As mentioned in our FAQ, Musica Universalis will not be a BYO Character game. Instead, we will be writing all the characters, and assigning players based on casting questionnaire responses, similar to how Intercon or other theater larps do so. Our reason for choosing this approach is pretty simple; in a one shot game, it is much easier to seed plot and information if we control the backstories. This helps ensure that all characters have some stake in at least some of the many events occurring throughout the weekend, which in turn we hope will help keep players busy and happy.
This means that you will be provided with a character sheet and a world information packet (referred to as blue sheets), which you should read and be familiar with.
Rather than create the characters entirely in a vacuum, we are trying a hybrid system. We will have concepts and partial histories for the characters written when we send out the casting questionnaire, but the final touches and personality details will be added in direct response to your feedback. In order to have enough time to incorporate your feedback, we will be sending out the questionnaire pretty early in the grand scheme of things. The exact timeline is still under review, but likely early summer.
More immediately important, we will be writing characters to round out a story based on the number of players interested. We will be sending out a player interest poll in the next month or two (we are trying to nail down dates as much as possible first), and ask that everyone who is interested in PCing fill out the poll. We will have a PC cap, and if there are more interested players than there are spots we will be selecting via lottery. We will have a wait list (which will also operate on a lottery system), but also invite (plead with?) any interested players that didn’t get in to join the winning….err, to join us as an NPC. We have many delightful roles on both sides, and would love the help!
Again, player interest poll will go out sometime in the next 1-2 months.
Sign up for the player mailing list to make sure you get the link!