Roleplay FAQ

Welcome to Valucre. The following article is intended to answer any questions you may have about our community. Thanks to Adylheim for the use of their blank template.

Common Terms
• PBP: play-by-post.
• RP: Roleplay.
• PC: Player Character - A main character controlled by a player.
• NPC: Non-Player Character - Any other character in the game world. Most common examples are a bartender at a tavern, commoner on the street, or the town's local blacksmith.
• IC: In Character - Anything that happens in the game world, e.g. a conversation between two characters, traveling to a distant town, bathing in the lake and so on.
• OOC: Out of Character - Anything that takes place outside the game world, e.g. a conversation between two players or chatting in an OOC thread.
• T1: A descriptive, turn-based battle style in which you attempt to logically trap your opponents in fatal scenarios; autos and metagaming is not permitted.
-Auto: Describing the action of a character that does not belong to you without permission.
-Metagaming: The character's use of information that should only be available to the player.
• T2: A fast-paced style of combat that focuses on typing speed. (Not applicable on forums).

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Valucre? Valucre is a fantasy play-by-post roleplaying forum. Valucre is separated into four primary sections.

The first is the OOC section, which is where we engage in most of our OOC talk. You can use this section to run interest checks on plot or roleplay ideas, just chat it up, submit a character (no approval required - although it should fit in with the canon of whatever section you decide to spend your time in), and critique and share art, music, and writing.

The next section, although broken up into three categories, is the main canon of the site. Each category represents a different continent - Terrenus, Genesaris, and Tellus Mater. These represent a persistent world that is constantly changing and is affected by the players choices. We're working on updating the lore sections and organizing everything, but right now you can find a significant amount of info about each continent under the "general" forum in each one. Most people roleplay in one of these areas. They are high-fantasy for the most part, although Tellus Mater does have a fair amount of tech.

The third section is the Universal Colosseum. This is where the T1 fights are held. If you're not interested in competitive roleplay fighting, then it's best to avoid this section. Tournaments are also held here, as are ranked matches. You can view the ladder rankings in the competitions tab.

The fourth section is alternative and Itoryn. Alternative hosts a slew of small plots and roleplays that are more genre-specific, like zombie survival, marvel, heroes, or just random one-thread roleplays. Itoryn is a moderated persistent world where you start from scratch and work your way up through the social ranks in a world on the brink of civil war. It's my baby, so be nice to it!

1A: Terrenus. A large and diverse land once afflicted by constant strife and internal war. Terrenus was later brought to union by the efforts and achievements of a single man. Odin Haze, their king and Saint. Terrenus is regarded as the birthplace of contemporary Gaianism, for it is here that Odin established the First Church.

Here one can find the usual attractions of a high-fantasy setting. There are taverns and inns, guildhalls and gangs, diverse races complete with unique issues and tensions and, one of the more prevalent themes for Terrenus, extensive magi-tech.

Upon special request or notification to the board owner (supernal), special vocations such as blacksmith, high ranks in the military, leader of your own gang, representative of a foreign nation, and nearly anything else that comes to mind can be worked out. This courtesy of notification is for special circumstances only, such as if you want to rewrite the part of a canon or begin the life of an important person in media res as opposed to a bottoms-up approach.

Aside from these positions of particular influence, anyone and everyone is welcome to do as they like in Terrenus if they can manage to do so without being an ass.

A quick side note. The level of technological advancement in Terrenus has occasionally been a subject of curious debate. Although one will find terms like 'satellite' and 'missile' used throughout the board, understand that the end-product is different than what might immediately come to mind. For example, Terrenian satellites are floating rocks with a serious of complicated glyphs etched on them, and missiles are little more than pointy rocks launched and controlled by native Gaianists.

1B: Genesaris. Land to the religion of Altus Arcantium. Slightly advanced technologies, enough that factions of the Genesarian lands own guns and the like. The Altus Arcantium religion, much like the Gaianism of Terrenus, permeates nearly every facet of the land mass’s livelihood, from the faith of its people to its ruling class. There are hostile negotiations between Genesaris and Terrenus, ever since Eternal Night. Genesaris is rich in its diversity. A part of it, Midgard Atlantis, is reserved only for them mightiest of heroes to trek.

1C: Tellus Mater. The territory of three kings. Three separate countries with separate governing bodies. Renovatio flies in the sky; Muhir and Rosinder are connected by land.

1.1 Muhir. A theocracy, properly, governed by its church. The religious practices of Aeliyr are unique to its domain. The leader of the church, and of the kingdom, is Pope Marcel, a just and fair leader that remains to his duties with the church and cannot be swayed by the corruption that often besieges other men. Aeliyr is fairly advanced in its magitek and CROSS, the name given to the military faction of its church, can be considered its special forces.

1.2 Renovatio. Renovatio is composed of several city-states which diversify from one another greatly. Despite each and every provinces differences, they all share one thing: Faith. Through religion-- the word of Tellus Mater --the entire nation of Renovatio only knows of calm. A great peace that could only be disrupted by the brute force of war. Arguably, Renovatio is a land of the most advanced technology, with mechanized tanks and machine guns at their disposal.

1.3 Rosinder. The poster-boy of high fantasy play. Here is the land of the classic sorcerer and barbarian, with magic wands and battle axes. Here is the traditional monarchy, a king and his family, recently given a queen for its spearhead. No advanced technology, no magitek, just classic high-fantasy gear. Think Lord of the Rings in style and setting.

2. How do you play? The game takes place entirely on the forums, and everyone participates by describing the behavior and actions of their characters. At its most basic level, Valucre plays almost like a conversation: one player will write a post explaining their character's actions and, perhaps, their thoughts or experiences. Then another player will post their character's actions, etc. In general, players should take turns posting so that everyone has a chance to participate but there are clear exceptions to this rule.

3. Is that all? If your definition of "game" requires graphics, then there isn't one (unless you count smilies, icons and the occasional picture). If so, Valucre probably isn't the place for you. If you're willing to use your imagination, then we encourage you to give Valucre a try. Imagine this forum as somewhere between a traditional table-top RPG and collaborative fiction, though you don't need writing or roleplaying experience to play and enjoy the game.

4. What's with threads, and what kinds are there? Because everything takes place on a message board, everything happens in a thread. A thread will always have a particular focus, typically either a location (a tavern) or an event (an adventure). This focus is usually declared or hinted at in the thread's title. Threads may be moderated or unmoderated, which affects how conflict and uncertainties are resolved. Threads are often either "open" or "closed"/ "private". This is a matter of courtesy, and indicates whether the player who started the thread would like to welcome random players into the thread, or would like to play only with specific people they've invited into that particular thread. If closed, it is usually marked as such. If open, it will be placed in an aggregate thread to help new members (here).

5. How are conflict and uncertainty resolved? This depends on the type of thread. Some threads are moderated, which means that a special player (a staff member called a moderator or ambitious member) adjudicates the thread and the success or failure of the actions of the PCs in it, and typically takes responsibility for describing the environment and the actions of any NPCs present as well. Other threads are unmoderated, meaning players are free to decide the outcomes of their own characters' actions, or, if the participants agree to do it differently, they may decide the outcome of each other's characters' actions instead. Any threads with the potential for great risk or reward for a PC, or the potential for a significant impact on the game world, should be moderated unless permission is granted from a forum's moderator beforehand. Routine events (for instance, purchasing items for the listed price from a shop) generally do not have to be played out on the forums, though players are free to RP such activities if they wish.

6. So who are moderators and staff? Valucre has a volunteer staff that carries out a number of functions on the board. There are three basic types of staff members – administrators, global moderators, and forum moderators. Administrators see to the technical maintenance of the website and forums, as well as various other duties, including overall management of the game. Global moderators oversee IC events over the forum as a whole, keeping things in line, and cleaning up OOC discussion. Forum moderators oversee the IC events in that forum, moderate threads, enact plots and adventures, and in general try to keep things interesting for the players.

7. What's all this about IC and OOC? The difference between in-character (IC) and out-of-character (OOC) is arguably the most important aspect of roleplaying. Anything that takes place in the game world is IC, everything that doesn't take place in the game world (e.g. real life) is OOC. Therefore, the OOC forums are for discussions between players and other things that don't take place in the game itself, while the IC forums are where the actual roleplaying takes place. You'll be expected to be able to draw a firm distinction between the two. For instance, just because you know something (OOC), doesn't mean your character does (IC). Similarly, just because someone's PC says a certain thing or behaves a certain way, doesn't mean that his/her player believes or condones those things. A player can like another player, while their characters hate each other. Most importantly, don't bring OOC knowledge into the game, and don't take what happens in the game personally.

8. What are Continuity Declarations? Flexible Continuity is the name Adylheim uses for their time management system. We liked the name so we stuck with it. If you could only participate in one thread at a time, things would move pretty slowly, so with Flexible Continuity you can participate in multiple threads at once - provided that you can place them all coherently into your character's personal timeline in a way that makes sense. A Continuity Declaration (CD), which is not necessary but a useful tool nonetheless, is a note at the top of a thread or post that helps everyone place that thread or post in time, to make keeping track of things easier.

Character Creation

Once you've brushed up on the rules and the setting, you're ready to make your character. You can find a character sheet template here. Using these specific templates is not necessary, and these act merely as an aid to new members. Keep in mind that sheet creation is only essential for tournament participation; other than that, some find it useful to have their character's information neatly compiled. Once you've made your character, you're ready to play! We'd like to meet you, so posting in the welcome forum is encouraged. As an option, you are welcome to start by posting your house as a location thread, but it's by no means required. If you're having trouble figuring out what to do from here, ask questions and someone, staff or member, will assist you. If not, go out there and have fun!