Welcome to Arios!

[Chef]

Welcome to Arios, sleepless village of the Nesocratic Federation of Eunesia! This thread is to help you get orientated and familiar with Arios. The IC forum for Arios covers all aspects of party village life, including training, taverns, spending your crowns or even earning them. The link map needs some updating so please bare with me, but any posted location is up for RPing in. Just ask for notes on npcs which can be used in peer or self modding, if that is your choice, as well as any other bits of information which might be of use for your posts. New players to Alleria might want to skip down to the second post of this thread.

This thread is organised as follows:


A short description of the city

How to enter the city

Guidance for new players to Alleria

Some general things to remember when posting in Arios

A link map which takes you to the various permanent locations in the Main forum

Timestamping guidance

Signature guidelines


Short Description of Arios

Arios is situated closest to the mainland of all the Eunesian isles. A small logging village sitting just within the mostly forested isle, it was founded long before the Allerian Empire and is the source of much of the Empires lumber. Times come and go but Arios remains relatively unscathed, strangers are generally looked down upon and racism is a big no no. The village itself, also named Arios, is unwalled and is flanked on all sides by deep forest. It sits just inland from the only docks on the island. Various other small buildings inhabit the island and deep within it’s centre sits the mysterious black dome, purpose unknown.

Around the circumference of the isle, with various side paths, is the Arios runners practise track, a heavily compacted path of leaves and dirt. All buildings are constructed of the abundant lumber of Arios and resemble log huts for the most part, the residents spend much of there time plying their trade in cutting down trees however so these huts remain relatively empty.

Central to the village is the temple to Kaimelea who grants the citizens there one night of rest amoung the many sleepless nights. Life upon the isle remains placid during the day and grows steadily more lurid during the night, with sleep eluding them the denizens of this isle spend their nights partying and feasting. Further inland one may come across a variety of secluded mansions and buildings belonging to wandering mages intent of discovering the cause of the magical properties of Arios, with the ability to stay up all darkening the isle draws many practitioners to its shores to practise their art.

The population of Arios, whilst small, is flooded with those of an arcane inclination. Song and Ikos rule the spheres most of all, and as such the isle takes on an even more mystical property with fate and sound ringing through the trees to cause many unforseen events. Magical creatures are the rule rather than the exception and chance is something visitors should be wary of, so heed the warning, be nice to the locals or you’ll get bad karma.

For more information, please consult the City Profile for Arios.

Entering the village

There are two ways to enter Arios, first, by washing ashore, and secondly, by taking the ferry from either the mainland or the other isles. The docks frequently rumble with the sound of moving lumber however and it is best to watch your step.

[Chef]

Guidance for New Players to Alleria

First of all, welcome to Alleria, or rather, welcome to your new addiction. For those who love writing, interacting and immersing themselves in a fantasy world, this is the game for you.

Next, you might be wondering how to play this game? Basically Alleria is a massive forum where players write out the story of their character, interacting with other players and having their adventures moderated by Game Masters, Peer Moderators and occasionally, moderating their own actions. Cities are laid out in forums where descriptions of locations are used in these adventures, and these cities are overseen by the GMs. There are a number of resources already written to help you get started, and rather than repeat what’s been already done, I’m going to list what might be most helpful to you initially.

Warning: You might feel like you are getting an information overload at first. This is normal! Take your time looking around, there is no rush as this game will wait for you. As you start to post, things will begin to fall into place and after a month you will feel like you’ve been here forever.

The following pages will give you an initial introduction:
· Quick Start Guide – Actually not that quick, but it gives you a good idea of what you can achieve in the game!
· Robert’s Guide to Beginning in Alleria – This is the one to read if you truly want to get to grips with the game. Grab a coffee or whatever is your tipple, sit back and absorb …


Now you’re probably wanting to create your character, or you may already have done so, but you’re beginning to realise it might need adjusting to fit in with the Allerian world. These pages will help you tweak your profile into place.
· Character Creation – This page helps you fill out the different fields in your profile. If you need to edit your profile, click the icon at the top which says Prefs and then click on Edit Profile. Voila!
· Races – Alleria has a variety of races which you can choose from and they are all listed here. Only those with Player Character next to them can be used.
· Character Naming Policy – To avoid Alleria being over-run with elves named Legolas, this tells you what names can and cannot be used. The name of your account which you registered with is also the name of your character in the game. To change your name, click the icon at the top which says Help and then click on New Ticket to make a request to change your name. For more advice on how to make a ticket in the Help Desk, follow this link


Okay so, basic idea of how to play and character created – great. Now to make you first few posts. If you are not a seasoned player of role play games and have not played in a format like this before, you might be wondering how to begin. The best advice I can give you is to keep it simple at first. Bear in mind that your starting character has no skills, few crowns and a one room hovel to live in so rushing off to hunt orcs, or if you are an orc, rushing off to hunt elves is not the wisest move. Instead, do a few posts where you’re trying to get a feel for your character and how they interact with others.

First posts ideas:
· Drop into a tavern for a drink! Look for threads which you might be able to join, or be bold and start your own, putting OPEN at the end of the title to your thread. Even if no PC is around to join you, a friendly npc will probably make an appearance.
· Create a thread which describes your home! Whilst you begin with a one room apartment or shack, it will still reflect your character and you never know when a neighbour might drop in on you.
· Go shopping! After all, you have 500 gold crowns to your name and no one can go adventuring without some equipment.
· Get a job! Visit the Aedile’s office for some career advice, or just try your luck by asking for work at the various stores and offices.
· Sign up for some training! Future heroes and villains need skills if they are going to advance.


Remember also that you are not tied to one city. If you want to move on, then do so. Take the ferry and visit other cities in Eunesia, take it to the mainland for a day trip! If you want to sell your home, then visit the Aedile’s office and you’ll have even more crowns to fritter away.

In the end, the point is to have fun exploring your character. If at any point you need help there are lots of places and people you can turn to and these are just some of them:
· GM Chef – Yes, that’s me. Send me a private message, or post your question in the OOC thread for Arios. Alternatively try GD Kalinda, or GM Mystic if I scare you too much.
· The Player Advisors – This is a team of people dedicated to helping new players settle into the game. One of them will be sending you a welcome message soon after you register and this thread tells you what they do.
· The OOC thread for Arios – This is where any questions regarding Arios can be asked, as well as any comments, suggestions and requests can be made. Either myself or another player will drop in to help you out.
· The Question and Answer forum – If you want to ask a question about anything to do with Alleria that you need help with understanding, this is a place where you will get your answer. It’s quite likely that your question has already been asked before, too, so browsing this forum can be quite educational.
· The Chat Room – For immediate help or answers to questions, or just a place to hang out and get to know some players on Alleria, this is a great place to go. If you see me there, say hi!


That is about it. I did warn you about information overload, right? Take a break, get some fresh air, come back and start to post.

[Chef]

Some things to remember while posting in Arios.

These points are mainly directed at players who have been members for a few months and should be aware of the rules of the game. For players new to the game, some leniency will be allowed until you've had a chance to get familiar with the game. As always, if something is confusing and needs clarification, send me a PM or post your question in the OOC thread for Arios.

1. Timestamping is required at the start of each new thread, or your first post in a permanent location, such as a shop. If help is needed in working out your timestamp, send me a PM. Timestamps such as “a week after I arrived” are not helpful! Threads without a timestamp will not be moderated, or they’ll get one reply and then you’ll be put on hold till I see that timestamp.

2. Please be careful with your fluid time. No one is happy to find out that a player is posting in different cities at the same point of their timeline. Keeping a fluid time journal is recommended, either as part of your CIR or just on a piece of pa threads. You can only start or join threads that take place in the current season (which is summer of era XI at the moment). Threads started before summer of Era XI are closed to new players.

3. Posting in the Character Registry is not mandatory, but it does help us keep track of who is here, and what they are wanting to do during their stay. It takes a few minutes to complete and brief notes are needed only, especially if you leave a link to your CIR, or have a well maintained profile. Note- The CIR for Arios is yet to be added yet.

4. Self-moderation is encouraged in threads where a transaction which is fairly straightforward occurs. If a price is not stated in the thread or there is some customising of an item, use your common sense and the big price list to come up with something appropriate. If you want to check with me first about pricing, then send me a PM. NPC vendors, bartenders, officials etc will be provided in the threads for your use. There is no need to ask permission to self-moderate these threads.

5. Self-moderation is also encouraged for training threads. NPCs will be provided for various situations, but if one isn’t available for what you had in mind, you can have a go at creating one; throw a short description of the npc up in the storytelling development thread in realmcraft and I’ll give it a stamp of approval before you progress. Alternatively, I’ll help your PC find the npc trainer and then hand him/her over to you for the actual t per by the computer.

6. Familiarise yourself with the rules regarding grandfathered training. All training threads should be flagged up with one of the Eunesian mods by PM before you begin, so we can subscribe to the thread and then follow your training. Also when you think you have finished, PM one of us so we can certify your training. If you need guidance on a training thread… PM one of us. I think there’s a pattern here.

7. Other threads which you wish to either self-moderate or peer-moderate must be cleared with one of us first. These are mainly character development threads or adventure threads. PC to PC threads don’t need permission unless an event arises which would traditionally require moderation.

8. My final word on moderation. Despite all of the blurb up there about self moderation, I acknowledge that it can be a deathly experience. Alleria is about the interaction, right? Therefore I am looking for those who would be interested in peermodding, much in the same way that AGMs used to. Let me know you are interested by waving at me in the realmcraft forum or in the OOC thread for Arios here. I will also be happy to take on threads if you cannot find a peer-moderator. Send me a PM or throw up a request in the OOC thread for Arios to check availability and how often I would be able to post for you.

9. Regarding posts – these should be written in the third-person narrative, past tense. If you are uncertain about what that means, PM me and I’ll help you out. As far as possible, correct grammar and spelling is appreciated. Use the spell checker! Try to be descriptive in your posts, but don’t feel the need to post 5000 characters for a simple transaction. And finally, there is no need for Out-of-Character comments at the start or end of IC posts. If you have a question relating to your thread, either PM us or the person concerned, or stick your question/comment in the OOC board. Posts or threads started by PCs which are purely OOC posts/threads will be deleted from the IC boards.


Got all that? Great! Now go post ...

[Chef]

Link Map
Working on this, just use the standard link map for now.

[Chef]

Timestamping - What you need to know!

Lichen’s Timestamping guide shows how to make a fancy timestamp in detail. I’m not too worried about getting all of those details into a timestamp though and something as simple as Brightening 4, Aperitus, Summer, Era XI will do just as nicely.

Currently the season is summer and it is Era XI. This must be in the timestamp. After that choose from one of the six months of that season – Cryxatum, Aperitus, Optia, Ioannes, Imperos or Junctior. Then choose a date from 1 to 50 for the brightening of the event. As long as you keep a record somewhere of how your PC’s timeline fits in all your events chronologically (even if it’s just in your head) you’ll be fine with me.

Quick summary of time in Alleria

The Day is called a brightening.

It consists of 29 candlemarks (hours). 14 candlemarks are for candlemarks of light, and 15 candlemarks are for candlemarks of darkness. Some PCs refer to night time as darkening (as opposed to brightening).

There are 10 brightenings in a cycle (week).

There are 50 brightenings, and hence 5 cycles, in a month.

There are 10 months and usually 4 seasons in an Era. The seasons are the same as in real life, winter, spring, summer and autumn. The number of months to a season varies with each era. Don't assume they are evenly divided between the seasons.

There are three eras to a pattern. The pattern is a little odd as we don’t have a real life equivalent. All you need to remember is that your PC’s age is measured in patterns. So when you say that your PC is 24, for example, he or she is 24 patterns and not 24 eras. The GD will make an announcement when it’s time for you to age your PC another pattern.

For a list of the names of all the brightenings in a cycle and months in an era, check out this guide.

Confused? Need help to make a timestamp? Let me know by private message or ask in the OOC thread for Arios.
If you’re terribly confused a simple Early Summer, Era XI will do fine until you can grab a more accurate hold of where you are in the timeline.

[Chef]

Signature Guidelines


Signature Content

Signatures are a great way to link to other threads such as your PC’s CIR and to give additional information about your PC, as well as stamping your personality onto your posts, if you’re so inclined, with a quote or general musing about life. As you can see, I use my signature to point players to useful areas in my moderation domain. Not too original, but useful!

The rules for signature content are really the same for the rules covering any OOC post in Alleria and I’ve pulled the relevant points from the guidelines in the Tavern forum.

2. If you come from a similar type of game, do not post the link, or advertise. That is against our terms of use, and there are other sites for advertisement. Alleria is not one of them.

5. No swearing or flaming. Be respectful of your fellow members.

10. Do not link to external sites which contain material unsuitable for our PG-13 rating.

11. If you have a controversial political or religious opinion, please be respectful of others beliefs and opinions. Alleria is a place for EVERYBODY, not just one religious or ethnic group. If you have something to say, be polite

Links to outside personal sites are permitted, but blatant advertising is not. Links should be pertinent to the game, such as character websites, or relevant personal links.

So, keep your signature inoffensive, don’t link to stuff you shouldn’t and stay away from quotes which contain controversial political or religious opinions.


Signature Length

Quite a few people have been adding banners or pictures to their signatures. After discussion among the Game Directorate - the cap on image size in signatures(one single image or multiple images combined) is to be no more than 468 (wide) x 60 (high) pixels in size.

The use of a banner replaces the allowed six lines of text. You may in some cases be able to add one or two lines of text but no more.

Signatures exceeding these limits will be edited by the Game Directorate.

There is often a debate about what is meant by Six lines of text, but in the end if there are any blank lines in your signature, then each blank line is included in that count of six lines. This is to prevent signatures becoming just too long and detracting from the IC posts of the thread. Therefore you might have six lines of written text, but you can’t then separate those lines out with blank lines inbetween. Take care when using vB code as using glowing text and centering your signature can add extra blank lines. If your signature goes to seven lines, it’s unlikely that anyone’s going to bother you about it, but try not to go beyond this.


Pretty Signatures!

So how do you get a signature which is pretty? Well, you learn how to use the vB code which formats text. This can be done by going to the Help for vB code page!

This explains how to use vB code so that you can add colour, italics, bold text, links, images and banners and so on. The only codes it doesn’t explain are for centring your text which is quite simply (center)(/center) using the [ ] brackets, and of course, glowing text …

Before you follow the link below that takes you to how to use glowing text, please spare a thought for the other players who read your posts. Try to be subtle in your use of glowing text rather than blinding! Having to look at six lines of block text that uses glowing colors can put people off from reading your posts. Remember … less is more.

Glowing Colours Guide

Final tip: Don’t forget to tick the box that turns signatures on! This is on the reply to a post page, under the grey box where you would normally type in your post.

~Based, and blatantly copied in most parts on GM Chocolates “Welcome to Paxia”