Recruitment Discussion
Have questions about the game, the recruitment process, or me? This is the place to find the answers. I'm including some tips here, but please feel free to post in the OOC Discussion topic below, as well.
Tips for a Successful Application
1. Show me your love and excitement for the source material
If you didn't really care for the Avatar series or have never encountered them at all, this may not be the game for you. Similarly, if you thought that the series had some cool ideas but executed them badly, and this is your chance to "fix it" with how you think the series' cosmology or rules should be, this may not be the game for you. That's not to say you need to love and admire everything about every Avatar property - I myself have some serious beef with several aspects of The Legend of Korra: Book 2 - but in the end, the game's setting and premise relies on everyone enjoying and agreeing on the fact that Avatar is cool. You don't need to impress me with deep cuts of trivia or tiny perfect nitpicky details; instead, wow me with your description of an action scene that seems like it could have come right out of the show. Demonstrate your understanding of the core themes of the series and system (balance, discipline, self-knowledge, and hope) with the way your character interacts with the world around them.
2. Respect the canon
As an extension of the above, be mindful of the series' established rules and story when crafting your narrative. Every story will have some non-canon elements (since your characters have never existed in this world before) and that's fine, but don't change history saying that Avatar Roku's head exploded when he tried to combustion bend and he died at age 25. Your character did not discover Metalbending before Toph did, or Bloodbending before Hama did. I'm not going to come down on you for not using the correct number for the current Earth Monarch or not knowing exactly what year Yu Dao became a Fire Nation colony. But I do expect you to follow the rules of bending, spirits, etc. laid out in the series and not make wild leaps to what YOU think would be cool, like saying your Firebender can control pure light to turn themselves invisible and shoot laser beams. Just because the series never lays out that a Firebender couldn't do that doesn't mean your character can. If you have questions about what bending, spirits, or other forces could reasonably do in a given time or place, feel free to ask in the OOC Discussion topic and I'm happy and excited to work with you. Players who don't know everything but aren't afraid to ask questions are my favorite players!
3. In your Fiction Narrative, Show, Don't Tell
If your Airbender is impulsive rather than pensive and thoughtful, that's a fun character choice. Rather than saying "Tashi always is impulsive and leaps directly into danger," say, "Tashi doesn't even take a second to glance over the cliff before launching off, spreading their wingsuit and laughing with exultant glee." If your Rogue is the kind who likes to take things that don't belong to them, don't say "Jong likes to steal but then he doesn't," but rather say, "Jong could feel his fingers itching as he studied the fine enamel finish on the exquisite teapot in the shop window, but his attention was grabbed by an explosion further down the block." Your character's style, attitude, and place in the world should all be clear from what they say and how they conduct themselves. Past story beats and internal emotional moments can work this way, too, rather than saying "Januk was thinking about his little brother, who died tragically walking out on thin ice," say, "The shattering glass reminds Januk of the sound of ice breaking beneath his little brother's feet on that fateful day, and he quickly squeezes his eyes shut to try to banish the dark memory."
4. In your Cooperative Narrative, show how you're a team player
This is your chance to demonstrate that you're capable of seeing what makes your fellow PC's cool and supporting them when it's their moment in the spotlight. Your character can absolutely do something to wow the crowd and show off their own abilities, but it should all be in service to the character in the application I assign you. Having your Waterbender show up and sweep away all their enemies with a huge tidal wave is not good; having your Waterbender show up and heal a nasty wound the character got in their Fiction Narrative while whispering words of encouragement is much better. So much of this system relies on the players' ability to improvise, cooperate, and be fans of every character at the table (OOC - IC, it's totally fine for character to be rivals or rub each other the wrong way, especially at first, like Toph and Katara).
