【 FAQ 】

[berriah]

FAQ

Character Arrival

Character arrival is flexible. You can assume your character has been in the setting for a while or play out the process within the community. Some months will have a special arrival event, so check the most recent mingle to see if that appeals to you.

The only universal parts of arrival are that characters do not know how they got here and that natives of Starsand will help them settle in. Characters from another world are called "Fallen Stars," in reference to how they seem to have fallen from another world like shooting stars.

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Instant Arrival

It can happen in a blink, waking up from sleep, after blacking out... But regardless of how it happened, characters don't remember how they got here. Locals will describe the same experience, saying that they blinked and your character was just there. They can appear anywhere in the city. Characters who freefall will usually begin to float right before they would impact the ground; This is because the spirits are looking out for newcomers.

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Locals Will Provide Free Help

You can easily handwave a local catching them up on the lore and telling them what has happened. If they are pressed or intimidated by the new arrival, locals will usually point them in the direction of the nearest shrine. Local spirits are just as happy to help however they can with explanations.

Characters will be able to get free housing, food, clothes, and even some cheap entertainment just by expressing that they are a Fallen Star. The locals generally take pity on them and want to help them feel comfortable. There's a mix of guilt and kindness behind these actions, because the local population feel sympathy for the Fallen Stars' situations. These kind gestures will continue for the Fallen Star's entire stay, but they are only survival-level freebies. In order to have luxuries, they will need to work around the community.

The Role of Kami & Spirits

The world of Starsand is made unique by the existence of kami and spirits. According to this world's lore, a spirit is a soul born without a body. They cannot be seen, heard, or touched, except with the help of faith. Faith magic comes from normal humans believing in things. This faith gives spirits forms and abilities in accordance to how humans believe that they should be.

Faith is often directed towards a shrine, which can be anything from a literal building to a name, folkstory, or treasured item. Spirits then attach to these shrines and get faith magic from them. Most spirits can only hope to gain power from a handful of people and are thus weak and powerless, though happy to exist.

Powerful spirits become kami. A kami has more extreme powers, often able to control and be the explanation for entire world concepts. They are well respected by the native population.

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Spirits Have Affected The Standard of Living!

Spirit magic has replaced electricity, for example, and made it nearly free. By praying to your neighborhood's spirit of electricity, you power your neighborhood. Similarly, spirits can make gardens grow quickly, build homes from nothing, cure common illness, and make creating goods much faster. Spirits cannot create from nothing nor cure every condition, but they are certainly helpful.

Because of this, the native citizens will take any hostility towards the spirit population very seriously. They are also especially kind to spirits. You can find small shrines on the streets or inside shops. Most households have a house spirit to protect and help them.

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The Danger of Rumors

There is a darker side to this faith-based magic, and that is the power of a Rumor. Rumors that are spread among the population can also gain power, much like a shrine. However, unlike a shrine, the spirit that becomes attached to a Rumor has no control over their abilities. They become chained to the whims of their Rumor.

As of this time, Rumors are not public knowledge. However, there is often a Rumor in the monthly mingles that needs to be taken care of. Some Rumors are harmless little pranks, but others can be dangerous and even lethal. The issue of Rumors is quiet now, but how long can that be expected to last?

Living in Starsand City

As previously stated, the basics of living are freely provided by the native population. You can handwave free housing, food, clothing, and most items purchases as acts of charity. All of this is provided in exchange for some prayers to nearby shrines or a simple "thank you" to nearby spirits.

But if you want your character to have luxuries, they will need to work.

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Housing

Characters will be able to get a one bedroom apartment for free simply by being a Fallen Star. These apartments can be anywhere in the city and handwaved. There are entire apartment complexes decided to Fallen Stars. In other cases, characters may be able to stay in a room above a shop or live in a citizen's spare bedroom. If a character has a roommate, they may have a larger apartment. No one will be left homelesss.

It is also possible to buy property or rent higher end apartments. In some cases, this can be done by teaming up with a spirit who creates the property in exchange for faith. In others, it may be possible to buy these upgrades by working a part-time job. All of this is free to be handwaved. Give your character what you feel is appropriate for their lifestyle. While bigger places aren't free, that doesn't mean they aren't possible for a character to obtain.

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Employment & "Stars"

Because most things are free (/provided by faith magic,) a lot of jobs are just... optional. Characters will find it is quite easy to get the appropriate business licenses to open their own shops.

Jobs will pay a special kind of currency called "stars," which looks an awful lot like konpeito. Stars are crystalized faith magic and are usually exchanged for luxury items. One star represents an hour of intense praying and they are made on the spot through the act of working a job. The mystery of how Stars are made has not been fully cracked yet, but they can only be made at special locations (aka certified and licensed businesses.)

While it is possible to form a contract for a long-term, guaranteed job with a schedule, a lot of businesses will take on-the-spot hires for some hourly work. Because working is more or less optional, the locals are mostly working for love of their specific craft or love for the people around them. They're very happy to teach Fallen Stars their trades and share their passion for a craft.

Employment can easily be handwaved. If you wish for your character to run a business that hires fellow PCs, please contact a mod about setting up some business informaion.

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Comments

[tracedfeelings]

silly question but does starsand have cell phones? or would characters come in with those?

also is there something like twitter or instagram? i'm so sorry to be the one to ask this

[ai_nnihilate]

Starsand has cellphones and characters can come in with their own. Any app data they downloaded in their world will remain. The internet is wonky here and primarily connects to a local city database. Communicating with people outside of the city is strangely impossible.

Social media exists, but again it is local to the city.

[tracedfeelings]

engagement analytics graphs, here we come!!! thank youuuuuuu