WHAT IS ERGOT? Well, Ergot is a fungus that grows on rye and has been cited as the culprit in a widely popular theory about the root of the Salem Witch Trails. Ergot laced bread is said to have caused hallucinations that sparked the fire.

WHAT IS A TOUCH OF ERGOT? A Touch of Ergot is the answer to a need. We, the mods, desired a place that we could collect our PSLs into a cohesive group and write with others. We wanted a community with good, open-minded, active writers who were interested in exploring dark storylines. We wanted a location that had just enough magic to inspire the mind but still stay rooted within the world that we all live in.

This is the result. A Touch of Ergot is a PSL Community based in the fictional New England village of Charons Ford, in the year 2009. There isn't anything particularly special about the village aside from the fact that its seclusion seems to draw darker forces to it. With many of its settlers finding their roots in the Salem exile, this is a place where magic is still alive and any manner of creature seems to be lurking about. Not everyone is touched by the supernatural however. Most people are just living their lives.

To you, the player, this is a community where you can bring those dark storylines you've been wanting to try out or find new ones to join in on. Creativity, world building, and exploration are encouraged here. We're not looking for are players who are squicked easily, closed minded, or generally needy. This is a PSL community and therefore you will be expected to make your own plots and communicate with other players on your own. If you aren't a self-directed player you may want to consider another community.

A Touch of Ergot is looking for a group of writers who are talented, friendly, and dedicated. We will have 10 open positions for writers and once those are filled we will close to invite only. There will not be a character limit unless the mods deem one necessary at a later date nor will there be set activity standards. We expect mature players who are interested in the community as a whole. If we feel you aren't holding up your end of the community's activities then we will approach you about it.

SETTING A Touch of Ergot is set in 2009 in a small, fictional, New England village called Charons Ford. The village is, for the most part, yours to make what you will. However, as a starting point, here is what you need to know... Charons Ford was founded largely by members of the Salem Village who fled or were exhiled during the witch trials. There are families who still practice the old ways of witchcraft and others who have made their way to the village who are into new styles. The village is within driving distance of major cities but is certainly nestled within the woods and not far from the ocean. The village has all of the normal attractions: a bar, a church, a grocer, and even a small movie theater. If there is something else you'd like but you don't know if it would fit, just ask the mods and we'll let you know. Chances are unlikely that you'll be told no and we'll try to keep a good record of the world building that happens.

CHARACTER GUIDELINES

If you haven't picked up on it yet, we're fairly open minded here. As mentioned above, we allow witches but we are also open to the inclusion of vampires, werewolves, and other supernaturals. For those not outlined here, drop the mods your ideas and most likely we'll allow it.

We do want to be clear though that the focus of the game is not supernatural nessecarily. We understand that these can be great outlets for stories and we won't be limiting because of that. Keep in mind, however, that even in a village that's history lies in the supernatural, not everyone is abnormal and in general these things are still a secret. Vampires can't kill in the town square and werewolves don't run rampant on full moons- witches don't use magic in the grocery store with everyone watching, etc. There are normal people in this village and you are more than encouraged to play your every day human!

For those looking for something a little different from the mundane however, read on.
NOTE: As in play canon is established, this information may be changed or updated.

WITCHES. Witchcraft in Charons Cross should be widely based off of the old Salem stories. Think deals with the devil, rituals, sacrifices, incantations, etc. Please keep in mind that no one is all powerful and that everything must have a cost of some sort.

VAMPIRES. We do not want to see Twilight copies here. We're looking for the good ol' fashioned traditional vampires. They require and crave blood to survive (though not necessarily human.) Sunlight burns, fire kills, holy relics effects are determined by the faith of the creature when it was still human. To sire a vampire you must drain their blood and feed them infected blood. Control over instincts and hunger come with age and experience.

WEREWOLVES. To become a werewolf you must have been bitten or scratched by a werewolf while the wolf was transformed. Werewolves look and act like regular humans most days of the month but for the 3 nights of the full moon they turn into creatures slightly larger than a wolf and most do not have self-control in this form. In the week leading up to the full moon a werewolf would likely experience temperamental changes as well as during the new moon. These effects are up to individual characters. We're sticking with silver burns and a shot to the heart will kill anyone, right?

WHAT ELSE? These are the basics that we're operating on. We know there's a lot to be bargained for with what's provided above and the basic rule will be first come first serve. If you want to expand on the vampire (or werewolf or witch or...) mythology, run it by the mods and if we approve, then that will be added to the canon. These are just starting blocks.

We'd also be open to seeing ghosts, paranormals, hunters, etc.

While we don't have strict rules here as the intention of this community is collaboration and exploration, there have to be guidelines and boundaries. These are our expectations in writing though they are fairly basic.

BE OVER THE AGE OF 18 Like many of the expectations here this should be fairly self-explanatory. We will be dealing with dark storylines in this community and there is just no way we can allow someone younger than that to play here.

BE FRIENDLY AND OUT GOING Because this is a PSL community, players need to be willing to approach one another for lines and be approachable. However, this is not a traditional RPG and you are not expected to play with every character or player.

BE ACTIVE Ideally you're joining because you want to play, right? We don't ask that every character you have be posting once every two weeks. Active is active. Don't leave your writing partner hanging, don't abandon the community.

BE CREATIVE AND OPEN MINDED First and foremost this community will be built by those who are writing in it. Because of that, world building will be encouraged (and the mods will do their best to keep a cohesive account of the world building that goes on). Open mindedness is needed when dealing with dark or taboo subjects. We won't tolerate flaming, ooc drama, etc. That doesn't mean you have to read or write anything you're uncomfortable with.

USE WARNINGS Because this community will have things that may squick or bother other people keeping an updated list of warnings on a thread is vital. If necessary, the mods will provide a sample list of warnings.

KEEP OOC/IC DRAMA SEPARATE I think we all know this one.

A NOTE ON OUR DEFINITION OF DARK Dark storylines can include anything from violence to incest to vampires to sociopaths. We won't be keeping a close handle on what "goes" in this community. However, part of the creativity expectation is that this community won't be used to write gore for gore's sake. We are interested in dark storylines for many reasons, a large one to explore the psychology behind characters involved. We don't want to see meaningless dark with no consequences, however.

Right along with that there has to be an understanding that just because we encourage dark storylines here WE DO NOT DISCOURAGE things like happiness, fluff, and light. There can be no understanding of darkness without light as well and both are needed.

A NOTE ON WRITING STYLES The majority of this community will be told in third person, past tense done via threading. Because you will be using one journal for all of your characters, blogging won't be an option. However, text messages, instant messages, emails, etc are allowed and encouraged. Also, if you would like to post rps done in aim, you are welcome to- just don't make it everything you do. We like to see some sustenance and effort put into tags though by no means does it need to be award winning and never a chore.

PLEASE USE this coding for all your posts on the PSL journal ergot.

<b><font size=2>CHARACTERS</font></b> <b><font size=2>PLACE</font></b> <b><font size=2>DATE</font></b> <b><font size=2>SUMMARY</font></b> <b><font size=2>RATING/WARNINGS</b></font>

While there is not a limit to how many characters you may have, you may only take out three holds at a time. A hold will last for 48 hours with one extension granted. We will not be restricting PBs beyond being age appropriate but we will not be accepting challenges either. If you are not accepted to the community, your holds will be relinquished.

Once the ten player spots are filled holds will be closed to invite only so get them in quick!

TO APPLY you will need to make one journal for the game. This journal will be where you keep all of your characters that you use for A Touch of Ergot. We ask that this journal be exclusive to the game, however, to avoid confusion.

Your application should feature the following:
+basics such as name, age, gender, species, and appearance.
+paragraph style personality including things like quirks, habits, hobbies, vices, strengths, and weaknesses. If it's easier for you, you can use a list format for the above mentioned but there must be a paragraph style description of their over all personality.
+paragraph style history including anything pertinent to where they are now. You may want to consider their childhood, their adolescence, and how they came to be who they are in Charons Ford. If they are anything other than a mundane human how they came to be that way needs to be outlined.
!!! All applications should be written in third person !!!

You will also need to make a contact post/drop box (we recommend you make it a sticky and feel free to friend-lock it once you are accepted). The comments to this post should be screened and should include the following: Your name, your general availability (not your day planner, just when you're generally around), your timezone, and the sorts of storylines you are and aren't interested in. (Please note: you will not be turned away from the game because of your squicks. We feel it's important to have them easily accesible however so that if another player wants to contact you for a line they know not to ask for something you're uncomfortable with.) If you'd like other players to have your aim/email/etc then feel free to put that in one this post as well!

Once all of that is set up, comment here with your name, age, a link to both of the posts, links to writing samples and request membership here and here and friend this journal.

If you have any questions, concerns, etc. feel free to drop the mods a comment here. All comments are screened and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

If for whatever reason you don't feel comfortable commenting here, you can also contact the mods through email at touch.of.ergot@gmail.com.