On this page, you will find the answers to a variety of questions that new players often have. If you have a question that is not answered here, just post it in the relevant forum.
Click on a question to jump directly to its answer.
ow do I play?
First, you should know that this is a play-by-post RPG, not a video game. If you do not know what a play-by-post RPG is, please refer to the next question.
In order to play, you must first create a character. For more details regarding this, take a look at the Character Creation page. When your character is completed and approved, you may then look for a story to join and start playing.
hat is a play-by-post RPG?
A play-by-post RPG is a roleplaying game that is conducted on a message board. In such games, you play by posting your character's actions and reactions on the message board.
s this game played with a dice and point system?
No, this is a free-form RPG, so we do not have a point system. Your character gains skills, experience, and knowledge through your roleplaying as you might through living your life. If you are unfamiliar with free-form roleplaying, you could think of it as telling a story (in fact 'stories' is how we normally refer to our games), with each player writing about a different character.
hat do all these terms (CD, CCM, OOC, etc.) found throughout the RPG Board mean?
On this board, you might come across some unusual abbreviations and terminology. Some of these are common roleplaying jargon, others are more or less unique to this site. Here's a selection of the most important terms for your reference, along with their meanings:
RPG, RP, RPer
Roleplaying Game, Roleplay, Roleplayer
Story
One of the roleplaying games on this board
CD
Character Description
Titled
Approved (when referring to characters)
OOC
Out of Character
IC
In Character
AWN
Away Without Notification
Brick
Large block of unbroken text that contains more than one paragraph. Should be avoided to make reading easier.
Uri-Check
A in-depth check of a CD involving insertion of comments (usually in coloured text) into a copy of the original text. Named after the Santharian member Uragel.
oes this RPG take place in Middle Earth?
No, this RPG is set in the world of Caelereth (of which Santharia is a part of), and is unique to it. The world is still in development by fantasy enthusiasts. If you are interested in helping to further flesh out the world, take a look at the Development Board.
’m not titled/approved yet, can I still roleplay?
No. Being titled means that your character has been approved and does not contradict the world the RPG takes place in. Titles are also your way of describing your character in a few words, and a quick reference to others. So it is a must to be titled before you can start to play in stories.
ow do I make a character?
You will need to write up a Character Description (CD), and post it in the Character Description forum at the RPG Board. The Character Description Moderators, and Administrators will then check the character to make sure it is not overpowered and fits into the world of Caelereth. If no problems are found you will be given a title of your choice after which you may begin to play. For more details regarding character creation, please refer to the Character Creation page.
s it absolutely necessary to post a Character Description?
Yes. The Character Description Moderators and Administrators need to check the Character Description for mistakes and to make sure that it fits into Caelereth and is not overpowered. Character Descriptions also serve as references for other players, so they know what the character they are interacting with is like. Also, you cannot just pop out from nowhere and join a story. Moderators will delete any posts in roleplaying threads from people that have not been titled and tried to roleplay anyway.
ow long does it take to get titled/approved?
It varies. In general the better your CD is, the faster it will get approved. But if your Character Desciption has major problems that need to be fixed it might take a little longer. Titles are not first come first serve; character that were posted after yours may be approved first if nothing is found to be wrong with them or if the problems are fixed more quickly. Also remember that the Moderators and Administrators have lives too, so it might take a while for them to get to you. Please be considerate.
hat sort posts are inappropiate?
Anything that may be considered obscene or offensive is inappropiate here, and this includes excessive swearing. A bit of leeway may be given in roleplaying posts, but one should still keep things tasteful. Also, absolutely no advertisements are allowed.
Excessive use of emoticons is often considered annoying as well. Please do not make posts filled with long strings of emoticons.
ow do I get into a story?
First, you should make sure that the story you are interested in joining is accepting players. If it is, you should then ask the story's Moderator for permission to join. How to do that varies. Some stories specify a place to post joining requests in; for those that do not, it would normally be alright to do so in their OOC thread, or by contacting the Moderator directly. It is then up to the Moderator to decide whether you are allowed to join the story or not.
an I create my own story? How do I create my own story?
You may create your own story, but usually not right after you are approved. To do so, you should first post a proposal in the Roleplay Questions and Story Creation forum with a basic plot outline. If the plot seems sound and enough people express interest in joining the story, you should then send a more detailed plot outline to the Administrators, which should includeall major plot points, even the 'secret' ones that you do not wish to share with the players. This is so that the Administrators can make sure that everything fits with the world of Caelereth. After the Administrators have approved of the story, they will create a story forum for it. You may then begin to set up your story.
For more details regarding story creation, please refer to the Story Creation page.
an I kill another player's character?
No. The exception is if you and the the player's permission to do so. In all other cases, you may not kill another player's character.
an I kill any Non-Playing Character (NPC) that I feel like killing?
No. Some NPCs are essential to the story, and killing them will disrupt it. If you wish to kill an NPC, make sure you ask the Story Moderator whether you could do it first. Killing NPCs without the Moderator's permission is not allowed.
y post or part of my post was deleted. What happened?
Posts are not normally modified or deleted without a good reason. This might be because it was inappropiate, or had broken some other rule. In the Character Description forum, posts are sometimes also edited by the CD Moderators or Administrators in order to change their posticons.
ow do I get a Moderator to help me?
If you are looking for help regarding character creation, contact information for the Character Description Moderators are available at the Contacts page. You could also post in the relevant forum, depending on what exactly you need help with.
For issues regarding a specific story, you can post in the story's OOC thread, or contact the Story Moderator directly. The Moderator's contact information should be available somewhere in the story's forum; where exactly depends on the story.
an I have more than one character? Can I have more than one character in a story at the same time? Can my character be in more than one story at a time?
Yes, you may have more than one character. However, you will need to a different account for each of your characters.
A character can be in more than one story at a time, provided stories are not set in the same time. As for having more than one character in the same story, that is up to the story's Moderator to decide. In both cases, you should make sure you are able to manage playing all the characters. There is no point in getting multiple characters actively involved in stories if you only have time to properly play one.
yh can't I log in? Why doesn't the RPG Board remember that I'm logged in?
To solve this problem you need to know a bit about how a message board works. So here's a little explanation: Once you log in with your username and password, the board stores a "cookie" at your computer. Unfortunately this is nothing you can eat, but it helps the board to identify you when you open the role playing board again, even if you've turned your computer off for a while. If the cookie is there with your information, message board knows immediately who was in front of the computer the last time and can restore your settings.
If the cookie cannot be stored on your computer, then it would so happen that the board "forgets" that you're logged in. And if you're not logged in, you also won't find, eg. an "Modify" link at your own post. Often cookies cannot be stored on your computer due to the fact that your privacy settings (eg. at Options at Internet Explorer) are set to a rather high level (see slider on the picture below). That's ok, as a higher security prevents your computer from unwanted pop-up windows, viruses, etc. Unfortunately if the privacy is set to medium or higher, storing of cookies is not possible anymore - for all sites you open, including those for which would need to store cookies to work properly.
To solve the problem you can either a) move the slider to a lower level (not recommended as this reduces your security level in general) or b) simply define exceptions for certain pages/sites you deem trustworthy. For Internet Explorer, locate and click on the "Tools" menu, which is just to the left of "Help" at the very top right. This will open a menu with many options. Within this menu, locate and click on "Internet Options" at the bottom of the menu, which will produce the "Internet Options" window. Within this window, locate and click on the "Privacy" tab, which will be the third from the left, the window contents will change showing an upper box with a slider and three buttons, and a lower box with a single button:
Now in order to allow the message board to store your user cookie do the following: Click on the button in the lower box, labeled "Edit", and the "Per Site Privacy Actions" window will appear (see below). In the box labeled "Address of Web site" enter "santharia.com" and click the "Allow" button on the right, and your problem will be solved, without reducing your general security settings. You can add other trustworthy sites too of course, with which have similar problems.
hy can't I edit my own posts? There is no "Modify" link at my own posts!
Actually, this is the same problem as described above ("Why can't I log in? Why doesn't the RPG Board remember that I'm logged in?"), so for more details read here.
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