Hello, world! Can I ask a question?

[Thohorn Riverbed]

I'm sort of new here. A couple years ago I made an attempt at joining and, much to my own embarrassment, I didn't have the resources to stick around with my other writing commitments. Until that was different I knew I wouldn't be able to make another attempt, anywhere.

This is very quickly changing and I've come to Mizahar before anywhere else. To that end I'm looking for a new, established community where I might be able to put down soome roots. Mizahar is particularly attractive for its focus on minimal hassle to players and the ease of joining and participating. Not to mention the richness of the setting that is built on-the-go!

So to that end I'd like to ask some questions of you guys, the players and members of this community! As a long-time owner of large writing communities quite different than Mizahar, and a published author of very different kinds of work, I'm trying to get an idea of where you guys are at.

What does the in-character world need, for instance? Heroes? Villains? Movers and shakers or maybe more mundane individuals? Where are the areas that could be shored up to make things that much stronger and more dynamic?

What does the community need as a whole? Workers, leaders, thinkers, men and women of ideas?

I stand (sit) here largely ignorant of the goings-on of Mizahar as a community and in-character world. I'd love to learn more about where I can best contribute. I'm hoping that this sort of initiative is seen as positive!

[Marion Kay]

Hello and welcome (back)! I can already tell you we're all going to be very excited to have a new widely-experienced writer in our midst, and I definitely look forward to seeing what you do. But my answers to your questions are going to be very mundane: In all honesty all the Miz community needs is writers who write what they want to write (so long as it fits the lore, of course).

The world is incredibly expansive, which I'm sure you've noticed, and there are plenty of people and PCs from all walks of life in every corner of it. We have heroes, we have villains, we have movers and farmers, soldiers and leaders and philosophers and what have you. We have every type of character, so I'll be frank and say that there's no specific build that will add more to the game. What will bring dynamic-ism is a writer who crafts a dynamic story, whether it's the farmer barely scraping by to support his family to the wandering scholar who braves the harshest conditions in pursuit of knowledge.

Write what you want to write, write what you will have fun writing, write what compels you, write the story you've been aching to tell, write the story that brings you the most excitement, and people will be drawn to it. That's the best way to contribute, outside of OOC contributions around the site, which it sounds like you may have the drive to pursue as well. I look forward to seeing where your initiative leads you -- it's definitely appreciated!

[Perplexity]

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Greetings and Salutations!

Welcome back to Mizahar! It is always enjoyable to see players revisit the website. I am going to have to agree with Marion. She hit the nail on the head. Fashion a character that you feel is compelling and can engage in the stories to be told in Mizahar.

The biggest piece of advice I would have to give when starting (again) is to not get discouraged. The world that has been created here takes its time. What do I mean by that? I mean nothing is going to happen overnight. So you want to be a Merchant Prince? It’s quite doable. It’s not going to happen quickly and you’ll need to build up the avenues necessary to support such an endeavor but it can be done. You want to discover something lost long ago, buried in Mizahar’s ancient history? You can. It just takes time. It takes a story.

So many newcomers get discouraged when they enter Mizahar with the expectation that they can immediately jump into these high flying adventures from the get go. Stop. Ground yourself in the character first. Experience what the world, the city, the culture of the race you’ve chosen to play, has to offer. Build your character up and then set them out on a journey. Then when we step in and tell them to slow it down they abandon everything they wanted to do and leave. It saddens me, really. There is a never ending amount of things that really can be done here when you do it thoughtfully and with a meaningful story.

That’s the key.

The best way to fashion an adventure on Mizahar is to simply depict the character(s) that you create living their life. Everything else will come with time and as the character is exposed to the environment they live in. The opportunities are there. Take your time in reaching out for them.

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[Thohorn Riverbed]

I find myself on the receiving end of advice I'm used to giving out! How funny is that?

Thank you both very much, Marion and Perplexity. I asked the questions I did because I generally find myself to be an extremely easy-to-please person. While some say "It's the journey, not the end", for me it's not the journey, but the experience of having had a journey. I'm not picky at all about what that journey is and, therefore, sought to find out if there's anything Mizahar is looking for in particular.

For me, the passion, drive, staying power, and all other forms of motivation come from having the experience at all. The details along the way? I like all sorts of flavors.

But on that note it doesn't seem as if anything jumps to mind! I can definitely handle a blank check.

So on a new note, who wants to tell me a little bit about what's going on with the community? Challenges we're facing or goals we're working towards? I'd love to learn more about Mizahar as it is today.

I know, I know; I'm nosy! I'm not looking to bite off more than I can chew, or jump right in the deep end without wading in more carefully. To extend the metaphor, I'm just trying to read the depth signs on the side of the pool.

[Khida]

Hi Thohorn, Plots and events in Mizahar tend to happen on the domain level, so it's hard to say what's going on "across Mizahar". There are occasional events which span a couple of domains, and the occasional regional quest, but the vast majority of plots occur locally. You would probably get the most information from picking a city you're interested in, checking out its seasonal calendar, and asking in the local OOC thread what players have going on there. I'd be happy to talk about my own character development and personal goals, if that's the kind of thing you're fishing for. But those aren't even domain level, those are PC level. Just drop me a PM if that's useful to you, or if there's anything else I can help you with.

[Thohorn Riverbed]

That is exceedingly helpful, Khida, thank you! I'm simply ignorant of how this community functions as a community and as an in-character world, so that's exactly the kind of information I need.

It'd be great to hear about what you're up to, Khida, if you don't mind sharing. As much as I'm interested in, and going to dig into, domain-wide stories? The things individual characters do are always the bedrock of an environment like this. Thank you very much for offering!

That goes for anyone else who happens to read through. I'd love to hear about your character(s) and what you're up to.