Locations

The lovely hamlet of Millbrook is truly beautiful. Lush green grass covers the banks of a gently burbling brook, by which sits a old-fashioned water-wheel mill (hence the name). On the other side lies a few scattered buildings, what appears to be a stone barn, and a two-storey tavern.

During the day, fluffy white clouds drift by overhead. At night, a whole galaxy of stars is visible, shining like gems cast across crushed velvet. The kind of place you'd see in a travel documentary, or sigh over in a brochure. Such a shame that it's a gilded cage.

Applications

Applications are currently CLOSED.

To apply, please fill out the form below and submit it in a comment.

OOC

Name: [Your handle.]

Age: [Players must be at least 18. This is a game about murder.]

Timezone: [Please list in GMT terms.]

Reserve Link: [Reserve links are mandatory.]

Password: [The two parts can be found in the Rules & FAQ.]

OOC Contact: [Plurk or Discord are preferred, but an email is also fine. This will be used in the event of your character being rolled.]

IC

Name + Username: [Your character's name (in Western Order) + the journal you intend to use for them. If you have an icon/alternate outfit account, please list them here.]

Age: [Characters must be 18 human years old. Characters under that age may be allowed provided they meet the Maturity Clause.]

Canon: [Self-explanatory.]

Canon Point: [This is not a memory-loss game, therefore one canon-point will suffice.]

History: [A wiki link will suffice for most characters, otherwise please keep it to 600 words.]

Regains: [Please choose 5 items to go in the Wondrous Machine, to possibly be regained as the game continues. One of the items can be renewable (i.e. can be drawn numerous times). Items cannot be corpses, parts of corpses (blood is fine), items with internal combustion engines, soul jars, or hard drugs. Pokemon or magical familiars will be nerfed, but show no signs of illness from being within the Wondrous Machine. Any magical items or artifacts are now merely expensive paperweights. Any weapons that come through are Nerfed. Literally. Sharp blades are replaced with blunt edges, bludgeoning weapons are made of foam, and your fancy gun now shoots Nerf darts.]

Character Shoes: [Describe your character's shoes. Yes, underwear is overdone. We're doing shoes now.]

Strengths & Weaknesses: [Again, self-explanatory.]

Skills & Powers: [98% of powers will be nerfed upon arrival by your Blessed Stigmata, but some may be minor enough to allow. Please tell us about them.]

Motives: [Give us reasons as to why your character will co-operate with the Curate. Blackmail, open threats - what would make your character kill?]

Sample: [Links to the TDM are acceptable.]

Plot Involvement: [Are you gung-ho to be a murderer? A mole? A reverse mole? Let us know!]

Reserves

As Millbrook is a private/invite game, reserves are more of a formality than the true reserve bloodbath of other murdergames.

However, the character cap will remain at 18 (for both apps and reservations): 2 characters per canon and 1 per player.

If you have questions, please don't be afraid to shoot us a PM or plurk ping one of the mods at [yet to be created plurk]

Player:
Character name:
Canon:

No proxy reserves will be allowed at this time.

Player: Character Name: Canon Name:

FAQ

The Game

- What is Millbrook?

Millbrook is a short-run murdergame in a similar vein to others you may have seen before.

The premise is that 20 chosen ones have been picked from the multiverse, for an as-yet unknown task. Don't worry, this is the screening process - and it should be relatively painless. (until the murders start, anyway)

- How long is this going to last?

8 weeks. Week One will start on [date], with Endgame Week being [date].

- What about timezones?

Glad you asked! As far as the mods can tell, every other murdergame has run on a US-based timezone. Not so for Millbrook, which runs on GMT+10 - aka, the timezone for Australia's Eastern States. This is mostly because getting up at 3AM to RP for two months is a little much to ask.

Investigations will go up at 8AM AEST on Saturdays, and Trials at 8AM AEST on Sundays. That translates to approximately 4PM EST and 1PM PST, depending on daylight savings.

- Who can I app?

All canons are accepted, and all characters must be over the age of 18 (in human years), have human-level sentience, and are able to communicate in order to be considered.

At this point, we are not accepting OCs.

We also accept customizable protagonists (eg. the Warden, Hawke, or Inquisitor from Dragon Age, the Sole Survivor from Fallout 4, etc.). However, we do require that a worldstate listing major choices be listed under the History section of the app. In addition, if there are two characters from one of these canons apping, we do ask that you talk to each other to iron out any potential surprises.
We do not require canonmates from such canons to have exactly the same worldstate.

- My character is under 18 but they've seen some shit.

This is the Maturity Clause, and is entirely dependent on the canon. Some canons are harder on child characters than others, but as a hard rule, we will not accept any characters under the age of 14. Characters older than 14 but younger than 18 will be scrutinised, and will be permitted if deemed to be mature enough.

You can't app pre-timeskip Naruto, but you could app Shippuden-era Sakura.

- Who can't I app?

Anyone who will not leave a body when they die. Yes, we're invoking the Meridiana Clause; you cannot app someone with the express intent to make them a culprit because they won't leave a body behind.

- Do I need to reserve before I app?

Yes.

- I want to app but I won’t be around to reserve right away!

We are not accepting proxy reserves, as this is an invite-only/private game. Hopefully, we won't experience a bloodbath.

- Waitlist?

Not at this time. If reserves aren't full a fortnight before the game opens, we will allow other reserves provided they come with a reference.

- When do apps open/close?

Apps will open once reserves close, theoretically on [date]. Applications will then remain open for a week, closing on [date] - giving everyone enough time to get things sorted out.

- What if I reserve, but then decide not to app?

Please let us know as soon as you can, and we will then send out a call for players who may have missed out on the initial round.

- Activity Requirements

In these Backstreet Boys Reunion Tour times, activity is two threads of at least 10 comments total from the Trial and/or Investigation from all characters who were alive at the time. Dead players are encouraged to check in for fun reasons that will be explained later! Activity Check will take place on Mondays.

- Regains

Ah yes, the gacha. Everyone's favourite part of murdergames. Players will be able to submit threads that have reached 10 comments total to the Regains pages, and will receive the same amount of gacha pulls! ICly, the Curate will be distributing silver coins throughout the week, which then may be fed into a ~Wondrous Machina~ that dispenses lovely gifts c:

IC FAQ

- Where are we?

A idyllic village, called Millbrook. It's very pleasant.

- Who are you?

I am the Curate. I am here to ensure the selection process goes smoothly.

- How did we get here?

You were Chosen for your strength of character, and brought here accordingly.

- Is there a network?

No. Whilst the items required for writing have been provided, there has been no need forseen for a network.

- What happened to my powers?

The exquisite Stigmata on your arms limits them. You were brought here for your inner character, not for your powers.

- What kind of boring slice-of-life game is this?

Well, it isn't. See, the powers-that-be are having a little bit of an argument about inherent natures, personality conflicts, that whole thing. What it would take to drive a good person to evil. The bonds that form in the crucible of fear. Trust, betrayal - the whole melodrama of existence.

You were Chosen, sorted from the chaff. Prove yourself to be good, or choose to be evil. The choice is yours.

- How is this game going to work?

When a sinner meets a saint - no, hang on.

Starting the Sunday of the week before that death is slated to happen, your mods will make a roll for the victim and culprit (there will not be a murder during Week 1). This will effectively give the involved parties a week and some change to hammer out the details of the crime. We will proceed to contact both players, who will have until Monday at 12pm EST to check in with one of us in any way shape or form (email, PM, Plurk, AIM, messenger pigeon) to let us know that they received the notification and are on board for the trial.

The mods will then put the Victim and Culprit in contact with one another to work out the details of the crime (note: the Victim and the Culprit are not predetermined. The players will decide amongst themselves once they've been paired up which one is the Victim and which is the Culprit). The mods will release a motive the following Tuesday in the weekly log. The players will have until the Thursday before their trial weekend to plot out their crime, so as to encourage as much detail as possible.

Friday, the dedicated and hardworking mods will diligently write the body discovery log and post it. This will be the Investigation Start.

A full autopsy report will be gifted to each Chosen once the body is identified, which is the One Free Clue that everyone will get. The other clues will be distributed by the mod team as the log progresses, depending on the activity of the log AND what the characters are doing. There will also be a list posted that includes the number of total clues to be found, the number of clues in each location and, once clues have been found, they’ll be listed there with links for player reference.

After the successful body investigation comes the trial. Trial logs will be posted on Saturday, and the players will have 24 hours to fulfill the trial requirements.

- Trial Requirements

On the off chance that you thirsty little fighter jets don’t ferret out the killer within the time limit, we have separate win conditions that aren’t dependent on the characters actually solving the crime. 75% of the surviving cast have to post a comment anywhere on the trial log (this does not have to be a top-level!! Threadjacking is encouraged, to create a more despairing trial atmosphere), and a specific comment count has to be met. This comment count will fluctuate depending on the difficulty of the case, the demonstrated skill of the players, and the stage of the game. So the first case's requirement will be much lower than the last non-mastermind case's.

- Trial Fulfillment

If the win conditions are met: Congratulations! You figured out who the killer was!

Now comes the fun part – the Execution! Each execution is tailor made to the culprit in the interest of maximum justice and written out in loving detail by your caring and patient moderators. The execution will be posted on the trial log, and players are encouraged to thread out the aftermath of the execution.

- What if we don't solve the case?

Well, try not to.

- Regains?

The Curate may at times be authorised to issue tokens to the Wondrous Machine (patent pending), in reward for... things. Look, even the Curate doesn't quite understand, it's the powers-that-be that decide this sort of thing.

- Endgame?

TBA

- Golden End?

TBA

- Deadland?

Check out theidyll!

- Opt Outs?

- Volunteer?

- Achievements?

Rules

Rules

1) R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Follow the Golden Rule, guys. Treat your fellow players (and mods) the way you want to be treated and all that jazz. Harassment will not be tolerated. If you’re experiencing problems like this please don’t be afraid to come to the mods.

2) Character Cap

18 characters, 2 per canon, 1 per player unless otherwise approved.

3) IC =/= OOC

Remember you are not your character. If someone’s character straight up murders yours or even says something snotty behind their back, don’t take it personally. Keep any OOC drama out of IC interactions.
With that in mind, OOC knowledge =/= IC knowledge. Just because you may know a bit of information about another character's canon doesn’t mean your character does. This goes especially for characters with secret identities or Villain Reveals. Be good to each other, my dudes.

4) Keep Active

Because of the short-term nature of the game we ask that players please be active. We’ll be running a weekly player check-in where we ask you provide two ten-comment threads with two different characters per week.

If you know you won’t be available for more than two days or will not be available for an investigation or trial, please PM the mods and let us know. One time we can find a way to incapacitate your character or write them out for the trial, but if it happens with any frequency we'll be forced to death roll your character in the interest of keeping the game moving.

5) Got a Secret, Can You Keep It?
It’s not mandatory but we suggest you keep your character’s role (murderer, victim, mole, secret can-can dancer) a secret from other players. It adds to the fun.

6) SPOILERS
If major spoilers for your character’s series appear in your threads we ask that you put spoiler warnings in the headers as a courtesy to other players.

7) Conduct

We, the moderators of Airlocked, have a zero tolerance policy for inappropriate conduct. The first time that inappropriate behavior is reported to or observed by the moderator team, the thread in question will be frozen and a warning issued to the player or players in breach of conduct. If the behavior persists, the player will be notified of their removal from the game and their character will be mod-controlled into a “punishment” by the Overseers. Players who are booted from the round for conduct reasons will not be allowed to reserve or apply to any future rounds for Airlocked. We don’t expect this to be an OOC problem, so don’t make it one. Don’t harass each other and, while we can’t police your own plurks or blogs or whatever, keep mod plurks a friendly, clean place. The first half of the password is Still.

Now, what do we mean by inappropriate conduct? Given the murder-happy nature of the game, we’re obviously not completely against sensitive topics being discussed between characters. As long as the subject is handled with maturity, and properly warned for if necessary, characters can discuss whatever they want. However, inappropriate jokes about sensitive subject matter will not be tolerated. We don’t care how IC it would be. We don’t care how edgy you or your character are. Before you hit send, think to yourself “is it possible that someone in the playerbase has experienced what I’m about to make a joke about?” and if the answer is yes, don’t make a joke about it. This includes (but is not limited to) subjects like rape, incest, pedophilia, abortion/miscarriage, or abuse (emotional/physical/verbal, child, animal, elder, spousal, ANY KIND OF ABUSE). If you want to make a comment that starts with “but what about _____,” assume that whatever it is you’re asking permission for is off-limits as well.

Our first concern is the comfort of our playerbase, and while we encourage players to work out disputes amongst themselves, we also want our players to come to us if they’re having problems with another player’s IC or OOC conduct.

8) Get Your Head in the Game!

We the mods are just a PM or a plurk ping away if any issues arise. And with that remember to have fun!