FAQ

[hunteracademy_mods]

> So what is this?

Hunter Academy is a dressing room RP that's based in the Megaman series of games, specifically the era of the Megaman X series. Being that it's a dressing room, there are no apps and no AC, but also no reserves on characters or prevention of duplicates. On top of that, we have a set of rules that everyone has to follow in order to make this DR a really good one where people want to play!

If you aren't sure what the X series is, this is helpful, and if you aren't familiar with the term Reploid, this can fix that.

> What's the date and how do we say it?

Megaman has always been... interesting about dates. The setting date for this game is 22XX, and that's what will be displayed everywhere you look. However, it does not actually say XX! "XX" is the way that the Megaman series uses to hide the date, so while any references to the date must use the XX, ICly, that is actually a number, not two Xs. This means that, to literally everyone, it looks like a perfectly normal date, if one that's ridiculously far in the future (or behind in the past).

As a note to all players out there familiar with the series/playing from the X-era, Hunter Academy's world has taken an official stance on a few positions. In in this world:

► Axl was severely damaged in X8, but survived and was repaired.
► Command Mission is, in fact, canon (though Force Metal is not currently in-game).
► The gems on Reploid helmets are synced up to their vital systems to boost combat output, which is why smashing them disables the Reploid and requires serious repair while they can go without it/their armor whenever they choose. It is not, however, inherently fatal any more than hitting a human over the head is inherently fatal.

> Rules? In a dressing room?

I'm afraid so. While most RPers are great, there are always those few that ruin it for others. So we felt that we needed a set of rules to keep our comm fun and friendly, and to keep people happy to be here. It's unfortunate, but it's the best option we've found to make this as close to acceptable to everyone as possible.

> What if someone breaks the rules?

If you see someone breaking rules, feel free to (gently) inform them that they are. They might just not know that there are rules. If, however, they continue to do so, feel free to PM this journal or contact the owner Onyx at OnyxWolfRaider on AIM or puar-sama on Skype.

We take rule breaking very seriously, because we specifically tried to trim the rules down to just the bare minimums, and if you're breaking them, then you're doing something wrong. People who refuse to adhere to the rules or break one of our serious ones will be banned, right out.

> What kinds of characters can I play?

Before we can get into that, first we must stress that only mod-approved journals can be considered "native" to the world of Hunter Academy. These approved journals are listed on the Units page, and if someone is posting as a native without being one of those journals, they're lying.

Now that that nasty business is out of the way... you can play any characters you want! From OCs, to AUs, to Canon OCs, to books, to games, to movies, to unreleased stuff, to stuff only released in one area... whatever you like! As long as they follow the rules, they're welcome here.

However, while we do allow characters who are super powerful or are gods (like Hao from Shaman King), we request that they keep their powers in check. Anything that's significantly changing requires mod approval, so characters who can bend reality or break buildings easily tend to brush up with a problem there.

In those cases, characters on that level are dropped to the level of other people in the school; namely, being unable to cause such wide-spread destruction. This is done ICly by either Selena for robotic characters (in which case she actively alters/locks their programming) or the rift for organic characters (in which it just mysteriously limits them). After a month of being in-game, the limit is either removed (for robots) or wears off (for organics), but only if they didn't actively try to harm others and cause severe/serious trouble. Pranks and small fights are not only okay, but actively expected, considering everyone is stuck together.

Unfortunately, there are two major character types that are not allowed:
> Completely animalistic characters who cannot interact with others peacefully, such as monsters from RPGs (unless a character is made of them, in which case, it's allowed). Dogs, pets, and such can be played if you choose, but mindless monsters cannot.
> Villains who cannot actually be played without disaster following them, such as Sae or Reiko from the Fatal Frame games.

If it isn't one of those two types and it follows the rules, it's allowed.

> Do we keep our weapons, items, vehicles, etc.?

Yes and no.

Your character's weaponry, as long as it fits in whatever pocket dimension they have, does exist in the world. The same for everything else.

However, because of the problem that offworlders have made, anything that could be even remotely used as a weapon will be confiscated before they wake up and locked away in an unknown place until they're proven to not be a threat to the Academy (by Zero's orders, so nothing is getting left behind). Vehicles of any kind (including Gundams) will be stored in the garage in lock-down, unable to be taken out or started up.

After a week on-campus, or through an RP thread with X or Zero, the character will regain all their equipment. Be aware, however, that if they cause trouble, do damage, or generally harass everyone/act as a threat, they will not regain their weapons, and if they already have them, the weapons will be taken away again. The Hunters can't take chances.

In addition to this, weapons that can cause wide-scale destruction will not ever be given back. If your character has things like rocket launchers, super-charged "blow up a wall" rifles, or anything to that degree, it will be dismantled and never given back, for the same reason god-characters are limited (and yes, even when the limit wears off, god-characters still don't get all their powers back).

Also, in-built weapons are not shut down unless they're that type that wouldn't be returned anyway (in which case, they're permanently locked down).

Yes, this does mean that robots get some "special treatment," but that's less actual favoritism and more the fact that trying to confiscate their weapons would require severely invasive measures, and they know full well that doing that without permission or cause is insulting and violating. Outside weapons are easy to take. Inside weapons they just have to hope for the best.

For characters who are their weapons (like the Hulk, or Wolverine), they can't do much to restrict. They simply warn them that destruction will have consequences and ask them to keep it under control.

> What about money?

Any money brought with offworlders isn't really money, persay -- that is, it can't be used like normal currency. They may, however, try to sell it for studying/collecting, and the Hunters will "exchange" it based on a rate they see fair.

In general, offworlders get a small allowance every month from the Hunters to be used for shopping/recreation (as all food, board, and essentials are given to them for free in the Academy). In addition, there are a few stores in open areas and cities that offworlders can do day to day work for minor pay.

Money tracking is, for the sake of ease, handwaved, but please be reasonable. You're not going to get rich anytime remotely soon, even if you save up a lot!

> I heard that we get stuff from our canons added?

That is correct!

For players who are very active in the community, a mod may eventually talk to them about picking something from one of their (in-game) character's canons to add into Hunter Academy permanently. This is only available through a mod talking with the player first; otherwise, any tech that's in-game will disappear when the respective character does.

You can see a full list here.

> How does death work?

While death is a serious issue, we simply don't think it's fun to force people to avoid it or lose their character just because of a problem in RP. So the way death is handled is very simple:

Upon dying, a character has a scar added somewhere to their body, of any design, size, or placement. Three days after they die, the character wakes up to find themselves in the appropriate medbay, completely healthy, with no memory of anything from the point they died to the point they woke up.

That's it! If we need to, we'll add more to that in the future, but for now, that's all there is to it.

On that note, the Sigma Virus affects everyone in Hunter Academy, organic or robotic. However, there are some very strict restrictions with this in mind. Because of the very contagious nature of it, the Sigma Virus will only appear during mod-started events and cannot be brought in nor otherwise contracted outside of these events. Also, please think very carefully before deciding to have your character contract the virus, as not only will it turn them Maverick, there is no known cure for the Sigma Virus. Contracting it means death, either through someone putting you down or through the Virus itself killing you after three days of infection.

> Sigma Virus?

Okay. Because this is a pretty important problem in our game's setting, we're going to touch on it again here. The rules for the Sigma Virus are as follows, and we will restate some from the previous section:

1) It can only be contracted through MOD events, and cannot be spread outside of them. Once the event is over, everyone who is infected by the virus dies (if they haven't already) and it "dies out" of the Academy.
2) There is no such thing as full immunity. It doesn't matter who or what your character is, they still can be infected by the Sigma Virus and suffer the effects of severe pain, difficulty thinking (very mild to severe), and their bodies producing way too much heat way too quickly. However, while all characters are susceptible to the first part of the virus, if your character has a significant immunity/resistance to viruses/poisons/diseases, they can be immune to the mind-altering part of the Sigma Virus, meaning that while contracting it is still deadly, they won't actually go insane. X is the only known example in the world who can purge the virus from his systems, so even if a character doesn't go Maverick, they still remain infected, can pass it on, and will die.
3) There's also no carriers. If your character is an MMX one who canonly has the virus, then on arrival, the rift sealed it inside of them, becoming mostly dormant and impossible to spread. You can see a good example of that here, with VAVA. No one knows how or why the rift does this, but they sure aren't complaining.

> Are characters humanized?

Characters who are incredibly large, like Transformers, are shrunken down to be able to fit into the Academy. Otherwise...

Nope! Whether human, robot, pony, or ghost, your character is not transformed on arrival unless you want them to be (in which case, they would be a human).

> Can my character have been in the Academy for a while?

No, I'm afraid to say. This could cause some problems, so honestly, we just want characters to be posted as arriving for the first time.

If you absolutely want a character to have been there before your post, though, get in contact with Onyx and talk it through with her. She might just greenlight it anyway (which is why, despite this rule, you might still see some as having been there; unless they're ignoring the FAQ, they got permission for it).

If they are playing a character this way without permission, a mod will message them asking them to stop or at least come discuss it. You are welcome to bring it to a mod's attention if you think they might not see it, though.

> Can my character be an AU native of the world?

Just like the above, you can't automatically assume this. Also like the above, you are welcome to talk to a mod to see about getting permission, and also also like the above, if you see others like that, they're either not supposed to be doing that or got permission for it.

Also also also like the above, if they are doing that without permission, a mod will message them asking them to stop or at least come discuss it. You are welcome to bring it to a mod's attention if you think they might not see it, though.

> Can I fourth-wall someone?

Not unless your character is the type to canonly break the fourth wall (such as Jessie and James from Pokemon). And even in that case, you have to ask who you're playing with first if that's okay. A lot of people (the owner included) don't like having their characters be told they're fake or have someone break the fourth wall around them, so it's a matter of making sure everyone has fun.

> How does time pass here?

For the ease of the modseveryone, Hunter Academy uses a psuedo-real-time system. What that means is that a post is assumed to be on the date that it's posted at (so if you posted on June 16th, it would be June 16th 22XX in Hunter Academy), but the actual time is whenever you want it to be (so if you posted it at, say, 1 PM, you could have it be at 7 AM, 8 PM, or whenever you wanted).

The day system is to keep the order of events, arrivals, and other such things in check and clear, but because events like that rarely need to go as detailed as the actual time of day (besides day/night occasionally), tracking those would only become way too much managing and would dampen the fun for everyone.

> Can I date my posts a different date from the current one?

Yes and no.

If you want to make your post be at a day that's already passed (posting on April 2nd with the post being on March 20th), then that's acceptable, as long as the post isn't any more than a week behind. This is to allow people who want to be able to RP while there's an event going on but who don't want to be a part of the event for whatever reason. This process is known as backdating.

If you want to make your post be at a day that's not yet passed (posting on July 4th with the post being on August 10th), that is not acceptable. So many things can happen, both to the world and in events, even in the span of a couple of IC days, so we don't want someone posting ahead of time and ending up completely contradicting someone. Therefore, it's not allowed, but for information's sake, this process is called forward-dating.

> So what's this "data pad/tablet" thing I keep hearing about?

It's a small hand-held device that uses projected screens, given to the character to make things easier.

You can find a detailed explanation here. Yes, we ripped them from Xenosaga, big woop, wanna fight about it?

As a simple summary, your tablet has all the information about you and the world (within reason) that you might need, and it's how you use the Network.

> What's the Network? And what's this "ear-comm/comm unit"?

The Network, itself, works like it does in any other game; you can post voice, text, or video to it and others can reply, and you can lock it to certain people or groups if you choose. The Network is used by all offworlders and Hunters, and thus can be used to get most anyone's attention.

In addition, all offworlders get an ear-mounted comm (either installed for robots or just worn for organics) so that they can keep in touch with the Network even without their tablet. However, the comm unit only allow voice to be projected and received. You can see more information on them in the tablet page as well.

> Wait, projected screen?

Yes, projected screen! In this world, there's none of that silly monitor business. All computers project an LED, semi-tangible touch-screen that responds to gestures close to where they're projected. Think of a sci-fi show you know; have you seen people "typing" on holograms, then move them aside with a sweep of their hand? It's about like that!

Projected screens come in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes, reliant entirely on who's using it for what and from what type of computer (or tablet or pad or what have you).



This is an example of how these screens appear, though remember: their size, shape, and color can be most anything!

> Are there normal computers for student access?

Absolutely. The Records Room, the classrooms, and the Common Room have "desktop" computers that can't be moved, but can be used if it becomes necessary to do so.

They look about like this.

> How do the NPCs work/who are the NPCs?

The NPCs in this game are random Maverick Hunters scattered around, various guards, various mechanics/repairmen, and the named NPCs.

All of the NPCs can be auto'd or interaction handwaved (within reason to the setting; you can't just do whatever you want even outside the restrictions everyone else has and say that the NPC you autoed told you you could), but the mods do offer the chance to RP with the named NPCs if you like. Mods can also take a random NPC on request if you absolutely want to RP out a thread with one, or it's something that the mod thinks needs to be RP'd out. If you aren't sure if something's okay to auto or not, ask. Never be afraid to ask! The mods don't mind, and we vastly prefer someone to asking than just doing.

The named NPCs are Nina (the human nurse), Selena (the robotic/Reploid nurse), and Drake (the cook). While there are no promises about the mods taking control of them, they can always be requested (by contacting a mod) and they will sometimes drop into threads that they seem needed in.

While Signas is technically an NPC, he is never actually in the Academy except during events and cannot be contacted.

One last thing... big big credits to skybuns for drawing the art for our named NPCs!

> Hacking.

So we touched on this a bit earlier in other sections, but I figured that I should address it here to make absolutely sure everyone is on the same page.

The tablets can be hacked. The doors to X's and Zero's offices can be hacked. The doors to rooms that you can freely enter during the day can be hacked at night. The "extra" vehicles in the garage can be hacked. Anything brought in by players' characters can -- with their permission! -- be hacked.

Nothing else can be hacked.

You cannot hack the PA System. You cannot hack any of the Reploids. You cannot hack the security systems or the doors into the security room (or get into it by any way!). You cannot hack the Maverick Hunter's core database. You cannot hack anything of major importance in the Academy.

This rule is to prevent one or two people from ruining things for everyone else or spiraling things out of control in a way the mods never intended. If you really want to hack one of these or use them or something that violates this rule, then contact Onyx and ask her. If it's not too major, chances are, she'll work out a way for you to do it within reason (and she's been known to work out ways for characters to temporarily use the PA system before).

> How do I become a Maverick Hunter?

This is a process that, while allowed to be handwaved, is not immediately accessible. In order for someone to become a Maverick Hunter, they must first attend enough classes and show enough promise in a skill useful to the Hunters to be noticed (medical expertise for robots, combat skills, recon skills, etc.). On being noticed, one of the officers will offer to let the character attend the classes specifically for training Maverick Hunters, and a while after that, they will be given a field test based off their skills.

If they pass, they become certified Maverick Hunters, assigned to whichever unit fits their skills (a summary of the Maverick Hunter Units can be seen on the Unit page, while all the accepted offworld/player Hunters can be found here). While they aren't officially listed outside of the special offworlder list because of the possibility of up and disappearing one day, they are counted as a part of that Unit in every other way, except that they're required to remain at the Academy. Their data pad is upgraded with a coded and passworded comm channel to speak to their Unit, and they can leave on missions as they please.

Offworlders are paid for any work they do for the Hunters, on top of the allowance they get monthly.

There is no hard timeline for how soon you can become a Maverick Hunter, but it takes a lot of work and dedication, so please be reasonable. We require a minimum of one (active) month in the game itself, but if your character is the type to struggle with training/authority, it's going to be longer. Alternatively, if you'd rather play it out, you can wait for the Hunter Training event that's posted up every so often, as anyone who is accepted into that mini-event and who passes will immediately be instated as a Hunter.

As an important note, if you want your character to be ICly counted as a Maverick Hunter, then once you meet at least one of the requirements, you'll need to post to the unit list to be added to it. It's important that you do; some events will be closed off to everyone but official Hunters, and if you aren't on that list, you aren't getting in, no matter how long you've been in the Academy. Sorry, but it's a reward for our loyal players!

> Are we stuck at the Academy?

Absolutely not!

Offworlders are welcome to explore the world as they see fit, but outside of the Academy and the open areas (listed on the map page), any offworlder who goes alone without an escort risks violence, slurs, and hatred being thrown their way.

The world itself is essentially the same as earth, just with very few untouched areas of nature left (though a lot of spots where nature and tech mix peacefully) and very high-tech. On top of that, humans tend to be an uncommon sight anywhere; Reploids are certainly the most populated race, but there are still humans here and there.

As for escorts, there are a lot of spare Hunters just chilling around the Academy for this very reason, so you can leave to non-open areas if you want. You can even auto/RP your escort if you like (or ask a mod to). Be aware that if your character causes any trouble outside of open areas without an escort, the Hunters will not take responsibility for them and they will have to suffer punishments and repercussions for their actions!

Remember: while it's true the Maverick Hunters are the natives' only defense against you, the Hunters are also your only defense against them.

> Why can't we live outside the Academy?

Even with the softening attitude towards offworlders, the Hunters prefer to be able to keep tabs on all offworlders that they can. As such, offworlders may only live in the Academy; no place will let them buy land or residences, and everyone is aware that they aren't allowed to offer their own home to offworlders if they don't like the Academy. For as comfortable as they try to make it, it is a military instillation, and if you don't like it, well, you kind of have to suck it up.

> How do Heart Tanks/Sub Tanks work?

This one took some thought, but here's how we think of it.

Essentially, they all exist in the same way you see them in the games, so you find them normally. They can only be used by robots and on acquiring need to be installed somehow (if they can install it themselves, fine, if they can't, they have to return to base), but otherwise, they exist much like they do in the game.

Anyone who tries to research or question these things will find out that they're not alone. The Maverick Hunters have been working for years to try to figure out where these things come from and why they're so universally compatible with robots of any kind, but they haven't come up with anything yet.

> What about item drops?

Obviously, the life drops don't count anymore. As for the rest, the energy/health drops are, ICly, spare fuel cells that mechaniloids have dropped that Reploids or robots can drain to recharge their own systems.

> What about Special Weapons?

Here's something that's a bit... harder. For right now, our vote is that unless a character canonly has a way to copy a weapon from a robot specifically, it cannot be done. So characters like Rogue who can drain mutant powers wouldn't be able to manage it, unfortunately.

For those who can, Weapon Energy is ICly considered to be the robot's systems allocating only that specific amount of energy for it to be used in order to avoid the robot draining itself to the point of crippling itself. The weapon energy recharges are simply fuel cells that have been allocated to recharge that allocated reserve of energy. Naturally, players can decide if their character's systems would be this smart or if their characters would override it, but be aware of the consequences of doing so!

> And Light capsules?

Dr. Light is a genius. That he might be able to understand the rift while the Hunters can't and even know what it could do is hardly a stretch... nor is it a stretch that he could modify his creations for offworlders, assuming he met them or had enough contact with them to get the scans his needs. (After all, he couldn't just outright make something for Zero)

Here's the thing, though... Light capsules cannot be found normally. You may only find them if you're out on a mission and a mod informs you that you can find them. In addition, any interaction with Dr. Light must be done ICly, and only robots who are very close to Reploid specs (or X's) can get something in the first meeting; everyone else has to meet him at least twice. Organics, unfortunately, can only be given information. Sorry, but he's a robotisit, not a gene-splicer!