Rakuen Moderators (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
utopiamods) wrote2010-12-27 07:02 pm
utopiamods) wrote2010-12-27 07:02 pm
Entry tags:
SETTING
Rakuen is essentially a small university town, at least superficially. It is situated on an island, with the only operational way onto said island being a steam-train that makes no return trips. In the town proper there are two school campuses -- one near the station, named Conquest, and Fortitude on the opposite side of the town. The centrepiece of the town is its large arena, in which more formal battles and tournaments are held, but it also boasts a small woodland in which numerous pavilions and small clearings are concealed, as well as a lake, a mercantile quarter and a mysterious mansion.
A number of small businesses that sell mundane items such as clothing or food are arranged in a square in the north of the town, included in which is the Exaclan shop, Rakettear. Scattered through Rakuen are six identical towers. The city itself is surrounded by a wall, behind which are alternating small cliffs and rocky beaches.
The entire area is coated in layers of tactile empathic holographics, all geared towards the battle system, and as such battles can take place anywhere.
(Thank you to Seki for our amazing map!)
1) The train station is the first thing a new arrival sees. It is tooth-achingly ornate; even the train itself is a classic steam train. Other than the train-driver herself, there are no staff here. Or ticket machines. Or anything that would allow you to purchase a return ticket.The train arrives once a week to drop off new students, and leaves without allowing any new passengers to embark.
2) The battle arena. City-wide tournaments take place here. They are announced and organised by the mayor; they’re generally team battles or battle royale arrangements. Individuals may hire out the battle arena for their personal battles, or rent the space for non-combat entertainment. Both are currently free of charge.
3) These are the campus foyers. Each contain the headteacher’s office and a large assembly hall on the ground floor. Information boards and a large screen cover the walls of the hall. The cafeteria is on the first floor, up a large spiral staircase.
The menu changes weekly, but Discards and Weapons out of favour with their Players have a very limited menu of plain foods. There are a variety of sizes of tables here, from small two-person tables to large benches seating up to ten people. In one corner there is a large table at which Discards are compelled to sit.
4) These large buildings are the largest on their campuses. They have four floors:
The ground floor is one large computer room. Since there is a both school-specific network and a city-wide network, this room can end up a little full after classes if students haven't yet bought a PDA for themselves. Discards may only use the network for the school they belong to. The Exaclan system has placed battle boards onto every network, used by people looking for Weapons, Players and battling partners. Or even just tips or advice on the system.
The first floor is a gym. Beyond the large main room, there are a number of smaller rooms leading off from the central one, each with more specialised equipment. There is a large store cupboard with mats, balls, bats, nets... Equipment for any sport you might wish to play. Including a set of fully-functional Quidditch gear. Look after the equipment: there is a fine for damage or loss.
The second floor holds an extensive library with books on every subject under the sun, including the history of ants, proper halberd care, and recipe books from every world imaginable; however, no books on the history of Rakuen or the world it inhabits are available. There are comfy chairs and sofas, as well as desks tucked away in alcoves for individual study.
The third and topmost floor is a large swimming pool. It is warmed year-round and walled by floor-to-ceiling double-glazed windows that afford swimmers a fantastic view of the town.
5) The classrooms. There are two floors of classrooms. Remember: Discards must sit at the front of the classroom!
6) The central campus courtyards, lined with benches and ornamental trees. A perfect place for battles or less violent meetings.
7) The dorms. On Fortitude campus you can live in either the Pale or Black dorm, whilst Conquest holds Red and White. They stand three stories high and are decorated to match the colour of their name. The ground floor contains a common room, including a couple of computers for those too lazy to walk to the main leisure building. It also contains a fridge, kettle, microwave and a washing machine as well as comfy beanbags to sit on. A rough plan can be found here
Each floor above contains four bedrooms, a shower block and a toilet block. Each bedroom houses up to five individuals, both teachers or students. Each person has a single bed and a bedside cabinet with a lamp and two lockable drawers for personal belongings. The rooms also contain a floor length mirror, shelves, a shared wardrobe (which contains a stash of loose-fitting pajama tops and trousers in the color of the dorm) and tasteful rugs to warm your feet. The rooms can be locked, and a plaque on the door gives the names of those who live there.
Campus selection is mostly random (though if you have a strong preference you can provide that during the application process.) Dorm selection within the campus is entirely up to the mun, but not a choice IC. You can request a room for your character on the dorm assignments page for their campus.
8) Prefect Headquarters. As the name suggests, this building is for prefects’ use only. It is a comfortable bungalow. There are cooking facilities, comfy chairs, a couple of computers and a jukebox. Prefects can use these headquarters regardless of their status during a round.
9) The lake. The lake is separated from the sea by a large seawall and is calm most days. There is a jetty and a boathouse. Boats can be hired out at a small price, but residents are reminded that they are in no way seaworthy and for use on the lake only. In the centre of the lake is a small man-made island, which can be reached either by boat or by a strong swimmer.
10) The mercantile quarter. Covering the north of the town, the shops sell everything you might need, including clothing and food from a variety of worlds. Characters may get Saturday jobs in any of the shops, any job will earn you 5 raks for the day. The main shop is owned by Recette Lemongrass, a young girl. You can buy and sell items for Exaclan here, as well as sundry items such as sweets or books, and once something has been ordered there, it will most likely make an appearance in another, smaller shop in the future for further purchases.
11) The woodlands. Wandering through the trees, you may come across numerous small clearings, some of which contain picturesque little pavilions or ornamental water features.
12) The mansion. The mansion belongs to the mayor, and as such the house and grounds are strictly off-limits. The consequences if caught will be dire.
13) The towers, of which there are six. Each is completely sealed. If a character was to climb up the outside, they would find it windowless until they reached the top, which seems to be constructed of mirrors. There is a large, ornate door at the bottom with neither handle nor keyhole. There are, however, four plaques, each the colour of a different dorm buildings. Every plaque has a hand-print burnt into it, though the size and shape of the print varies from plaque to plaque. For more information on the Towers see the Tower Information page.
14) The residential areas of the town also contain a variety of smaller entertainments, such as an arcade, a small theatre, and a cinema, characters may get Saturday jobs in any of these places, jobs pay 5 raks for the day.
Classes cover everything from science to foreign languages to boat construction. Morning classes - mandatory for all - are from 8am to 1pm. There are also classes from 3pm until 5pm, which are optional for Players and owned Weapons but compulsory for Discards.
Characters who are over 18 are given a job as a teacher in the school they are placed in. When they are Discards, they must teach in the afternoon as well. As Players or owned Weapons they have a ten minute break every hour whilst classes change. As Discards they must report to the headteacher to do errands during this time.
Students who are Discards are at the beck and call of any prefect who wishes their service, so look lively! The prefects deal out swift justice when disobeyed.
Every character, adult or student, earns 1 Rak a day for teaching at or attending school, respectively. If they skip or refuse to attend, they do not get paid. Simple as that. If this misbehavior goes on for more than a week, the prefects get involved.
Speaking of which...
When a character has all of their upgrades and abilities and has met the outbreak condition, they automatically become a prefect. Prefects are in charge of discipline, and thus responsible for punishing those who break the rules. In turn, there is a head prefect for each school who keeps the prefects in line.
The prerequisites for becoming a prefect are not known in-character, although characters are free to guess.
As well as NPC teachers and such, there are six main staff characters played by the Rakuen mods. These are the mayor, the shopkeeper, the heads of the two schools and the head prefects. They claim to be members of the previous group brought into Rakuen approximately a year prior, who stayed behind as a final sacrifice to send the others home. If asked, they may give advice on how to beat the game.
If your character does something breaking the IC rules and you want staff or a prefect to intervene please comment to this post.
The shopkeeper is called Recette, and she is happy to buy and sell almost anything. You can buy memory charms, upgrades, weapons (static items with a single use), human Weapons, PDA communicators, sweets, chocolate, things from home, and other odds’n’ends.
And as a bonus, you can sell things. Whatever you like. Well, you can't sell your uniform, but you can sell the clothes you arrived in, your Weapons (Weapons bought by Recette are hers until bought and must work in the shop or run errands for Recette after their classes are over), and you can even sell extra memories if you don’t want them.
The shopkeeper can also sometimes send groups on adventures. Players sign up (and therefore sign up their Weapons) and sally forth into an enclosed dungeon to fight NPC creatures for Raks and loot. When such an opportunity arises, there will be a more detailed announcement by Recette.
The currency of the city of Rakuen is the Rak, and the shop page has more information on prices and quests.
As stated, discards (and owned Weapons without permission to eat from the full menu) have to eat from the discard menu. The discard menu is the same every day:
Breakfast: Thick porridge. Sometimes there might be a hint of salt, but for the most part it is completely tasteless.
Lunch: Watery soup, it claims to be vegetable but unless you count the strange green/brown mush that sometimes appears in it you can't be sure.
Dinner: Barley stew. That is, lots of barley of the same consistency as porridge; sometimes if you are lucky you will find a piece of carrot. If you're even luckier you might get a bit of meat that, for any characters familiar with processed foods, looks like it came out of a can.
Drink: Water
For everyone else the food varies from day to day. Players and owned Weapons may choose to eat from the discard menu, but why would they when they can choose from:
Breakfast: There are a variety of cereals, thick milky porridge (with honey or sugar or salt), bread, toast, croissants, hummus, fruit, jams and even things like peanut butter. Pretty much if it is a breakfast food in any country, real or imaginary, it will probably show up at one point.
Lunch: Sometimes this is a cooked meal, sometimes it is sandwiches. Again, it varies daily and can come from anywhere in the world, including fantasy worlds. It is likely at least one character will recognize the food each day.
Dinner: Always a hot meal. Like the others it varies day today and can come from anywhere.
Desserts: Like the other meals, they vary in origin and are different every day. Hot pies, honey cakes, fruit, scones, baklava. You name it, they have it.
Drinks: Tea, coffee, orange, apple, mango, pineapple juice, hot chocolate, water, fizzy lemonade and soda are all available.
As of Round 10, Rakuen now possesses the moon Prospit. Yes, the one from Homestuck. Prospit is a golden moon! It is the same size as a regular moon, but a little bit different. Instead of a barren wasteland, it's an entire city, made entirely of gold. In Homestuck, if you are a Prospit Dreamer, once you Awaken you get to live in your sleep on this pretty damn cool moon! The people who live there -- white carapacians called Prospitians -- love their dreamers. They practically worship them! It is a mystical place... well, straight out of a dream. Prospit is also special because people who are awake there can witness visions of the past, present and future, if you know how to look at the clouds of Skaia in just the right way. There is also another moon, called Derse, but since no one has bought that one, there remains only one available dreaming moon right now.
So what does that mean in game?
• Anyone can dream on Prospit. Even people who are not from Homestuck, or people from Homestuck who are technically Derse dreamers! All you have to do is buy the pendant.
• Anyone can buy a Dreamboat Pendant. That means you (yes, you!) can dream on Prospit too! If you put it on before you fall asleep, you will have a physical experience on this new moon that has appeared. This Pendant is 12 Raks from Recette!
• A Dream Self is a projection of reality! Although in Homestuck they are very real bodies, here they are just visual representations of the real things. The body can't leave the moon, and you can't technically die. So even if you attempt to kill a bunch of dreamers, all you'll do is wake them up in the real world. If you die on Prospit you will wake up back in Rakuen. However, when you fall asleep again, you'll be right back on Prospit.
• Your Dream Self gets FANCY GOLDEN PAJAMAS.
• The NPCs on Prospit are exactly like the Rakuen NPCs: although some of them may be familiar to the Homestuck Prospit dreamers (e.g. the White Queen, PM, etc.) they are not the characters from home and have absolutely no recollection of any experiences they are supposed to have had back there. They only remember the Prospit that is here, and the events that happen in Rakuen.
• The visions from the clouds no longer tell the future. This is probably the most important! They still tell stuff, however....they now show all possible pasts, presents, and futures from every universe in existence. So you can't actually see what's going to happen next in Rakuen. But hey, you may be able to see yourself being born as an alien or exploring the Land of Ooo! Isn't that nifty!
Except for, you know, the fact that having two moons will really mess with the tides, whoops.
« Navigation
A number of small businesses that sell mundane items such as clothing or food are arranged in a square in the north of the town, included in which is the Exaclan shop, Rakettear. Scattered through Rakuen are six identical towers. The city itself is surrounded by a wall, behind which are alternating small cliffs and rocky beaches.
The entire area is coated in layers of tactile empathic holographics, all geared towards the battle system, and as such battles can take place anywhere.
City grounds
(Thank you to Seki for our amazing map!)
1) The train station is the first thing a new arrival sees. It is tooth-achingly ornate; even the train itself is a classic steam train. Other than the train-driver herself, there are no staff here. Or ticket machines. Or anything that would allow you to purchase a return ticket.The train arrives once a week to drop off new students, and leaves without allowing any new passengers to embark.
2) The battle arena. City-wide tournaments take place here. They are announced and organised by the mayor; they’re generally team battles or battle royale arrangements. Individuals may hire out the battle arena for their personal battles, or rent the space for non-combat entertainment. Both are currently free of charge.
3) These are the campus foyers. Each contain the headteacher’s office and a large assembly hall on the ground floor. Information boards and a large screen cover the walls of the hall. The cafeteria is on the first floor, up a large spiral staircase.
The menu changes weekly, but Discards and Weapons out of favour with their Players have a very limited menu of plain foods. There are a variety of sizes of tables here, from small two-person tables to large benches seating up to ten people. In one corner there is a large table at which Discards are compelled to sit.
4) These large buildings are the largest on their campuses. They have four floors:
The ground floor is one large computer room. Since there is a both school-specific network and a city-wide network, this room can end up a little full after classes if students haven't yet bought a PDA for themselves. Discards may only use the network for the school they belong to. The Exaclan system has placed battle boards onto every network, used by people looking for Weapons, Players and battling partners. Or even just tips or advice on the system.
The first floor is a gym. Beyond the large main room, there are a number of smaller rooms leading off from the central one, each with more specialised equipment. There is a large store cupboard with mats, balls, bats, nets... Equipment for any sport you might wish to play. Including a set of fully-functional Quidditch gear. Look after the equipment: there is a fine for damage or loss.
The second floor holds an extensive library with books on every subject under the sun, including the history of ants, proper halberd care, and recipe books from every world imaginable; however, no books on the history of Rakuen or the world it inhabits are available. There are comfy chairs and sofas, as well as desks tucked away in alcoves for individual study.
The third and topmost floor is a large swimming pool. It is warmed year-round and walled by floor-to-ceiling double-glazed windows that afford swimmers a fantastic view of the town.
5) The classrooms. There are two floors of classrooms. Remember: Discards must sit at the front of the classroom!
6) The central campus courtyards, lined with benches and ornamental trees. A perfect place for battles or less violent meetings.
7) The dorms. On Fortitude campus you can live in either the Pale or Black dorm, whilst Conquest holds Red and White. They stand three stories high and are decorated to match the colour of their name. The ground floor contains a common room, including a couple of computers for those too lazy to walk to the main leisure building. It also contains a fridge, kettle, microwave and a washing machine as well as comfy beanbags to sit on. A rough plan can be found here
Each floor above contains four bedrooms, a shower block and a toilet block. Each bedroom houses up to five individuals, both teachers or students. Each person has a single bed and a bedside cabinet with a lamp and two lockable drawers for personal belongings. The rooms also contain a floor length mirror, shelves, a shared wardrobe (which contains a stash of loose-fitting pajama tops and trousers in the color of the dorm) and tasteful rugs to warm your feet. The rooms can be locked, and a plaque on the door gives the names of those who live there.
Campus selection is mostly random (though if you have a strong preference you can provide that during the application process.) Dorm selection within the campus is entirely up to the mun, but not a choice IC. You can request a room for your character on the dorm assignments page for their campus.
8) Prefect Headquarters. As the name suggests, this building is for prefects’ use only. It is a comfortable bungalow. There are cooking facilities, comfy chairs, a couple of computers and a jukebox. Prefects can use these headquarters regardless of their status during a round.
9) The lake. The lake is separated from the sea by a large seawall and is calm most days. There is a jetty and a boathouse. Boats can be hired out at a small price, but residents are reminded that they are in no way seaworthy and for use on the lake only. In the centre of the lake is a small man-made island, which can be reached either by boat or by a strong swimmer.
10) The mercantile quarter. Covering the north of the town, the shops sell everything you might need, including clothing and food from a variety of worlds. Characters may get Saturday jobs in any of the shops, any job will earn you 5 raks for the day. The main shop is owned by Recette Lemongrass, a young girl. You can buy and sell items for Exaclan here, as well as sundry items such as sweets or books, and once something has been ordered there, it will most likely make an appearance in another, smaller shop in the future for further purchases.
11) The woodlands. Wandering through the trees, you may come across numerous small clearings, some of which contain picturesque little pavilions or ornamental water features.
12) The mansion. The mansion belongs to the mayor, and as such the house and grounds are strictly off-limits. The consequences if caught will be dire.
13) The towers, of which there are six. Each is completely sealed. If a character was to climb up the outside, they would find it windowless until they reached the top, which seems to be constructed of mirrors. There is a large, ornate door at the bottom with neither handle nor keyhole. There are, however, four plaques, each the colour of a different dorm buildings. Every plaque has a hand-print burnt into it, though the size and shape of the print varies from plaque to plaque. For more information on the Towers see the Tower Information page.
14) The residential areas of the town also contain a variety of smaller entertainments, such as an arcade, a small theatre, and a cinema, characters may get Saturday jobs in any of these places, jobs pay 5 raks for the day.
School life
Classes
Classes cover everything from science to foreign languages to boat construction. Morning classes - mandatory for all - are from 8am to 1pm. There are also classes from 3pm until 5pm, which are optional for Players and owned Weapons but compulsory for Discards.
Characters who are over 18 are given a job as a teacher in the school they are placed in. When they are Discards, they must teach in the afternoon as well. As Players or owned Weapons they have a ten minute break every hour whilst classes change. As Discards they must report to the headteacher to do errands during this time.
Students who are Discards are at the beck and call of any prefect who wishes their service, so look lively! The prefects deal out swift justice when disobeyed.
Every character, adult or student, earns 1 Rak a day for teaching at or attending school, respectively. If they skip or refuse to attend, they do not get paid. Simple as that. If this misbehavior goes on for more than a week, the prefects get involved.
Speaking of which...
Prefects
When a character has all of their upgrades and abilities and has met the outbreak condition, they automatically become a prefect. Prefects are in charge of discipline, and thus responsible for punishing those who break the rules. In turn, there is a head prefect for each school who keeps the prefects in line.
The prerequisites for becoming a prefect are not known in-character, although characters are free to guess.
Staff
As well as NPC teachers and such, there are six main staff characters played by the Rakuen mods. These are the mayor, the shopkeeper, the heads of the two schools and the head prefects. They claim to be members of the previous group brought into Rakuen approximately a year prior, who stayed behind as a final sacrifice to send the others home. If asked, they may give advice on how to beat the game.
If your character does something breaking the IC rules and you want staff or a prefect to intervene please comment to this post.
Shop
The shopkeeper is called Recette, and she is happy to buy and sell almost anything. You can buy memory charms, upgrades, weapons (static items with a single use), human Weapons, PDA communicators, sweets, chocolate, things from home, and other odds’n’ends.
And as a bonus, you can sell things. Whatever you like. Well, you can't sell your uniform, but you can sell the clothes you arrived in, your Weapons (Weapons bought by Recette are hers until bought and must work in the shop or run errands for Recette after their classes are over), and you can even sell extra memories if you don’t want them.
The shopkeeper can also sometimes send groups on adventures. Players sign up (and therefore sign up their Weapons) and sally forth into an enclosed dungeon to fight NPC creatures for Raks and loot. When such an opportunity arises, there will be a more detailed announcement by Recette.
The currency of the city of Rakuen is the Rak, and the shop page has more information on prices and quests.
Menu
As stated, discards (and owned Weapons without permission to eat from the full menu) have to eat from the discard menu. The discard menu is the same every day:
Breakfast: Thick porridge. Sometimes there might be a hint of salt, but for the most part it is completely tasteless.
Lunch: Watery soup, it claims to be vegetable but unless you count the strange green/brown mush that sometimes appears in it you can't be sure.
Dinner: Barley stew. That is, lots of barley of the same consistency as porridge; sometimes if you are lucky you will find a piece of carrot. If you're even luckier you might get a bit of meat that, for any characters familiar with processed foods, looks like it came out of a can.
Drink: Water
For everyone else the food varies from day to day. Players and owned Weapons may choose to eat from the discard menu, but why would they when they can choose from:
Breakfast: There are a variety of cereals, thick milky porridge (with honey or sugar or salt), bread, toast, croissants, hummus, fruit, jams and even things like peanut butter. Pretty much if it is a breakfast food in any country, real or imaginary, it will probably show up at one point.
Lunch: Sometimes this is a cooked meal, sometimes it is sandwiches. Again, it varies daily and can come from anywhere in the world, including fantasy worlds. It is likely at least one character will recognize the food each day.
Dinner: Always a hot meal. Like the others it varies day today and can come from anywhere.
Desserts: Like the other meals, they vary in origin and are different every day. Hot pies, honey cakes, fruit, scones, baklava. You name it, they have it.
Drinks: Tea, coffee, orange, apple, mango, pineapple juice, hot chocolate, water, fizzy lemonade and soda are all available.
Misc
As of Round 10, Rakuen now possesses the moon Prospit. Yes, the one from Homestuck. Prospit is a golden moon! It is the same size as a regular moon, but a little bit different. Instead of a barren wasteland, it's an entire city, made entirely of gold. In Homestuck, if you are a Prospit Dreamer, once you Awaken you get to live in your sleep on this pretty damn cool moon! The people who live there -- white carapacians called Prospitians -- love their dreamers. They practically worship them! It is a mystical place... well, straight out of a dream. Prospit is also special because people who are awake there can witness visions of the past, present and future, if you know how to look at the clouds of Skaia in just the right way. There is also another moon, called Derse, but since no one has bought that one, there remains only one available dreaming moon right now.
So what does that mean in game?
• Anyone can dream on Prospit. Even people who are not from Homestuck, or people from Homestuck who are technically Derse dreamers! All you have to do is buy the pendant.
• Anyone can buy a Dreamboat Pendant. That means you (yes, you!) can dream on Prospit too! If you put it on before you fall asleep, you will have a physical experience on this new moon that has appeared. This Pendant is 12 Raks from Recette!
• A Dream Self is a projection of reality! Although in Homestuck they are very real bodies, here they are just visual representations of the real things. The body can't leave the moon, and you can't technically die. So even if you attempt to kill a bunch of dreamers, all you'll do is wake them up in the real world. If you die on Prospit you will wake up back in Rakuen. However, when you fall asleep again, you'll be right back on Prospit.
• Your Dream Self gets FANCY GOLDEN PAJAMAS.
• The NPCs on Prospit are exactly like the Rakuen NPCs: although some of them may be familiar to the Homestuck Prospit dreamers (e.g. the White Queen, PM, etc.) they are not the characters from home and have absolutely no recollection of any experiences they are supposed to have had back there. They only remember the Prospit that is here, and the events that happen in Rakuen.
• The visions from the clouds no longer tell the future. This is probably the most important! They still tell stuff, however....they now show all possible pasts, presents, and futures from every universe in existence. So you can't actually see what's going to happen next in Rakuen. But hey, you may be able to see yourself being born as an alien or exploring the Land of Ooo! Isn't that nifty!
Except for, you know, the fact that having two moons will really mess with the tides, whoops.
« Navigation