Post by Lidhuin on Jul 7, 2020 3:58:51 GMT
Welcome!
This post is aimed at people who are new to the concept of play by post roleplaying forums, and to a lesser extent aimed at people who are new at Burning Wheel or Ruins of Empire (Birthright).
These forums allow players to immerse themselves in a unique fantasy world. Characters can explore, quest, and adventure in a fairy tale of magic, romance, mystery, and intrigue. They may be heroes or villains, commoners or kings, forge alliances and friendships or compete with foes and rivals across a vast landscape dotted by ruined castles, thriving cities, monsters, brigands, friendly spirits, spellcraft, and warring gods.
Joining is both free and easy. The first step is the creation of an account which you will use to represent your character in the game world. The registration process is quick and will require you to create a unique User Name. This should be the name of the character which you wish to create, but if you made an error or change your mind about the name halfway through, don't worry! It's easy to change your display name. While this name is limited only by your imagination, it is suggested that you consider your character’s gender, race, and background to design a name that will fit into your concept.
Guidelines:
Try asking advice in the Questions Forum if you are having difficulty. When your account is ready to use, take a moment to visit our Welcome Forum and introduce yourself to the community.
Next, head on over to the character repository, where you will create your character sheet. Do that now, following the template available in that forum, and later the instructions here below (or in that forum).
Character Specifics
Both males and females excel equally in the world of Birthright. There are a few lifepaths in Burning Wheel that are limited by your gender, either for thematic reasons or practical reasons. Most will begin as adults, some begin as teenagers, others aged elderly. While you pick your name, race (stock) and gender, the age of your character is determined by your lifepaths.
What are lifepaths? Burning Wheel allows players to generate characters who are born into a certain class (e.g. peasant or nobility), and then from there, life may take them many different paths, or lifepaths. The lifepaths determine your age, bonus attributes, skills, traits, and which opportunities open up to your character in their future lifepaths. You should pick between 2 and 4 lifepaths to start with, using the following web-based app: charred-black.herokuapp.com/#/
If you are new to Burning Wheel, it is recommended to pick human, as elves and dwarves (the other available races) work a little differently in Burning Wheel, albeit it is not insurmountable. As a rule, avoid sorcery - it may be implemented later, but even I don't fully understand the Burning Wheel mechanics of that kind of magic. Alchemy and similar pseudo-magic is still available.
Including some basic history about your character, such as parents' names and status and any traumatic, life-defining events will help you further define your character's personality. It is best to be vague here too; additional details can always be filled in later as your knowledge of the game world grows. You will also need to decide where in the world your character resides. Check the map for a list of provinces your character could be in. All of these facts should be recorded in a Character Sheet kept in the Character Repository forum, which you can continue to add to and update as your character grows and evolves.
Characters begin with a set of skills and traits determined by their lifepaths. Furthermore, resources may be used to buy property (e.g. a cottage), relationships (typically NPCs that will have an impact on your character's story), gear (included clothes and shoes - don't forget them!), affiliations (your connection to other groups), and reputations (both positive and negative). Few, if any, characters will begin with nothing. You are free to describe the gear that you have, as long as it matches what you purchased - if you bought a shoddy sword, it won't look like an expertly crafted king's weapon.
Please be sure to list all chosen items and abilities from your starting package in your Character Sheet so that you, other players, and moderators can keep track of what your character currently owns or knows. These lists should be continually updated as your character is roleplayed and changes.
Finally, Burning Wheel allows you to pick Beliefs and Instincts: Beliefs should be viewed as goals, and if you don't have any great ideas for them, that's okay - you can make new beliefs for each adventure you're involved in. Good beliefs have a strong foundation, with the goal changing ever so slightly throughout a campaign (a series of adventures), as your character either moves closer to achieving or failing their beliefs/goals.
Instincts are essentially "If-Then" statements that carry a lot of weight with them, but are always optional for the player to exercise, for example "Always draw my sword when I meet a rival" means that it will be a lot harder for your rivals to catch you off-guard (they'd basically have to catch you without a weapon, or without you noticing them!), as you will have your sword in hand long before other players do. But remember, a good roleplayer can even use their instincts against themselves - while arguing your case before a judge, a rival enters: Do you follow your instincts and draw your sword, risking the ire of the court, or do you repress your instincts?
Roleplay
You are now ready to make your first post! First, review the "Map" and the "Provinces and Holdings" to decide where geographically your character might be. Note some regions are dominated by certain races or cultures to start with, and that this may change as the game progresses. Then, find the corresponding forum in game. Start a new thread there using the announcement at the top of the forum to your thread in the appropriate season and year, and begin your adventure!
Threads are almost always interactive, whether between player characters or through moderation, or both. Moderation involves a third-party staff member that will create environments, roleplay non-player characters, and determine the results of players' outcomes in threads.
Please note that because this is a Birthright game, your character's impact on the world is limited by the rules in place. Regents, whether yourself or other players, may shape the world by growing (or sacking!) provinces, increasing their power in the world through their holdings, wage wars, conduct diplomacy, and even go adventuring themselves. As a new player, don't worry too much about that for now, but if you are interested in playing a regent, you should be sure to contact one of the staff. And don't worry - every turn/season, your character will have the opportunity to start or join an adventure that will impact more than just their personal story!
Happy playing!
(Credit goes to the Aelyrians who wrote similar guides first: Kaelon, Ragman, Jacob and Charybdis)
This post is aimed at people who are new to the concept of play by post roleplaying forums, and to a lesser extent aimed at people who are new at Burning Wheel or Ruins of Empire (Birthright).
These forums allow players to immerse themselves in a unique fantasy world. Characters can explore, quest, and adventure in a fairy tale of magic, romance, mystery, and intrigue. They may be heroes or villains, commoners or kings, forge alliances and friendships or compete with foes and rivals across a vast landscape dotted by ruined castles, thriving cities, monsters, brigands, friendly spirits, spellcraft, and warring gods.
Joining is both free and easy. The first step is the creation of an account which you will use to represent your character in the game world. The registration process is quick and will require you to create a unique User Name. This should be the name of the character which you wish to create, but if you made an error or change your mind about the name halfway through, don't worry! It's easy to change your display name. While this name is limited only by your imagination, it is suggested that you consider your character’s gender, race, and background to design a name that will fit into your concept.
Guidelines:
- Avoid chatroom handles. “PowerMonger885” does not fit into the fantasy environment in-game and is not appropriate.
- Avoid familiar names. Lancelot or Daenerys are too well-known to be properly adopted to our atmosphere.
- If your character's backgrounds don't warrant it, please avoid titles, such as Sir, Miss, or Lord. These can be earned in-game.
Try asking advice in the Questions Forum if you are having difficulty. When your account is ready to use, take a moment to visit our Welcome Forum and introduce yourself to the community.
Next, head on over to the character repository, where you will create your character sheet. Do that now, following the template available in that forum, and later the instructions here below (or in that forum).
Character Specifics
Both males and females excel equally in the world of Birthright. There are a few lifepaths in Burning Wheel that are limited by your gender, either for thematic reasons or practical reasons. Most will begin as adults, some begin as teenagers, others aged elderly. While you pick your name, race (stock) and gender, the age of your character is determined by your lifepaths.
What are lifepaths? Burning Wheel allows players to generate characters who are born into a certain class (e.g. peasant or nobility), and then from there, life may take them many different paths, or lifepaths. The lifepaths determine your age, bonus attributes, skills, traits, and which opportunities open up to your character in their future lifepaths. You should pick between 2 and 4 lifepaths to start with, using the following web-based app: charred-black.herokuapp.com/#/
If you are new to Burning Wheel, it is recommended to pick human, as elves and dwarves (the other available races) work a little differently in Burning Wheel, albeit it is not insurmountable. As a rule, avoid sorcery - it may be implemented later, but even I don't fully understand the Burning Wheel mechanics of that kind of magic. Alchemy and similar pseudo-magic is still available.
Including some basic history about your character, such as parents' names and status and any traumatic, life-defining events will help you further define your character's personality. It is best to be vague here too; additional details can always be filled in later as your knowledge of the game world grows. You will also need to decide where in the world your character resides. Check the map for a list of provinces your character could be in. All of these facts should be recorded in a Character Sheet kept in the Character Repository forum, which you can continue to add to and update as your character grows and evolves.
Characters begin with a set of skills and traits determined by their lifepaths. Furthermore, resources may be used to buy property (e.g. a cottage), relationships (typically NPCs that will have an impact on your character's story), gear (included clothes and shoes - don't forget them!), affiliations (your connection to other groups), and reputations (both positive and negative). Few, if any, characters will begin with nothing. You are free to describe the gear that you have, as long as it matches what you purchased - if you bought a shoddy sword, it won't look like an expertly crafted king's weapon.
Please be sure to list all chosen items and abilities from your starting package in your Character Sheet so that you, other players, and moderators can keep track of what your character currently owns or knows. These lists should be continually updated as your character is roleplayed and changes.
Finally, Burning Wheel allows you to pick Beliefs and Instincts: Beliefs should be viewed as goals, and if you don't have any great ideas for them, that's okay - you can make new beliefs for each adventure you're involved in. Good beliefs have a strong foundation, with the goal changing ever so slightly throughout a campaign (a series of adventures), as your character either moves closer to achieving or failing their beliefs/goals.
Instincts are essentially "If-Then" statements that carry a lot of weight with them, but are always optional for the player to exercise, for example "Always draw my sword when I meet a rival" means that it will be a lot harder for your rivals to catch you off-guard (they'd basically have to catch you without a weapon, or without you noticing them!), as you will have your sword in hand long before other players do. But remember, a good roleplayer can even use their instincts against themselves - while arguing your case before a judge, a rival enters: Do you follow your instincts and draw your sword, risking the ire of the court, or do you repress your instincts?
Roleplay
You are now ready to make your first post! First, review the "Map" and the "Provinces and Holdings" to decide where geographically your character might be. Note some regions are dominated by certain races or cultures to start with, and that this may change as the game progresses. Then, find the corresponding forum in game. Start a new thread there using the announcement at the top of the forum to your thread in the appropriate season and year, and begin your adventure!
Threads are almost always interactive, whether between player characters or through moderation, or both. Moderation involves a third-party staff member that will create environments, roleplay non-player characters, and determine the results of players' outcomes in threads.
Please note that because this is a Birthright game, your character's impact on the world is limited by the rules in place. Regents, whether yourself or other players, may shape the world by growing (or sacking!) provinces, increasing their power in the world through their holdings, wage wars, conduct diplomacy, and even go adventuring themselves. As a new player, don't worry too much about that for now, but if you are interested in playing a regent, you should be sure to contact one of the staff. And don't worry - every turn/season, your character will have the opportunity to start or join an adventure that will impact more than just their personal story!
Happy playing!
(Credit goes to the Aelyrians who wrote similar guides first: Kaelon, Ragman, Jacob and Charybdis)