faq (arc i, obsolete).

[officialnotice]

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

basics     plot & setting     mechanics

► What exactly is The Pines?

The Pines is a DWRP based on the Wayward Pines book series and taking place in the rural mountain suburb of Wayward Pines where things aren’t quite how they seem.

Do I need to to read (or watch the TV rendition of) the Wayward Pines series to play here?

No, you definitely don’t need to. We’re of two minds about whether or not you should.

On the plus side, you’ll end up with a better sense of setting and context. The books are decently quick reads, and we initially based The Pines on the first book specifically, which is even quicker.

As for downsides, reading the books will absolutely spoil the ending of the first in-game arc, so if you like to be surprised, definitely hold off there. Additionally, we’ve changed a number of key facets of the jamjar that canon gave us in order to make it more feasible for RP, and reading the books might lead to confusion on those specifics, especially if you come into The Pines with assumptions based on the source material. It’s also worth noting that while they contributed a pretty decent setup for us to work with, we're definitely not touting these books as any kind of gift to literature.

If you do choose to read/watch Wayward Pines, or have already, we’d like to request that you do your best to make sure that OOC knowledge doesn’t creep into IC play. The game will be significantly less fun for everyone if characters rush ahead with the grand reveals instead of letting them develop organically.

What kinds of events and happenings occur in The Pines?

Wayward Pines is a totally ordinary idyllic little town — except for when it isn’t. Throughout each month, you can find anything from pseudo-slice-of-life events geared toward building and strengthening CR to more action-oriented events that explore the various less-than-savory facets of Wayward Pines with notes of sci-fi and mild horror. Typically, the latter sort of events are the 'main event' for the month, while the CR-building variety are included as part of your character's first days in Wayward Pines in the intro log, or may come in the form of a mini-event.

Characters will also be dealing with the intensive restrictions imposed by the town of Wayward Pines on things like topics of conversation or long relaxing walks in the woods, and the potentially dire consequences for not playing by the rules.

But this was advertised as a somewhat open-world survival game.

The Pines is currently in the first arc of its overarching plotline — the tutorial phase, if you will. It’s an extremely short arc, one intended to wrap up about six months into play, with at almost all of the events in the meantime building toward the arc’s conclusion and the growth of The Pines from a jamjar to something significantly more open-world. At that point, the scale of the game increases, the stakes increase, the map grows, the level of available technology increases, and the paths the player-characters choose will affect the months and years to come, including how difficult survival itself will become and whether or not they’ll find an eventual way to make it back home.

Who brought our characters here and what do they want?

Good questions. All that’s known at present is that your character seems to be stuck in town and the people in positions of authority — the sheriff, the key hospital doctors and nurses, etc. — seem more keen to give them the runaround than help them find their way back home.

On the plus side, nobody seems actively set on hurting your characters. In fact, they seem to want them to settle happily and comfortably into their new life in Wayward Pines, and to form meaningful bonds with those around them.

Though information right now is pretty limited, significantly more about this will be uncovered as time (and the overarching plotline) progresses.

How does my character arrive?

Sometime on the 1st through the 3rd of the month, characters will wake with only a handful of memories in either the local hospital (for organic characters) or the autobody shop across the street (for non-organics). They’ll be told by the staff at either location that they were in a rather nasty accident and were brought to either the hospital or the auto shop to be taken care of.

They’ll wake up a bit sluggish, with minor injuries they only vaguely remember sustaining, as well as any injuries they had at their canon point — although those injuries are cleaned and dressed, and any fatal injuries appear to have gotten much better. Much of what the characters say (especially anything out of the ordinary by the town’s standards) will be attributed by the nurses to possible head trauma “from the accident”.

Characters will be urged to stay in this location until they’ve been cleared by the staff, but if they choose to leave early they’ll discover the town of Wayward Pines — and a house with their name on the mailbox.

Unfortunately, characters leave the hospital with naught but a hospital gown to their name, and will still have to make a trip to the sheriff’s office to reclaim their belongings. If they do, they’ll be given everything not deemed ‘a weapon’. If they don’t, those same items will be mailed to their residence on the 7th.

What is the town of Wayward Pines like, in a nutshell?

Architecturally and aesthetically, the town is strongly reminiscent of an American suburb in the early ‘90s, tucked deep into a scenic valley in the mountains of Idaho. It has all of the necessary buildings to more-or-less sustain itself, and a wealth of large and small business in largely local flavors. Most houses are similarly shaped, with a front yard and backyard fenced by either trimmed hedges or white picket fencing.

Technologically, you’re hard-pressed to see anything beyond the early ‘90s, and little-to-none of the media is directly recognizable from anyone’s individual homeworlds. A series of small panels and turbines perched on the eastern cliffs hint at the use of wind and solar power.

The atmosphere in Wayward Pines is, for the most part, very laid-back and friendly. Neighbors will welcome you with cookies and casseroles, clerks and check-out employees almost always greet you with a smile, and the local parks and neighborhood greens will often play host to some sort of barbeque or local sports game.

And yet.

Something’s not quite right. Official notices are posted in each public building and even each house, unless the residents deliberately remove it. At a soccer game, someone reassures a teammate with, “It’s cool, I played on my high school team,” and suddenly all of the locals in earshot are tense, wondering if that verbal recollection was a step too far. And then there’s the screaming in the woods...

Can my character go home?

Why, certainly!

Is there anything I might want to know before deciding whether or not to join The Pines?

There are a couple of subjects and game mechanics, both now and in the future, which might affect your decision to join us in The Pines, and we want to be totally transparent about them going in.

Arc 1 (expected to last through July of 2017) features aspects of memory loss & alteration. For the most part, this is very short-term, but it's definitely a prevalent feature of the game. There are also mild notes of horror, though these are typically warned for and fairly easy to avoid.

Arc 2 and beyond features memory alteration much less prominently, but also begin to include stronger notes of horror (including body horror) as a part of the increasingly-prevalent survival themes.

Almost all of the above is opt-out in some shape or form, and aside from the introductory fortnight of memory haze, you aren’t obligated to play with any of these game mechanics.

► So what the fuck is going on?

Currently, characters are trying to adjust to their own conflicting memories and figure out exactly what is and isn't true about our town of Wayward Pines.

Once more has occurred in the overarching plot, we’ll be providing a summarized ‘Plot So Far’ page in order to make sure that even new applicants can keep up with the story of the game so far.

How much can my character impact their quality of life & the game itself?

Actually, a pretty decent amount.

Initially, their options are limited. On the positive side, many Activity Rewards are capable of impacting quality of life — as an example, if available housing is full and your character has been rooming with strangers, you’re able to spend activity points to buy their own house — and characters are more than welcome to put their heads together to solve life-altering problems the town might be facing. On the flip-side, a character is more than capable of negatively impacting quality of life. Burn down a house, or hell, usher in a temporary food shortage by burning down a grocery store. Kill every NPC in the hospital. You’ve got options. As time goes on and the game expands, characters will have increasing agency over the quality of the life they lead.

As far as the plot of the game itself, this too can be influenced strongly by player-characters. The first plot arc is somewhat linear, but after that, the players shape the direction that the game itself will go in.

Does The Pines have some sort of network?

Yes, it does! It can be found at pinesnet, and at this stage can be utilized separately in both audio and text formats.

How does the audio network work?

On an IC level, the audio network can be accessed via the telephones located in every household, though cell phones (also audio-only) are available as an Activity Reward and allow for mobile communication.

The phones in Wayward Pines are capable of dialing from one person to another, as well as leaving voicemail messages, much like your average landline. However, at the top of the number pad is a button sporting a “📣” (megaphone symbol), which can be pressed to access the open network.

There are 9 channels on the open network, and the latest 9 posts on the network are available for listening via each of the nine open channels, as well as 0, which hosts the latest post or announcement made by a town official and cannot be used by characters or NPC townies.

To listen to a post: Posts are accessible for listening by pressing “📣” and then the number of the channel it corresponds to. There’s no way to know whose messages are occupying which channels at any given time, so characters can expect a lot of channel-surfing to find someone they’d actually like to talk to.

To reply to a post: After the message is finished playing, your character is told to “press pound to reply”, which connects them with the poster like a regular phone call.

To make a new post: Press 📣-pound (📣#), record the message, then hang up the phone when they’re finished.

Instructions for the phone’s network use can be found on a sticker on the phone itself.

Generally, don’t worry about the semantics of the phones’ functionality. Just remember that it’s audio-only and roll with it like you would any network, we’re not sticklers on the solid details. Do remember that only the last nine audio-only network posts can be accessed on an IC level, and there’s no record of them once they’re gone.

How does the text network work?

On an IC level, the text network can be accessed via the laptops provided by the City of Wayward Pines as part of the Town Hall Is Listening project, a program designed to show the citizens of Wayward Pines that their city government cares about them. Every new resident receives a laptop within a week of their arrival, placed on their doorstep in a padded box early one morning. Each laptop belongs to the individual it was sent to, and any activity on that laptop will be attributed to the individual who owns it — no need to log in!

The laptop functions much like a normal Windows 98 laptop, with games and the earliest rendition of the Microsoft's Office suite. The primary difference is that rather than connecting to the world wide web, the 'internet' only seems to grant access to two places: the Town Hall Is Listening page and the message board.

The message board, logistically, functions like a Dreamwidth comm: New posts can be created, and responses to those posts are threaded rather than all in-line. Characters are able to choose their own 'username', but if one isn't selected, their name is shown instead. Anonymous posts can be made, but only through public access computers such as the one at the library (which appears on the network as "library patron" in place of a first and last name).

Private messages can also be sent from user to user.

What can be found in the houses that our characters will be provided with?

Houses come fully furnished with the basic necessities for a modestly comfortable life. Furniture, light fixtures, dishes and silverware, unopened toiletries, spare linens and blankets, etc. All of these items are in like-new condition and distinctly reminiscent of the 90's.

Houses do appear to be missing food and other perishables, but that's nothing a trip to the grocery store won't fix!

For a better idea of the housing available and the amenities and furnishings each house provides, check out the Housing page!

What’s the deal with those Official Notices, anyway?

The Official Notices posted in each public building are more than just a handy (albeit strange) list of social norms. In fact, they’re more-or-less the observed bylaws of the town of Wayward Pines. The locals follow these guidelines to the letter, and will react with fear and avoidance if your character does otherwise... Almost as if they’ve seen the consequence firsthand.

What’s stopping my character from breaking the rules in private?

The cameras, for one. Every building, public and residential, is equipped with enough well-concealed cameras to cover nearly every corner of every room. The great outdoors is a bit more lax, but there are still cameras or audio recording devices in many trees and bushes, on telephone poles, and any number of other places. The only seemingly undocumented place to talk is the woods, but like clockwork, a trek into any woods not specifically marked off for camping and hiking will always bring the Sheriff calling to urge you back into town.

Which brings us to the tracking implants. Observant characters may notice a lump about the size of a grain of rice in the back of one of their thighs (or, if they do not have a thigh, in a subtle location decided at the player’s discretion) along with their new injures, but if they consult a doctor about this lump, they will be reassured that it’s a benign cyst/scar tissue/a buildup of carbon, and nothing to be concerned about. And yet those characters who’ve given cause for the sheriff to drop in and say ‘hello’ might notice that he seemed to have found them with alarming ease, at home or even anywhere out on the town. It’s possible they’re keeping a little better track of characters than many seem to realize.

That doesn’t mean characters can’t break the rules, though. Many rooms have a visual blind spot, especially in private residences. A walk outdoors can take you out of earshot, if you’re careful. And honestly, there’s a chance that even if the surveillance equipment catches your character (for example) discussing their homeworld, there’s limited manpower behind the cameras and there’s at least a slim possibility that the transgression won’t be spotted.

( If your character is extremely careful about when and where they break the rules and do so with a high level of subtlety, we as mods are typically down to just handwave them getting away with it. The same goes for discussing disallowed topics in the privacy of your own home: Speculation in hushed tones is realistically not going to get anyone in trouble. Also, it’s perfectly alright to assume that speaking of false memory histories will not be considered breaking the rules; you are, after all, just talking about your life here in Wayward Pines. )

What happens if my character is caught breaking the rules?

The short answer: A chat, a lecture, then an arrest.

The long answer: It strongly depends on the type of crime being committed. If the crime is either (a) a misdemeanor or nonviolent felony, or (b) one which genuinely seems like an accident or misunderstanding, the process seems to be about the same:

The first time, they’ll get a talking-to from the Sheriff. He’s pretty buddy-cop about it, asking how your character is, delivering a little small-talk about positive aspects of Wayward Pines, then wrapping it all up by handing your character another copy of the Official Notice with a, “Might want to look this one over,” or something like it, with a distinct note of warning underneath his veneer of nonchalance. Then he leaves your character to their business.

The second time, the talk’s quite a bit more stern. Your character is spoken to like a hooligan, like someone looking to start trouble in this sweet little town with peaceful residents who don’t deserve that kind of hassle. It ends with some sort of, “This is your last warning. Don’t let me hear about you causing any kind of trouble again.”

The third time, there’s no talk. Your character is arrested. For misdemeanors, your character spends a few nights in jail. If your character has done time in jail and commits another misdemeanor, they repeat step 3 but instead receive double the previous jail time. (For example, if they received five nights this time, their second offense earns ten nights and their third earns twenty.)

For nonviolent felonies, your character is arrested and instead taken to the hospital. They’re taken in through a door around back, where the nurses speak in slow, soothing tones about how your character’s having a rough time — maybe even experiencing paranoia and delusions, if your character has been arrested for talking about taboo things — but don’t worry, they’re taking you somewhere to get the help you need.

If at all possible, they’ll strap your character to a gurney, and the last thing your character sees before they fall into a heavily medicated sleep is the smiling face of the head psychiatrist telling them everything’s going to be alright.

For violent felonies that are deemed intentional and knowing, the first two steps are skipped altogether. Characters are immediately arrested and taken to the hospital, just like the last disciplinary step for nonviolent felonies.

If at any point in the process, your character begins to refuse to cooperate, they are immediately sedated.

All disciplinary proceedings ending in the hospital count as a failed integration.

Can my character escape?

They may attempt to do so, and depending on the attempt, they may even be met with success. If you intend to have your character escape, please get in touch with the mods on the matter. We’re absolutely willing to work with you!

Be warned, however: Attempting to escape will have IC consequences that will vary depending on a character’s prior behavior and whether or not the character was successful, among other factors.

Can my character die, and do they respawn?

The short answer is yes and yes.

The long answer is that characters may or may not respawn, depending on the cause and location of their death. Characters will be allowed three “attempted integrations” into the Wayward Pines community. If a character dies in the process of attempting to subvert the rules, this falls under the category of "failed integration" and it counts toward one of those integration attempts. If your character died as the victim of some sort of murder or accident rather than as a result of subversive behaviors, however, that doesn’t count as one of the three integration attempts.

Additionally, when the game’s plot progresses enough to allow characters outside of the fence on a regular basis, a character’s likelihood of respawn is decided by their proximity to the safe haven of Wayward Pines and the extent of their injuries. Before you kill a character outside of the fence, be sure to check with a mod about whether or not they’ll be able to come back!

No matter how a character died, if your character is able to respawn, they will regain consciousness a week later in the hospital. The injuries that caused their death are still there, but have healed quite a bit.

If asked, the doctors will reply that they “managed to save” the patient in question, regardless of the extent of their injuries, and will encourage them to be much more careful in the future.

After the third integration attempt? They simply don’t come back. The town of Wayward Pines only has so much patience for trouble-makers.

Are there IC penalties for a failed integration?

Absolutely. Remember, a failed integration occurs as a final consequence of felony-class crimes or as a consequence of dying in the process of attempting to commit a felony-class crime, and keep in mind that the people in charge definitely want to prevent similar transgressions in the future.

That being said, a character comes back from a failed integration with some sort of consequence, something that will ideally deter that specific individual from causing further trouble. We allow the player to choose the consequence and how large or small it is, on the condition that it would feasibly serve as a deterrent based on that character’s specific personality.

Options include the loss or lessening of some or all special powers/abilities, physical inhibition (the loss of a sense, the loss of the use of a limb, a prevailing dizziness or fatigue after a sharply limited amount of activity, etc), and mental inhibition (anything from memory tampering to mentally programming a flinching ‘flight’ response to any mention of attempted lawbreaking).

These are just some of many possibilities, and players are more than welcome to present possible consequences of their own. These do stack with each failed integration.

So what’s this about memory loss?

Upon introduction into The Pines, characters will only be able to remember five (5) things about themselves and their lives before arriving in the Pines.

These memories can be something as important as the name of a loved one, a description of their job, or recollections of their homes or families. The memories can also be seemingly inconsequential, such as the fact that they enjoy golf, or dislike the taste of fish. These are chosen entirely by the player when the application is being filled out.

Rest assured, however, that amnesia is only a temporary setback — a supposed side effect of the aforementioned ‘nasty accident’. Characters will begin slowly regaining their memories (both from home and otherwise) within 3 to 4 days of their arrival, and by the end of their second week, most characters should have regained all of their memories.

If a player wishes to stretch out this memory loss even longer, they are more than free to — however, two weeks is the minimum.

( ! ) Please note that a character's name does not need count as one of their five memories! Characters are free to remember their name (or not, if you prefer) regardless of which five memories you've chosen for them to remember.

What are “Wayward Pines memories” and how do they work?

Strangely enough, as new characters begin to regain their memories, they also “regain” memories of a life here in Wayward Pines. Maybe they rode their bike down this street as a kid. Maybe that park was where they had their first kiss. Almost unanimously pleasant, these memories are entirely at odds with everything your character knows (or thinks they know) about the life they led before Wayward Pines, but at the same time, these memories feel so real. Seeing the objects or people featured in the memories gives your character that same warm nostalgic feeling they’d feel if the events they’re remembering actually happened.

In fact, these memories often feature other player-characters, who conveniently remember the same thing. Maybe your character and their canon enemy were actually lovers, here in Wayward Pines. Or maybe your character remembers two parents that they’ve never actually met before arriving in Wayward Pines, but who are here now and also halfway-remember having your character as a kid.

These memories largely exist to instill characters with a predisposed fondness for the town, to make them somewhat more disinclined to destroy it or to try and leave. (In fact, each character has at least one or two memories that try to normalize the town’s strangely-restrictive regulations.)

This is a good route to build CR with people your character might not otherwise give much time to. However, your character’s Wayward Pines memories only directly feature characters who are also in Wayward Pines. This is due to the fact that all Wayward Pines memories share a continuity; if your character’s false memories feature another character, that character would also ‘remember’ the same CR and events, and thus each memory which directly features other characters needs to be discussed with all parties involved.

Don’t worry, though: Unlike your character’s real memories, which recover within two weeks, Wayward Pines memories trickle in throughout the duration of their time in the game, so if a new character arrives and you’d both like your character to have some sort of false-memory CR, your character can ‘remember’ those memories at any time.

This feature is entirely opt-out. While most characters do have at least a few Wayward Pines memories, if the mechanic doesn’t appeal to you as a player, you’re welcome to skip it.

How do canon updates work?

OOCly, you fill out a form and submit it to the Canon Updates page for mod approval.

Once approved, your character will wake up the following day with the additional memories and/or physical changes that would occur with such an update. NPCs will act as if nothing has changed, or as if the change is entirely normal.

If your character tries to seek medical attention for any of the changes, the hospital staff will seem more bemused than anything — although they will claim that it’s nothing your character should be overly worried about.

What happens to characters who have dropped?

They disappear without a trace. Within a week, their living quarters are emptied out completely. False memories of dropped characters fade away over the day or two following that character's disappearance, though characters are welcome to remember their actual memories of those characters' time in The Pines.

Is there an IC language barrier?

Basically? No.

Characters will wake up in Wayward Pines able to read, write, speak and understand the English language — regardless of whether or not they could in canon. They’re also still fluent in any language they spoke before their entrance into the game.

For example: A character who grew up in Japan, speaking only Japanese, would still be able to speak Japanese in game if they so wished. They would just also be able to speak and understand English as well.

There are exceptions. For example, Groot would still be limited to “I am Groot”, and characters with limited or no speech capabilities in canon wouldn’t magically be able to speak English here. If you’re not sure whether or not your character is an exception, feel free to ask a mod!

My character is a non-human, are they humanized?

Hell no, dawg (or dog, as the case may be).

My character is a supernatural creature, how do they fare?

They fare as well as they would in their home canons! Vampires will still burn up in the sunlight, werewolves will still be vulnerable to silver, etc. If they have unique, monster-y dietary restrictions (such as a vampire requiring blood), the hospital will set them up with something to sate them.

If your character’s affliction would be contagious in their canon, they will be in the game as well — although, be warned: Spreading such conditions without IC consent is highly frowned upon in the town of Wayward Pines.

How well do “bad guys” fare in The Pines?

They’re expected to follow the rules of Wayward Pines, the same as anyone else — and they suffer the same consequences for breaking them.

Unfortunately, we can’t accommodate extra integration attempts for villains, even if it would be entirely IC for them to murder incessantly despite all attempts by the authorities to correct his or her behavior. The IC consequences for failed integration would be particularly useful in cases such as these, in which a character needs some tangible restriction to keep them away from that third failed integration without bending ICness to do so.

How will life-altering medical conditions be handled in The Pines?

That’s left up to player discretion! The individuals behind the scenes in Wayward Pines have in their possession a level of technology that can genuinely remedy most physical illnesses, ailments, or disabilities. As such, characters arriving in The Pines may have all manner of medical conditions healed, or they may not — it’s up to you. (Alternatively, they can come in with said ailment and have it fixed later.)

►When are reserves and applications open?

Reserves typically open the 16th or 17th while applications open the 23rd or 24th of the month, depending on how many days in the month. (This month’s important dates can be found here.)

How many characters may I play at a time?

The Pines has a soft character cap of three. A further two character slots may be purchased as rewards for activity. See the Activity Check section for more info!

What kinds of characters can be applied for?

Both canon characters and OCs are allowed. With canon characters, we will likely ask for revisions if an application is more than 50% headcanon, so consider whether your character has sufficient canon material before you write an application!

Can you tell me in advance if a character has sufficient canon to be appable?

Unfortunately, we cannot. We handle each app on a case-by-case basis, and it does depend somewhat on the app itself. However, we can offer a few guidelines. We recommend you consider writing your own history section, since fandom wikis are more likely to downplay a minor character's contributions to canon. We compare the Q&A portion of all apps to the material provided in the history, and if it seems that this material is insufficient to give your answers context, we may deem your character unappable. Histories themselves should be composed almost entirely of canon events and knowledge (i.e., this is not the place for extensive headcanon), and answers to questions should be based on reasonable extrapolations from canon. (An example of an unreasonable extrapolation: Sally ate a grilled cheese sandwich in one scene. Therefore, Sally is a world renowned grilled cheese chef and connoisseur.) If you have difficulty describing a fully fleshed out character in your app based on these stipulations, we may not be able to accept your character into the game.

What kinds of characters are not appable (or are, but conditionally)?

Fandom OCs and AUs are not allowed. Real people are also not allowed, unless they are fictionalized versions of that person. If someone wanted to apply for Pocahontas, they could bring her from the Disney movie but not the actual historical figure herself.

Canon AUs or alternates with sufficient canon material, however, are allowed. For instance if someone is playing MCU Loki, but someone wants to apply to the game with Loki from the comics, we'll oftentimes allow it. We prefer that there be significant differences between versions of a character before we’ll accept them. For example, the manga and anime versions of Naruto would be considered ‘too similar’ to accept both of. If you’re not sure, contact the mods and we can let you know.

In the interests of fair play and allowing players to avoid spoilers, characters from new canons are only appable once their canon has been out for at least 4 weeks prior to the date applications open. This means they can be reserved three weeks after release or broadcast date.

Are CRAUs allowed? If so, how do they work?

They are! On an OOC level, it’s pretty simple. That neato little CR AU section most people have to delete from their application? Just fill that sucker out. You don’t have to tell us every little detail of your character’s past game experience — just lay out any events that have impacted your character mentally, emotionally, or physically, as well as a quick summary of important CR.

Important Note: Be sure to talk to the player on an OOC level before you integrate memories of another character into your character’s tags. Not all players are okay with this, and if we find out that a player is failing to offer this common courtesy, we’ll address the issue.

Are powers limited in any way?

Not unless they’re of a particularly game-breaking quality. Powers that would allow a character to open a portal back to their homeworld, for example.

Beyond that, basically everything is on the table.

Can my character bring (name of powerful weapon)?

Assuming it’s not game-breaking, absolutely! However, weapons with special powers or abilities are also affected by the gradual depowering effect of the fence surrounding the town, so fat chance of using them to help you escape.

Anything deemed a weapon (any firearms or unnecessary sharp objects larger than a pocketknife) is held by the Sheriff until the one-month anniversary of your character’s arrival, pending an assessment of your character’s behavior as they settle into the town. If your character makes it a full month with one or fewer visits from the sheriff, an official-looking box containing their weapon(s) arrives on their doorstep with a card personally thanking your character for being an upstanding citizen.

At this point in time, anything not immediately deemed a weapon (for example, an everyday inanimate object with magical powers) is returned to your character with the rest of their belongings. In the future, they’ll likely learn from this mistake.

How does Activity Check work?

Our Activity Check consists of a mandatory check-in and an optional points system.

The check-in is basically just showing your face and giving us a one-or-two sentence idea of what your character’s been up to since the last AC.

The points system, meanwhile, is a lot more specific. We understand that not everyone’s going to want to tally up their points each month, and it’s possible to get almost everything without points that you can get with, although it’s a lengthier and more difficult process. Unspent points carry over from month to month, and can be combined with another player’s points to co-purchase bigger prizes.

The Activity Check will go up on the 7th and span the entire second week of the month. Individuals who don’t show up to at least check in during that week will be swept.

Are there regular Test Drive memes? What about other game-wide memes?

Test Drive memes go up concurrent with the opening of reserves each month. We also have a CR meme each month, which goes up on the 3rd alongside the monthly Newsletter.

How long am I allowed to hiatus, and can I post one retroactively?

Because our Activity Check only really requires you to check in, a hiatus isn’t quite as big a deal as it might be elsewhere. If you’re not going to be around to check in during the week of the AC, post in advance on the Hiatus page to let us know, and we’ll exempt you from one month of AC.

Unfortunately, unless a helpful friend is willing to compile and tally up your threads on your behalf, a hiatus also exempts you from receiving the activity points you otherwise would have gathered in the month of your AC exemption.

How does housing work?

Characters who post to the Housing page receive the house of their choice on a first-come, first-serve basis.

If there are no empty houses left, new characters will be somewhat randomly assigned to currently-occupied houses, supposedly as a temporary guest until more housing is built. Precedent goes to houses that seem to have a lot of space to spare (for example, a four-bedroom house occupied by just one resident would be chosen before a three-bedroom with two residents).

If you’d like your character to move to a different house than the one they’ve claimed, leave a reply on the Housing page specifying which character is moving and where to. If the house they’ve left is now vacant, it is free to be claimed and will otherwise be occupied by newcomers in the next application round.

New housing will be built every few months, and there are murmurings of an apartment complex in the future. For now, players can buy their character a newly-built house with activity points... at a pretty steep price.

Can my character get a job or start a business?

Of course! In fact, it’s strongly encouraged. There are dozens of businesses in Wayward Pines, and most of them are hiring. Please feel free to make use of the player-controlled spreadsheet on our Businesses page once you've decided where your character is going to work. Alternately, they can start up their own business in any unoccupied building in town — or even from their own home! Once again, just add the business information and location to the spreadsheet. Other characters are also welcome to work for these PC-run businesses; please just seek approval from the player whose character is running the business before adding them to the spreadsheet.

Got any questions not listed above? Ask them here!