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| intro-guide [2025/05/05 22:28] – keksin | intro-guide [2025/05/06 20:30] (current) – keksin |
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| Arborous is a private server and all potential new members must be publicly voted in. To begin the procedure, someone who is already a member of Arborous must inform Staff of the potential member's interest. A 3-day-long poll will then be publicly posted, with a discussion thread for everyone to discuss their neutrality, favor for, or favor against, the potential member. After the poll closes, if the potential member was not accepted, then they may not apply again (The purpose of the vote essentially decides if we, as a community, will vibe and feel comfortable with bringing a particular someone in.). If the potential member was approved, then they are abruptly brought into the server and welcomed. The discussion and debate thread covering a potential member's entry will be closed following their vote's conclusion, so as to insure peace of mind and genuine conversation without fear of retribution. It is necessary we all speak our minds, especially including any concerns we may hold. | Arborous is a private server and all potential new members must be publicly voted in. To begin the procedure, someone who is already a member of Arborous must inform Staff of the potential member's interest. A 3-day-long poll will then be publicly posted, with a discussion thread for everyone to discuss their neutrality, favor for, or favor against, the potential member. After the poll closes, if the potential member was not accepted, then they may not apply again (The purpose of the vote essentially decides if we, as a community, will vibe and feel comfortable with bringing a particular someone in.). If the potential member was approved, then they are abruptly brought into the server and welcomed. The discussion and debate thread covering a potential member's entry will be closed following their vote's conclusion, so as to insure peace of mind and genuine conversation without fear of retribution. It is necessary we all speak our minds, especially including any concerns we may hold. |
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| ==== Gameplay and Mechanics ==== | ==== Gameplay & Mechanics ==== |
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| === Roleplay Scenes === | === Roleplay Scenes === |
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| == Instanced Scenes == | == What are Stable Scenes? == |
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| An Instanced Scene is a roleplay location that must be reliably and repeatably visitable. Examples include shops, homes, taverns, inns, a park or garden, churches, and dungeons. These locations often serve as roleplay hubs and possess a predetermined description and contents. | A Stable Scene is a roleplay location that must be reliably and repeatably visitable. Examples include shops, homes, taverns, inns, a park or garden, churches, and dungeons. These locations often serve as roleplay hubs and possess a predetermined description and contents. |
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| == General Scenes == | == What are General Scenes? == |
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| A General Scene is a roleplay location that does not need to be visited often. Examples include the wilderness and nonspecific or unimportant parts of town. These locations are often temporary and plot specific. | A General Scene is a roleplay location that does not need to be visited often. Examples include the wilderness and nonspecific or unimportant parts of town. These locations are often temporary and plot specific. |
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| === Character Creation === | == Private versus Public Scenes == |
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| To begin, choose the Arbor this character will originate from. They may be born in one Arbor and raised to adulthood in the next. Races are not region locked. Magic, however, is. If a character's race somehow grants them innate magical power, it does not function beyond the Arbor(s) that allow that magic system. That same notion applies to any magical abilities, knowledge, items, and otherwise. | The Private and Public attributes determine whether a scene is public, for anyone to join, or private, for participation on an invite-only basis. A scene may readily swap its status as roleplay progresses. |
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| == Power Levels == | === Character Guide === |
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| Characters are not assigned traditional stats and levels. Instead, characters may be assigned as many notable traits, proficiencies, talents, and skills as the Player likes. To ensure balancing, these are then accounted toward a Power Level. A character's Power Level demonstrates how normal or powerful they are. The higher the number, the more exceptional. This is an essential calculation, as it may be used to suggest whether a character is an everyday individual, or a powerful being similar to what one may expect from typical RPG environments. Plotlines and roleplay scenes may be set at recommended Power Levels, so that Players can know which of their characters may be a good fit. | [[char-creation|Character Creation & Play]] |
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| For every trait, proficiency, talent, and skill a character is assigned, their potential implications must be considered, and then they must be weighed as a positive, neutral, or negative number. They are then tallied, and the total number is that character's Power Level. Power Levels may, and are expected to, change over time as characters grow. It is recommended that you compare your character's Power Level with that of other characters, to see what the ever-changing standards and expectations are. | === Power Levels === |
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| Characters with low Power Levels are typically best designed for casual roleplay. Characters with high Power Levels are typically best designed for fantastical roleplay. This is not a hard limit, but rather a suggestion. | [[power-levels|Character Power Levels]] |
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| The traits, proficiencies, talents, and skills assigned to characters should be those that mark them as above or below average from the everyday, //generic// person. Professions, hobbies, backgrounds, experience, cultures, races, fears, illnesses, flaws, and beyond should all be considered for a well-rounded character. | === Arbor Guide === |
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| == Inventory and Items == | [[arbor-creation|Arbor Creation & Plot]] |
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| All items and currency will be logged in Discord character cards. The extent of this inventory may be limitless, however for the sake of immersion, please limit what your character actively carries to what is either normally on their person, or to things that they explicitly planned and brought beforehand for a particular roleplay. Items in the Inventory and not actively carried by a character are regarded as stored away, such as in a character's shop or home. | === Magic & Deity Standards === |
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| The use of items should be considered with immersion in mind. Food and drink and potions are consumable, weapons and armor and tools eventually break if not repaired, and a bag full of thousands of gold coins would get heavy quickly. These properties can be ignored for reasonable convenience, however, please uphold them where possible to ensure an immersive roleplay environment. | [[magic-standards|Magic & Deity Standards]] |
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| == Character Shops and Homes == | |
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| Characters may roleplay with Narrators and Helpers to acquire shops and homes. These may then become Instanced Scenes. | |
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| == Death and Injury == | |
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| Characters may only die at their Player's discretion. Narrators and Helpers may strongly recommend, and work with Players toward, a proper death, however it is ultimately the Player's decision. | |
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| Significant injury that results in loss of limb or permanent maiming also follow these standards. | |
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| === Arbor Creation and Management === | |
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| == Magic Systems and Gods == | |
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| Magic is region-locked to the Arbor of their creation, and any additional Arbors that have explicitly received permission to share that system's influence. | |
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| Gods also follow these standards. Gods may be depicted as all-mighty creators, or a pantheon. Their lore may be limited to their Arbor, or they may be //believed// to have somehow created all of Arborous and the various other gods across its Arbors (Emphasis on //belief//. This is not, and never will be, true.). Furthermore, gods are optional. The culture(s) of an Arbor do not need to have religion if its Narrator and Helpers don't choose to write it in. | |
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| == Filler and DM Characters == | |
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| Narrators and Helpers may create filler, background characters during roleplay scenes. These are typically irrelevant as individuals and only serve to grant life and/or action to a scene. Generic citizens wandering through town, guards, a bank teller, bandits, and otherwise are all examples. | |
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| DM Characters are those that Narrators and Helpers create to uphold a reliable role. They are effectively equivalent to Player Characters, in that they should be given proper thought toward their backstory and Power Level. Named and important NPCS, be they the local tavern bartender to a god, serve as practical examples. | |