Ideas, Questions, Suggestions?

[lizbot]

Rosie: best not to even think about it ~ assume the hours are regular school hours, but keep in mind that certain classes are held during later hours as well.

Eternal: it depends on which direction you want to take them. Think of demons as more magical and monsters more physical. Monsters can have magic, but it's not cast so much as a physical part of their make up.

Sleep and King: ghosts can float about an inch or two above the ground and be intangible, they are default part of their physical make-up. You can list them, but they don't need to be considered natural abilities unless they're amped up (like flying, or going all nightcrawler with the phasing)  

[Marushii]

sleepZombie

I know that the skull pin is what keeps students with a weird natural form in human shape. I'm guessing this is also what makes Ghost students solid. But there's a bit of text in the { GHOSTS } topic in World of Halloween sub forum that reads.

WE ARE HALLOWEEN

Physical Appearance
All ghosts attending the academy have a tangible form and use it when class is in session. They look pretty much the same, but sometimes they lack enough concentration, parts of their form spill out and wisp into nothingness, sometimes you can see through parts of their limbs.

Here's what confuses me. I kind of assumed doing things like floating, being able to go invisible, or being able to make themselves not solid (so long as they weren't in class) would be something they would naturally be able to do. But does that mean it'd have to be listed as a Natural Ability and something that they'd be able to do only as they got stronger? As a Banshee Aislin can only use her subclass ability (The Wail) as her Natural Ability at first.

Really I'm not TOO concerned about trying to phase through things or even going invisible. My biggest wonder is weather or not it'd be okay for me to say that Aislin is all floaty. I wouldn't mean FLYING. But can she float/hover a foot above ground at most?

King Inversitle

Kinda echoing Zom's question a bit on the levitating part-

Is it safe to imagine that ghosts can kinda move around like they're on an escalator? (In Pepins case fo sho but... flying is obviously out of the question)

The ghosts subspecies info thread is currently undergoing a rewrite. With it, we will be introducing RACIAL ABILITIES. Racial Abilities are abilities that the entire race gets access to, such as the Reaper's Weapon or Familiar ability in which they can summon/dismiss their weapon OR familiar whenever they please.

Ghosts will have TWO racial abilities: tangibility and levitation.

Levitation: ALL ghosts will be able to levitate a couple of inches off the ground. Any higher and they will need to take flying/levitation as their natural ability, OR previously have had wings in their former life (at which point they would fly using their wings, and should they crash they'd crash into an invisible couple of inches off the ground).

Tangibility: As far as tangibility goes, all ghosts will be solid between 100 and 75% opacity. In order to be even fade further then that, they will need to take tangibility as their natural ability.

Otherwise limbs/parts turning into wisps is more for a visual flair than anything else.

The ghosts subspecies rewrite is almost done, btw~ right now I'm in the process of researching more ghost species to add to the list, in addition to going through the OTHER species lists and rescuing mis-filed ghost species there (hi inugami, come back to usssss).  

[sleepZombie]

lizbot

Marushii

Thank you to the both of you for clearing that up! <3  

[Ice Queen]

Are there certain sounds that can "hurt" ghosts? Not kill them, or even a long lasting affect, or even much of a short term one, but something that causes them to cover their ears and wish for their non-existent mamas? Something any kid with a guitar could do, without the use of fear?

I'm assuming it'd work on weres, but that might be me being an a**, I just figured their superior hearing would be a weakness in some cases. Thank you ahead of time!  

[Marushii]

Ice Queen

Are there certain sounds that can "hurt" ghosts? Not kill them, or even a long lasting affect, or even much of a short term one, but something that causes them to cover their ears and wish for their non-existent mamas? Something any kid with a guitar could do, without the use of fear?

I'm assuming it'd work on weres, but that might be me being an a**, I just figured their superior hearing would be a weakness in some cases. Thank you ahead of time!

Without the use of Fear? Then generally no. Ghosts are intangible, and turn "solid" in Halloween by concentrating their Fear. Fear allows them to become tangible.

For example, when it comes to battling/sparring, it's not the physical/magical ability of an opponent that determines how hard they hit. It's all about being able to affect the opponent's Fear, and the user's ability to concentrate their own enough to impact their opponent's. Thus, in order to affect ghosts (and anyone else), Roch would need to use Fear for his guitar sound to affect them.

That's the broad answer. Otherwise when it comes to RP, it's the player's call whether or not they want their ghost to be affected or not. Just like it's their choice whether or not a vacuum cleaner can suck their character up.  

[demon_pachabel]

At a point in time there was a teacher teaching the illusions class (if I recall, this was Ruri's class). I am wondering about this because one of my students is a budding illusionist and I was wondering if more classes in her vein of interests would be cropping up or if she'd have to find some self-studying/specialized tutoring time for such a thing.  

[Manda]

Ooookay ... I have something that I want to ask, because I'm a bit confused about it. XD;;; It was brought up while someone was talking to me about my most recent quest thread, for a Totoro character.

In this thread, the top part talks about only two ways a character can get to Halloween-world. Popping in via Fear, or being born in the Pumpkin Patch.

My question is. What about characters who come from ... other 'dimensions' and have families and etc there? When I made up/got Aksaja, that was the concept I ran with for him. He does not originate in Halloween. He comes from a high-fantasy sort of world-setting of my own making. This was mentioned and explained in his quest, and his parents sent him off to school via (I assume) some kind of magical and mysterious ... portal, or something. I dunno XD;; I just know that his quest was accepted and the character was made.

Now, I don't KNOW for sure much about their history/background but Jericho and Riley are both based on D&D races, so it makes sense to me that perhaps they arrived from D&D 'world' in a similar fashion, and same for any sort of character based on a fictional race/creature/etc rather than a 'real-world' myth. I suppose for Jericho and Riley, someone could have believed in D&D hard enough for them to 'pop' in like the first method explained, but Iiiii dunno. This is where my confusion comes in. XD;

I have nooo idea when that rule was put up. I didn't see it/read it when I made Aksaja's quest and it -was- said in the quest that he came from a type of dragons I created, in another place other than Halloweentown/world. He'd mentioned his home and other beings that live there in RP since then too. So uhm. Is this a new-ish rule and not retroactive? Did Aksaja somehow skirt it, and I need to change things in his backstory? Can other new characters also come from someplace 'other' and arrive in a third way (magical transport) that's ... just not mentioned in that thread? XD;;;; Halp.

---------------------------

Backreading, I remembered something else I wanted to ask. XD; I saw the mention of a re-write for the Ghosts section! In relation to that, are things like forest and/or guardian spirits going to be addressed? Basically, types of spirits that were never human, and didn't die, etc. Because I would think a spirit like that counts as a ghost, but right now the ghost section only talks about the type of ghosts that come from dead humans  

[lizbot]

Pach: depends on teacher GM's, but illusions is in no way barred or blocked for them to run classes for.


Manda: areas like that are still basically considered part of Halloween, even if they hold different names. The land and people that live there should still be made of FEAR and follow the same basic world concepts and rules as Halloween proper. The creation of Halloween is probably what would be most helpful concerning this topic: http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?page=1&t=19872753#272505061

This is not a new rule, but I don't see why you would have to retcon anything either? Unless you've written that his world has aspects that go against shop cannon?

Totoro: this kind is ok otherwise come up with a Damn Good Reason

Elemental and such spirits -are- considered ghosts, Appeal's Lucien is a sylph and part of the ghost race: http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=20279448  

[Manda]

Thanks liz, that helps me a bit. I'm actually trying to figure out one of those Damn Good Reasons, honestly, because I didn't want to make a zombie Totoro. I wanted to make this chubby, clumsy little fat kid that didn't have a clue who was a bit ... more like the movie-Totoros and was a ghost XD;

Could it possibly work to say something like ... they're more like the movie-ones when they're young, but then they grow up all scary like that? Idk XD  

[Marushii]

Please consider the setting. This is Halloween: a land of spooks, frights, and various other creatures that go bump in the night. They live off of an essence called Fear, which is gathered by scaring humans. Now, consider this:

In Miyzaki's film, is Totoro scary? No. He's a peaceful forest spirit that helps plants grow. Taking a direct adaptation of Totoro from the anime would not work in this shop which focuses on scarier and darker creatures. This shop, for all its fluffy RPs, is dark at its heart and core. You would need to put your own spin on Totoro and come up with a Damn Good Reason to make a Totoro fit.

Otherwise in light of this, we will be working on clarifying the standard rules/guidelines for characters as currently they seem to be too vague.  

[Manda]

I THINK, what I'm basically asking/confused on, so far as the Totoro goes, is this. Does the character have to be scary from the get-go, or can he -become- scarier as time passes? Right now there are several adorably cute characters out there who are definitely not scary XD;; But they're part of races that are scary to some people or they'll get bigger/scarier as they grow up.

Summary lol: Are things like this actually allowed in shop canon or is that something that wasn't clear when those characters were made? If I came up with a spin on the Totoro race that made the adults scary, could a younger Totoro be not as scary in the shop setting?  

[Pepzilla]

There ARE adorable and not scary creatures out there and they really NEED TO STOP.

Manda from a non staff standpoint I really suggest you not do the Totoro quest because for one, its a commercial species (its essentially a cosplay) and two, its never a guarantee that anyone will make something super cute scary "enough" in the future. There are a gazillion combinations you can work with that have nothing to do with totoro. You know that picture of the demon mutant totoro? (I think everyones seen it xD) I think you outta pursue something that is inspired by that but not directly deprived from. Itll make your questing x38985930258923 easier  

[lizbot]

The base needs to be scary. Basically: TiHers ARE made of FEAR. If they aren't able to cause extreme fear and anxiety in humans, they have no reason to exist in Halloween or sustain such an existence. Now I try not to GM personality, but cute-looking, cute-acting, and of a benevolent bent? That is a no-go combination. Scary adults is a good thing, but I have read that quest thread, and the character presented in no way fits the setting, to the point where "scary as an adult" reads more like lip service than an actual part of what the character is, and why they should be in the shop.

basically: You can have a cute character. But you need to balance it out with more TiH-appropriate elements.

And chances are we're going to tighten back down on this, more to what it was at the start of the shop, so folks: please do keep the points mentioned in mind.  

[LP]

We Are Halloween

Levitation: All ghosts, elementals, and spirits can float up to five inches off of the ground. To float any higher requires a natural ability enabling flight. However, if the ghost formerly had wings in their previous life they can fly by means of their wings. This does mean that if they suddenly fall to the ground they will crash into any obstacle five inches away, however.

Note: Ghosts have THREE racial abilities. They can become intangible (to an extent), glow (or barely glow), and float 10 inches off the ground.

Um... my apologizes but I have a question.... Can ghosts Float a total of 10 inches off the ground or just 5?  

[Marushii]

Fixed the typo; ghosts can only float five inches off the ground.