faq (arc ii).

[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 haven of Wayward Pines and the apocalyptic world around it.

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

You're more than welcome to, but you certainly don't need to. In fact, trying to view The Pines through the lens of the Wayward Pines book or TV series would likely just lead to confusion. At this point in the game, we only loosely adhere to the canon from which we gained our inspiration.

What kinds of events and happenings occur in The Pines?

Wayward Pines is a totally ordinary idyllic little town — one which happens to hold the last known human beings on the planet. As of our grand reopening in April of '19, we've entered into our second metaplot arc and shifted from concentrated monthly 'events' to open-world character-driven exploration and development of the apocalyptic world outside.

Dangerous expeditions outside of the fence surrounding Wayward Pines are available for characters to undertake, each with a goal in mind and which furthers the world-building in some shape or form. These expeditions come in any number of flavors, from relatively harmless (albeit still dangerous) scientific inquiry to active combat to outright horror of various sorts, to let each player pick and choose the genres which interest them most. Players and characters who prefer more 'slice of life' gameplay, meanwhile, are able to stay safely within the fence surrounding Wayward Pines, where they'll be provided with much less risky action-oriented tasks and any number of mingles and mini-events dedicated to building and maintaining CR.

Every ~2-3 months, an expedition (or series of expeditions) will uncover a particularly pressing aspect of the overarching plot, and we'll have a game-wide event as a result. On top of that, occasionally a game-wide event will trigger independent of the characters' actions.

Who brought our characters here and what do they want?

No one knows who brought characters to this world, but once they were here, they were picked up relatively quickly by Orphosis Biotechnologies. Wayward Pines exists entirely due to Ortech's efforts, and they continue to maintain residents' standard of living despite humoring no further illusions that this is, indeed, an ordinary town caught smack dab in the throes of the mid-90's.

Ortech wants you to survive. It's as simple as that, really. Wayward Pines is essentially an elaborate recolonization effort, and Ortech's most fundamental goal is for citizens to survive, thrive, form bonds, and eventually begin to rebuild some semblance of civilization outside of the sanctuary of Wayward Pines.

For more on this, an Ortech liason provided this handy IC FAQ and follow-up Q&A.

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 the local hospital. 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 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. Any attempts to make sense of things will result in your character being urged not to 'rush things'. This is a lot to take in, and it's important not to overwhelm himself or herself too quickly.

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, some characters do leave the hospital with naught but a hospital gown to their name - but those who listen to the attending nurses and check out at the front desk as requested are handed one or more plastic bins (not unlike the security bins at the airport) filled with the belongings listed in their application's inventory. They seem largely untampered with, save for a select assortment of weapons: All guns with visible clips or other such ammo will have been unloaded and disarmed (though the clips and/or ammo are all still present and accounted for in one of the bins), and all bladed or otherwise sharp weapons without some form of sheath will have had their sharp edges or areas wrapped almost comically in packing foam for safety purposes.

Those who fail to retrieve their items from the hospital can return for them that day. Otherwise, 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.

While little-to-none of the built-in technology dates later than the mid-90's, all individuals are provided with smartphones to facilitate communication, and more examples of advanced technology seem to be trickling in by the day. 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.

Spend any real time here, however, and you'll find that the town is very much not as ordinary as it seems. Armed individuals patrol the fence-line in shifts throughout each day, and many more individuals venture outside that same fence. Some come back entirely intact, others gravely wounded, all with a grizzly story to tell. Because while Wayward Pines remains carefully idyllic, the world outside is cruel and inhospitable, and ultimately Wayward Pines must face that dangerous world or risk dying out altogether.

Can my character go home?

Unfortunately, no.

While Ortech is fully responsible for apprehending your character, putting them into cryogenic stasis, and then integrating them into the captive environment of Wayward Pines, they are not responsible for bringing your characters here in the first place. At current, they don't even know who is. One of the many goals each expedition hopes to accomplish is to locate even the slightest clue that might point Ortech in the direction of who brought your characters here and how exactly to send them back home.

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 II (the current plot arc) features aspects of memory loss & alteration, though this is entirely optional. It's also worth noting that the world outside of Wayward Pines is extremely dangerous and oftentimes pretty screwed-up, and many expeditions outside of the fence will include definite themes of gore, violence, and horror (body horror, monster horror, or psychological horror). These things will be warned for in the expedition write-up, and we will never spring any sort of gore or horror on characters that has not been openly requested by all of the players involved.

Basically any given facet of the game 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?

As of the beginning of Arc II in April of '19, characters are coming to terms with the truth behind Wayward Pines and are beginning to work with (or against) Ortech in their quest to explore and map the world outside.

To brush up on the metaplot up to this point, check out the ‘Plot So Far’ page.

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

Actually, a pretty decent amount.

As Arc II progresses, the discoveries made in various expeditions have a very real effect on the lives the characters lead. As Ortech's knowledge and resources increase, so do the breadth of opportunities available to the characters who live within Wayward Pines. New technologies and scientific breakthroughs can be discovered or developed by characters with the knowledge or training to do so. And if characters take the initiative required to build and fortify an outpost, Wayward Pines may not be the only remaining bastion of safety for long.

On the flip side, characters are more than capable of negatively impacting their quality of life in Wayward Pines as well, and will absolutely do so if they don't think carefully about each decision they make. Choosing to senselessly fight against Ortech or go outside of the fence without clearance may be your character's prerogative, but the former runs the risk of hindering the Ortech-WP cooperation effort as a whole (thus putting a damper on the privileges and opportunities available to all characters), and the latter will have an extremely high chance of getting them permanently killed.

Does The Pines have some sort of network?

Yes, it does! It can be found at pinesnet and be accessed via the smartphones given to each individual when they reclaim their belongings from the outpatient desk. The network includes audio, text, and video capabilities, with the potential for future app development.

Characters can also achieve network connectivity via communications technology brought from their homeworlds! Just run it by one of the mods to ensure compatibility and you'll be good to go.

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 used to be posted in each public building as a summary of the observed bylaws of the town of Wayward Pines. The locals followed these guidelines to the letter, reacting with fear and avoidance if your character did otherwise, and even now that the bylaws have been abolished and all public instances of the Official Notices have been removed, many Wayward Pines citizens still tend to avoid discussing the past simply out of habit.

What kind of rules currently exist in Wayward Pines, and how are they upheld?

These days, the only way to truly get in trouble is to commit a genuine crime. Thievery/burglary, assault, and murder are the three most prominent examples of such crimes. While discussing the past or the various unsavory not-quite-secrets that surround Wayward Pines would once earn a stern visit from the Sheriff, characters are now outright encouraged to discuss what they've been through and the difficulties they're currently facing.

Generally, criminals are sentenced to a set amount of time in in the local jail to think about their choices. However, characters who repeatedly and intentionally harm or kill others will likely provoke further preventative action.

Are characters still being watched? What about tracked?

As of the Arc II turnover, all surveillance has been removed from private residences and all player-run public locations. Many stores or public buildings continue to use surveillance to prevent theft and otherwise keep track of the goings-ons in their place of work, but the cameras are closed-circuit and only the respective store-owners or relevant local authorities have access.

Characters also no longer arrive in Wayward Pines with the standard tracking implant in the back of their thigh. While Ortech strongly recommends requesting one — or even just a tracking bracelet or necklace charm — if you plan to go outside of fence in any capacity to ensure that they can find you and help you should you get yourself fatally wounded or killed, they leave this decision up to the individual. Characters who arrived prior to the arc turnover are welcome to visit the hospital and have their pre-existing tracker quickly and semi-painlessly removed.

Can my character escape?

Absolutely.

Characters who are cleared for an expedition are turned loose on that expedition on the good faith that they'll check in at regular times, stay on course, and return to Wayward Pines relatively on schedule. However, there is nothing beyond the character's sense of responsibility and/or the overall awareness of their semi-inevitable death to actually push them to return at all. Characters can, in fact, choose to just keep on going...

It's worth noting, though, that this will come with almost guaranteed IC consequences. The farther a character is from Wayward Pines, the higher the likelihood that they'll be killed in a permanent sense — and if they do eventually return to the safety of Wayward Pines, their clearance will likely be revoked as a privilege that the individual clearly isn't ready to handle responsibly.

If my character dies, is it permanent? Or will they respawn?

The short answer is 'it depends'.

The long answer is that characters may or may not respawn, depending on the cause and location of their death.

Within the fence: Characters will be allowed three “attempted integrations” into the Wayward Pines community. If a character dies in the process of committing or attempting to commit a murder or aggravated assault, 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, however, that doesn’t count as one of the three integration attempts. After the third integration attempt? They simply don’t come back. The town of Wayward Pines only has so much patience for dangerous trouble-makers.

Outside of the fence: 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 inquire on the Deaths page 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.

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 “false 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.

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.

These memories initially existed to instill characters with a predisposed fondness for the town, to make them somewhat more disinclined to destroy it or to try and leave. Now that the truth is out in the open, these memories are largely unnecessary — even obsolete. However, the process by which to actually stop the false memory formation is dangerous and highly invasive, and those who do choose to go through with the procedure will lose all memories gained since their arrival in Wayward Pines and will likely see some minor destabilization of their canon memories as well.

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 just assume your character's false memories are vague and few, and to literally just never have to address that they exist at all.

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. 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.

(It was recently revealed that these 'vanished' characters were simply recalled into the lab with the ultimate intent to protect them from some unforeseen side effect of cryogenic thaw or even reality-hopping in the first place.)

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 likely set them up with something to sate them. Alternatively, if you'd prefer on an OOC level for your character to struggle with dietary scarcity, you're free to say that the hospital is willing to help but is unable to supply the necessary item(s) at the time.

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.)

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 have to find a roommate or couch-surf on a supposedly temporary basis until such time as more houses become available.

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.

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, but please seek approval from the player whose character is running the business before adding them to the spreadsheet.

►When are reserves and applications open?

Our reserves and applications are on a bi-monthly schedule, scheduled during even-numbered months.

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?

You can play up to five (5) characters in The Pines.

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 seems like it's largely headcanon, so consider whether your character has enough canon material before you write an application! (As a note, our restrictions regarding how little canon is allowed to be appable have relaxed since Pines 1.0 in 2017, so you're welcome to check in with the mod team to see if a character that wasn't appable before might be okay now.)

Do you have any app-writing tips for characters with small canon roles?

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 at least relative 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!

It's worth noting that weapons with special powers or abilities are also affected by the gradual depowering effect of the fence surrounding the town, and that a failed integration is likely to be grounds for confiscation of any notable weapons your character may have on their person.

How does Activity Check work?

Hot damn, do we have some good news for you.

Once every two months, we'll hold a check-in Activity Check. Literally all you have to do is show up and give us a general idea of what your character has been up to, even if you've handwaved a huge chunk of it. Then you're good to go for another two months.

The Activity Check will go up on the 7th of every odd-numbered month 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.

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.

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

Test Drive memes go up concurrent with the opening of reserves in each even-numbered month. We also have a CR meme on the odd-numbered months, which goes up sometime between the 3rd and the 7th.

Can I get a simplified run-down of the exact bi-monthly schedule?

Absolutely!

On even-numbered months (Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug, Oct, Dec): Application week is the last week of the month, with reserves and a fresh new TDM on the week before that.

On odd-numbered months (Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Sep, Nov): Intro log at the start of the month, CR meme between the 3rd and the 7th, Activity Check on the 7th for a week, recycled Test Drive Meme sometime in the middle of the month.

A quick reference on what to expect this month can be found here, at the top of the OOC comm.

Got any questions not listed above? Ask them here!

Comments

[boo_berry]

Will comic adaptions be seen as separate from the source i.e AMC Preacher vs the comics?

[officialnotice]

Assuming the adaptation does what adaptations usually do and diverges from the source at various points (like Preacher itself does) rather than following the original precisely, they'll definitely be classified as separate sources.

(I honestly can't think of any comic adaptations that do mirror the source closely enough to count as one and the same, but I figured I'd add that qualifier in there just to be safe.)