Newb Questions

[manonfire]

I wouldn't put too much work into your application. The longer you spend writing up a character, the shorter that character's life will be.

This concept, known affectionately as Ginka's Law of Inverse Effort, is represented below:

L = A (1/T)

where L is the lifespan of your character, A is the average lifespan of every character (currently 4.34577 days, reset every two years - a statistical aberrance is present due to the last HRPT and an unusually high number of Byn Runners), and T is the amount of time, in minutes, that you spend writing up that character.

Caveat Armer.

[Harmless]

Yep. Your character, once dead, is dead forever. I don't put more than a page into even my special apps and they have usually been approved. The fine details of personality are fine to flesh out in gqme. The key events of their background and basic goals and fears are a great start.

But I do spend a lot of time on the main description sometimes. A really well written description is worth the effort.

[Gimfalisette]

No, but really, just get in game. I mean...you won't know what the game is about by reading all the docs and everything on the GDB. You gotta get down in the Zalanthan dirt.

Seriously, just do it. I'm guilty myself of spending a lot of time on descs, but there comes a point at which planning needs to stop and playing needs to start.

[Rahnevyn]

This is good advice, but there's nothing wrong with taking your time to craft a really detailed character if that's the kind of roleplayer you are. The biggest killer of new characters seems to be either desert beasts or NPC soldiers, for those who go beyond the walls or try out a life of crime respectively. A city-based merchant character has a good chance of surviving a while, so don't feel like your planning of such a concept will be wasted. Some players really enjoy deciding all the little details first, others prefer to jump straight in with a new PC. We support both styles.

But also don't worry about being ridiculed for choosing the wrong hair color or something. Looking forward to seeing you in game!

[Harmless]

Someone want to share how they use biography entries to flesh out their PCs after creation? Only thing you need to access this feature is to submit the character and be approved.

But the description is much harder to change.

This is why I worry so little about bios. I will usually add a bio entry within the first weeks of a PCs life that retells the story of the character after my test run to see how they ended up interacting with others. This is because my RP is shaped by how others treat my PC. The test run informs how my PC would have been reacted to when they weren't a PC yet, and to boot, there is no line limit for biography entries.

Get your desc right and submit what you have! Agonizing over choices might lead to buyer's remorse.

[Gimfalisette]

Someone want to share how they use biography entries to flesh out their PCs after creation? Only thing you need to access this feature is to submit the character and be approved...This is why I worry so little about bios. I will usually add a bio entry within the first weeks of a PCs life that retells the story of the character after my test run to see how they ended up interacting with others.

I do this too. I start figuring out details about my character's preferences, methods, thought processes, and history as I play, then put it in bios if I feel really motivated. It does help to have a record that reminds me, "Oh yeah, this character loves candy."

My initial backgrounds are sparse on details. Just the basic facts, ma'am.

[icewindsong]

Description is what I'm struggling with at the moment.  I already know it needs to be
a) as long as 4 lines at minimum
b) not super-long or nobody will be able to read it during roleplay and will ignore it
c) should not be reactive to a viewer, as I won't always know someone is looking (nor always choose a stock reaction even if I did)


Right now I have covered her basic build, hair color and eyes.  But the description I have -looks- a little barebones, even though the the lines that there are, are written well (I think).  I'm a little stuck at the moment on what else to add though.  If I descibed all of her in detail, it'd be a long description.  So I only want to add 2 or 3 more details to round out her overall look at a glance.  What do you all think are the most important details to have readily visible, as opposed to revealed in roleplay? 

Like "She distractedly brushes back the crimson strands of her hair as she listens to the performer's song, to scratch an itch upon a delicate, but flawed, earlobe.   A notch in the flesh attests to the violent removal of an earring in her past..."  Some details can be simply roleplayed, but some ought to be out there all the time.

[Gimfalisette]

Right now I have covered her basic build, hair color and eyes.  But the description I have -looks- a little barebones, even though the the lines that there are, are written well (I think).  I'm a little stuck at the moment on what else to add though.  If I descibed all of her in detail, it'd be a long description.  So I only want to add 2 or 3 more details to round out her overall look at a glance.  What do you all think are the most important details to have readily visible, as opposed to revealed in roleplay? 

IMO - statements about apparent gender and race and relative age; hair color and texture (straight, curly, whatever); eye color; any interesting or unusual or important facial features; skin color; relative height and build; anything else that's important for other players to notice.

E.g.:

This young human woman is about average in height for her kind, but on the fat side, with thighs of thunderous proportions. Her hair is black as a night with no moons, and stick-straight. Her skin is dark brown, and she's got a large mole on her right cheek which looks to be as big as an obsidian coin. One eye is brown and the other is clouded over, perhaps with lesions of some kind.

[Lizzie]

Like "She distractedly brushes back the crimson strands of her hair as she listens to the performer's song, to scratch an itch upon a delicate, but flawed, earlobe.   A notch in the flesh attests to the violent removal of an earring in her past..."  Some details can be simply roleplayed, but some ought to be out there all the time.

Let's use your example and "nitpick it." Maybe it'll help give you some ideas.

The fact that she has crimson-red hair definitely belongs in the main description. That's something that truly stands out. In fact, I'd include it in the short-description (aka sdesc). The notch in her earlobe - you'd want to include its existence too.

Maybe something like - the slender crimson-tressed woman for the sdesc

You don't need to describe the exact shade of crimson, or how it looks in this or that light. Something like "bouncy crimson curls tumble about the young woman's narrow shoulders, peppered generously with bits of wood and torn cloth" to indicate she's someone who probably lives in the north (wood) and spends a lot of time working with raw materials (possibly a crafter).

And the ear could be something like "Her tresses are usually kept loose, but tucked back behind her small round ears. Her oft-exposed left earlobe shows signs of damage near the bottom, torn and badly scarred."

That makes a nice segue from hair to ears. When doing descriptions, don't forget she isn't just a face with hair. She is also a body with arms and legs. You can mention it vaguely - "she's a slender woman, with delicate features and erect posture. Lanky limbs extend from her torso, which has grown into full, if modest, womanhood."

Or you can get more detailed. If you keep it under 15 lines, closer to 10, you'll be just fine. More than that and you might find people are skimming it or just reading the first and last sentence and skipping the middle entirely.

[Fujikoma]

I find less is often more, because if others are anything like me they're in the middle of something, see some huge desc and it's like, tl;dr, will get to it later, and miss something crucial, like the almondine eyes or the pointed ears, WHOOPS.

So I make mine kind of short and sweet, focusing on the important details. Sometimes, -too- short, and I forget something, like the ears (WHOOPS!), which I have to remember to add in a tdesc, but can't apply for a desc change because OMG curse of the descchange app!

[Harmless]

I use an approach similar to lizzies myself.

Like "She distractedly brushes back the crimson strands of her hair as she listens to the performer's song, to scratch an itch upon a delicate, but flawed, earlobe.   A notch in the flesh attests to the violent removal of an earring in her past..."  Some details can be simply roleplayed, but some ought to be out there all the time.

I am not sure if this line was meant to be an example of an emote or a line in your description, but as a cautionary note, avoid actions in your description. If a statement desribing her distractedly brushing her hair with her hand were submitted then it would seem like she is constantly messing with her hair every time people look at your PC.

Again you may have meant that as ab emote, but refer to lizzie's post for alternative descriptive writing of the same idea while avoiding actions in the description, and you'll be fine.

Style is all that counts, so have fun with it. I know I have a good desc when I can reread it to myself and say "he/she looks (adjective), seems like a realistic Zalanthan (age) year old, and of a (caste) family. The rest are details that add to uniqueness.

One last tip i have for hair is keep style of hair out of it. Texture, color, optional hiding of showing of ears (see lizzie above for a human example), then style, length, and cleanliness go in after I submit as a semi permanent tdesc.

[icewindsong]

Yes it was meant as an example of how I could show details about her in an emote, that I didn't make part of her permanent description (or a tdesc even).  I didn't want to put in any of my actual desc because of the rule about not revealing on the gdb who you are in-game.  Because of my plans (if they work out) people may figure it out eventually anyway, but it won't be known from the start.   So that was just an example.  I do like red hair though.  Maybe for a later character...

What is the curse of the desc change app?  I thought we were required to do that a couple of times after signifigant time passage in the game?  Assuming one lives that long.  My sister already laughed and said all of her merchants came to abrupt gory ends, except the one she stored.  I think she's just trying to psyche me out.  It isn't that dangerous if I don't even leave the city is it?

[BleakOne]

The curse of the sdesc change is the strange, semi-mythical curse of characters who live long enough to need an sdesc change tending to die while the sdesc change is in the works. Despite having no possible actual way of being real, it somehow does seem that many characters do kick the bucket around the time of an sdesc change (either shortly before, during, or after).

Good work in not revealing who you are currently playing, we all appreciate it when a new player puts in the effort to follow the rules, as you have.

As for danger, while it does mostly lurk outside city walls, there's more than one way to die horribly within the walls. Most of them have to do with hidden corners of the city, being behind closed doors with people wielding sharp objects, or making someone important (militia, nobles, Templars, and so on) angry at you.

[LauraMars]

It isn't that dangerous if I don't even leave the city is it?

Depends on if you manage to piss someone off or not! But of all the long lived first characters I have known, the majority were merchants of one type or another. Still, it's a harsh and unforgiving game, so hang onto your boots. and don't forget to use the quit command instead of going linkdead.

[Cale_Knight]

Just remember that there's no significant "middle class" in the game. You've got your 1% at the very top, and then you have a good 97% at the very bottom. There's a narrow band of well-off commoners who are firmly affixed to organizations run by said 1%. There is an even narrower band of commoners who are well-off and independent, but they are very rare. The noble houses and the merchant houses are all very happy to collude with another for the purpose of maintaining monopolies and murdering any competition that might upset the status quo.

I'll echo what others have said and suggest you not worry too hard about your character's backstory. It's always good to allow a little wiggle room and, honestly, I rather like "discovering" things about my character's past that come up organically while I play.

Welcome to Arm! Hurry up and die!

[icewindsong]

I'm working on it!  I've never been that good with descriptions... but I'm also still reading lots of things and trying to put it all together. 

I still have to choose a city, though I have kind of an idea about starting in the south, getting taken up north, joining a merchant house there and getting to know people in the north before I ask for a transfer back to my origin to play.  Connections are everything right?

But still, I don't expect to be hired anywhere for a few weeks, so I'll have to do something.  I've read in the help files about Tuluk's clay pit and cotton-picking jobs, and lumberjacking or collecting salt.  For Allanak, the only thing I've read about is collecting salt.  Does it not have other jobs people can work in the city, like Tuluk does?

[Gimfalisette]

I still have to choose a city, though I have kind of an idea about starting in the south, getting taken up north, joining a merchant house there and getting to know people in the north before I ask for a transfer back to my origin to play.  Connections are everything right?

But still, I don't expect to be hired anywhere for a few weeks, so I'll have to do something.  I've read in the help files about Tuluk's clay pit and cotton-picking jobs, and lumberjacking or collecting salt.  For Allanak, the only thing I've read about is collecting salt.  Does it not have other jobs people can work in the city, like Tuluk does?

Pick your starting city and get hired right from there. Just ask around at whichever bar you generate into, and someone will tell you who to talk to. Although ICly it should be difficult to get jobs with merchant houses, OOCly it's not; just tell whomever the hiring agent is that you want to be the world's best chef or tailor or whatever, and they'll hire you. In fact, it is (part of) the job of leaders in organizations to provide employment to PCs. Assuming your playtimes somewhat overlap with the hiring person (usually an Agent in a merchant house), then you should be able to do that within a few RL days of starting in game.

Don't try to go collect salt as a newbie, or any other wilderness stuff, if you want your character to live. It's dangerous and difficult and probably OOCly frustrating. Give yourself some time to figure out the game a bit first.

[Rahnevyn]

Travel between cities is not a very safe prospect, and once you get there your character won't have an easy time of it. Southerners in the north and northerners in the south can expect to be harassed, shunned, and possibly even maimed or killing, based solely on their origin. If you're an established employee of a merchant house doing a stint in the opposite city you can maybe avoid the maiming and killing bit, but I still wouldn't expect a warm welcome. Definitely better to look for employment in the city you start in, I'd say, unless you really want to start off playing Hard Mode.

[Barzalene]

Oh employment, I read enjoyment. Never mind.

[Harmless]

But still, I don't expect to be hired anywhere for a few weeks, so I'll have to do something.  I've read in the help files about Tuluk's clay pit and cotton-picking jobs, and lumberjacking or collecting salt.  For Allanak, the only thing I've read about is collecting salt.  Does it not have other jobs people can work in the city, like Tuluk does?

Allanak has dung scraping as an inner-city job. You go to the stables in the city and DIG MOUND. If you happen to have a shovel, you can USE SHOVEL MOUND to dig with that instead of your hands. There is a dung buyer in town who will buy your dung if you put it al l into a single bag. There are bag sellers at character creation newbie rooms as well as in the bazaar in Allanak.

Tuluk also has dung scraping, but in addition, it has clay pits and cotton fields, so yes, there are more safe options for work in Tuluk than in Allanak. This reflects the difference in climate; farming happens in Allanak but in select regions where NPC farmers have basically monopolized the work.

[manipura]

Just to add to what Harmless pointed out about the cotton-picking in Tuluk, I am fairly certain that the fields are part of the area of the city where only Tuluki citizens can legally access.  If you are starting a character in the north and part of your initial plan is to do some cotton-picking, make sure your character is an inked citizen or this will be a very tricky (near impossible) task for your brand new PC to accomplish. 
Then of course, you'll have those pesky northern inks that could end up making for a miserable existence if you ever do go south.

[Fujikoma]

Don't travel with your new PC, get -in the game- and you'll soon find out why. Seek employment early, keep your newb coins for things you absolutely must have, perhaps, after being employed a while, you may find yourself doing a stint in the other city. Exercise caution and find the right set of asses to kiss, while keeping in mind kissing one ass may make another angry, then, try and get out alive! A fun experience indeed. (although, one of my first PCs did a fair bit of traveling, I sort of got lucky and blundered into good situations, but he had the backing of an employer)

After you feel more comfortable with the game world, then try super-hard-stupid-rediculous mode and you just might have a bit of fun, with the chances of you being whisked away and immediately murdered significantly reduced. You'll not learn much from a quick, seemingly pointless death, unless it's someone else's, and you know a good deal of the people involved, just keep your eyes open and you'll see it sooner or later.

Don't play an elf with your first PC, don't play a breed either. You can play a dwarf, but be sure not to capitalize, punctuate, or spell properly.

[icewindsong]

Okay.  I'm just trying to reconcile various things.  Escru Cream comes from the north, most of the fruits come from the north, so I would figure there would be more desserts there, and to provide unusual delicacies in the south, I would want to be of the northern kadius clan, if I can be?  And then be working in the south.  Does that make sense?  Be Allanaki, and living/playing in Allanak, but be northern clanned so I can make dishes different from the other southerners?

[Gimfalisette]

Okay.  I'm just trying to reconcile various things.  Escru Cream comes from the north, most of the fruits come from the north, so I would figure there would be more desserts there, and to provide unusual delicacies in the south, I would want to be of the northern kadius clan, if I can be?  And then be working in the south.  Does that make sense?  Be Allanaki, and living/playing in Allanak, but be northern clanned so I can make dishes different from the other southerners?

It doesn't matter what your PC's city of origin is for making clan-only crafts. It's your membership in the clan that counts for that. Pick whichever city you prefer to start in. If you go to work for Kadius or anyone else, they will decide where you'll work. Kadius is a single clan regardless of where those PCs currently are in the world.

[Harmless]

Yep, if you apply to work with Kadius you will enjoy the geographic benefits of both the North and South. Your character's origin, personality, and interests might affect their odds of being placed in the North to use mainly northern ingredients, but Great Merchant House business often calls for its members to switch from the Northern and Southern divisions because <politics>.