Frequently Asked Questions Some of the most frequently asked questions can be found here versus asking us over and over again in the forums. Some of the general and application help questions from the forums end up here if they show up often. If you have a question that is just simply buggin' you and it is not stated here, make sure to post it in the forums! A lot of RPGs tend to have really odd names. Where the heck did “Proelium Cantus” come from? To be honest, Proelium Cantus was first going to be an entirely Latin-based RPG without any sort of Greek influences. When we switched over to having the Greek influences, the title “Proelium Cantus” remained the same no matter what. I mean, it is a catchy title and we love to call ourselves PC. We also translated Proelium Cantus to Greek and came up with “Polemo Courdizo.” It is still the same abbreviation but again, Proelium Cantus is what we continued to go with and will always go with. Uhh yeah. How the hell did you people think up such an idea? Honestly, I cannot remember exactly when this crazy Sailormoon parody idea came to me. But, I started drawing the original cast such as Sailor Surf Rock and Sailor Classical over and over again throughout my journals, dating back to 2002 and 2003. My accomplice and partner in crime, Bry~Zee, has kept me going with this idea ever since I told her about it in 2003 as well, especially since I used to have extreme RPG ADD. It was an idea that really stuck. No, it really, really stuck. About the only idea that stuck too, it was good. I have been roleplaying in Sailormoon-based games for a long time and have seen tons of crazy senshi ideas, but nothing like music genres! X) Oho! Do not be afraid of our daring idea, this will be the only RPG with musical genres of your time. You are pathetic. You took years to make the Proelium Cantus what it is today?!!!1 Yeah, I sure did. You will notice from everything I do that I am incredibly OCD and a perfectionist. :B And if something does not make me happy, whether it is something in the storyline or the site layout, I will scrap it and keep sculpting something ‘til it is to my approval. For a long time, I changed around the Soprano, Mezzo, and Alto senshi a few times a week, same with their fuku designs. I am glad that I did not release Proelium Cantus in December 2004 in its first form. Compared to now, the RPG would have been sub-par and very unsuccessful. All in all, I am actually thankful I took this long to make Proelium Cantus as you see it on the site and forums. :] Can I become a GM or just a reviewer? Throughout PC, we choose GMs and review crew members based on their activity and creativity. Not to mention, we do not want a reviewer who had an application needing to be resubmitted a few times before perfection unless we have seen much growth since then. We will be able to pinpoint who will be good for our staff and who will not. Do not be discouraged if you are not chosen; it will most likely take a few months for us to really see you standing out in the community and as a player. Can I borrow something from PC? Whether some html, a concept, our site’s formats, application, or anything else, we require you to contact us first. I know they say that copying is the best form of flattery but we would like some credit too, ya know? If we find you taking anything of ours without permission, we will make sure to reveal this to the rest of the RPG community. We are not hesitant when it comes to thieves. And whether a member or lurker, we will take action just the same so make sure to ask us! If you are a member and you are caught doing this, rest assured that you will be booted from PC. We do not take stealing lightly in any way, especially when we offer the chance for you to take what you want anyway as long as you tell us first either through email or the forums and then credit us somewhere. I surf the ‘net constantly, especially for Sailor Moon RPG communities so do not think you can get away with stealing anything from PC. There is a very, very good chance Bry~Zee or myself will find it. Not to mention, I moderate Google, Yahoo, and AltaVista's Sailor Moon RPG directory so I am frequently looking at SMRPGs as it is. Okay, so. I have this really cool, super-duper-uber(liek rhyme) music genre that I am listening to that is sooo underground that you would not even know about it! Mind me adding it into your game? You won’t regret it! Good question. <_< As far as the Soprano, Mezzo, and Alto senshi go, no, you may not add in your own genres. What is present on the cast page for each is what will stay there. As for the Errata (NPC) senshi, please post your idea on the forums or IM one of the GMs for approval. Errata senshi require obscure genres, after all. Why Las Vegas? For the longest time, Proelium Cantus was bouncing back and forth between somewhere in Florida and New York City. Lyrica had always been part of Proelium Cantus, but we could never decide on a city that was open-minded to all sorts of stuff, especially music. Desperate, I prodded a few friends for help and I think it was actually my very own boyfriend who suggested Las Vegas. I began considering Las Vegas then researching it a whole lot. And ta-da! It was truly the niftiest location to place a bunch of music genre senshi. And much like the idea for the game itself, it stuck this time so I knew it would work well. I mean, who would not want to duke it out in the desert in the most extravagant of fukus? x) If I feel a genre has been put into the wrong senshi group, can I suggest another? Of course you may. We have researched each genre pretty thoroughly and feel confident with our choices, but we are always open to suggestion. Do not take offense if we do not change it. I understand we all listen to different genres and some of us may know one better than others, after all! Where is each genre's realm of influence/powers? There are absolutely no realms of influence in Proelium Cantus. Each genre is its own power, utilize the genre. We want to see both obvious and subtle aspects of the genre incorported into the senshi and if we were to add realms of influence, it would only hinder creativity. Not to mention, we do not want to make 3 realms of influence that are generalizations of the genre. It looks stupid and offensive, above all. Should my character know that s/he is a senshi already? Unless a Mezzo senshi who may have been born with knowing they were a senshi, then no. Alto and Soprano senshi have guardians that can detect their status from a mile away. Each will also have their own episode dedicated to discovering their identity. :] Some Mezzo characters can be spotted by guardians on either side, then their identity can be revealed that way if already unknowing of their identity. Errata senshi, meanwhile, have known they were senshi since they were born. At some point, the Errata senshi may even hop into battle randomly and use their one attack, leaving the others in shock and “WTF!!11” They may have used their senshi powers to fight bad guys much like their legendary Sailor Moon and her senshi in Japan, inspired. So, pretty much: Alto and Soprano senshi will not know they are senshi already while Mezzo might. It is all up to the applicant to decide what to do about their Mezzo senshi. Errata senshi, on the other hand, are always born knowing they are a senshi, whether a Lyrican or not. My senshi is going to be a male. What would his senshi name be? Your male senshi’s name would simply be Ragtime versus Sailor Ragtime and so on and so forth. ^_^ Easy enough? What age range would you like most of the characters to fall into? We would prefer ages 15-25, especially for the senshi more so than the civilians. I know, I know, it is such a large age range but we believe there should be college students with a slightly smaller group of high school students. I know a lot of applicants will not even have knowledge of college yet. (Youngins’) Therefore, high school characters are A-okay. We also encourage younger applicants to research what college is all about, it really is not difficult, and you could learn a few things too. If it gets to the point where high school students are definitely where the majority of senshi are at, we will put a temporary ban on high school students so hopefully more college students are added in. While we have a preferred age range, any younger characters may be considered. We would be looking to accept just a couple of younger characters as it adds variety to the game and you know just from looking at this RPG that we love our variety. XDD Can my character be a native of Lyrica? Unless an Errata(NPC) senshi or civilian, then no! If you have read the storyline, each senshi was born on Earth and the crystal shards that Euterpe and Calliope unleashed chose them to represent the genre they held best. They have no clue of what this allusive Lyrica is that the guardians constantly mumble about. Errata senshi, senshi which are playable by everyone but created with a small application by one person, have the option of being born in Lyrica. Lyricans who were fed up with the ruling of the two queens moved to Earth and attempt to live a better life, never revealing their true nationality. Errata senshi were formed by miscellaneous crystals containing musical genres accidentally being unleashed onto Earth and Lyrica, claiming themselves to a body. Civilians can be either from Earth or Lyrica. Lyrican civilians disguise themselves as humans and simply try to lead better lives on Earth even if they may know about the upcoming Proelium Cantus wars on Earth. In fact, some civilians try to intervene; it is a matter of preference. But yes, civilians can be native to Lyrica or Earth, same with Erratas. Wow. Some of the fukus are so complex! How should we even go about customizing them? That is the point of customization and variety; to take an approach of your own that is quite unlike everyone else’s to assure diversity. We know some genres are more extravagant or conservative than others so for the Soprano and Alto senshi, they have two fukus. It is your choice as to which you use, but make sure to specify in your application. We expect for senshi to have colors and even patterns that match their genre. Sailor Jungle has leopard print for a reason, ya know! I could never imagine Sailor Jungle prancing around in a cobalt blue and white fuku either. Fuku colors and/or patterns must be of relevance, the same goes with accessories. Sailor Rap should not be wearing a chunky pearl choker and Sailor Classical should not be chillin’ with her bling-bling. We also encourage players to shorten or lengthen their senshi’s fuku. If an applicant feels that their female senshi would not look suitable in a skirt or dress for the desired genre, put some pants underneath it or get rid of the dress altogether and replace it with something else. If you are having trouble explaining what your senshi’s fuku looks like, just take the fuku style’s diagram which you used and label it with the colors you want to be there. Remember, fukus relating to aspects of the genre score biiiiig points with us! 8D Why are some of the fukus so different compared to the original senshi fuku? Keep in mind that these senshi are from an entire different galaxy and even different factions within this galaxy’s main planet! Lyrica’s fashion varies from Earth because of their distances with the Notios Kingdom(South)’s fashion being the most extravagant of all. All PC senshi originate from Lyrica, as you may know, thus the fukus are designed based on Lyrican fashion and not the generic BSSM fuku. Consider the fukus a challenge of creativity; it is something quite different and requires imagination unlike before. Why are the names of places Greek in Lyrica? And why are the names of the Lyrican people Greek as well? As far as history goes, Greece has always been the one place where music remained significant even through ancient civilizations. Greece has one of the earliest recordings of music too and utilized music the most, whether in their plays or the instruments used drawn onto vases. It only seemed relevant to make Lyrica a place influenced by the Greek language versus some other place, seeing as they are the planet of art. From writing to paintings to music, the Grecians are the ones who have kept up with the arts overall the most as compared to any other location on Earth. Why are you guys strict about weapons? It is not that we are strict, it is the fact that people tend to use and abuse the same weapons over and over in each game. We want original weapons and if you have an absolutely brilliant weapon idea, feel free to add it into the application. Although we may reject your weapon, we will not reject your entire application for it. Remember the ratio of senshi in BSSM with weapons to the ones without. This is what we are looking for in Proelium Cantus, this sort of ratio. If you glance at our senshi and notice quite a few have weapons, it probably means you should try to be different and not have a weapon instead. Do guardians have to be cats? What symbol do they have on their forehead? No! The guardians must be an animal that somehow relates to the senshi’s genre. They must sport the Lyrican symbol on their forehead though, no matter what type of animal. Be reasonable when choosing an animal. It is quite obvious a zebra will not go chasing around your character saying, “WTF BBQ YOU ARE A SENSHI ^___^” without getting some nasty stares and a trip to the zoo. Who will be the antagonist(s) of Proelium Cantus? That is what makes Proelium Cantus so different from many RPGs; there is no true antagonist. It is a matter of perspective. For instance, someone who plays an Alto senshi may see every Soprano senshi as villainous and vice-versa. A mezzo senshi may take the side of a Soprano senshi they befriended at school and help them slaughter Alto senshi. There are so many possibilities; even uncompromising Lyrican civilians can be antagonists. It truly depends on where your character stands and it may influence who a player determines to be the antagonist(s) of the game. Where did the original senshi go? I do not seen Sailor Moon, Mars, etcetera anywhere!Good observation. Well, we are in Las Vegas, away from the original senshi who are mostly scattered around Japan by this point. Spoiler: Later on, the original senshi may play a role so watch out! But for Season I, you most likely will not be seeing them as they are in Japan and much older. The Proelium Cantus senshi should know of the original senshi in Japan as some sort of legend from the television news when they were younger. But, none of the PC senshi have actually learned from the original BSSM senshi at all or even met them…yet. Where can I find a list of places in Las Vegas so I can pick out a job for my character?You are welcome to use any of the places in the setting for your character to work at. Or, if you want to look at actual jobs that are open in Las Vegas right now, go to these two links: Las Vegas Jobs , Las Vegas Employment Guide. If unsatisfied with the results above, feel free to make up a place for your character to work at. We will not Google up your place, realize it is not real, knock on your door, hunt you down, and unleash bees on you. X) We are not that bad. What is the game played on? Is it a message board? Unlike most other RPGs, PC varies in where it can be played on. It is really up to the players at the time. Logs and other stories involving 2 characters usually take place between instant messaging over AIM, MSN, and whatnot while 3~4 characters may prefer the chatroom. An immense main story with more than 4 characters would be best played by email (PBeM). We allow message board RPing but it is definitely not preferred as it tends to get messy and the interaction between characters is so bland, to say the least. Plus, members tend to get confused in where to join in a message board or Livejournal/Greatestjournal/etcetera RP the most as it is so disorganized compared to the other formats. What do you guys look for in an application?Keep in mind this is mostly based on my opinion (Bee) because Bry is not around to comment. But you can find out what she likes in the contact information. When I skim through an application, the sections I really like to look at are the name and what sort of effort the player put into selecting that name, the physical appearance (After all, Sailor Happy Hardcore should not be a bombshell blonde!), her likes/dislikes/hobbies to see if the character is one-sided, personality, and of course, fuku. The rest, I look at when I take a hard look at the application versus the skim. Also, incomplete applications must receive an Auto-Reject right away if noticed in the skim. I am a huge sucker for relevance. Irony is a love of mine too. XDD Like when Sailor Happy Hardcore is all about candy but in fact is allergic to candy (Or perhaps even diabetic. More points with me!) or is so straightedge that she would never consider partying or raving. Psychological disorders are also fun, especially when it is not depression or something overly used a lot in RPGs. We love obscure disorders and phobias of sorts although we do not expect every character to have one. We are also a fan of weaknesses as weaknesses make a character stronger and not so one-sided. What is a male senshi's role like? A male senshi does not play the same role as Tuxedo Kamen from BSSM but partake in battles like any other senshi would. They only have one attack as their attacks are a bit stronger than a female senshi’s and they do not have a Sailor in front of their name. You have free reign over your male senshi’s fuku although it must show relevance to his genre in some way or another. They’re practically just another senshi in the group and much rarer than female senshi. If we ever see the number of male senshi getting too close to the ratio of female senshi, then we may stop accepting applications for male senshi at a particular time so if you don’t see the application up, please inquire us or read the updates and see if male senshi applications were put to a halt at that particular time. What if my senshi chooses or doesn't want to fight? Once senshi are awakened, they must fight. As there is much pressure from guardians and other senshi to engage in battle, it seems difficult to ever decline fighting as a senshi. If a blood-hungry, opposing senshi was approaching your character and screaming the cliché “Prepare to die!” your character would of course be forced to henshin in order to protect him or herself. Plus, who wouldn’t want to keep a genre alive while ruining the universe’s culture? Even if the character refuses no matter what, their genre will automatically become forgotten and they will lose their senshi powers thus it is inevitable that he or she must carry on and fight. What do the reviewers discourage in an application by all means? ? So many things could be listed in this section but I believe adding in clichés or lack of flaws or negative traits are the most discouraged. Mary Su and Gary Stu are not allowed in Proelium Cantus and neither will their followers! Flaws make your character become real versus some flawless figment of your imagination. As far as clichés go, we yawn when we read the car accident tragedies or how they’re a loner suffering from depression. We wish for originality and by not utilizing the flaws section and sticking in clichés especially in the form of tragic events, we won’t be very thrilled with your application. These two issues take away from the application so much and it hurts your application to the point of rejection no matter how amazing it is or how your enchanting writing is. When we see these ideas, it makes us question the motives of this potential player and wonder if they even realize that each senshi holds the same amount of limelight and there is no “main character.” Don’t be afraid to give your character flaws whether in the form of personality or physical appearance especially. So please, stay away from clichés and flawless characters! What's it like for a Mezzo who is born knowing they were a senshi? How do Erratas handle knowing that they were senshi since birth? What's the life of a guardian like? |