Frequently Asked Questions/General Group

## General Group Questions

### How do I join?

We are a semi-private group which means that we have openings for new membership applications periodically. Once an opening is planned, we will make an update to notify our watchers and visitors. We will also post reminders and eventually a new opening announcement. These updates are posted to our Bulletin Board.Remember to read over the Character Creation for information and tips to make a character for the group!

### Can we still join if we don’t know much about either Harvest Moon or Pokemon?

Yes! Even if you’ve never played either franchise, you’re still welcome to apply! We usually recommend you do research on anything you don’t know much about, however.

### I didn't get in, should I take my app down?

You don't need to if you don’t want to. It's your artwork, plus we actually recommend to keep it up so you can apply next opening!

### Will you ever be adding new mods?

We do when we need more hands on staff. There are no set dates for when we start accepting moderator applications, but we do make announcements well beforehand.

Typically, we will pick from the applications we receive and have those people hired on as a Clerk. This is essentially a probationary or trial period for us to work with them and determine who gets to be promoted to a moderator-ship.

### What counts as activity? And what can I do to keep myself from being removed from the group because of inactivity?

Activity counts as clean lineart, 300 word stories, and more. Check out our Activity Requirement journal for more information.

### I'm so busy in real life! I'm going on hiatus. Is there anything I should do?

Taking a hiatus from the group is allowed! You are required to send the group a note informing us that you wish to be put on hiatus. An estimation of how long is recommended, but not needed. A hiatus may last up to 5 months and will exclude you from activity checks until it expires.

You may submit one piece to us while on hiatus, but a second submission and/or frequent chat room visits will automatically terminate it.

### Why the zero-tolerance policy on killing of characters?

Harvest Moon is a slice-of-life simulator game. Pokemon is an RPG, but in the Pokemon franchise canon, fighting leads to fainting--not death.

We don’t want people to have the fear of their character potentially being killed.

Additionally, you are not allowed to kill your character while they are in the group. You may change their totems through our annual event, but they are not allowed to die (or return to life) while in Harvest-Lunatone.

### How many NPC’s (non-player characters) are we allowed to have?

Currently, we do not have a set restriction on NPC’s. Keep them manageable and relevant to the character they support, however.

### So we can have as many NPC's we want, but which should I submit to the group? All of them?

That depends entirely on your definition of “all.” Keep in mind that we may not accept every NPC application. In a roleplay group, NPC’s are typically flat, supporting characters who are there to put emphasis on your own character. Parents, bosses, employees, siblings, etc. are all examples of the relationships your NPC’s might have with your character.

Appearances should follow group Gijinka rules and not be a excessively Pokemon, but 25%. NPCs submitted to the group should not be shiny.

History and Personality sections of NPC applications are encouraged to be concise and minimally detailed. They should also be geared towards their involvement or relationship with the character they are there to support rather than an exposition on their own experiences & flaws etc. like in character applications.

> NPC’s that are 14 years of age or younger must have a guardian accompanying them in their application. Guardians of NPC’s may not be a player’s character. The exception to this rule is if two player characters are married and have a child. The child’s application does not require them to be present, either.
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> NPC’s that are featured prominently in more than one submission to the group must have applications.
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