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--- guide:introduction [2016/05/06 18:49] – [A basic introduction of gameplay] osakanone
+++ guide:introduction [2017/03/22 21:35] – moved story text to my sandbox luca
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 ====== New Players' Guide ======
-Welcome to Wandering Star Role Play! This article has the basic steps and info you'll need to participate. Please read it thoroughly.
+{{ :location:york_viewingobnull.png?400|}}
-===== Setting Overview =====
+|"//What are the stars but points in the body of God where we insert the healing needles of our terror and longing?//"\\ - Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow\\ \\ "//What's so far-fetched about mermaids? There's all kinds of weird sea creatures here in the future, like Dr. Zoidberg!//"\\ Philip J. Fry, Futurama, //The Deep South// [S2E12] |
-//Earth is just too small and fragile a basket for mankind to keep all its eggs in.
-— attributed to Robert A. Heinlein - [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_A._Heinlein]]//
+**Welcome to Wandering Star Role Play!** This article has the basic steps and info you'll need to get up to speed. It includes a primer on the state of the universe, how to create a character, how to find a plot and join the community, and how roleplaying occurs.
-Earth was a long time ago. Perhaps as far from us now as the first recorded history is from now, but we have no way of knowing. Time and time again, humanity has been cast down to the dust to lift itself and begin anew - by war, plagues and occupation. The Earth itself is a legend and now too, the dimension it occupied as we leave it behind. But humanity survives, as distant travelers with new homes and new colonies as familiar to them and as home to them as Earth is to us.
+Take your time if you feel overwhelmed or lost - maybe look at the relaxing scenery, grab a cup of tea, and smell the breeze for a bit. If you want, we have some [[/inspiration|recommended media]] for your consumption. Wandering Star's Game Masters and community feel the things listed reflect the setting's style and elements.
-Technology has advanced in strange directions and our fundamental understanding of reality has changed. Gravity, high energy weapons, faster than light travel, the transmutation of the mind into information and a means of taking energy from space itself, but not without consequence.
+===== How To Play =====
+Like a classic text-based roleplaying game, or tabletop game like [[wp>dungeons and dragons|D&D]] or [[wp>gurps|GURPS]], you and other players create characters living in the persistent universe of Wandering Star. Your imagination defines the traits and thoughts of your character, and their actions and words define their future - via collaboratively written stories posted to a forum.
-We have escaped a world not unlike the one we have described to you and venture forth into something strange and new in exodus, exile, abandon and loss. The remains of civilizations which arose in this strange place begin anew at peace.
+The outcomes of these tales could potentially affect the setting for future players - woven by plots which grow together; They leave behind new discoveries, technologies, revelations, mirth, heartbreak, and with the right sort of attitude: //History//. But don't lose your head - Wandering Star is a strange and dangerous place! misfortune, calamity, and death could await the unwary!
-There are however threats to that peace; lawlessness, civilizations unmet, aliens incomprehensibly strange and most frightening of all, ourselves.
+Roleplaying is a form of communication between its **Players** and their **Game Master**((Also called a Storyteller.)), if present; It boils down to using the forum to write posts, or writing dialogue together over a chat program and pad, and posting them on the [[https://forum.wanderingstar.online|forums]].
-===== A basic introduction of gameplay =====
+These stories often take place in colonies, towns, cities, spacecraft, space stations, starships, or may move from place to place over known and unknown locations. It is important that you should read up into the background of the kind of character you want to play and to get a sense of how the nations and entities within the setting work to determine which plot you feel would best suit you, the kind of story you want to be part of and the kind of character you want to play.
-Like classic text-based roleplay, you and other players create your dcharacters who then live in the universe of Wandering Star. Your imagination defines the actions of your character and that action and their dialog defines their future in collaborative stories which affect the setting for future players.
-Roleplay comes in many shapes and forms: Commonly beginning with a roleplay thread that acts as a string unifying the sequential events of a given sub-story within the setting and can be thought of an episode. Following the first 'episode' of content, a story can be given a sub-forum which can be thought of as a 'show' within the setting.
+Before we get onto that however, let's illustrate how Roleplaying happens on the site:
-These stories are often on starships, or may move from place to place over known locations and unknown locations. It is important that you should read up into the background of the kind of character you want to play and to get a sense of how the nations and entities within the setting work to determine which plot you feel would best suit you, the kind of story you want to be part of and the kind of character you want to play.
 ==== Styles of Participation ====
-Other methods of roleplay do also exist, but detailed below are the methods most used:
+Other methods of roleplay do also exist, but detailed below are the methods most used here on Wandering Star:
 === Joined Post ===
-The posts two or more players make are conjoined with direct interaction in a chat or pad. In this way, these collections of players can rapidly produce a very complex scene or very personal interactions. These are often very intimate and emotional moments in roleplay.
+| **Players:** 2 to 4\\ **Requires:** Forum account, Wiki access/account, online asynchronous text pad((Wandering Star Online recommends using [[http://publishwith.me/|PublishWith.me]].))\\ **Optional:** Chat program((Wandering Star has a [[https://discord.gg/4YqWqVJ|Discord Server]]. Join up today, and introduce yourself!)) |
+| **++** Reads like a short story or novella when completed.\\ **++** Very close knit, and intimate.|
+| **!!** Can serve as a catalyst for an ongoing plot, with one of the participants acting as the Game Master.\\ **!!** Players write and edit dialogue/actions together.|
+| **--** Requires players to have agreeable timezones/scheduling.\\ **--** Does not scale well with more players. |
+The posts two or more players make are conjoined with direct interaction, over a chat program or pad, and edited for readability and punctuation. In this way, these collections of players can rapidly produce a very complex scene, or very personal interactions. These are often very intimate and emotional moments in roleplay. This makes them suitable for the prologues of plots, as they can afford to be detailed to set the scene and tone.
+Joined Posts require the participating players to organise a scheduling arrangement to meet up and write together. An agreeable timezone arrangement helps immensely, but it is not unheard of for players from different timezones to make do. Otherwise, leaving replies on a pad until to work asynchronously until completion is possible.
 === Sequential Post ===
-Posts which come one after another and contain only a single player and their characters. In this way, players who can't normally be online at the same time can post and then have others see their post and respond. More public and less intimate, sequential posts are ideal for moving something forward for players with busy schedules or different timezones.
+|**Players:** 2 to 12\\ **Requires:** Forum account, Wiki access/account\\ **Optional:** Chat program((Wandering Star has a [[https://discord.gg/4YqWqVJ|Discord Server]]. Join up today, and introduce yourself!)), as there is usually an OOC thread for discussion. |
+|**++** Format lends itself well to long term, episodic plots.\\ **++** Asynchronous posting playerbase possible.\\ **++** Possible for new players to join and begin participating quickly.|
+|**!!** Run and told by a Game Master/Storyteller\\ **!!** GM acts, posts non-player character actions and events\\ then players react reply with character actions and dialogue.|
+|**--** Possible for players to drop out unexpectedly.\\ **--** Lots of players can mean lots of work for a Game Master. |
+Posts which come one after another and contain only a single player and their characters. In this way, players who can't normally be online at the same time can post and then have others see their post and respond. More public and less intimate, sequential posts are ideal for moving something forward for players with busy schedules or different timezones. Sequential Post plots generally follow a format:
+  - Game Master makes a post with events and non-player character actions.
+    *  This includes the introduction, which draws player characters together and sets the scene.
+  - Players post their character's responses to the above, and to other characters.
+  - Game Master reads player responses, dictates their outcomes with further events and non-player actions.
+  - Repeat until suitable conclusion is reached. Then, start another episode.
+No matter what happens though, the Players and Game Master generally have a vested interest to enjoy what they are doing together.
+=== Messages ===
+|**Players:** 1 or more\\ **Requires:** Forum account, Wiki access/account\\ Can behave similarly to Joined or Sequential Posts |
+|**++** Ideal for news broadcasts, announcements, social networking, and trade conducted in-character.\\ **++** Asynchronous of plot, and can be used for plot devices. |
+|**??** Basically, a forum within a forum, if that makes sense.|
+Messages are communications made in character, which can be result of or a cause for a plot. They can be written by one person representing an organisation, company, or character; But messages can also behave as **Joined Posts** or **Sequential Posts** are described above for social interactions or trade. Messages which can appear in Wandering Star Online can include, but are not limited to:
+  * Broadcasts from news networks
+  * Announcements from government, territory, or local agencies
+  * A character's actions on a social media network
+  * A phone call made outside of a plot
+  * A private bulletin or edict within an organisation
+  * The outcome of a game played between friends
+  * Advertising material or promotions
+  * The contents of a document or in-character book
+  * A television show or an excerpt from a movie
+  * A distress signal
+  * Job openings
+  * Government propaganda
+  * An interaction with a government agency
+  * Trade, such as between a character and a vendor, an auction, or offers to sell goods and services locally
+  * Strange sounding alien gibberish from an unknown source
+==== How to start a Plot ====
+To get a plot started, Wandering Star has a place, which acts as a rallying call and springboard: The [[https://forum.wanderingstar.online/forums/roleplay-request.27/|Roleplay Request forum]]. A game master, storyteller, or player posts a thread which acts as a pitch, and most importantly: Looking for other players to join in.
+Players then reply with their interest, bring forward character ideas, and ask questions. It is possible for the planning and brainstorming to take place beyond the thread, such as in a chatroom like [[https://discord.gg/4YqWqVJ|Wandering Star's Discord]].
+Once the Game Master and/or players signal they are ready to start, the Game Master/Players work on an introduction post, and places it in the [[https://forum.wanderingstar.online/forums/side-stories.3/|Side Stories]] forum. This post may be written ahead of time by the GM to get //just right//. The post's topic string has a ''[Name Tag]'' to distinguish which plot it is, and a name. It is written as ''[Name Tag] - Story Name''.
+This prologue post acts as the beginning of the sequence of events of a given sub-story within the setting and can be thought of an **Episode**. Following the first episode or prologue of content, the story can be given a sub-forum, which can be thought of as a show or adventure within the setting. An OOC thread may be made and stickied by the Game Master((Who is granted moderator privileges for the new forum, as part of becoming a Game Master.)) for the purposes of sharing or specific information or for player chat.
+After that, it's just a matter of making more episodes until the plot reaches a suitable finish. Completed or inactive stories may request to be archived by Game Master or players.