Post by Solus on Jun 2, 2011 16:25:57 GMT
:'(Have any questions about Solus? Ask them here and a mod will get back to you ASAP. This is open to members and guests.
Plot Questions:
What money is used in Solus?
The main unit is a Sol, which has 100 cents in. A Sol is roughly equivalent to a Pound in worth, but basics are more expensive, except for housing and bills. A cup of coffee is normally about S2, a newspaper about S1. The average wage in the Lowlands is about S15,000, and S25,000 in the Highlands.
What is transport like in Solus?
Cars are rare. There's no oil, and electric cars are still a bit slow and unfashionable. However, within the cities there are good tram systems, and there are trains for intercity travel. There's also a river that flows down from the Hall, between the two cities, and boats travel along it.
What's the schooling system?
Basically the English one. There's primary school from 5-10 and secondary school from 11-18, when compulsory education ends. Up until this stage, there are uniforms. Further education is either university, for those who got good grades in secondary school, or for alternative or more practical studies (beauty therapy, plumbing, electronics), or to redo failed secondary school exams there's collage. Both cities have five primary schools, three secondary schools, two collages and one university.
Do they have McDonalds in Solus?
No. |: Because there's only two cities there are no chains on the scale as in the world we know. However, there are takeaways in Solus, and there are equivalents, just in a single location.
Do they know about the previous History of the world?
Yes. Some books and the Internet survived, but details have been blurred and forgotten, and only recent history (the last 200 years: up until around the modern day, with some brief mentions of the world wars) is covered in normal school.
What's the legal drinking age?
18. Some bars/clubs are 21+, and in a lot of Low Land shops/clubs you won't be ID'd unless you look pre-pubescent.
Is there a police force or detectives?
There's a police force for each city. The Highlands one is considerably better funded, and there has been rumours about the Lowlands one taking bribes.
What are funerals and death rites like?
All funerals are water ones, as there's not enough space for burials or fuel for cremations. Boats to take bodies out to see are paid for by the government, but any extra on top of that has to be paid for by the families. This includes passage on the boat, any religious ceremonies, flowers, etc. Usually the boats only go out every couple of days, so usual for there to be more than one family on the boat, so it's also possible to pay for a private funeral boat.
What is Solus?
'Solus' is somewhat of an urban legend on the island. Not the name of the island, obviously, but the idea of a figure head who actually rules over the parliament. Most people don't believe in it, but the rumours have been circling for as long as people can remember. No one really knows anything about him, her or... it aside from that, and certainly there have been no confirmed sightings.
What kind of religion is there?
Solus has no religion officially. However most of the old religions were brought in some way or another. There aren't many big religious buildings; no cathedrals or big mosques or anything like that, most religious centres look more like a small town hall and are multi purpose.
What when are the official holidays if Solus is secular?
The bank holidays are as follows:
New Years Eve: 31st Dec
New Years Day: 1st Jan
Spring festival: 31st March
Solus Day: 1st April
May bank holiday: 1st Monday in May
Summer Bank Holiday: 1st Monday in August
Autumn Bank Holiday: 1st Monday in Sept
Winter Bank Holiday: Last Monday in December (unless it clashes with the New Years holidays, in which case the last Friday).
School terms are in three sets of 12 weeks as follows:
Mid September - Mid December
January - April
Mid April - Mid July.
What kind of plant life is there on the island? More specifically, what kinds of flowers?
The climate is temperate, not unlike the UK or parts of the USA, so the same kind of flowers you'd expect to find in that environment grow naturally. There is a seed bank of most of the flowers of the old world, so they can be grown if you put the effort in.
Are there airplanes on the island?
No. Too much fuel, and it's not really big enough to need them.
Is there a minimum wage?
Yes. S6/hour in the Lowlands, S7.50/hour in the Highlands.
Do they have television?
Yes. There aren't as many channels as you'd expect these days, but there's three main ones and some extras.
What kind of government does Solus have?
The basic form is a council for each city, combining to make a parliament with a Prime Minister in charge of the whole island.
Do they still teach Martial Arts?
Yes, pretty much all sports survived from the old world, though there very few professional athletes.
Is there a music store in the lowlands?
Yes. There is one or two, but they're not very good. Think of an old run down second hand shop, compared to something like HMV (apparently the closest equivalent Al can come up with is Hastings, so I hope that makes more sense to the Americans here) which is what you'd get in the Highlands.
I know there isn't any sort of racial discrimination, but what about varying sexual preference? Do gays don't have the same rights as others?
It's more accepted than it was in the old world, in that people generally don't care about it, but there still isn't equal rights in terms of marriage and adoption. There are still some people who are homophobic, just as there are still some people who are racist, but they are just a few people. They have the same rights as they do now, which can basically be summed up as protection from discrimination or homophobia, but they can't marry, and they can't adopt.
Are there weapons/rules over the possession of arms in Solus?
Guns are illegal in public, as are blades over three inches. Firearms licenses can be obtained for farmers, and for show guns and guns for sports, but have to be applied for through local council, and you have to be over 16 to by blades. Of course, all of these can be obtained illegally if you know the right people...
What kind of farm/draft animals would Solus have?
There's still space at least for limited breeds of livestock in intense farming situations, but certainly not organic/free range type things, and more expensive than it is these days. And yes, I expect there is some use of draft animals, but rarely in the Highlands where it's considered a bit undignified.
What's the mainstream food like?
Seafood is probably cheapest, but yeah. I'd imagine that most people don't eat meat more than once a day, and it's probably common for it to be less often than that.
Site Questions:
As a Lowlander are there sections that I'm restricted from with no exceptions?
The schools are obviously exclusive, and the bath house requires ID to enter, but no where's banned from an RP point of view, so if you want your character to sneak in go for it. Otherwise, everywhere is open, it's just social boundaries that stop people from shopping/visiting the other city.
What do we do when we finish a topic?
Put a [F] at the beginning of the topic title and then PM Solus, Alfred or Arthur and we'll lock it and move it to Archives.
Can we slightly change our character history to match another's. Such as like siblings or relatives to bring them closer?
Yes, that's fine, but can you please PM Solus to okay the changes before you change them.
Are we allowed to change settings? If a thread is started in one subforum is it all right to start a second in another and link to connect the two?
Yes, of course that's fine, or you're welcome to keep it in one topic. It's up to you. If you want me to physically move the topic, I can do that too.
Plot Questions:
What money is used in Solus?
The main unit is a Sol, which has 100 cents in. A Sol is roughly equivalent to a Pound in worth, but basics are more expensive, except for housing and bills. A cup of coffee is normally about S2, a newspaper about S1. The average wage in the Lowlands is about S15,000, and S25,000 in the Highlands.
What is transport like in Solus?
Cars are rare. There's no oil, and electric cars are still a bit slow and unfashionable. However, within the cities there are good tram systems, and there are trains for intercity travel. There's also a river that flows down from the Hall, between the two cities, and boats travel along it.
What's the schooling system?
Basically the English one. There's primary school from 5-10 and secondary school from 11-18, when compulsory education ends. Up until this stage, there are uniforms. Further education is either university, for those who got good grades in secondary school, or for alternative or more practical studies (beauty therapy, plumbing, electronics), or to redo failed secondary school exams there's collage. Both cities have five primary schools, three secondary schools, two collages and one university.
Do they have McDonalds in Solus?
No. |: Because there's only two cities there are no chains on the scale as in the world we know. However, there are takeaways in Solus, and there are equivalents, just in a single location.
Do they know about the previous History of the world?
Yes. Some books and the Internet survived, but details have been blurred and forgotten, and only recent history (the last 200 years: up until around the modern day, with some brief mentions of the world wars) is covered in normal school.
What's the legal drinking age?
18. Some bars/clubs are 21+, and in a lot of Low Land shops/clubs you won't be ID'd unless you look pre-pubescent.
Is there a police force or detectives?
There's a police force for each city. The Highlands one is considerably better funded, and there has been rumours about the Lowlands one taking bribes.
What are funerals and death rites like?
All funerals are water ones, as there's not enough space for burials or fuel for cremations. Boats to take bodies out to see are paid for by the government, but any extra on top of that has to be paid for by the families. This includes passage on the boat, any religious ceremonies, flowers, etc. Usually the boats only go out every couple of days, so usual for there to be more than one family on the boat, so it's also possible to pay for a private funeral boat.
What is Solus?
'Solus' is somewhat of an urban legend on the island. Not the name of the island, obviously, but the idea of a figure head who actually rules over the parliament. Most people don't believe in it, but the rumours have been circling for as long as people can remember. No one really knows anything about him, her or... it aside from that, and certainly there have been no confirmed sightings.
What kind of religion is there?
Solus has no religion officially. However most of the old religions were brought in some way or another. There aren't many big religious buildings; no cathedrals or big mosques or anything like that, most religious centres look more like a small town hall and are multi purpose.
What when are the official holidays if Solus is secular?
The bank holidays are as follows:
New Years Eve: 31st Dec
New Years Day: 1st Jan
Spring festival: 31st March
Solus Day: 1st April
May bank holiday: 1st Monday in May
Summer Bank Holiday: 1st Monday in August
Autumn Bank Holiday: 1st Monday in Sept
Winter Bank Holiday: Last Monday in December (unless it clashes with the New Years holidays, in which case the last Friday).
School terms are in three sets of 12 weeks as follows:
Mid September - Mid December
January - April
Mid April - Mid July.
What kind of plant life is there on the island? More specifically, what kinds of flowers?
The climate is temperate, not unlike the UK or parts of the USA, so the same kind of flowers you'd expect to find in that environment grow naturally. There is a seed bank of most of the flowers of the old world, so they can be grown if you put the effort in.
Are there airplanes on the island?
No. Too much fuel, and it's not really big enough to need them.
Is there a minimum wage?
Yes. S6/hour in the Lowlands, S7.50/hour in the Highlands.
Do they have television?
Yes. There aren't as many channels as you'd expect these days, but there's three main ones and some extras.
What kind of government does Solus have?
The basic form is a council for each city, combining to make a parliament with a Prime Minister in charge of the whole island.
Do they still teach Martial Arts?
Yes, pretty much all sports survived from the old world, though there very few professional athletes.
Is there a music store in the lowlands?
Yes. There is one or two, but they're not very good. Think of an old run down second hand shop, compared to something like HMV (apparently the closest equivalent Al can come up with is Hastings, so I hope that makes more sense to the Americans here) which is what you'd get in the Highlands.
I know there isn't any sort of racial discrimination, but what about varying sexual preference? Do gays don't have the same rights as others?
It's more accepted than it was in the old world, in that people generally don't care about it, but there still isn't equal rights in terms of marriage and adoption. There are still some people who are homophobic, just as there are still some people who are racist, but they are just a few people. They have the same rights as they do now, which can basically be summed up as protection from discrimination or homophobia, but they can't marry, and they can't adopt.
Are there weapons/rules over the possession of arms in Solus?
Guns are illegal in public, as are blades over three inches. Firearms licenses can be obtained for farmers, and for show guns and guns for sports, but have to be applied for through local council, and you have to be over 16 to by blades. Of course, all of these can be obtained illegally if you know the right people...
What kind of farm/draft animals would Solus have?
There's still space at least for limited breeds of livestock in intense farming situations, but certainly not organic/free range type things, and more expensive than it is these days. And yes, I expect there is some use of draft animals, but rarely in the Highlands where it's considered a bit undignified.
What's the mainstream food like?
Seafood is probably cheapest, but yeah. I'd imagine that most people don't eat meat more than once a day, and it's probably common for it to be less often than that.
Site Questions:
As a Lowlander are there sections that I'm restricted from with no exceptions?
The schools are obviously exclusive, and the bath house requires ID to enter, but no where's banned from an RP point of view, so if you want your character to sneak in go for it. Otherwise, everywhere is open, it's just social boundaries that stop people from shopping/visiting the other city.
What do we do when we finish a topic?
Put a [F] at the beginning of the topic title and then PM Solus, Alfred or Arthur and we'll lock it and move it to Archives.
Can we slightly change our character history to match another's. Such as like siblings or relatives to bring them closer?
Yes, that's fine, but can you please PM Solus to okay the changes before you change them.
Are we allowed to change settings? If a thread is started in one subforum is it all right to start a second in another and link to connect the two?
Yes, of course that's fine, or you're welcome to keep it in one topic. It's up to you. If you want me to physically move the topic, I can do that too.
