What should / could I do next?

[mansa]

I created my first character, and they got approved.
I picked Allanak as my starting city.


What should I do within the first 24 hours of playtime?

[Oryx]

We have so many great newbie helpers and I see even more of you in game working with new players while they get a feel for the ropes, so I have no doubt at all that someone will have better ideas than this, but I'd say the first thing to do would be stay put at the bar, type time. During night more people are likely to show up. I'd use 'sit bar' and 'talk' to start up some conversations about finding work and making a living.

[Molten Heart]

.

[TheGoose]

Make sweet love to a dwarf and RP the consequences.

[Jarvis]

Get a notepad opened up, name it "Stupid shit I shouldn't do"
This is part of the preparation. Also, bury your "fight or flight" instinct deep down, and choose only flight instead.

Prepare to die, and I mean die a lot. Then note down everything that had a horrible consequence.
Because you're going to die. So just get ready for it emotionally. Having an Armageddon character you love is sort of like having a family member with a terminal illness.

Now, if you're in Allanak and you're playing a Warrior or a Ranger, hurry to a 'Byn Sergeant or an Arm Corporal if you're human and you don't want to pay.
You can always give in and go out into the sands. But the chances that you'll die are greater than the ones of you coming back from that trip.

From there on, there are plenty of helpful players willing to guide you along.

[valeria]

Interact with as many people as possible.  Make friends, make enemies. Especially make enemies.

[mansa]

How do I do this?

[Kryos]

My take is usually:  hey, I got a character approved.  In the character's background it lists out what he's been doing/does.  Go there.  Do that.  The rest will unfold.

[Dar]

First thing I'll do out of chargen is to enter the communal area of the tavern and sit bar.

Look around. It's full of NPCs and Virtual NPCs. More often then not, it's also got Player Characters in it. You can tell them apart by them talking and emoting. Occasionally they're in the middle of psionic communication and are not very reactive. That's okey.

Psionic communication.
Read <help contact>   
It will teach you how you can contact other people and converse them with them over distances.

If there are PCs around it. Ask them if they know if anyone's hiring. More likely then not, they will give you a bunch of names of different organizations.

If there are no PCs around currently. Read the Rumor board.
<look board>
<read board 35> 
<help board for general knowledge>

Rumor board isnt a board of 'notes'. The writing is very rare in the game. It is just a method for you to 'overhear' conversations.

More often then not, amongst all kinds of different rumours, you will hear announcements of someone hiring someone else. Most likely it will be T'zai Byn, or Kurac, Or Militia, Or a Merchant house. In that rumour, you will notice a mention of a name of the one recruiting. Once you know that name, try to contact them psionically. It's called "Find their head"

<contact Amos>

If you snatch their head, use <psi (message)> to speak to them. Introduce yourselves and ask about a job.

Generally speaking, in 99% of time, the most successful players began their gameplay in this fashion.  It tends to be a little more restrictive then roaming on your own independent. But this is a permadeath mud, and everyone die. People who dont know the world and are on their own, die 'very' often. The most restrict part of the game is you sitting, staring at the screen, waiting for approval of your NEXT character, because your previous one got eaten by some bug that liked the taste of your brains.

Once you get into a clan. Take things in stride. Your numero uno goal here is to A:Have fun and B:Learn the ropes. Sometimes ... B is more important then A. But again, the least fun thing you can be doing is staring at the screen, waiting for the approval of your NEXT character, because your previous one died to some irate Templar whom you failed show proper deference to. 

Enjoy the game. Learn the game. You'll die eventually. I guarantee it. But your next character, will end up doing something else that will be entirely new and unexpected ... except dying. Dying is expected.

[James de Monet]

Honestly?  I'd bop around in the starter shops for a while, and test syntax.

But beyond that?

Try this?

(Works much better on a computer than a phone)

[Kialae]

Welcome newcomer!

I really appreciate the time you've invested into preparing before playing with us, first of all. Your choice to do over nine thousand forum posts and put an avatar into your profile before asking this very important question shows you do your research in terms of lore and the general meta of the game.

I would encourage you go into the gaj and type this: 'emote sneezes and fire erupts from his nostrils, searing several patrons dead in an instant'. This is to show those who will INVARIABLY try to steal from you during your first moments in the game know you mean business and won't approach you.

Best of luck!

[Cind]

You realize this is mansa from the old board and he has almost 10,000 posts, right?

[Hauwke]

I do believe that is sort of the point Cind.

[valeria]

You realize this is mansa from the old board and he has almost 10,000 posts, right?

He also wrote the guide for new players.  This post might be read by more people than mansa.

As far as making friends and enemies goes, you just stick to the personality you've decided on for your character, interact with people as much as you can, and don't go out of your way to avoid conflict.  The pressure to 'win' Armageddon by having the most friends is real for some of us.  Fight that urge.  Without enemies, your character's story is more likely to stagnate.

[chrisdcoulombe]

If you are new...I would recommend finding someone with similar interests that will let you follow them around.   If you want to be a hunter look for someone to hunt with. If you want to be a grebber find someone to greb with.  You want to be an aide, find an aide and ask them if they can show you the ropes.  You want to be a soldier ect.

There are in game resources right as you enter the Gaj.  The board for example.  There is an in game board in the main room of the Gaj that is IC rumors of people that are entertaining just what you might be looking for.  A Tzai Byn sergeant's name or perhaps if you are more ambitious, The Arm of the dragon's.   

I highly recommend a new player join a clan if they want to stay alive for any significant amount of time.   Though if exploring is your gig, explore and die because dying is fun.  Learn from your mistakes, but don't carry what you learned to your next character with exact knowledge.  Use that knowledge to think about what consequences could come from leaving the safety of the city.

You can just chill in the Gaj and eventually you will come across those you are looking for organically.

Ask someone where to get water and food or just go exploring, but stay in the city at first to get your bearings.

When you get put into situations that may be unsavory, don't think 'what would I do', think what your character(he or she) would do. 

And above all have fun.

[WarriorPoet]

Sit the bar in the Gaj for an hour or two, learn the basics of emoting and targetting.
Familiarize yourself with the bazaar and layout of the Commons.
Gear up.
Start making friends.
Ask new friends for advice and gossip.
Give serious thought to the Byn or AoD.
Lose a barfight.

[Oryx]

If chopping people and animals up is not your main focus, consider giving the Atrium a shot! It's an excellent place to meet people and learn about the city. It's also a pitch perfect place to practice emote code and basic syntax.

[CodeMaster]

Sit around in the tavern?!

Go buy a mount and a weapon and have fun!

[edit:
I'll be more constructive.

I concede the roleplay elements of Arm are top-notch, and the interactions you have with others are the best parts.

But if someone logs on off-peak it might be discouragingly hard to complete the "find someone appropriate to interact with" quest.  And even then, not every player they bump into is going to have the IC flexibility to help them out.

Better to send them on interesting jobs they can succeed at: if you're a pickpocket, go check out the bazaar and learn about your steal skill; if you're a lowlife, see if you can find the entrance to the labyrinth -- that's where the black markets are (but don't go inside until you find out more!); if you're a burglar, you might prowl around the commons and see if anyone's left their door open... and have an excuse ready if you get caught!  If you're a fighter, see if you can find the entrance to the T'zai Byn -- you might run into someone on the way; if you're trying to join high culture, do a lap of Meleth's Circle, then head down to Red's Retreat.  Just go do some stuff.

[zealus]

If your character has goals, wants, or needs, be focal about them.
Talk to people, bitch, whine, complain.
I've had more then one character run into the right people just because he told a lot of people about what he wanted to do.
_{Don't overdo it though, I've had more then one character die because they were too focal about their plans.}