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Game basics

What is the game about?

The full premise can be found here. The TLDR version is the city of Kaisou has been experiencing a spike in supernatural activity. Arrivals from other worlds have been showing up, as well as people regaining memories of previous lives.

What is the ic/ooc day ratio?

We use the standard 1:1 day ratio.

So what happens upon arrival?

It depends on the type of character you app.

For Modern AUs with Normal Backgrounds: Your character has lived a seemingly normal life on Earth. One night, you notice the sky change. The colors become much more vibrant, and there's the constant presence of what looks like the northern lights, despite Kaisou not being north enough to experience those. Some people may even begin to recall events in their life happening differently - a bear who wandered in your yard when you were in middle school was actually a hellhound, for instance. Soon afterwards, a mysterious app will download onto your phone. It cannot be uninstalled.

For Modern AUs with Paranormal Backgrounds: Your character has lived their life on Earth, but has known for some time that the supernatural and magic has existed. The sky has always looked vibrant, and throughout your life you've encountered or heard about different oddities. However, in the past year, you've noticed or heard rumor of the number of supernatural occurrences have increased in the city. Maybe you've met someone who came from another world. One day, you wake up and find a mysterious app has downloaded on your phone that refuses to be removed.

For AUs Part of a Faction: There are currently two factions players can app into: The Black Order and POKEGO. You will have been part of one of these factions for however long you wish- and were sent to Kaisou on assignment. Please see each of the individual faction pages for how these run, as they are very different. Other characters also have the option to join these factions without apping in originally as a member. Players will need to have been in the game for a total of three months in order to app into a faction.

For Arrivals from Other Worlds: Your character lived their lives in a different place than this Earth. One day perhaps you were feeling emotional, or perhaps you couldn't shake the feeling that something was following you. You try to go about your life, but it finally reaches a tipping point and you hear something crack and feel the sensation of something pulling you in before you black out. When you come to, you find yourself in a mysterious labyrinth with any previous powers you had gone. Either navigate the labyrinth yourself or pray for someone to come to your rescue. Once you manage to find the way out, you'll find yourself in an unfamiliar city - Kaisou. With no means of returning home, it's up to you to adjust. Characters can arrive through this means at the start of the game, or in the time before the game starts as long as it's within the last year.

Is there a plot?

In a sense! There is a overarching plot, but for the most part the focus will be more on the month-to-month lives of the characters as they try to navigate this situation. CR and fun times first, meta plot second. If you're interested in learning about what's happened so far, you an read it on the plot recap post.

What kind of events can I expect?

Events will occur on a monthly basis with usually a mix of prompts. Some events will be lighthearted in nature while others will be more serious. There will be some minor elements of horror occasionally, but nothing too severe. All plots are optional and can be played at will.

Are there NPCs?

There's a whole city worth of NPCs! Mod controlled NPCs will be kept at a minimum, since we really do want the focus to be on the player characters. Players are allowed to create NPCs as they like to fulfill roles. The main difference between NPCs will be ones who are aware of the supernatural situations and ones that are oblivious to everything going on.

NPCs who are aware of the supernatural situation are people with enough spirit power in order to perceive the strange things going on, but are not given the network app as they don't seem connected to what's currently going on. These NPCs will retain memories of the strange occurrences and will fill various roles that aren't being filled by player characters- such as running shops with magical ingredients or healing injuries from monster attacks. Many of these NPCs may be part of various factions that perform different roles and have their own goals. These people prefer to keep a low profile, and may be rather vague in answers they give. They will sometimes have various requests for player characters to fulfill. Helping them or antagonizing them will make them more or less willing to help your character.

NPCs who are unaware of the supernatural situation are ordinary citizens. These people lack enough spiritual power to properly perceive or remember supernatural incidents. If they are confronted with a strange situation, they will either fail to see it, or will remember it later on in a much more mundane way (like they might remember a large monster attack as an earthquake).

Can my character burn down the city/Etc? What sort of IC consequences come from IC actions?

Theoretically, yes! Kaisou is a modern city, so there will be consequences for criminal offences based on what you do and if you get caught. Though if the incident was magic-related and you're on good terms with the various organizations within the underground, some strings may be pulled to get lesser punishment. Basically, if you got something planned on a large scale, talk to the mods and we'll see what we can work out.

Is there a network?

There is! All characters in Kaisou, regardless of how they arrived to the game, will be given the social media network app Libra, run by the ever gracious organization Zodiac. This app allows users to communicate through text, voice and video posts and engage in meaningful conversations between fellow people. Libra can be accessed on any device: phones, computers, tablets, smart-fridges - you name it! And to prevent any accidental deletions, the app cannot be removed from any devices. Any character that switches devices will find that the app has helpfully downloaded itself onto whatever device they're using. But don't worry, Zodiac does value your privacy and so anytime someone else accesses the device, Libra will seemingly disappear off the device.

And yes, there are ads. These ads are from the many companies that sponsor Zodiac and are carefully curated for users. If you want a better experience with the Libra app, Zodiac currently offers a tier pricing ranging from free to $90.99 a month. Yes, it is a rip-off. Don't do it.

Finally as of June 2024, a few users created a secondary messaging app called Gemini. Gemini can be used to message other player characters or post to everyone at large without it being seen by NPC groups such as Zodiac and the Black Order. Characters will get sent a link to this app when they first join the Libra network.

What happens if my character dies in game?

Two options! The first option is that when a character dies, their body will very much remain dead. It won't disappear or anything like that, it'll remain a corpse and be real corpse like. However after an IC week, your character will stumble out of the labyrinth gate, much like someone who arrived from another world does. Any regains or powerups a character gained during the course of the game will be gone, but they will still remember their time in the game and you have the option to change any details about your AU at this time.

The second option is during the characters dying moments, they'll be approached by one of the numerous beings that live within the spirit realm with an offer to save their life. If they accept this offer, they will wake up later miraculously healed! In fact the will feel stronger than ever and managed to retain all their regains! Unfortunately, it comes with the catch that they are now possessed. Strong emotions will cause things to break around them, and they will have to keep a strong will to retain control. Should they ever fail to stay in control, they will be dragged into the spirit realm where they'll need to be saved before they become a permanent denizen of the realm. You can read more about possessions here.

If you wish to have your character die or get possessed, you'll want to head over to the major character update post.

Is Sex or Graphic Violence permitted in this game?

It is, but please use common sense! We ask for no Sexual Content with characters under the age of 16, and no smut threads with characters under 18 years of age (in other words, characters who are 16-17 can discuss sexual topics, but not actually thread anything past make outs). While we understand teenagers having sex is very much a thing and part of some backstories, we ask any situation surrounding that be handwaved rather than threaded out in the community.

While characters under the age of 18 are allowed to be in romantic ships, we also ask that it only be with characters who would be legally allowed to date them according to US law (so other minors or someone within two years of age of the minor - aka a 19 year old dating a 17 year old).

Assuming every character in the thread is an adult, substances such as aphrodisiacs and similar items are allowed. However, try to keep them mild or moderate in their effect (aka it shouldn't be so strong it overrides their ability to give knowing consent). Non-con and rape is not allowed in the game.

Finally regarding graphic violence, most of it is allowed! If it's particularly gory, we ask for it to have a content warning. The only type of violence not allowed is sexual violence, such as rape.

Is there a minimum age requirement for appable characters?

There is not, as all events will continue the ability to opt out of them, so younger characters are able to avoid any situations in which would not be suitable for kids.

That said, since there are adult characters who do talk about mature content on the network, any character who is under the age of 16 will be forced to use a kid-friendly version of the Libra app (aka the network). This version of the app will filter out any content that has sexual content, graphic violence or heavy swearing. Basic swearing in otherwise normal sentences will be censored with asterisks (ex: what the ****) OR by their G-rated equivalent.

The kid-friendly app will have a different layout from the adult version. While the adult version will look akin to a normal social media page, the kid version will look closer to kid friendly websites/apps. The cartoony animals will be based around animals found in the zodiac.

Characters with this kid-friendly version of the app (again, meaning characters who are 15 years old or younger) will be barred from entering any section of Spirit Realm deemed dangerous without being accompanied by an older character. The accompanying character can be an older teenager (16+) - it just needs to be someone older. If a younger character tries to enter these dangerous parts of the Spirit Realm alone, they will find an invisible barrier blocking their entry. If the kid intentionally tries to go off alone once in the Spirit Realm - once they are 100 yards away from any older characters, a phone alert will be sent out to everybody in the nearby vicinity. If the kid does not get within range of an older character within 10 minutes of the alert going off- they will be automatically teleported back to the Zodiac HQ in Kaisou. This will happen regardless of if they have their phone on them or not.

Finally, any child character who is too young to take care of themselves and don't have a pre-established guardian/parent will be given a nanny NPC from Zodiac to attend to all their needs.

What if my character is older/younger than they look? Would they still have the kid-friendly app?

This is something that's decided on a case-by-case scenario, but in cases like these, it'll be generally judged by what the character's mental age is supposed to be. For example, Connor from Detroit Become Human is an android that's less than a year old but is generally treated as someone with an adult mind in his canon. Ergo, he'd classify as an adult and not have to have the kid-friendly version of the app. Meanwhile an immortal/long-lived character who is considered to be mentally still a child despite being really old would have the kid-friendly version of the app.

That said, players with characters who fall into this gray zone category where they could qualify as adults but could be mistaken for kids (either by appearance or their chronological age) have the option of getting the kid-friendly version of the app anyway upon apping. In order to remove the child censors, they will need to visit the Zodiac office in Undertown and petition that they do count as an adult.

What are the rules on fourth-walling?

Essentially, try to avoid it! It's fine if a character references a fictional work where there are no characters from that work in the game. However for any canons currently represented in the game or if you just want to play it safe, it's recommended that you use knock-off names of the franchise (for example the video game series Persona being called Ego instead). If your character comes from a canon that recognizes a fictional IP as such, please refrain from having them go around and telling other characters they are actually fictional characters unless you have explicit player permission.

The only exception to this rule are characters who exist in the public domain (aka King Arthur, Sherlock, etc). Characters can recognize these characters as fictional characters without any name changes and have general knowledge of the common lore around them. However, should someone app a version of any of these characters, other characters should not know specific details about canon iteration the apped character comes from (an example would be if someone apped BBC Sherlock - other characters can know about that Sherlock Holmes is a brilliant detective and that there's lots of stories about him -- but they wouldn't know anything about what happened in the BBC Sherlock show specifically).

AU Basics

How do the Normal AUs work?

For normal AUs, characters were born on this Earth, whether it be in Kaisou or somewhere else on Earth. The character should be recognizable to the original version of the character, but feel free to get creative about their backstory and how it affected them. You are allowed to plot out AU connections with other characters even if they are from other canons (for example, Naruto could be brothers with Ichigo from Bleach). For normal AUs, most of the events in their life should be events that could reasonably occur in real life. If a supernatural incident occurred at any point, they will have remembered it as something more mundane until they get the app (example: if they were attacked by a monster, they might remember it as just being bitten by a large dog).

What about Paranormal AUs?

They follow a lot of the same guidelines as the normal AUs! They were born on this Earth and lived here their whole life. They should still be recognizable as the original version of the character, but feel free to get creative. The big difference is that at some point in their life, they were made aware of the more supernatural sides of the world. Perhaps they were born with a strong spirit sense that made them always see things that others couldn't, or perhaps they started off with a normal life and got dragged into things after an incident. Paranormal AUs must be at least half-human starting off, but they can have studied magic or already be possessed if someone chooses.

Are there any limitations when designing my AU?

All characters who are AU'd start off as human or at least half-human if you want to do the monster route. On top of that, they can only have natural hair and eye colors that are normally found in the real world unless you spend regain points at the start to give the an unnatural hair or eye color as part of their backstory. So a character with green hair might start off with brown or black hair in their AU. Characters are welcome to have dyed their hair any color you want though.

If you want your AU character to have spent time within the Spirit Realm as part of their backstory, they are allowed to do so for up to one quarter or 25% of their lifetime. This means if you app a character that's 16 years old they could've spent a maximum of 4 years in the Spirit Realm, while a 40 year old could've spent up to 10 years in the Spirit Realm. This time restriction is due to the fact these are meant to be modern day AUs and spending their whole lives in the Spirit Realm would make them a different type of AU altogether.

In addition, any Spirit Realms that the characters would've spent extensive time in will require extensive explanations of what they are like: what kind of creatures there, the biome, what kind of weird things would happen in that place, etc. It cannot be a direct recreation of a world from any OU canon, nor can it be a realm that's straight out of mythology/religious text (meaning they can't have hung out in Asgard or the Garden of Eden for a few years).

Finally, we're fine if you want to include a history of child abuse in your character's AU background as long as you provide content warnings (also maybe don't go TOO in depth on your app about it. Just acknowledge it happened, it's resulting consequences for the character, and move on for the sake of the app mod's mental health). However, we will not allow any AUs that include Active Cases of child abuse (aka the abuse is occurring during the time they'll be in Kaisou and they are actively in a dangerous situation). If you're wondering what counts for child abuse, it would be any situation where someone calling Child Protective Services would be considered warranted by most people.

Teen runaways and teens living on the street are allowed to be in Kaisou, but we ask that they be at least 16 years of age. We highly recommend that you app with preplanned arrangements for how the character will have their needs met. Do not "wing it" and hope CR will rush in to help them out.

Besides that? Go nuts. If you could make a case for something to be plausible in this world, then it will be allowed.

Can characters get memories/abilities back of their original selves?

Yes! All AU characters have the option of gaining flashbacks to memories from previous lives (aka their canon lives). These memory flashbacks are usually triggered by doing something similar to what the memory would contain (example, Bart Simpson might get detention and this causes a flashback to when he was given detention in a previous life). Memory flashbacks are done at player discretion - you don't need mod approval to regain memories, but please make sure to pace yourself.

As for item or ability regains, those require mod approval. Players receive 4 points to spend on regains each month, please see this page for the costs of various regains.

If players rather not regain anything, they are free to opt out of that part of the game!

Can I app an OC, CRAU or canon AU as a modern AU?

Ya sure can buddy! Live your dream.

Guests from Afar (OU characters)

How do the Original Canon Characters Work?

For characters who are from their original canons, they will have no prior memory of this Earth. One day they will be in their own world, and find themselves suddenly dragged through a gate that appeared out of nowhere. Perhaps it was during a state of heighten emotions, or perhaps they just felt on edge the whole day - as if something were watching them. When they wake up, they will find themselves in an labyrinth within the spirit world. You can handwave them finding a way out of the labyrinth on their own, or have someone come and rescue them

What types of characters are allowed?

All types! OU, OC, CRAU, or other types of AUs are all allowed! Doubles are allowed if there is a reasonable amount of difference between the two characters to make them different. Characters who come from canons with different storyline paths based on player choice will be treated like AUs to one another unless there's an agreement they come from the same world.

What if my character is dead in canon?

It happens. In that case, the last thing they will remember is their death, and then they will wake up in an labyrinth like everyone else.

Will characters who arrive in this world still retain their abilities?

No. Upon waking up in the labyrinth they will find that they've lost any special abilities- they will have 6 points allotted on application to spend on abilities to app in with. They will have to regain any other abilities they had through the regain system.

Can they bring any items with them?

Original Universe characters can bring any items that they would be reasonably carrying on their person at their time of arrival. Any magical items will be depowered and have to have their abilities regained.

If your character is carrying a bag with the power of hammerspace, then either the bag will be left behind in their original world or it'll lose its power when your character arrives in the labyrinth- causing the bag to split and all items that wouldn't fit in the bag that size to come spilling out. Your character then is allowed to carry out with them whatever they can physically carry in one trip - as once they leave the labyrinth, the spirit realm will shift and those 99 now useless ethers will be lost to time.

What if my characters has an unusual appearance/non-human features/isn't human?

Characters who arrive from other worlds will retain their appearances and original species, though any special abilities they had linked to those things will be depowered until its regained (so someone with wings would still have wings, but they'd have to regain the ability to fly). People with the ability to perceive the paranormal will perceive them for who they are. Normal people however will perceive them in one of two ways: Either they will not notice the unusual feature at all, or they will see the mundane version of it. Someone with wings, for example, might have people not notice the wings at all, OR they'd be perceived by normal people as those fake wings you wear with costumes and your character will be treated like a weirdo for always wearing those, for instance.

Can my character bring a magical/spirit/animal companion with them?

Companions can be brought in, however, their companion will count towards the regain points they're allotted on application. These companions will be depowered to a baseline level required for them to exist. For example, a pokemon trainer could bring in a ghost pokemon, but it'd be depowered beyond what it'd need to still function as a ghost and must be small enough to fit through a door (so no mechs).

As with all companions, they cannot be an appable character themselves. An appable character is considered any character with enough communication skills to engage in meaningful conversations with other characters besides their owner. For instance, Ash's Pikachu would be fine as an animal companion as all he can say is "pikachu". Meanwhile Team Rocket's Meowth would not be allowed as he's capable of human speech and can fully interact with people outside of Team Rocket. If your character requires a companion to access specific powers but that companion would be considered an appable character...this unfortunately means they will simply not have access to those abilities, but you are welcomed to have your character gain kaisou original powers once they're in the game, so they aren't defenseless.

In cases of spirit companions or possessions that are attached to the character, they will also be limited to only be able to verbally interact with the character that is their host/master/etc. Other characters may be able to sense their presence, but they cannot engage in long conversations with them.

Where will my character be staying?

They have two options! The first is to try to make their own way. Make a friend to stay with, work enough to afford your own place, find a nice bench in the park - whatever floats your boat!

For those less inclined to pull yourselves up by your bootstraps, the fine people at Zodiac will be happy to provide you a basic apartment in the Zodiac Apartment building. They can live by themselves or be shacked up with other "guests" as Zodiac likes to call it. There's no rent charged, but Zodiac may sometimes call on them to fulfill favors for them. Slay a monster, gather a rare plant from the Spirit Realm, work at one of their many companies. The nicer apartment you request from them, the more frequently they'll ask for favors. But they're such fine hosts, who can say no?

What about legal IDs and documentation?

Zodiac is willing to provide any fake IDs or documentation needed for OUs to get settled into Kaisou! This documentation will look very authentic and be able to pass through any legal scrutiny from NPCs. However it's not uncommon for some details about the documentation to be inaccurate - especially for characters who aren't from Earth. A character from the Pokemon world might find their documentation saying they were born in Australia, for example. Or a character who is 6000 years old might be listed as 29 years old. Players are free to decide how accurate or inaccurate the information is.

For characters that absolutely do not want to rely on Zodiac for anything, they can go the usual route of finding and paying someone who makes fake IDs. How well these IDs will fool authorities will vary and mostly depend on how reputable the ID maker is and how much you paid for it.

Setting (Paranormal Stuff)

How does the Supernatural Exist in this World?

All over the world there are invisible rivers of energy called Spirit Veins. These spirit veins flow at different spots all over the world, giving any region they're near a plethora of magical energy. Those with strong enough Spirit Power are able to sense the magic and use it for their own abilities. Kaisou's own Spirit Vein is visible in the sky at night to anyone who can sense the paranormal. It takes on the appearance of northern lights and colors will vary based on what's the dominant element of the month.

Unfortunately, these Spirit Veins don't come from nowhere, they actually flow from the Spirit Realm - another mysterious realm that's full of different supernatural beings. While not every supernatural being is dangerous, there are plenty that are more than happy to try to drag humans into the Spirit Realm to consume. Any spots where Spirit Veins flow run the risk of having supernatural monsters appear as well.

Why is the sky weird at night?

That's the local spirit vein! Isn't it pretty? This is only visible to people aware of the paranormal, and at night. It should be noted that this has become much more vibrant in the past year, but was always around in some form.

The Spirit Vein looks similar to the Northern Lights, despite the city not being north enough to view see those. The colors of the Spirit Vein are regularly shifting, usually depicting hues that indicate the dominant element of the month. So during water months, the vein will have blue hues to it, during Wind months it'll be greenish, and so on. During Shadow months, the Spirit Vein will be more purple and other dark hues.

What's Spirit Power?

It's basically the catch-all term for a person's natural aptitude towards the supernatural. There's other terms for it too, such as aura, chi, souls, etc. People are born with an innate level of spirit power, but it can grow over time to a certain extent from repeated exposures to paranormal incidents. Spirit power often runs in family lines, but that's not always the case. Throughout the years, there's been many experiments done to see what can increase a person's spirit level, but these days many of those types of experiments are seen as taboo.

A person with a low amount of spirit power will be able to perceive the paranormal, but not do any magic themselves. Anyone with a higher level than that baseline may be able to use magic or special abilities, but there's a range of skill level.

What's the Spirit Realm Like?

Good question! There's a lot not know about the Spirit Realm as it's not in a rush to answer questions. The most common way to enter the Spirit Realm are through labyrinths. These are magically created places by different strong supernatural beings, and their appearance will changed based on what you're dealing with. Staying in the Spirit Realm for long periods of time is not recommended, as there are many monsters in the realm that will pursue you. You can read up more about the Spirit Realm here.

What's the history of magic in this world?

Just like normal history, it depends on who you ask!

In other words, the history of magic is a long and sordid affair. It's not clear who first discovered the Spirit Realm or when special abilities came to be. Many groups have their own histories and interpretations of history, often causing debates among different scholars interested in the paranormal. This lack of clarity only gets worse the further back you go (just like real history!). However these are the very broad strokes that are generally accepted among paranormal scholars these days:

• In ancient times, the Spirit Realm was likely more connected to the human realm and most of humanity could perceive the supernatural. Gods and other supernatural beings had more direct exposure and impact on humanity as it developed in the early days, giving rise to many of the myths we know today. However, it's hotly disputed just how much of an actual impact the denizens of the Spirit Realm had on humanity's growth and there's not enough clear evidence to indicate one way or the other.


• Starting a few thousand years ago, the Gods and supernatural began having less of a direct presence on humanity. This didn't happen all at once, but slowly over time and under varying circumstances. The exact reason this trend started isn't clear and is often debated. No matter the case, eventually less and less humans became capable of perceiving the supernatural. Eventually the existence of magic and the paranormal became less widely accepted and those still capable of such became more secretive about it for their own protection.


• While there was some concern for awhile of magic becoming extinct entirely, the rate of people who could still perceive the supernatural eventually stabilized at a much lower threshold. While encounters with spirit gates was rarer than in ancient times, there were still a number of gates that'd appear around the world in different places. From there, the understanding of the paranormal and study of magic tendeded to evolve alongside with the evolution of their society. Many cultures viewed (and still do to this day) the Spirit Realms and paranormal with a religious lens, cultures going through periods of enlightenment would often take a more scientific and analytical view of it, trying to understand the paranormal as another extension of reality.


• In the United States (or more specifically among the american colonists), early Puritan culture discouraged a lot of engagement with the paranormal as "devil worshipping". However, a renewed interest in the paranormal grew after the Civil War along with the rise of Spiritualism (aka the belief that its possible to communicate with the dead). While Spiritualism itself has declined in popularity among the normal population due to widespread skepticism, it did help remove the stigma that came with the idea of engaging with the supernatural. These days, those groups who engage with the paranormal can do it in relative comfort that they're more likely to be treated as delusional by normal people rather than burned at the stake. Nice!

As stated before these are broad strokes. Characters are free to fill in blanks on their own historical knowledge when it comes to the paranormal. That said, it is asked that you be respectful when talking about any incidents that occurred within the last seventy-five years where there were actual people harmed. If you're going to claim an incident was fueled by the supernatural, then please change the names of any people involved or just make up fictional incident. Basically, please use your best judgement!

Are ghosts real?

Yes, but there's more nuance to ghosts than most normal people assume. First of all, a lot of claims of ghost sighting are actually fake and have more mundane (read: scientific) explanations. For the ghost sightings that are real, they tend to fall into three categories:

• Echoes: These are less trapped souls and more an echo of previous events that happened that were somehow recorded and are now repeated. Think of ghost stories where they describe a ghost doing the same action, again and again. These can happen in places where there's a relatively strong presence of magical energy. These echoes cannot directly interact with people as they are nothing more than a looped recording, so they aren't actually dangerous. If one does want it removed, it can be cleared up using various cleansing/exorcism methods.
• Ghosts: These are souls who died with strong attachments to the world in places with very strong presence of magical energy. These ghosts can interact with people, though the extent they are able to do so depends on the ghost. Some are quite content to remain where they are, while others wants to move on but need closure before first. To get them to move on, you can either do it by helping them find closure of whatever is keeping them attached, or by forcing them out using various cleansing/exorcism methods. Some ghosts are harmless, while others are dangerous - just like people.
• Spirit Monsters: These are various types of creatures from the Spirit Realm who are either mistaken for ghosts or pretend to be ghosts to lure in prey. They are extremely dangerous and should be dealt with as soon as possible using exorcism or cleansing tactics.

How does magic work in this world?

While the exact art of practicing magic and what it can produce will vary based on your culture, at the core it's about manipulating energies from one of the six different elements: fire, water, earth, wind, darkness and light. Anyone with enough spirit power will have an affinity towards one of these elements. Elemental affinity will sometimes run in the family, but not always. It's not that uncommon for siblings to wind up with affinities for entirely different elements.

From there, magic from humans can be generally broken down in four main categories: abilities, spells, potions, and enchantments. Abilities are special skills and traits that are unique to a person with enough spirit power (in other words, the Elemental Powers). Abilities take no formal study or training to do, nor do they require any special items. Spells can seem like abilities, but they take much more energy and preparation to do and are overall not as effective. Potions are food and drink created using special ingredients and preparation methods to cause a magical effect when consumed. And finally enchantments are when elemental energy or spells are imbued into an item, giving the item special abilities. Spells, Potions and Enchantments all take time and effort to study.

Tell me more about the Elements?

There are six elements currently present in Kaisou:

• Fire: The element of passion and strong emotion. Fire magic is often used for offensive magic, but can also be used for more supportive things such as providing much needed warmth and food. It's strong against wind, but weak against water.


• Wind: The element of freedom and swiftness. Wind magic is often used for movement and support spells, allowing a skilled wind user to even dance in the sky itself. Strong against Earth but weak against fire.


• Earth: The steady and persistent element. While it's the slowest acting element to work with, very little can get in its way. Used for defensive magic as well as creating structures. Can also be used for plant magic. Strong against water, but weak against the wind.


• Water: A calmer and more patient element than fire, but never mistake its temperance for weakness. Consider one of the most adaptable elements. Water magic is known for its healing, but can also turn deadly with a biting touch of ice. Strong against fire, but weak against earth.


• Shadow: The most elusive and misunderstood of the elements. Shadow users are often associated with negative things, but there's really nothing wrong with the element. Shadow is often used for stealth magic. While offensively it's not strong against any particular element, it has no elemental weaknesses either- making it a rather tenacious element.


• Light: The element of faithful determination. It's often associated with the divine, but that's not necessarily the case. It's the fastest of the elements, but only in quick bursts compared to wind's prolong bouts of swiftness. Offensively it's strong against the other five elements, but defensively it's weak against all elements as well.

People with enough Spirit Power (aka people who deal with the paranormal) will have an affinity for one of these elements. Elemental affinity will sometimes run in the family, but not always. It's not that uncommon for siblings to wind up with affinities for entirely different elements.

How do I pick an element?

Players can choose whichever element they want their character to be associated with when they app- or they can wait to lock their character into an element later on. While personalities and family lines are said to hold some sway over what elements you wind up with, there's really no hard and fast rule! Every character can start with one element, but if a character manages to master an element, the possibility of learning a second one may open up sometime in the future....

Can you tell me more about Abilities?

Abilities are special skills or traits that people with enough Spirit Power exhibit. These skills are unique to each individual, don't require any time or prior preparation to perform, and the only usage limit is the person's own stamina. For a Paranormal AU, abilities can manifest in any point of their life. They could have been levitating their toys as toddlers, or never showed a single drop of power until a drunken night at college when they flew into a wall. In some paranormal circles, people will pride themselves on having certain abilities while judging other abiltiies. These people are jerks.

Available abilities for Paranormal AUs can be found on the Elemental Powers page.

What about Spells?

Spells are a means of channeling magic beyond Abilities. Unlike abilities that are innate to people, spells can be learned by anyone with enough Spirit Power, but they take time and discipline in order to learn how to properly channel spells. Many folks will spend years studying how to properly cast spells. There's a wide range of spells, with many factions and cultures developing their own styles of magic. However what is most universal about spells is that they require an incanation to be recited or a ritual performed, and an equivalent exchange. For most spells, this will take the form of using spell ingredients that are used up during the spell casting. However there are some spells that require a sacrifice of some kind, or will come at the personal cost of the caster (such as a healing spell that shaves off the lifespan of the healer depending on how much they heal someone). Spells that require human sacrifice do exist, but they are considered very taboo and will cause several factions to go after you.

Spells come in many shapes and sizes, so I won't even try to list them all. Characters are free to dabble in spells or have backgrounds where they did. Smaller spells can be done with easy-to-find ingredients, while more powerful spells would require expensive and rare stuff. Spellbooks can be found in Undertown, though most of that is fairly harmless stuff like protection spells, aesthetic spells, and harmless pranks. For more dangerous spells, you'd probably need connections to groups in the Paranormal that specialize in that stuff, as factions really do keep their spells close to their chest. You can double check with the mods if you aren't sure if a spell you want to do is ok, though generally anything that's not considered dangerous is likely to be fine. In the issue of fairness, characters are able to cast 3 spells per IC day.

Spells do not require regain points to use, however they should be treated as more cumbersome and overall weaker than regained abilities. And since it does take time and discipline to learn how to cast spells, plese use your best judgement on your character's proficiency.

What about Potions and Enchantments?

Potions are food and/or drinks made with special ingredients and techniques in order to cause a magical effect on the person who consumes them. Brewing potions is a rather fickled process that can easily go wrong, especially with new potion makers. Many groups hide their exact recipes, though recipes for more common potions (basic healing, sleeping, skill boosts, luck, etc) can be found in Undertown. The effectiveness of a potion depends on a lot of different factors, meaning it's rare that potion is 100% effective (giving players a chance to opt out of its effects in other words). The effects of potions are always temporary as well (running from a few hours to a couple days at most). Potions can be found in Undertown, or characters can learn how to brew their own. Just like spells, the expense and availability of the ingredients will depend on strength of the potion.

Enchantments are when items are imbuded with an ability or a spell, giving them special properties. Characters with elemental abilitieis can learn to imbue items with their element through a combination of channeling their ability and spellwork (compared to light-elemental characters who can just imbue weapons as an ability). Enchantments can also be used to enchant spell scrolls with a ready-to-go spell, meaning that anyone can use the spell so long as they hold the scroll and read it outloud. Scrolls can be used a few times before they lose all their power. Because of this, Spell Scrolls that aren't the most basic spells tend too be rare and very expensive. Enchantments and Spell scrolls both require spell ingredients and a ritual of some kind in order to work (except for the light-elemental characters with the purchased ability).

Characters are welcome to study how to make potions or enchantments, and do not require regain points to do so. However they are limited to making one potion or enchantment per IC day.

Where can I find Spell Ingredients?

While some spells just need items that are easily obtainable on Earth itself (salt, holy water, dried herbs, etc), there are many spell ingredients that can only be harvested from the Spirit Realm. Depending on what you need, you might have luck finding it among the shops in Undertown or through various paranormal connections. Sometimes you may even get lucky and find it in a Spirit Realm. Many of the items that Zodiac requests be foraged from the Spirit Realm are actually spell ingredients. Whether they are selling them to third parties or keeping them for their own use....well, they aren't disclosing.

While it's impossible to list every single potential spell ingredient, they generally fall into a tier based on their rarity. The tiers are as followed:

• Tier 1: Common. These are ingredients that are easily obtainable on Earth, such as salt or different herbs. They are usually used in the most basic of spells. Because they are so readily available on Earth, their price is just about whatever you pay for them in the grocery store.
• Tier 2: Uncommon. These ingredients originally came from the Spirit Realm, but people have found ways to grow and cultivate them on Earth. Thanks to that, there's almost always a guaranteed supply of them. These types of ingredients are used for basic to intermediate spells. They can be a bit pricey, but no more expensive than shopping for premium ingredients.
• Tier 3: Rare. These are ingredients that can only be harvested from the Spirit Realm, but they come from stable gates throughout the world so there is still at least a steady small supply of them. Often you'll have to either special order these ingredients or get ready to pay a pretty penny for them. They are used in intermediate to advanced spells, typically.
• Tier 4: Ultra Rare. These are ingredients that not only can be found in the Spirit Realm, but only from shifting gates that will constantly move place to place OR from particularly dangerous gates. While these ingredients are used for advanced magic frequently, they are both difficult to obtain and tend to be very expensive. Better start saving.
• Tier 5: Forbidden. These are ingredients that while theoretically aren't always difficult to obtain, gathering them is usually considered pretty suspicions and heinous. This tends to be stuff like unicorn horns, human body parts, etc. You aren't going to find these things in the Undertown markets, and you'll have to resort to sketchy merchants if not obtain this stuff yourself. They're usually used for spells that are considered taboo (like necromancy).

Players can come up with different ingredients as they wish! Or experiment with stuff they find in different realms. Not to mention, it's not just spellcasting that some of these ingredients are used for. Cooking with Spirit Realm ingredients has its own fan following within paranormal communities. Give it a try sometime! You might find a whole new taste you like. Or get kidnapped by fae and never be seen again. But hey! You only live once.

What about Possessions?

Possessions occur when a character is on the brink of death. Sometimes a being from the Spirit Realm will hear a person's dying prayers and offer to save their lives. If they accept, their lives are saved and they are miraculously healed either immediately or over the course of a few days, but they are now forever possessed.

A possession means a few things. On the bright side, you're not dead. So that's rad. Other benefits mean you will get a boost to your abilities, you heal faster than normal, your aging is slowed, and you tend to have a lot of energy. Depending on the type of possession, they may come with other benefits as well.

Unfortunately it also comes with some serious detriments. If you exhibit strong emotions, technology around you may malfunction unexpectedly. If you sink to a serious low point, you also run the risk of being dragged into the Spirit Realm where you'll need be saved before you become a permanent denizen of the realm. Finally, the last detriment is what we'll call the contract price. This is an action or behavior that a possessed character must fulfill that's an impediment to their life. Depending on what the contract price is, it may need to be required to fulfill on a regular basis, whenever they use their abilities, or it's just always going on.

The power of the benefits and the nature and severity of the contract price will depend on what a character is possessed by. A person can be possessed by any type of paranormal creature. A person possessed by a vampire may require to drink blood after using their powers, while someone possessed by a fae might be unable to tell lies or touch iron. In general the more powerful the being, the stronger the power boosts and the more severe the contract price. Being possessed by a god (or an equivalent to one) will require two contract prices. Players are allowed to decide what their character is possessed by and their contract price is, but it will need be mod approved and the contract price needs to cause an actual impediment to the character's life.

You can read more about possessions and contract prices over on the possession page.

Can I have possession be part of my character's AU backstory?

Yes. Please be sure to include in their application an explanation of how they came about to be possessed. You can read more about possessions and contract prices over on the possession page.

My character can make magical pacts with other people in canon, how do those work?

While there is no Kaisou equivalent to this besides possessions - if your character has the capability of creating a magical pact/contract in canon (for example the pact between Fate/ Servants and Masters), as long as it's not considered game breaking, they're potentially able to do it here! The pact-creating character will need to regain the ability to form pacts (2 points), and then after that they'll be able to create basic magic pacts with anyone that matches their specific criteria for pact makers with no regain points needed - even if they aren't a castmate (for instance, Seraphim from Tales of Zestiria would just need to find someone with a pure heart and strong spirit power while a Fate/ servant would need to find...I don't know, someone deeply fucked up probably).

That said, in order to get any special abilities from the pact, all parties involved will need to pay regain points for the abilities separately. For instance if someone forms a pact with a mascot character that lets them become a magical girl and they want to regain a super magic heart spell - both the mascot-character and the magical girl would need to purchase the super magic heart spell. The cost of these will vary based on the overall power level of the ability (just like all other regains). That said, should the mascot-character ditch that magical girl and find a new one, the mascot character would not need to rebuy the magical heart spell and only their new magical girl will need to cough up the points and their souls.

Finally, if the character has the ability to do so, they are capable of forming multiple pacts at the same time. Each additional pact will cost them another 2 points, and the maximum number of pacts any pact-maker can form at a given time is four.

Who is Zodiac?

Zodiac is an underground organization that deals with matters involving the Spirit Realm. They were created by the collaboration of several different corporations and are mostly interested in figuring out ways to utilize the spirit veins and realm for profit the betterment of society. They are not the only group of people involved with dealings of the spirit realm by any means, but they have a strong presence in Kaisou and a heightened interest in what's been going on recently.

But uh yeah basically they're capitalists. Sorry about that.

Can I contact Zodiac directly?

There are a couple ways to contact Zodiac. The first way is utilizing the "contact us" page on the app. This page will have a FAQ/Troubleshooting guide that is remarkably vague and unhelpful (so a normal troubleshooting guide). Once you scroll past the troubleshooting guide, you can directly message Zodiac with inquiries. Much like live chats help services, this is handled by a random customer service agent and is limited in help. Answers they can give are:

• Directions to the Zodiac Office in Undertown
• Addresses to OUs living in Zodiac-run apartments (unless tenant requests privacy)
• Contact information of anyone on the app
• Any information that is relevant to the month event

You can also go to the Zodiac Branch Office in Undertown where they will provide the same information, as well as the ability to rent out any equipment that is accessible for the month.

All interactions with Zodiac will be handwaved. Just treat it as helpful as any customer service communication from a corporation.

So there are groups besides Zodiac involved?

There sure are! There are countless ones all over the world of various sizes and goals. Feel free to make up some for your own AU as well. Zodiac, POKEGO, and the Black Order are the three major players that are involved with the metaplot of the game and run by the mod. You can read more about other groups here.

Setting (Normal Stuff)

What's the city like?

Kaisou is a modern American metropolis with all the things you'd expect. Population wise the metro area has a couple million people, causing it to fall somewhere in the middle in terms of American city size. While the city has its own seedy underbelly, it's a relatively safe place so long as you know what places to avoid at night. There's plenty of diversity and things to do across the city.

Okay but where in the US is it located?

That is actually really hard to tell. The city experiences cold winters, hot summers, and beautiful autumns. There's an ocean within driving distance, but there's also mountains and it can experiences storms you'd find in the midwest.

In other words, don't worry about it too much. This is pretendy fun times we're not going going for extreme geographical accuracy here.

Does Kaisou have this [Regional Specialty]?

Yes. If it's a thing/place that could potentially be found in the US, then it's in Kaisou regardless of the logic. There's an In-n-out, a Whataburger, a Culvers, a Wawa, and so on. How? It's a mystery.

What languages are spoken here?

Like any American city, you can find a whole multitude of languages being spoken depending on where you go and who you talk to. That said, English is the main language spoken in the city. Characters that arrive from another world will find they understand English, even if they they never spoke it before. Characters also have the option of buying magical translators from a magic shop, if they so choose to understand more languages than English. Unfortunately, even magic AI is a crapshoot, so they're about as accurate as google translate.

Can we create locations for our characters to visit?

You sure can!

Can my character leave Kaisou?

They can actually! Characters who leave Kaisou for a temporary amount of time will not lose their memory of the place. Nor will they be rid of the app. However the longer they are away from Kaisou and its spirit vein, the more they will feel their powers deplete.

Apps, Activity, Drops, Etc

How do apps work?

"Apps" are always open! This is less an actual app so much as a comment letting us know details about your character. Once you've posted that, feel free to jump in and start playing! The only caveat is that we ask that only players who have been invited by another player can join. Apps are judged every first and third weekend of the month.

Is there a limit to how many characters I can play?

Players are allowed to have up to four active characters at a time in the game, with a maximum of two of them being OU characters. If you have four characters and wish to add another one, one of your characters will need to be dropped.

As of September 2023, we will also be putting an additional limit that players may only play 2 characters from the same canon/cast. This is partly to make sure one player isn't taking up most of the cast cap, and partly because we feel it's too difficult to avoid self-CR playing more than 2 characters from the same canon.

How do you define a canon cast?

We understand that there are a lot of canons that are in a gray zone to whether or not they should be counted as part of the same cast or not. So there isn't an answer that will fit every situation and there are some canons that we'll have to take by a case-by-case scenario.

However should characters belong to the same IP and meet at least 1 of the following criteria, they will likely be considered part of the same cast:

• They are set in the same world/universe to each other.
• There is a reasonable chance the characters could encounter each other in their canon settings.
• There are characters that appear in each of the entries beyond just a quick cameo.
• The characters themselves would treat each other as castmates.

How do Canon Points, Canon Updates and Spoilers work?

It depends on the type of character you're playing!

AUs
AU Characters (meaning characters born on Kaisou Earth) are AU characters, so they do not have a canon point. They are welcomed to regain memories from any part of their life as long as there's a reliable English translation available (either officially or with a fan translation). That said, we ask that you wait one month after a character's initial introduction in their canon series before apping. This cannot be a cameo, but rather a proper introduction of the character and their role in the plot.

We also ask that any major spoilers (meaning character deaths, big twists/reveals, etc) are marked for spoilers in comment headings for up to 2 months after the spoiler occurred.

OUs
Like with AUs, when apping a OU character (meaning a character NOT from Kaisou's Earth) you must wait one month after a character's initial introduction in their canon series before apping. This cannot be a cameo, but rather a proper introduction of the character and their role in the plot (example: Azula appeared briefly in Season 1 of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but we didn't know anything about her until Season 2 when she was properly introduced to the audience. So her appearance in Season 2 would be considered her "initial introduction").

When picking a canon point upon apping or canon updating a character that's been in their canon longer than a month, it will depend on the type of media the character is from.

• If the canon updates daily, weekly or monthly: Aka tv shows, comics, manga. The canon point must be out a whole two weeks in English (or have a reliable fan translation). This is because these types of canons have shorter canon updates so fans who care about spoilers have an easier time catching up in a timely manner.
• If the canon updates less frequently than monthly: Aka movies, video games, books. The canon point must be out 1 month in English. This is because these canon updates tend to be longer and more time consuming/difficult for fans who engage entirely with immediately.

Characters who are canon updated will either pass out or disappear for a few days, before they wake up with extra memories of their time in their homeworld. You can perform a canon update once every 3 months. Canon updates can be requested on the Major Character Update page.

Finally OU characters are allowed to get visions about future parts of their canon, regardless of canon point. Like with AUs, we ask that any major spoilers are marked as such in comment headings for up to 2 months after the spoiler occurred.

What's the activity for this game?

Since this is a sandbox style game, this is purely an activity-check in type of game. Once a month there will be an activity check-in to see if you're still playing in the game. Players that don't respond to their activity will have their characters moved to NPC status.

That said, as of April 2023, we have implemented a safeguard measure to deter character squatting.

Can you take a hiatus for this game?

You can! What a hiatus will do is make sure that you are safeguarded should you be unable to check in for AC for a couple months. While you are on hiatus, you will be given 2 regain points instead of the usual 4. You can decide what your character is doing during their time on hiatus (they are being NPCs, getting handwaved, in a magic coma, etc). Players are allowed to take up to 3 months of hiatus at a time. You can fill out a hiatus form here.

What about Character Squatting?

Character squatting, as defined by the mod team, is when you hold onto a character for an extended period of time without playing them. While Kaisou's check-in activity is meant to keep players from stressing about their activity should they have a busy month or two, we have no intention for the game to be a parking lot for character squatting. Therefore, should the mod team notice that a player goes 6 months (aka double the max amount of time allowed for hiatus) without notable activity in the game, they will be contacted and requested to fulfill a more traditional proof of activity for their next couple ACs. The number of threads we will ask to provide will depend on a case-by-case scenario (since honestly, we expect this to be extremely rare). During this time, the player will not be allowed to invite other players and in some cases we may deny invites to the player that invited them (again, this is a case-by-case scenario).

Should they meet those requirements but then proceed to once again go back to being inactive, the mods will contact them again with stricter requirements after three months of inactivity. They may not take a hiatus while they are on this probation period.

What happens if we drop characters?

Characters will revert to NPC status, meaning they will lose all their regains and their exact memories of their time with the app will become fuzzy. Characters who came from another world can either return to their world or become NPCs living in the city.

Players are always welcome to bring back a character to active status, but they will need to re-buy any purchasable regains. They are allowed to do so at half the original price (rounded up to the nearest whole point), should they provide a link to their previous purchase.

What happens to the regains of dropped characters?

Canon-specific item regains will disappear when a character drops. If characters had made copies of the item (like a copy of a photo), the copies will remain while the original is lost. Any items that the character owned that they obtain through other means besides the regain system (aka they bought it at a store), will remain in game and remaining characters can continue to cry into their sweaters.

Gacha items will be automatically donated to the Gacha Goodwill, where other characters will have a chance to obtain them. Any unused points the character has upon dropping will be converted into gacha items for the Gacha Goodwill.

The only exception are World Changes. A World Change will permanently remain in the world and be accessible to other players. World changes that are considered "public property" are exactly that-- they are forever accessible to everyone and if it's a business that requires people to run it, it will be run by NPCS unless a character decides to work there. You can even say your dropped character continues to work there as an NPC, that's cool too!

In cases of world changes that are considered private property (aka someone's house), control of it will be given to any characters living at the property at the time of the purchaser's drop. If no one is living there, the last former owner has one month to name an heir to the place. If one month passes and no one's been named, the property will go to the Gacha Goodwill as free real estate.

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Got a question not covered by the FAQ? Go ahead and comment here to ask!

code bases by tricklet

Comments

[localizedentirelyinanau]

Sorry about the previous comment, I didn't realize the question had already been answered, whoops,

A few more pertinent questions: for high school-aged OU characters, how strongly is going to school encouraged, and what is the public schooling system of Kaisou like?

Would this Pasqualo be able to regain the abilities/body modifications of the previous universe's Pasqualo, since they are fundamentally "the same person" as far as the comic's equivalent of souls go?

[kaisoumods]

That's a-okay!

And how strongly encouraged depends on how much you want your character to go to school! School for OUs is optional for players who wants to have their characters enrolled in school. As for the schooling, it's basically what you'd expect from a standard American public school. There's good classes and bad classes. You're not going to get any insane high school incidents like you hear on the news (unless caused by player characters). It's as normal as it can be!

And yes, if they are considered the same person, they would be able to regain the abilities/body modifications.

I hope this clears things up!