Whitelist Application Update

[Smol 2229]

 

WHITELIST APPLICATION UPDATE

[Posted March 2026]

 

 

As previously mentioned in the CT Recap and previous CT updates, for the past year in the New Player Experience: Application Format project, led by @Cheeseand involving several members of CT, we have been working on rewriting the whitelist application. With the aim of making the application more understandable for new players, as well as making it easier for players applying to the server. We are happy to announce that we have now implemented these changes. You can view the change log below.

 

The Powergaming and Metagaming Questions
 

One of the CT’s biggest struggles with whitelist applications is how people have interpreted and responded to our questions about powergaming and metagaming. I’m sure a decent number of players remember it. So, to hopefully clear up any potential misunderstandings, we’ve changed the application’s questions as follows:

 

• In your own words, what is powergaming, and why should it be avoided in roleplay? 
• Powergaming is when a player does some unrealistic, unfair, or godly actions. This could be forcing emotes on characters other people play, or trying to have your character perform unfair or impossible feats.
•  
• In your own words, what is metagaming, and why should it be avoided in roleplay?
• Metagaming (aka ‘meta’) is when your character shares or acts on information they should not know—for example, some detail that you only know out-of-character because someone told you in voice chat.

 

Character’s Backstory

Something else the Application Team has noticed in many applications is that a lot of people’s characters don’t want to tell the hag their story, which may make sense considering some characters’ personalities! To accommodate this, we’ve decided to make the applicant's character’s backstory separate from their roleplay scenario. Additionally, we would like for applicants to include a reference to recent server lore & include a current realm in their backstory. We hope that this way, applicants will know more about the server they’re joining, what’s going on in roleplay, and we can help direct them to a community they wish to join! The new character backstory question will be laid out in the following format:

 

• Character Backstory
• Please ensure your character is an original character that does not use references or lore from real life or other franchises. If you’re having trouble with this scenario question, feel free to contact a Community Staff Member in-game, on the forums, or over Discord.  
•  
• ((Share your character’s backstory! Please ensure it’s at least six sentences, written in third person, and references to the server lore, including a current realm in our map.))
•  

Roleplay Scenario
 

Going hand in hand with the backstory that we mentioned above, we’ve decided to slightly rephrase the wording of the roleplay prompt where the applicant’s character encounters the hag. Along with creating a separate section for it within the application, we’ve also changed the POV to be entirely third person since we’ve noticed a lot of applicants have been confused by which POV to use in their response. Additionally, the hag will be asking different questions; instead of asking the character their entire backstory, she is asking about their goals. We hope that this will help applicants better flesh out their characters and give them a direction to take in roleplay once they join. The new roleplay scenario will read as follows:

 

• Roleplay Scenario
• Read the scenario and think about how your character would respond. You must show an understanding of quoted dialogue and exposition throughout the scenario. Your actions must be in the third-person narrative. Please ensure your character is an original character that does not use references or lore from real life or other franchises. If you’re having trouble with this scenario question, feel free to contact a Community Staff Member in-game, on the forums, or over Discord.  
• A traveler has just arrived in a small town. As they look around, their gaze is met with run down houses and shops. They duck into one of the shacks, illuminated by a series of candles suspended in the air. At the back of the small room, an old hag raises her head, “What brings you to this dingy town?” She begins, then pauses to study their face—”Ah, it’s you. I’ve been expecting you. Sit,” she gestures at a chair, “What’s brought you here? What do you hope to make of yourself?”
•  
• ((How does your character respond? Please ensure your response is at least six sentences long, and uses at least two actions.))
•  
• Example: (delete this when you add your own)
•  
• "Oh, I just, uh…" The traveler stutters, tensing up. They eye the crone, then back outside the shack. For a moment, the air thickens with anticipation, until…

 

 

Need help? Feel free to contact a community team member via the forums, Discord, or you can use the command /creq in-game, and a member can help you out there!

 

Shout outs

Thank you for all that contributed to the project over the months, and specially to @Cheesefor taking the lead on this.

 

 

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me via Discord (@smol) or the forums, and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible.

 

[Cheese 8883]

Hooray!!!

[_Sug 2809]

My parents were killed by orcs.

[PrinceTheDM 275]

I think we should let more pink tags in to get eaten.

[Mayios 542]

Can I apply as a mermaid 

[KeiaTypeBeat 3277]

dang let myself get excited they would up the age minimum just a bit

[bickando 3967]

are you saying that you've added the metagaming and powergaming definitions right below asking what they are...?

[thejack 198]

14 minutes ago, Smol said:

Additionally, we would like for applicants to include a reference to recent server lore & include a current realm in their backstory.

im not a huge fan of this change, personally. when i was joining, the sheer amount of info that could be found on the forums was both overwhelming and mildly confusing, since several pages were outdated. imo its best for people to have the Option to be part of an existing realm, rather than being required to be part of it.
plus some nations try and have requirements for joining them, and newly joining players might not be aware of this

[Customable 304]

Rotata bananaz

[Borin 7645]

19 minutes ago, thejack said:

im not a huge fan of this change, personally. when i was joining, the sheer amount of info that could be found on the forums was both overwhelming and mildly confusing, since several pages were outdated. imo its best for people to have the Option to be part of an existing realm, rather than being required to be part of it.
plus some nations try and have requirements for joining them, and newly joining players might not be aware of this

 

It doesn't say you have to be part of a realm, just that you should mention it. E.g. my backstory on arcas mentioned aftermath of war of 2 emps stuff, and it was fun reading abt it on the wiki and forums, then when i joined i just pottered abt and did whatever.

 

I suppose the point is it nudges people towards basic understanding of current server conditions - CT must update wiki consistently accordingly and link to such information on the application page to point ppl in right direction, but I think its positive.

[Unwillingly 18117]

happy to see the metagaming and powergaming questions changed, I've disliked those ones for years. I hope in the future there will be further consideration surrounding granting leniency to apps instead of denying them for things that are super harmless in nature, such as "your highlander can't be that tall" or "your wood elf can't have white hair" and instead focus on things that would either ruin the experience for themselves or others on a fundamental level, such as with the importance of metagaming or powergaming. I dislike the elitism mindset some people (not CT specifically) have about applicants and "literacy" standards people have towards applicants truthfully and I wish that leniency was reflected in the application process

[thejack 198]

10 minutes ago, Borin said:

 

It doesn't say you have to be part of a realm, just that you should mention it. E.g. my backstory on arcas mentioned aftermath of war of 2 emps stuff, and it was fun reading abt it on the wiki and forums, then when i joined i just pottered abt and did whatever.

 

I suppose the point is it nudges people towards basic understanding of current server conditions - CT must update wiki consistently accordingly and link to such information on the application page to point ppl in right direction, but I think its positive.

i get this in a sense, but everything in its current state is very convoluted and hard to understand if you Are a new player that doesnt know the server. im talking about this in a call with some people right now, and theyve all agreed that navigating the forums was difficult before they truly played on the server.

 

plus the wording leaves room for confusion like this, since new players may find themselves thinking that they do have to be part of a nation

[PrimnyaQuorum 4003]

1 hour ago, Smol said:

Additionally, we would like for applicants to include a reference to recent server lore & include a current realm in their backstory.

I think the current realm part is a bad idea. Haelun'or, in example, is a well-defined set of cultural practices and a server-spanning history that, in the last year or so, has been demoted from being a "realm". None of that information is available to a pinktag, except if they look under elven realms they'd see the silver enclave of Haelun'or - except Haelun'or was also a title won in conquest by Aelwen, who settled on the ruins of Haelun'or, and neither are actually "realms" but both can be found under the elven realms category. 

 

Asking pinktags to comprehend and clearly write in their own words the diabolically untrustworthy LoTC forums & wiki as the basis for their acceptance or denial (when most of the server doesn't really use the forums as a basis for group definition anyway) feels like its just going to cause problems. Equally, how is anyone who wants to join supposed to know what is, and isn't a realm? Will CT deny applications that refer to places that aren't strictly "realms"? We really do not need to prop up this deranged realm system up any further

[Rig 17580]

2 minutes ago, PrimnyaQuorum said:

I think the current realm part is a bad idea. Haelun'or, in example, is a well-defined set of cultural practices and a server-spanning history that, in the last year or so, has been demoted from being a "realm". None of that information is available to a pinktag, except if they look under elven realms they'd see the silver enclave of Haelun'or - except Haelun'or was also a title won in conquest by Aelwen, who settled on the ruins of Haelun'or, and neither are actually "realms" but both can be found under the elven realms category. 

 

Asking pinktags to comprehend and clearly write in their own words the diabolically untrustworthy LoTC forums & wiki as the basis for their acceptance or denial (when most of the server doesn't really use the forums as a basis for group definition anyway) feels like its just going to cause problems. Equally, how is anyone who wants to join supposed to know what is, and isn't a realm? Will CT deny applications that refer to places that aren't strictly "realms"? We really do not need to prop up this deranged realm system up any further

 

I share this opinion. The truth is that the state of the wiki is really unwieldy. Additionally, the forums are disorganized, and don't always totally reflect accurately what realms exist. I'm fine with mandating a "place in [lore]", and that can include modern locations. Beyond that, I believe that the application should revolve more around lore standards (i.e., no features that break lore, like a kitsune tail or something). Backstory itself by comparison is whatever.

My first character in 2012 was an elf named Talis from Malinor. His backstory is not memorable, I don't really even think it came up often because I was too busy getting murdered by White Rose or Flays. All of the learning about RP happens on the server. The application itself is a barrier to entry which should ensure people know the following:
 

- Techlock Standards
- CRP Rules
- Build rules
- What staff team does what

For instance:

How many blocks can you move in a CRP while attacking?
4
What does Story Team do?
Act in events and write lore

 

What application must you make to learn Alchemy?

Feat Application in the Magic Applications subforum

 

In my opinion it should be less about cosmetics and RP proficiency, but rather about the systems that exist on our server itself. RP will sort itself out when they play!

[Kaii 572]

1 hour ago, Unwillingly said:

happy to see the metagaming and powergaming questions changed, I've disliked those ones for years. I hope in the future there will be further consideration surrounding granting leniency to apps instead of denying them for things that are super harmless in nature, such as "your highlander can't be that tall" or "your wood elf can't have white hair" and instead focus on things that would either ruin the experience for themselves or others on a fundamental level, such as with the importance of metagaming or powergaming. I dislike the elitism mindset some people (not CT specifically) have about applicants and "literacy" standards people have towards applicants truthfully and I wish that leniency was reflected in the application process

 

Heyo! Issues such as being too tall or having white hair are reasons to be put on pending, but people aren't denied for these reasons alone. If an applicant doesn't fix the issues within 48 hours, then they are denied though thats after the applicant is either given a dm on discord or the forums. The only reasons people get instantly denied are if they're under the age of 13, the rules are not read, if the application is written in a different language or if the application includes inappropriate content, and so on.