Starting package
From Mizahar Lore
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This article is about a rule of the game. |
One of the most exciting things about starting a new roleplaying experience is creating a new character. A person who is brand new to the site should have arrived at this page at the direction of the Starting Guide. Players familiar with Mizahar will likely not need to read the starting guide, but a person completely new to Mizahar should read the Starting Guide before giving his or her PC a starting package. Starting packages are carefully explained below; they give a character all the equipment, tools, money, and skills they need to begin play within Mizahar's world.
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What is a starting package?
Each character in Mizahar starts out with a Starting Package. Starting packages are a highly customizable set of equipment, housing, coin, and skills that a player can pick for their character to help 'flesh them out' and make them more unique in the Mizaharian World. Since starting packages are put together by the player, they require no storyteller approval so long as you follow the guidelines below. If you need help, feel free to contact a Storyteller to give you some clarification, suggestions, or options if you feel a little lost. The Help Desk may be used if you have questions and aren't sure which Storyteller to contact. The best storyteller to ask for a Starting Package help is a Domain Storyteller (DS), one who is in charge of the domain your character is starting in. If no Domain Storyteller is assigned to the area in which the player wishes to start their character, then a Regional Storyteller (RS) will be glad to approve their Starting package.
Caution about starting packages
Please do not petition the Help Desk for additional items, skill points, or added bonus' when putting together your starting package due to your characters age, background, or situation. Remember, you as a player write the characters background and decide their age race and other factors. We, the Founders and Storytellers, do not. If your PC concept does not fit the current starting package option, please do not petition us via the Help Desk to have your Starting Package modified. Instead, consider modifying your character concept so the starting package makes sense. If you feel you need more skill points to reflect your characters background your only option is to write Flashback threads which will gain you XP in the past that will help reflect the Skillset you may want in the present.
Starting packages cannot be altered and no special permission will be given to have additional skills, items, or abilities added. All Starting Packages must conform to the rules outlined below.
What is the process of creating a Starting Package?
Once you have decided your character's basic information (name, race, gender, age, character concept, etc.), review the starting package options below and decide on housing and skills (the parts that are highly customizable). Then, once you've decided, set you up a Character sheet thread and jump right into game play!
The Starting Packages
Every Character automatically gets the following equipment, money, shelter, and skills. Once you decide on your starting package, you MUST create a Character Sheet to track your skills, money, and threadsn. Once this Character Sheet is posted, you are free to jump into the game and begin playing! Be sure to read the Skill Guide, The Starting Guide, and the Q&A if you are brand new and want as much information as possible before you begin.
Equipment
- 1 Set of Clothing (cloak & footwear included)
- 1 Waterskin
- 1 Backpack which contains:
- 1 Set of Toiletries (comb, brush, razor, soap)
- Food for a week or 1 bottle of embalming fluid (for Nuits)
- 1 eating knife
- Flint & Steel
Note: The Starting Package Equipment comes with common based attire which includes a set of pants, a shirt, a dress (if female in place of the pants and shirt), undergarments, common footwear (boots, sandals), and a cloak OR coat. Please see the Character Sheet Templates for more details.[1]
Family Heirloom
Player Characters often carry around things they inherit from their family members. An Isur might have his father's first dagger, while a Konti might have her mother's journal. Characters are free to pick one family heirloom (value no more than 50 gold mizas) and include it as a 'personal touch' in their starting package. These can be simple weapons, a favorite cloak, a set of calligraphy pens and ink, or perhaps a book or two. (Common quality books only). This could be a mother's wedding dress, or even a grandfather's beloved dog. Family heirlooms are as unique and varied as the characters that carry them around. The one hard and fast rule is that it should be personally meaningful to the character.
HEIRLOOM ITEMS CANNOT BE MAGICAL OR MAGECRAFTED IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM. PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GET MAGECRAFTED OR MAGICAL ITEMS APPROVED. THESE THINGS ALSO INCLUDE ITEMS WITH GNOSIS MARKS ON THEM SUCH AS HOLY SYMBOLS OR WEAPONS. BOOKS OR JOURNALS ON MAGIC OR MAGICAL NOTATION ARE CONSIDERED MAGIC ITEMS AND DEFINITELY AREN'T STARTING HEIRLOOMS.
Money
Main article: Money
Gemstones called Mizas are the most common form of currency throughout Mizahar. Mizas are lined with gold, silver, or copper. 1 gold mizas equals 10 silver mizas or 100 copper mizas. With 100 gold mizas, you will be able to buy a great deal of equipment and support yourself for a considerable amount of time within the game. Mizas are hard to come by, so spend them wisely unless your prepared to get a job to keep them coming in. Different regions use different money, so feel free to read the Money page and switch out your mizas for regional money if , for instance, you are starting in Falyndar and want to have Bikka, the local form of money, instead. Note if wishing to purchase books with starting money, only Common quality books are available.
- 100 gold rimmed mizas
Housing
Each character starts out with a rudimentary form of shelter. Some PCs will want an actual cottage or equivalent in a city of their choice, other PCs might rather have a means of living anywhere and travel. Each option (the city dweller or the roaming wanderer) is roughly equivalent in value to the other one, though PCs can only choose one of the two options. If your PC does not require shelter, you may 'cash in' shelter for 500 gold rimmed mizas and add that to your money total. Feel free to see the Price list for an explanation of the gear. Please note, 'cottage' is a loose term. Depending on where you start, this could be a 400 square foot space in a cave, a suite of rooms in Stormhold Castle, or even a cute little beach bungalow on Konti Isle.
- 1 basic 20x20 single room cottage (400 sq feet) with a hearth, bunk, chest, chair, and small table. Sometimes these 'cottages' are apartments or barracks depending on the city.
or...
- 1 large tent (4 person), large tarp, 100 ft of rope, flint & steel, lantern, 2 torches, bedroll, blanket, fishing tackle & hooks, a riding horse, a full set of tack, and a large set of saddlebags. See Horses for the breed of mount you want to pick. However, keep your horse value right around 200 gm or less, which excludes Sungolds and Tiaden Warhorses. If you trade in your horse and its tack plus Saddlebags, you can subtract 250 GM total. So it is possible to take a tent package without a horse which makes sense in some places like Syka. If you do own a horse, please have riding to at least competent. If you live out of a tent in the wilds (which is not encouraged) please have at least a Wilderness Survival skill at competent.
or...
- Svefra characters have an option for a starting package available to only them. Rather than a home or tent/horse package, they can indeed start with a small casinor and its equipment. Ships don't automatically come with a mounted harpoon. Harpoons for casinors cost 50 GM extra and can fire 160 feet. Bolts cost 1 GM for a bundle of 10 bolts. These are equivalent to a heavy crossbow mounted to the bow. Svefra should take sailing with enough points in the skill to be competent to sail their casinor.
or...
- Starting in Syliras, please note that your starting package does not include a cottage; instead, it includes a 20x20 apartment with the furniture listed in the Housing section. As it is the cheapest housing available, the apartment is situated deep within the interior of Stormhold Citadel and does not include any windows, only ventilation shaft to bring in fresh air. Each hallway is lined with torches which are kept lit at all hours of the day, allowing for light and giving residents free access to something to light their hearth from. A diagram is included below:
Skills
Main article: Skill Guide
Each character has a history that should be written down and developed prior to or relatively soon after beginning play. Depending upon the character's background, they might indeed enter the game with a certain group of skills. In order to recognize the fact that a character has a past, Mizahar grants new PCs 50 skill points that can be applied to any skill (trade, weapons, magic) that a player might wish to give to their character.
Mizahar does not have a hard and fast list of skills. There is a list of skills that have been developed and/or regularly used that can serve as a guideline. However, there are a near-infinite number of skills that a PC could use that have not been developed or used previously (think snake charming, or wheelbarrow construction, or parrot breeding). If you would like to assign your PC this kind of unique skill, feel free to do so. Just follow the skill point rules listed below, and be sure to record what you take on your character sheet.
There are a few simple rules for the use of the 50 beginning points. A new PC can only have a minimum of 5 points or a maximum of 30 points in any one skill (e.g. Sword, Riding(Horse), Reimancy, Blacksmithing). It is recommended that a new player spread out their PC's skill points in order to give their character a more well-rounded background. For example, a woodsman might have Wilderness Survival (20pts), Hunting (15pts), Long Bow (10pts), Bowing & Fletching (5pts). A basic fighter who likes to tell great stories might go a totally different route by splitting their points into Longsword (30pts), Brawling (10pts), Storytelling (10pts). You may not use your racial bonus points to boost a skill beyond 30 points in your starting package.
There is an almost unlimited amount of customization you can do with a starting package. The only skill that cannot be acquired in a starting package is that of Gnosis (god granted divine Djed) - acquiring this skill must be roleplayed out in the game. In addition, if a skill has a prerequisite, such as Duel Wield (which requires a minimum 30 points in each weapon wielded), that prerequisite must be fulfilled before a skill that requires a prerequisite is taken. Prerequisites are listed in the wiki articles about specific skills.
Always list your skills on your Character Sheet in Alphabetical Order. If you wish to divide them up into separate sections or tabbed sections as you get more proficient with our code, ONLY DIVIDE THEM UP INTO NOVICE, COMPETENT, EXPERT, or MASTER. Anything other forms of division will result in your threads not being eligible for grading.
Lores
Main article: Lore
Each player can start off with two lores. The term Lore depicts accumulated facts, traditions, or beliefs about a particular subject. This subject, in general, is very specific and doesn't fit into the traditional skill groups because its truly not a buildable skill in the sense that as you know more about the knowledge, you get better at something. Lore knowledge is just simple knowledge that is somewhat unchanging and does little to effect your skill. Lore cannot be trained and built upon like a traditional skill. Usually lores are very specific. For example, if a person has a painters background, they might have a lore which indicates they know how to mix paint. Hence their lore would be: Lore - Creation/Mixing of Paint. Perhaps a PC's parents were auctioneers and that PC was constantly being taken from one auction to another as a child. That PC would then have a specific lore involving that fact: Lore - Managing Auctions. Lores are so vast and broad scale that it would be impossible to list the possibilities for Mizahar. Instead, be creative and build on your characters background and experiences.
Gnosis
Main article: Gnosis
Gnosis marks CANNOT be taken as part of starting packages unless you acquire special permission via the Help Desk. Special Permission will only be rapidly granted for specific Gods that have a tendency to grant Gnosis Marks prior to birth or at a characters early age. Other forms of Gnosis may be applied for via the Help Desk, but they must be applied for with a story that clearly outlines how the PC got the attention of the deity and the events surrounding them acquiring a gnosis mark. In order to take a Gnosis Mark at start, you must have a Founder provide you with a Storyteller Secrets thread which you add to your profile. Characters who have reached the 50 post mark will not be considered for a starting gnosis as it is viewed that they have moved well beyond the 'new character' stage past 50 posts.
Languages
Your character starts off with three Languages: one at Fluent, one at Basic, and one at Poor. This means that they have one language as their native tongue, another which they don't know well but can communicate with, and another of which they only know a smattering of phrases. A complete list of what languages are spoken by what Race can be found on the Language Chart.
Changes to Starting Packages
Changes can only be made to starting packages if a PC has less than 50 posts total (regardless of whether they are IC or OOC posts). If a PC has used a skill or item that they acquired in their starting package they are not allowed to change those skills. Only unused Skills and Items can be changed prior to the 50 post mark.
Final Notes
Because we allow users to craft their own starting packages (though the Storytellers would be GLAD to help if anyone needs some direction), people might occasionally make mistakes in using points (Using too many? Not using enough?). Since your starting package is listed on your Character sheet, which is a public record, a storyteller may nudge you (via a PM) and let you know if they see an error on your character sheet. Don't worry! This happens, and so long as the situation is corrected, there's nothing to be concerned about.