their heritage beast. Depending on how this ability is styled, it will most likely require a rank II! Bear in mind that there are certain dangers to taking on a full-beast form in the modern era, but naturally, with those in account, muses are certainly allowed to take on this kind of ability provided they invest a few points in it.

--- Admin Helsing

[obscuraxrp]

#ASKANADMIN: ROUND 1

Hello members, and welcome to the first volume of our #askanadmin compilations!

#askanadmin is a Discord channel dedicated to Q&A from the admin team, where we can quickly answer any minor, miscellaneous questions that come up for members. As it’s impractical to search the channel and not even available to all members and applicants by default, however, we (with great help from the lovely @obshyerin​) have taken the liberty of compiling all of these answers into tumblr posts for your ease of reference! For the most part, answers have been edited to include proper punctuation and grammar, but other typing quirks (such as emojis) are left in context.

We hope that these answers are useful to you, and remember, our inbox, IMs, and question channel are always open to questions!

— Obscura Admin Team

GENERAL/SETTING QUESTIONS

Given the use of silver in hunting and protection from some supernaturals, would it be more expensive or would it be cheaper and more widely available?

I would imagine that the demand for silver is higher with hunters needing it commonly, but in the same vein, I’m sure there are strong alchemical and other magical efforts made to produce more silver for those purposes. Hence, I would say that it’s possibly somewhat more expensive due to the increased demand, but there’s also an increased supply keeping that from being overwhelming.

Interestingly – silver is probably less common in jewelry in this world as well, since despite supernaturals having to be on the downlow… Businesses know they’d be losing some market if they make everything silver. :P Must have been harder being a vampire/were in the old days when they hadn’t figured out a lot of alternative metals to make things out of :V You’d have to wear gold jewelry mostly. These days there are lots of alloys that’re safe.

(Also if you’re buying silver for protection, beware of assholes scamming you with it. I’m sure that happens, because you know, it’s one of the few things that’s Known To Work.)

Does the same apply to the production of iron? Just wondering since it’s a very common metal used pretty much everywhere.

Iron is more common but in order for it to be effective against fae, it does have to be processed – raw iron doesn’t do the trick. Also if it’s mixed into other things, it loses effectiveness for that purpose.

But yeah, iron’s not something you have to worry about the price of, it’s the most common metal on earth in our world so it’s certainly still available enough

What do you mean by processed iron?

All iron that humans use has been forged; that’s what “saps” the magic from it and makes it dangerous to fae. According to legend, that’s how that works ouo but like, the raw iron ore in the earth isn’t dangerous. That’s what I meant!

But don’t people encounter processed iron more often in everyday life?

Definitely; gotta be careful of those wrought-iron fences! It takes a lot for just ambient iron to become a problem, though, and in a small area. Fae just have to be careful not to touch anything that’s made of actual iron, or it smarts pretty bad.

Bless the modern era of strong plastics and polymers, honestly! That’s probably part of what has fae interacting more and more with human culture; it’s becoming less danger-laced to do so.

Can I send my muses to universities that exist in real life?

Yes, that’s fine. Those things still exist.

Are there doctors that specialize in different species?

Probably! They wouldn’t be able to advertise that outright, but there are definitely fae doctors around especially, but also doctors/healing magic practitioners who know different species in depth. You’d mostly find them through word of mouth. Beast-blooded probably have the hardest time on this front, though, since there’s a pretty wide variety of them.

Are ghosts a thing in this universe? Like if my muse went ghost hunting, would they actually find something?

Ghosts do exist in some capacity, but generally you can only interact with them if you’re a witch and you know how to do that—you’re more likely to find daemons or fae playing poltergeist. Though you’re free to hunt ghosts regardless of if you find anything, you usually won’t find anything ghost hunting to begin with ww

Can healing/regenerative powers be ranked? Like if a person was to practice or be coached in how to make their healing faster could we spend points to improve that?

Yes!

So if you can spend points to increase healing capability, how would that work out in character? From what I understand it’s not something a muse consciously works on.

Sometimes there’s a concentrated effort on getting better at it (like, meditation type things? focusing on that innate magic in an effort to strengthen it), sometimes it happens naturally due to getting hurt a lot, sometimes it just…… happens.

What do you think would be the biggest difference between Rank IV and Rank V level healing? Like what would be a speed or property that serves like a cut off point?

I… I really don’t think I have an answer to that in simple terms? It seriously depends on the muse and how they style the ability. In general terms, a rank V indicates the best you could possibly be at something (species limitations in mind), whereas IV would have not quite have everything.

Can wards break? Specifically wards that are powered by a living being.

Generally wards lose power or ‘fade’ over time, with the time depending on the power and magic imbued into the ward or the power of the person that cast the ward. Wards can “break” suddenly under certain circumstances, but this is much less common. For instance, if there was some sort of “flaw” in the magic of the ward—it could either get “broken” by making contact with some other spell, or it could fall apart due to some other unforeseen trigger. Magic is rarely perfect in nature, so these flaws would not be unheard of by any means, simply that exploiting them would be somewhat rare as it’d be unpredictable as well. It’s also possible that a ward could be “broken” by counter-magic in general.

Is magic an internal power source, kinda?

Magic is very much metaphysical and born into living things, and things assigned meaning by living things. Humans have the greatest influence over it in a cosmic sense. Something without that “soul”, for lack of a better word, won’t be able to interface with magic unless magic is imbued into it. So yeah! I’m sure there are nice fancy expensive wards for detecting (fae) magic traces though.

RULES QUESTIONS

Can I be on a semi-hiatus? There are days I might be totally MIA because of work so my posting might be sporadic.

You’re allowed to post while on hiatus without penalty, so we don’t distinguish between full and semi hiatuses. You’re free to take a hiatus for safety and post if you can! Or just let us know if it happens that you can’t post for a full week, we’re pretty flexible as long as members keep in touch with us.

can we use non-asian fc’s? I know we’ve had non-korean faces, but what about non-asian entirely faces?

Yep, all fcs are allowed as long as they’re signed (not social media famous), alive, and over 18!

DRUGS QUESTIONS

How long does moonlily root/lunar dust stay in a were’s system & when does it start wearing off? it’s probably different for everyone based off of height & weight and stuff, but maybe there’s an average?

A: Depends on the dosage. Obviously too high of a dosage would result in an overdose, but smaller doses would wear off more quickly. I’d say the average for a medium sized dose for someone of average height and weight, it takes about 30 to 45 minutes. Larger doses that aren’t fatal could last up to 2 hours while a very small dose might last about 15 minutes.

What would happen if a were that’s agitated or high on lunar dust got a whiff of werenip? Would they just explode?

A: Generally mixing drugs is a bad plan. Likely they might get sick; since lunar dust is a upper and werenip is a downer, the drugs would clash quite strongly. So they might just cancel each other out, in a way, and result in the were laying on the floor with a terrible headache, stomach problems, and strong desire to kill but not move enough in order to do so.

H: Mixing uppers and downers is a really bad plan in general; might cause heart problems, seizures, even a coma, death is not unlikely… so in short: Not Recommended!

VAMPIRE QUESTIONS

Hypothetically, could a progeny kill their sire?

They… could, though I would say that is unlikely, since a sire could prevent that from happening via compulsion, and the pain link would be a bit of an issue.

Given that vamps have accelerated healing, would body modifications or major cosmetic surgery work or would their body forcefully heal those over and nullify whatever you were trying to do?

This can be done, but they would need to be sealed in with magic.

Can hell-drinkers go back to normal?

With approximately a bit more difficulty than ghouls going back to being human, yeah. As in, that might require chaining yourself in a basement for a few weeks/months at worst.

If someone becomes a vamp at a young age do they maintain the emotional maturity of that age forever? Like an eight year old just doesn’t have the mental capacity to understand some things, so would they maintain that or would they just mature as the years go by without physically maturing?

I am going to go with that they will mature with time, since the body is in stasis but the spirit is kept alive by magic? For child-vampires this may be more of an issue since the body never developed far enough—but for ones in the teens and on, they should mature in time. A lot of vampires don’t seem to mature though—not because they can’t, but because they get trapped in a mental stasis that’s kinda psychological in nature due to their body not changing. That’s just a character trait though. Vampires have some issues to deal with. Many cope with immortality by doing silly things like creating obtuse rule systems and imposing them on their progeny or something. Vampires. I’m rambling.

If a vampire shape shifts into a non-vampire creature (like a cat), would they still be weak to sunlight?

Yes. The nature of what they are doesn’t change.

Do vampires have reflections in this universe? Can they be recorded?

That’s a great question because I actually stole this answer from a great tumblr post. They do have reflections in newer mirrors, but not in old ones—due to the old ones having silver backing. Must be a trip when old vamps see an aluminum-backed mirror for the first time! But yes, they do appear in recordings!

Since vamps can be recorded in this verse, can someone live stream a vamp attack?

If millennial can do it, they will do it.

If a vamp lost a body part, big or small, while they’re young and have limited healing ability, could they regrow it years later when they’re much stronger?

Yes, assuming they can survive long enough without that body part. Vampires in a way represent stasis; given a bit of effort, they can almost always return to a previous form. Unless magic gets involved. That can change things.

FAE QUESTIONS

Do changelings have greater illusion?

Yes but it’s… kinda wonky? They almost look photoshopped, like “someone seems to have airbrushed some spikes off here”. No, not like “someone just stuck the wrong face on this body sloppily” level photoshop; it’s a bit more like “upon squinting that does not appear to be correct but I cannot put my finger on what is wrong; it just looks Wrong”.

What would happen if a fae ate another fae or any magical creature?

You know admittedly this is one of those things I haven’t put that much thought into. I mean as far as eating other species…. they probably taste funny…? May not be healthy depending on what we’re talking about here. Vampires are not tasty.

As far as cannibalizing a fae… it would probably be fine if the one eating it was a fae. If not, it’s gonna taste super weird and be fae madness central! (Also, this may not even be possible if the true form of that fae is something non-fleshy.)

What do fae smell like to people with advanced sense of smell? Do they smell like their alignment or is there a universal fae smell?

There is a universal “weird fae smell”, but the alignment smell would be stronger, so that scent would be caught first.

How long do binding contracts last with fae if unspecified? Can a fae lengthen a pre-existing contract if they wanted? Could they have multiple binding agreements with one or more people?

How long they last would depend on the power level of the fae and the strength of the agreement. For most fae, they won’t last that long, they’ll taper off after a few weeks/months/after the terms of the agreement have been reached. Powerful fae could make these bind for an extremely long time, though, through a person’s whole lifespan even.

Yes, fae can add onto a contract, and yes, they can have multiple bindings with one person. It’s most likely though that the agreements will become less powerful (less binding) if there are many of them!

If fae are immune to illness, are they vulnerable to fae-specific illnesses? Are those even a thing?

They’re immune to human illnesses (though they could potentially carry them) but yeah, they could get fae illnesses that may or may not be roughly equivalent of human illnesses.

since fae are saturated in magic would there be like… magical residue on their fingerprints if you understand what i mean like… a magic detector would be able to pick up traces of magic from their fingertips or w/e they touched–

I would say… probably yes? though those traces would be difficult to pick up without a very powerful magic detection ability!

is there like magical engineering devices crafted like has anyone/the government made machines that could detect magic/magical beings?  i know fae and their specific magic go against modern day machinery and all of that but??

There’s probably a spell for it, but technology that can detect magic in general is… pretty impossible to manufacture, for some odd reason, unless the tech is enchanted itself in some way. Probably because magic is a strictly… “spiritual” thing, for lack of a much better word? It can’t be manufactured mechanically; there has to be some sort of “living” component here.

WERE QUESTIONS

Can someone be a were-insect? A were-fish?

No, weres can’t take their animal form as an invertebrate; the biology would be way too different from their human form. Leave the insectoid stuff to the fae sphere! As for fish (including sharks), it’s possible, though extremely unlikely—they’d definitely have to live near the water, so…

Can someone be a were-pomeranian?

Were-animal forms shouldn’t be as specific as individual breeds, especially if those breeds only exist due to domestication. You could have a were-dog, but their animal form would look more like a wild dog (though they’d be able to communicate with a pomeranian) unless they specifically honed their shapeshifting to get a pomeranian form out of it. The same applies to individual breeds of cat, horse, cow, you name it; the most specific you should ever get is at the species level (ie, tiger versus lion), though the “general type of animal” level is generally sufficient.

the page on were’s says that “Weres are intensely burned by silver and weapons otherwise charmed to harm them.”, so does that mean they’re resistant to normal weapons or heal abnormally quickly from regular wounds?

They heal about twice as fast as a normal person from mundane wounds and feel ordinary amounts of pain from them. Silver weapons cause more pain (a burning sensation) and the wounds heal at a slowed rate.

Ooh so like if they got a paper cut, it’d be gone by the end of the day instead of taking two days?

Yep, something like that!

Do weres remember what they did on the night of a full moon the next day?

It probably depends on the were, honestly, whether it’s all a blur or they remember bits and pieces or what. I wouldn’t think that most of them remember perfectly since it’s such a primal thing, but I also wouldn’t think they’d forget entirely either, so.

If say, one were is shifted, while the other is human, would they be able to communicate still? Or would it possibly be only limited to weres of the same species?

Hmm, the communication would probably be difficult, but not as bad as trying to talk to a literal animal. Like… it’s a bit like if there’s a language barrier? One of you speaks the language fluently, but the other is conversational at best.

should a were have a silver earring that is completely silver, would it eventually fall out?

No, but they’d want to tear it out. Silver burns, but not badly enough to melt/disfigure the skin or anything like that. Injuries made by silver weapons are the same as injuries made by other metal weapons, they just hurt more and heal more slowly.

BEAST-BLOODED QUESTIONS

Were the (humanoid) ancestors of beast-blooded definitely human? Or could they have been something like a fae?

Probably a witch! They’d have had to be human, and since some heavy magic was involved in the birth of the beast-blooded themselves, I’d say they were witches.

Were the “beasts” fae, then?

The other creatures are… literally beasts, flesh-and-blood magical creatures that in this day and age are very rare, but may still exist somewhere. Once again, definitely not fae—fae are not truly biological and cannot reproduce sexually!

Would they have turned into beasts, or turned the beasts into humans, to reproduce with them?

Either way; it probably depends on the beast in question, but… trust me, given humans, someone is always “into that” in either direction.

Could a beast-blooded have hatched from an egg?

This seems very unlikely, but… as far as first-generation beast-blooded, the answer is a strong maybe. Beyond the first generation, the answer is no; beast-blooded are human.

WITCH QUESTIONS

So witches are basically the same as humans, just they more adept at magic?

Yep. Witches are just humans who’ve studied magic.

at what point do you draw the line between a witch and a normal human who happens to know how to perform some spells?

The line is more or less drawn when the character chooses to draw the line themself. Witches, generally speaking, have done a good bit of study, even if they’re self taught, significantly beyond a simple hobby level.

if witches can learn magic later on in life, is there a specific process they have to go through / do they have to attend classes for this kind of thing? or can they be self-taught like I picked up a book on magic at the library, it seems cool, I'ma dabble

Witches can be self taught, and humans can also dabble in magic without being witches! There is no specific process; it works differently for each person, just like how we all learn differently in reality.

HUNTER QUESTIONS

is it possible to play as a freelance/third-party affiliated hunter? or do we strictly have to stay within dsem/aequitas? if we can go freelance/third-party, what limitations would our muses have? what is deemed illegal/non-illegal behavior/actions for hunters?

Freelance/third-party hunters are acceptable, naturally, but bear in mind that it can be difficult to find hunting jobs as these types due to the stronger prevalence of the other factions. Third-party hunters likely have their own ways of getting resources and information; freelancers are going to have the hardest time here, and hence will most likely only be able to find paid hunting work in… rather shady dealings.

In general, even Aequitas’s work isn’t strictly legal, but officials are often willing to turn a blind eye in the case of actions related to hunting supernaturals if justification can be presented. Of course if hunting is a “hobby” for a muse and they don’t expect to make a living doing it, that can drastically change things—but ones who do it purely out of moral conviction are most likely to find a home in Aequitas! On the same note, remember that Aequitas hunters are loosely affiliated at best; a hunter in the guild may never so much as speak to other guild members apart from the times they need information or to buy wards or silver weapons. Aequitas is a guild, after all; while some of then may consider each other family, others barely interface socially at all.

would a hunter that hunts hunters still be considered a hunter or something else?

I mean if they want to call themself a hunter they can… but that sounds a bit like a serial killer. Not that a lot of hunters are much better, though…

can a human just be a regular human civilian? because all the humans I’m seeing on the mlist seem to be hunters.

Humans don’t have to be hunters, and hunters don’t have to be human. “Hunter” is an occupation, not a species.

SILLY QUESTIONS

(note: Helsing answers silly questions in utmost seriousness because they are completely devoid of humor.)

What would happen if a vampire bit a were?

Weres can’t be turned, and becoming a vampire is much more complicated than just biting. Only “humans” can be turned — where weres, fae, and vampires are considered “non-human” supernaturals, and witches and beast-blooded are considered “human” supernaturals.

Can my vampire shapeshift into a cockatoo?

… Yes.

Can weres get cones of shame?

I don’t see why not?

Do hunters have cone of shame devices that can like zap weres into being good?

I would not think….. that DSEM wants weres hunting under them. since they’re kinda anti-supernatural in the writing. Aequitas people can do….. whatever they want i guess as long as it’s not hurting innocents?

Are there otherkin who identify as supernatural? Are there beauty bloggers who do “supernatural looks”? Are supernaturals fetishized? Can you find spells on youtube? How does atheist youtube feel about that?

… The internet is, and always will be a deplorable place, in every universe. So yes. Go wild. (Within reason).

(As a note, I feel beast-blooded probably suffer the most from the fetishization aspect. Not all beast-blooded are sexy “nekomimi” types, but nor are they all huge freakish monsters from bad horror movies… though I’m sure that’s exactly what the internet would lead you to believe. Being such a varied species that exists on the line between human and not is hard.)

(And on the note of spells on youtube, I feel that there are some very angry activist witches trying to get people to stop doing just that because doing magic without understanding the first thing about magic is extremely dangerous.)

Male witches are cucks.

Please ask questions only.

Why are there no elves in Obscura?

Because elves are fae.

This is 100% a serious question but like…can a witch get cursed…to have tentacles? Like octopus tentacles?

yes.

if a fae doesnt know what a belly button is by the time they make their greater illusion… or nipples… 

The greater illusion comes naturally from the collective human unconscious of magic, don’t worry. Most fae won’t have that problem, though it may occasionally be an illusion flaw…

SILLY NSFW QUESTIONS

(beyond this point, these questions and answers may be somewhat nsfw!)

does viagra exist still in obscura? or is there magic to fix that?

There’s both.

will it work with fae?

Only if the dosage was made with fae magic in mind. Fae are non-biological, in the strictest sense, so non-magic medicines aren’t going to work on them.

Since vamps are dead, can they still get one up?

They have blood in their veins and can imitate all biological functions. Though doing so may require conscious effort and therefore not be worth it At All, vampires can nonetheless breathe and sweat and cry… and get boners.

does this mean weres get a little…needy during the spring time??

iiiii will leave that COMPLETELY to your interpretation. The official verdict is no a/b/o (words like alpha and beta should only be used to denote pack rankings, nothing about a were’s actual biology), but I’ll leave mating season urges to people’s personal tastes because ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

is bad dragon a popular thing in obscura verse????

I, uh… well, beast-blooded exist…

[obscuraxrp]

helll admins! if its not too much to ask for, can you please elaborate the deal with fae and words? under what types of cues or circumstances does a verbal agreement/contract form and should the fae and/or the other party goes against their words, could you give examples of consequences?

Hmm, alright! This isn’t something most of our membership has tapped into yet, but hopefully I can still give you some ideas. Let me know if you have more questions, though!

For most fae, ie, ones who haven’t taken any special effort to train their contract binding ability, it requires a “solemn oath” in order for a contract to be formed. This generally means swearing that you will complete a task, or drafting up a proper written contract and signing it, or otherwise intentionally agreeing to the contract at hand. The consequences of attempting to deviate from these agreements can vary, usually in a way that thematically suits the fae who formed the agreement, using either positive reinforcement (it “feels right” to follow the agreement) or negative reinforcement (it feels wrong, perhaps to the point of extreme and irrational guilt, to violate the agreement; in some cases, it may even result in streaks of bad luck, or episodes of physical pain when considering breaking it, it can truthfully vary quite a bit).

Fae may take ranks in this ability to be able to form contracts in simpler ways, down to even just simply saying “yes” to a request that they propose for the high level ones. Of course, the less “sincere” the agreement, the less powerful the consequences of resisting or breaking the contract will be---more sincere agreements, such as blood oaths, will result in stronger binding than simple verbal acknowledgements in any case. A fae will also certainly be aware when a contract with them has been broken---which is the worst thing that the contractee likely has to fear, above any possible immediate repercussions, because having a fae with a vendetta against you is not something anyone really wants to deal with.

--- Admin Helsing

[obscuraxrp]

GREETINGS, MEMBERS OF OBSCURA:

Today we just have a small announcement and update -- I’ve written up a bit of new lore for you all!

This lore is pertaining to lesser fae, also known as daemons, which may play a variety of roles in the world, primarily acting as living sources of magic -- though their natures may be varied as well, despite their limited intelligence and lifespan. In short summary, some may act as familiars to witches, while others may act as summons or even be formed by spellcraft -- others may be simply ambient, whether malevolent, benevolent, neutral, or perhaps even poltergeist-like in nature. To learn more about these entities, please scroll down on the fae page to find their header!

I hope that this new lore is of interest or perhaps use to some of you, and I hope you continue to enjoy your stay here at Obscura!

--- Admin Helsing

[obscuraxrp]

is it possible for magic to be used to keep clothes from being destroyed when shapeshifting? would we need to put a rank in something for it? o uo

Hello there, and good question! Naturally, magic like this does exist, and it would be quite handy. Honestly, just to prevent the awkwardness of possible accidental nude shapeshifting, I’d say that wards to prevent clothing from being destroyed along with the shift would not cost you anything. Though if you want one that behaves a bit more fancily than just keeping the clothes preserved, you could always spend 5 points on a minor ward for that!

--- Admin Helsing

[obscuraxrp]

Anon from earlier. So essentially a daemon's life would be easier if it finds a Witch that would 'bond' with it asap? As for Daemons 'created' by witches, is it necessary for them to remain bonded to that witch? Or it can detach itself from that one and move on to find a better witch to become linked with? And is it possible that an example app for daemons could be put up? That would help clear out several things.

As per the ask I just responded to, daemons are not a playable species. They are a sub-type of fae which may be used as flavor within plots, applications, and specialties, but even the most powerful of them are not of significant enough sapience to be applied for as characters in their own right. If they were, they would simply be considered fae, rather than being classified as daemons. I apologize again for the confusion with regards to this. (However by my own logic, then, it may be possible that witches can take fae as familiars if they are sufficiently powerful… hmm…)

To answer your actual questions – no, not necessarily. Ambient daemons need witches in the same way that wild animals need humans to domesticate them; many of them find it just as well to live on their own. Also, due to being, in some capacity, fae, they are generally not creatures which prefer to be bound – a little bit of chaos and trickery tends to be woven into their very existence, so bonding with ambient daemons might actually prove to be a challenging task.

For ones created by witches – detaching from their creator would only happen in the case that the witch was particularly negligent so far as ensuring that that bond is properly maintained (being tight enough without allowing it to drain them completely, so to say), or that the witch released them of their own accord. These daemons could either become ambient and free or find another witch to bond to – either way would be viable, simply depending upon the daemon and what sorts of magic they are attuned to.

Hopefully this clears these questions up!

— Admin Helsing

[obscuraxrp]

i have a question about vampires, how do they endure the scorching heat of sunlight? if ever they would have a morning job and all? and is it possible to be turned around 1837? victorian era? thank you!

Hello dearie!

Vampires are weak to sunlight and will die if exposed to direct sunlight for more than a few minutes. Because they will suffer awful burns even with the slightest of contact with sunlight, they tend to avoid maneuvering about during the day—a day job would prove to be quite a risk for a vampire if it involves leaving their home, after all! That being said, there is nothing preventing them from having a stay at home job that operates on average human working hours, as most vampires simply choose to sleep during the day, rather than being forced to!

As for your other question: per our rules, the maximum age a vampire muse may be is 150 years! Because 1837 would be over that limit, I’m afraid that it will not be possible to play a muse from that year—however, as 1867 and later years would fall under our guidelines, it would be acceptable to play a muse that was turned in the mid or late Victorian era! This is purely a rule meant to put a power limit on muses and as such it does not affect non-playable characters, such as those that may be present in a muse’s background. 

—Admin Carmilla

[obscuraxrp]

how would shapeshifting work for characters with tattoos and piercings? like, do they disappear or are there (were)wolves with ear piercings running around?

That’s a good question, anon! This probably depends on a few different factors.

For the sort of “natural” shapeshifters, like beast-blooded and weres, who basically have two forms that compose their “true self” that they can thus shift between, identifying markings such as tattoos and scars will remain on all forms in some way – though they may be more or less visible between forms, particularly if, say, they appear on body parts that don’t exist or majorly change between the forms. Scales or fur might completely cover up tattoos and scars might be a lot less visible due to them, so to say. In the same way, piercing holes will act a bit like scars in that they’ll remain on the form – but the jewelry won’t change to accommodate the shifted body part, so it may pop out or become uncomfortably tight, or it might sit just fine. Simpler body jewelry will stay in place, in most cases, but something more complicated (like say, an industrial piercing) generally won’t.

For the polymorphing shapeshifters – witches and vampires who choose to learn these arts, thereby taking on forms that are not “truly” their own at all – they’d be able to make their distinguishing markings (body mods or scars) disappear between forms with some effort, but they’d always remain there on their original, true form. Again, piercing jewelry behaves like clothing, so it just depends on how the polymorphic spell is styled.

For the case of fae – well, fae don’t shapeshift, but their illusion is very interesting nonetheless. The illusion is so intrinsically tied to the identity of most fae that changing it at will is impossible – so they’d likely have to go through the “process” of getting a tattoo or piercing on their illusion even if it wouldn’t translate properly to their true form at all. It’ll still translate in some way, most likely, but the way it translates might get a bit strange if the true form of the fae is particularly inhuman. Naturally if a fae practices their illusion, they’ll become able to add and remove these sorts of identifying markings at will – but by default, this is not something they can do. Also, as a freebie related note, most fae feel sensation as though it comes from their illusion even if that makes no sense to their true form! It’s a powerful enough illusion that it can trick even its own owner, in a sense – this becomes more true the more closely they identify with the illusion form.

Oh, and finally, magic tattoos and piercings are “stronger” in a sense and more likely to somehow persist regardless of shapeshifting or greater illusion -- both in being more likely to remain visible and remaining effective between forms.

If you have any more questions, don’t hesitate to send them in! ^^

— Admin Helsing

[obscuraxrp]

So fae have abstract concepts, right? Is it possible to get too specific with concepts? I know things like love and lust work but what if you wanted a concept like books or chains? Or does it make more sense to use metal or knowledge?

Hello anon! Fae concepts should be general enough that they can be summed up in a single word per concept. The problem with an idea like “books” or “chains” is that those are not abstract concepts, but concrete objects. I would recommend using “literature” or “knowledge” rather than books, and “metal” or maybe something like “imprisonment” in place of chains -- and then use those specific objects as symbols that manifest those concepts.

--- Admin Helsing

[obscuraxrp]

If we want to have our muse purchase a ward from another character within the rp later on, do we still have to fill out a form for it?

Hello! Yes, you would have to purchase that with points as well as in whatever manner your character actually acquires the ward in-character. Points are an abstract concept and should be spent on any major changes to your character’s abilities, no matter the source! ^^

--- Admin Helsing

[obscuraxrp]

does beast-blooded have to be exactly "beastly" in nature? or could we do it as such-- "druid-blooded" or "nymph-blooded"? or would that be considered fae?

Yes, that’s correct! Druids would most likely be witches specializing in naturalistic magics, whereas nymphs, dryads, merfolk, fauns, and other creatures who are fairly humanoid in appearance and intelligence (more than 50% human is the quick litmus test) would be fae. Beast-blooded have the blood of some sort of magical creature that is, well, a creature or beast – something that’s fairly inhuman, like a dragon, phoenix, chimera, qirin, and so on.

— Admin Helsing

[obscuraxrp]

I hope I'm not bothering you but I have a few dying questions. For example, Can a hunter be beast-blooded/supernatural (Referring to your Ghoul hunter.) even if they are freelance per say? Also can a muse have disability which has already developed (i.e death in ears, Blindness etc.) be played as a hunter/civilian type? Especially when it heightens. Regarding the disability, here's a scenario, A freelance hunter, dragon blood but death in ears?. I just didn't want to upset anyone.

Hello there! We’re always happy to answer questions, don’t worry! ^^

DSEM would not ordinarily accept supernaturals as hunters, though there are circumstances under which they might—particularly witches, ghouls, maybe even changelings or beast-blooded, the “human” supernaturals. However, DSEM favors supernatural extermination (or at least very harsh control), so it is unusual for them to have supernaturals in their ranks. The Aequitas Guild, however, accepts hunters of any species so long as they are dedicated to maintaining a sort of “balance” between the supernatural and mundane—protecting those who are innocent and the like. There are a reasonably large minority of non-human hunters there---of those, beast-blooded are most common, with a few other sorts about as well. Witches in both organizations, as a note, typically take support roles rather than being front-line hunters themselves, but in that sense are rather common to see about. Freelance hunters, naturally, can do whatever they like; no one is binding them.

We’re happy to allow physically (or mentally, even) disabled muses, as well! As it stands, we do have one mute and one blind muse, to my immediate knowledge. So long as you properly research the disability and portray it with respect, we welcome the addition of diverse muses such as these to our ranks! In the case of a hunter who is deaf, I would expect that they have some sort of magical ability to compensate in whole or part for the disability so as not to put themself at a massive disadvantage while hunting; this is also acceptable, so long as it makes sense for your muse and is written respectfully, as I said!

I hope this helped; and feel free to ask any further questions you have!

— Admin Helsing

[obscuraxrp]

Is there a local university in Sunseong City? If so where is it located (district) and what is it called?

Yes, there is! We forgot about adding one to our setting page, but we absolutely meant to do so.

Simple and easy, it’s called Sunseong University (SSU) -- it’s set up in the southern part of the Northern district, close enough to the heart of the city that students can go there easily, but far enough that housing isn’t impossible to come by for students -- as well as not being too close to the witchier parts of the town for comfort. SSU isn’t the most prestigious or large of universities, rather being mid-sized and thereby not painfully expensive to attend or earn entry to. It offers programs in a variety of fields, with its agricultural sciences as well as social sciences departments being the most highly recognized. Its student body is largely Sunseong locals due to the convenience of attending it, but as Sunseong has a large international population to begin with, the student body of SSU is similarly diverse, and students from outside the city comprise around 25% of the population or more.

I’ll add this to our setting page shortly -- thank you for asking!

--- Admin Helsing

[obscuraxrp]

What made the muns get into kpop specific / Korean setting specific rp??

Hello anon!

The simple answer is that the admins like K-pop – we were actually all originally from anime/animated fc roleplay first, and then we started doing “krp” after we got more interested in K-pop and realized there was a rp community connected to it. Because of this, we’re simply more familiar with the way that “krp” directories operate structurally, having never been a part of other rps as directories (when we did anime and animated rp, we were all indie)!

We literally just don’t know anything about Western FC or other types of rp and how they’re generally run. However, we also choose not to label our rp specifically as a “krp” because we are not kpop-exclusive or anything like that, merely using a Korean setting because again, we are familiar with it (and enjoy many aspects of it) – but allowing all FCs because we see literally no reason not to. We advertise in the “krp” tag purely out of convenience!

I hope this was the answer you were going for, anon? If not, feel free to drop us another question and we’ll be happy to answer it!

— Admin Helsing

[obscuraxrp]

I really feel the need to see the kind of Were-creature muses who shift into 'every day' animals like your average house meow to a dog or a bird, beings that can roam out and about among humans, be actually living with humans as 'pets' or 'pests' or just be strays and cause problems. so here is something for future joiners or people wanting second muse o~o/

Hello Anon!

This would actually be lovely to see! The only thing to keep in mind is that any were cannot be a specific breed of domestic dog or cat. So most weredogs would look like mutts, for example! 

Also worth keeping in mind is that most weres are slightly larger than their animal counterparts. This doesn’t mean they couldn’t be mistaken for just a normal animal, though! 

But I would also love to see a variety of different Wereanimals! So I say bring on the weredogs and werecats!

— Admin Alucard

[obscuraxrp]

hi! just wondering, is it possible to mix different lores for a creature if i had wanted my muse to be beast blooded? i saw hellhounds were possible wanteds(?) and went eyezooms! haha! and another (dumb) question to ask but are you all friendly? i haven't rped before so this is a new experience for me. thank you!

Hello there anon!

I would say it is completely possible to mix lores for a beastblooded. There are, after all, a lot of different kinds of hellhounds (as well as other mythological beasts) in various mythologies. I can see how it’s hard to stick to just one, so you can take whatever bits and pieces you want from the different kinds!

As for if we’re friendly, I would say this community is very friendly! Everyone chats and memes around on the OOC blog and generally we’re sort of like a big family!

If you have anymore questions, we’ll happily answer! We have several members who haven’t rped before, so we’ll welcome you with open arms!

I hope this answers your questions!

— Admin Alucard