Hylian Honor (The new thing.)

So here is what I was speaking of in the news post, the thing I was eluding to announcing that caused such a stir. This wasn't completely made by me either, this is in collaboration with Ribitta which is why I wanted him to be mod, because I think this is so excellent and I really want to try it out! Here is a FAQ Type of thing that explains it all.




What is Hylian Honor?

Hylian Honor is a new system to be implemented on Hyrule Castle that will allow members to opt new characters to harsher grading standards with more restrictions. By opening up this option we hope to:
- Reward quality where it previously could not be
- Grant prestige to those willing to sacrifice to create better characters
- Explore different directions for characters
- Encourage members to take a closer look at their writing when they feel they wish to

Is this required?

Hylian Honor is a system that is 100% optional in the character creation process and will have no impact on characters already created before implementation.

How does it work?

In the character sheet there is now going to be a new heading labeled as “Honor.” If members do not wish to participate in the new grading system they are welcome to exclude the heading, put it as N/A or something similar, or simply put “Respected”, the standard and default level in Hylian Honor. There are three levels of Hylian Honor currently, and your character sheets will be graded based off of the level you propose.

What’s the breakdown for these levels?

Currently there will be three levels of characters to be graded at. They are as follows:

Respected:

This level of Hylian Honor is the standard and default level of all accepted characters. Staff will grade these characters identically to how all characters have been graded in the past. By jumping through our hoops, obeying our laws with PWC, rupees, treasures, races, and all the rest, a character is an excellent and Respected addition to the roleplaying community.

Revered:

For a character to be Revered, all the prior accomplishments must be met and more. Revered characters are to be looked at more closely and qualitatively, going beyond simple things like lining up with the history and not breaking any rules and such. On top of this, to be accepted as Revered a character must also submit themselves to certain mechanical restrictions. The full requirements the staff will be looking for are as follows:

Mechanical:

PWC is restricted. All members, regardless of position, receive only two additional points to add to Revered characters. With current origin standings every character begins with 1/1/2, 1/2/1, or 2/1/1 depending on the race. With two additional bonus points the highest score in any particular category could be no higher than four.

Starting Rupees are restricted. Each revered character will have their initial funding cut in half, dropping their starting rupees from 100 to 50. This will also apply to the racial ability “Rupee Riches” granting 25 bonus rupees at creation instead of 50. The “Magic Proficiency” bonuses remain unchanged, though, when purchasing wisdom based items at creation.

Qualitative:

Revered characters may not be “Mary Sues.” Currently, our condition for whether or not a character is a “Mary Sue” depends on whether or not the character is truly faulted. A true fault should negatively impact the reader’s impression of the character (from a personality standpoint, not a quality one). Faults that are immediately covered by, “But it’s really pretty reasonable…” or “But they’re really quite a good or loveable person” or “But they know how to overcome this fault when it’s important” are not acceptable. If a staff, when reading the character, is forced to question if they’d want to be anywhere near this character, were they real, then you’re on the right track.

Fabled:

These characters take the harshest scrutiny from the staff and the heaviest mechanical restrictions. While “Fabled” characters require significant work and a critical eye, they are by no means unobtainable or reserved only for the most gifted writers. Fabled characters require everything a Revered character would and take the game to the highest level we feel we can objectively grade.

Mechanical:

PWC is further restricted. While characters still receive two points to add to their characters, they may no longer have a single stat exceeding three.

Major Treasures are limited now, regardless of rank. Fabled characters may only have a single Major Treasure at any time. This applies to both “Unique” Major Treasures and those that are simply Major Treasures. This rule is not applied to Major Treasures yielded by professions.

Qualitative:

Fabled characters may not be “Special Snowflakes.” This means that the character must fit very naturally into the backstory of the site and the Zelda universe as a whole. These characters should be representative of what would be common to see in the world. Histories justified by “There’s nothing saying I can’t” are not acceptable. An example of a character that is not as a Special Snowflake would be, for instance, a Zora born in the Zora domain, like the vast majority of all other Zoras. An example of a Special Snowflake would be, say, a Goron born in the Zora’s domain because of some extreme, complex situations.

History, personality, and appearance must all flow together properly. If a character has a personality attribute then it ought to be accounted to either their genetics or some event or person in their life that shaped that out. Similarly, appearances should also coincide with the history; noticeable or lasting injury or shaping should be accounted for historically.

Characters will be checked more thoroughly for “Mary Sue” symptoms than before, and it is no longer acceptable for a character to be made with the apparent purpose of being impressive or self-fulfilling. While Revered characters must avoid being a “Mary Sue” at a technical level, Fabled characters must live and breathe in that mindset.

Why the mechanical restrictions—shouldn’t we reward more rigorously graded characters?

We want the mechanical aspect of the character to be affected as it is very much a part of HC and is what makes us very unique. However, we also wanted this system to be entirely optional to members as we understand it will not appeal to everyone. For this reason, we want members who choose to avoid this system to not feel like they are being denied a creative opportunity.
Secondly, it also creates a bit of a distinction we are hoping to see in different kinds of characters. The PWC restrictions are very important, especially in tandem with the Rupee restrictions, because it reduces the ability to create very notably unique and above average individuals in this roleplaying world. While PWC is more heavily an OOC thing than anything, we will hold that an “average” person in Hyrule would have a score of 2/2/2.

By lowering the PWC options to this level, we want these Honored characters to fit better with the world as a whole, interfacing with it rather than rising above it. Because the amount of Rupees these characters will have and the increased prices in treasures because of the PWC changes, we hope that treasures characters have will be more meaningful and part of their character as a whole. While some people enjoy having their characters who avidly seek out and collect treasures, we want to bring a bit of diversity to the field.

Thirdly, while we want characters graded with higher Honor to be recognized as challenging and insightful creations, we also do not wish to shame anyone who doesn’t like the system. If our grading standards did not include a change to the mechanical and only assessed qualitative elements then we fear members who did not opt-in would be thought of as less-worthy roleplayers for not enduring more criticism over their sheet. This is absolutely not what we want to happen.

Fourthly and finally, we wish to add a bit of challenge to the treasure-hunting process. While we wish to make the characters more “average” or dare I say “realistic,” we still want members to have goals and seek out treasures, but we want that to be more challenging and meaningful if they’re looking for that.

What if I can’t read the staff’s mind?

We understand and even expect that people will not be passed on their first attempts to meet some of the qualitative standards we set out. Hyrule Castle has never made an attempt to try and screen this way, and it will be a learning process for everyone, but we do wish to establish a procedure if/when sheets are not up-to-snuff.

When submitting a character, members make the decision as to what their goals are from the three possible levels of Honor, but if they fail multiple times to reach the level they’ve aimed for then we will take actions. The process may be changed but will proceed as follows for now:
If a character is proposed as Fabled or Revered they will be judged according to those standards. After talking with each other, the moderators responsible for the sheet will deliver judgment. If the sheet does not pass, a moderator will inform the writer of the issues and allow for an attempt at fixing the character. At a maximum, the moderator will deliver criticism no more than three times, the first being the initial response to the character and the second two in response to their changes.

If the moderator’s third criticism is still negative, the sheet will not be passed. Fabled characters are up to the discretion of the moderator after failure to pass, and they may either be re-graded at a Revered level or dropped all the way to Respected and graded at that level. If this happens, the roleplayer will have time to make adjustments to their PWC and treasures to fit with fewer restrictions.

Can my characters be promoted to a higher level of Honor after being accepted?

Respected characters may not be raised to a higher level of Honor after being accepted; this applies to both present and future characters. If a character is proposed and accepted as Revered, though, a member may choose to resubmit it with the changes necessary for becoming Fabled. If a character is proposed as Fabled and a moderator drops to and accepts it as a Revered it will not be available for resubmission.

What if I ask you to grade it at a Revered level but the moderator thinks it could be Fabled quality?

We’ll let you know and it can be figured out.

Can I talk to staff members about character concepts before I submit them?

Absolutely. If you’re not sure something’s going to work, you can always send us a PM with what you’re concerned about before we go through the official grading process. We will not look at entire sheets, though.

Any general advice for making it through the character creation process?

If you feel like you could use a better explanation of some of the prerequisites, better to ask a staff rather than just do your best in half ignorance. We aren’t looking to identify the most talented writers but rather the ones more dedicated to improvement.

When undergoing criticism from a moderator we ask you keep a level head and understand we are critiquing the character itself under our own standards. Opinions may differ, and there is no shame in deciding to avoid our more “picky” ones and sticking to just making Respected characters. If you are graded though, please understand we will not tolerate members becoming angry, frustrated, or even passive-aggressive with staff members over criticism given.

Will Hylian Honor be applied to other aspects of the site such as quests?

Not at this time, but possibly in the future.




Ok, so that is it. Comments etc...

The reason for capping it at 3 is for both the reason of treasures as well as the meta effect it ought to have on the character itself. The goal with these Honored characters, especially with Fabled, is to create characters who are not dramatically out of the ordinary or above average (If average is 2/2/2) and above average intelligence falls under this category.

By introducing a cap we're actually trying to push people to adapt and get outside of the norm they're familiar with--in your case it's intelligence. We really want people to try new approaches, get out of their comfort zones, and create characters who don't necessarily value what the roleplayer values. I'm going to borrow some text from my blog because it's recent :V

I'd encourage you to try it, if not as a fault then just as something they certainly don't have "going" for them. You can still have a 3 in Wisdom and be more intelligent than average, but as far as being exceptionally or notably so? That's kind of what we're hoping Hylian Honor can cut down on.

Talking with Toko and working through some of the stuff there are a couple of things we've agreed on/need to be added to make this complete.

1. Fabled characters will receive zero starting rupees instead of 50. This is to widen the gap between Revered and Fabled from a mechanical aspect as well as encourage people to make characters defined by themselves, not by the items they possess. We also hope this is going to encourage people to roleplay out their adventures of important treasures rather than just a blip in the history, if that, as it's historically been. (Rupee riches will also be nullified with this)

2. Need to change the wording for Revered so it sounds less like we're just looking for characters who are douche-bags but rather just ones who are realistically faulted and interesting.

3. Put a reminder that common-tier items are still free at character creation, even with the restrictions to PWC and starting rupees.

4. Potentially put in a 'question' to the FAQ that succinctly answers: What are you asking? Hopefully this will be a little more comprehensive and get to the heart of what we're looking for beyond just a few hoops to jump.


In general, I'd like to ask the staff's opinion on this as well: should this be posted in FAQ format or re-organized in another way?

You bring up a good point Will. I think that any racial that leads to the acquirement of ANY treasure should be counted out for Fabled. Though, things that a Goron naturally does or a Deku naturally does should remain with the characters. I mean, it does sort of create a balance issue, but really how impact-full is it once a few quests are done and they start acquiring treasures?

Hmm. It may need to be case by case basis depending on the race? Its a good question, I'd almost say that they don't need to be awarded, but its kind of tricky. Something like a deku leaf is essential to deku's and Koroks but spin attack may not be as much.

Another option is to just allow all but, as I said earlier, the ones that allow you to acquire something of you're choosing. I don't know, what is everyone's opinion on the matter?

...Anything with Rupee Riches is already in the "this race is overpowered" category, anyway, especially seeing as everyone seems to think you can use those rupees as creation rupees. (This is what I get for writing thirty-nine sentences of obnoxious detail instead of forty, I guess.) Racial traits which can be taken by fabled characters should be designated as such in some way, I would say, just to make it perfectly clear what the limits are. Since (in my opinion) the racial abilities need to be reworked anyway, we could rework them in such a way that they could still be balanced as fabled characters.

I agree with Rib Steak about "revered." Then again, I have no idea why we even have a revered rank when everyone who should be attempting this will be aiming for fabled anyway. In my opinion, the only title would be "Fabled," as in a Fabled Character as opposed to a normal Character. The terms Hylian Honor, Revered, and Respected seem frivolous. (And two of them sound silly.)

Finally, I feel like someone should be able to resubmit a character to try and achieve the rank they wanted, if they fail the first time. If rapid resubmissions became an issue, we could just impose a one-fabled-attempt-per-week limit, or something to that effect.

...

Overall, I think the idea is mostly pointless, but will probably still see a small amount of use. Outside of minor personal bias, I don't see any real reason this couldn't be made an optional addition to HC.

Your input is appreciated as always, Guy. Toko and I have talked about pretty much all of that, so I'll go through it.

Racials are a small enough topic to really just go through it bit-by-bit and establish what stays and what goes. In general, though, I would say that we're looking to get rid of the ability to purchase new treasures that are non-race-specific. A Korok having a Deku Leaf is very much part of his or her character and race, so telling them they cannot have that is different than telling a Hylian they can't have some fire spell or whatnot. The goal isn't to remove 100% of all treasures on start, it's to bring them back to that "average" level we're looking for.

Toko and I talked a lot about having one or two levels beyond just the default one and finally settled on two. Up until removing the rupees completely for Fabled, though, it always felt like it was being done just to the image of depth to the system. With the further Rupee restrictions, though, it very much fits into what we're hoping each category to look like. Removing rupees from the get-go we hope will allow people to fit their characters where they want them to go.

Our largest concern still is that people will ignore Revered and only focus on Fabled because it's the 'best.' It's really not meant to be that way, though; it's simply the most restrictive and narrow-minded approach to building a character, and for that reason it's the hardest. I know I, for one, intend on creating a Revered character in the near future because I'd like to have part of the elements of the Hylian Honor system without having all the restrictions.

As for the names, sorry you don't like them, but suggestions are always welcomed. Toko and I went through a couple of dozen different combinations before settling here, but it doesn't have to be completely set in stone.

The reason for refusing re-submission to failed characters is important, though, and actually has nothing to do with the amount of workload it could bring. Firstly, if a character fails at being accepted as Fabled in the opportunity given it says something about the character. We would rather have people try again later rather with a new canvas than force something broken and unfit for the position to work by changing the wording half a dozen times. Secondly, we also do wish to create incentive for people to work through each step of the process, rather than aiming as high as possible, failing, and then working back up. We're going to do what we can to encourage people to not simply auto-aim for Fabled, but we may not be successful. Ultimately we're just going to have to evaluate it after it sees some action and go from there.

As for the 'point' of the whole thing, I'm aware your roleplay style doesn't naturally fit into the direction of the system, and that's actually somewhat the point. Simply for the record, I'm going to bother breaking down the point of the entire thing from a modding perspective.

Toko, myself, and a few other members do regret the lack of quality we see in a lot of the created characters here, and instead of simply enforcing higher restrictions or leaving it alone, we'd like an approach in-between. We've found in general that better characters often leads to more enjoyable roleplay, and we'd like more people on the site to have that. With that in mind, we're willing to do it in a way that offers a bit of prestige for the trouble people go through in trying it out. Our hope is to increase the quality and the enjoyment of the roleplay that takes place here.

It has a bunch of nice secondary effects too. It allows for people to have a bit of recognition when trying to make good roleplay beyond just the pre-existing, relatively broken Veteran system. With that in mind, we're essentially creating the framework for any sort of system that may fit the job. Hylian Honor may come out with some serious shortcomings when applied, much like a lot of the systems on HC did, but from there we can take input, moving and editing things around as is necessary. It's our foot in the door, so to speak. Long term, I would love to see this grow into things like having more subjectively graded "Legendary" characters that are much smaller in number and obtain their position purely off qualitative merits. I'd like to see this seep into things like treasures and quests in the long run, but I think this is a good place to start.

...I would say you're welcome, I guess, but I'm a bit annoyed by the "polite" condescending tone you've used throughout your post.

...Yup. Why are you re-explaining something Bitoko mostly already explained, and something I already assumed, as if it was a response to my suggestion?

So, basically you agree with me that you fear Revered will be pointless? To help illustrate my point, let me give an example. If a player of a video game wanted extra difficulty for no other reason other than beating the extra difficulty and getting something which amounts a little gold star sticker--why would the player ever be satisfied with Hard when they could have Very Hard? The prior only serves as a step to advance their skills more easily for the latter, but that mentality doesn't really apply here. Expecting someone who will use this system to go for Revered instead of Fabled is like asking an obsessive difficulty enthusiast to never even try Very Hard mode.

...Regardless, I don't see a massive problem with keeping Revered. It will be a pointless and somewhat shoddy addition, perhaps, but it's not something to severe I would put my foot down about it.

...The hell? You're the one who first pointed out Revered should be changed in the first place. Regardless, I stand by my opinion that having Revered there is pointless to begin with.

Hylian Honor was the other one which kind of sounded silly to me. I realize it was perhaps a play on Hylian Shield, Hyrule Castle, or something to that effect, but it seems inappropriate to include one of the race options in the title of it--especially if it was for a character like Wikitoria Levett (aka Saria's infamous character), who hated Hylians.

Maybe it's just because I'm, presumably, still the only person here who has written a character backstory so ridiculously long it broke the character limit for a single post, but I hope I'm not the only one who imbues passion into characters he creates. After taking hours if not days of my creativity, my soul, my passion, my skill, and my knowledge and forging it into a character...

...Telling me that I don't meet some arbitrary standard in of itself is enough of a wound, but telling me that this character who is as an extension of me now can never meet that standard would feel--momentarily--like severing a limb. Especially if I was new to HC, I would become bitter and probably lose interest in the site. As I am now, I'd still be bitter, but just give a massive metaphorical middle finger and continue not bothering to role-play.

I'm actually aware of others who enjoy this kind of role-playing, and have observed it several times within my occasional lurking. Perhaps--as you said--this goes against my personal taste of things, but I don't truly see how this system in of itself would help those who enjoy that sort of role-playing. If anything, it would encourage more to take part of it, but it would also encourage the train of thought that humble characters are innately superior.

...This is amusing, considering that actually role-playing with humble characters, as you yourself seem to realize, is ironically easier than role-playing with "paragon" characters from a creative standpoint. Furthermore, lowered PWC and reduced racial abilities don't actually affect your ability to role-play at all; PWC is and was designed to be an illusion of power, which only serves to cheapen treasures. I suppose making treasures more significant for fabled characters, I suppose, is one of your goals, though, so that does make sense.

In any case, when I said "the idea is mostly pointless, but will probably see a small amount of use," my apparent miscommunication to you made me realize I perhaps should have said something more along the lines of, "I would assume only a small amount of members (excluding myself) will use it."

If you're going to take potshots at my previous endeavors, you could at least try to make them somewhat constructive criticism.

Again, thanks for the response, and I mean that sincerely. I'm really sorry my last post came across as condescending; it was absolutely not my intention. I'm not the best at expressing sincerity across text, so I'll can ask is you believe it when I say it--I'm really sorry.

That being said, I'm also sorry if you felt I was taking cheap-shots at your systems. I meant it only to say that we can't see how things are always going to work out in theory, and we'll just have to adjust them when necessary. I mean these in the sense of micro changes, not macro, as I've always really liked and supported the systems. By mentioning issues I only meant things that had been brought up before (Like needing to re-tune the library or adjust professions to be more effective).

With that out of the way, I should say that my intent was to be systematic and thorough, and I did sort of repeat some of what was already said. Like you said prior, sometime's it's worthwhile to write 40 lines instead of 39, in case a problem you don't foresee comes up. So, the last three things:

Promoting old characters:

I actually have written characters before that have come close to breaking the character limit at other venues, and while it's not something I strive for anymore I do remember the enjoyment of it. Similarly, though, most of the characters I write now take me weeks at a time as I pour hours upon hours of myself into it's creation. I'm sure the process is different for both of us, but all I'm saying is I know what you mean to be invested in a character, and I'm glad you brought it up.

That being said, I'd like to make a note that I'm not against older characters ever being promoted, but that it's not something we're willing to do at the start of this, when people will still be figuring out what we're asking for. We'd like the system to settle for a bit before going down that path too, for a number of reasons.

Revered:

Indeed, that is our fear, and it may turn out that way, but I'd like to appeal to another video game analogy. The steps from Respected to Revered to Fabled are not meant to function in a similar form of, say, Normal to Hard to Very Hard. In those steps, the difficulty difference is usually how many protein bars each monster has eaten or how scrawny you yourself are. Instead, I'd go to, say, Bastion's difficulty system. If anyone's not familiar, in Bastion difficulty was set by activating certain idols that augmented the game in different ways. Some made it so health no longer dropped, others made it so enemies exploded after being killed, some made it so creatures could block now, and so on. Each one uniquely changed the game difficulty, and rather than putting them all on at once, many players found themselves putting on 3 or 4 so that the game was difficult and challenging in a way they enjoyed.

It's not a perfect example, but I hope it's somewhat useful.


Character ideas and all that:

The goal is really just to explore, as the saying goes, "How do you know you don't like it if you've never tried it?" If people like it, then awesome. If they don't like it, then that's all right, we're not forcing it on anyone. If people think it's 'superior' then cool, and if not then that's great too.

I would argue otherwise. I'm not willing to take the discussion in that direction right now, but I'd enjoy discussing it with you someplace else.

Okay, that's about all I have :V Sorry it ended up longer than I wanted, as usual.

k. I'm still calling you Rib Streak from now on, though.

If that is your intention, truly, then I feel it should be made clear when announcing this theory properly that resubmissions may be possible down the line, after the vague aspects of this system become more assimilated. I'd be fine with that, in such a case.

...I don't see how that helps the case of a Revered rank. If anything, you seem to be suggesting that there should be different "options" one could take to get higher ranks of honor, and "fabled" would just result from taking all of those ranks.

Bastion is nonetheless always a boss example of anything ever.

The terms used--especially Revered in particular--basically label these "honored" characters as superior. Differents term which instead focus on their comparatively realistic abilities--like underdogs, or something to that effect--would be vastly better, and mostly do away the notion that we would be promoting such characters as superior.

They should be treated what they are: a unique twist, which will more difficult to achieve, is not innately better because of that. (People would likely still claim superiority in them, simply due to their apparent "difficulty," but it would not be so easily justifiable.)

Arguing Debating about something like that wouldn't do much for me other than cause a sensation of annoyance. So, no thank you.

I actually like this, calling them something along the lines of "underdog" sounds excellent to me. It illustrates the difficulty without being condescending.

Since most people are on board with most things, here are the final changes Toko and I have compiled:


We've always been on the edge about the name 'Revered', but we've liked the other three. It will probably end up getting changed to something a little more neutral like "Praised" to essentially say, "These characters aren't necessarily superior but rather simply commended for their efforts."

We're also toying around with just naming the middle rank, "All these characters are better than Guy's"

That being said, we will go back through and reiterate in the description that the characters are somewhat of underdogs, though.

A quick note on the middle ground rank, though, as pertaining to 'difficulty.' The system is still similar to Bastion's where you can choose your own settings to what you would like. The difference, though, is that we really only have 2 or 3 settings to toy around with, those being PWC, Rupees, and maybe Major Treasures. The 'Praised' rank is about as good of a middle ground as we can make without causing unnecessary complexity. If we had, say, a dozen things that could be toyed around with, then it would be more reasonable to have it be freeform ranking. The goal isn't necessarily to make it operate in the same way but rather to receive similar results.

As for the qualitative aspects, people have always had and will continue to have the option to ask a mod to grade any character with more restrictive qualitative standards.

That in mind, we're probably going to make it so 'Fabled' characters receive only two posts from the mod instead of three, giving the roleplayer a single chance to correct error(s) rather than two.

We'll also make sure to note that we hope promotions to be available in the future, as per Guy's suggestion.


I think that about covers it. I'll be working on pulling all of the material in this thread into a final draft, and I hope it should be ready by tonight or tomorrow morning.

Thanks Rib, looks great!

Assuming everyone still feels the same as they did last post/in the staff discussion, I hope the final draft is adequate as follows.

Hylian Honor​

What is Hylian Honor?
Hylian Honor is a new system on Hyrule Castle that will allow members to opt new characters to harsher grading standards with more restrictions. By opening up this option we hope to:
- Reward quality where it previously could not be
- Grant prestige to those willing to sacrifice to create better characters
- Explore different directions for characters
- Encourage members to take a closer look at their writing when they feel they wish to

Is this required?
Hylian Honor is a system that is 100% optional in the character creation process and will have no impact on characters already created before implementation.

How does it work?
In the character sheet there is now going to be a new heading labeled as “Honor.” If members do not wish to participate in the new grading system they are welcome to exclude the heading, put it as N/A or something similar, or simply put “Regular”, the standard and default level in Hylian Honor. There are three levels of Hylian Honor currently, and your character sheets will be graded based off of the level you propose. As noted later, the grading process for the ranks of “Devoted” and “Ascetic” differ slightly.

What’s the breakdown for these levels?
Currently there will be three levels of characters to be graded at. They are as follows:

Regular:
This level of Hylian Honor is the standard and default level of all accepted characters. Staff will grade these characters identically to how all characters have been graded in the past. By jumping through our hoops, obeying our laws with PWC, rupees, treasures, races, and all the rest, a character is an excellent and respected addition to the roleplaying community.

Devoted:
For a character to be Devoted, all the prior accomplishments must be met and more. Devoted characters are to be looked at more closely and qualitatively, going beyond simple things like lining up with the history and not breaking any rules and such. To be accepted as Devoted a character must also submit themselves to certain mechanical restrictions. The full requirements the staff will be looking for are as follows:

Mechanical:
PWC is restricted. All members, regardless of position, receive only two additional points to add to Devoted characters. With current origin standings every character begins with 1/1/2, 1/2/1, or 2/1/1 depending on the race. With two additional bonus points the highest score in any particular category could be no higher than four.

Starting Rupees are restricted. Each Devoted character will have their initial funding cut in half, dropping their starting rupees from 100 to 50. This will also apply to the racial ability “Rupee Riches” granting 25 bonus rupees at creation instead of 50. The “Magic Proficiency” bonuses and others like them remain unchanged, though, when purchasing power/wisdom/courage based items at creation.

Qualitative:
Devoted characters may not be “Mary Sues.” Currently, our condition for whether or not a character is a “Mary Sue” depends on whether or not the character is truly faulted. A true fault should negatively impact the reader’s impression of the character (from a personality standpoint, not a quality one). Faults that are immediately covered by, “But it’s really pretty reasonable…” or “But they’re really quite a good or loveable person” or “But they know how to overcome this fault when it’s important” are not acceptable. We are not looking for true villains or the worst people on the planet, simply characters that are believably faulted.

Ascetic:
These characters take the harshest scrutiny from the staff and the heaviest mechanical restrictions. While “Ascetic” characters require significant work and a critical eye, they are by no means unobtainable or reserved only for the most gifted writers. Ascetic characters require everything a Devoted character would and take the game to the highest level we feel we can objectively grade.

Mechanical:
PWC is further restricted. While characters still receive two points to add to their characters, they may no longer have a single stat exceeding three.

Starting rupees are completely removed. This effectively nullifies ‘Rupee Riches’ as well as ‘Magic Proficiency’ and the two other racials like it. Common-tier items are still available on character creation including weapons, within reason.

Major Treasures are limited now, regardless of rank. Ascetic characters may only have a single Major Treasure at any time. This applies to both “Unique” Major Treasures and those that are simply Major Treasures. This rule is not applied to Major Treasures yielded by professions.


Qualitative:
Ascetic characters may not be “Special Snowflakes.” This means that the character must fit very naturally into the backstory of the site and the Zelda universe as a whole. These characters should be representative of what would be common to see in the world. Histories justified by “There’s nothing saying I can’t” are not acceptable. An example of a character that is not as a Special Snowflake would be, for instance, a Zora born in the Zora domain, like the vast majority of all other Zoras. An example of a Special Snowflake would be, say, a Goron born in the Zora’s domain because of some extreme, complex situations.

History, personality, and appearance must all flow together properly. If a character has a personality attribute then it ought to be accounted to either their genetics or some event or person in their life that shaped that out. Similarly, appearances should also coincide with the history; noticeable or lasting injury or shaping should be accounted for historically.

Characters will be checked more thoroughly for “Mary Sue” symptoms than before, and it is no longer acceptable for a character to be made with the apparent purpose of being impressive or self-fulfilling. While Devoted characters must avoid being a “Mary Sue” at a technical level, Ascetic characters must live and breathe in that mindset.

Why the mechanical restrictions—shouldn’t we reward more rigorously graded characters?
We want the mechanical aspect of the character to be affected as it is very much a part of HC and is what makes us very unique. However, we also wanted this system to be entirely optional to members as we understand it will not appeal to everyone. For this reason, we want members who choose to avoid this system to not feel like they are being denied a creative opportunity.

Secondly, it also creates a bit of a distinction we are hoping to see in different kinds of characters. The PWC restrictions are very important, especially in tandem with the Rupee restrictions, because it reduces the ability to create very notably unique and above average individuals in this roleplaying world. While PWC is more heavily an OOC thing than anything, we will hold that an “average” person in Hyrule would have a score of 2/2/2.

By lowering the PWC options to this level, we want these Honored characters to fit better with the world as a whole, interfacing with it rather than rising above it. Because the amount of Rupees these characters will have and the increased prices in treasures because of the PWC changes, we hope that treasures characters have will be more meaningful and part of their character as a whole. While many people enjoy having characters that avidly seek out and collect treasures, we want to bring a bit of diversity to the field.

Thirdly, while we want characters graded with higher Honor to be recognized as challenging and insightful creations, we also do not wish to shame anyone who doesn’t like the system. If our grading standards did not include a change to the mechanical and only assessed qualitative elements then we fear members who did not opt-in would be thought of as less-worthy roleplayers for not enduring more criticism over their sheet. This is absolutely not what we want to happen.

Fourthly and finally, we wish to add a bit of challenge to the treasure-hunting process. While we wish to make the characters more “average” or dare I say “realistic,” we still want members to have goals and seek out treasures, but we want that to be more challenging and meaningful if they’re looking for that.

What if I can’t read the staff’s mind?
We understand and even expect that people will not be passed on their first attempts to meet some of the qualitative standards we set out. Hyrule Castle has never made an attempt to try and screen this way, and it will be a learning process for everyone, but we do wish to establish a procedure if/when sheets are not up-to-snuff.

When submitting a character, members make the decision as to what their goals are from the three possible levels of Honor, but if they fail multiple times to reach the level they’ve aimed for then we will take actions. The process may be changed but will proceed as follows for now:
If a character is proposed as Ascetic or Devoted they will be judged according to those standards. After talking with each other, the moderators responsible for the sheet will deliver judgment. If the sheet does not pass, a moderator will inform the writer of the issues and allow for an attempt at fixing the character. At a maximum, the moderator will deliver criticism no more than three times for Devoted, or two times for Ascetic. The first is the initial response to the character and the later ones will go off the changes.

If the moderator’s final criticism is still negative, the sheet will not be passed. Ascetic characters are up to the discretion of the moderator after failure to pass, and they may either be re-graded at a Devoted level or dropped all the way to Regular and graded at that level. If this happens, the roleplayer will have time to make adjustments to their PWC and treasures to fit with fewer restrictions.

Can my characters be promoted to a higher level of Honor after being accepted?
We’re hoping to make this less restrictive as time goes on, but at implementation the answer is as follows:

Regular characters may not be raised to a higher level of Honor after being accepted; this applies to both present and future characters. If a character is proposed and accepted as Devoted, though, a member may choose to resubmit it with the changes necessary for becoming Ascetic. If a character is proposed as Ascetic and a moderator drops to and accepts it as a Devoted it will not be available for resubmission.

What if I ask you to grade it at a Devoted level but the moderator thinks it could be Ascetic quality?
We’ll let you know and it can be figured out.

Can I talk to staff members about character concepts before I submit them?
Absolutely. If you’re not sure something’s going to work, you can always send us a PM with what you’re concerned about before we go through the official grading process. We will not look at entire sheets, though.

In a nutshell, what are you looking for?
We’re looking for characters that are realistically faulted and fit naturally into the Zelda universe. Instead of being the hero going into a shop to buy potions, we’re asking you to be that very person who sells the potions at first. They may go on to find their own adventure, but it’s a tale spun in a different perspective.

We understand this is not the only way to roleplay but rather one of many options worth trying. Noticing it’s not as common to do it this way, we want to provide the option tied with a small incentive to give it a try. In a ‘nutshell,’ we’re looking to for people willing to try something new with an open mind about it while willing to take some critique.

Any general advice for making it through the character creation process?
If you feel like you could use a better explanation of some of the prerequisites, better to ask a staff rather than just do your best in half ignorance. We aren’t looking to identify the most talented writers but rather the ones more dedicated to improvement.

When undergoing criticism from a moderator we ask you keep a level head and understand we are critiquing the character itself under our own standards. Opinions may differ, and there is no shame in deciding to avoid our more “picky” ones and sticking to just making Regular characters. If you are graded though, please understand we will not tolerate members becoming angry, frustrated, or even passive-aggressive with staff members over criticism given.

Will Hylian Honor be applied to other aspects of the site such as quests?
Not at this time.

Code included for convenience (open) Code included for convenience (close)

Code:

[size=180][center][b]Hylian Honor[/b][/center][/size]

[size=150][b]What is Hylian Honor?[/b][/size]
Hylian Honor is a new system on Hyrule Castle that will allow members to opt new characters to harsher grading standards with more restrictions. By opening up this option we hope to:
-	Reward quality where it previously could not be
-	Grant prestige to those willing to sacrifice to create better characters
-	Explore different directions for characters
-	Encourage members to take a closer look at their writing when they feel they wish to

[size=150][b]Is this required?[/b][/size]
Hylian Honor is a system that is 100% optional in the character creation process and will have no impact on characters already created before implementation.  

[size=150][b]How does it work?[/b][/size]
In the character sheet there is now going to be a new heading labeled as “Honor.” If members do not wish to participate in the new grading system they are welcome to exclude the heading, put it as N/A or something similar, or simply put “Regular”, the standard and default level in Hylian Honor. There are three levels of Hylian Honor currently, and your character sheets will be graded based off of the level you propose. As noted later, the grading process for the ranks of “Devoted” and “Ascetic” differ slightly.

[size=150][b]What’s the breakdown for these levels?[/b][/size]
Currently there will be three levels of characters to be graded at. They are as follows:

[u]Regular:[/u]
This level of Hylian Honor is the standard and default level of all accepted characters. Staff will grade these characters identically to how all characters have been graded in the past. By jumping through our hoops, obeying our laws with PWC, rupees, treasures, races, and all the rest, a character is an excellent and respected addition to the roleplaying community. 

[u]Devoted:[/u]
For a character to be Devoted, all the prior accomplishments must be met and more. Devoted characters are to be looked at more closely and qualitatively, going beyond simple things like lining up with the history and not breaking any rules and such. To be accepted as Devoted a character must also submit themselves to certain mechanical restrictions. The full requirements the staff will be looking for are as follows:

[i]Mechanical:[/i]
PWC is restricted. All members, regardless of position, receive only two additional points to add to Devoted characters. With current origin standings every character begins with 1/1/2, 1/2/1, or 2/1/1 depending on the race. With two additional bonus points the highest score in any particular category could be no higher than four. 

Starting Rupees are restricted. Each Devoted character will have their initial funding cut in half, dropping their starting rupees from 100 to 50. This will also apply to the racial ability “Rupee Riches” granting 25 bonus rupees at creation instead of 50. The “Magic Proficiency” bonuses and others like them remain unchanged, though, when purchasing power/wisdom/courage based items at creation.

[i]Qualitative:[/i]
Devoted characters may not be “Mary Sues.” Currently, our condition for whether or not a character is a “Mary Sue” depends on whether or not the character is truly faulted.  A true fault should negatively impact the reader’s impression of the character (from a personality standpoint, not a quality one). Faults that are immediately covered by, “But it’s really pretty reasonable…” or “But they’re really quite a good or loveable person” or “But they know how to overcome this fault when it’s important” are not acceptable. We are not looking for true villains or the worst people on the planet, simply characters that are believably faulted.

[u]Ascetic:[/u]
These characters take the harshest scrutiny from the staff and the heaviest mechanical restrictions. While “Ascetic” characters require significant work and a critical eye, they are by no means unobtainable or reserved only for the most gifted writers. Ascetic characters require everything a Devoted character would and take the game to the highest level we feel we can objectively grade.

[i]Mechanical:[/i]
PWC is further restricted. While characters still receive two points to add to their characters, they may no longer have a single stat exceeding three. 

Starting rupees are completely removed. This effectively nullifies ‘Rupee Riches’ as well as ‘Magic Proficiency’ and the two other racials like it. Common-tier items are still available on character creation including weapons, within reason.  

Major Treasures are limited now, regardless of rank. Ascetic characters may only have a single Major Treasure at any time. This applies to both “Unique” Major Treasures and those that are simply Major Treasures. This rule is not applied to Major Treasures yielded by professions. 


[i]Qualitative:[/i]
Ascetic characters may not be “Special Snowflakes.” This means that the character must fit very naturally into the backstory of the site and the Zelda universe as a whole. These characters should be representative of what would be common to see in the world. Histories justified by “There’s nothing saying I can’t” are not acceptable. An example of a character that is not as a Special Snowflake would be, for instance, a Zora born in the Zora domain, like the vast majority of all other Zoras. An example of a Special Snowflake would be, say, a Goron born in the Zora’s domain because of some extreme, complex situations. 

History, personality, and appearance must all flow together properly. If a character has a personality attribute then it ought to be accounted to either their genetics or some event or person in their life that shaped that out. Similarly, appearances should also coincide with the history; noticeable or lasting injury or shaping should be accounted for historically. 

Characters will be checked more thoroughly for “Mary Sue” symptoms than before, and it is no longer acceptable for a character to be made with the apparent purpose of being impressive or self-fulfilling. While Devoted characters must avoid being a “Mary Sue” at a technical level, Ascetic characters must live and breathe in that mindset.

[size=150][b]Why the mechanical restrictions—shouldn’t we reward more rigorously graded characters?[/b][/size]
We want the mechanical aspect of the character to be affected as it is very much a part of HC and is what makes us very unique. However, we also wanted this system to be entirely optional to members as we understand it will not appeal to everyone. For this reason, we want members who choose to avoid this system to not feel like they are being denied a creative opportunity.
  
Secondly, it also creates a bit of a distinction we are hoping to see in different kinds of characters. The PWC restrictions are very important, especially in tandem with the Rupee restrictions, because it reduces the ability to create very notably unique and above average individuals in this roleplaying world. While PWC is more heavily an OOC thing than anything, we will hold that an “average” person in Hyrule would have a score of 2/2/2. 

By lowering the PWC options to this level, we want these Honored characters to fit better with the world as a whole, interfacing with it rather than rising above it. Because the amount of Rupees these characters will have and the increased prices in treasures because of the PWC changes, we hope that treasures characters have will be more meaningful and part of their character as a whole. While many people enjoy having characters that avidly seek out and collect treasures, we want to bring a bit of diversity to the field. 

Thirdly, while we want characters graded with higher Honor to be recognized as challenging and insightful creations, we also do not wish to shame anyone who doesn’t like the system. If our grading standards did not include a change to the mechanical and only assessed qualitative elements then we fear members who did not opt-in would be thought of as less-worthy roleplayers for not enduring more criticism over their sheet. This is absolutely not what we want to happen.

Fourthly and finally, we wish to add a bit of challenge to the treasure-hunting process. While we wish to make the characters more “average” or dare I say “realistic,” we still want members to have goals and seek out treasures, but we want that to be more challenging and meaningful if they’re looking for that.

[size=150][b]What if I can’t read the staff’s mind?[/b][/size]
We understand and even expect that people will not be passed on their first attempts to meet some of the qualitative standards we set out. Hyrule Castle has never made an attempt to try and screen this way, and it will be a learning process for everyone, but we do wish to establish a procedure if/when sheets are not up-to-snuff. 

When submitting a character, members make the decision as to what their goals are from the three possible levels of Honor, but if they fail multiple times to reach the level they’ve aimed for then we will take actions. The process may be changed but will proceed as follows for now:
If a character is proposed as Ascetic or Devoted they will be judged according to those standards. After talking with each other, the moderators responsible for the sheet will deliver judgment. If the sheet does not pass, a moderator will inform the writer of the issues and allow for an attempt at fixing the character. At a maximum, the moderator will deliver criticism no more than three times for Devoted, or two times for Ascetic. The first is the initial response to the character and the later ones will go off the changes. 

If the moderator’s final criticism is still negative, the sheet will not be passed. Ascetic characters are up to the discretion of the moderator after failure to pass, and they may either be re-graded at a Devoted level or dropped all the way to Regular and graded at that level. If this happens, the roleplayer will have time to make adjustments to their PWC and treasures to fit with fewer restrictions.

[size=150][b]Can my characters be promoted to a higher level of Honor after being accepted?[/b][/size]
We’re hoping to make this less restrictive as time goes on, but at implementation the answer is as follows:

Regular characters may not be raised to a higher level of Honor after being accepted; this applies to both present and future characters. If a character is proposed and accepted as Devoted, though, a member may choose to resubmit it with the changes necessary for becoming Ascetic. If a character is proposed as Ascetic and a moderator drops to and accepts it as a Devoted it will not be available for resubmission.

[size=150][b]What if I ask you to grade it at a Devoted level but the moderator thinks it could be Ascetic quality?[/b][/size]
We’ll let you know and it can be figured out.

[size=150][b]Can I talk to staff members about character concepts before I submit them?[/b][/size]
Absolutely. If you’re not sure something’s going to work, you can always send us a PM with what you’re concerned about before we go through the official grading process. We will not look at entire sheets, though. 

[size=150][b]In a nutshell, what are you looking for? [/b][/size]
We’re looking for characters that are realistically faulted and fit naturally into the Zelda universe. Instead of being the hero going into a shop to buy potions, we’re asking you to be that very person who sells the potions at first. They may go on to find their own adventure, but it’s a tale spun in a different perspective. 

We understand this is not the only way to roleplay but rather one of many options worth trying. Noticing it’s not as common to do it this way, we want to provide the option tied with a small incentive to give it a try. In a ‘nutshell,’ we’re looking to for people willing to try something new with an open mind about it while willing to take some critique. 

[size=150][b]Any general advice for making it through the character creation process?[/b][/size]
If you feel like you could use a better explanation of some of the prerequisites, better to ask a staff rather than just do your best in half ignorance. We aren’t looking to identify the most talented writers but rather the ones more dedicated to improvement. 

When undergoing criticism from a moderator we ask you keep a level head and understand we are critiquing the character itself under our own standards. Opinions may differ, and there is no shame in deciding to avoid our more “picky” ones and sticking to just making Regular characters. If you are graded though, please understand we will not tolerate members becoming angry, frustrated, or even passive-aggressive with staff members over criticism given. 

[size=150][b]Will Hylian Honor be applied to other aspects of the site such as quests?[/b][/size]
Not at this time.