Real quick question:  Any particular format you'd like the Applications to be in?  I.e. In Character, Character Sheets, or what?  I'm good with any format.

That's a good question. We have a full application form that we'll be sending out every week or so to those who request it. It's a combination of a character sheet, in-character application, and out-of-character assessment of your character. You should be getting yours soon over email. =)

The brief introduction (the one that you send with your request for the application) is more just to give us an idea of who you are and who your character might be so we know a bit about what to expect.

In SFA some characters have high affinity for magic and some don't - how does that affinity affect them? Like, before they get formal training in it, may it be so that 'weird' or unusual stuff is happening around them cause they don't control it? May it be that magic can be done without runes, but for expenditure of much, much more energy and way less accuracy, which is why runes are used as a focus?

In the application we are supposed to distribute ability points, very much like a D&D character, but there is no limit as to how many points in total are awarded. I used the regular total described in the 3.5 player's handbook so as to keep the character balanced, but what is the official position on this?

What is this regular total?

That would be 82, distributed among 6 ability stats. No less than 8, no more than 18 for each.

ok i have 2 questions.

1. Can a character have a major and double minor?

2. Can a non-mage major get a rune when the mages get theirs or do they have to be a mage major/minor?

alright one more.

If you have a double major can you minor as well? or is that to much stuff going on at once?

Sorry for the delay, we've been out of town over the holidays! JLY and I have talked over your questions, and I think I've got it all straight, though JLY may add to or correct these answers:

To Rizzy: The affinity determines how easy it is to learn to use magic. As far as actual casting of magic, practice plays a larger part than affinity. Even people with a high affinity for magic use runes.

To Vercingentorix: When we make our character bios, JLY and I use the stats as an internal way of keeping track of how we view our characters, so we didn't have any hard and fast rules about how to use it. But, as this is part of the beta test, that might be something we need to reevaluate if we get back many characters with maxed out or improbably/inexplicably high stats. The 82 standard would definitely be a good guideline to follow.

To Christof Ley:

1. Applying students should choose the two fields that they are most interested in, with the possibility of petitioning to take additional classes in their upperclassmen years.

2. Only mage majors or minors can apply to recieve runes on Rune Day.

3. Cases of double majoring are relatively rare; it is suspected that double majoring as well as taking a minor would drive the student in question to the edge of reason within weeks. You might notice that Wisteria is most commonly seen studying. The trade-off for taking more classes is less free time.

As for Runes, is it possible for characters, specifically hardcore mages, to have received Runes outside of/prior to Eastridge like Wisteria?

KL, maybe I didn't formulate my question right.. Im not asking about how magic affinity affects runecasting, but how it may possibly affect the person / world in other manner outside of related to runecasting. In the real world training is usually good to be able to do something (lets say, professional doctor - herbalist) but even without any training in it a talented person can do a few things (make a tea or collect some lime-blossom for a tea when he gets sick). And, the runes couldn't just blink into existence, could they? The runes had to be thought up, so someone had to be first one to cast the rune, and so he couldn't receive training in it beforehand...

So, just to confirm. We have until March to send our applications back? Should we delete pages we won't use? (IOW if we are warrior/cleric we delete mage and thief?)

To Vercingentorix: Yes, you have until the deadline posted to send your applications back to us. You can delete the pages you won't use, but it's not a mandatory requirement. =)

Is there something like a double minor?
 

To Rizzy: Magic can be used without knowledge of runes. If someone has a high affinity, an active curiosity, and a certain amount of willpower and inventiveness, they might be able to cobble together their own sort of rune language that would produce magic... Is that what you're asking? Let me know if there's anything else...

To give you some background--Mages in our world use a rune system that was created by an older civilization. Currently, very little is known about the creators of the system or the reasoning behind why certain runes do what they do, but many mages dedicate their lives to trying to learn more about both.

To Archmagus: It is possible for characters to enter Eastridge with a rune, however their back story would need to solidly explain why they have this advantage, and it would need to be balanced in other areas. For example, if a character has a rune, he or she would need to come in without any fighting/healing/thieving abilities.

To Mordomacar: Sorry, Eastridge policies do not allow incoming students to apply for a double minor.

Then, is it possible to apply for one major and two minors?

In D&D only straight numbers actually change a modifier, so I would use a straight number for a stabile ability, while odd numbers represent a potentially fast growth. Does that make sense to you?

Lastly, in how far can warriors choose which fighting style to learn? After all, there are many different kinds of weapons, not to mention different styles with one weapon or weapon combination, let alone unarmed. Does Eastridge have its "home styles"?

On a non-character creation tangent, is there any sort of general rule book for the school outside of major-specific rules for the school? Such as policies on contraband, punishment, quitting, etc. ? Just wondering as far as plot creation.

To Mordomacar:

1. Sorry again, no double minors even with a major.

2. The way we use the stats is to show current ability (which takes into account both natural aptitude and training). Is that what you were asking?

3. First-year Warriors learn basic unarmed fighting. They are not allowed to bring, buy, or carry weapons and they all learn basic sword-fighting using practice swords. Specializing in specific unarmed fighting styles and other weapons is done in the upperclassman years.

To W.T. Door: JLY will probably have more to add to this, but as for the basics:

Weapons are contraband for first-years. Punishments are largely in the form of labor, such as cleaning. I believe students are allowed to quit at any time, though outside of the Warrior program, quitters are rare. I'll defer to JLY for the rest =)

Thank you for your answers so far.

No need to apologize. It is your world, Im just exploring it.

What I wanted to say abot the abilities: The stat array you are using is basically the same as in D&D. In D&D, ability scores themselves do not matter that much, it's the modifiers they set which effect gameplay. An ability score of 8-9 has a -1 modifer, a 10-11 +0, 12-13 +1 and so on, meaning that about 10 is average and 18 is nearly inhuman. Now as you can see, the modifier will change on each higher straight number while an odd number changes nothing. That way, if your Strenght raises from 12 to 13, nothing happens. However from 13 to 14 your modifier gets higher, you've become stronger in a way that affects your effectivity. Because of that, I tend to see a straight number as more static, an odd number represents the potential of fast growth, since you have to raise that ability for only one point instead of two to attain a new modifier. I wanted to know if I can use this interpetation when assigning my scores.

I knew about the curriculum and weapons, since I actually read your book. My question wasn't particularly centered on first-years, but even in unarmed basic there can be fundamental differences between e.g. soft and hard. And techniques with practice sword won't be that far away from those with real ones, or they'd be useless. Moreover, I'd like to know about the fighting traditions in Easden and your world in general, too, maybe with comparisons to the real world (If you can tell without too much spoilers).

(P.S. If I sound agressive: it is not meant like that)
 

Thanks. How about rules on sneaking out? So far you haven't mentioned whether or not the students are allowed to leave the campus at all, and I know from experience that people cooped up for too long in one place will find ways to leave.

Also, any chance you'll move to a rolling deadline? You could wait until 4-5 people send in good applications and then make them "group 1" or some such designation. Then you could start them on your prompts, and just keep forming groups till March 13. That way you wouldn't get overwhelmed all at once, and could use what you learn from earlier groups to fix things for later groups. I'm just suggesting this because if I have to wait till March to start, I'm probably gonna forget.

There has been some mention of students organizing trips to the lake, according to the first book. But that would not count as 'sneaking', since it seems to be perfectly allowed.

It seems like one thing we all have to remember here is that we are filling out an application for a 15 year old and not an adult.  A person can only learn so much in that time and with a still developing body much training in things like combat and such need constant adjustment to follow ones growth.

Well if nothing is preventing them, what's to stop students from swimming across the lake and into town?

I have a few questions about the world of SFA that I was hoping someone would answer for me please.

its just a few points I'm not a hundred percent clear on

1) On the maps there are no forests or rivers and only a few towns and things; is this because the map is a vague basis of the land or is it the definitive lay out?

2) What sort of plant and animal life exists in the SFA world; strictly real world or are there one or two ‘mythic’ things?

3) You have a school for mages, thieves, warriors and clerics but what about bards, do they learn elsewhere or are there just not enough of them to worry about mentioning?

4) With the application, is the introduction for us or our character, and did you want that done in any specific manner?

5) Is the magic of SFA strictly rune based or do nature and animal magic exist as well?

Sorry if those are stupid questions. 

To W.T. Door: Students are not allowed to leave campus without prior consent from the appropriate power (usually the instructors or the headmistress) while normal classes are in session. However, the school often organizes supervised trips to the town for students (to the markets, to the local sites, and to the local festivals), and during the warmer parts of the year like fall and spring, Eastridge often has vendors come in to set up farmers-market type places for students to explore and purchase goods.

Trips to the lake and rides on Eastridge grounds are perfectly within student privileges as both the lake and the riding paths are still on campus.

Punishments for leaving the grounds without permission will probably result in detention (usually in the form of cleaning) and a temporary suspension of certain privileges (i.e. going to the town next trip).

I personally wouldn't find swimming across the lake my idea of a good afternoon, but for those students willing to attempt it, they will find that Eastridge's rather sturdy surrounding wall isn't just meant to keep invaders out.

Also, after consulting the map, I just realized that the lake isn't actually separating Eastridge from the town.

Ah! but there is always a secret passage to Hogsmeade!

*laugh* Ah yes...the secret passage to Hogsmeade...

To Jeanne~S:

1) The map is vague and a general guideline. There are forests and rivers in Easden, though we haven't noted the exact locations.

2) For the most part, the animals and plants are the same as what you would find in our world. There are some exceptions for plants that we've created (ruensbane, fenule, treble root, and the febuary bush) for Cleric class that are more effective for curing ailments than real-world plants. There aren't any mythical creatures.

3) There is no Bard Major at Eastridge, but there are other schools specifically for bards.

4) The introduction is just to give us an idea of what to expect. Many people choose to introduce their characters, although some people also provide a brief background of themselves.

5) Magic is rune-based, although runes can be used to work magic with both animals and nature.

OK thanks for those clarifications, just a few more things though (sorry for being so annoying ^_^6)

Could you give me a rough idea of where the forests are and is it ok to create small villages as character hometowns? (1)

Also with my application should I make it like the character profiles in the character section of the SFA site or do I need to request an application form thingy? (4)

I take there are no feral runes then, meh such is life in the world of SFA I suppose. (5)

and thank you again for the earlier clarifications. ( I really am soory if I'm being annoying with my questions)

Hi, just got a few questions,

 1. is it ok to create plants you have made up in your stories

  2. how long should your answer to the questions in the application

im curious: For the skills in the application, do you want them as in the points system for D+D or just a general list of skills that the character is proficient in?

KL, that was closer to what I asked about, but its still runes. Can magic in your world be manifested by other way then as a rune? In my understanding, there's a system of runes in your world - they work if you do a proper thing and you won't have to know how - its more like pushing a button of a device you bought but have no deeper understanding of. Then, some talented individuals can make up their own set of runes, like their own devices, which is of course harder and probably the effect will be worse - as expected from a home-made electronic device compared to expertly manufactured one. But can it be manifested only through such pushing of buttons? Can - or can't - an individual make magic manifest only using the willpower, without any runes, even if the effect would be subtle, probably accounted only to randomness? I'd give an example. Lets say its possible to affect items with non-rune version of Bounce rune. You hold a marble and you let it fall freely and it doesnt move after it hits ground, sticking to where it fell (idealized case). A person with strong willpower concentrates on it, trying to switch it in a certain direction while it flies, and it happens to land a half feet in that direction. You think, 'Oh well, maybe I didnt let it fall freely' or 'Oh well, maybe a wind blew a bit' or such, but in fact when you'd repeat it a thousand times, you'd see most of the marbles don't end where they should, but they're switched. This would be a case of a subtle magic without use of runes, which can be accounted to randomness or luck. Can that happen in your world?

(I'm sorry for longer explanation, thats what you get when you let a scientist near magic  )

Hi, sorry to bother every one but I was wondering: who do we ask if we want/need a rune primer, so we can answer that whole 'what was your first rune' question?

When I described the skills for my character I used someting similar to what the characters on the site have. Sort of a background to, as well as a description of, the two or three major skills of the character. First I thought about doing it D&D-style, but that didn't seem right for the world of Easden. It was the same with the ability-scores. D&D-style scores (with modifiers) made my character's range of ability too shallow so that might not be a good system to use in this situation, but it might work for somebody else.

Hope to see ya all at the Academy!

Does Eastridge offer "challenge" courses? Can I test out of Sparring 1 if I have 5 years of combat training under my belt?

I have a question... can one's character major and minor in the same class? IE: Major in Thief and Minor in Thief?

what would be the point of that?

No, you wouldn't be able to major and minor in the same subject. Among other reasons, the classes would overlap. However, it is possible to not take a minor, but that isn't common and you would have to petition.

Ive got 2 question, with the stats, most RPG games Ive played/beta tested have had very similar things for the stat names, like Strength, Intelligence, Dexterity, the main ones Im wondering about, is the Fortitude and Wisdom. Would the Fortitude be for more agility based skills? And would the Wisdom be for more magic casting skills?

-Drac

To Mordomacar (01/04/09): In regards to your question about whether Eastridge/Easden has "home fighting styles", KL and I haven't completely fleshed out the canon answer for this, but for the purposes of this project, Easden uses different European styles of unarmed combat.

To W.T.Door (01/06/09): We do not foresee moving to a rolling deadline. Part of having a deadline that is two months away is to give ourselves enough time to get everything ready for the actual experience.

To add on to what JLY is saying, I've thrown together an FAQ from questions people have asked here and on emails: http://schoolforadventurers.com/AP-FAQ.html

Also, as a general answer to many questions: For the purposes of this project, since it is happening outside of the official canon of the story, it's fine to make up and submit the facts we haven't detailed (such as villages, plants, etc.) If anything is too far from plausible, we'll let you know.

For example, you can propose a rune, but if it's something like "The Everything Rune.... That does Everything" or simply works in a way that goes against our understanding of the rune system, we'll let you know that you should revise it... Sound good?

To Jeanne~S (01/06/09): In regards to your question about forests and specific villages, since Phase 2 happens outside of the official canon of the story, it is fine to create small villages and forests to suit your purposes. Also, if you haven't already received an application, we will be happy to send one to you.

To Draciolus:

1) Fortitude is the ability to withstand a dangerous situation without losing your head. It would be like the ability to take a punch, face a scary test, or dark alley.

2) The quick answer is that we imagine wisdom being "street smarts" (like common sense) as opposed to intelligence, which would be more like "book smarts".

To Flintdjinn (01/07/2009): It is all right to create plants you have made up since Phase 2 falls outside the official canon of the main story. If you are unsure whether the plant is out of place or too powerful for the SFA world, please email us, and we would be happy to work with you.

As far as your answers to the application, write as much as you feel you need in order to completely answer the question. In general, a couple sentences for the short answers, and more than couple paragraphs for the long answers.

To Christof Ley (01/08/2009): We just want a general list of skills that the character is proficient in, usually the character's top two or three.

To Jeanne~S (01/12/2009): The final version of the rune primer is still being worked on. However, usually young students only consider basic runes, like “Light”, “Shield”, “Sight”, “Shield”, and "Hold". Elemental runes such as "Earth" and "Wind" can be assigned, but the student has to make a case in order to get them. Is there a rune you had in mind?

To Delen_Rothwar: Eastridge does have some classes that one can "challenge" out of, but that would be handled during orientation. Certain classes cannot be "challenged" out of because they are mandatory core requirements.

To Rizzy: (1/9/09)
 Hmm... Interesting post. I think the essence of your question is here: Can - or can't - an individual make magic manifest only using the willpower, without any runes, even if the effect would be subtle, probably accounted only to randomness?

No, the runes are needed.

A comparison that JLY and I like to use is that runes are like a programming language, where you write out your code and execute it... Then you see whether or not it runs.

You could not, in that situation, program without knowledge of the programming language or a way to communicate with the computer. Some translation is needed between what you want and what happens. You can't will your code to do something, you must learn the ways to do certain things.

(In relation to my last answer, if a person with a computer experimented long enough, they might be able to teach themselves a programming language through trial and error, but they would still need to learn that way of thinking / language in order to get their programming code to compile / run.)

Does that make sense?

To Everyone: Whew. I think we've hit all the questions that haven't been answered yet, but if we missed you, please let us know! It gets a little confusing here sometimes, between what JLY is answering and what I'm answering.

If you couldn't tell, it's Answer Day here at SFA. XD

So if I wanted to be a Thief major, what would the best choice be for a complimentary minor?

The curriculum is meant to be interdisciplinary and complimentary. So I wouldn't necessarily isolate any one minor as being the "best choice" for any one major. I would say it depends on what your personal preference is. Being a Warrior minor would expose you to a more focused training program and give you opportunities to pick and/or hone a specific fighting style. Being a Mage would expose you to more rune practice and theory and would even allow you to specialize in magic that would enhance or be related to Thieving. And being a Cleric would allow you to heal yourself and others, which is a feat not to be taken lightly when you're in a high-risk field.

So what do you think you might be interested in?

I was wondering if I could receive an application. I really want to try this thing out, but couldn't find the application anywhere on the main siite.

just 1 minor question: Do you need to be a seasoned writer for this?
(I hope not)

What would you call clerics that have not been taught in the university, i.e in a appreticeship, is it still cleric or is it different?

What exactly is meant by " Weaknesses" on the Application? Do personality defects count?

To Ziergiest: The application for this year’s class at Eastridge Academy: School for Adventurers is available by email request. Please provide a brief introduction of yourself and send it to Eastridge@SchoolforAdventurers.com. Before you ask any questions, please be sure to read the FAQ that we just recently posted on the site. Hope this helps! =)

To douhugal: No, you do not need to have any sort of credentials or anything (but it's okay if you do, too). We're looking for applications that demonstrate creativity as well as technical ability. The character you create should be interesting while still being believable. Your character should be fun and unique, with skills appropriate for a first-year.

To Flintdjinn: The term "Cleric" in the SFA world is not a professional term, so someone dabbling in the healing arts will still be as Cleric as someone more experienced. However, you will want to denote the extent to which you are educated in your field. Apprenticeships would be fine to use to describe your experience.

To Delen_Rothwar: Personality defects, physical defects, neuroses, disabilities, phobias, etc. Whatever is relevant to your character that would affect their ability to do certain things in the academy. Does that make sense? If you are still unsure, feel free to email us, and we can discuss.

Sorry, I have another question. For the basic description, do you want that emailed to as a .doc of is it ok to write in the e-mail message itself?

To Ziergiest: We'd prefer it as a .doc or .rtf

Ok. I'm writing it that way right now. Thanks.

I have a question regarding the Academic Background, would it be possible to basically say something about a remote *insert terrain* village where the way of the *insert job title* is mastered/whatever?(If so, then thats why I kind of put the *insert whatever* things since I have that type of thing in mind.)

Just sent in my description. I hope the font isn't too hard to read.

To Draciolus: Since the writing in Phase 2 is off-canon from the official storyline, we are allowing participants to create certain items and places as they see fit, so long as it is feasible within the SFA world. If you're unsure about the feasibility of your terrain and/or job title, please feel free to email us at Eastridge@SchoolForAdventurers.com, and we can discuss it

Hi, I just read through the forum so far and I was wondering something.  You said a while back that owning a sword for a first year warrior student was banned with severe punishment meted out to those caught.   Would it be possible for a first year to create a magical cache to hold weapons and the like?

Sorry for the double post, but the reason I asked was because the sword is a specific plot point for my character

Is there a certain rating you want us to keep it to? Eg PG13 or something? Because my character can be a bit crude sometimes so I wanna know if she can swear or say something vulgar, or do I just have to type in something like "She swore and *action*...."

To Malefium: What do you mean by "magical cache"?

To Inseln: We write our book to be mostly PG (PG-13, at the most). Mainly, we just want to keep it clean for readers that may be on the shy side of the young adult spectrum, so we try to refrain from explicit swearing, though characters definitely *do* swear.

I have a quick question about free time, so far i  havent seen too much about the free time students are allowed, and i was wondering if a student could presue other talents while in the school (ie: Music, Fishing, Weaving, ect..). I think this would help build a students believability to some extent, giving others something to realte to, hobbies and such.

To Awesomeadam-- yes, it's fine for students to have hobbies, as long as they are "realistic"-- First in the sense of time frames and second in the sense of skill-level.

For example, a student who isn't failing will need to spend much of his or her time in class, doing homework, and reading the assigned books. Some free time would also be spent interacting with other students, theoretically, and eating, showering, etc.

As for believable-- if your hobby is something like music, fishing, or weaving, I wouldn't see a problem with that at all, as long as your character doesn't seem to be the best musician/fisher/weaver in the kingdom.

To Inseln-- Just to clarify what JLY was saying, I would definitely use the "She swore and *action" format.

Thanks KL, i dunno how much free time would be reasonable but just like me, my character really doesnt really need to study to inderstand whats going  on. There would be some subjects he would have to study for but not as many as most students so i need something for him to do in the meantime.

What is the price to pay for using magic? Does using it require a amount of energy or are you limited to using only a certain amount of spells?

what i mean to say is it possible to use runes to create a magical storage area?

something like a bag of holding from D&D or the portable hole?

something to the effect thereof

JLY and I have talked this over and we don't think that there could be a bag of holding... Though I do agree that those are quite useful.  However, I don't think the way magic is in our world would work for that... But I will defer to JLY if she wants to add anything to that vague answer?

Just a test

what i reall ymean to say is if there's anyway at all i can get around the "owning sword=bad" thing goin on

OK. So I have to clarify a couple of things. For starters, my character is going to be a warrior major, but he has a fear of weapons like swords (ironic, eh?). Anyway, I know that second years are required to get a weapon over the summer (as it says in the books). Does he have to get a sword? His fear of them was going to be a point I was thinking of using to get him into wielding a staff instead of normal warrior weapons. (I'm going to make him into a monk-like character)

Also, the other thing I want to check with, is that he was going to be given a pair of leather fighter's gloves on move-in day that have an air rune in them. He was going to be told not to use them except in an emergency. Since they technically are only gloves, they aren't a weapon, but the rune would make them more dangerous.

To Malefium: Sorry, there's no way around it. You first-years! So impatient. If your character attempts to smuggle in a sword, it would likely get confiscated. Is there a particular reason that your character needs a sword?

To Dart:

1) Second-year warriors train with swords. You could train with a staff in addition to training with a sword (as one of your electives), but your character would need to face swords at some point... Which could actually make for a good scene, right?

2) Depending on how dangerous the gloves are, the faculty might let them slide. I imagine they would not be considered a weapon, though if you used them to start trouble, they would be in danger of being confiscated.

Hm... I hope that answers everything? Let me know if there's anything I missed!

Also, all applicants should note:

1) Keep in mind that what you come to the school with is only your starting off point. From there, you'll grow, get stronger, etc. Set yourself off in a good place to build from.

- As a side note to that, the emphasis of this project will be more on the writing and less on dice rolling, so don't worry too much about combat or the stats. It's more important to have an interesting character.

2) To put in a relevant plug for our book... ^_^* I would recommend that applicants buy and read the book off of Amazon... JLY and I haven't had time to update the website with the final draft, and there are a few noteworthy changes. Book 2 and the Phase Two project will both be operating on the book version.

In a previous post you said charcters with runes can not have any other trainig, however my character has studied Healing for two years and I want to put the Probe rune tatooed on his arm. He has a very limited Mage training and the rune has more to do with healing than magic, so would it be acceptable for him to have it.

Thanks KL!

Alright. I have one more question.

Can we submit the applications and put in the subject something like Application (Trial) and you can look at them and make pointers on where to improve them to help us get started?

Just another quick question on the whole hobbies thing i asked about earlier, you said not the best in the realm, so as far as best in the school, could we like challenge each other to see who's the best at a particular thing. (could cause some drama, and maybe even a fight of sorts that could be fun to write about) Let me know.

all the rooms are two people rooms right? so will our room mates be other writers from phase two or will they be npc types?

well, i don't NEED a sword, but if you've read my application, then you can see that the sword is an intregal part of my character's story.  If I can't get away with it, then I need to write something new because I can't see this character continuing without his weapon...unless he were to try to steal it back?

Hello,

Just got a few questions about the application and such.  First off, if we have drawn the character, is it all right if we send the drawing with the application as long as we don't rely on it as our physical description? 

And also, you mentioned in the FAQs that if we want to we can write scenes of our character waiting for the results of the application and what they do before Eastridge, stuff like that.  I was wondering if we write those and send them off to you after we've sent the application or with the application?  (I would assume after we send the application, because that's what it sounded like in the FAQs, but I just wanted to make sure since it is a really good way to stay interested in the character while we wait)

Thanks~

To Awesomeadam: Yes.

To Jeanne~S: There are two people in the rooms. We haven't decided yet whether you will be rooming with NPCs or with other writers. It'll largely depend on the composition of the class.

Flintdjinn: Yes, that sounds about right. What we're looking for in limiting the training is that we're trying to get characters who have believable room to grow.

Dart: Unfortunately, we aren't able to read an application and provide pointers. To be fair, if we give one person pointers, we'd have to provide that option for everyone, and we've already had many applicants submit their completed applications. Sorry!

Malefium: JLY and I just sent you an email about this.

To Yuna: Yes, a character would be fine to send, as long as you still have your written physical description. Also, we'd be happy to see the scenes that you write, although we won't be able to take them into account when judging your application.

How do we take the events of Book I into consideration, namely the tensions between Serath and Easden? Does this project take place before,during, or after Book I? Or is this more like an alternate timeline?

So I gathered a list of questions I need answered about the world that apply to my character's life. I've made a lot of assumptions that will require character tweaking depending on the answers to these questions.

How technologically advanced is it?

Less broadly, you mentioned Crossbows, how mechanical are things?(Moving parts, etc.)

What age are they in? (I.E metal of use, bronze, iron etc.)

Does Magic replace technology in any of these fields?

Agriculture technology? (Highly dependent on the tech of the tools, crop rotation, irrigation etc.)

Health. A lot of the problems of not having modern medicine seem like they would be solved with healing magic. How easy is it to get?  Is there still high infant/child mortality because magic is so rare? Or do people enjoy high levels of general health? I ask because my character has no name for many years because children in the days of high child death rates usually didn't get names until people knew they were much less likely to die.

Character relevant questions:

You mentioned Asian weapons, I know most of them. Really really well. Was that a whim or are they reasonably in this world? I ask because my character would like to use a few Chinese/Japanese weapon-tools.

My character is bringing a staff, which could be used as a weapon of course which is forbidden to first years. My character could also pick up a fairly sturdy stick and do the same thing.

With that in mind what are the specific restrictions on weapons to first years?

It'd be funny character development if they smashed the staff just as he walked into school. So I don't really care what the policy is either way. (Fun for me, not for him.)

Financial Aide, does the school provide financial aide in the form of grants or work/study programs?

They seem to require expensive things for classes. Unless the world is technologically advanced enough to have printing presses or an equivalent, books and paper are INCREDIBLY expensive, and all hand written. Because of these expenses, my character would not be able to afford to continue attending school without financial aide, grants, a work study program etc.

You mention codes and deciphering in the thief major. How advanced is their cryptography/cryptanalysis?

Are the codes/ciphers magical in nature? If so skip the rest of my explanation/question.

If you're not an expert on such stuff (I've been learning for years and I'm still mostly a novice).

The first cipher was Ceasar's Cipher which was basically taking every letter in your message and shifting it down X. To decrypt it, you'd know X and shift every letter back. Worked well in era's where almost nobody could read. Another simple one was substitution ciphers, which are the ones you see in the paper where all the letters have been substituted for other letters.

Da Vanci was a smart dude, wrote backwards, upside down, changed languages and word usages several times in a sentence. Even pioneered transposition, which means shifting the letters AND moving them around.

Thank you so much for your time! Love the story. -Top

Would it be possible to get in when you're younger than 15 but pretending to be older? Only I want my character to be 14 years old... Plot point.

out of curiosity, can we make more than one character apply for school? I had an idea for a decent character after i had already sent in my original one.

Does Eastridge have a summer program? My Mage minor is supposed to fail his classes, but if there is no way for him to do this without dropping out of Eastridge entirely, then I will reconsider the scenario. Unless he comes back as King of the Bandits and kills the entire school for expelling him...hm...

is his name Jing?

I was thinking more Twinblade-y.

'King of bandits Jing' is a real anime

it poped into my head when i read your king of bandit line and i couldn't resist asking

I know. I haven't read it though. I was referring to Twinblade of Fable lore.

ah I see...

How do you know? Thought we weren't supposed to talk about it.

It's prolly her's.

OMG TWINBLADE FABLE YESSSSS I HEART FABLE

Question~! I reskimmed this thread and I didn't see it (or I'm blind, which is very possible) and I was wondering how much 7 silver is as in, is it a rather large sum, a medium sum or is it just like 10 dollars or less?  Thank you

I hope JLY answers this.  But I always thought it would be equitable to somthing like 100 dollars since Fell couldn't apply, but all the other boys he knew could.  Not easy money to scrape together, but not an impossible amount

I think they'll get around to it eventually. Maybe with updated FAQ or something.

KL and I haven't discussed money matters on our forum, Yuna, so you haven't missed anything. I'll have KL put it on our updated FAQ...

Some questions about the stats: Faq answer below for reference.

Strength - How much physical strength your character has. How hard can he or she swing a sword, lift a heavy object, or win an arm wrestling match?

Intelligence - How book-smart your character is. How hard does he or she need to study to learn a rune, memorize a fact, or pass a test?

Dexterity - How nimble and agile is your character? How difficult is it for your character to run swiftly while dodging obstacles, thread a needle, or pick a lock?

Fortitude - How resilient is your character? How easily is he or she shaken or unnerved? How often does he or she fall ill or how well does he or she bounce back from an injury?

Wisdom - How "street-smart" your character is. How easily does he or she learn from past experiences, draw conclusions from observations, or understand the world?

Charm - How charming and likeable is your character? Is he or she able to make friends, work well within a team, or convince others to help him or her?

Some thoughts: Strength would be important for Warriors. Clerics and Mages would need Intelligence and Wisdom. Thieves would do well with Dexterity and of course Charm.

Strength Versus Fortitude: How do you differentiate strength from resilience? A very strong person could easily be construed as more resistant to disease due to being in better physical shape for example.

Fortitude: The description seem to switch back from physical and mental characteristics here. "How easy are they unnerved" is mostly a trained mental reaction. Much warriors would get used to blood and violence as a part of their life, and how people with sufficient willpower could avoid being shocked or surprised by something and react quickly. I can see where having a strong and healthy body would make it easier to control gagging or vomitting or something, but these are all mentally trainable as well.  Whereas, how resistant to diseasea  person is would defintely include a measure of their physical fortitude such as their immune system and tolerance to extremes like heat and cold.

Dexterity: Nimbleness and agility can most definitely be akin to hand-eye coordination, good kinetics, and good balance/muscle control, but it also bleeds a bit into strength/fortitude because those statistics would seem to govern all the necessary muscle/strength to move with agility and nimbleness. How much does strength/fortitude affect your dexterity?

Intelligence Vs. Wisdom: This is very confusing, because they overlap a lot. The example from intelligence "How hard do they need to study to learn a rune, pass a test, memorize a fact" all could also apply to wisdom. Because if you had a high wisdom you would learn quicker from past experiences, draw more for conclusions from observations and better understand the materials for the test etc. The main problem is that the way they are described right now, wisdom and intelligence are almost exactly the same thing sans the flavors introduced like booksmart vs. street smart.

Intelligence and Wisdom Vs. Fortitude: As discussed above it would seem that wisdom/intelligence woud govern "How easily someone is unnerved", besides the physical aspects of being able to control your body it seems like intelligence and wisdom are capable of doing what fortidude is supposed to be doing.

Charm-: By far the most problematic. First off, being likable and making friends are very social aspects that deal greatly with societal views and personality. You could use these social aspects and graces to get people to help you, and cooperate well in a team, but there is another aspect which is something else called Charisma.

In essence charm is being pleasing and attractive to others through strength of personality and beauty. You can use charm in this way to get friends, cooperate, and get people to help you, which seems like a thiefy thing to do.

In contrast, traditionally great warrior leaders had charisma, which is personal virtues and qualities that gave them influence over people and enabled them to be great leaders. Competence in a field for example could make you very charismatic in that field. An archmage would be very charismatic to mages he would be leading due to his experience and competence with magic. A general could have charisma up the wazoo because they know how to lead soldiers, their soldiers will follow them to hell and back and die for their cause, but not necessarily because they're so enamored with them due to their charming personality.

Example:

Charm: Rai turned on the charm when he convinced Annalise out of the dress he needed to steal.

Charisma: Fell climbed the ranks of being made fun of to being lauded and admired in a charismatic fashion due to his willingness to protect others, standing up to people above him, and his perseverance in becoming very skilled despite being beat on the hardest by the most skilled students.

Did Rai show Charisma? A bit since one of his virtues is obviously a winning personality and you can have charisma in certain situations by being charming. But people aren't going to follow Rai into battle because he can charm a pretty girl out of a dress.

Did Fell charm anyone? Not really, he used other virtues and parts of his character and personality like honor, strength of will, and standing up for somebody that make people want to admire/recognize/follow him.

Any word on the Book of Runes/Class List yet?

To Delen Rothwar (02/01/2009): The project takes place after the events of Book 1. Our current thinking is that the incoming class would be the same year as, say, Ella and Lin. There are still tensions between Serath and Easden.

To Yuna - The published version of the book somewhat addresses the issue of currency. As a first-year at Eastridge, Fell earns 12 coppers a week working in the stables. 100 coppers make up a silver. So the application fee is quite a bit of work to earn. =)

To topagae (02/03/2009): Technologically, SFA is mostly in the medieval era, though there are exceptions depending on location. They are in the Iron Age. KL finds it pertinent to add that there is no electricity. Things are somewhat mechanical.

Magic can replace technology in many fields. For example, they use Light Spheres instead of candle light and so on.

Magic does not replace agricultural technology. Magic is not so pervasive that everyone learns it, and if you go to a place to learn magic, you probably wouldn't return to a farm, but rather go to someplace specifically for your magic.

Low-level healing is relatively easy to get. There is not a high-infant mortality rate, but of course, it depends on specific cases. Cities or larger towns will have more access to better healers.

Yes, Asian weapons are in the world.

The policy is that first-years aren't allowed any weapons at all. A staff would not be allowed and would most likely be confiscated.

The school will assume the debt for training an adventurer, but it must be repaid within a year of graduation. Books are lended out, and in our world, they're not very expensive.

Codes for first years are not magical in nature.=)

To wilrhan (02/04/2009): Eastridge will probably know, though it's not to say that they won't let you in. Most likely your application would be deferred unless there's some special circumstances that necessitate you getting in a year earlier or unless you have a specific skill set that proves you would be up to the curriculum.

To Awesomeadam (02/04/2009): Currently, we're only allowing applicants to submit one character, though we are discussing allowing players to create their own NPCs.

To Delen Rothwar (02/05/2009): No. If your character fails, it is possible that they can study independently over summer and take a re-entrance exam.

To Topagae -- We're working on an answer to your stats question, but it's getting a bit late so we'll be posting that response the next time we get a chance.

Thank you very much for answering all these questions! You don't need to stay up late on my account, I'm a very patient person, though I do have one more question that might be extremely pertinent. I asked in an email but upon introspection the answer could help a lot of others as well. These answered questions might change some info on our applications, can we add addendum to things that might need to be changed according to the answers to these questions, or is it a trivial thing that probably won't affect the application process?

Also just as an addition to the weapons training, what is the policy on tools? For example: I planned on having some climbing spikes and hooks for my character but those could be weapons. Not too mention it is said offhandedly in the book that thief majors always seemed to have a dagger or two on them, is it possible to conceal weapons or should we all just be nice and follow the rules to make for less headaches for you? Because the weapon my character has is somewhat neccasary as it functions as several tools, but it is also quite concealable. With the policy in mind my character would probably just ask the school to store it for him, and buy other tools if they are allowed, is that possible?

w00t! Application achieved! I just sent in Delen's Application. We really want to get in and can't wait for March. *crosses fingers*

:3 Congrats.

Hehe, that reminds me of a guy I used to know in High School.  He'd fill his water bottle full of vodka and sip it throughout the day.  What they don't know won't hurt em!

My character is a bit more straight edge then that, he'd probably just store the staff and at worst use some tools that they don't want him having (He's still a thief).

what about a folding staff, those are fun

Hah! You guessed at his secret. He does indeed use a sanjiegun, which is why I asked about the weapons policy because they're very easily concealed.

My only question is if our characters don't get to be apart of Phase 2 right now, can we reapply them next year?

I have a question. I've been looking over the forum and through the FAQ and I haven't found an answer to it yet, but then I might just be blind.  Anyway, my question is: how many people are going to be accepted into Phase 2?

They haven't said. They might not know.

Thanks. Guess I'm not blind after all, hehe.

Ziergiest - I could be mistaken but Im fairly certain I read somewhere that if you are not accepted into phase 2 that there will be another opportunity

that one may require a "donation" though.

Well they're working for free right now, I can see why they'd want a donation.

Not arguing against it. I can see the logic behind it. I'm just saying that next round there may be a donation required. Purely informational.

Dah. I wouldn't mind paying a fee, it takes time to manage this kind of thing.

Depends on how much it costs. I'd pay about what the book costs on Amazon, but not much more.

Depends on how long it lasts really, but with so much going into it I'd pay a nice amount.

I have another question. I sent in an email requesting an application about 4 days ago but I still haven't gotten anything. I know its supposed to take "about 3 days", but I'm wondering if 4 or more days is normal. I might just be a little impatient though.

What's your email address? Or, if you don't want to give it out, can you send an email with the phrase "Application check" in it?

my email is alouen15@gmail.com

Got it.

got your email. Thanks!

I think I submitted one of the writing prompts on the FAQs as a .docx. Do they need to be .doc?

They should be okay, older MS Words should still be able to read .docx, but for future reference .doc is a lot more stable and you should probably just always use that format anyway.

in a previous post you said you were unsure wether it would be fellow writers we would have as roomates or characters we have created.

If you did decide to have roomates as writers how would we write scenes together? Would the authors take turn writing a scene and e-mail it to the other author and they would say if they thought it was ok or suggest changes in how they thought thier character would react

I hope i'm not rambling lol    

To Delen Rothwar (2/16/2009): .doc is preferable because .docx does weird things to KL’s computer. But, if you did send it at .docx, we can still access it.

...and more answers coming later tonight...Don't think I've forgotten about you, topagae, Zeirgeist, Flintdjinn, and shaun43; Delen's was just an easy question to answer.

*chuckles* No worries here, my application is already in and Ive recieved the confirmation email. I am enjoying reading and learning from others questions. I put a load of questions down in that email, I would be highly surpised if I got all the answers I asked for before we started the beta play....*shrugs* Once I get on a line of questioning its often hard to stop. Hopefully, you can forgive me for my eagerness to learn about the world that has been created from all of the artists imagination.

Id love the idea of rooming with a fellow writer.  Start up an MSN conversation and just role play the conversation as though it were happening between the two characters.  Then adapt the dialogue to fit the script.  Talk about time consuming, though.

EDIT: JLY and KL haven't suggested this in any way.  To clarify, this is my own admission.

That better than my idea  it would be so cool but the only problem is the time diffrences or peoples acess to a computer at certain times

I have a question. I put it in my e-mail, but it could probably help other people too.
Can you switch Majors and Minors? I know Averi switched Minors from Warrior to Thief, but could my character switch from Cleric Major Mage Minor to Warrior Major Thief Minor? It's a semi-important plot point for her. Not crucial, but it would provide some character development and interaction with the other students.

Wow, thats a big shift...and I also like the MSN idea

PIayfully: I don't want to room with someone else. I might get stuck with topagae, and never go to class because we would constantly argue about ethics and morals and stuff. ^_^

I'm a womanly cleric, you couldn't room with me, I'd be too busy constantly changing in and out of my various articles of clothing that you somehow think exist in a world where at all odds probably shouldn't (They haven't answered industrial revolution questions, but if they're in the iron age, panties don't exist. Home made long johns are in). So yea I'd probably just always be in a nightgown or a dress I suppose. Which isn't nearly as hot.

Right, cause nightgowns can't be hot.

And now I'm wondering, are there any other female Warriors? If not, I might just have an NPC... Or my own room! (Extremely unlikely, I know. But my character would like that a lot.)

Maybe we'll be roomies if I decide to have a female gendered character, and get accepted. And uh, it' snot a SEE through nightgown.

Ha ha, I know. I was being sarcastic. The nightgowns back then would probably have been wool or cotton in the Autumn and Winter, and linen or cotton again (for the poorer people) in the Summer. If they had linen... Which, since they had silk, they probably did.
Pretty much not hot. And since everyone is 15? Yeah.

Heh, I was well into the pique of sexual curiosity by 15.... and I'll wager we've got a few 15 year old boys on this site.  I don't see what's wrong with giving the people what they want!

Pedophilia, creepiness, and uh. Yea creepiness again.

When I was 15, I was more worried about whether boys liked me than whether they or I was "hot", if that makes sense.
And I agree with topagae.

hehehehe....Have you been to the Renn faires? Period dress was quite generous with the views, esp if you are taller then the females...which my poor char will likely not be.

ROTFLOL @ Maxwell! And I think that Renn faires' dress may be exaggerated, but if not, I need a time masheen STAT.

Okay, Renn faires are probably not the best way to find out what people wore back then XD. Time machine not necessary, just goto a renn faire, they're the raunchiest people on Earth.

More questions:

As well as a rune list, can we get an herb list (For those of us who want to be cleric majors), or besides some of the magicalish type plants are they all the same as the plants we have here?

There was some outrageous fashions back in the day too.  I saw wood-block prints of ladies walking around with necklines far too low.  As in below the nipples.  I guess it would have been convenient for breast-feeding yet my prudish american mind can't accept this.

Thinking back...when I was fifteen I was really awkward, and non-outgoing, yet a great conversationalist.  I could always become friends with anyone I spent more than five or ten minutes talking to, yet never capitalized on it.  Then during college I sort of did a 180 and became much more able to open up to people as well as increased confidence and energy.

When I was 15 I just stayed home and played video games and D&D >_>. First and perhaps only D&D group with almost all women.

You dog, you

??? You callin me a bitch? Cause I'm confused.

LOL...dnd +women=confused nerds who want in that group!

I think Top that the herb list is whats here on earth, and just a few extras...I believe are open to suggestions, if I remember that thread right *wishs he could remember what the name of that tread was*

Bah, you're not man enough to be in that D&D group. They strongarmed me into an evil campaign after they hit 5th level and were strong enough to fend off pesky lawful good guards and paladins.

To topagae (02/11/2009): About the stats... Strength is physical and determines how much damage you can do to another character. Fortitude is physical or mental and determines how well you can take a hit and/or recover from injury. Strength, in this context, would not affect your health. For the purposes of these stats, a character can be strong (i.e. able to lift a heavy sword) but have low physical resilience and be subject to sickness all the time.

When we mean ‘how easily are they unnerved’, we do not mean common and instantaneous reactions such as gagging or vomiting at the scene of a battle as you are correct in that a trained veteran would be used to controlling such actions. We mean more lasting physical or mental resiliency, such as how well your character would bounce back physically from a potentially crippling wound or how your character would react and develop emotionally in response to a traumatic childhood experience.

Strength and fortitude would not necessarily affect your dexterity. But depending on what you're trying to do, those factors may theoretically come into play. It is possible to have high strength but low dexterity, meaning that you might deal a lot of damage but it takes you some time to do so. Also, it is possible to have high dexterity and low strength, meaning that you might be quick enough to launch several attacks in the time it takes a large person to make one but they won’t be as devastating a blow as they would be if you were stronger.

In these stats, intelligence and wisdom are complementary, but not the same. Intelligence has more to do with one’s reasoning and learning ability, while wisdom has more to do with one’s intuitiveness, judgment, self-awareness, and enlightenment. I would say that one can be intelligent but not wise, and in order for one to be wise, one needs some intelligence. Of course, semantically, both words are

In these stats, we do use charm to mean charisma, which according to Dungeons and Dragons is “a character’s combined physical attractiveness, persuasiveness, and personal magnetism.” We chose ‘charm’ to be more approachable.

Intelligence and wisdom are intertwined, but for the purposes of the stats, they are separate.

To topagae (02/11/2009): We sent you an email, I believe, but for the record, yes, you can change things in your application as you learn them. However, if you don’t re-submit your application, KL and I can overlook some of the inconsistencies as we realize we haven’t posted the exact laws of the universe up in their entirety yet.

In response to your second question,

Tools and equipment can be brought and stored in storage, though if it turns out said tools are being used for something other than their intended purpose, then they might be confiscated and put in holding. It is possible to conceal weapons, but be forewarned that they will probably be found out.

To Ziergiest (02/13/2009): Yes, you can reapply your character next turn-around if they don't get to be a part of Phase 2.

To Dreamer15 (02/13/2009): Phase 2 is a beta test of about 8 to 10 people, but if all goes well, we’re hoping to open up the school to a larger group within a few months.

To Flintdjinn (02/17/2009): If you do have roommates that are playable characters, then there would be a space for you to collaborate in on the website.

You know Top, I think perhaps that slightly offended me with that comment...So I will ask a few questions and let you answer them via email if you so wish....shaun43@gmail.com. The first question clearly is: by what standards are you using for manhood, and how do you know what amount of paticular virtue I have?

*sigh* Perhaps? Fine I apologize. Here's a watered down version of the joke. *Begin joke about something in response to surprise that D&D can be played by girls* *Insert irony here about not being man enough for something that is entirely made of women (The group)* *Further irony that it is something that is usually manly D&D* *Start of funny happenstance in D&D campaign* I also do not give out any personal info, please do not ask for my email again.

Can I have it?

I'm just kidding. I swear. Don't come after me, what with your terrible cleric-y wrath and all. ^_^

Ah top, I wasnt asking for your email...I was giving you mine, in case there was an issue that I caused and you wanted to set right so I wouldnt make the mistake again. My apologies for not getting the joke, I am told that I have a chronic lack of humor...so as a heads up, I usually presume seriousness in all statements until told otherwise. Or told before hand that I should take this person with a grain of salt. And that email, is usable to anyone who wishes it...the email for non personal and busness stuff I keep to myself until either my church or employers need it. *chuckles* Its kinda funny thats how it looked, the first ever dnd (and I do mean dnd not adnd) I had ever saw consisted of my aunt, my aunts best female friend, and their husbands. *scratches his head still somewhat confused over the whole series of thought towards the end, but presumes that he would have had to be a She to be there to get it* Delen, just for future referance...I would like pine for my box, and white marble for my stone. Would you be kind enough to remember that if I put my foot in my mouth once to often?

i think the elcor from mass effect solve your problem quite elegantly. they explain the emotion they wish to convey before the statement. i've adopted this syntax online whenever i type something that could be taken offense to.

Ex: Sarcastically: topagae, you are the wisest person i know and i would want you by my side in a conflict.

Seething Anger from Womanly Cleric: When you need me to heal you, I'm putting poison ivy in the bandages

Amusement: Be wouldn't cremation be more space-friendly? I mean, if we were all burned after we died, we would have so much more room for farming. And what great fertilizer we'd make!
(By the by guys, I'm morbid. And I don't mean to offend. Like, EVER. I'll tell you if I'm trying to be mean, Which I won't ever, probably. Love you all!)

We're better fertilizer as we rot.

But we waste away in wooden boxes, unable to do the soil any good!
I KNOW! We could have wood chipper funerals. Awesome for the soil! (I apologize in advance if you are grossed out. I did warn you.)

Amusement: I once read an article made in fun by an english bloke, that said that we could end world hunger by institutionalizing canabalism....it was well written, and I er,um....yeah lets say it found fertile soil in my then angry heart. Thanks Delen, that helps a ton...and it will be fun to watch the ppl who havent read the whole forum and havent played M.E. wonder at the syntax show.

My characters dad is going to try to disenroll her late in her year, she went without his permission what is eastridge's policy on parental consent

In the writing part you ask us to write a scene on the filling out of the application or going throuugh a interview, but could i write a scene with my character getting a aception letter, it would help with the plot of the scene

Hey Shaun43, the article you're refering to is "A Modest Proposal" by Johnathan Swift.  Was my favorite assigned reading in high school.  I couldn't stop laughing.......... Wow im an asshole.

Eating babies. Om nom nom

Max: Thanks for the heads up, I should probably remember that...oh and to complete the "OMG he is an ogre in human guise" reaction...I once wrote an academic paper on how war was good, specifically wars with huge causalites and presented it to a jewish historian who had recently given a speech on why war was bad. I was taking the side of how cultures clashed, spun new ideas in reaction to the other cultures, how war also allowed for humans to weed out the weak and stupid for evolutionary rewards for the future generations, and simple population control.

Not to mention that technological advantages during wartime seem to grow at a much more rapid pace.  I mean, where the hell would we be without the M16 Recoilless Pen?

We would not be BEST EVER. That is where we would be.

To Deema (02/18/2009): It is possible to change majors. However, the Warrior major only accepts transfers during the first week of school--otherwise, Warriors would have an incentive to miss the first few months of hazing and might just transfer in after the worst of it is over. Also, anyone who transfers in would have a "target" on his or her back, so to speak. So your character should be prepared to face additional challenges.

I'm back! Did anyone miss me? I know topagae did. I almost died reading Smashing_Magic_Shield's post. Seriously, don't drink juice while on this forum.

Or root beer. The bubbles burn the nose.

Does anybody think donating to the site will enhance our chances of being accepted? I have seven silver coins just lying around.

(Nickels are silver, right?)

Haha, I dunno if they accept bribes, who knows.

Don't think of it as a bribe. More like "insurance." ^_^

are new applications still being accepted? I've been reading for a few months now and only found out recently about this. I've been writing a background for a  character who will be applying for Warrior (Major) / Cleric (minor) combination. Lastly this might be a strange question but for the purposes of spelling should I be using American English or British English?

Edit: I feel a bit of a fool so it turns out applications are open until march.. <.<

Further edit: is there a maximum age group that a character can be before not being eligable for joining eastridge

Characters are between 15-16. I'd use American. That's what the book is written in, but if you're more comfortable with British, I don't see how that would present a problem.

I doubt they'd judge you on the purpose of spelling if you remain consistent.

New applications are still being accepted. And, Delen is correct--the book is written in American English, but British English wouldn't really present a problem.

Mock Arrogance: Of course I'm right.

sent in my application a few days ago... Wish I'd waited till the last day. Less time to go even more insane wondering wether it was good enough.
Rereads last sentance. What was I thinking INSANITY IS A GOOD THING!!
Yes I'm too loopy to care. I'm not worried at all. really, I mean look at the competition...
Oh wait, that was a bad idea.
*Faints* -hmm never done that before

Fingers crossed people, Hope to see you all at Eastridge. -I'm such a drama queen- I'd better stop talking rubbish and ask my question

which I've now forgotten, oh well never mind I'll remember it soon enough. to the next time I check the forums, probably tomorrow
Aren't you all feeling quite relieved right now

Relieved, no. Sweaty, yes. I've pretty much invested my emotional well being into getting accepted.

That's a bit unhealthy, I'll get an extra unicorn for you.

I appreciate the concern, but I don't actually have emotions in the first place. Is hunger an emotion? I can express that one.

Hunger is an urge/need/feeling.

REALLY?!  Damn Top, you're the epitome of wisdom!

Dah. The character I submitted has the highest wisdom of all other stats. Dunno how that'll help, but we'll see.

It probably means your character will get no sleep. What with being so wise that everyone will ask Him/her? for advice... All the time.

prehaps an odd question I assume the most advanced writing equipment is a quill? or do things like pencils exist?

I must not hunger, hunger is the mind-killer haha

Playfully: The only people asking topagae's character for advice are people that like wrong answers.

Yea that'll be the fun part.

Oh great Topagae, Oh wise and powerful one, Oh Guardian of infinite knowledge, I beseech you, bestow your wisdom upon us:

Who will get into SFA phase two???

I feel the the Red Mage... Well, first of all not me, because I clog the forums too much, and I'm assuming not you, because they all know that as my lackey, you do all my "Dirty Work" that I Can't have my hands sullied with. Delen is Rorsarch so he won't get in, but then investigate and realize it's a conspiracy and DID get in RIGHT before getting vaporized by JLY, whose Dr. Manhattan and Raptor Jesus in this scenario I guess.

THE TOPAGAE HAS SPOKEN

That sounds like a strange madlib.

OK....

Funny story, these kinda things actually swirl around in my head. As for madlibs I can do those too

Oh man YOURNAME I totally VERB'ed your NOUN, on the SFA forums. Don't you feel ADJECTIVE USERYOUROWNING. I really hope SFAFEMALECHARACTER ends up with SFAMALECHARACTER, but it'd be secretly awesome if SFAMALECHARACTER actually ended up with DIFFERINGSFAMALECHARACTER. That'd be dreamy. - Topagae

I am not Rorschach! He's too tame

He challenges the authority of every government and the only superhuman on the planet. How is that tame?

Two words: He's not Carnage.

Idiot.  That's not two words.  That's seven

Carnage is just a serial killer. Rorscarch goes out of his way to challenge the only being on the planet with super powers.

Just a funny thing when filling out the application. LMAO.

Physical Description

Hair: Yes.

Eyes: Yes.

@ Maxwell: The joke is that "he's" is a contraction, not a word.

@ topagae:Carnage is not "just" a serial killer. He is an anarchist who kills for no ther reason than he can. That's hardcore.

@ Rizzy: You missed one: Sex: Yes please!

Thats good one, Delen

On topic. The application form asks if your character is capable of working rune magic (for cleric and mage) would a public education system teach the rudiments of rune magic if so to what level of apptitude would a person have just understanding the concepts and not being able to actually work or enough knowledge to work rune magic if given pointers?  Thanks in advance for answering my questions

Ah well I doubt I'll be ready to submit my app form on time, I only found out about this a week and a bit ago and i've been having horrid writers block oh well there is always next year.

Write faster! =3 And come on. Writer's block? You just need an idea generator. PUSH THE BUTTON.

Well my problem is i'm not good writing under pressure so i find it hard to get into the right frame of mind and then whilst i'm writing i'll realise a peice of my writing doesn't sound right like when i'm trying to describe something and i'll try to find something that sounds more natural. I suppose I have until the end of today to try.

We're here for yah. Here's an idea. The thief/warrior who wants to be an escape artist / Masked wrestler.

Well I'm a touch further along than that my main problem is that i'm having difficulty coming up with backstory and tying it into the application properly, My character is suppose to be a Warrior major Cleric Minor. Any way i'm still working on the app form so maybe...

Another idea:  He wants to be a thief major but, get this... he's really a ham sandwich.

Character parents disprove of him wanting to be a wussy cleric, so they were forced to minor with the excuse "I can fix myself up and fight some more" Grrr.

@Maxwell: Sounds like a bad M. Night Shyamalan movie. Wait, they're all terrible. Sounds like an M Night Shyamalan movie.

The long awaited last day is here and I can't wait to see if I'm accepted. I have a feeling that I am going to be enjoying my traveling circus actor who left for adventure. If I actually make it into the program, that is. I hope I do.

Nearly finished. Still no idea what to write into

'Explain why you would be a strong candidate for attending Eastridge Academy'

How many hours are left?

Depends on your time zone I Guess. Or the authors. It's 2am friday here. So 22 hours for me?

haha that's one im having problems with many of the others are pretty simple that one is like ARGHHHHHH, I have fourty words down on paper so far and thats all that comes to mind sensibly can't help but feel the 500 words or less is a trap!

/me slams head into wall

Its nearly 11am here (GMT+1). But the highest chance would be the authors being americans so roughly GMT-6, which leaves me with 20 hours. If my guess is true, that's it

Sifright that makes me feel better Im not alone in it

Sifright do you have msn / icq / jabber? We could consult it a bit

If i can hit 100 words for that question I think I will call it a day for that question :<

I do have msn Root@xipp.co.uk

i have about 12 hours left and i have to answer "why are you a storng candidate" and "why do you want to attend eastridge!"

*chuckles* those were the easiest questions for my character to answer...the hard questions came with the major minor sections....at least for me. Of course my character has two motivations for seeking out the world, now the only question is does he do it as a Mage/Warrior or Mage/Cleric? But he will definately start out as the M/W combo if he gets in, the cleric questions were way difficult.

JLY, maybe we could get an IRC room up for the phase two, where we could interact, roleplay and put together our pieces of the story before we post the finished pieces? That'd be cool.

Cant do IRC, sorry.

How so?

I dont own my own pc and thus rely on public pcs, and church pcs....

or rather I do own my own pc but I dont have a place to set it up as I have been fortunate enough to be caught in unemployment and find that I have more friends then I have thought.

There are web-based irc clients, and we can have a bot which would save logs, so even when youre not around you could get what was happening with the log, right?

yeah and on the church pc while I am tech waiting to work I am allowed to chat on yahoo or on here so if there are things too iron out with my char then I am easily accessible though here or on face book....at least until I get a job.

*sniffle* Some of my questions got thrown under the bus.

eh it happened to all of us i'm sure ;P

Dah =3. Just bored a bit.

Nothing says bored like throwing questions under a bus!

Do pedestrians count as people, cuz if so, I'm extremely bored!

Yes Delen, pedestrians count as people, though you could put them as questions cuz some of em make you wonder if they are all there.

I meant "Do pedestrians count as questions." Stupid multitasking.

*lol and grinning* figured thats why I added that second thought

More question-y goodness! I need some way to get Delen's dog into Eastridge too. I just wrote his farewell scene, and it was Ladra who suffered most. Almost made me cry, and I'm the deus ex machina here! Ideas?

I never got my financial aide questions answered, so I guess my character will have to "Borrow" some stuff along the way.

Without intent to return?

ooo, shifty

well, fearful, did the rules state anything against a pet?

@Fear Perhaps.

@Felix. They might be considered a nuisance and a weapon.

hmph...interesting, maybe he could write a special contract with the school. the seem to like giving new peeps a chance

Didn't really say not too. I guess i just kinda assumed that they weren't allowed because nobody else had one. I'm still operating under that assumption until JLY or KL say so. Ooh ooh! Or I could say Delen can't smell, and needs a smelling nose dog. Kinda like a seeing eye dog, but less useful.

whats his class again?

Warrior Major, Mage Minor

mmm, if he were a war/thf it could be a tracking hound. might still work...

Ladra is a pet. The Rothwar clan don't use him for that kind of thing.

like a hunting companion...? over all best buddy that helps Delen hunt?

Delen does not need to hunt. He lives in a city large enough to have a market where meat, vegetables, etc, can be bought. Think of your own pet. What is its purpose? My dog's (in real life) purpose is to keep my feet warm at night. Nothing else is expected. Kinda like that. Ladra is big enough to have a small measure of efficacy in a fight, but I haven't ever had a reason to write that happening yet.

hmm...well that makes it a tad more difficult. i have to fall back on the petitioning the school idea.

I'd just bring them and stable it like a horse since characters seem to be able to do that. Just take it out for walks and stuff everyday.

yup a good old fashioned companion

I can separate the two, its just kinda sad, you know? I knew I'd have to deal with this the minute I created Ladra, but I loved the idea so much I had to go through with it. I guess it adds some emotion to the story.

@Topagae: Decent idea. Never even considered a stable.

hm hmmm...

Disguise your dog as a weapon rack.  Works every time

Think of where I'd have to put the sword...

on top

I don't think topagae would appreciate that. Dur hur hur.

*Ba dam dush*

what...? totally lost...

topagae=top

Lol... I just got that

wow...

*shakes head*

Hmm, Delen, how about you leave Ladra at home and she escapes and follows you on her own to Eastridge?

Then you are there and she and you do not know how to get her home because school starts? and you do not know what to do for her to not run away again?

...well just a suggestion

mjkj