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obscuraxrp · 7 years

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#ASKANADMIN: ROUND 1

Hello members, and welcome to the first volume of our #askanadmin compilations!

#askanadmin is a Discord channel dedicated to Q&A from the admin team, where we can quickly answer any minor, miscellaneous questions that come up for members. As it’s impractical to search the channel and not even available to all members and applicants by default, however, we (with great help from the lovely @obshyerin) have taken the liberty of compiling all of these answers into tumblr posts for your ease of reference! For the most part, answers have been edited to include proper punctuation and grammar, but other typing quirks (such as emojis) are left in context.

We hope that these answers are useful to you, and remember, our inbox, IMs, and question channel are always open to questions!

— Obscura Admin Team

GENERAL/SETTING QUESTIONS

Given the use of silver in hunting and protection from some supernaturals, would it be more expensive or would it be cheaper and more widely available?

I would imagine that the demand for silver is higher with hunters needing it commonly, but in the same vein, I’m sure there are strong alchemical and other magical efforts made to produce more silver for those purposes. Hence, I would say that it’s possibly somewhat more expensive due to the increased demand, but there’s also an increased supply keeping that from being overwhelming.

Interestingly – silver is probably less common in jewelry in this world as well, since despite supernaturals having to be on the downlow… Businesses know they’d be losing some market if they make everything silver. :P Must have been harder being a vampire/were in the old days when they hadn’t figured out a lot of alternative metals to make things out of :V You’d have to wear gold jewelry mostly. These days there are lots of alloys that’re safe.

(Also if you’re buying silver for protection, beware of assholes scamming you with it. I’m sure that happens, because you know, it’s one of the few things that’s Known To Work.)

Does the same apply to the production of iron? Just wondering since it’s a very common metal used pretty much everywhere.

Iron is more common but in order for it to be effective against fae, it does have to be processed – raw iron doesn’t do the trick. Also if it’s mixed into other things, it loses effectiveness for that purpose.

But yeah, iron’s not something you have to worry about the price of, it’s the most common metal on earth in our world so it’s certainly still available enough

What do you mean by processed iron?

All iron that humans use has been forged; that’s what “saps” the magic from it and makes it dangerous to fae. According to legend, that’s how that works ouo but like, the raw iron ore in the earth isn’t dangerous. That’s what I meant!

But don’t people encounter processed iron more often in everyday life?

Definitely; gotta be careful of those wrought-iron fences! It takes a lot for just ambient iron to become a problem, though, and in a small area. Fae just have to be careful not to touch anything that’s made of actual iron, or it smarts pretty bad.

Bless the modern era of strong plastics and polymers, honestly! That’s probably part of what has fae interacting more and more with human culture; it’s becoming less danger-laced to do so.

Can I send my muses to universities that exist in real life?

Yes, that’s fine. Those things still exist.

Are there doctors that specialize in different species?

Probably! They wouldn’t be able to advertise that outright, but there are definitely fae doctors around especially, but also doctors/healing magic practitioners who know different species in depth. You’d mostly find them through word of mouth. Beast-blooded probably have the hardest time on this front, though, since there’s a pretty wide variety of them.

Are ghosts a thing in this universe? Like if my muse went ghost hunting, would they actually find something?

Ghosts do exist in some capacity, but generally you can only interact with them if you’re a witch and you know how to do that—you’re more likely to find daemons or fae playing poltergeist. Though you’re free to hunt ghosts regardless of if you find anything, you usually won’t find anything ghost hunting to begin with ww

Can healing/regenerative powers be ranked? Like if a person was to practice or be coached in how to make their healing faster could we spend points to improve that?

Yes!

So if you can spend points to increase healing capability, how would that work out in character? From what I understand it’s not something a muse consciously works on.

Sometimes there’s a concentrated effort on getting better at it (like, meditation type things? focusing on that innate magic in an effort to strengthen it), sometimes it happens naturally due to getting hurt a lot, sometimes it just…… happens.

What do you think would be the biggest difference between Rank IV and Rank V level healing? Like what would be a speed or property that serves like a cut off point?

I… I really don’t think I have an answer to that in simple terms? It seriously depends on the muse and how they style the ability. In general terms, a rank V indicates the best you could possibly be at something (species limitations in mind), whereas IV would have not quite have everything.

Can wards break? Specifically wards that are powered by a living being.

Generally wards lose power or ‘fade’ over time, with the time depending on the power and magic imbued into the ward or the power of the person that cast the ward. Wards can “break” suddenly under certain circumstances, but this is much less common. For instance, if there was some sort of “flaw” in the magic of the ward—it could either get “broken” by making contact with some other spell, or it could fall apart due to some other unforeseen trigger. Magic is rarely perfect in nature, so these flaws would not be unheard of by any means, simply that exploiting them would be somewhat rare as it’d be unpredictable as well. It’s also possible that a ward could be “broken” by counter-magic in general.

Is magic an internal power source, kinda?

Magic is very much metaphysical and born into living things, and things assigned meaning by living things. Humans have the greatest influence over it in a cosmic sense. Something without that “soul”, for lack of a better word, won’t be able to interface with magic unless magic is imbued into it. So yeah! I’m sure there are nice fancy expensive wards for detecting (fae) magic traces though.

RULES QUESTIONS

Can I be on a semi-hiatus? There are days I might be totally MIA because of work so my posting might be sporadic.

You’re allowed to post while on hiatus without penalty, so we don’t distinguish between full and semi hiatuses. You’re free to take a hiatus for safety and post if you can! Or just let us know if it happens that you can’t post for a full week, we’re pretty flexible as long as members keep in touch with us.

can we use non-asian fc’s? I know we’ve had non-korean faces, but what about non-asian entirely faces?

Yep, all fcs are allowed as long as they’re signed (not social media famous), alive, and over 18!

DRUGS QUESTIONS

How long does moonlily root/lunar dust stay in a were’s system & when does it start wearing off? it’s probably different for everyone based off of height & weight and stuff, but maybe there’s an average?

A: Depends on the dosage. Obviously too high of a dosage would result in an overdose, but smaller doses would wear off more quickly. I’d say the average for a medium sized dose for someone of average height and weight, it takes about 30 to 45 minutes. Larger doses that aren’t fatal could last up to 2 hours while a very small dose might last about 15 minutes.

What would happen if a were that’s agitated or high on lunar dust got a whiff of werenip? Would they just explode?

A: Generally mixing drugs is a bad plan. Likely they might get sick; since lunar dust is a upper and werenip is a downer, the drugs would clash quite strongly. So they might just cancel each other out, in a way, and result in the were laying on the floor with a terrible headache, stomach problems, and strong desire to kill but not move enough in order to do so.

H: Mixing uppers and downers is a really bad plan in general; might cause heart problems, seizures, even a coma, death is not unlikely… so in short: Not Recommended!

VAMPIRE QUESTIONS

Hypothetically, could a progeny kill their sire?

They… could, though I would say that is unlikely, since a sire could prevent that from happening via compulsion, and the pain link would be a bit of an issue.

Given that vamps have accelerated healing, would body modifications or major cosmetic surgery work or would their body forcefully heal those over and nullify whatever you were trying to do?

This can be done, but they would need to be sealed in with magic.

Can hell-drinkers go back to normal?

With approximately a bit more difficulty than ghouls going back to being human, yeah. As in, that might require chaining yourself in a basement for a few weeks/months at worst.

If someone becomes a vamp at a young age do they maintain the emotional maturity of that age forever? Like an eight year old just doesn’t have the mental capacity to understand some things, so would they maintain that or would they just mature as the years go by without physically maturing?

I am going to go with that they will mature with time, since the body is in stasis but the spirit is kept alive by magic? For child-vampires this may be more of an issue since the body never developed far enough—but for ones in the teens and on, they should mature in time. A lot of vampires don’t seem to mature though—not because they can’t, but because they get trapped in a mental stasis that’s kinda psychological in nature due to their body not changing. That’s just a character trait though. Vampires have some issues to deal with. Many cope with immortality by doing silly things like creating obtuse rule systems and imposing them on their progeny or something. Vampires. I’m rambling.

If a vampire shape shifts into a non-vampire creature (like a cat), would they still be weak to sunlight?

Yes. The nature of what they are doesn’t change.

Do vampires have reflections in this universe? Can they be recorded?

That’s a great question because I actually stole this answer from a great tumblr post. They do have reflections in newer mirrors, but not in old ones—due to the old ones having silver backing. Must be a trip when old vamps see an aluminum-backed mirror for the first time! But yes, they do appear in recordings!

Since vamps can be recorded in this verse, can someone live stream a vamp attack?

If millennial can do it, they will do it.

If a vamp lost a body part, big or small, while they’re young and have limited healing ability, could they regrow it years later when they’re much stronger?

Yes, assuming they can survive long enough without that body part. Vampires in a way represent stasis; given a bit of effort, they can almost always return to a previous form. Unless magic gets involved. That can change things.

FAE QUESTIONS

Do changelings have greater illusion?

Yes but it’s… kinda wonky? They almost look photoshopped, like “someone seems to have airbrushed some spikes off here”. No, not like “someone just stuck the wrong face on this body sloppily” level photoshop; it’s a bit more like “upon squinting that does not appear to be correct but I cannot put my finger on what is wrong; it just looks Wrong”.

What would happen if a fae ate another fae or any magical creature?

You know admittedly this is one of those things I haven’t put that much thought into. I mean as far as eating other species…. they probably taste funny…? May not be healthy depending on what we’re talking about here. Vampires are not tasty.

As far as cannibalizing a fae… it would probably be fine if the one eating it was a fae. If not, it’s gonna taste super weird and be fae madness central! (Also, this may not even be possible if the true form of that fae is something non-fleshy.)

What do fae smell like to people with advanced sense of smell? Do they smell like their alignment or is there a universal fae smell?

There is a universal “weird fae smell”, but the alignment smell would be stronger, so that scent would be caught first.

How long do binding contracts last with fae if unspecified? Can a fae lengthen a pre-existing contract if they wanted? Could they have multiple binding agreements with one or more people?

How long they last would depend on the power level of the fae and the strength of the agreement. For most fae, they won’t last that long, they’ll taper off after a few weeks/months/after the terms of the agreement have been reached. Powerful fae could make these bind for an extremely long time, though, through a person’s whole lifespan even.

Yes, fae can add onto a contract, and yes, they can have multiple bindings with one person. It’s most likely though that the agreements will become less powerful (less binding) if there are many of them!

If fae are immune to illness, are they vulnerable to fae-specific illnesses? Are those even a thing?

They’re immune to human illnesses (though they could potentially carry them) but yeah, they could get fae illnesses that may or may not be roughly equivalent of human illnesses.

since fae are saturated in magic would there be like… magical residue on their fingerprints if you understand what i mean like… a magic detector would be able to pick up traces of magic from their fingertips or w/e they touched–

I would say… probably yes? though those traces would be difficult to pick up without a very powerful magic detection ability!

is there like magical engineering devices crafted like has anyone/the government made machines that could detect magic/magical beings? i know fae and their specific magic go against modern day machinery and all of that but??

There’s probably a spell for it, but technology that can detect magic in general is… pretty impossible to manufacture, for some odd reason, unless the tech is enchanted itself in some way. Probably because magic is a strictly… “spiritual” thing, for lack of a much better word? It can’t be manufactured mechanically; there has to be some sort of “living” component here.

WERE QUESTIONS

Can someone be a were-insect? A were-fish?

No, weres can’t take their animal form as an invertebrate; the biology would be way too different from their human form. Leave the insectoid stuff to the fae sphere! As for fish (including sharks), it’s possible, though extremely unlikely—they’d definitely have to live near the water, so…

Can someone be a were-pomeranian?

Were-animal forms shouldn’t be as specific as individual breeds, especially if those breeds only exist due to domestication. You could have a were-dog, but their animal form would look more like a wild dog (though they’d be able to communicate with a pomeranian) unless they specifically honed their shapeshifting to get a pomeranian form out of it. The same applies to individual breeds of cat, horse, cow, you name it; the most specific you should ever get is at the species level (ie, tiger versus lion), though the “general type of animal” level is generally sufficient.

the page on were’s says that “Weres are intensely burned by silver and weapons otherwise charmed to harm them.”, so does that mean they’re resistant to normal weapons or heal abnormally quickly from regular wounds?

They heal about twice as fast as a normal person from mundane wounds and feel ordinary amounts of pain from them. Silver weapons cause more pain (a burning sensation) and the wounds heal at a slowed rate.

Ooh so like if they got a paper cut, it’d be gone by the end of the day instead of taking two days?

Yep, something like that!

Do weres remember what they did on the night of a full moon the next day?

It probably depends on the were, honestly, whether it’s all a blur or they remember bits and pieces or what. I wouldn’t think that most of them remember perfectly since it’s such a primal thing, but I also wouldn’t think they’d forget entirely either, so.

If say, one were is shifted, while the other is human, would they be able to communicate still? Or would it possibly be only limited to weres of the same species?

Hmm, the communication would probably be difficult, but not as bad as trying to talk to a literal animal. Like… it’s a bit like if there’s a language barrier? One of you speaks the language fluently, but the other is conversational at best.

should a were have a silver earring that is completely silver, would it eventually fall out?

No, but they’d want to tear it out. Silver burns, but not badly enough to melt/disfigure the skin or anything like that. Injuries made by silver weapons are the same as injuries made by other metal weapons, they just hurt more and heal more slowly.

BEAST-BLOODED QUESTIONS

Were the (humanoid) ancestors of beast-blooded definitely human? Or could they have been something like a fae?

Probably a witch! They’d have had to be human, and since some heavy magic was involved in the birth of the beast-blooded themselves, I’d say they were witches.

Were the “beasts” fae, then?

The other creatures are… literally beasts, flesh-and-blood magical creatures that in this day and age are very rare, but may still exist somewhere. Once again, definitely not fae—fae are not truly biological and cannot reproduce sexually!

Would they have turned into beasts, or turned the beasts into humans, to reproduce with them?

Either way; it probably depends on the beast in question, but… trust me, given humans, someone is always “into that” in either direction.

Could a beast-blooded have hatched from an egg?

This seems very unlikely, but… as far as first-generation beast-blooded, the answer is a strong maybe. Beyond the first generation, the answer is no; beast-blooded are human.

WITCH QUESTIONS

So witches are basically the same as humans, just they more adept at magic?

Yep. Witches are just humans who’ve studied magic.

at what point do you draw the line between a witch and a normal human who happens to know how to perform some spells?

The line is more or less drawn when the character chooses to draw the line themself. Witches, generally speaking, have done a good bit of study, even if they’re self taught, significantly beyond a simple hobby level.

if witches can learn magic later on in life, is there a specific process they have to go through / do they have to attend classes for this kind of thing? or can they be self-taught like I picked up a book on magic at the library, it seems cool, I'ma dabble

Witches can be self taught, and humans can also dabble in magic without being witches! There is no specific process; it works differently for each person, just like how we all learn differently in reality.

HUNTER QUESTIONS

is it possible to play as a freelance/third-party affiliated hunter? or do we strictly have to stay within dsem/aequitas? if we can go freelance/third-party, what limitations would our muses have? what is deemed illegal/non-illegal behavior/actions for hunters?

Freelance/third-party hunters are acceptable, naturally, but bear in mind that it can be difficult to find hunting jobs as these types due to the stronger prevalence of the other factions. Third-party hunters likely have their own ways of getting resources and information; freelancers are going to have the hardest time here, and hence will most likely only be able to find paid hunting work in… rather shady dealings.

In general, even Aequitas’s work isn’t strictly legal, but officials are often willing to turn a blind eye in the case of actions related to hunting supernaturals if justification can be presented. Of course if hunting is a “hobby” for a muse and they don’t expect to make a living doing it, that can drastically change things—but ones who do it purely out of moral conviction are most likely to find a home in Aequitas! On the same note, remember that Aequitas hunters are loosely affiliated at best; a hunter in the guild may never so much as speak to other guild members apart from the times they need information or to buy wards or silver weapons. Aequitas is a guild, after all; while some of then may consider each other family, others barely interface socially at all.

would a hunter that hunts hunters still be considered a hunter or something else?

I mean if they want to call themself a hunter they can… but that sounds a bit like a serial killer. Not that a lot of hunters are much better, though…

can a human just be a regular human civilian? because all the humans I’m seeing on the mlist seem to be hunters.

Humans don’t have to be hunters, and hunters don’t have to be human. “Hunter” is an occupation, not a species.

SILLY QUESTIONS

(note: Helsing answers silly questions in utmost seriousness because they are completely devoid of humor.)

What would happen if a vampire bit a were?

Weres can’t be turned, and becoming a vampire is much more complicated than just biting. Only “humans” can be turned — where weres, fae, and vampires are considered “non-human” supernaturals, and witches and beast-blooded are considered “human” supernaturals.

Can my vampire shapeshift into a cockatoo?

… Yes.

Can weres get cones of shame?

I don’t see why not?

Do hunters have cone of shame devices that can like zap weres into being good?

I would not think….. that DSEM wants weres hunting under them. since they’re kinda anti-supernatural in the writing. Aequitas people can do….. whatever they want i guess as long as it’s not hurting innocents?

Are there otherkin who identify as supernatural? Are there beauty bloggers who do “supernatural looks”? Are supernaturals fetishized? Can you find spells on youtube? How does atheist youtube feel about that?

… The internet is, and always will be a deplorable place, in every universe. So yes. Go wild. (Within reason).

(As a note, I feel beast-blooded probably suffer the most from the fetishization aspect. Not all beast-blooded are sexy “nekomimi” types, but nor are they all huge freakish monsters from bad horror movies… though I’m sure that’s exactly what the internet would lead you to believe. Being such a varied species that exists on the line between human and not is hard.)

(And on the note of spells on youtube, I feel that there are some very angry activist witches trying to get people to stop doing just that because doing magic without understanding the first thing about magic is extremely dangerous.)

Male witches are cucks.

Please ask questions only.

Why are there no elves in Obscura?

Because elves are fae.

This is 100% a serious question but like…can a witch get cursed…to have tentacles? Like octopus tentacles?

yes.

if a fae doesnt know what a belly button is by the time they make their greater illusion… or nipples…

The greater illusion comes naturally from the collective human unconscious of magic, don’t worry. Most fae won’t have that problem, though it may occasionally be an illusion flaw…

SILLY NSFW QUESTIONS

(beyond this point, these questions and answers may be somewhat nsfw!)

does viagra exist still in obscura? or is there magic to fix that?

There’s both.

will it work with fae?

Only if the dosage was made with fae magic in mind. Fae are non-biological, in the strictest sense, so non-magic medicines aren’t going to work on them.

Since vamps are dead, can they still get one up?

They have blood in their veins and can imitate all biological functions. Though doing so may require conscious effort and therefore not be worth it At All, vampires can nonetheless breathe and sweat and cry… and get boners.

does this mean weres get a little…needy during the spring time??

iiiii will leave that COMPLETELY to your interpretation. The official verdict is no a/b/o (words like alpha and beta should only be used to denote pack rankings, nothing about a were’s actual biology), but I’ll leave mating season urges to people’s personal tastes because ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

is bad dragon a popular thing in obscura verse????

I, uh… well, beast-blooded exist…

#askanadmin #askanadmin: round 1 #obsfaq #obsfaq: hunters #obsfaq: wards #obsfaq: species #obsfaq: fae #obsfaq: witches #obsfaq: weres #obsfaq: beastblooded #obsfaq: humans #obsfaq: vampires #obsfaq: setting #obsfaq: memes

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