New in town

[Arakil]

So is it possible to start out with an occupation? Because at this point I was thinking mercenary would work out just fine while I try to get some skill in Tracking, and eventually become a bounty hunter.

It also mentions that I would need skills at L2. I assume that means Level 2, which would refer to my Skill Level on my character sheet (Novice, Competent, etc.). How is that kept track of, exactly, and how quickly do I level up skills? Are roleplay threads self-regulated or is there like a DM who keeps track of everything in a thread?

Thanks, I appreciate all the help.

[Colt]

You can start out with an occupation, but you need to send a message to the local moderator to make sure that the occupation works within the setting. For instance, in Endrykas, the moving city of tents and horses, you would not be able to find work as a stonemason. For Syliras, though, a mercenary seems like it would be plausible. I know they used to have a bounty hunting station, but it got wrecked in the big storm of 512 (or 2012, in real-world time.) If you're in Syliras, you're going to want to apply for a job in their employment request thread. If it works, one of the moderators will send you a PM with approval and a link to your SS thread.

Yes, that's how skills work. Level 2 means Competent, which means that you have 26 points or more in a skill. Right now, your character is competent with a longsword, but is a novice in dual wielding. By the way, I would suggest going back and re-reading the bit on heirlooms; you can only have one item as an heirloom, not two, and it has to cost less than 50 mizas. And if you have a sword, I'd highly suggest getting a scabbard to go with it, unless you intend for Arakil to carry it in his hands all the time . You'll have to pay for that scabbard, though; it won't count as part of your heirloom.

You gain skill points when you write about your character doing something. For instance, Bob the Roleplayer has a PC named Joe. Bob writes a thread about Joe realizing that he needs new shoes, so he has Joe go down to the local cobbler's shop to order new shoes. The cobbler charges him twice what the shoes are worth. Joe knows better, so he haggles with the cobbler until they both agree on a more reasonable price.

Bob finishes up his thread, stamps a great big "The End" on it, and then he submits it to his city's Grade Request thread. Once that's done, a Grader will come along, read his thread and award points for things he did. In the case of Bob and Joe, Joe will get 1-5 points in Observation(for noticing his shoes) 1-5 points in Negotiation(for haggling with the cobbler) and, depending on how deeply he writes, 1-5 points in Navigation(for finding his way to the shop.)

You can't level up in a single thread. It takes work, but it's worth it. For example, my own PC, Shahar Dawnwhisper, only had 20 points in hunting when I first made him. That was his biggest skill, and he was still only a novice. So I wrote threads about him hunting. Those threads were graded, and I got more points in hunting. I wrote threads about him tracking. He got points in tracking. I wrote threads about him talking to people. He got points in rhetoric and persuasion. I wrote threads about him flirting with people. Well, sort of; he's not to good at that. But he has points in seduction now. And if I write about him flirting with more and more people, he'll get more and more points, until he reaches 26 points, when he will be competent at seduction and will therefore be sexier than he was before. Seriously. It's a thing; learn seduction, and your character gets progressively sexier. Read the lore if you don't believe me.

[Colt]

Also, one more thing, since this can sometimes be a misunderstanding with new players.

You do not have to start in Syliras. It's big and has a lot of players, and it gets a lot of attention, and that can sometimes lead newcomers to believe that it is necessary to play there. That's not the case. There's nothing wrong with starting there; it's got lots of people, a strong staff, and strong stories, so it can be a great place to start. But it's not a requirement. You can start in any city you want, as long as it's open and has an active moderator. And we have some really, really cool cities. Kalinor is a city made of silk suspended from the ceiling of a cavern, with fabric for streets. Suberth is a city with no rulers at all; it's nothing but anarchy, ruled by gang violence and whoever is the strongest. Lhavit is a city that is literally made out of glass, on the peaks of mountains and connected by huge bridges. Endrykas is a city of tents and horselords that moves with the seasons, impossible to find by outsiders. Alvadas is a city ruled by the god of illusions and trickery, where the streets are mud one day, crystal the next and water the day after that. Heck, we even have a city full of blue people, if that's your style!

The current open cities are:

Sunberth
Syliras
Abura
Endrykas
Riverfall
Alvadas
Kalinor
Lhavit

[Ball]

Sha has pretty much summed up everything. LOL Welcome@

[Yisanareysin]

Also, there are sometimes occupations that don't exist in a city. Pretty much every city has an information thread stickied, so check there for anything you want to know. And when in doubt, ask the local storyteller. They're here to help

Also, active cities often have seasonal events. Alvadas, for instance, is in the middle of an optional zombie apocalypse.

And for skills, it's worth reading through this.

[Yisanareysin]

Also, since you say you're planning to travel, make sure you know about travel times

[Ball]

Whoa let's give the new guy a chance to come up for air lol. There is a lot to take in

[Arakil]

By the way, I would suggest going back and re-reading the bit on heirlooms; you can only have one item as an heirloom, not two, and it has to cost less than 50 mizas. And if you have a sword, I'd highly suggest getting a scabbard to go with it, unless you intend for Arakil to carry it in his hands all the time . You'll have to pay for that scabbard, though; it won't count as part of your heirloom.

I thought that might be pushing it, but the only requirement that I saw was that it needed to be less than 50 gm, so I figured it would be better to ask for forgiveness than permission in this case. So I start out with 100 gm, right? Anything I need to do to buy things immediately?

Also, one more thing, since this can sometimes be a misunderstanding with new players.

You do not have to start in Syliras. It's big and has a lot of players, and it gets a lot of attention, and that can sometimes lead newcomers to believe that it is necessary to play there. That's not the case. There's nothing wrong with starting there; it's got lots of people, a strong staff, and strong stories, so it can be a great place to start. But it's not a requirement. You can start in any city you want, as long as it's open and has an active moderator. /quote]

Yeah, no, that was made pretty clear when I was reading through all this XD but thanks for pointing that out

Whoa let's give the new guy a chance to come up for air lol. There is a lot to take in

*suffocates*

Thanks for the welcome, all

[Arakil]

Also, a thought occurs, is there a skill for simple willpower, determination, etc.? I can't find one in the lore section. I guess that would be really hard to level up, but considering that Seduction at level 76 basically makes you a god to nearly everyone, depending on orientation, if I'm reading this right ("They find that others follow them almost instinctively and with little more than a look, they can have a member of the same or opposite sex groveling at their feet. The Master drips with seduction so much that only the most strong willed individuals can resist, even for but a moment, their charms."), I think that might be feasible.

[Colt]

There isn't a skill like you're describing, although Yahal's gnosis might have a similar effect.

Being a master in seduction makes you really, really sexy, but you can't use that sexiness to control other players. A PC with maxed out seduction can't just go to another PC and godmod them into saying "my PC wants to have sex with your PC, and since mine is master in seduction, yours therefore has to do it." That's powergaming and will be stopped if it happens. However, if you're in a thread with other PCs, your sexiness will definitely be noticed. A master seducer will be very, very attractive to just about anyone, including PCs. Someone else's PC will probably be attracted to a master, but how they deal with that attraction is entirely up to the player that writes them. Some PCs will just give in and run with it. Some PCs will try and play with it. Some PCs will go into denial. Some PCs will just go 'yeah, this person's hot, but I can control myself.' It really comes down to personality, history, and how that particular character deals with situations like this.

In the end, everyone has power over their own character. No matter what skills you have, you cannot decide what another character feels or does. There are rare exceptions, of course, like in the case of Sagillius' gnosis mark. PvP combat is another tricky area, so make sure you know what you're doing with something before you start doing it. Talk with your partners before you get into a thread. Have an idea of where you're going. Get an idea of the risks involved, what you want your characters to lose or gain from each other and what the most realistic way to do that is.