Character Creation
It is expected that in completing the character creation that you have reviewed the Setting Primer and agreed to the Shard Rules prior to application.
Personal Details
You'll be required to fill out the following. Be mindful of your choices, as these identifiers may be made available to other players on inspection and taken into account for concealment, disguise, medical, and forensic systems.
| Name | You will be required to enter their first and last name. The system will check these names against all character names to ensure there is no duplicate characters (dead or alive). Per shard rules, please be mindful of naming conventions that are setting appropriate. |
| Age | Enter your character’s age.
Per Server Rules, even if you choose to roleplay your character as not knowing their exact age, they must canonically know they are over the age of 18. Any other suggestion be it in dialogue, descriptors, or OOC discussion of being under the age of 18 will be treated as a rule violation. |
| Sex | Due to engine limitations, this field only includes Male and Female as options and will determine your paperdolls appearance. However, you are welcome to roleplay your character’s gender identity however you choose. The frozen wasteland cares little for the norms of the old world, and survival is the great equalizer, but keep in mind other characters will not be expected to understand a nuanced grasp of gender due to the historical context of the 1880s setting. |
| Height | This section is in feet and inches. |
| Weight | This section is in pounds. |
| Nationality | The world has frozen over, and the old maps are useless. The great powers of the past have crumbled, but remnants of their people endure. Your nationality will shape how others perceive you and provide unique Adaptation Traits to help you you navigate this icy wasteland: |
| British: Your speech patterns, accent, and cultural background will mark you as British to others in the world. The British Empire’s reach was vast before the freeze, and ex-pats from its colonies and territories have found their way to this region.
Choosing this option allows you to begin playing immediately, as your arrival is accounted for in the character creation process. | |
| Other: If you wish to be of a different nationality, you will need to submit an advanced application for staff review. This process ensures your character’s background fits the world and provides a plausible explanation for how they arrived in this frozen region. Your story will need to account for the challenges of surviving the freeze and making your way to the settlement.
This option requires additional writing and approval before you can begin playing. |
Appearance
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Background
When creating your character, you’ll choose between two backstory paths: Simple or Advanced. Both are valid ways to establish your character’s history and influence future storytelling. Staff will be able to inspect a player and pull up this information at any time during play.
The Simple Background option is a multiple-choice, choose-your-own-adventure-style backstory builder. It’s designed to:
- Help new players get started quickly, assigning relevant skills and traits based on your choices. (You can adjust these as you see fit regardless.)
- Provide structure without requiring heavy writing, allowing you to reflect on your character’s past while leaving room to expand through roleplay.
- Support storytelling and staff review. This backstory can be referenced during special requests or plot involvement.
- Example: A scientist who spent years studying in academia may have an easier time proposing research than a general laborer who picked up chemistry later — though with strong roleplay, either path is possible.
The Advanced Background option is a freeform questionnaire. Choose this if you have a fully developed concept that doesn't fit within the simple backstory builder. Keep these points in mind:
- You aren’t limited to British nationality, and can write more nuanced origins.
- Because this step is optional, it receives closer scrutiny. On most servers, whitelists only check that you’ve skimmed the lore. That’s not the case here — the Simple option already covers that. The Advanced background is for players who want to show a deeper understanding of the setting and present a concept that goes beyond standard templates.
- If your submission adds meaningful depth, staff may canonize elements of it or expand on them in future storytelling. This kind of worldbuilding can also emerge through roleplay in-game — the Advanced background simply gives us more to consider from the outset.
- Example: A well-written backstory describing the final days of a ship your character crash-landed on? You might one day find that wreckage added as a point of interest, waiting to be explored by anyone who comes across it.
There is no special treatment for choosing one background over the other. Frankly, it’s less work for everyone if you go with Simple, so don’t feel pressured to write an Advanced backstory. Special requests are judged based on the broad strokes of your character’s backstory, no matter which option you chose.