Credit, Death and Everything in Between

In this article you'll find out everything you need to know about earning credits, how death works, creating a custom race, etc. Basically everything else OOC you should ever need to know

The Credit System
At Shadowside, power expansion is done though a procedure called the Credit System. The fundamental goal here is to reward participation and the drive that it takes to carry it to completion.

Classes:

 * Limbus Challenges may reward 6-15 credits, possibly more, pending on how hard the challenge is and which area you are in.

CSL:

 * 6 points for continued participation

Micro-Storyline:
• Participants: 0-2 Credits
 * SL Author: 0-3 Credits

Storyline:
• Participants: 3 Credits
 * SL Author: 6 Credits

Complex Storyline:
• Participants: Determined by Staff
 * SL Author: Determined by Staff

''Disclaimer: Pending on the impact of the SL, its size and complexity, the participants, and the visible effort put forth by the sponsor, the SL may earn more credits or fewer credits than the mentioned flex benchmarks. The staff reserves all discretion in the awarding of credits, and retains final say in all credit redemption decisions.''
 * If the SL requires the power to be used during any storyline, you may inform the staff for the powers use as a 'probation period' power, usable only in your SL until it is complete.

FAQ: What is an "SL"?

(In case of SL failure, where the SL owner is running his/her SL alone and cannot find new members to rejuvenate the storyline, the staff can be contacted to review the SL and award a completion bonus based on what was completed up to that point.)

Bonus!

 * Just as a note, don’t be surprised when staff awards bonus points for excellent roleplay by doing something unique or making a pivotal plot point happen in a CSL. Bonus points are random and can be for any amount.

The Flex System
First I’d like to say the following is a guide to three tiers of power acquisition. The final decision for what your power application will cost will be made only by the reviewer in the power request forums. Everyone enjoys the ease of chat and IM but final decisions must be made on the board with all the facts in front of the reviewer.
 * Tiny abilities will cost you 3 credits after first profile acceptance, color changing features, a harmless light, knowing how to not cut yourself and prepaire awsome food for cooking…
 * The key here is mundane and of little effect than spice to the character.
 * Weak abilities will cost you 6 credits, throwing a flaming punch, being an intermediate tai kwon do fighter, running at wolf like speeds, and hearing people’s thoughts.
 * Generally abilities start here, weak, but they separate your character from a normal human.
 * Mid range abilities cost 9 credits, Expertise in a fighting style, Telekinesis that can lift more than a rabbit, Laser powered weapons, exploding magics
 * This is where characters begin to show they’re above the normal Evo or magi. They can do some damage or see beyond the natural senses in unique ways.
 * High range abilities cost 15 credits, Running at freeway speeds, learning other peoples fighting styles, control over large explosions, massive strength, and abilities with a plethora of features.
 * These are the abilities that come to define a character, the speedster, the flame witch, the empathic fighter, the cyborg tank

Upgrades!
It will be in the hands of the reviewer as to what the updated ability will cost in the three tier guide system, or costing more or less depending on the severity of the power change!

Tiny changes to a power a weak upgrade or a mild new feature. The degree of evolution merits how much it will cost you! Now we all know eventually some abilities will cost more than the three teirs but that is what the review process is for, to keep things balanced.

Note – This is only a guide for you to understand where generally your request will fall, the price may be higher or lower depending on what you the player is trying to achieve with your power. The staff will do everything in their power to keep costs down but it’s in your hands to balance your abilities to the price of strength.

Price checking

Every member has in mind a price they want to pay for a power. You spend time developing it, and working it over with a price from the flex system in mind but you don’t feel confident, or you want to be sure your vision matches that of the boards.

Click the link above for more information

Grade system
Unrelated to forum user levels each character has their own grade level. This level not only sets your characters status within the RPG, but limits your access to advandced classes. For example no freshman can take a fighting, or strictly power development course.

Year 1:
Requirement: Accepted profile, no classes needed. Limitations: Cannot take any advanced course or Fighting class

Year 2:
Requirement: 3 completed classes, any subject Limitations: Can take 1 fighting course, and advanced classes relating to the previous subjects.

Year 3:
Requirement: 8 Completed Classes, 1 CSL full participation Limitations: Can now take up to 3 additional fighting courses, all advanced classes are now open.

Year 4:
Requirement: 15 Completed Classes, 2 CSL full participation Limitations: All Classes are now open, Student now able to teach basic classes.

Year 5:
Requirement: 18 Classes, 3 MSL full participation, 5 SL created Limitations: None

Year 6:
Requirement: Created 1 MSL, Been a guest lecture, Mastery of 2 professions though class system. Limitations: None, Student now able to teach advanced classes.

Graduate With Masters:
Requirement: 4 Mastery Professions, 2 CSLs, 3 guest lectures Limitations: No longer able to take basic classes with the children, able to teach master level classes.

Certification Courses
Here at Shadowside, we recognize that there frankly is not enough time to walk your character through every single class they should take during the day. These regular classes like language, math, and history can be role played out through mention rather than literally forcing your student to attend a class. And despite how some of us are physics nerds, a math class will most likely be a dull and boring experience for you and your character. Thus, the staff here presents Certification Classes, non required but participation rewarded classes that your character may attend in order to earn credits.

It should be noted that while your character may be a genius and enrolled in College level classes, their status as a student is determined by the participation in extra curricular classes. As Emanuel Wessix would say, "There is no standard to judge aside from the power scale." Thus every student at Shadowside starts out as a freshman, no matter age or smarts.

When a member creates a certified course, they will post the Player's Guild with a set number of openings. Openings are given away on a first come, first serve basis. Either before or after all seats are filled, the course will 'begin' with the first topic. Much like a regular story line, students will be presented a challenge to overcome. Either through their powers or creativity (or a combination thereof), meeting the challenge completes the class and nets the players credits.

Certification courses can be broken up into three general levels.
 * Basic – The beginnings of skills and trades, learning how to do a new talent for the first time.


 * Advanced – This is where skills begin to see broader applications. With improved practice some students can take advanced skills into the world and use them proficiently


 * Master – The trade is mastered though there is always room for improvement the student is now considered a tradesmen and able to take the skill out into the real world and use it very proficiently.

Each certification class has a set number of meetings, with a final 'test' of sorts. Advancing from level to level may require multiple sessions of the same level of class before advancement can be seen. Students who partake and pass the final exam will thus be pronounced 'Certified' and rewarded with credits and a possible bonus depending on the class.

To be fair to other players, only one character per player may be used in certified courses. This prevents all the seats being taken up by a couple of members.

Accreditation
Certified courses won’t always be available to every student, or not every single subject in the entire world will be covered. This is where the accreditation system comes in, for the hard to find classes for the skills you’d like your character to learn outside of the classroom and for the things they learn though the good old adventure.

For the price of 6 credits the staff can accredit you in a field of your choice, be it medicine, archeology, or whatever skills you believe your character can develop though their real world experiences. Apply for Accreditation though the seeking approval forum; list the field of study, and how your character picked up this knowledge.

A SL may be made in order to become accredited in a field, and upon SL completion the student may become accredited in that field.

Guest Lectures
Guest Lectures happen every once in awhile, where a major figure will come and speak to the school in an attempt to educate students about something. While Guest Lectures do not yield the high number of credits that Certification Classes do, they do still carry a small number of credits that will be rewarded. Guest Lectures are normally not limited to the number of attending students.

How to Make a Class
Classes for accreditation or credits can be taught by both the members and staff here on Shadowside. As a member, there are two ways to teach a class:

1) Have a fourth year student (can teach basic classes) or a sixth year student (can teach both basic and advanced classes)

2) Create and submit a teacher NPC (can teach basic classes, and can be upgraded to teach advanced classes)

FAQs:
Who can make a teacher?
 * In order to make a teacher character a player must have created, and completed two storylines on Shadowside.

''I now have a teacher character. Is the classroom the only place I can use them?''
 * Teachers may participate in regular threads, as well as permitted storylines (see NPC rules). Also as a special privilege Teacher characters are encouraged to participate in the defense of the school for storylines.
 * Teacher characters may NOT take large parts in CSLs or MSLs without explicit staff request.
 * Please remember that teachers cannot upgrade their powers, and any abuse of OOC rules or school policies will result in that teacher being fired.
 * A fired teacher will no longer be useable on or around the campus, special situations may be worked out with the staff.

How do I earn the right to teach advanced classes with my teacher?
 * Since advanced classes are more rewarding then regular ones, we prefer to see some experience before promotion. Right now, teaching three classes basic classes earns you the right to have that teacher 'take it to the next level.'

Do I need to get the teacher and class agenda approved together?
 * Not necessarily, but you are welcomed to. Remember, the class agenda MUST BE APPROVED before you can begin taking enrollment

Template
[b]Teacher Template Version 1.0[/b] [b]Name:[/b] (please list actual name first, aliases and nicknames second) [b]Age:[/b] (not to sound discriminatory, but we normally require teachers to have actual credentials on our campus. So 18 and less is a little far fetched under normal circumstances) [b]Physical Appearance:[/b] (Describe with words, and give a picture if you'd like) [b]Personality:[/b] (would you say they were more of a Young Nun or Dr. Horrible?) [b]History:[/b] (as in the character's, not the subject) [b]Credentials:[/b] (no, reading the 'teaching for dummies' does not qualify as experience. We here at the Azura and Avalon campuses personally prefer a mixture of written credentials with field work when possible. So please, list off your preferred subject and any and all training here) [b]Powers:[/b] (Unlike a student, teachers can have up to four powers that can range from weak to strong, pending how you envision them. The one condition is that at least one power (if not more) should be tied to their credentials. Please remember that abuse of OOC and school rules will wind up in the teacher being 'fired'

Class Agendas
To start with, there is no formula on the correct way to teach a class. This basically means that almost no 'template' is going to fill us in on what exactly you want to do. Thus, we'll cover some basics, but it has to be your job to fill us in on exactly how your role play of a class will work. PLEASE SEND THIS AS A PM TO ANY AVALIABLE ADMIN, so that the class agenda remains hidden from your students! (NOTE: SS personally recommends that accreditation and certification courses should try to work like a single topic or simple storyline)

Template
[b]Class Agenda Version 1.0[/b] [b]Course Name:[/b] (please remember that basic level course are normally considered to be in the 100 level. You can be as specific or generic as you like otherwise Advanced classes range from 200-500 pending on difficulty. For example, Biology 121: Dissection of small animals) [b]Teacher:[/b] (So we know who to blame?) [b]School:[/b] (is this available for all students, or only one campus?) [b]Description of the Class:[/b] (loosely describe A) what the students will be learning, and what challenges they will be facing. Remember that class challenges should be more of a puzzle environment then fighting (unless you are teaching a fighting class, in which case duh) Example (In biology 121, the students will be challenged to dissect the rare poison tongued Canadian tree frog. Things start out simple enough, but students will wind up being challenged to not wind up on the dissection table themselves when it turns out that the tree frogs aren't dead! Turns out, the 'poison tongued Canadian tree frog, doesn't actually have a poison tongue at all! When it's body is opened up, it secrets a vapor that alters the size of organic material to make whatever is attacking it smaller! Students can either try to alert the teacher, create a 'cure,' or at very least make the frogs non-hostile!) ((Note: ^This way, the class can work with whoever enrolls, whether they be a support character, defender, or attacker.)) [b]Class Rewards:[/b] (this is where you can recommend awards for participation. Normally you can choose between either having 'accreditation' gained for all participants, or 'certification' (which nets credits) Advanced Classes can also yield bonus rewards, which you may send in pm form to get them approved while still being 'secret') [b]Total number of participants:[/b] (How many students can your class handle? We recommend no more then ten, and suggest six at a max. Final limit is twelve, unless conducting a guest lecture)

Accreditation Template
[b]Total Credits Earned:[/b] [b]Current Spendable Credits:[/b] [b]Accreditation(s):[/b]

Further Questions
How many characters can I enroll in a class?
 * 1 is the normal limit, unless there is a guest lecture. Guest lectures are shiny...

''What if I have a teacher teaching the class? Can I still enroll one of my characters?''
 * Yes, but this is a trust system. Enrolling your character does not mean building the class around them, or anything of that sort. At the end of the class, your character gets the same benefits all the others do.

How many classes can I enroll in at once?
 * 1 per character. The new Accreditation index we've added onto the template will be updated when you are actively enrolled in a class.

How many classes can I create?
 * There is no limit to how many classes you can create

How many classes can I run at the same time?
 * 1 at a time please.

What exactly is the difference between an advanced class and regular class?
 * This really depends on the teacher, but normally an advanced class will be more challenging but yield 'higher' rewards. For example, being accredited to an advanced level in a subject normally notates a 'mastery' achieved. Advanced classes, unlike regular classes, may also meet multiple times and perhaps have finals if that is what is on the agenda.

Other then being rewarded with credits/powers/accreditation, what does my character gain from all this work?
 * Essentially, 7 years at the Azura or Avalon campus takes you from high school level education straight up to masters degree. Thus, there is no need for a 'SS College.' The other real benefit of completing this is that your character can 1) Become a full time teacher on campus (but still upgrade powers), 2)Open up a business of their own, earning a free forum created just for them, 3)Blend in to one of the numerous groups like Red Claw, becoming a commanding officer and helping the staff to plan stories. (Yes, more groups then Red Claw will be appearing, between members and also the CSL). or 4) What do you want to do? More important then any predetermined path is how you would like your character to grow up. Thus, the weight your character can have on our world takes an enormous shift. Theoretically, you could even run for election to a government job in your home country of Japan!

Custom Races
At Shadowside we divide the custom races into two categories. Historical/Mythological, andOriginal.
 * Historical/Mythological races are things like vampires and werewolves, common use creatures throughout writing and stories.
 * • Original races are just that, a race that has been created either by you or another player here.

To keep things rational, only original races can be locked. This may change overtime, but currently we will allow individual player interpretations on how each character of a Historical/Mythological race works, assuming they abide by regular application and power growth rules
 * Angels


 * Demons


 * Werewolves


 * Kitsunes


 * Animal people (cat, dog, wolf…ect)

With that said, since there are multiple mythologies and takes on the same race, we allow for breeds of these races to be created. Using the template below you can make your own personal race creation, or you can make a breed of a common use race with your own spin on a popular mythology to share with the Shadowside community.

Be aware though, if you make a "one time only" race, you do not have to apply for a custom race. The point of making custom races is to share them, develop them, or go out of your way to better define them. If you're making a character--or an NPC--that's part of a race that you do not wish to share or that you won't be making anymore characters of, applying for the custom race or race breed is completely optional.

Please use this template to apply for a custom race. To get your race approved, post it in theSeeking Approval subforum.

Template
[b]Contact Information:[/b] ((Please provide one or more ways for applicants to contact you.)) [b]Race Status:[/b] ((please note if you want this to be an OPEN race where anyone can apply or a CLOSED race where people have to post a public request to apply for this race.)) [b]Name:[/b] ((Name of your race.)) [b]Standards of Appearance:[/b] ((This is where a race begins to differ from your standard Evo. Traits unique and common among your race should go here, try and give an example of what an average person of your race would look like, don't be afraid to use an example description.)) [b]Race Culture:[/b] ((Culture is specific to this race as someone who grew up with these old breed of Evos. The races home life, their beliefs, their society should all be covered in this section. Remember the more depth you put in this section the more other players will have to work with to work on their own characters of your race.)) [b]Race History:[/b] ((Important events in the history of your race, should be noted here, from their humble beginnings to the race they are today in the new era. This section too is vital for other players to make their own characters. The more depth you put the more players will have to build their own histories with.)) [b]Racial powers:[/b] ((It’s highly recommended that you include a required power to list any and all differences this race or breed has from a standard human. To include as well required powers should be listed here for players to note. Keep in mind the 3 weak powers requirement for new students.))

Death
Here at Shadowside, death is very special. However, you will always be given warning and opportunity to avoid Death.

We like to leave the concept of a character's death up to that character's author (aside from CSL circumstances). That said, we will not condone auto dodging and damage shrugging done simply because one's character cannot die without their permission. For example, if your character doesn't move as a meteor is hurdling after them, they will get hurt or possibly die. Before it gets that far though, you will be contacted, OOC, with a warning that this will occur.
 * WARNING


 * Any writer who intends on going for a killing blow--whether through their character, NPC, or environment--needs to as an honor system first contact the other author and let them know that their character is in a highly fatal situation, and suggest tips for their character to get out of the situation.


 * ;*Note
 * Killing Blow does not mean every attack that could be fatal. Instead, think of it as a warning that the other author's character is facing something that they cannot directly overcome or could very likely die.*Killing another character without that author's permission IS considered god modding. Which is why we recommended that when you contact the other player, you make a recommendation on how that character can avoid dying. This helps us play with one another inside our story lines rather than creating drastic situations that get staff involved.


 * Failure to yield to an SL author's 'death note' will end with a staff member coming in and making a decision. In the event of extreme circumstances, the character that failed to yield may wind up dead as punishment. Overall Idea: Work together and play nice.
 * Before allowing your character to die, **please inform staff**. Dead characters, except for their resurrection SLs, may not create or join new topics as a living individual.
 * Central Story Lines are a bit different from member to member situations. CSLs will offer different missions with different risk levels. In an CSL with a orange or 'fatal' to red or 'suicidal' risk levels, deaths can happen. Please note that our staff will still make efforts to contact writer's in order to avoid needless death, but consequences are a risk of making a difference.

Resurrection
So I'm dead, now what?

Just as people hold different beliefs, their are different ways that someone may choose to or not to come back. Characters that die have a few options on returning should their author seek to do so. Here at Shadowside, we allow for an individual interpretation of the afterlife (see: Limbo) so that your character may even gain insight from glimpsing the beyond.
 * School Resurrection: 6 credit cost
 * In the bowls of Azura and Avalon lies a top secret area capable of bringing those who are dead back, even without the body. All students have access to this but are not consciously aware of it until their death. After the resurrection, a student will wake up in the Health lab as though nothing ever happened..


 * Self run resurrection SL: Free *(but please obtain Staff approval first!)*
 * If you do not have six credits, or do not want to spend six credits, a student may run an SL in order to get their character back to life. Resurrection SLs may not grant a student new powers unless the majority of the staff approves of this after a meeting. Please ask, if you would like us to consider this. In all likely hood though, we will not allow for a power to be gained on top of a return to life. (You can still purchase a power for 6 points to use in the SL.) On the plus side, this avenue costs nothing and leaves how to go about bringing back the dead up to you.


 * Transformation?
 * Should your character not want to be alive, but still wish to be a part of the world, they may do so as a ghost or spirit. In this case, the character must be rewritten under the Student Template and their powers are to be extremely limited. (Living on as a spirit MUST count as one of the three powers) This will allow for continued interaction with other characters should you wish it. Characters that have transformed will continue to collect credits like a regular student, and may retain any unused credits upon the death.

Limbo
Confirmed only after Evos Dawn, the realm of Limbo seems to be a sort of transference for a spirit after leaving this world. Influenced by individual thoughts, Limbo tends to take the form and shape of an after life that the character or those who knew them believed in, possibly forming heaven, hell, or anything in between. Limbo also seems to be a very faulty after life, meaning that those souls who perish have a better chance of coming back then ever before. Limbo's existence does not prove that other afterlife realms do not exist, Hell and Hades were at least confirmed well before Limbo. Indeed, Limbo is currently thought of as a dimensional swiss cheese, a place leading to everywhere and nowhere based on a person to person experience. Rumors abound that an access point to Limbo is either near or just under the school, meaning that students may actually wind up studying this oddity of an afterlife in the near future.

Final Note: What about my NPCs?
If your NPC dies, bringing it back is all up to you. It must be done through a storyline (obviously your NPCs cannot purchase a ticket back to real life since they do not earn credits), and we frankly would discourage reviving the same villain over and over and over and over and over and over and... you get the picture right? However, discourage does not mean stop. Remember that if resurrection or death of an NPC holds Global consequences, we need to approve it first.