(This is a thread from Mizahar's fantasy role playing forums. Why don't you register today? This message is not shown when you are logged in. Come roleplay with us, it's fun!)
In this forum, users can ask questions of one another to work through issues. New players are encouraged to ask their questions here before they turn to the Help Desk or a storyteller.
After jumping into the game and being barred from a city, I asked myself what went wrong and how it went wrong. Most new players that start and don't start threads within a week tend to vanish. If you have players to eager to start problems are made because they are unaware. It makes things difficult on these players, and I was thinking after my horrible experience that they should make a single forum in which new players could interact with one another and then should a forum moderator or liaison could craft an adventure that sets them off to there starting city.
Another thought was a templet for players to post to find and group with people OOC that have similiar interests. I didn't see anything like that but it goes a long way, someone might want to dungeon crawl another might want to explore the jungles
You would have to talk to a founder for that, but I doubt they'd go for it. I understand what you are talking about, but it doesn't really make sense for Mizahar. You would have to explain why all these random inexperience people are in this one singular place, rather than in the cities they were born in. It really wouldn't make any sense IC.
Eclair - we don't need any of this, because we have a Starting Guide, lore pages for cities, and sometimes guides that Storytellers have made within their cities too. If you simply took the time to read before ploughing ahead you wouldn't have been banned from a domain in the first place. I think your idea is totally unnecessary. The reason you went wrong is because you didn't bother to read anything, or try to understand the game. This is an IC world built around a set story and lore. It isn't a freeform roleplay forum. The two are very different.
We're happy to help new players out -- they just have to help themselves by reading and learning, and then talking to Storyteller's if they want some sort of particular quest or such like. You make this sound like a major problem -- yet you're the only new player I've seen banned from a domain in their first few days, ever.
Every single person on the forum gets the same PM in their PM inbox. Just. Read. It. It explains all you need to know to get started RIGHT. Your behavior could have been prevented had you read the pm. The time you've spent rousing trouble and complaining could've been spent reading the all important pm that stops those things from happening! I'll even post it for you:
Hello New Player,
and welcome to Mizahar! This PM is a short guide to starting out in our community. All the information here (and much much more) can also be found in the Mizahar Lore. Since the Lore is so big, however, this PM is a good starting point for new players.
The first rule is: don't panic! There is a learning curve, but also plenty of help along the way.
Are you new to forum roleplaying? Click the button! :
Don't worry, we were all new at some point! It is a form of "collaborative storytelling", with each person controlling a player character (PC). You may want to read up on it here: Definitions and terminology. By far the best way to get a feel for the system is to read some actual story threads. We selected a few for your convenience:
An Open Table with Empty Chairs (Open) - this thread showcases interactions between the characters involved as they get to know each other. Threads like this are great for starting out and meeting other players. Note how the thread was marked "Open", meaning that the first player made it free to join. Private threads are tagged with the names of the invited people.
[Flashback] Starting a New Life - this is a "solo" thread in which the character learns more about a skill. A Storyteller (moderator) for that area "graded" the thread after it ended, approving it and granting Experience and Lores to the character (more on that later).
A refreshing excursion to the Wildlands - this is an adventure run and moderated by a Storyteller. Mods control the environment and describe the consequences of player actions. Moderated threads can be dangerous for a character, but can also yield rich rewards.
You picked a name and a race for your character when you registered. You can change your name at any time, and your race until you start playing. Remember that some names are forbidden: those taken from books, TV shows, movies, etc. ("Harry Potter"), as well as names of real-life personalities ("Benjamin Franklin") and real-life religious figures ("Buddha"). Mizahar is not Earth, and we are strictly original.
Editing your name and profile :
To change your username or password, go to User Control Panel -> Profile -> Edit account settings.
You can change your race from the Profile, as well. Remember this location as it is where you'll put a link to your character sheet when you have one.
This is a good time to start reading up on the Lore. How much information do you need? Well, you need at least enough to create a convincing character. The Starting guide is your friend here, and we recommend that you read it very carefully. It contains everything you need to set up a character, post a character sheet and start playing. Most of it involves coming up with an idea for your PC and then choosing a Starting package - his or her starting skills, knowledge and possessions.
Some things to remember when you create a background for your character.
Mizahar is a fantasy world that was almost totally destroyed 500 years ago by a cataclysm called the Valterrian.
It is a very dangerous world. The world population is merely 250,000. People cling together within a small number of fortified settlements. Traveling is hazardous. Strange monsters roam the lands. Imagine spending weeks without any trace of civilization around you - except the occasional slaver caravan!
Most fantasy cliches do not exist, including elves, dwarves, orcs, vampires, werewolves and demons. Mizahar has a very different feel from your average D&D-like world. You can play those everywhere. Here you can experience something different.
There are no 'nations' in modern Mizahar, only cities with some control over their immediate surroundings. Syliras is the largest city and the closest to civilization you will find on the continent.
What if you get stuck on your character concept? Your best bet is to ask the community! You can post in the Introductions forum to introduce yourself and ask questions while you're at it. Also, the Q&A exists for this. The fastest way to get answers is Chat. We pride ourselves on being a friendly and mature community, and chances are you will find someone with the answer.
You do not need anyone's approval to start playing. This is a firm belief of ours. However, if your character is not appropriate ("girl with a machine-gun") a staff member will post in your character sheet and ask you to edit before you can continue playing.
The Matchmaker forum - to find people to play with, e.g. "Looking for traveling companions".
BBcode listing - a list of codes you can use to make your posts prettier.
Help desk - to communicate with the Founders and ask for special permission (such as permission to start with a Gnosis mark).
Mizahar exists for the pleasure of its players and staff, so without new folks joining our community, we cannot grow and thrive. So please be reassured you are welcome here. Do not worry if you are new to roleplay or to our site's form of roleplay because there are people everywhere on the site willing to help you. Just remember, we work to maintain a friendly open community that strives to integrate creative writing with roleplay. So far, this is working well for us. We hope it works as well for you.
by Eclair on May 10th, 2012, 1:32 pm 
