Halcyon Academy
From PRIMUS Database
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Halcyon Academy is a school whose founders are dedicated to a single purpose - providing a high-quality, low-cost education to any and all students who wish to pursue a life better than the one that they currently have.
Contents |
IC
Founding & Purpose
In 1955, Harold Lockheart was born in Cambridge, England. His youth was a rough one, and by the time he was eighteen, he was secretly stalking the streets as The Crescent, a violent and cynical vigilante who operated under the firm belief that the only deterrent to crime was to simply kill the perpetrators and string them up as a warning to the rest.
As time wore on, however, he saw that his methods were ineffective - and, in fact, were proving counter-productive. Discouraged, Harold began seeking alternatives. By 1995, he had not only retired as the Crescent entirely, but had achieved two doctorates in psychology and criminal psychology, and dedicated his life to the rehabilitation of convicted criminals and supervillains. Education, he had decided, was the answer that he had been seeking.
In the wake of the 2009 Destroid Invasion in Millennium City, Lockheart decided to found a school. With funding from investors both private and otherwise, he built the Halcyon Academy, utilizing bleeding edge technology from his friends at Tanaka Industries to completely outfit the facilities with everything they could possibly need. He hired the finest educators he could find and cut deals with local law enforcement to provide the school with guest lecturers, and called in favors with superheroes, some he knew and some he didn't, to help mentor the students who exhibited the will to help others.
In September of 2009, the first classes at the Academy were held, and Lockheart's dream solidified into a tangible reality. Powered and unpowered students alike came together under one roof and began learning together, discovering new ways to better themselves and the world around them.
Facilities & Resources
Located near Millennium City’s central Renaissance Center, Halcyon Academy is, on its surface, composed of two buildings on adjacent lots – the Academy itself, and the school’s dormitories.
The Campus
The Academy itself is much larger than it looks. From the street, it looks like a rather standard, if large, inner city high school – three stories with a gymnasium for sports and theater events, an open grassy area in back, and so on. It’s what’s inside the Academy – and beneath it – that makes it unique.
The entire facility is state of the art, thanks to donations and funding provided by the school’s investors. Throughout the facility – as well as the dormitories – is an advanced computer system with a Tanaka Industries Artificial Intelligence unit serving as its user interface.
Known as Holly, the AI recognizes voice commands and it is her job to answer questions, give directions, and generally help the faculty keep an eye on the student body and their visitors to make sure that no one is getting into too much trouble, or into parts of the campus that they aren’t supposed to be in without supervision, due to safety concerns. In addition to responding verbally to requests, holographic emitters throughout the school and dorms allow her to manifest in a form of her choosing when dealing with students, and she often tries to be more personable and relate to her charges. She does not always succeed.
In addition to Holly, each classroom has its own workstations, and the teachers are able to access their classroom’s holoemitters themselves to highlight the topic of the day in lieu of a more traditional chalkboard.
The Academy extends into five additional sub-levels, which is where the super-powered curriculum is typically handled, leaving the visible school above for more traditional classes such as English, math, and so forth. The sublevels are accessible only to faculty, mentors, students, and supervised family members, not out of any desire for secrecy, but due to the inherent danger of having an area dedicated to helping people learn to control potentially dangerous abilities – it wouldn’t do for someone to walk into the wrong place and get set on fire!
Amongst these facilities is a training area affectionately dubbed by the school’s comic book fans as the Danger Room. It is exactly what its name implies – a programmable room wrought with dangers, designed not only to teach students how to deal with such situations in a safe environment, but also to help the experienced heroes in residence stay on top of their respective games.
Also in the sublevels is the school's series of laboratories. These labs are staffed at all hours by technicians and scientists, utilizing the Academy's resources to do their research. Students are able to use these labs under their supervision.
The Med Bay is a state of the art medical facility, a sharp contrast to the rather simple nurse's officer on the ground floor. Medicine in the Champions universe is advanced to a point where most diseases no longer exist or are simply obsolete, and the Med Bay reflects this.
The last of the Academy’s primary facilities is the hangar. While the Academy is happy to utilize the transportation provided by the Champions whenever possible, sometimes there is no time to arrange it. In those cases, they have their own hangar, with craft donated by retired heroes, philanthropists, and good-intentioned gadgeteers.
One of these craft is the ship formerly used by the hero known as the Crescent – the Arc-1. Sleek, small, quiet, and armed to the teeth, the Arc-1 seats one pilot and four passengers comfortably, but is capable of carrying more in the event of a rescue mission or similar – it would just end up a bit cramped. The Arc-1 is not an easy craft to fly, even for trained pilots, but the Headmaster has trained several of the school’s mentors in the controls. Students who prove themselves mature enough and trustworthy enough may also be approached for lessons in flying the versatile little craft, though Holly’s interface makes the chances of anyone – student or otherwise – running off with the ship without permission a somewhat unlikely scenario. Still… nothing is impossible.
The Dormitories
When Headmaster Lockheart purchased the site of the Academy itself, he also purchased the hotel that already existed on the lot across the street. This hotel was extensively renovated and remodeled, and today, it serves as Halcyon Academy’s student housing facility, with Holly as the resident denmother.
The first floor is primarily dedicated to common areas – the lobby is a common lounge, there is a game room with a handful of arcade machines and a pool table, there’s a cafeteria with decent-quality food provided free with a student ID, and the heated swimming pool was not removed when the school moved in. As with all of Millennium City, the dorms have access to free high-speed wireless internet, making for a rather comfortable environment for relaxation and recreation.
The rooms themselves come in several flavors, and can be personalized via paint or wallpaper, if the residents so choose, provided they help clean the room back up if they should decide to leave.
Singles tend to be fairly small and modest, but also come at the lowest cost - they tend to be reserved for students who, for one reason or another, are unable or unwilling to be put into confined quarters with others, and the school is willing to meet their needs. It’s plenty of room for one student to live comfortably, akin to a studio apartment – one room for sleeping, studying, etcetera, with an attached bathroom and shower.
Doubles are a bit like the singles are, in that you have a single room with an attached private bathroom. Rather than just the one bed and desk, however, there are two, and the room itself is larger to accommodate this.
Quads are a mix of the two. There is a common living room with two bathrooms and a kitchenette, and four small, single bedrooms branch off of it. It grants both privacy and a bit of socialization, for those who are seeking an acceptable middleground.
Resources
There are two personal gadgets that are covered under every student’s tuition that they receive upon their arrival to the Halcyon Academy.
The first is a laptop. While it is intended for academic use, the school’s laptops are advanced enough that they have no trouble with most current generation computer games, and they have enough storage capacity that one wouldn’t have to decide between one or the other. The laptop is theirs to do with as they please, after all – but it goes without saying that anyone playing Battleaxe 20,000,000 instead of paying attention to their English lecture would be in for a detention.
The second is a communicator. The comm is customizable to a degree – some students prefer to wear it like a watch, others a headset, some just a simple earbud – but it always works the same way, providing a line of communication between the students and the school itself. Most mentors also possess a communicator, though whether or not they leave it on when not officially on-duty with the school is a matter of personal preference.
Classes
In addition to the many standard classes one could find at any accredited high school or college, the Academy has a number of unique courses offered by its faculty and mentors.
| Course | Mentor | Description |
| Acrobatics | Lunk | Hardcore acrobatics and gymnastics training, as taught by an undead Russian circus performer. What could go wrong? Only the truly dedicated need apply. |
| Alien Threats to Earth | Kala'k Jin | Earth has been threatened time and time again by alien invasion and has always managed to fight off its aggressors, but at what price? Learn the strategy and tactics of countering an alien invasion and how to limit the cost of human life and Earth's infrastructure. This course will cover the who, why and how of alien invasion in a high participation, discussion-based format supplemented by group lab study. |
| Arcane Crafting | Jordan Blaire | Class held in the same room as his elemental class for convenience, students learn how to make everything from ghastly grafts to chilling charms and flaming fetishes. |
| Arcane Tutoring | Keats | This is the real magic training. Since there are so many paths and mystical modes someone can use, normal classes can only teach the basics. Tutoring one on on or in small groups is the best way. |
| The Art of Celebrity | Split Infinitive | Learn to deal with the sometimes unwelcome fame that comes with being a public superhero. Covers secret identity considerations, high-profile events, reporters, paparazzi, etc. |
| Basics of the Arcane World | Keats | This is your basic mystic stuff 101. Made for the mystic and non-mystic alike. No skill needed as it just covers the basic anyone should know. |
| Brains & Brawn | Crimson Dart | A supplementary tactics course, Brains & Brawn is dedicated to showing students that there are alternatives to the brute force approach to just about any situation. Dr. Harris will teach them how to find them and think more creatively when it comes to using their powers. Guest speakers from the other powers and tactics-related courses are frequent. |
| British/English Literature | Dr. Markus Rankine | This class will cover the realm of English or British Literature. Students will be expected to know and understand the basics of each text assigned. Book reports are a must as are short expositories regarding the authors. (not really) |
| Controlling the Cold: An Introduction on How to Use Your Ice Powers | Ice Tiger | This class is for those gifted with the wondrous gift of controlling ice and the cold. We deal with exactly how to manipulate it so that it hinders your enemies or targets so that they may be extremely slowed down or even stopped. |
| Elemental Magic and How To Master It | Jordan Blaire | This class takes place in both canada and the desert, studying various elements and different spells to utilize them bot for combat and aid in remedial tasks. They perform tests in the form of demonstrating what spells they have been practicing, or ones they might have made themselves. |
| English Language | Dr. Markus Rankine | This class will cover the basic tenets of the spoken and written English language. Writing as well as speaking assignments will be given on a regular basis. (not really) |
| Espionage: The Art of the International Super Spy | 0014 (Dex Hardcastle) | Looks at what is required to be a top International Super Spy and applying it practically. Covers all the major issues, from cover stories, gadgetry and how to apply yourself in combat during missions and everything else besides. Tuxedos for the Boys and Cocktail Dresses/Ball Gowns for the girls recommended but not required! |
| Ethics | Crimson Dart | A required course for all would-be heroes at the Academy, Dr. Harris' course strives not only to educate students with regards to ethical behavior, but also illustrate to them why it's so important to know; ethics are all that separate a hero from a villain, a super scientist from a mad scientist. |
| Etiquette | Madame Tarantula | True to its name, this class is to ensure that all students now how to act like a proper, upstanding citizen! Unsure of what honorifics to use in certain situations? Or which fork to use and when? Posture? Madame goes over all this and more in this course. |
| Extraordinary Beings | Aeterna | A class encompassing the basic natures of Ghosts, Demons, Werewolves, Vampires, and other supernatural entities with an emphasis on non-violent solutions. |
| Hand to Hand Self Defense | Diabhal | Designed to teach students about defending themselves when things become a little too personal. |
| Heavy Lifting | Lunk | Build up your physical strength! Learn from a professional how to lift heavy objects without managing to break yourself in the process. |
| Heroic Grandstanding | Weston Airthorne | Being a hero isn't just about doing good, it's about doing good well. This class teaches skills in dramatic entrances, daring rescues, last-minute escapes, and timely, well-turned quips. |
| High Adventure | Weston Airthorne | In this field class, Captain Airthorne takes students for voyages aboard his airship the West Wind, with the explicit goal of seeing how much trouble they can get themselves into. |
| History | Liz | 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' World history as taught by someone who's pretty much seen it all and found it quite amusing. |
| IC-102 Secret Identity: The Advantages and Dangers of a Dual Persona | Beastman | This course offers a comprehensive look at choosing a secret identity and the substantial consequences of the dual persona. |
| IC-200 Becoming The... | Beastman | This course brings together those students physically transformed by their powers and the inevitable consequences of living in non-powered communities. Students are taught how to adapt their transformations to the necessary life skills needed to survive in the modern world. |
| IC-200a Becoming The... Beast | Beastman | This is a supplemental support/discussion group with a focus on the unique challenges of animal-esque, or manimal, transformations. |
| The Law and You | Diabhal | Teaches students about international law and international law enforcement agencies when related to missions into other nations. |
| Meteorology | Ice Tiger | This class is basically, well..about the weather. Which includes how the weather can affect the simplest of powers. Weather which includes : Blizzards, Thunderstorms, Heavy Rain, Wind Storms and simple things such as drizzling or hail. |
| Mounts and You | Xariel | Do you like horses? Sure, we all do! Learn to ride from the best as a real live Paladin instructs students in how to work with their mount, not simply tell it what to do. Seasoned chargers are provided by the instructor, as are suits of platemail for both mount and rider, to bring that authentic combat riding experience to life. |
| Music | Aeterna | Academy Band. Brief lectures on the basics of musical history, with performances at the end of the semester. Depending on the semester's class makeup and talents, may encompass classical music, choir, rock and roll, or musical theater. |
| Navigating High Society | Split Infinitive | Learn how to properly brush elbows with the upper echelons of society. Appearances at benefit galas, mingling among the rich and powerful, how to avoid being trapped in unfavorable circumstances. Taking a Psychology class prior to or alongside this elective is highly recommended. |
| Negotiations | Boulder Wolf | Learn how to convince that psychotic with the bus full of hostages that maybe this isn't such a good idea after all. |
| PHS-100 Accepting to Heal | Bailey Quinn | This course goes over the basics of being a super-powered healer and the toll it can take by providing such services. Volunteer hours in the school infirmary required. |
| Practical Application of Powers | Force | This class will primarily be in the Danger Room, and will teach students the basics of their power use, how to control them, and how to apply their powers to maximum effect with a minimum of collateral damage. |
| Raiding 101 | Xariel | An experienced raider, Xariel's course impresses upon students the need for pre-raid study and preparations, as well as watching their enemies for visual and aural cues, when to duck behind pillars, and how best to utilize the environment to their advantage. Tactics are also discussed for five-man, ten-man, and forty-man groups. |
| Restraint | Azrael | This class is divided into both theory and practical elements. The theory touches upon ethics but focusses more on controlling emotions and rising above personal vendettas. The practical element helps students put the theory into practice, teaching students to reduce the reckless usage of powers in the field. |
| Sandvich Assembly | Lunk | Fine culinary instruction, from a zombie. Classes tend to be small. |
| SCI301: Don't Be That Guy | Crimson Dart | One of the more advanced courses on Dr. Harris' science curriculum, Don't Be That Guy is a class dedicated to creating good super scientists as opposed to mad ones. Lots of crossover with ethics here, but with cooler goggles and more liquid nitrogen. |
| SPAN-ALL Spanish (all levels) | Bailey Quinn | This course is an independent work study course to become fluent in Spanish. Bi-monthly classroom attendance required. |
| Swashbuckling | Weston Airthorne | Fencing, acrobatics, and the swashing of buckles. Advanced classes include the buckling of swashes. |
| Tankadin Retadin Healadin | Xariel | I am versatile within my class and so can you! Xariel focuses on teaching students how to get the most out of their unique abilities, with candid discussions on viable tactics within their class. Want to be a DPS machine with a sword and board? Heal with bullets? Interior design with no sense of feng shui? Xariel will show you how! |
| The Psychology of Supervillains | Babel | There are exactly seven profiles of supervillains. In this course we will discuss each one and the weaknesses which a good superhero can exploit once he identifies which personality and criminal profile fits the supervillain. Classes will involve both a theory component and a practical component. |
| The Semantics of Banishing | Babel | Demons getting to you? DEMON getting to you? Sometimes, even for the mystically-inclined, rote banishings can only go so far. Things could even get worse if you mix up the subject and object positions of the banishing, or confuse the declinative for the nominative. Learn to construct your own syntactically correct banishing spells! |
| Squad Tactics | Diabhal | Primarily in the danger room with some classroom work, will teach students how to work together in combat situations |
| Teamwork: Combining Abilities for Greater Effect | Force | This class will primarily be in the Danger Room, and is aimed at creativity in using your powers in cooperation with the powers of one or more of your classmates. |
| Things That Humans Were Not Meant To Know | Keats | Despite the ominous name, this is a defense class on how to protect yourself from otherworldly influence and teaches basic skills needed to detect others that are being influenced. This is a mixed skill set class for both the skilled and unskilled in the mystic arts. |
| Well-Being | Impact | A mental compliment to Wellness, this course will be focused inward on building mental strength. Topics will include staying calm when everything that can explode is, meditation techniques, martial arts forms (used as a means of relaxation), and the importance of willpower. No pencils allowed. |
| Wellness | Impact | A course focused around the body and how strengthening it, strengthens the person. Topics are sure to include both powered and non-powered means of dealing with stress, light sparring, and more than a few Danger Room obstacle courses. Suggested class attire - sweatpants and workout wear. No pencils allowed. |
| You and the Universe | Kala'k Jin | This high participation, discussion-heavy course intends to assist students in broadening their understanding of galactic culture and politics. Students will establish the framework required to prepare themselves for consistent, positive experiences when dealing with other worlds and alien cultures. Classes will be visited by frequent guest speakers. Proof of current immunizations required. |
Clubs
Where there are students, there are student organizations and clubs. The Academy is no different.
| Club | Description | Members |
| Gaming Club | Why use X-Box live when you can call people names to their faces? Play games of various types with your classmates. | Helios (Founder), Keith DeGavin, Storm Dragon, Sky Blast, Darkmyst, Kesira Blaze, Fire ant, Pharos, Gally, Maul Rat, Cheer, Hellstorm |
| Literature Club | Some people still read books. Come read and discuss what you've read with people who won't make fun of you for it (probably). | Keats (Advisor), Fell, Gray Matter, Nick Jobb, Sky Blast, Ziggy, Kesira Blaze, Gally, Delial |
| Comics & Cartoons Club | Books suck without pretty pictures to make them more interesting, and cartoons are just plain awesome. Expand your youthful cultural horizons. | Otaku (Founder), Ironsoul, Helios, Scion, Fire ant, Storm Dragon, Sky Blast, War Gauntlet |
| SOS Brigade | Seriously, just don't even ask. You'll thank me later. | Digton, Arziella |
| Cooking Workshop | Learn to cook NUTRITIONAL and DELICIOUS MEALS that will help you grow up to be BIG AND STRONG. Don't you want to be BIG AND STRONG? | M.A.I.D. (Founder, Instructor), Seer, Nick Jobb, Scion, Storm Dragon, Darkmyst, Dodge, Fire ant, Smokescreen, Nia |
| Arts & Crafts Club | More fond of creating things than destroying them, or simpy looking for a change of pace? Try out Arts & Crafts club. If nothing else, it's an excuse to get messy and meet chicks. | Ironsoul (Founder), Seer, Sky Blast, Nia |
| Outdoor Activities Club | Go outside once in a while. Damn kids. | Babel (Faculty), Psilas, Street Hawk, Powersurge, Storm Dragon, Darkmyst, Unyfy, Aindrea, Smokescreen |
| Gay-Straight Alliance | A place for the school's GLBT members and friends to gather. Encouraged but by no means required. | Psilas, Ash Phoenix, Gray Matter, Kesira Blaze, Nick Jobb, Hellstorm |
| Host Club | Handsome young men with too much time on their hands provide conversation and companionship to pretty young girls who also have too much time on their hands - under very strict supervision, of course. For charity! | Headmaster Lockheart & Madam Tarantula (Faculty Supervisors), Keith DeGavin (Founder), Helios, Psilas, Street Hawk, Ash Phoenix, War Gauntlet, Unyfy, Street Hawk, Maul Rat, Bohemian, Fire Ant |
| Journalism Club | Every school needs a newspaper. We have the Kingfisher Chronicle! | Psilas (Editor), Coercion (Photographer), Day Dream (Reporter), Street Hawk (Advice Columnist) |
| Paintball Club | PAINTBALL CLUB! | Darkwatch (Founder), Helios, Ironsoul |
| HADES | The Halcyon After Dark Extracaricular Studies (or HADES) club is a secretive group of students who team up to defeat the shadows that exist in the dark. Dealing with mostly supernatural threats, the students in this group do not sign up but are instead invited (though, if you want to join please speak up OOC). The group meets in secret, out of the sight of Holly or the mentors - mostly. | Pharos and Night Shift(Founders), Su-Lin (Advisor), Botanic Z, Fell, Keith DeGavin, Pagan, Darkmyst |
| Halcyon Academy Outreach | In charge of reaching out to new students at the school and to other young meta's for purposes of creating cooperation and interaction between Halcyon Academy and the greater metahuman community. Also in charge of the Outreach coalition frequency for communicating with Halcyon Academy allies such as Beacon and Ravenswood. | Powersurge (Founder), Crimson Dart (Faculty Advisor), Rave, Kesira Blaze, Unyfy, Sarah, Hayato |
Yearbook
A collaborative effort between Halcyon's Student Government and the Outreach coalition resulted in Halcyon's first Yearbook Hardcover copies are only $29.99 and can be ordered at the Student Government office, located inside of Rave's Dorm room. Supplies are limited to order only.
OOC
Founding & Purpose
Once upon a time, there was a Star Trek Online fleet called Halcyon Epsilon Fleet. There, two of its members - TheDart and Zizi - found many friends, many awesome stories, and some kickin' rad company.
While enjoying the kickin' rad company of their new friends, they happened to mention Champions Online, a game also in the works from Cryptic Studios - and one that they had been testing since September of 2008. Though still under the NDA, they enthused as much as they could without getting into trouble, and as the open beta approached, convinced several of their friends to try the game out with them.
One day, TheDart joked, "We should start a spin-off guild in CO." Noone realized that she was joking, and within a day, she had obtained permission from the fleet's then-officers, set up a forum, and tapped Zizi and Ivarian to join her as the supergroup's OOC Head Honchos. Their mission: a lighthearted, fun supergroup full of likeminded individuals who, like them, were there to play the game, tell some stories, and make some friends.
Apparently, this mission was a very popular one, since the supergroup soon exploded into an 80-person guild that far exceeded their wildest expectations. Who knew?
In December '09, TheDart passed her officer hat over to Fayrechilde in a cunning scheme to make the guild more awesome.
Policies
Rules of Conduct
Halcyon Academy’s leadership is divided equally amongst its officers: Fayrechilde, Ivarian, and Zizi. Decisions of importance to the supergroup are put to a vote amongst these officers. A unanimous agreement is always the desired outcome – however, if opinions differ, time will be given for any dissenter to make their case to the others. If a concensus cannot be reached, the final decision will be reached through a majority vote amongst the three officers. These decisions include, but are not limited to:
- Acceptance of applicants
- Large-scale RP events that will affect the supergroup as a whole
- Disciplinary action and removal of members
We hold ourselves to the same standards as we do the rest of the group. If for any reason you feel that one of the officers has violated any of the rules listed below, contact us, and it will be addressed fairly and transparently. An officer who does not follow the rules can and will be removed from their position, or even from the supergroup as a whole, depending on the nature of the indiscretion.
General Standards of Behavior
Above all, Halcyon Academy is about having fun. Our primary goals include role-playing, storytelling, making new friends, chatting in our forums, and enjoying Champions Online together. We desire to be a tight-knit, happy group. To this end, we have a very low drama threshold. Causing unnecessary drama in any context will not be tolerated. Abusive or offensive language is not allowed and may be deemed grounds for immediate removal from the supergroup.
Put simply, we expect members to treat others as they would like to be treated. As a group of mature gamers and writers, we trust that our members have a solid foundation in common sense. We therefore expect members to use that common sense in how they behave and how they treat each other, as well as how they treat those outside the supergroup. For example, if you are unsure if you should say/type/post something, chances are you probably shouldn’t. When you post on the official CO forums, you still represent our supergroup as surely as if you were posting on the Halcyon Academy forums. We expect you to represent us proudly in the way you handle yourself not only in the game and in our own forums, but also on the official forums.
Be excellent to each other.
Role-Playing Standards
Halcyon Academy is a heavy role-playing supergroup. This means that we expect members to behave fully in-character while in the game. While some OOC is absolutely allowed on team and SG channels, we do ask that you clearly mark it so that it may be easily distinguished from any IC currently underway.
Role-playing is never to be used as an excuse for behaving abusively towards other players, be they members of Halcyon Academy or not. If your character’s backstory includes a passionate dislike for aliens, we encourage you to incorporate this in good fun, but this does not give you free reign to verbally berate every alien in sight. Now, if an alien player is receptive to this RP and is happy to play along, it’s perfectly acceptable and encouraged. As a role-playing supergroup, we want our characters to behave in-character. But at the same time, we recognize the need to be sensitive to the needs of other players who may not choose to role-play, or who may not enjoy playing along with your style of role-play. The general rule here is: role-playing is strongly encouraged in any capacity, unless it’s taken to such an extreme that it is impeding the fun of another player.
As a group with a strong storytelling focus, we actively encourage our members to post character stories, journals, etc. in our forums. We do require that the content of these stories not exceed what would be considered a typical PG-13 rating. Basically, if what you are describing in a story is something that would push the bounds of what they could show in a television series that does not air on a network such as Showtime or HBO, we ask that you have an officer review that section of the story before you post it and make sure that, if it is cleared for posting, that you put a rating disclaimer at the top so that people have the option of avoiding content they may not wish to see. Violence is a mainstay of comic books, and we understand that. We just request that you leave any exceptionally gory details for the reader to infer rather than describing them in unnecessary detail. We are a family-friendly supergroup with several members who are sixteen years old or under. Keep in mind our rating and the setting that we’re all working with, and a creative writer can get away with a great deal.
One of our most important role-playing rules is regarding the use of other members’ characters in your stories. If you would like to incorporate another person’s character, please ask them first. It’s common courtesy. We have all spent a great deal of time creating these characters, and there is no worse feeling than having another member feature your character in one of their stories without your consent and seeing your character behaving and speaking in a manner you would not have chosen for them. We are very mindful of the ownership we feel over these characters we have each created. If you wish to use another player’s character in your story, get their permission to do so. The other player may want to write their own character’s dialogue, and we fully defend their right to do so. This may even open the door to full story collaborations between members, if both parties are interested in such endeavors!
We encourage members to post responses and feedback to member stories on our forums. Constructive criticism to our stories is also welcome, so long as it’s offered in a spirit of encouragement. We want to build each other up as role-players and storytellers, not tear anybody down.
Disciplinary Action
Any offense will normally be met with a warning from an officer. After three warnings, a member will be considered for possible removal from the supergroup. However, officers also reserve the right to remove anyone from the supergroup without warning, if the nature of the offense is determined to be deserving of such action. If you believe you have witnessed a supergroup member in violation of our standards, whether it be in-game, in our forums, in our chat room, or on the official CO forums, please notify an officer. We have set very high standards for Halcyon Academy, and we intend to live up to them in the hopes of making our group one of the premiere groups in Champions Online.
If you have questions about any of these regulations, please contact an officer – we’re happy to help.
A Word On Tone
Originally written by Zizi on 08/04/09
There is a large spectrum of "superhero school RP", so it's important that we mention where we choose to lay in the spectrum right up front.
Halcyon Academy is intended to be lighthearted, laid back and fun. You will not see grim, serious professors teaching students to always use their powers wisely(though the school only hires "role models"). You will see little "the world fears us, you must be careful" and very little of that sort of moralistic focus. This is, almost literally, normal High School/College with superpowers. We expect a certain amount of amusing but harmless hijinks, we expect fun, we expect that angsty gritty realist drama be kept in moderation.
To wit: this is not intended to be Xavier's School for the Gifted, this is Sky High. We're not Blood the last Vampire; we're Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We're not Space: Above and Beyond; we're Firefly. We're not Bladerunner; we're The Fifth Element.
The reason we've chosen to go this way is because this isn't MUO or DCU or CoH. Champions, as an IP, is not exactly a parody by any means-- but it IS a self-aware wild romp through superhero tropes that treats itself and the genre with a sort of cheeky irreverence and tongue-in-cheek humour, and this seems to be a facet that Cryptic is aware of and a tone they themselves are taking (See: Foxbat, Snake Gulch, the end of the new Melee Video, Tunneling Travel Power, etc). This is likely to be a game about Fun more than about Serious. And that is how we're choosing to Roleplay in it.
So there you go, that's what to expect. Game on.
Powers Guidelines
It says guidelines, because they're flexible. However, these should be taken seriously, as they will be used if for some reason a conflict needs officer arbitration.
Naturally, there is a limit to what the game can provide in terms of powers. As players and role-players, we therefore have to be flexible about what the game provides and allow for things it doesn't. However, it is important to keep this reasonable and reconcilable. There will be times in RP where what one person claims to be able to do is not accepted by another player-- in these cases, we must have a meterstick.
Since Halcyon Academy is not a closed group-- that is, we allow and encourage members to RP with people outside the group, this meterstick must be common beyond our own collection of players. Thus, we ask players respect the following guideline:
If it can't be represented in the game somehow, it is not valid where conflicts exist. In short, Champions Online and its ruleset is the ultimate arbiter of OOC roleplay conflicts in regards to powers, especially with regards to interactions outside the Academy. Internal conflicts may be arbitrated by the OOC officers if both parties agree to that alternative. We ask that players restrain themselves to abilities that are relatively easy to represent inside Champions Online directly to make this easier. We feel this is fair, because Halcyon is intended to be a RP group based in the game in question.
In plain language: If you can't prove you can do something inside the game, don't insist anyone treat your character as if they can.
For example: Player A's character concept is a reality manipulator, represented in the game by a large variety of power choices. However, their IC power encompasses a lot more than that, and in RP, they alter the reality of a situation to resolve it. Player B feels this is unfair. In this extreme case, the situation is arbitrated in Player B's favor, as the game does not support in any fashion what Player A is attempting to do. Therefore, Player A's abilities are only valid as far as other players are willing to grant, or as far as the game can represent in terms of the actual powers they have taken.
For another: Hydro boy is a water-powered hero, which he has represented in the game by re-coloring certain powers. Another player takes issue with his stated ability to shoot water and knock things down, as the game does not have water powers(hypothetically). Since he has taken projectile powers and colored them to attempt to make them seem like water, Hydro boy's claims are considered valid for our purposes.
There are many more examples-- too many to count. Most people will never have issues with these guidelines, but there are always a few folks that insist on reaching far outside of the game and want everyone around them to bow to their wishes. No one likes getting stuck playing with that sort of person. That is why we have this policy-- to avoid being a group people avoid because of members inside it acting in this fashion, and to provide a firm guideline for what most of us already realize is a necessity.
Alt Policy
Update: October 11th, 2009
A player may have a maximum of six total characters within the supergroup. This can be a mix of anything - mentors, students, or alts. There is no max number of a given type of character that one can have, only a limit on how many total.
If you have an alt you'd like to bring into the Academy, you've got two options:
One is bringing them in at the Guest Speaker rank. This is our rank for true alts, characters that are not technically affiliated with the school to the same degree as students and mentors are. For example, Seer's sister would be at this rank, since she does not attend the school herself. If the alt is roleplayed, we can come up with an excuse for them to have access to the com channel/sg very easy so that you don't have to miss out on any of the fun that goes on there. However, these characters cannot live on the school grounds - that affiliates them with the school, and for that, you need a Student or a Mentor. Otherwise, it looks like you're just trying to get around writing a background for the character like everyone else has to when they want a character in the SG, including the officers, and that annoys us.
Don't annoy us.
The other is bringing them in as a student or mentor formally. To do this, just run your character idea, in brief, by an officer - we'll give you a WOO if they fit our tone, same standards as any other characters here are put to, and then you just post a bio (note: NOT AN APPLICATION!) and if all is well after the bio has been reviewed, we get your alt all recruited. Officers have to do this, friends of officers have to do this, and you have to do this. Everybody has to do this.
Both of your options will require a complete list of your existing SG characters so that we can be sure you're not going over the cap.
Easy as pie.
The number of characters allowed within the supergroup, as defined by CO's code, is presently 250. Should we begin to near that number, the maximum number of alts may once again be reviewed.
New Additions: Sept 16th, 2009
Some people have raised the topic of having many alts that are all technically the same character - toying with other builds that the Build system itself isn't robust enough to handle. What's the policy on that?
Sure!
Just let us know what's up and instead of posting a new bio, update your existing character's biography with the information on the alt(s). That will let me keep track, which is a GOOD THING.
They will then be added to the census as if they were a completely different character so that the Total Characters number still matches the Students/Mentors/Other total and my brain doesn't explode as a result.
This means that, if you have one character with five variations on their powers, that counts as five of your six character slots in the supergroup - not as one. Be mindful of this fact.
Similarly, there has been some confusion of late as to why we ask for a quick sum-up of a character and still ask for a bio after we deem them OK. Here is why:
Sometimes, what sounds fine in three short sentences does not actually fit our theme when we have a more complete picture of the character.
When we say "Sure, that sounds good - write up a bio!", it is not a guarantee that the alt will be accepted into the supergroup. It means that there is nothing glaringly obvious in the summary you gave us that might make us put the brakes on your idea, and so going ahead and writing up a bio would most likely not be a waste of your time.
We read the bios before we admit alts into the supergroup for this very reason, and besides - why would we ask you to post them if we weren't going to read them? That would be silly of us.
Census
Players: 79
Students: 109
Mentors: 37
Other: 14
Total Characters: 126
SG Character Limit: 250
Last Updated: 03/19/2010, 12am EST
Members
Students
Aindrea, Black Willow, Kesira Blaze, Carbon Steel, Darkwatch, Keith DeGavin, Delial, Eltanin, Fire ant, Frenzy, Gally, Grimtress, Helios, Kid Frost, Mog, Night Shift, Ninja Grrl, Pagan, Ash Phoenix, Porcelain Doll, Powersurge, Psilas, Rave, Storm Dragon, Teep, Vyelle, Daydream,Sarah Staten, Livewire, Yorusora, Sylistra, Alex Williams, Nova, Esper, Neuron
Mentors
Aegis, Babel, Bullet, Crimson Dart, Flashfire, Jordan Blaire, Kin, Liz, Madame Tarantula, Belinda Post, Sylistra, Weston Airthorne,
Guest Speakers and Support Staff
Fayrechilde, Michelle Staten
