Arborous is a text-based Discord roleplay server. We have built Arborous with three central goals in mind:

• For a small group of experienced roleplayers to be able to enjoy both the character experience and the DM experience without the impediment of strict rules that larger servers require.
• For members to be able to choose the experience they desire through the use of DM-run regions and organizations that offer a wide variety of experiences, ranging from cozy roleplay to high-risk encounters.
• For members to be able to roleplay without major time commitment without compromising on a fair and immersive experience for everyone involved.

We intend to accomplish this in a variety of ways:

• Through primarily asynchronous, play-by-post (turn-based) text-based roleplay.
• By optional, pre-scheduled and synchronous text-based roleplay.
• By allowing everyone to freely choose to occupy one, or all, of the roles of a Narrator (DM), Helper (Assistant DM), and/or a Player.
• By dividing roleplay into regions. The content of every region is unique and instanced on a holistic scale. If someone does not like the lore, magic system, plot, or style of those running a region, they may choose to never interact with it.

Arborous is a skyland world. It may be divided into three layers:

• The bottommost layer is the Aether, a sea of twisting clouds at the world's bottom. Nothing is known, with certainty, to exist beyond it.
• The middle layer is the skylands. These floating islands may be tiny, or the size of grand continents. These exist as the “land” in which nearly all plot and roleplay will occur on.
• The topmost layer is your typical sky with clouds, a yellow sun, a moon, and distant stars.

Arbors are 'world trees' and the boundary indicator marking Narrator regions. When someone wishes to take up the role of a Narrator, they must create a new Arbor. Arbors are gargantuan trees–each easily being the width of a large continent–that dot the cloudy landscape. The skylands orbit these trees.

The wider world of Arborous is a general blend of the Renaissance and lite Industrial Revolution eras. Technology and knowledge are encouraged to vary between Arbors. On average, the printing press is commonplace; and rudimentary muskets and trains are quite rare, if they exist at all. Mass production and factory lines do not exist yet. It is necessary and best that the world maintains an aesthetic somewhere between traditional fantasy medieval and lite steampunk.

Travel between Arbors occurs either via steampunk airships or mounted flying creatures. Travel time varies, but for roleplay purposes, it may be waved. Travel between skylands within the same Arbor may use other methods, such as giant bridges or magic.

A Narrator is any member who has chosen to create their own Arbor and essentially serve as a DM for that region. This process requires the naming of their Arbor and the creation of regional history, culture, races, a magic system, gods, lore, and plot. Note that gods are optional, and with another Narrator's permission and oversight, you may share the magic system of their Arbor. Gods and magic are region-locked, and do not possess any influence or power beyond their designated Arbor unless another Narrator has explicitly allowed them within theirs.

A Narrator is the owner and Head DM of an Arbor. It is strongly recommended against, but technically possible, to assign multiple Narrators to a single Arbor.

A Helper is any member who has gained permission from a Narrator to essentially serve as a lite-DM for their Arbor region. Their duties, responsibility, and authority are wholly dependent on the ruling of the Narrator they have chosen to work with.

A Player is any member who has created a character, without the purpose of serving a DM-equivalent role. They may freely interact with plots and travel between Arbors. If an Arbor is not to one's liking, one may choose to never interact with it again.

Staff act to maintain the server. We manage the wiki, update our FAQs, enforce the rules, and settle disputes when and where Narrators, Helpers, and Players cannot.

Arborous is wholly built on the ideal of trust. As such, new member voting is public. The weighing of new suggestions and rule changes are public. The moderation of an Arbor falls on the Narrator and Helpers managing it, with Staff only stepping in if absolutely necessary. Members are the backbone of Arborous. Everything that may possibly be done publicly, and with member input, is done so.

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.

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 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.

The Private and Public attributes determine whether a scene is public, for anyone to join, or private, for only those invited to be able to join. A scene may swap its status as roleplay progresses.

Character Creation & Play

Character Power Levels

Arbor Creation & Management

Magic & Deity Standards