About Our Rules & FAQ

To ensure continuity in our story, we believe that our setting deserves a little care and consideration. While we do occasionally deviate from canonical lore, we do try to mirror many of the facets of Dragon Age. Our rules help to ensure everyone is informed about what is permissible on the site.

Please see below for rules relating to specific areas of the board.

About Character Creation

The Character Creation Guide (CC Guide) was developed as a step-by-step navigation to applying for a character on our site, which can be viewed in the "CC Guide" tab. The information provided will ensure that your character has a higher chance of being accepted with minimal edits during the review process, but here are the most frequent questions:

Q: Are there any character type restrictions?

A: Yes, there are some restrictions to which character types are permitted on the boards.

Without exception, we do not accept:

• Spirits, demons, darkspawn and golems
• Sex workers

We have made the decision that these character types are either unsustainable as character concepts or their creation does not fit with the lore of our site. We appreciate that there are notable exceptions but we do not allow these exceptions to alter what we will accept as OCs.

About Talents & Weapons

Q: What kind of weapons and talents are available?

A: Every character must adhere to the talents and skills as outlined in the CC Guide tab. We base our talents and weapons on what is available from DA:O, DA:A and DA2. We do not currently permit talents or weapons which are exclusive to DA:I.

About Characters

Q: What Origin is canon for Warden's Vigil?

A: Our canon Hero of Ferelden is Aedan Cousland. All other potential Warden origins are dead.

Q: How do I play a canon character?

A: Our Available Canons list has our available canon characters as well as an invitation to enquire about any canons or leadership roles which are not listed.

Q: When can I apply for an additional character (icnluding canon roles)?

A: Each player must:

• demonstrate interest in and activity on the boards, both in and out of character
• have at least 30 days between applications before an additional application will be accepted for review.

Q: What about creating families and friends around a character?

A: We would caution players from apping two characters who will be heavily involved with one another. What often happens is that the player roleplays largely with themselves. If you have an idea for a character that you would like to see on the boards that would be attached to yours, you can post the request in our Looking For Board. If the concept is interesting, you might find another player is interested in taking on your associated character.

Please note that we do not allow players to create extensive numbers of NPCs around an approved character. An NPC who is used beyond a brief appearance in a single thread or Admin-approved plot will require their own app. The main exception to this is an assigned templar companion for Circle mages.

Q: What about non-combatant characters?

A: Players are welcome to create these types of characters! It is still necessary to choose a class (usually a rogue) but players are allowed to choose minimum to no combat skills for these characters.

Q: What about a group of NPCs, like a guild or an order of assassins?

A: Groups such as these will require Administrator approval and involvement. However, we welcome contact from players who have the creative energy to devote to these groups in addition to their own characters. These types of NPCs would be the exception to the rule above.

Application Reviews

Our character application review process involves a lot of time from players and Administrators alike. This helps to ensure that each new character can fit into the version of Thedas which we have created here.

First profile reviews are usually completed by one Administrator. Second profile reviews are usually completed by the other Administrator. We always try to complete these as quickly as real life allows. If we should need to take a little longer, the Administrator dealing with your review will PM you with an estimated time scale.

Q: I was told to go back to the CC Guide! What does that mean?

A: This means that there are substantial deviations from what is outlined in our Character Creation Guide (CC Guide / CCG). It is usually easy for the Administrators to pinpoint character applications which have been completed without consulting the CCG. You will need to make amendments according to what is required by the CCG.

Q: Do I have to edit my application when asked?

A: The short answer — Yes. The longer answer — All edits requested by Administrators are mandatory unless explicitly stated otherwise. We will make reasonable efforts to help players with their apps, however it remains the responsibility of the player to follow the CCG. Your profile is your chance to demonstrate that you’ve read the guide, you understand the basics of site lore, and that you can write in a clear enough manner for others to understand.

Q: Can my application be denied?

A: Yes, but this is not something which happens very often. An application can be denied for any number of reasons. Extensive lore and language errors; multiple requests for revisions that are not met; and poor attitude when dealing with the Administrators on requested changes are all potential reasons for a denial. The player is given the opportunity to make amendments and the Administrators discuss the issue together before the final decision is made.

Playing on Warden's Vigil

Q: What is the setting for Warden's Vigil?

A: As we progress through the story our setting will change; for all up to date details, please consult the Story Information.

Q: What game system is used?

A: Characters are required to use combat talents only from Dragon Age: Origins and some from Awakening. Other than this, we don't have a system in place. This is a free-form roleplaying site, which means that there are no dice rolls to determine chance, etc. See our Skills and Talents worksheet for more information. A lot of coordinating is done out-of-character for threads that have combat or other intensive interactions.

Q: How often do you expect players to post?

A: We no longer have posting minimums. Instead, we expect players to drive their own plots and actively seek out opportunities for RP. As Admins, we will always do our best to support players to do this, subject to WV canon and character availability. However, we strongly encourage players to be fair with their posting schedules and reply to all their threads in a timely manner. If you don't post within two months, and there has been no contact with the Administrators regarding your absence, we will consider your character(s) inactive and remove them from play.

Canon characters are still required to post to each of their threads at least once a week, as part of the responsibility of playing a canon is maintaining visibility and availability for roleplay. Failure to meet the canon minimum on an ongoing basis can result in a player losing the canon in question. Other characters they play would not be affected by this.

Please note: to ensure the viability of the board, where the absence of a player impedes on another player's RP, the Administrators reserve the right to make decisions about the absent player's OC and Canon characters. Should a player return from their absence, any decisions made by the Admins which relate to other characters would need to be honoured by the returning player. Please see below for what happens if a player decides to officially leave WV.

Q: What sorts of roleplaying make up the threads on Warden’s Vigil?

A: The majority of our threads deal with the development of relationships: romantic, platonic, political, etc. There can be some combat-intensive threads and threads with a high drama quotient. For the most part, combat makes up less than 5% of all of the interactions on the board.

Q: Is there any way for my character to learn more skills/talents then what's initially allowed?

A: Yes, a character can learn a new skill or talent from another character through roleplay. The skill does have to be appropriate for the character's class (a Rogue is not going to learn Shield Bash) and the character can't learn skills overnight. The character does have to practice the skill, and the higher the Tier level of that skill, the longer the time it should take for your character to officially gain it. Administrators will amend character profiles to reflect newly gained skills/talents. No skill/talent is confirmed until it is recorded in the character profile.

Q: Can specializations be learned through RP?

A: Absolutely. See if you can find a PC that has the specialization you'd like to acquire and work out a series of threads with them. Otherwise, if there are no PCs with the specialization you want, please contact the Administrators who will work with you to create a feasible means of gaining the specialization. Please note that specializations will take IC time to learn. This is not something that will happen over the course of one thread.

Q: English is not my first language. Can I still join?

A: The board's language is English and we expect our players to have a good grasp of its written form. Perfect grammar or spelling is not required, but all players must be easily understood. As long as you can communicate easily and comfortably in English, you will be welcome.

Q: I don’t have an approved character yet, but I have a fantastic plot idea! Can I PM it to someone and get approval to run it?

A: While we appreciate people coming to us with plot ideas, we’d much rather see you get the profile done first and the character approved before running any plots by us. Get a character going first, roleplay with some people to get a feel for how we play around here, then start talking about the plot you have in mind. You might find out that the plot you had in mind won’t work in our continuity and instead come up with a new idea all together.

Q: I see there's an in-game month listed on the forum. Does that change per real-life month or is it decided some other way?

A: The in-game calendar moves forward by one IC month every two RL months. This doesn't mean that you can't have a thread starting in the months prior or even one month ahead. However, we would caution against roleplay too far ahead or behind the rest of the forums, otherwise you'll end up with no characters to play with as everyone is either "not there yet" or "never will be there".

Q: What will happen to my character if I leave Warden’s Vigil?

A: It all depends on the situation when you leave. If the player has any specific wishes when they leave, we will try to accommodate them. However, the Staff’s main concern is the players who are left and ensuring that their roleplay proceeds as smoothly as possible.

The best course of action for both the abandoned character and the players who are left is to take the character out of play as soon as possible. Usually this means sending them “off-board”, so there can’t be any further interaction with the character. This allows the remaining players to continue on. It also gives the abandoned character a fresh slate if the player chooses to return.

After two months of inactivity without contact, an approved character's account will be marked as inactive. After six months, the character's account will be archived. If the player wishes to return and left the board in good standing, they may contact Admims to discuss reactivating their character(s). Each request will be individually assessed with ensuring the stability of the board as the priority.

Q: How long do my posts have to be?

A: We recommend two well-structured paragraphs, minimum. This ensures players give each other enough material to work and interact with from post to post. Short posts, on occasion, can be powerful, but ideally, a post should be reactive and interactive. For more information on posting, please review our guidelines for Posting Etiquette, located in our Rules.

Q: How do we portray the time required to travel to different locations?

A: All players must take into account the time it would take to travel between locations. We have provided a chart which outlines the approximate travel times between key locations in Ferelden.

We can show this travel time in two ways on the board:

• Calculate the travel time and just jump ahead to that date, making a post of your character arriving at or being in their chosen location.
• Write a travel thread dated some time between your departure date and arrival date. This is an option if you're traveling with another PC and you want to use the travel time for your characters to get to know one another, or if you have a solo thread you want to write with reflection or a character-developing event.

We also have an excellent thread for travel distances and durations located here: Travelling in Ferelden: Distances and Durations

The Staff of Warden's Vigil

Q: Who is "The Maker"? Does he actually play The Maker?

A: The Maker is the account used to represent both Administrators; we have elected to keep this account anonymous to preserve this representation. All content posted by this account has been agreed upon ahead of time by both Admins.

Please be sure to send all forum-related correspondence to this account unless an Administrator has indicated you may PM them directly.

Q: Who are the Administrators of The Warden's Vigil Administration Team?

A: Currently, the Administrators are FeralKwe and Caraine. We discuss every decision made on the forum, and no decision is made without us coming to an agreement. We manage this site as a team!