Creating Characters

Arcana Uncharted is a deviantart-based collaborative ARPG populated by sapient ungulates. In order to play in the world of Aeon, you need to have at least one character submitted to the group; using your character, you can create art, literature, engage in roleplay, complete memes, participate in events (and more!)

Before you get into character creation, make sure you've looked over our Rules and Joining, Gameplay, and Lore articles to ensure you understand how the game works and what we expect in regards to member conduct!

## Creating Characters

This is the fun part! Creating a character is always an exciting, creative process. But before you take off to your sketchbook or word doc, let's go over some relevant information.

**Some Basics:**

* There is no limit to how many characters you can have in Arcana Uncharted. Your first character is free to make; then you must purchase a **Creation Token** from the Arcanum for all additional characters, using our in-game currency (mana).
* Your application's artwork need not be your own, but the written portion must be 100% your own writing. You are welcome to acquire feedback, but the majority of the ideas and concepts should be your own.
* Characters should be well-rounded and believable. A character with no personality flaws is a boring character, and an all-powerful one is even worse!
* If your character's history includes them, approach sensitive subjects such as abuse and sexual assault with tact, and **always** provide content warnings for them at the top of the application.
* Of course, you'll want to get familiar with the lore of your character's faction. It's your job to make sure your character fits into their world in a believable and seamless way.
* Every character in Arcana Uncharted belongs to a Arcane Race, so be sure to brush up on their differences!

**Design Guidelines:**

* Characters in Arcana Uncharted can be any member of the Ungulate Clade excluding the infraorder Cetacea
	+ Magic is real is Aeon and rules don't matter, so feel free to make your character a hybrid of one or more ungulates (ex: a horse / deer hybrid) Canonically, such individuals are rare in the world of Aeon, due to the low chance of producing a hybrid offspring. Gameplay-wise, these characters aren't limited. How you express the traits of your hybrid character is limited only by your imagination.
* Character coats, eyes, hooves, horns, etc, can be any color.
* Antlers and horns are not sexually dimorphic in Arcana Uncharted, meaning they are not inherently a 'male' trait; any character can have them or *not* have them, regardless of gender.
* Magical elements (such as halos, glowing eyes, trailing stardust, being a literal skeleton, etc) require a Transformation Token, purchased in the Arcanum. Canonically, these characters have been affected by magic in some way, resulting in a change to their appearance. How and why that happened is up to you, the creator.
* Characters can have multiple body parts, such as an extra limb, a second pair of wings, lots of horns, several eyes, etc. If your character has another head that has its own personality and individual thought (a conjoined twin, basically) you must purchase an additional Creation Token, though they can share an application.
* All characters are born with the ability to use telekinesis, or 'teke', which is as strong as the character's physical strength, i.e. if the character can't physically push a heavy rock, they can't do it with their teke either. Telekinesis auras can be any color, a gradient of colors, or they can be completely invisible. It's up to you!
* Excepting a talent that enhances their abilities, all characters are limited to the real-world capabilities of horses and deer when it comes to their physical strength, speed, vitality, etc. Likewise, proportions and height should be realistic.
* As mentioned, there are six Arcane Races in Arcana Uncharted.
	+ **Common** - what it says on the tin. These characters may not be as eye-catching as the other races, but there's more to their humble appearance than meets the eye. These individuals are highly adaptable to new forms of magic.
	+ **Unicorns**  - these individuals sport one or more horns (most commonly on their head) that channel magic, cloven hooves, and lionel tails. For some species, it can be hard to tell if they're a unicorn or a common being! Unicorns are considered to be the race with the closest connection to raw magic, and have an affinity for old, 'pure' magics.
	+ **Pegasi** - defined by their wings. It isn't uncommon to see them with extensive plumage, scaled legs, or draconian fins. Pegasi are naturally aligned with wind and electricity magic.
	+ **Dryad** - quite literally 'one with nature', dryads are known for the plants, gemstones, wood, and other natural beauties that sprout from their bodies. Not surprisingly, they are "naturally" (haha) attuned to earth and life magic.
	+ **Hippocampi** - inheritors of the sea, the defining trait of this race is their ability to transform between a land and water form. Fins, scales, tentacles, even fangs and stingers are all expected attributes of the hippocampi. Predictably, they are best at learning water and vapor magic.
	+ **Kirin** - as close to dragons as you can get. These dudes can display scales, antlers, fangs, and a whole lot of fur. They are attuned to fire and metal magic, and are probably responsible for a lot of atrocities in an alternate universe.
	+ **Crossbreeds** - your character can be a mix of two or more races. The portrayal of their varied traits is entirely up to you. Their magical affinity will match the race that is most prominent in their design; if it's an even split, you can pick which affinity to apply. Canonically speaking, crossbreeds are significantly more common than purebreds unless a faction has a cultural (ex. racism) or circumstantial (ex. only dryads live on the island) reason for them not to be..