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Character Guide
DM Characters
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.
Temporary Characters
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
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.
Creation
Arbor Origin
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.
Race
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.
Backstory & Profession
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.
Religion
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.
Prior Magic Experience
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.
Motivations & Goals
Starting Power Levels (Proficiencies, Flaws, Abilities)
tbd
Play
Arbor Travel
Read “What is Arborous' worldwide tech level and aesthetic, and how do folk travel between Arbors?” in New Member Guide.
Inventory & Items
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.
Homes & Shops
Characters may roleplay with Narrators and Helpers to acquire shops and homes. These may then become Instanced Scenes.
Raising Power Levels
tbd
Gaining Magic Experience & Interacting with Deities
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.
Death & Injury
Read Rule 9. of the Rules page.