FAQ

[midpointmods]

Frequently Asked Questions


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General | Setting | Points and Favors | Characters | Anything Else?

General

Okay what’s the deal here, who’s running this show?

The mysterious Game Makers! The conceit of Midpoint is that this is all a game, made for the entertainment of some far-distant audience, who watches the events and interpersonal relationships with avid interest like any other fanbase. Who are these people? Where are they? Nobody knows, but if you wanna find out, there’s clues.

So is the goal here to find the Game Makers and escape?

Maybe. If that’s what your character wants. The rumor is, if you win enough points, you automatically get freed and sent on your merry way. Nobody knows how many points that is, or if it’s even true, but that’s what keeps most characters involved. Well, that and the threat of Bad Jail.

How do rounds work?

The rounds will involve set win-lose challenges: things like "kidnap this person/protect this person from being kidnapped", "rob the bank/keep the bank from being robbed", so only one team can actually win, and there's only one "condition" that needs to be met. The person or goods in question must be delivered to the set coordinates by the end of the round, or (if it's slightly more nebulous, like "derail the train at these coordinates"), the goal in question must have been completed.

How the characters complete those goals may be suggested, but is not set in stone. Technically, the characters could just flounce off and not work towards their goal at all. This will probably result in some kind of punishment, but they could do it.

How are teams determined? Are they always the same?

Your mods determine teams, based on whose skills would be most interesting on which missions, and potential character interactions: for example, if a character would hands-down refuse to fight another person in particular, they may not be assigned to the same team, but they won’t ever be assigned opposite each other. However, if you have a preference for who you want to pair up with on a team, you can absolutely ask for it!

If characters aren't selected for a team, what can they do?

Pretty much anything they want! Depending on how many characters we wind up with, there will be a few just hanging around in Midpoint or Tycoon Depot (or wherever else you'd like, but those are the largest and thus most entertaining), either keeping to themselves or watching the proceedings. They are highly discouraged from participating, in the form of point deductions or time spent in the Bad Jail, but they can if they really want to.

For not-on-a-team characters or NPCs, is death/dismemberment/general harm a possibility?

Absolutely. Anyone can die here, but frequently and actively murdering NPCs can have repercussions.

Could you OOCly opt out of being picked for a mission for the month (e.g., for hiatus reasons) but still interact as a general townsperson?

Of course! This would essentially put your character on autopilot; but if that's not something you'd like, they can also be stored in regular jail or Bad Jail.

Okay but there’s clearly something else going on, right? The Game Makers and all that!

Well, sure. Sometimes people can find other options available, if they know who to ask or where to dig. Sometimes the very popular or very interesting can earn favors and get something interesting from the Game Makers. Some of the items available for sale have some extra oomph and the rare outlying outpost has somebody willing to trade you for the same.

And the extremely sharp-eyed might spot some extremely tiny, high-tech cameras and power sources, but these are always very powerfully protected and getting a hold of one is next to, though not entirely, impossible.

Setting

What’s the general technology level like?

The technology level of the game arena is ostensibly mid-late 18th century, typical of The Old West, with carriages, steam engines, six-shooter revolvers and dynamite. Transportation is either via the train (risky, given its tendency to get blown up, derail, or be waylaid by herds of bison), by horse (every character has their own assigned mount), or by stagecoach, which can be hired in each town if you’re feeling really saddlesore. Refrigeration is not a thing most people have access to, air conditioning is limited to ceiling and hand-held fans, and standard medical practices are kind of lacklustre, unless you have the points for something special for your wounds.

What items are available in the game?

First of all, there is a somewhat limitless supply of Colt six-shooters (with ammo) and knives in the starting jails. People need to be armed, of course, and characters are free to take as many as they can carry.

Booker's General Store has pretty much everything you might expect - ingredients and preserved food, alcohol, medicines and apothecary drugs, and a limited supply of clothing and fabrics. (Sacks of grain and flour come in patterned bags for that exact use!) They also have a display of weapons behind the counter - mostly a few rifles, a variety of pistols and hunting knives - but Booker may take some sweet-talking to sell them. Their exact weapon stock varies between locations, but the more general stock is always the same.

Of course, there's always the option to steal weapons off of locals, or even other characters; it's one of the best guaranteed ways to find weapons like shotguns, repeaters, or pistols that aren't from the jails or Booker; but naturally there are repercussions for getting caught. There are also rumours about people finding more modern (or at least more unusual) weapons in other places, but those would take some dedicated exploration to try and prove.

And what can our characters start with?

Characters arrive in the Midpoint Arena with what they had on their person, and nothing else! This has caveats, of course - characters may only start with one non-period/magical/high-tech weapon (complete with ammo or all activation items, where necessary), and nothing that was contained within a hammerspace, duffel bag, or other form of personal inventory. Anything necessary to your character's ongoing survival will be available such as medicine or Soul Gem type deals, but everything else will have to be bought back with points or Favors.

What about magic?

Magic works, on the whole, but bringing items into being is extremely exhausting and all forms of magical travel are null and void: no teleportation, no summoning, no flying without the use of actual wings. Healing works to an extent, both personal healing factors and curing magics - and if you win favors or points, you can be gifted or purchase “magical” cure-alls, if you don’t happen to have any magic yourself.

But there are limits. These limits are often arbitrary and relate to what “looks best”... if your team is doing too well and it looks like the round may be over prematurely, you may suddenly find your skills hobbled. If there’s a dramatic death scene in the offing, your Heal Major Wounds may strategically malfunction. Team hobbles will be determined by mod, during the course of game rounds, but not without consulting the teams beforehand to make sure it’s fun for everybody. Personal hobbles are at the discretion of the individual mun.

What's so special about the jails that you can't escape them?

An excellent question, one that no character has found a satisfying answer to. All anyone knows is that as long as you're inside that cell, door locked or not, none of your powers not immediately relevant to your survival will work.

What kind of wildlife is there?

Bison and cows are the two most common animals seen, between the 200-strong herd that roams the arena, and the markets at the Ranch. Common wildlife that lives in the area include coyotes, armadillos, roadrunners, rattlesnakes, hares and rats (which are often found, to everyone's frustration, in the barns) and various desert insects, including scorpions and locusts. There also mockingbirds, which are particularly unafraid of the settlements, cats in the barns, and dogs with the herders; these three are also all available as domestic pets. Anything outside of this typical arrangement of animals can be assumed to be imported, and doing so is an available option for all characters.

Points and Favors

What are points, and why do they matter?

Long story short: IC currency! They are earned through participation: either through major mod-run events, smaller player-run ones, or even just Really Good CR that gets caught 'on camera' for the mods to witness (or other players, in case they'd like to gift some as a Favor). They can be used to purchase pretty much anything your character desires - even a ticket home! But the fees on that are pretty exorbitant...

On the plus side, points can only be gained and spent, not lost or stolen!

How do you get points?

When your character's team participates in an event, everyone on that team earns points. Winning teams earn more points, clearly, but everyone comes away with a little currency to spend. How much? You don’t know until you go talk to one of the many NPCs in positions of power - this includes North, Scoresby, the Madame, or Booker - to check your balance.

What about Favors?

This is a little different. This comes not from participation, but from outside the framing of the game: either from the mods at random times, other characters - or you, the player! If a character does something you OOCly think is really cool or interesting, you can give that character a gift: this can be along the lines of a small amount of points; something to help in their current game round; or something to make their lives easier in general. If a character does something another character really likes, they may also go to North, Lee, or the Madame and request a Favor for the entertaining party; but IC Favors have IC costs. It could be extra points paid to the NPC; a favor owed to them; or, once in a blue moon, it may just be free, out of the goodness of their heart. The asking party may or may not get what they want, but it’s always better to ask, right?

What kind of things can be granted as Favors?

Pretty much anything that doesn't break the game! Nuclear warheads are right out, but grenades are viable! No new magic powers, but magical items or scrolls would be fair! Pretty much just run it past a mod and we can discuss how something can be scaled down!

Why is it sometimes spelt 'Favour' rather than 'Favor'?

Because one of the mods is Australian and needs to check her 'u' privilege.

Character Questions

What kinds of characters can I bring to Midpoint?

Honestly, we're not picky. If you've played them in a game before, if you created them from whole cloth, if they have enough canon for you to come up with a personality and some general powers, go for it. Since this game is invite-only, we pretty much trust you at this point. CRAU is welcome.

Can I play a character who's already been in the Midpoint arena for a while?

Sure! Just have a chat with the mods first so that you know what all your character ought to know, and maybe work out some CR with the other well-established characters.

Can my character bring in a pet or animal companion?

Yes! Any character may have one companion - but. If you do, you forfeit your freebie horse. Which means you'll probably have to ride double with someone or borrow a horse from someone else, or else win enough points to buy one from the Ranch. Or run everywhere on foot, if you like.

What about characters with multiple personalities/personae in their head?

That's perfectly fine. There's no real upper limit on the number of personality splinters a character can have, so there's no need to stress about it. If the extra personality is established enough to be its own character, that's also fine! So long as they stay inside your main character's head, that's all fair game.

If you'd like for your character's hitchhikers to be able to leave them, or have a character where this is already the case, then unfortunately this forfeits your horse.

Can player characters die?

Why yes, yes they can. They’re probably going to die a lot in this game, in fact. To the point where there are no consequences for death besides the player remembering the sensation of dying, and possibly holding a grudge against the person who did it. Most team losses, in fact, result in most or all of the losing team dying.

What happens when a player character dies?

They go to jail. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. More specifically, they will wake up in a locked cell, the same way they first arrived, complete with all their gear on the opposite side of the bars (their horse will be tied to a post outside, if it's not collected first). This means someone will have to come let them out, because the jail cells are impossible to get out of on your own. Better cultivate some friends outside your team who will come look for you if you don’t come back from the latest game ground, otherwise you get to sit in there until the next game round, or until some mysterious favor (or Favor) secures your release.

What if I don’t want my character to die?

Better make yourself indispensable somehow to the audience somehow, and be very, very nimble. Or a huge coward and spend your game round hiding, but that’s no way to get points or favors, or to get home.

What about immortal characters?

No Longer Immortal, Sorry. Accelerated healing can still be a thing, but not to the point of immortality. A normal wound that would kill a normal person will still kill you. Superman is not immune to bullets here, Wolverine can’t heal away getting stabbed through the heart, and Deadpool... might get a pass, if the game makers thinks he’s funny enough as he’s dying. Maybe.

Can’t I argue for amazing powers because my character is charming or funny?

Look, if Deadpool comes into the game, we’re open to negotiation, but only if you use your power of immortality wisely and we trust you not to abuse it. This is basically a show for an audience, after all.

What powers CAN my characters have?

Essentially: anything! The only hard limits are no immortality, no teleporting, and extreme difficulty with magically creating items, to the point where they may not be able to perform it at all.

Characters who have powers learned in a previous game may continue to have them, so long as they aren't dependent on being in that game (e.g., Psychic networks, or Liminal Skills. Sorry, previous Synodiporians!)

Also, no hammerspace. Any basic items that would require it - D&D pact weapons, tokusatsu transformation gear, Signature Overly Large Weapons - will arrive with the player when they start in jail, and be hung up on the wall opposite. There is also a soft limit on magical weapons; the same hard limits apply, but mostly we just want you to use your discretion, and ask us if you're not sure whether a weapon counts as too much!

Are we going to be able to canon update our characters?

Unfortunately, no; not unless you want to start them all over with regards to CR. The secret IC mechanism for bringing characters into the game doesn't really allow people to go home again.

Is there a term for what player characters are called? What about the players themselves (i.e., us?)

We haven't got anything fancy or fun to call everyone yet, unfortunately, so at the moment player characters are "Players" ICly, and "PCs" or simply characters OOCly. Muns are... "muns", OOCly, but count as the Audience.

Characters who are on a team in a given round are "Active", or (for the more cynically minded) "Dead Men".

My character doesn't speak English!

Not to worry - on arrival, every character gets an autotranslator installed in their brains, free of charge!

Anything else?

I have a question that's not up here!

That's alright! Leave a comment or message this account, and we'll get back to you as soon as we come to a decision!