1. Begin with questions

[Nirenai]

Hello all :)
Starting with questions is the quickest way to becoming good right? So here it is, before I even make a character I would like to know:

Is fighting a must? In other words, can level and story progression only be achieved by fighting and killing, or can it be something else? Like...cooking for example.

Is it okay to use other writers ideas in your own writing? Do I need their permission first?
(Osato's (http://http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=207) race, the Soulless, is kinda interesting, more than the standard ones anywho.)

Can there be more than one familiar per character? I was thinking of creating a gypsy kind of band of traveling 'nomads' and thats a lot of people... There would only be one main character, of course, others would just form her background and home.

Before I started writing this post I had a lot of questions but I cant seem to remember them at the moment. Later perhaps..

Have fun,
Nirenai

[Taskmienster]

~Fighting is NOT mandatory, in fact anything you want to do is completely possible. I have a character, Ranger, who actually mined for ore in quests. No fighting took place, just a simple thread trying to get money. Lol. So, you can pretty much do whatever it is you want for a plot line and for your quest.

~Being the creator of Osato, yes that's one of my characters, I give you full rights to use the idea if you'd like. Normally, it's best to ask the person that the idea comes from in regards to use for your own character. If you can't get ahold of them, since a lot of us have other characters, or they are no longer on the site I'd suggest using the idea but giving them credit for it. Don't use their characters, or ruin their storyline, but in all honesty since we use liquid time and people can do what they will... I figure that nothing you can do can't just simply be ignored if it goes against what the person with the original idea came up with.

~A group of people has been done before by a couple people. In my opinion it's not the most simplistic of things to write, but often a very good way to have permanent NPC's that help our your character. If you want you can put them in the profile when it gets approved and write up a short, or condensed bio on them so that people that join your thread will know who they are and what to expect.

Hope that helps!

[Nirenai]

Helps a lot, thank you :)

Congratz on Osato! I didnt read all of it, but what I have is very interesting. Especially the race idea and the Soulless being asexual (how do they reproduce btw?)

I will take some time to make up the storyline, and read up on the story that already exists.

So far I like it all! :D

[Paranoia Agent]

also question:

this is probably pretty obvious, although never directly stated anywhere -

The Submit Thread for Judging button is meant to be pressed at the conclusion of an IC thread, right?

and whats the rules for being in multiple threads in different regions, like if I was in Corone, and then had another thread in some other place, would I need a thread for transportation first, or could the transportation just happen behind the scenes as long as I set up a timeline for it?

[Christoph]

First question: Yes, once your thread is complete, you submit it.

Second question: That is called Liquid Time, and is fine. Just make sure you determine where in your character's overall storyline each quest takes place. For example, you have a quest in Corone going on at the same time as a quest in Salvar (that actually takes place a few months later in game time).

[Taskmienster]

The way the race reproduces is somewhat complicated... lol. It was a means of two people who are attracted to each other, though without a soul I'm not sure where the metaphysical aspect of emotions derives from, those two normally stay together. The race is asexual, so supposed homosexuality is ignored, simply because the fact that attraction between those who "appear" to be of the same sex doesn't apply. This is my description from Osato's level 0 profile:

A soulless being is ‘spawned’, humans refer to it as created or born because it makes them feel more comfortable with it. Because the soulless beings are neither male nor female, yet sometimes take the appearance as one or the other as they age, they do not reproduce as normal humanoids. There is no intercourse involved with soulless. Instead, they have a mutual transferal of genetic material between two beings. Through locking bodies while nude, hugging basically, they transfer their genetic make-up (there very structure) to one another.

The window for this form of creation occurs only once a year for soulless beings, and only for three months. If the two soulless, both within their time frame for recreation, are successful they form a ‘pod’ on their abdomens (only one of the two, and it isn’t normally known which one until the pod begins to form). To most it looks like the soulless is pregnant, just like a human, and if one looked at the stomach area without clothing covering it they would not be able to tell otherwise. However, after a 5 month gestation period the pod is loosed from the host and must be placed within the respective area’s (Raiaera, Corone’s costal islands, or Haidia) within a moon’s cycle or it will wither and die.

Once placed in the select area the pod will further develop, undisturbed by other pods and must not be contacted by anything besides another soulless. (The reason for that is yet unknown). After a full year of change and development the pod is broken, and it releases a new soulless entity. This entity will have the marks of the two ‘parent’ soulless beings that helped create it. It will be of a maturity equal to a ten year old human, and within 15-20 years it will mature into an adult.

The reason for the three specific locations is unknown, even to the soulless. There is a ‘drawing’ as the soulless have described it, which pulls them to the places, and a certain calm that surrounds them when they enter the areas.

http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=207

If you'd like help with anything feel free to contact me via IM or PM and I'll help you out with any questions regarding soulless. Plus, another one by someone I don't know just might spark my interest in him again! hahaha

[Nirenai]

So much to read! O.o

Is there anyplace I missed with general info on the world (maps, race descriptions, main storyline,...)?
That would reeeally help a lot :P

[Taskmienster]

Umm... not sure. What info I had was basically for my own, and a close friends, use. So anything that didn't seem to fit was mostly due to the fact that we just talked it out between us and didn't really post more of it...

I didn't really have a map, just a small description of the islands chain along the Corone coastline, and stuff about the island Osato was from. As for the main storyline, it was a war between the two islands mostly, but that was ignored since Osato was more a merc that was wandering Althy.

[Nirenai]

Another question :)

How do guns and other non orthodox items and characters fit in Althanas?
How can 'future' weapons be equal to swords and such?

[Tainted Bushido]

Another question :)

How do guns and other non orthodox items and characters fit in Althanas?
How can 'future' weapons be equal to swords and such?

That's really the question. As a rule of thumb, advanced technology such as force fields and guns are technically not allowed. Now, we had someone futuristic that used a force field as a kind of breastplate, which was acceptable as he made the field as strong as a metal tier.

However, projectile weaponry is limited to bows and crossbows at character creation. The only guns that MIGHT get through reg are those that are damaged beyond functionality, as then you have the option of repairing it and asking for it as a quest spoil.

That has been the stance of the Realm of Greeting (RoG for short) since I picked it up from Valentina Snow, and gave it to Cyrus the Virus, who then gave it to Witchblade, and until she's back to say otherwise, back to me.

[Serilliant]

Is there anyplace I missed where general info on the world (maps, race descriptions, main storyline,...)?
That would reeeally help a lot :P

You can find a lot of general information in the Rules (http://althanas.com/world/faq.php) section, specifically inside the Althanas Almanac (http://althanas.com/world/faq.php?faq=althanasalmanac), which gives detailed information about each of the continents and the races, storylines, and structure of each. You can also find a world map and maps of each of the continents there.

Good luck!