Premise
Entering into the world
Initial discoveries
Setting
Events
Arrival
Gaining new powers
Power limitations
Summoning
Hitomi
Dreams
Logging
Time system
Languages and communication
Dieties
God scrolls
Death

Kannagara is a panfandom collaborative writing game set in the ancient, mystical realm of the Shinto gods, where dreams and gods collide. Your character will have the ability to not only experience the dreams of other characters, but can also experience their worlds. As the world of Kannagara is a fluidly changing microcosm, from time to time, it will slide between different panfandom worlds. One week, your character will be in Kannagara. The next, they might be in any panfandom world.

Kannagara places a strong focus on collaboration -- from writing to game development, we are interested in working with players to develop the world in which they write. You will have the opportunity to not only grow as a writer, but will also be able to propose game settings, events, NPCs, and other aspects of the game that can enrich the quality of your experience.

PREMISE

Kannagara is a dimension that exists within the realm of the gods. The gods are unhappy with the state of humanity and have brought your character from any point within their canon into this world with the intent to teach your character a lesson about harmony. However, even the gods have a history of struggle with harmony -- wars have been fought, oppressions have occurred, and unjust actions have led to the fall and even deaths of some gods. 

Your character will be arriving in a world caught between two opposing classes of deities: the ruling deities of the Celestial Plains, and the fallen gods and oni of Yomi. As your character struggles to understand why they have arrived in this world, they will find themselves caught -- and even torn -- between the two opposing forces that control the sacred space of Kannagara.

And when they dream, the world will dream with them.

ENTERING INTO THE WORLD

Characters can enter from any given point, even in the midst of combat, and suddenly find themselves waking up in this world. Quite often they arrive here by falling asleep, losing consciousness, dying, or after death.  They can even come from places other than their own canon -- development from other games and worlds can be transferred to Kannagara. 

When your character arrives here, a soul imprint is created of their bodies. Your character has not completely disappeared from their canon. Instead, a copy of the character is formed within Kannagara, arriving within Himorogi. Events that occur within Kannagara and your character's canon will occur independently of each other. They will not reflect each other in any way, shape, or form. Your character will not be aware of what is going on in their home world, nor will they dream of any events that occur. The only time that this will happen is during a canon update.

INITIAL DISCOVERIES

Your character will discover that in this world, dreams are rarely ever private, and are always experienced by those who watch it on the network while holding their Hitomis. Sometimes they might even share a dream with another person, or come upon a dreaming individual whose dream has changed the world around them. (Read more about dreams here.)

And if they're lucky (or unlucky), they may even be able to have a supernatural encounter with a deity. As for how that encounter might turn out -- whether your character will walk away with supernatural powers, a wish granted, or will somehow be cursed -- that remains to be seen.

SETTING

Kannagara takes place in the realm of the gods -- a fluidly changing microcosm, which is composed of many different terrains and lands, with the sacred space of Himorogi set at the very heart of the world. All villages, cities, and templesare located within walking distance of each other in their respective terrains, around the focal point of Himorogi. While the different locations are not easily seen within eyesight from each other, when inhabitants of the world attempt to walk to another location, the duration of travel is somehow magically shortened to under half an hour. All lands and locales are easily reachable from any point within the world.

An impenetrable barrier surrounds this microcosm. It is impossible to escape, or so your character might think. The world they are trapped in is actually far larger than they might realize at first. The realm they are in, Kannagara, is actually a spiritual space suspended between the Celestial Plains where the divine gods dwell, and Yomi, an underworld where spirits, oni, youkai, and evil reside. 

The gods want you to believe Kannagara is a world of harmony and peace. But nothing is what it appears to be. 

Villages within the world will frequently move and collide. Sometimes they will be in their original places as reflected in game settings; other times, they may be mashed together. And sometimes, your character will wake up and discover they aren't even in the original setting of Kannagara. (Please see Events for more information.)

Read more about the Setting here.

EVENTS

There will be many events that will occur in Kannagara as the game progresses. Some of them will be moderator-run, others player-run. We will be happy to take suggestions from players and will incorporate as many events as possible. While some events will be mandatory (such as the terrain of the game changing), others will be optional. At no point in time, if you are uncomfortable with an event, will you have to participate in one.      

Events can range from massive dream events where characters will all be compelled to dream of a certain theme, or huge merged dreams where characters will dream together, to crack events such as body switching. There may be sex-only switch events, or gender-only switch events that can be anticipated. (Please see merged/themed dream events for more information.)

Expect the setting to also fluidly change. Villages within the world will frequently move and collide. Sometimes they will be in their original places as reflected in game settings; other times, they may be mashed together. Sometimes, your character will wake up and discover they aren't even in the original setting of Kannagara. One week, your character will be in the idyllic, peaceful ancient setting of Kannagara. The next, they may be in the world of Code Geass or Godzilla. Yes, this might mean your character might have the unfortunate opportunity of trying to avoid being killed by random NPC Knightmares who think you are a Eleven, or running away from a massive kaijuu that is trying to destroy the city. These events are meant to allow your character to experience a wide range of cultures and different panfandom universes. We will rely upon players to provide us with panfandom universe suggestions. Expect for anachronism to occur, and for general confusion.

Climate events may also occur -- natural disasters such as blizzards, tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanic explosions are all possible within the original setting of Kannagara. In panfandom universes, natural disasters that have occurred in those worlds might also occur in Kannagara. For example, if our setting event takes us to Silent Hill, the world will be affected by the fires in the coal mines that contaminated and polluted the environment. 

Please note that as all these events are occurring within the realm of Kannagara, though the setting may change, the rules that govern the world will not. And Himorogi will always unfailingly stay the same. It is the one place in the world that will never change, regardless of what the rest of the world turns into.

The Oni can sometimes also cause great conflict to occur between groups of people, or create evil demons or monsters for inhabitants to fight.

ARRIVAL

On arrival, your character will wake up somewhere in Himorogi. Players may elect to have their characters magically healed when they arrive in Kannagara, regardless of the state they are taken from in their canon, whether they be ill or injured, they will be fully healthy, with no wounds or illnesses. (The only exception to this rule is if your character was born with a disability or if your character ended up with a body part transplanted/transmogrified in some way.) Players may also choose to bring in their characters with a chronic illness or an injury. Terminal illnesses cannot be brought into Kannagara, and will be either magically healed or downgraded to chronic illness.

Characters will find a Hitomi somewhere on their person; if it is not taken with them, it will materialize wherever they are. Characters will then find themselves randomly drawn to villages of the player's choice as they start to wander by themselves.

GAINING NEW POWERS

Characters can gain supernatural powers in this world, either through training with other characters who control energy/chi/chakra/ki over an extended period of time, or through a supernatural encounter with gods that can grant them powers which they may or may not have any idea how to use. Some characters may even gain powers by discovering magic scrolls. If you are interested in having your character develop powers, please talk to a moderator!

POWER LIMITATIONS

When characters are using powers in a non-battle capacity, they will discover that their powers will not be limited at all, with the exception of not being able to teleport outside the barrier, or summoning weapons of mass destruction such as bombs that could potentially obliterate the entire world.

Powers will not have any kind of limitations except for the inability to teleport outside of the barrier, or to cause instantaneous death with absolutely no ability to fight back. Characters with powers that can cause instantaneous death, or would otherwise make it impossible for characters to fight back, will discover that they will be unable to use that power. 

In a battle capacity with killing intent, a character's power levels will be nerfed according to Kannagara's Power System.

Read Battle Guide for more information.

SUMMONING

In order to summon anything from your character's home world, regardless of whether they have a trans-dimentional summoning ability or not, they must go to the summoning shop in Yomisato and pay the gods directed price in order to summon virtually any inanimate object from his or her world as long as it would not somehow obliterate the world, or otherwise drastically change it.

It must be noted that your character may only summon items from their original canon, or if in the course of the game, they encounter items from other worlds that they otherwise might not have seen in their own world.

If your character has summoning abilities, your character will still be able to summon virtually any inanimate object from his or her world as long as it would not somehow obliterate the world, or otherwise drastically change it; however, your character may only successfully summon inanimate objects in battle and any inanimate object summoned will disappear immediately following the battle for which it was summoned.

It must be noted that your character may only summon items from their original canon, or if in the course of the game, they encounter items from other worlds that they otherwise might not have seen in their own world; therefore, a Gundam would be allowed to be summoned in battle only if the summoner has encountered the Gudnam through an event and would disappear immediately following the battle.

Characters who can summon animal familiars are capable of doing so in and out of battle. When summoned for the purposes of battle, the familiar will have to respect the same power limitations as the character. Therefore, if a character wants to summon an animal familiar in order to kill a weaker character, the character will discover that they will not be able to do this, as their supernatural abilities have been altered to match their opponent's.

Additionally, changes in the summoning policy do not apply to objects summoned prior to Week Three, Day Seven.

HITOMI

Posts on the network community appear over the Hitomi, unless they are marked as action logs.

The Hitomi (瞳/人見/人美) is a communications device outfitted with a high resolution touchscreen that materializes on your character's body at the time of arrival. It cannot be destroyed or lost. Even if you attempt to leave the Hitomi behind, it will re-materialize on your character's body. No pockets? No problem! The Hitomi can alter its shape into a high-tech band that straps around your character's arm or wrist. It can also be clipped onto a belt with a connecting wireless earpiece/headset.

The Hitomi's features are as follows:

1. Dream Viewing
2. Dream Posts
3. Voice Posts/Calls
4. Video Posts/Calls 
5. Text Posts
6. Voicemails

Read more about the Hitomi here.

DREAMS

In this dimension, dreams will be utilized to allow the inhabitants of the world to learn more about themselves, each other, what it means to be human, and their relationship to nature and the gods. Nightmares will be used by malicious oni who want to thwart the gods' goals. There are several ways that dreams will manifest in this world

1. Dream Posts/Viewable Dreams

Dream Posts are dreams that are viewable only through the Hitomi, posted on the network. When a dreamer dreams anywhere in the world, the dream is broadcasted through the Hitomi network. Anyone who watches the dream will experience the dreamer's emotions while watching the dream if they are touching the Hitomi. If they are not touching the Hitomi, the dream can be watched as a mini-movie.

Dreamers do not have the ability to filter dreams.

2. Dream Logs/Interactive Dreams

Interactive Dreams are dream logs that are posted on the community which will allow other characters to enter into the dream to interact with the dreamer. The dream will actually take on physical form wherever the dreamer is dreaming, and the world will accommodate the dream by transforming into the paramaters of the dream, constantly changing as the dream progresses.

3. Dream Logs/Merged Dreams

Merged Dreams are dream logs that are posted on the community when two or more characters dream in too close proximity to each other. When this occurs, their dreams actually merge, and their dream selves will be able to interact with each other in the dream, as well as the other aspects of their dreams. This is essentially a shared dreaming experience that others cannot enter.

Read more about Dreams here.

LOGGING

Logging on Kannagara can occur in two areas:

1. kannagara_logs is where all face-to-face interaction pertinent to any and all significant character development or writing takes place. Solos can also be posted here, as well as backdated flashbacks that are critical to your character's development or the audience's understanding of them, or their relationship to another character.

2. kannagara_network is where all dreams, Hitomi network posts, and any non-significant logs that spin off from a Hitomi network post take place. Network logs must have a prior Hitomi post that they are linked to. If you anticipate that the log might have significant development, it may be better to start the log on kannagara_logs.

Logs can be written in first, second, or third person, past, or present tense. Or all of the above!

More information on logging and requirements can be found at the Posting Guide.

TIME SYSTEM

Due to how plot-heavy Kannagara can be at times, we will be using a fixed time-ratio schedule, with three real days translating into every one in-game day. Real-time dates will also be used, and holidays and birthdays and such will be celebrated on those appropriate dates. 

The flow of time is compressed into one-third its usual length, and each in-game month would equal approximately ten in-game days. This means that the characters will recognize that the time is passing incorrectly, and that seasons are changing by abnormal frequency; that is, approximately one month (of our measurement) for each season. In other words, seasons change at the exact time ours do, and this is something any character is free to, pretty much should in fact, make note of. They can explain it however they’d like; the gods just fooling around, or maybe having some kind of purpose for it. This is up to you and your character!

In an attempt to prevent as much discrepancy as possible, in-game dates will correspond to real-time dates. How is this possible? Our official explanation is this: the gods like fucking with you. No, seriously. If your character is observant, they will notice that time is passing far faster than normal. The seasons are visibly shorter. Again, characters are capable of becoming aware of this discrepancy. They can realize this, discuss it, and do whatever else they want to with the information.

LANGUAGES AND COMMUNICATION

Your character will speak and communicate in their original language. This means, if your character is from Asia, Asian honorifics will be allowed. If your character is from France or Spain, the corresponding honorifics in that language can be used. Characters will be able to divinely understand each other even though they are speaking completely different languages, and can even acknowledge the fact that the languages are different. It must be noted that while your character may understand what is being said, they will not be able to speak the language unless they possess that language skill. 

Your character is allowed to acquire new languages, however, if they truly desire to learn how to speak in it. 
Please note: writing entire lines of dialogue in different languages will be allowed. If you are interested in writing any dialogue in a different language, you must provide an OOC translation.

DEITIES

There are many deities at play in Kannagara, however, characters will not be aware of their presence upon arrival. 

The gods may or may not choose to reveal themselves to characters, or interfere with the character's lives and/or dreams at whim. Their motivations for doing so may vary -- not all gods are on the same side, and although your character was brought here by some of them to learn harmonious living, there are other gods who are less concerned with peace and more concerned with achieving their own ends. 

Although some are largely benevolent and work for the good of mankind, others may be indifferent, and some may even be outright dangerous or hostile. Furthermore, the Oni, who are the malicious demons that attempt to disrupt the balance of harmony the gods try to instill, will occasionally cause issues for the world's inhabitants.

Read more about Deities here.

GOD SCROLLS

God scrolls are magical or cursed scrolls that the gods and the Oni sometimes place around Kannagara. They can appear at any given time and if your character touches one, they will immediately be compelled to open it, at which point whatever is in the scroll will unleash upon them.

Read more about God Scrolls here.

DEATH

 

• Characters can die in Kannagara. However, their deaths are not eternal. If your character dies in this world, they will be reincarnated in Himorogi within as little as one game day, to as long as one real-life week. The duration of death depends on how your character dies. If your character dies because of natural causes, your character will be reincarnated within one game day. If your character stupidly started a fight, s/he will be punished for his/her behavior and will have to wait a period of time determined by the gods for reincarnation.
• During the time of death, characters absolutely cannot make any kind of new posts or logs (unless there are ongoing/backdated logs that you are still working on) or comment on any dreams. They will be in a state of limbo, and will not be conscious of what is occurring to them. Some characters might be able to have conversations with the gods during this time, but the gods are picky about who they choose to interact with, and those cases generally are exceptional. Please talk to a moderator if you are interested in having interaction with the gods.
• Depending on how a character dies, some form of punishment might occur. As this is a world in which the gods supposedly want humans to find harmony with each other and nature, if your character was the source of the problem and started the conflict that resulted in his/her death, your character will be the one punished for it by having to not only wait to be reincarnated, but might temporarily lose an ability, memory, or something otherwise significantly important to them. However, if your character is killed by someone else who started the conflict, the person who started the conflict will, instead, be punished. Punishment will be determined by the gods and will vary from case to case. In the event that the Onis somehow have something to do with a character's death, the reverse will happen -- your character will receive the punishment for death, and the character who killed your character might be rewarded for a job well done.
• Players absolutely cannot godmod and kill a character without permission from another player. All players must also receive moderator permission before a death arc is played, so the moderators can be prepared to handle the situation.