The New Players' Guide
Aug 10, 2011 15:06:31 GMT -5
Post by Embers on Aug 10, 2011 15:06:31 GMT -5
NEW PLAYERS' GUIDE
Welcome to "A False World," a role play, simulation cross over. We combine elements of forum-based role play, and borrow from the idea of "sim sites" to enhance user experience. Role play takes place within a supposed "Utopia" inhabited by natives analagous to familiar, earthly fauna. The following is a step-by-step guide to benefit new or potential players' who want to know how to navigate the site.
Key terms are bolded, other reference threads are italicized, and asterisks (*) imply that a step is not obligatory for a fulfilling IC experience.
Upon joining the site, your first personal task is adopting a character. Navigate to the Adoption Center (AC) and scan through the biographies available. You will be literally "adopting" a character from a selection of about 4 - 8 biographies depending on the day. These biographies will be of a canine, feline, or AFW's bonus draconian-esque species. They will have a set gender, and will come equipped with an illustration of your character along with a unique description.
To adopt, simply use the form to give your character a name and a personality. Histories will not be necessary. This is because your character is essentially "newborn" upon your adoption of him/her. When a staff member accepts your character, they will also create an "alter," allowing you to post under the character's name in IC boards. You will be able to select this option from a drop down menu to the right of the "create thread" button when posting.
However, if you don't see a character you like, don't feel obligated to adopt on your first day. The AC cycles through new character biographies several times a week. Spend time OOC, and check back to see if another biography appeals to you. Perhaps there will be a rarer coloration available (see our Coat Color Rarity chart) or even a different species (see our Species list).
Once you adopt your character, this is the only character you will receive free of cost. The rest you will have to purchase with EXP that you will earn by role playing (more on that later), so make sure you like the character you adopt!
Now armed with your first character, he or she needs to come into being within the False World. Here, all characters are born via pods that grow from trees in the Orchard. This is currently the only IC board you have access to. To begin role play on AFW, you need only create an "emergence thread," or, in layman's terms, a thread in which you role play your character coming into the world for the first time. No one need to reply to the thread if you don't want them to (write [closed] in your thread title), but by essentially birthing your character, you give it access to the world. If you see someone with an open emergence thread in the Orchard, you can also reply to that thread instead of creating your own. Please remember that all IC posts should utilize your alters to avoid confusion between characters.
After your very first emergence post in the Orchard, you should notice that you have unlocked another layer of settings. Having been born into the world, there are new places to travel, and you can role play your character as you would on any site.
Whenever you role play within an in-character board, you will gain two EXP points per post. EXP points are AFW's money system, and are shared between however many characters you have. EXP is essential to game play, and, once you save up enough, you will be able to exchange them for some interesting items in our EXP Exchange Shop, located next to "home" in our navigation bar. Aside from posting, you can gain EXP by participating in any available contests, prompt threads, by selling art, or by providing service to the site if opportunity is available. You can also get EXP if you are visited by our NPC goddess, Alumina. She gives out positive random events on a daily basis, and you could win up to 25% of your current bank of EXP. But be forewarned, you could also be visited by Hadrian, a dark entity that can steal up to 20% of your EXP bank. These NPCs can appear in any ongoing character thread unless you have purchased immunity from the shop.
As you continue to post, you will continue to unlock new layers of settings. To see when a new layer will be unlocked, refer to our Layer Access thread in the Site Functioning board. Understand that once more layers are unlocked, you must be diligent about layer jumping. Layer jumping is prohibited on AFW. If you post in a thread with your character in a Layer Four board, and then begin a new thread on Layer Two, you have layer jumped. Just as in the real world, your characters must travel through the layers in order (otherwise, how did your character reach point b from point a so quickly?). So, if you are in Layer Four and trying to get to Layer Two, make sure you make a post in Layer Three. You don't need to engage in a whole new thread in Layer Three if you don't want to, but you need to pass through. This means that you can simply make a single, stand-alone post that illustrates your character has traveled through that board. Mark these threads [TP], as in "traveling post," so that no one will reply to it. Eventually, staff will lock these threads. If Layer Jumping restrictions annoy you, don't worry, you can do something about it! (More on that coming.)
Now that you have built up a substantial stack of EXP, you can exchange it for some nifty items that serve functions that will benefit your role play. If you are ready for a new character, want your character to have a rarer appearance, a different description, or more thread slots so you don't have to adhere to the three-thread liquid-time rule, you can buy those perks and many more in the shop. There are new settings tiers available, the ability to buy your own sub board, and even the ability to create a character from scratch (so, now, you could even create a character who already has a history since it's completely yours to create!). Some of the purchases described cost a fair chunk of EXP, and some only a a handful. Keep posting to save up for the things that you want most, and get them!
Your character, at the moment, is considered an Aboriginal, whether it be feline, canine, or reptilian. There are certain boards that Aboriginals can't visit because they don't fair well in certain climates. You also are stuck layer jumping, and, if you check our Species Size Reference chart, you're pretty small.
But alas! If you've been in the EXP Exchange Shop, you have the ability to evolve. Whether dog, cat, or lizard, Aboriginals evolve into Occults, the clairvoyants of AFW, and Occults later evolve in Abscondings, AFW's magicians of sorts. You can read about these amazing evolutions extensively in the Species List thread, but know that you'll have some interesting new abilities that will enliven role play and open the door to some interesting plotting opportunities.
Of course, like people, not every character will find themselves being parents, but it can be fun. In the False World, you have already learned that characters are born via the Orchard, so reproduction does not exist in the sense as we know it. Here, all it takes is two natives who fall asleep beneath one of the trees in the Orchard (you can read about the trees in the Tree Illumination thread, in the Orchard board) next to one another. These two natives can be of different species, of the same gender, or even be related to one another, because there are no biological limitations. A False World is a Utopia where life is meant to be perpetuated by any means. You can tag all the staffer accounts by using the @ character preceding staff usernames after your character has slept beneath a tree, and we will, literally, roll the dice to see if something has come of it. The Orchard NPC will reply to your thread to inform you of the outcome. Know that different trees have different odds of producing one, two, or no offspring. The biographies of the offspring will be offered firstly to the users of the parent characters. If those users do not want or cannot afford the offspring themselves, the offspring biography will be kept in the AC until it is taken by another player.
The Dried River Bed is a Layer Three board that is sacred in-character. It is here that characters can willingly come to give up their lives to the world. When a character travels to this board, they essentially die. You will no longer be able to role play the character, but in giving it up, it's spirit manifests as a new tree in the Orchard, where living natives will be able to travel and put more life into the world. Because your characters are interconnected via their experience (EXP), the death of your character will also manifest in wisdom/experience for your other characters.
Giving up your character, of course, is optional, and is by no means expected after any amount of time.
Your experience here is as fun as you make it. Set goals for yourself. Make some friends. There's things to do OOC, and we like to keep it fun. There are a lot of aspects to the site, and you can immerse yourself as much as you want. Take a gander at our Lesser Native Species list to see the rest of the fauna that exists in the False World, or look at user-written legends to get a sense of the spirituality practiced by the natives. We hope you can have an entertaining and unique experience with us.
If you have any questions, feel free to directly contact a staff member.
Key terms are bolded, other reference threads are italicized, and asterisks (*) imply that a step is not obligatory for a fulfilling IC experience.
step one: adopting your character
Upon joining the site, your first personal task is adopting a character. Navigate to the Adoption Center (AC) and scan through the biographies available. You will be literally "adopting" a character from a selection of about 4 - 8 biographies depending on the day. These biographies will be of a canine, feline, or AFW's bonus draconian-esque species. They will have a set gender, and will come equipped with an illustration of your character along with a unique description.
To adopt, simply use the form to give your character a name and a personality. Histories will not be necessary. This is because your character is essentially "newborn" upon your adoption of him/her. When a staff member accepts your character, they will also create an "alter," allowing you to post under the character's name in IC boards. You will be able to select this option from a drop down menu to the right of the "create thread" button when posting.
However, if you don't see a character you like, don't feel obligated to adopt on your first day. The AC cycles through new character biographies several times a week. Spend time OOC, and check back to see if another biography appeals to you. Perhaps there will be a rarer coloration available (see our Coat Color Rarity chart) or even a different species (see our Species list).
Once you adopt your character, this is the only character you will receive free of cost. The rest you will have to purchase with EXP that you will earn by role playing (more on that later), so make sure you like the character you adopt!
step two: your character and the world
Now armed with your first character, he or she needs to come into being within the False World. Here, all characters are born via pods that grow from trees in the Orchard. This is currently the only IC board you have access to. To begin role play on AFW, you need only create an "emergence thread," or, in layman's terms, a thread in which you role play your character coming into the world for the first time. No one need to reply to the thread if you don't want them to (write [closed] in your thread title), but by essentially birthing your character, you give it access to the world. If you see someone with an open emergence thread in the Orchard, you can also reply to that thread instead of creating your own. Please remember that all IC posts should utilize your alters to avoid confusion between characters.
step three: the rest of the world, and exp
After your very first emergence post in the Orchard, you should notice that you have unlocked another layer of settings. Having been born into the world, there are new places to travel, and you can role play your character as you would on any site.
Whenever you role play within an in-character board, you will gain two EXP points per post. EXP points are AFW's money system, and are shared between however many characters you have. EXP is essential to game play, and, once you save up enough, you will be able to exchange them for some interesting items in our EXP Exchange Shop, located next to "home" in our navigation bar. Aside from posting, you can gain EXP by participating in any available contests, prompt threads, by selling art, or by providing service to the site if opportunity is available. You can also get EXP if you are visited by our NPC goddess, Alumina. She gives out positive random events on a daily basis, and you could win up to 25% of your current bank of EXP. But be forewarned, you could also be visited by Hadrian, a dark entity that can steal up to 20% of your EXP bank. These NPCs can appear in any ongoing character thread unless you have purchased immunity from the shop.
As you continue to post, you will continue to unlock new layers of settings. To see when a new layer will be unlocked, refer to our Layer Access thread in the Site Functioning board. Understand that once more layers are unlocked, you must be diligent about layer jumping. Layer jumping is prohibited on AFW. If you post in a thread with your character in a Layer Four board, and then begin a new thread on Layer Two, you have layer jumped. Just as in the real world, your characters must travel through the layers in order (otherwise, how did your character reach point b from point a so quickly?). So, if you are in Layer Four and trying to get to Layer Two, make sure you make a post in Layer Three. You don't need to engage in a whole new thread in Layer Three if you don't want to, but you need to pass through. This means that you can simply make a single, stand-alone post that illustrates your character has traveled through that board. Mark these threads [TP], as in "traveling post," so that no one will reply to it. Eventually, staff will lock these threads. If Layer Jumping restrictions annoy you, don't worry, you can do something about it! (More on that coming.)
step four: cashing in your exp
Now that you have built up a substantial stack of EXP, you can exchange it for some nifty items that serve functions that will benefit your role play. If you are ready for a new character, want your character to have a rarer appearance, a different description, or more thread slots so you don't have to adhere to the three-thread liquid-time rule, you can buy those perks and many more in the shop. There are new settings tiers available, the ability to buy your own sub board, and even the ability to create a character from scratch (so, now, you could even create a character who already has a history since it's completely yours to create!). Some of the purchases described cost a fair chunk of EXP, and some only a a handful. Keep posting to save up for the things that you want most, and get them!
step five: evolving your character
Your character, at the moment, is considered an Aboriginal, whether it be feline, canine, or reptilian. There are certain boards that Aboriginals can't visit because they don't fair well in certain climates. You also are stuck layer jumping, and, if you check our Species Size Reference chart, you're pretty small.
But alas! If you've been in the EXP Exchange Shop, you have the ability to evolve. Whether dog, cat, or lizard, Aboriginals evolve into Occults, the clairvoyants of AFW, and Occults later evolve in Abscondings, AFW's magicians of sorts. You can read about these amazing evolutions extensively in the Species List thread, but know that you'll have some interesting new abilities that will enliven role play and open the door to some interesting plotting opportunities.
*step six: parenting
Of course, like people, not every character will find themselves being parents, but it can be fun. In the False World, you have already learned that characters are born via the Orchard, so reproduction does not exist in the sense as we know it. Here, all it takes is two natives who fall asleep beneath one of the trees in the Orchard (you can read about the trees in the Tree Illumination thread, in the Orchard board) next to one another. These two natives can be of different species, of the same gender, or even be related to one another, because there are no biological limitations. A False World is a Utopia where life is meant to be perpetuated by any means. You can tag all the staffer accounts by using the @ character preceding staff usernames after your character has slept beneath a tree, and we will, literally, roll the dice to see if something has come of it. The Orchard NPC will reply to your thread to inform you of the outcome. Know that different trees have different odds of producing one, two, or no offspring. The biographies of the offspring will be offered firstly to the users of the parent characters. If those users do not want or cannot afford the offspring themselves, the offspring biography will be kept in the AC until it is taken by another player.
*step seven: your character and death
The Dried River Bed is a Layer Three board that is sacred in-character. It is here that characters can willingly come to give up their lives to the world. When a character travels to this board, they essentially die. You will no longer be able to role play the character, but in giving it up, it's spirit manifests as a new tree in the Orchard, where living natives will be able to travel and put more life into the world. Because your characters are interconnected via their experience (EXP), the death of your character will also manifest in wisdom/experience for your other characters.
Giving up your character, of course, is optional, and is by no means expected after any amount of time.
step everything else
Your experience here is as fun as you make it. Set goals for yourself. Make some friends. There's things to do OOC, and we like to keep it fun. There are a lot of aspects to the site, and you can immerse yourself as much as you want. Take a gander at our Lesser Native Species list to see the rest of the fauna that exists in the False World, or look at user-written legends to get a sense of the spirituality practiced by the natives. We hope you can have an entertaining and unique experience with us.
If you have any questions, feel free to directly contact a staff member.