Send Valbullion?
The recommended way to read this walkthrough is at your leisure over the course of a few days while you browse the site and explore on your own.
Table of Contents.
1. Introduction
2. Roleplay, characters and fighting
3. Jumping into the fray
4. Posting and experience points
5. OOC
6. Free will; open-source; character death
7. Technology?
8. Administrative enforcement
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Alright. So you're new to Valucre. This can mean one of two things. You've either roleplayed before and have a handle on how things work and just need to get accustomed to the way things are done on Valucre. Or you're completely new to the experience and want to know what to do. Either way I'll assume you have some questions but we'll be pretending its the latter for this little walkthrough.
Before we get into anything too heavy to digest, here are the people that you want to know.
Important People: Who and Of What
After knowing the important people on the forum, the most pressing question to a new member on Valucre is exactly how they go about making a name for themselves, making an impression in the lore and history of the roleplay world.
Step By Step Guide to Canonization
Notice!: If you're new to roleplay in general or just want to know about our rules, practices, and regulations in specific, then check out the following:
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That taken care of, let's continue.
Roleplay FAQ. This is a comprehensive FAQ that tackles things like roleplay terms and gives a bit more of a breakdown of our IC areas. Please read before continuing.
That said, roleplay is the game; in order to play the game, you need a piece. You'll want to make a character. A character sheet is only necessary when participating in a tournament or a ranked or judged fight. A playful spar among friends, and regular roleplay throughout the forum roleplay site, does not require a character sheet.
That said making a character sheet is always a good first step. It solidifies the details of your character in your mind and gives you a sheet of easily referenced information should you ever need it. Those that juggle multiple characters, and first-timers, will find this a useful.
Character sheet templates. Here are some blank templates, ready to be filled out and used. You are not limited to these templates and are free to make up your own you.
Now that you've got yourself an idea of character, you probably want to know what they can and can't do.
Mild Powers
Revised combat guidelines
T1 Tutorial
Fresh to Death tournament rules.
The first two articles will give you an idea of what you can and can't do. Treat these as guidelines, for the creative mind can find many different ways to legitimately express itself. The last two links give you an idea of our fighting system, which is considered separate from regular roleplay. Our motto is roleplay over mechanics. This means that for strictly storyline purposes, higher degrees of power are allowed at the discretion of the respective board-owner and/or parties involved.
A knowledge of T1 is completely unnecessary to play on Valucre. But if you're interested in learning more about it, check out these two documents. The first is an overview, the second an in-depth and currently on-going analysis.
Grey Area
T1: A Comprehensive Study
So for instance, if I start hunting your character the limits on power are much stricter than if I were to, say, orchestrate a story-arc with you beforehand. The destruction of a building is the hard-cap of destructive ability, but if you make an epic storyline with serious work and talk to me (for Terrenus), then I'd be willing to allow for events of a much higher magnitude.
On Valucre, intelligently played and thought-out story always wins. We all come here to write.
As far as what kind of power, your imagination is your limit. Just be mindful of how strong that ability is, and don't be an ass about it.
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So. You got a character and they've got some abilities and stuff. In other words you have a vehicle for your writing and understand the scope onto which they can be played. Now what? Where are you going to go to play?
There are two options available to you. You can make a thread or you can join a thread. Valucre staff recommends joining a thread rather than making one. A lot of people make threads because they're too skittish or timid to join in on another thread, especially if there are already others in that thread, failing to realize that's what we're all here for.
We're all here to play, and to play with one another. If you don't get your feet wet, you won't ever learn how to swim. Nobody is saying not to make threads. By all means, it is one of the options after all. But don't get disheartened if you make a thread and no one joins it. You're not the only shy one around and now maybe you see the issue.
If everyone makes and no one joins, nothing gets done!
Open threads. Pretty nifty, right? Any thread that's not listed as being specifically closed or semi-closed is to be considered open, even if it isn't listed as open in the title. The only reason we made a listing is to give an easily referenced source for the new member. This is not an end-all be-all of open threads, but more of a user submitted and maintained compendium of threads that are actively seeking more people.
This is the Water Cooler and the purpose of the water cooler is to provide a focal point for players to come together. Here a player can place ads, requesting a specific type of character for a specific storyline, or letting everyone know that they are taking up a quest and could use some help. The purpose is further explained in the forum itself.
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If you've gone the recommended route, you've been browsing the site while reading this walkthrough at your leisure over the course of a few days. By now you're probably wondering what all this 'closed' and 'open' nonsense.
-- Open: Free to join by anyone, for any reason. Sometimes don't even need to have a reason. It's fun to just throw characters together and see how they interact with one another, and where they go from there.
-- Closed: Closed to the public, and usually invite-only.
-- Semi-closed: Closed to the public but the creator of the thread is open to the idea of new members joining. Semi-closed means that the creator should be messaged privately to work out the details for character integration.
Post Order. This doesn't really justify a long elaborate explanation, and there is more information to be found in the article, but some people need to know that there are options as far as post order goes.
At this point you're probably wondering what the experience points on your profile relate to, and what this ValBullion that everyone seems to be talking about is all about. Well, lucky you! I whipped this up just for you.
ValBullion and Experience Points
Valucre Incentive Program. Click to find out more information about the V.I.P, the incentive program we put into place to spur more roleplay and make ValBullion more available to users.
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The OOC portion of the site is rated R, for strong language and innuendo. The IC portion of the site is rated R for text-based adult themes, strong language, violence, and nudity. Although these themes aren't the most prevalent, as majority of the forum is more interested in plot development and characterization, there are situations that call for it. The exceptions to this are language, depending on the type of character, and violence as it is tantamount to action in most people's eyes. An R rating does not mean NC-17 or TV-MA; explicit depiction of sexual acts, especially for the sole purpose of depicting sexual acts, is in bad taste and will not be tolerated.
The complaint process is an article I drafted up detailing, you guessed it, the complaint process. Complaints about members by other members are inevitable. We want the users to know that we take serious complaints seriously, but that we aren't interested in personal bitch-fits that can be handled at ground level without even bringing it up to administration.
Valucre the World is a thread that will give the member a rough idea of Valucre the world, the planet, as opposed to Valucre the site which includes the Other board, hosting a number of roleplays of varying genre.
This article explains the various tabs in the main navigation bar at the top of the site, and an explanation on the forms available for user submission. These forms are open for free use by the members. Users can bring attention to their efforts to affect canon, create items, races, or monsters, and even recommend roleplays and members for spotlight mention on the newsletter.
The forum know-how article is intended to familiarize the user with features that will make their forum going more pleasant and convenient.
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Free Will
We are all writers. Writers are gods in that we create. Whole lives and cultures and civilizations, really awesome characters and epic storylines, but we must all understand that there is a game being played here and that there is a certain consensual respect that we must all abide by.
The figurative concept of "free will" in respect to roleplay is a polarizing topic. In other words, what are the limits of our power as individual writers interacting in a world created by individual writers? There is nothing anyone can do that can force you into writing with anyone else and likewise just because you write it does not necessarily mean that you are free to influence another writer's literary constructs at will.
If you're in a thread and someone comes around with the intent of being disruptive and generally detracting from the thread, you can ignore them (Settings > Ignore User) or contact staff to have the thread cleaned up (if staff agrees such a move is necessary).
But if someone takes the time to leverage a properly thought out and legitimate assault, time spent in-character tracking characters and hunting down information or preparing traps, then for our sake and your own just . . . play the thing out. If someone tricked you they tricked you, get over it and develop some rich story.
As a note of courtesy, don't barge into closed threads. Some people argue that the very concept of being able to have a thread that is invite-only takes away a certain critical aspect of realism in that threads cannot be interrupted, whereas events in real life can, unexpectedly and with chaotic results. Some people would also argue that the idea of being able to give permission for a character death deals the same blow to realism.
To them I say: It isn't all about you.
If you want to kill someone else's character, hopefully for legitimate story purposes, get their consent. You don't have to give away all the suspense and tension but being rude gets you nowhere. If I wish to continue writing with a literary device I created, that's my prerogative.
Open-Source
Those writers that have a knack or penchant for creating lore will find the following links useful. These can act as a host for things like races, individual monsters, models for magic, histories of unique worlds, or can even act as an archive for your idea as a contribution to the forum.
The Lore forum is where users can submit their ideas for things like unique races, individual magic systems, and things of that nature. Note that the Lore forum is not limited to canon and can be reflective of ideas for literary genres, such as Sci-Fi, modern-day or Victorian Romance. If you'd like your idea to be used in a specific location, then you'll have to use it yourself, get it used by other people, or present the idea to the board owner of the area you're interested in. But contributions are always welcome.
The Organizations board is where users can submit their ideas for anything that can be termed an organization, group or crew. This can be crime syndicates, unique cultures or races, clans, families, pirate crews, guilds, and so on and so forth.
The World Bestiary is where users can submit ideas for monsters, creatures and critters that they might like to see played or play themselves on Valucre. These can be used for random encounters, or hunted and poached for specific attributes, or can even be considered playable races.
Character Death
To touch back upon the concept of free-will, there is a new staff and member driven initiative whereby one can specifically indicate specific characters as being CK, that is "character killable". This does not limit a CK character to specific interactions but neither does it grant them any special privileges.
For example:
A CK character cannot kill a non-CK character.
A non-CK character cannot openly attack a CK character (unless for story purposes) and not expect retribution.
CK characters can still do anything non-CK characters can, except that other CK characters can kill them. This can be story-driven or just for killing's sake, but it adds a certain edge that some members have a leaning towards.
The CK group
A note of literary courtesy. If you want to kill someone, you have to convince them that your literary construct is superior to theirs (your plot vs. their character and that character's future). It's not a matter of T1 skill (Click here to read the T1 tutorial) as it is sheer writing prowess. If you can't convince someone to die it's because your story wasn't good enough (at least to your reader) or you are too unreliable a writer for someone to entrust the livelihood of their character to.
A good example of a well done fight can be found here: A day in the life
With the accompanying OOC discussion thread: A day in the life OOC
Where Samal convinced Zenith of his character's inferiority, Zenith bowed his head with a bitter taste in his mouth, and Zenith's character was decapitated.
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Here's the basic way we look at things on Valucre. You can do, make, or introduce most anything as long as it 1. Makes sense and 2. Isn't retarded. As far as introducing technology into Valucre, understand that there is a difference in the type of technology used is different in Terrenus, Genesaris and Tellus Mater. For technology not already present, understand that though you can have whatever you bring with you, the current standards of technology equate to certain limitations.
Computers: Nixon never made ARPA net, so there is no internet and there aren't any AC outlets. Instead there is telepathy or dream-talking or whatever.
Guns*: Except for some places in Genesaris, Renovatio and Muhir, guns aren't a common technology. That means that if you have a gun, you might want to figure out how to make bullets yourself and how to repair it. This is strictly in regards to gun powder technology. Energy rifle or magical guns or whatever are much more common.
Cars: No fossil fuels. No mechanics. No paved roads between towns, save for major trade routes. Who needs a car when you have a horse, or can fly, or teleport, or shadow-walk or ride a sandworm?
As far as the 'mechanics' of Valucre go, no one really feels like putting into place this hardcore centric limitation and fleshing out the system. You can believe in, and derive power from, any type of religion, cosmology, mechanical system, energy nomenclature or whatever that you'd like.
DONTS:
Something that can cut everything.
Something unbreakable.
"Just cause" systems. My powers are better than yours just cause. My magic system is better than yours just cause.
Try to boldly and constantly gratify your ego.
DOS:
Quality writing will always help you pull of whatever you're trying to do. Quality writing means work, dedication, thought and creativity. Don't try to force your shit onto other people, make them want it.
*
Spoiler:
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The customer is not always right. The staff-member is not always right. The only person that is always right is whoever is being the most rational and making the most sense, and this can be seen at a glance.
Most of Valucre staff are players as well, often times deeply involved in the in-character aspects of the site, and as such we want to minimize administrative involvement to the minimum degree necessary to keep the gears well oiled and moving. We are kind, polite, rational, well-reasoned, experienced listeners that have true faith and genuine interest in the welfare of the site.
The community is, by and far, automatically self-correcting. This is a product of directed design and progress as much as it is a consequence of mature, intelligent, dedicated writers. If you're an asshole, you'll find you'll have people less willing to play with you, and without other people to interact with, there's only so far that you can go in this game. If you're helpful, proactive and serious about your characters, about storylines and plot, then you'll find a new world of opportunities opening up to you. It isn't magic, it's just the way it is.
The official complaint process can be found by clicking this sentence. The simplified version of the complaint process is as follows.
I have a problem with
1. Contact the user and calmly attempt to talk the issue out. The user may be insulting you without even meaning to, and responding in hostile fashion only escalates and complicates what is at its core a non-issue.
2. Put the user on ignore by editing your friends and enemies list in Settings. From this point on you can view their posts only by going out of your way to click "view post" on their censored posts.
3. If they are going out of their way to harass you, warn them once that that continued harassment on their part will be met with contacting an administrator.
4. Contact an administrator and have all your files in order. Screenshots, transcripts, links to instances of misconduct. This will help the admins make a quick and logical decision. We refuse to act on hearsay and gossip, as personal experience has taught us time and again that rumors are and such are often just that. We are firm on this stance.
The user will then be given a punitive measure regarded as appropriate by the acting administrator. This can be:
1. A warning.
2. Freechat ban.
3. Permanent OOC removal, allowing the user access only to the IC parts of the site.
4. Temporary site ban.
5 .Permanent site ban.
And anything else we can think of for reasons we ultimately see fit.
Genres and story ideas
Current and past (hence possible again). This is just to give you an idea of what you might find on Valucre, and to show you just how diverse the ideas are. Members are welcome to introduce new genres or revive old ones.
Fantasy and magi-tek: Terrenus, Muhir. ('Magical technology'. High technology, but deviant of the current standard).
Steampunk: Tia, Arcturus.
High-tech: Renovatio, parts of Genesaris (firearms, walking tanks, airships).
Stat-based: Itoryn (stat base is very peripheral).
High/classic fantasy: Rosinder, Iselyr.
Superhero/Comic fandom: Age of Heroes
Mob/criminal organization/syndicate: the Dead, Entropy.
Magical academy/character progress: Gaian Academy
Religions: Gaianism, Altus Arcantium, Tellus Mater, Rosinder Polytheism.