FAQ

What are the Mists?
What does my character have upon arrival?
What does the city want my character to do?
Can my character use a special ability to get past the mists?
Can my character die here?
My character is evil, would the Mists bring them to Blackstone?
How does my character investigate things that seem odd?

WHAT ARE THE MISTS?

The Mists are the vehicle that Blackstone uses to pick those that it finds worthy from all realities. When a character arrives the last thing they remember (if they were awake) is a thick and heavy mist rolling in out of nowhere, despite their location. That mist is what transports them to Blackstone. The Mists are also known for taking people away from Blackstone the same way they came, and the city is surrounded by the Mists at all times. If someone managed to build a boat and sail out to sea, they would be sailing into the Mists and get terribly disoriented before arriving back at the same dock or shore they left from.

Very few people can navigate the Mists, and they're all captains of the shipping vessels that come into the docks. Nobody knows how they're able to travel to different lands without getting dragged back or disappearing forever, but it's rumored that they're only half human and have certain senses that other people don't.

WHAT DOES MY CHARACTER HAVE UPON ARRIVAL?

When your character wakes up they have nothing more than the clothes on their back. All tools or weaponry, such as a wand or a shield, will not be brought over with the mists. There are few exceptions if your character needs something in particular to function or stay healthy, such as various medications. If the medications are beyond the technology of the current era, the Mists will periodically bring extra doses or refills to characters in need.

WHAT DOES THE CITY WANT MY CHARACTER TO DO?

They're smart, aren't they? Blackstone expects your character to figure it out themselves, it's certainly not going to spell everything out for them. There will be two mod run plots a month that will give your character something to do or some kind of goal to reach. As long as your character is at least trying to get involved in some way or another, Blackstone will stay (generally) happy.

CAN MY CHARACTER USE A SPECIAL ABILITY TO GET PAST THE MISTS?

No. Due to the nature of this game, no characters have supernatural abilities as to keep everybody on a level playing field. Skills that can be learned can be kept, but skills that are due to a supernatural power (super speed, super strength, etc.) are not available upon arrival. The city has acknowledged the worth of your character but that is a far distinction from trusting your character, and it won't risk bringing in someone dangerous due to bad judgement of character.

That being said, if your character proves their integrity through selfless acts and general usefulness to Blackstone, the city may find it fit to return their special abilities to them.

Supernatural Characters
This rule also applies to characters such as werewolves, vampires, witches and the like. Werewolves will find that their Lycanthropy, no matter what version exists in their canon, no longer exists in Blackstone. Vampires no longer thirst for blood or avoid sunlight, and those more magically inclined find that their abilities don't work here.

That being said, if your character doesn't know how to live without being the creature they were back home and can't prove themselves worthy, there are ways for them to become those creatures again. However, if they decide to get bitten by a Blackstone vampire or werewolf, or if they enter a Blackstone coven, their abilities will be that of a Blackstone supernatural which may vary from the type of supernatural they were back home. If this is your characters intention from the very beginning be sure to reach out to the mods for more information. There are drawbacks to being these types of creatures in this world.

CAN MY CHARACTER DIE HERE?

Absolutely. Blackstone is a dangerous place, and although the mods will never put characters in the direct path of a fatal encounter, consequences exist here. Your untrained character cannot expect to run into a nest of beasts and escape unscathed, they'll most likely be turned if that creature has the ability to do so or they'll die.

If a character dies without their death being a part of a plot previously discussed with the mods, The Mists will bring them back only once. If it happens a second time (again, without some sort of mod discussion) the character is considered useless by the city and will not return; aka, the same player can't pick up the character again. Character death plots that are brought to the mods will be approved on a case by case basis. This limitation exists so we don't end up with several 'revolving door' characters, as the concept of character death itself is far less effective when it's happening all the time and people keep popping back up.

MY CHARACTER IS EVIL, WOULD THE MISTS BRING THEM TO BLACKSTONE?

Evil is a subjective concept, isn't it? Blackstone is pretty neutral in the grand scheme of things, it's ultimate goal is to ensure it's own survival and sometimes a city full of goody goodies can't make that happen. The characters personal intentions aren't very relevant to Blackstone as long as some of their enemies are also Blackstone's enemies.

This doesn't mean that your character can do whatever they want. As mentioned above, consequences exist here, and if a character commits an evil deed they need to be prepared for the social backlash of that. Now if the community isn't aware of said evil deed, then backlash shouldn't be a concern.

The city of Blackstone also has it's limits, however. If it sees one of it's citizens committing heinous acts without a discernible reason or goal, it will punish that citizen itself. More information can be found about this on the Power Restraints page.

HOW DOES MY CHARACTER INVESTIGATE THINGS THAT SEEM ODD?

The investigation process begins with the weekly update of The Blackstonian, the newspaper provided to all Blackstonians. The article on the front page may include clues of whatever foul play is taking place, although not necessarily always. Sometimes these articles will point characters in a certain direction, whether it be informing Inspector Turner of a lead or questioning one of the other NPC's.

Some NPC's may not be truthful with your character, depending on how your character approaches and a randomized role from the mod. Fear not - if the NPC is hiding something, it will be obvious, and your character may have to get help from other characters to find answers. This is to encourage gameplay between different characters that may have had no other reason to interact prior to the investigation.