Thread Guide

From Mizahar Lore

Mizahar is a play by post game system. Many people find play by posts games confusing to understand at first due to lack of exposure or inexperience. Luckily, Mizahar’s system is easy to learn and even easier to understand once a new player is given a few basic definitions and shown a few examples. This wiki page endeavors to clear up as much confusion as possible and carefully explain what Mizahar’s setup is.

If you’ve ever experienced a bulletin board system or a fan site forum, odds are Mizahar’s system isn't that strange to you. Mizahar is organized in a very specific manner.

Contents 1 The OOC Forums 2 The IC Forums 3 Additional Information 4 Posting 5 Threads 6 Types of Threads 7 Disruption To Threads

The OOC Forums

First and foremost, Mizahar is set up in a series of both Out of Character (OOC) forums and In Character (IC) forums. These forums are easily defined. The game is divided into OOC forums and IC forums. The OOC forums are designed to provide help, discussion, and organization in support of the IC forums.

The OOC Forums include:

• News Around The Campfire (Game Announcements)
• Introductions (where everyone says ‘Hello’ that’s new)
• Discussions (both on topic and off topic OOC discussion, Q&A)
• Resources (Character Sheets, Character Toolbox, Storyteller Toolbox, Staff Lounge, Consortia, Writer’s Workshop, Storyteller’s Secrets, Aesthetics and Design, Storyteller’s Offices)*
• World Development (Where you the player gets to add new things to the game)
• Help Desk

The IC Forums

The IC forums are all the places that actual roleplay takes place on Mizahar. The roleplay areas are divided up into geographic regions (see world map) and then list all the domains in that region under its own forum. Each ‘domain’ has its own forum associated with it. A domain can be any established location in the Mizahar World such as a city, wilderness area, an ocean, or even a range of mountains. Almost any set location (and some that move!) has its own domain and subsequent forum. You can find a list of domains organized by their in-game regional location here. All stories told upon Mizahar are set’

The IC Forums include:

The Sylira Region

Akvatari Isle

• Abura

Konti Isle

• Mura

The Taldera Region

The Cyphrus Region

The Falyndar Region

The Kalea Region

The Eyktol Region

Elsewhere

• The Suvan Sea

Additional Information

If one has read this far by now, certainly the core setup behind Mizahar is a bit clearer.

The way we play is equally simple. A person interested in joining the Mizahar family must do two simple things. You must register an account name that becomes your character name and then create a character. Character creation is outlined in the Starting Guide which helps you step by step create a character, give them a background, and then give them all the things they get at beginning of play.

After you have your character, you then pick a place to begin (the City List page may be helpful) and start posting.

Posting

What is posting? At this point, perhaps we need a few more definitions.

A post is an entry placed in one of the forums submitted by a registered user which contains a piece of the story that player wishes to tell about their character. The post usually contains information like character name, avatar, time, date, and the body of the post which is the most important part. The body of the post contains specific details about an event of some type within a character’s life. The very first post in a series of posts is called a ‘starting post’ or original post. A collection of posts is called a thread. The person who posted a post can edit their post at any time for whatever reason, even to delete it. Rarely, if ever, does a singular post tell the whole story. Often, a whole series of posts is needed to complete the event. More than one person can post in a thread, contributing a wide variety of aspects to a singular story. This form of storytelling is called collaborative storytelling and is the heart of the play by post genre of rpgs and Mizahar itself.

Threads

What is exactly is a Thread?

A thread is a series of messages on the same topic all posted together in a single sequence. This sequence is called a thread. These posts can be created by all the same person (solo thread) or by a group of people (group thread) that take turns interacting with each other and responding to each other’s actions and reactions. Threads can even be created by a storyteller who ‘narrates’ the story (moderator thread) and then has a series of players (or just one) who respond to their narration, which all contributes to the story contained within a thread. Rarely, if ever, do the participants in a thread know what the outcome of the thread (and thus the story itself) will be. This is part of the excitement and enjoyment of collaborative storytelling. One never knows whats going to happen in a thread. The important thing to remember about a thread is that it tells a story. It has a definite introduction, body, and conclusion just like a short story would have. Each participant in a thread adds to the story of that thread and may cause that particular story to go any number of ways depending upon how all the participants in a story interact with each other and the narrator (if indeed the thread has a narrator). Threads make up the collective history of a player character all linked together. An easy way to view threads and posts is thusly. Threads are like short stories all made up of chapters or posts which contribute to their ebb and flow and eventual conclusion.

Types of Threads

• Social Thread: In this type of thread, two or more individuals storytell in a social setting. Often these take place at a bar, during a picnic, a chance encounter in a park, or even a walk along the beach. Social threads can be private or public, and often occur with two or more people.
• Training Thread: This is the type of thread in which a character or group of characters set about learning something.
• Solo Thread: This is a thread whereas a single individual is the only one posting in the thread. Solo threads are utilized in a wide variety of ways. They can be training threads, crafting threads, or even adventure threads. The single determining factor for a solo thread is that only one individual participates.
• Adventure Thread: In this thread, a single individual or group of individuals have an undertaking or enterprise of a hazardous nature. These can be about travel, seeking lost treasure, trying to contact a God, or just about anything.
• Flashback Thread: These are threads that take place far into the distant history of a character. Generally a character is remembering something taking place or experiencing life as a younger person. See Flashbacks for more details.
• Dream Thread: This is a surreal thread taking place in the Chavina in which the events depicted in the thread don’t actually happen. Instead, they only appear to happen in a dream state. Players can gain lores from dream threads just like normal threads.

Disruption To Threads

OOC threads in Mizahar do not usually suffer much disruption. However, in terms of IC threads, disruption is a serious situation. Here are a few guidelines to thread by.

• Do not post into IC threads without being invited. Open threads have an open invitation for any or all.
• Do not Hijack someone else's thread.
• No Spamming - "That's Cool", "Come play here....", "Nice work!" is all considered spam. One liners and brief posts that add nothing to the thread also are considered spam. Posting in someone else's journal, Character Sheet, or other forms of threads that are considered 'private' are also considered spam.

With a little common courtesy we can all play together nicely and get along great.