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Author Topic: Special Request Guidelines  (Read 1953 times)

* The Narrator

    (13/06/2021 at 11:45)
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Special Request Guidelines
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Special requests cover a variety of requests, including but not limited to requests for: exceptional levels; unusual or non-human physical characteristics; complicated, darker, or unusual plots; school year repeats; special powers; dangerous, rare, or unusual pets (Muggle or Magical); unusual or specific high-level occupations; magical artefacts and objects; original or powerful potions; and original or powerful spells.

This thread provides some guidance on what special requests should be submitted for, who can submit them, when to submit them, how to submit them,  and how long it takes for them to be reviewed.

All special requests should be PMed to an administrator. If you have any queries about whether or not you should submit a special request for something, please contact an administrator for further advice.


What Should I Submit A Special Request For?

You should submit a special request for any of the following:

Exceptional levels. If, for whatever reason, you wish for your Elsewhere Adult to have more than the standard 32 levels or if you wish for these levels to be unbalanced, you will need to submit a separate request for this. Please note that we do not accept exceptional levels requests for characters simply because they are skilled at magic or are in a competitive career (e.g. Auror).

Physical characteristics that are unusual, significant, or non-human in nature. This includes extensive or magical scarring, extensive or magical tattoos, and non-human heritage (e.g. Veela, Goblin, or Giant heritage). Please note that we do not allow fully non-human creatures or beings (e.g. Veela) to be played on our site.

Potentially complicated, confusing, darker, sensitive, or otherwise unusual plots, and plots that directly or indirectly powerplay the actions/views of the Ministry, St. Mungo's, Hogwarts, or Camp Loki, and/or these institutions' staff. This includes plots which explore murder or other dark elements, mental health issues, mental or physical disabilities, other sensitive topics, and unusual plots. It also includes plots that might make assumptions about how the Ministry, St. Mungo's, Hogwarts, or Camp Loki operate (e.g. a plot involving Azkaban, a plot involving a medical trial, a plot involving a child being expelled from Hogwarts, or a plot focusing on a child's welfare). Even if the plot has happened in the past, you will need to submit a request for it.

School year repeats. We only allow student characters to repeat a school year in limited and special circumstances, e.g. poor physical or mental health has resulted in your character being physically absent from school. Failing classes/exams IC or OOC, poor IC behaviour, or failure to check into the returning thread at the end of term does not automatically make your character eligible to repeat a year. Characters who are repeating a year are not eligible to claim any magical levels for the term before the repeat term, e.g. your character is in their fourth year in 1961-62 and you request to repeat fourth year in 1962-63; you cannot claim any magical levels earned during the 1961-62 term. This is to ensure that players are repeating a year for IC reasons only and to prevent exploitation of the castle levelling system.

Special abilities, i.e. any skill or power that is not typical of an ordinary witch or wizard. This includes Animagus, empathy, mediums, seers, legilimency, occlumency, lycanthropy, Metamorphmagus, Parselmouth, wandless magic, and any other unusual power. Special powers can be canon or powers that you have created. Please note that some special abilities will also require an exceptional levels special request, as per the magical rules.

Dangerous, rare, or unusual pets. This includes both Muggle and magical creatures, and any exotic creatures (bear in mind that our site's main location is the UK).

Unusual or specific high-level occupations, such as magical artefact collectors/traders, magical artists, spell creators, shopkeepers who own shops which sell unusual/rare/dangerous goods (magical or mundane), or department heads at the Ministry of Magic or St. Mungo's. Please note that some occupations may require certain levels for relevant spellwork, as per the magical rules, and therefore may require an exceptional levels special request.

Magical artefacts, i.e. any artefact or object which has a special power or the potential to alter plots, or one which might cause physical/emotional harm to a character. This includes canon artefacts (e.g. time turners, invisibility cloaks, basilisk fangs) and any original artefacts you have created (e.g. cursed family jewellery, enchanted notebooks).

Original potions. These are new potions you wish to add to our canon. You must be willing to make a wiki page for the potion if it is accepted. Even if your character did not create the potion, it must be requested before being added to our canon. If a professor wishes to teach an original potion in a class, a special request must be submitted and approved first.

Powerful potions. This includes Amortentia, Felix Felicis, Veritaserum, and any other powerful and/or dangerous potions. If a professor wishes to teach a powerful potion in a class, a special request must be submitted and approved first.

Original spells. These are new spells you wish to add to our canon. You must be willing to make a wiki page for the spell if it is accepted. Even if your character did not create the spell, it must be requested before being added to our canon. If a professor wishes to teach an original spell in a class, a special request must be submitted and approved first.

Powerful spells. This includes spells like undetectable extension charms and unforgivable curses, creation of magical objects, and summoning of intelligent beings. If a professor wishes to teach an powerful spell in a class, a special request must be submitted and approved first.


Who Can Submit A Special Request?

Anyone is welcome to submit a special request! However, these are the things which we take into consideration when reviewing a special request:

Length of time the player has been on the site. We do accept special requests from new players; however, we strongly encourage taking a minimum of 1 term (3 RL months) to settle into the site and develop your plans for your special request before submitting one.

Current or previous disciplinary issues. Players who have a history of causing issues, either through breaking the rules or through poor behaviour, are less likely to be granted special requests.

Current saturation of active special characters. To ensure that our site remains balanced, there may be times when we limit certain special requests to ensure that they don't become too prevalent.

Alignment with other plots or context. Some special requests may not be conducive to the site's current timeline, plot, or general direction. In these instances, we may not be able to approve the special request, as it would conflict with other established canon.

Number of other special requests made by the player. There is no limit to the number of special requests one player can make, and in some instances, this might be necessary for their character (e.g. a potioneer may frequently submit special requests for original potions). However, if you have multiple special requests for your characters and do not actively utilise these requests/characters, this may impact whether or not we grant future requests. Similarly, the more special powers a single character accumulates, the less likely we are to continue granting approval for further powers. This is to ensure that all characters remain realistic.


When Should I Submit A Special Request?

You can submit a special request at any time.

If you are submitting a special request for a new character, you can choose whether to submit it alongside the application or in advance of the application. Please note that any application which references a special request element (e.g. exceptional levels, a special ability) will not be approved until after the special request has been submitted and reviewed. If the special request is denied, you will need to resubmit the application, removing any mention of the special request elements.

To avoid disappointment, we advise that players submit their special requests well in advance of when they are planning to use them.


How Do I Submit A Special Request?

To submit a special request, you need to fill out the relevant form from the Special Request Templates and send it to an administrator.
  • Click the 'select' button for the relevant code. Please note that the code will not look like it is highlighted when you select it.
  • Use ctrl/c or cmd/c to copy the code.
  • Use ctrl/v or cmd/v to paste it into a new PM.
  • Complete the form.
  • Send the completed form to an administrator for review.

How Long Does It Take To Review A Special Request?

There is no set timeframe in which we review special requests, as some requests naturally take more time to review than others. When an administrator receives a special request, they share it with the rest of the team for discussion and review as soon as possible.

As soon as the admin team have collectively reached a decision, an admin will be in touch to let you know the outcome of your request. We do not provide regular updates throughout the decision-making process. However, we will always let you know whether a special request has been approved or denied, so if you haven't heard back yet, that doesn't mean it's been denied, it means we are still reviewing it.

If you haven't heard back within a couple of weeks and are concerned that we may have forgotten or missed the request, please feel free to reach out to an admin to check in and ask for an update.

Please be aware that some special requests, especially those for new powers, objects, or plots which are not established canon can take a few weeks for us to process. As admins, we have a responsibility to consider every angle of the special request and ensure that it won't conflict with our canon or disrupt other site activity. Sometimes we disagree, sometimes there are issues we need to find solutions for before we can approve a request, and this all takes time. We also live in a range of timezones, which can contribute to the delay. Please be patient!
« Last Edit: 17/06/2021 at 17:47 by Calypso Ross »

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