FAQ

The Game
» What kind of characters are allowed in Route 47?

Characters from book, television, animanga, movie, video game, comic, and certain other miscellaneous sources are perfectly welcome. Original characters are also welcome, both those based in fandoms and completely original. Please no real people.

» ''What about non-humans? Are vampires/werewolves/animal characters allowed?''

Certainly. Vampires and other characters who require some sort of out-of-the-ordinary nourishment/substance to survive still have access to their home worlds, after all (and you'll likely be able to find someone to nom on in-game). Animal characters are allowed, but must have some way of operating their Key. If they can normally shapeshift (or have opposable thumbs or something), that would work great. If not, you may want to think about making them AU and giving them a human form. All player characters must be able to use their Keys.

» How about characters who have died in their series?

Excellent question! You can certainly play a dead character, though for the most part this will mean you're playing them from just slightly before their death. Their home world will sort of pause to allow them to continue functioning—everything will still work like usual in their world, but any sort of "plot" that furthers them toward death will be suspended. If you have any more questions about this, feel free to ask! We know it's a bit tricky.

Characters who are literally dead in their canon, such as ghosts, are fine too!

» ''The character I'm considering is pretty hax. How about that?''

That's fine. There are already some pretty hax characters in the game. We've hopefully set the game up in such a way that it can't be easily broken, even by god-modey kinds of people. If a character is a little too god-like, we may ask that you tone them down a bit when we look over their application. We trust you all, though, and we trust we can work something out. ♥

» Is it true you're disallowing certain fandoms?

Absolutely not, though we reserve the right to laugh at you forever if you app someone from Twilight.

» Can characters be transferred from different roleplays with their memories/relationships intact?

Yes, however we would prefer you not be literally playing them in both games at the same time. That will just cause confusion and possible hard feelings on both ends. If another game has ended or you've dropped a character there, feel free to bring them here! We all know how sad it is to lose good CR.

» Can we reuse journals that we're currently using for other games?

No problem! As long as you can post your character's application on their journal somewhere, reuse away. All the posting for Route 47 takes place on the main community, anyway. :|b

» How come I see prompts in the logs community?

Because of the relatively low number of players, and the low number of prose logs (most of our action takes place on the main comm), it was decided that game- and character-related writing pieces could be posted there as well.

Setting/Gameplay
» ''_____ didn't actually exist yet in the fifties, and ______ is really more from the forties. Did you do your research?''

Yeah, we actually sorta did. Setting details that appear to be from earlier times make perfect sense, though—not everyone is rich enough to keep upgrading to the latest model of everything. Things that are from later times than the fifties might be our bad, or they might be plot related. You'll just have to wait and find out.

» ''Okay, so my character's here now. How long before s/he figures out how the Keys work?''

That's up to you! How long do you think it would take for them to start fiddling around with things? Discovery is half the fun, you know. (:

» What happens if my character can fly/jumps in a car/walks and tries to get the hell out of Cicero?

Good question! What will happen is this: after the characters have gotten a certain distance out of Cicero (we'll call it, oh, fifty miles?) everything will start to get dark. If it was already dark out when they left, obviously this process will go faster. Eventually, either way, it'll start to get so dark they can't even see their own hands in front of their faces. Headlights on cars will dim and eventually wink out. Even magic meant to create light will falter and eventually fail.

An example of this in action: Edgar and Amelia try to drive out of Cicero on the first night.

At a certain point, it will be too dark for even characters with night vision to see anything.

Theoretically, this should be pretty freaking scary for most people. If they turn back, they'll find Cicero welcoming them the same as always. Lights will gradually work better, and they may even find the town quicker to reach than it should be, considering how long they were driving. If they don't turn back, well. Eventually the darkness will become so stifling they'll start to have trouble breathing. The air pressure around them will rise. If they persist in that same direction, eventually characters will pass out and wake an indeterminate amount of time later back in their room in the Zanzibar.

Feel free to make this experience as harrowing as you like. It may not sound like much when we explain it here, but imagine if it were you. Wouldn't you be freaked out, just a little?

» ''You forgot [X location] in your town. Can you add it?''

Depends. If it seems like there's a lot of demand for, say, a gun shop, we'll add a gun shop. Otherwise we may just fudge things. Asking doesn't hurt!

» ''What about food? There are restaurants, but how do our characters actually get food?''

Gotta scrounge it and cook it, baby. Remember, at the current time there are no npcs in Cicero. Thankfully there's a grocery store with tinned foods and an always-fresh deli counter, and a lot of food service institutions have some food items that are either pre-made or partially ready. If your character can cook, that's even better, but it would be hard to flat-out starve either way.

» ''Just to clarify, can NPCs come through the doorways? If they're accompanied by a Keyholder?''

Nope, sorry. The only sentient beings that can pass through the doorways between Cicero and other worlds are Keyholders. All player characters are considered Keyholders, even if their Keys have been stolen/lost at some point. Unintelligent animals/creatures can pass through freely if accompanied by a Keyholder, however.

» ''How do languages work? Will our characters understand each other in Cicero?''

Short answer: Yes. Long answer: Keyholders will always understand each other while in Cicero. Once they've gone back to one of the home worlds, Keyholders will understand any languages they knew previously, plus they will always understand the main language of any other Keyholder. This doesn't mean that if their friend's main language is Russian they automatically know Russian, however—only that they'll understand when their friend speaks. Any other use of Russian, by NPCs, in print, on television, etc, will still be unintelligible if they didn't already know the language.

» What exactly counts as a 'door' for the purpose of the Keys?

It has to be a solid, standing structure that can be opened, and has a place to use the Key in whatever form the character's particular Key is in. If they're using a standard metal key for pin-and-tumbler locks, this just means there has to be some sort of keyhole. People with keycards might find this a bit trickier if they're looking to jury-rig a door. Doors may be freestanding and the locks do not necessarily have to work (that old door in the attic that's busted? Yeah that'll work). They can be of any size as well, as long as the Key will work and as long as the character can fit through.

Out of Character
» Does Route 47 have a wiki?

It certainly does! The wiki is located here. We can provide you with an invite as soon as you're accepted into the game. Wiki pages for characters/players are NOT mandatory, but they can definitely be fun!

» ''This page on the wiki looks out-of-date! What's the deal?''

The wiki is currently undergoing construction after a period of disuse. We hope to get it fully updated shortly, but please bear with us in the meantime. If a page or link relating to your character needs to be added/deleted/changed, go right ahead and let us know or, if you're feeling wiki-handy, you may fix it yourself.

» Is there an AIM chat?

Yes! We love game chats. The chatroom for Route 47 is sparkletext. We're most active in the evening, but come on in any time!

» ''Your layout/profiles are kinda lame. What's up with that?''

One of us is not a graphics person and the other has a lot on her plate. We do what we can. If you'd like to spiff the place up, be our guest.

Credit
» ''The concept for this game reminds me an awful lot of ______. Why is that?''

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and...well, that sounds a lot better than "We jammed a bunch of stuff together to make our game." We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the writers of The Lost Room for much of the premise of Route 47, as well as the lovely and talented moderators of realityshifted for some of our game mechanics. Our aim was certainly not to steal anything. Sometimes someone's just done it the right way already. ♥

» Who made that awesome taken characters table?

That'd be Amber (ensorcel). Thank you Amber!

» Wasn't the original mod someone else?

Yes. The lovely Jamie decided to take a break from the world of RP and passed the torch on to us.

Everything Else
» Are there puppies?

Idk there can be. Do you want a puppy?

» What's with the random Bobby Darin lyrics?

Jamie liked Bobby Darin. Shut up. :|