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Roleplaying is required in Avendar. Any time you are logged in you are expected to remain in-character and respond to things as a character within the setting of Avendar would. This page will go over some of the basic commands, etiquette, and suggestions. |
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hen you come to the world of Avendar, it’s a world where role-playing is not only encouraged, it’s required. This means that in any situation that presents itself to you here, you should do your best to see and react as an actual person from Avendar would react. This means that you shouldn’t spend your time discussing the real world, but instead attempting to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of a fantasy role-playing environment. Think of yourself as an actor, playing a master role in a great drama. We guarantee this is even more fun than just playing a numbers game’. |
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== Roleplaying Basics == |
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=== Communication === |
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All areas of roleplay, including backgrounds, are subject to our [[Avendar:Rules|rules]]; please ensure you are familiar with them. |
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Communication is the most essential part of your interactions in Avendar. You may communicate with others in a number of different ways, to express yourself in the role you have chosen. Bear in mind that all communication while in Avendar should be In Character (in other words, in the role of your character), unless you are using the ‘ooc’ chat channel. |
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Any time you are logged into Avendar, you consent to your communications being logged and potentially read by staff; see [[privacy]] for more information. |
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The basic commands used for communicating are: |
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==Interaction Basics== |
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say - Everyone in the same room as you can hear what you say, as long as they are awake. |
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===Communication=== |
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tell (person) - One person will hear what you tell them, as long as they are awake. You can use tell from any distance! If you can’t see the person who told you something, you can tell back using the ‘reply’ command. |
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Communication is the most essential part of your interactions in Avendar. You may communicate with others in a number of different ways, to express yourself in the role you have chosen. All communication should be ''in character'' (in other words, in the role of your character), unless you are using the '''OOC''' chat channel. |
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grouptell, gt, ; - The people in your group can hear you, even when they are asleep. Grouptell works at any distance. |
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Unless noted, being a[[sleep]] will block most communication channels, barring the use of certain skills or [[trait]]s. |
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think - Your character’s private thoughts go here. Only staff members and certain classes can read what you are thinking. Watchers and psionicists can read thoughts! |
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{| class="wikitable" |
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yell - Everyone in the same area as you can hear what you yell, even when they are asleep. |
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|+ '''Speech Commands''' |
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|- |
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| say, ' || Basic speech. Everyone in the same room as you can hear what you say. || say Hello! |
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|- |
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| esay || Basic speech paired with a freeform emote; please see the [[esay]] command for usage. || esay 'nods and says' Yo. |
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|- |
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| tell (person) || One person will hear what you tell them. You can use tell from any distance. || tell Elanthe Hello! |
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|- |
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| reply || Sends a tell to the last person who sent you a tell. Note that this works even on NPCs or people you cannot see. || reply Who are you? |
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|- |
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| grouptell, gt, ; || The people in your group can hear you. Your group will hear you even if they are asleep and from any distance. || gt That guy has a nice hat. Let's take it. |
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|- |
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| yell || Everyone in the same area (as shown in the [[where]] command) will hear what you yell, even if they are asleep. || yell Oh no, a lion! |
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|- |
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| think || Only staff members and certain classes will be able to read what you think. || think Damn, she's hot. |
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|- |
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| pray || Praying to the gods. Only staff see this. This can be either in-character or out-of-character; please be clear about which you intend. || pray Oh Aeoleri, please notice me... |
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|- |
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| house, ht, . || If you are in a [[Great House]], everyone in the house will hear this message, even if they are asleep. || ht Hey everyone, come to Earendam quick so we can jump that Champion. |
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|- |
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| ooc || This channel is for out-of-character chat with a specific player. OOC works at any distance. || ooc elanthe Gotta run, sorry! |
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|- |
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| oocreply || Like reply, this will send an OOC message to the last person that sent you one, even if you cannot see them. || oocreply No problem! |
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|- |
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| newbie || The newbie channel is for out-of-character chat with everyone online who has the newbie channel turned on. || newbie Can someone tell me how favoured blade works? |
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|- |
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|} |
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===Actions=== |
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ooc - This channel is for out-of-character chat with a specific player. Use OOC for mechanics questions, or to talk about real life. OOC works at any distance. |
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In addition to verbal communication, you can use various emotes to convey actions or motion. Like speech, you may freely use these in a variety of ways to express yourself in your chosen role, including performing minor magical or supernatural acts such as levitating a small object or making a flame dance on the tip of your finger. Actions may not force behaviors or feelings on other characters unless everyone in a scene has agreed upon this result. All actions must be in-character. |
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Other characters in the room will see all actions unless they are [[blinded]] or [[sleep]]ing. |
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newbie - The newbie channel is for out-of-character chat with everyone online who has the newbie channel turned on. |
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{| class="wikitable" |
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pray - Pray to the gods. Only staff will see this. |
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|+ '''Action Commands''' |
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|- |
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house, ht, . - If you are in a Great House, everyone in the house will hear this message. |
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|emote || Displays an action line that begins with your character's name. || emote taps the side of their head. |
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|- |
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dt - Druids use commune with nature to communicate with all druids. |
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|smote || Displays an action line that can begin with anything, but must feature your character's name in the action. || smote Leaning nonchalantly against the wall, Elanthe twiddles their thumbs. |
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=== Acting === |
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|- |
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|pmote || Like emote, but when using another PC's name, they will see themselves as the recipient ('you'), while others in the room will see the name. || pmote directs a sly wink at Aeoleri. |
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In addition to verbal communication, you can use body language. The following commands allow you to describe what your character is doing in the moment. Other characters in the room will see this. |
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|- |
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|esay || Prepends your speech with an action. See [[esay]] for more detailed syntax. || esay 'rolls his eyes and says' No way I'm giving you Tsyaegn. |
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Do not use the acting commands to “force” other characters to take actions, respond, or remain passive. |
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|- |
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|pose || Sets what others see when they look/scan into your room, prefaced by your name and current position (standing, etc). See [[pose]] for detailed syntax. || pose juggling. |
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emote - Displays an action line. The line will be after your character’s name. |
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|} |
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===Socials=== |
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smote - With smote, you can create more complex sentences. Your character’s name can be anywhere in the message. |
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Socials are pre-written emotes or verbs that may be used to interact with other characters or objects. These are intended to be useful shorthand and inspiration. |
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pmote - When your action includes another person, you can pmote with their name. They will see themselves as the recipient (‘you’), while others in the room will see the recipient’s name. |
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esay - Lets you speak and act at the same time. |
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pose - The pose command will set what others see when they look at or scan into the room you are in. |
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== Description == |
== Description == |
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When you create your character you will also be asked to write a description for them. Your description is what people see when they look at you and should physically describe your character's appearance. They should be as general as possible, so as to be appropriate in the widest possible range of situations, perspectives, emotional states, etc. Descriptions must be appropriate for the setting and the [[lineage]] you are playing; please see those pages for more details. |
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Your description is what people see when they look at you. |
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Your description should show people what you look like, no more, no less. Comments about your character’s personality or history should be reserved for in character interactions and your background. Responses to the look should also be reserved for in character interaction. Your description should not describe your clothing. Your clothing is your worn equipment, and not a description feature. Small personal effects are acceptable, but no cloaks, outfits, etc. |
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You can also add keywords to your description, allowing people to look at a particular thing you reference. This is called an exdesc, |
You can also add keywords to your description, allowing people to look at a particular thing you reference. This is called an [[exdesc]], short for "extra description"; please see that page for more details. |
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''A description is mandatory by level 10.'' If you do not have a description by this time, you will cease being able to gain new experience until you write one. Entering a placeholder (e.g. "desc goes here", "will write later promise") in order to bypass this is not acceptable and may result in your character being [[denied]]. |
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===Tips=== |
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Descriptions should be no fewer than five lines long. That is roughly 60 words, or 2-3 tweets. |
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Start with the basics of a person's appearance: their height, build, skin/scale/feather/hair/eye colour, facial shape, etc. Get an idea of what the distinguishing features of each species are and how those would be incorporated into a person's overall look. Then you may consider what kind of cosmetics, jewelry, tattoos, dyes, or other accessories may be appropriate. All of these things together will allow you to convey something personal about your character to those who look at them. |
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Descriptions should not tell people about your character's history, background, thoughts, current emotional state, what actions they are currently performing, etc. As a rule of thumb, if you could not infer it about a person who is standing across the room from you and not looking at you, you should not include it in a description. |
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'''Do not enter a placeholder description!''' (Ex. “desc here” or “ascdukyfv.”) |
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Editor Commands |
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The editor is used for your description, exdescs, background, and notes. More information can be found in the 'help editor' and 'help exdesc' commands |
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=== Description Tips === |
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In-World: Your description should be appropriate to Avendar and your character: See the pages on World and Character Creation. |
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==Background== |
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Stay Physical: As people can view you in multiple situations, and with multiple perspectives, the best recourse is to stick to cold hard fact, namely, what your character physically looks like. Start with concrete details such as height, build, skin/hair/eye color, and whatever else is obvious. Then expand into details, such as clothing, posture, scars, and so forth. See Help Exdesc for more ways to be detailed. |
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Your background is a brief summary of your character's past and origins. It should be short (<500 characters; even a single sentence is fine!) and may be nearly anything provided it conveys salient information about your character's history and personality. Only [[Avendar:Staff|staff]] can read your background. |
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The purpose of a background is twofold: to prompt yourself to give some thought to your character's past and motivations, and to provide staff with a ''brief'' overview of what your character's vibe/deal is so we may better incorporate your character into staff-run storylines. |
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Stay Objective: What a person feels when they look at you is what that person feels. Don’t dictate to them how you affect them. |
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''You are required to have a background by level 25.'' If you do not have a background by this time, you will cease being able to gain new experience until you write one. Entering a placeholder (e.g. "bg goes here", "will fill in later") in order to bypass this is not acceptable and may result in your character being [[denied]]. |
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No Actions: Your description should not contain actions in response to people looking at you — after all, you don’t say “hello” every single time a person looks at you, nor do you see any and all people that look at you. Common behaviors are fine (a nervous twitch, etc.). Instead, use emote, say, etc. to convey actions and responses. |
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===Tips=== |
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No Window Into The Past: If you want people to know your history, you should tell them about it, rather than putting it in your desc. NPCs are an exception to this rule. |
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Backgrounds are great for hooks, but they should not be the most interesting thing about a character; the most interesting things about your character should happen in play. |
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Your background can touch on family or important relationships but should primarily focus on your own character. |
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Spelling/Grammar: Seeing a sloppily written, badly misspelled description always makes the staff cry a little, deep inside. Your ideas are more clearly understood when you take the time to abide by the rules of grammar, like the imms intended. |
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People come back from the dead in this setting. You should probably avoid backgrounds about parents dying tragically and orphaning your character unless you're prepared to answer questions about why they didn't come back for you from the altar. |
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Originality: Rather than being yet another ominous figure in a cloak, why not be something different? Try to let your description not only reflect your role but help define something new and unique about it. |
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== Background == |
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Your background describes your character’s past — and it should include whatever you know about your own past, and what a god would know about you and your history. |
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==Player Character Roles== |
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The background is meant to have a twofold use. Firstly, it allows the immortals to ensure that everyone has a well-roleplayed character. Secondly, it allows the gods to understand your actions, and allows for more subtle, and complicated roleplaying. |
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In Avendar we wish to extend as much freedom as possible to players when crafting their characters and take a "yes, and" approach to interaction. Player characters may come from nearly any background and aspire to nearly any goal they wish (though no one is guaranteed to succeed). We enjoy and encourage players improvising and extrapolating new facts about the world, and if a concept is interesting and fits, we are likely to accept it as canon. There are three restrictions we place upon player characters: |
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* Your character concept must fit and make sense within the setting, lore, and genre of Avendar. |
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Only the immortals can read your background. |
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* You may not assume a role that requires or demands exceptional development effort or resources from [[Avendar:Staff|staff]]. |
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* All player characters are adventurers that have graduated from the [[School of Heroes]]. |
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Within the boundaries of those restrictions, your character may be as mundane or exceptional as possible. Your character may be a figure of destiny whispered of by [[Kyana]]ns or an impoverished soul from [[Var Bandor]] that decided they would write their own legend instead of being next in a line of shopkeepers. The School of Heroes accepts those of any background, from simple farmboys to Harrudim princesses, and makes them into adventurers. |
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'''You are required to have a background by level 25.''' It should be 1-2 paragraphs, and ideally of five hundred words or fewer. |
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==Staff-run Storylines== |
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'''Do not enter a placeholder background!''' (Ex. “bg here” or “ascdukyfv.”) |
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At any given moment there are likely to be one or more staff-run storylines happening in Avendar. These storylines may be focused on a player or group of players, a Great House, a deity or religion, a city-- whatever one or more people has taken an interest in and where we feel like a fun story might be able to happen. These are run for the benefit of both staff and players; we like to roleplay too! Anyone of any skill or knowledge level is welcome and encouraged to participate. You do not need to be an incredible writer or know tons of things about the lore and setting of Avendar, you just need to be willing to lean in and have some fun with us. |
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===Tips=== |
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Your background should primarily focus on your own character. Family relationships are great to include, but if a friend, family member, or other character is the most interesting, active character in your background, consider playing that character instead. |
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If you are interested in participating in a storyline, please do! Here are some guidelines for doing so. |
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* You get what you put in! If we see you talking to a lot of other PCs about things, pursuing threads, asking interesting questions, etc you are much more likely to get us engaged. |
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If you find yourself inspired to write a lengthy or detailed story about your character’s (or another’s) life, consider instead putting it up on a website such as archiveofourown.org rather than using it for your character’s biographical background. Contact staff if you’d like an invitation to sign up for that site. |
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* Be proactive about participation and coming up with ideas to solve problems. We aren't there to simply serve you a solution; we want to hear what you come up with. |
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* If you see an NPC being played by a staff member, feel free to reach out to them and interact. That's what they're there for! Not every NPC is involved in every story however. Sometimes they won't know anything "useful," but you can still chat! |
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* Use [[note]]s! Write to houses, PCs, and NPCs. Include <code>immortal</code> on your notes to make sure staff can read them too. |
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* Only characters who are hero-level will be approached for or integrated into storylines. Sub-hero characters may still participate in scenes (happily!) but further or more in-depth engagement will wait until you reach level 51. |
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* Players may have one PC at a time involved in staff-run plotlines. |
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'''''Backgrounds must be free of violent sexual content, explicitly-depicted or no. Specifically, absolutely no references to rape are permitted, whether or not any acts are detailed.''''' |
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[[Category:Meta]] |
[[Category:Meta]] |
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Revision as of 16:25, 22 July 2024
Roleplaying is required in Avendar. Any time you are logged in you are expected to remain in-character and respond to things as a character within the setting of Avendar would. This page will go over some of the basic commands, etiquette, and suggestions.
All areas of roleplay, including backgrounds, are subject to our rules; please ensure you are familiar with them.
Any time you are logged into Avendar, you consent to your communications being logged and potentially read by staff; see privacy for more information.
Interaction Basics
Communication
Communication is the most essential part of your interactions in Avendar. You may communicate with others in a number of different ways, to express yourself in the role you have chosen. All communication should be in character (in other words, in the role of your character), unless you are using the OOC chat channel.
Unless noted, being asleep will block most communication channels, barring the use of certain skills or traits.
| say, ' | Basic speech. Everyone in the same room as you can hear what you say. | say Hello! |
| esay | Basic speech paired with a freeform emote; please see the esay command for usage. | esay 'nods and says' Yo. |
| tell (person) | One person will hear what you tell them. You can use tell from any distance. | tell Elanthe Hello! |
| reply | Sends a tell to the last person who sent you a tell. Note that this works even on NPCs or people you cannot see. | reply Who are you? |
| grouptell, gt, ; | The people in your group can hear you. Your group will hear you even if they are asleep and from any distance. | gt That guy has a nice hat. Let's take it. |
| yell | Everyone in the same area (as shown in the where command) will hear what you yell, even if they are asleep. | yell Oh no, a lion! |
| think | Only staff members and certain classes will be able to read what you think. | think Damn, she's hot. |
| pray | Praying to the gods. Only staff see this. This can be either in-character or out-of-character; please be clear about which you intend. | pray Oh Aeoleri, please notice me... |
| house, ht, . | If you are in a Great House, everyone in the house will hear this message, even if they are asleep. | ht Hey everyone, come to Earendam quick so we can jump that Champion. |
| ooc | This channel is for out-of-character chat with a specific player. OOC works at any distance. | ooc elanthe Gotta run, sorry! |
| oocreply | Like reply, this will send an OOC message to the last person that sent you one, even if you cannot see them. | oocreply No problem! |
| newbie | The newbie channel is for out-of-character chat with everyone online who has the newbie channel turned on. | newbie Can someone tell me how favoured blade works? |
Actions
In addition to verbal communication, you can use various emotes to convey actions or motion. Like speech, you may freely use these in a variety of ways to express yourself in your chosen role, including performing minor magical or supernatural acts such as levitating a small object or making a flame dance on the tip of your finger. Actions may not force behaviors or feelings on other characters unless everyone in a scene has agreed upon this result. All actions must be in-character.
Other characters in the room will see all actions unless they are blinded or sleeping.
| emote | Displays an action line that begins with your character's name. | emote taps the side of their head. |
| smote | Displays an action line that can begin with anything, but must feature your character's name in the action. | smote Leaning nonchalantly against the wall, Elanthe twiddles their thumbs. |
| pmote | Like emote, but when using another PC's name, they will see themselves as the recipient ('you'), while others in the room will see the name. | pmote directs a sly wink at Aeoleri. |
| esay | Prepends your speech with an action. See esay for more detailed syntax. | esay 'rolls his eyes and says' No way I'm giving you Tsyaegn. |
| pose | Sets what others see when they look/scan into your room, prefaced by your name and current position (standing, etc). See pose for detailed syntax. | pose juggling. |
Socials
Socials are pre-written emotes or verbs that may be used to interact with other characters or objects. These are intended to be useful shorthand and inspiration.
Description
When you create your character you will also be asked to write a description for them. Your description is what people see when they look at you and should physically describe your character's appearance. They should be as general as possible, so as to be appropriate in the widest possible range of situations, perspectives, emotional states, etc. Descriptions must be appropriate for the setting and the lineage you are playing; please see those pages for more details.
You can also add keywords to your description, allowing people to look at a particular thing you reference. This is called an exdesc, short for "extra description"; please see that page for more details.
A description is mandatory by level 10. If you do not have a description by this time, you will cease being able to gain new experience until you write one. Entering a placeholder (e.g. "desc goes here", "will write later promise") in order to bypass this is not acceptable and may result in your character being denied.
Tips
Start with the basics of a person's appearance: their height, build, skin/scale/feather/hair/eye colour, facial shape, etc. Get an idea of what the distinguishing features of each species are and how those would be incorporated into a person's overall look. Then you may consider what kind of cosmetics, jewelry, tattoos, dyes, or other accessories may be appropriate. All of these things together will allow you to convey something personal about your character to those who look at them.
Descriptions should not tell people about your character's history, background, thoughts, current emotional state, what actions they are currently performing, etc. As a rule of thumb, if you could not infer it about a person who is standing across the room from you and not looking at you, you should not include it in a description.
Background
Your background is a brief summary of your character's past and origins. It should be short (<500 characters; even a single sentence is fine!) and may be nearly anything provided it conveys salient information about your character's history and personality. Only staff can read your background.
The purpose of a background is twofold: to prompt yourself to give some thought to your character's past and motivations, and to provide staff with a brief overview of what your character's vibe/deal is so we may better incorporate your character into staff-run storylines.
You are required to have a background by level 25. If you do not have a background by this time, you will cease being able to gain new experience until you write one. Entering a placeholder (e.g. "bg goes here", "will fill in later") in order to bypass this is not acceptable and may result in your character being denied.
Tips
Backgrounds are great for hooks, but they should not be the most interesting thing about a character; the most interesting things about your character should happen in play.
Your background can touch on family or important relationships but should primarily focus on your own character.
People come back from the dead in this setting. You should probably avoid backgrounds about parents dying tragically and orphaning your character unless you're prepared to answer questions about why they didn't come back for you from the altar.
Player Character Roles
In Avendar we wish to extend as much freedom as possible to players when crafting their characters and take a "yes, and" approach to interaction. Player characters may come from nearly any background and aspire to nearly any goal they wish (though no one is guaranteed to succeed). We enjoy and encourage players improvising and extrapolating new facts about the world, and if a concept is interesting and fits, we are likely to accept it as canon. There are three restrictions we place upon player characters:
- Your character concept must fit and make sense within the setting, lore, and genre of Avendar.
- You may not assume a role that requires or demands exceptional development effort or resources from staff.
- All player characters are adventurers that have graduated from the School of Heroes.
Within the boundaries of those restrictions, your character may be as mundane or exceptional as possible. Your character may be a figure of destiny whispered of by Kyanans or an impoverished soul from Var Bandor that decided they would write their own legend instead of being next in a line of shopkeepers. The School of Heroes accepts those of any background, from simple farmboys to Harrudim princesses, and makes them into adventurers.
Staff-run Storylines
At any given moment there are likely to be one or more staff-run storylines happening in Avendar. These storylines may be focused on a player or group of players, a Great House, a deity or religion, a city-- whatever one or more people has taken an interest in and where we feel like a fun story might be able to happen. These are run for the benefit of both staff and players; we like to roleplay too! Anyone of any skill or knowledge level is welcome and encouraged to participate. You do not need to be an incredible writer or know tons of things about the lore and setting of Avendar, you just need to be willing to lean in and have some fun with us.
Tips
If you are interested in participating in a storyline, please do! Here are some guidelines for doing so.
- You get what you put in! If we see you talking to a lot of other PCs about things, pursuing threads, asking interesting questions, etc you are much more likely to get us engaged.
- Be proactive about participation and coming up with ideas to solve problems. We aren't there to simply serve you a solution; we want to hear what you come up with.
- If you see an NPC being played by a staff member, feel free to reach out to them and interact. That's what they're there for! Not every NPC is involved in every story however. Sometimes they won't know anything "useful," but you can still chat!
- Use notes! Write to houses, PCs, and NPCs. Include
immortalon your notes to make sure staff can read them too. - Only characters who are hero-level will be approached for or integrated into storylines. Sub-hero characters may still participate in scenes (happily!) but further or more in-depth engagement will wait until you reach level 51.
- Players may have one PC at a time involved in staff-run plotlines.
