What sort of characters can I make?You can make any character you like, any age, so long as you can realistically explain how they survived. For example, a child who can't swim would probably, unfortunately, perish, but someone with a boat or access to some floating debris would have a much better chance. Also, the more inland you lived, the more time and chance to prepare for the coming deluge.
Are there any restrictions?Yes and no. We want you to have the freedom to make a character you will be happy playing, but we also want to keep things realistic. That means that not every character who survived can be a brain surgeon or a scientist or a Harvard University graduate. It's more fun to try and survive, after all, if you have to actually think about ways to get around problems. That said, a couple of skilled people would be wonderful to have. Just think moderation! You can check out our
Character List to see what types of characters we have so far.
What is the difference between a Settler and a Pirate?To give you the short version, Settlers are survivors who are happy to live and work in a group, to help others and most end up living together in our caves, working to find food, plant crops, scavenge for items that wash up on shore and look for any other survivors.
Pirates, on the other hand, are not exactly always bad people, but they are the loners, the ones who don't work well with others and prefer to do their own thing. Of course, they might also be the ones who are more likely to steal your supplies or shoot you for your shoes. It;s a dog eat dog world out there, after all.
Can my friends and I make a whole family/friends?Long answer? Not an entire family, mostly because it'd be hard in a situation like this to keep everyone safe and in one place, not to mention fed for so long. A husband and wife with a child? Possibly. A brother and sister? Sure. Two friends? Yes. Any more than that, though, and we're starting to push the realms of reality (even more than they already are!). The whole point of a survival site is trying to get along on your own, to deal with working with new people. So yes, you can make a SMALL connection, but let's keep the distant cousins and best friends from high school off the island
How long has it been since the natural disasters?It has been approximately three months since the first Tsunami hit (mid July, 2020), and about ten weeks since the world finally stood still. We decided on this time frame because it gives new members a chance to arrive as new survivors on the island and is more believable than having been floating around for six months or more, where there would have been much less chance for survival. We actually want some people to survive!
How does time work on the board?The current date is provided in the Information section of the sidebar. We set a week, and you are allowed to write your threads dated anywhere in that week, so long as you keep track of what others are doing! You can set a thread on, say, the 5th of a month and have another set on the 3rd, but remember if your character gets injured or something significant happens on the 3rd, you have to take that into account with your 5th thread. Most usually start a thread dated for the earlier date and go from there.
Where, exactly, IS the island?While we haven't actually specified (and most likely won't because we understand well that the tops of most mountains are barren and would NOT be teeming with foliage and wildlife, but where would the fun be in people landing there only to die anyway?), we give a rough estimate of it being located somewhere in the pacific.
Are there animals on the island?Yes, most definitely. while it may have been the top of a mountain a short time ago, the rising waters forced animals (and insects) to seek higher ground, which means there's an odd assortment of animals, including ones you might have found in a zoo, not in the wild. Expect the unexpected, as well as animals for meat. Hopefully, the settlers will eventually find some fowls and pigs to breed, and maybe even some horses to make travelling faster and easier.
What about plants?Again, under normal circumstances the top of a mountain would be rather arid, but in the interests of having the settlers actually survive we've given them a lush environment. Lush doesn't mean there's food on every tree, though. They can forage for berries and might be lucky enough to find some wild fruits and vegetables, but if they want anything more substantial they're going to have to farm it.
Do you have DoHTML?We do, but it's only used for plot pages, trackers and a few lists to make it all look neat. We do NOT encourage use of DoHTML in posts as the story should be about the writing, not about how pretty it looks!
You know this can't really happen, right?Yes, we're fully aware that the chances of the world getting almost completely covered with water is incredibly slim, but this is fiction. While we're striving for realism, of course, we're not scientists and may fudge things just a little every now and then so bear with us. We're just here to have fun!
I want to write but no-one will post with me!I can't speak for everyone, but I will say that we DO want to write with you! Some of us are just very shy, or have trouble coming up with ideas but usually if you say hi in the chatbox or reply to someones plot page, they'll be thrilled at the attention and will want to write with you. If that doesn't work, check out our
open threads and if you can't find something there and all else fails, feel free to PM one of our staff members who will always be willing to start something up with you and/or give you some ideas! There's no reason why you should sit back and watch everyone else have the fun!
*This FAQ will be updated as questions arise.
The FAQs
