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.

Anyone may create and run temporary characters during roleplay scenes. These are typically filler or background characters; or are irrelevant as individuals and only serve to grant life and/or action to a scene.

Player Characters are, as by their name, characters made and run by Players. They possess a detailed backstory, goals, and a set Power Level. They are effectively the main characters interacting with the world's various plots and stories.

The first, most important step is choosing which Arbor this character originates from. They may have been born in one, but grew up in another, Arbor. This selection determines what Race this character will likely be, their culture and religion, and what kind of prior magic experience, if any, they may have.

You should reach out and speak with the Narrator and Helpers running your character's Arbor origin for advice, immersion, and to ensure you follow their Arbor's bounds.

Select a race associated with your Arbor of choice. Or, if properly tied to your backstory, you may choose a race from any other Arbor.

Invent a backstory and select a profession that may reasonably arise from your Arbor origin. Be certain to follow Arborous' tech level, aesthetic, and magic & deity standards.

Select a religion, if applicable, from your Arbor of origin. Do remember that gods are region-locked to Arbors, so if they are capable of influence, they may not be interacted with beyond their associated Arbors.

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.

You must speak with the Narrator or Helpers running your Arbor origin to determine what magic, if any, your character may have experienced and/or be able to use.

Read Magic & Deity Standards.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Read “What is Arborous' worldwide tech level and aesthetic, and how do folk travel between Arbors?” in New Member Guide.

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.

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.

Characters may roleplay with Narrators and Helpers to acquire shops and homes. These may then become Instanced Scenes.

tbd

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.

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.

Read Rule 9. of the Rules page.