The Menagerie General Game Guide

[Grayell]

GETTING STARTED!

In order to play the game, you need to do the following things:

• Create a character within the simple guidelines.
  
• Choose your characters talents.
  
• Have your character approved by staff.
  
• Make sure your character and their belongings are posted in the character information section.
  
• Get acquainted with the other players and their characters and take the plunge into adventure!
  

We have a couple of rules just to facilitate the playing of the game and save us all some confusion, but we encourage you to pick those up as you go. Let's break down the above steps somewhat more thoroughly.

CREATING A CHARACTER

We have a 'playable races' list in The Menagerie, which you can find here.
Please keep in mind the following:

• Your character should conform with their race description.
  
• Your character must be at least the equivalent of 18 in human years, an adult.
  
• Your character must speak and understand the common tongue.
  
• Your character must fit the 'high fantasy' genre.
  
• Your character may have modest equipment upon creation. This too must be approved. No magical weapons or expensive doodads - beyond sentimental significance, your items should be quite normal.
  

CHOOSE YOUR CHARACTER TALENTS

Talents are skills and abilities that you choose for your character. These act as a set of guidelines for your role play and eliminate confusion whilst encouraging modesty. A character with little or no points in brawn would not be able to lift a boulder, whilst a character with maximum points in brawn would be able to toss it about with reckless abandon. Use your talents as a means to develop your character and set them apart from others, and use your chosen talents to really take your role play to the next level! 

For the full Talents list, simply go HERE.

How you 'purchase' you characters talents will be explained later. Each race also starts with some inherent bonuses and drawbacks to their Talents. 

HAVE YOUR CHARACTER APPROVED BY STAFF

Once you have decided upon the make of your character and have selected their talents, post your character in the 'New Character Submission' thread.

Admin will read over your application and will either accept your character or will tell you what may need changing. Once approved, you're ready to play.

CREATE YOUR CHARACTER SHEET

Your approved character gets it's own thread in the Character Sheets section of the board.

This personal thread is where you keep both your character bio, as well as their inventory and other possessions. It will act as a transaction log for your character's progress.

Make sure you read the brief Guide to Character Sheet, Equipment and Item Use.

START PLAYING!

Where do I go from here, you ask?

Feel free to jump in however feels comfortable to you. Here are a few options you could choose from:

Post in the Tavern: Located in the Town Square. Its basically a place for some IC chat so characters can get to know each other. Many an adventure starts in the tavern as well.

Claim a spot: In the Homestead Area you can start a thread for where your character calls home in their downtime. Alot of our players use this for some solo (ie no GM) role playing to build on their backstory, character thoughts on whats happened, downtime actions, and occasional GM led activities.

Start a post of your own: Its perfectly fine for you to start your own thread in either the Within Wistvale area or the Beyond Wistvale area of your character out doing something. Perhaps your arrival to town? A GM may then jump in to make things interesting for you.

Wait for a new thread to start: At times, depending on what our GMs have going on and how much they feel they can handle, they may start threads of thier own. Feel free to step up and join in.

Or you can do any combo of the above. Whatever fits you best and gets you in the world.

Good luck, and happy hunting...

[Grayell]

CHARACTER TALENTS

Talents are basically a skills set that your character has acquired and are used to accomplish things that pertain to that talent. They are commonly called 'universal skills'.

The use of Talents is not complicated, there are no dice rolls and you don't have to mention your use of your Talent unless you feel it's necessary. Talents are basically the guidelines that indicate what you can and cannot do in your role play. The greater your Talent, the more capable your character is at a certain thing.

Talents are also a great way to reinforce how unique your character is - no two characters should have the exact same Talent set, making each and every one useful in different scenarios. Teamwork is paramount in this game and the wise use of your Talents might find you well rewarded and very much appreciated by your fellow players.

TALENTS AND ACCLAIM

Talents are bought with Acclaim. Acclaim is our take on 'experience points'. You are awarded Acclaim for playing and the amount you earn is based on how well you play. 

You get 50 Acclaim points to spend on Talents when you create your character.  Starting Talents are capped at level 5 and all points must be spent upon creation.

You'll continue to earn Acclaim and will continue to spend it on Talents. 

Each level of a Talent costs that same value in Acclaim. So a level 3 Talent costs 3 Acclaim. You also cannot buy a level, unless having bought the prior levels first.

LEVELS OF TALENTS

You can have between zero and 10 points in any Talent. Each point in a Talent indicates a deeper understanding of that Talent and implies the character is more experienced in the use of that Talent. ANY character can use ANY Talent in their role play, but playing modestly and within the scope of your skills leads to greater reward. 

• A person with zero points in a Talent is considered 'average', or normal. You must consider average in context of course, or what might be average in this setting. Average would mean the average Joe, with no training in a Talent.
  

• Having 1 or 2 points in a Talent would mean that you're just dabbling. Sure, you've picked up a trick or two, but anyone can do that.

• Having 3 or so points in a Talent should mean your character has devoted some time to bettering themselves in that Talent. They're no longer dabbling, but have some degree of skill.
  
  
• Having 5 points should mean your character is quite good at that chosen Talent. They can use that Talent quite effectively and their dedication to developing that Talent shows. This would be considered an intermediate level of skill.

• Having 8 or so points in a Talent really shows dedication and you're easily an advanced practitioner. You're leagues ahead of the average Joe and really, are quite efficient when it comes to applying your Talent. Good for you, your hard work has really paid off.

• At 10 points, you have mastered that Talent. You are really pushing the boundaries of what is thought to be possible for a humble mortal. Your skill level is nothing short of startling to regular folk - you might just make a name for yourself.

TALENTS ARE SPECIFIC

No, your Brawn Talent does not make you hit harder in combat. Combat talents indicate your ability in combat. Sure, if you're running away in combat, you'll want some points in Speed but largely, each Talent is quite dedicated in it's application.

NOT SURE OF YOUR TALENT USAGE?

If you are uncertain that using your Talent will solve the situation, simply 'attempt' to use the Talent and let the GM decide. You can always 'investigate' the problem and apply your Talent knowledge to see what feedback a GM gives you.

[Grayell]

A CLOSER LOOK AT ACCLAIM.

All starting characters have an allowance of 50 Acclaim to spend. But what about later?

Acclaim is awarded for participating and great role playing. There are a few factors that influence how much Acclaim a Game Master might reward you, but know that if you're a creative and considerate role player, you'll reap the rewards.

Acclaim can also be rewarded to players for contributing hard work to the game, for being staff (which often hampers time to play) or even for competitions and the like. There are many ways to earn Acclaim so do your best to participate.


Each adventure or quest that your character completes could see your rewarded with up to 5 points, or even more, depending on the length of the adventure and including bonuses for outstanding performance. When this happens, the GM running the adventure will let you know what you've earned, will post it in your character sheet and will also update your profile for you. 

Acclaim is also our 'experience' system, in that it's spent on acquiring new skills. It spends just like gold and once it is spent, you cannot get it back. You can spend it as you get it, or save it up. The higher the level of the skill you're wanting to purchase, the more it costs. It's all quite simple.


A level 1 skill costs 1 Acclaim point. A level 2 skill costs 2 Acclaim, and so on. Keep in mind, that you cannot buy a level unless you have already purchased the prior levels ie: no buying level 5 for 5 points and not purchasing 1 through 4/

This way, level 5 in a skill should cost you 15 Acclaim in total. Level 10 on the other hand, will cost you 55 Acclaim in total.

Please remember: all starting characters cannot purchase higher than level 5 in any 1 skill. They also cannot save Acclaim for later upon character creation. You'll simply have to earn more levels later.

[Grayell]

THE FLOW OF GAME PLAY.

Gameplay usually consists of what are loosely called 'rounds'. One round means one round of each participant posting, or what is called a 'turn'. Everyone has a turn, including the bad guys and the round is over.

It's not an infallible rule though. For example, characters chatting usually isn't limited to 'once per round', as conversation doesn't often impact progress and those characters may be waiting on someone else to get done, doing something.

In combat thought, fighting is strictly one turn each. You attack, or defend, or do whatever you'd like to try and achieve and then wait on the GM.

We ask that all participants make one post every 24 hours. Your GM has to consider other players, but will make every reasonable effort to keep you up to speed.

USING TALENTS TO ACCOMPLISH TASKS AND ROLE PLAY

Talents don't have to be 'officially' used, meaning you don't have to state that you are using a Talent unless you feel you'd like to. If you'd like to state your level in an applicable Talent, your GM will likely appreciate it.

Of course, your GM can always refer to your character sheet to decide whether you've the skill level to accomplish something. Remember GMs have authority on outcomes, so try to play modestly and you'll rarely be disappointed.

COMBAT!

Remember, turns and rounds apply in combat. There is two types of combat, whether fighting NPC enemies, or even another player:

1. Free-for-all. When playing in this fashion, players are allowed to decide when they hit, how hard they hit and the outcome of their fight. Better players also GET hit, so be wary of 'god modding' should your GM let you let your hair down.

2. Controlled combat. This is like the rest of game play, in which you 'attempt' things and the GM informs you of the outcome. 'I swing my axe at the Goblin beside me' is what you're shooting for here. Play smart and you'll do very well.

HOW DOES CHARACTER KNOWLEDGE WORK?

Upon completion of any adventure, your character is considered to have any knowledge gained from that adventure at the start of your next new adventure. Knowledge gained from a completed adventure can not be carried over into adventures that began before the knowledge was gained. ((Much the same way equipment works))

This rule does not include the Tavern or solo RPing in your "home" as these tend to be open interactions with little to no influence on other events.

Please, do not mention events in other threads and adventures that have not been completed as yet. We have rules about 'metagaming' and the best way to avoid it to only refer to events after they are completed and in the past.

[Ramir]

Not covered here?

This is the general game guide and has most everything you need to know to be a great player.

You will find races, talents and rules to specific things like magic use, in their own dedicated threads.

As always, feel comfortable in asking for help!

Thanks again for playing with us here at The Menagerie.