Getting Started - A Step by Step Guide to Otherworld

So you just got here. You're new. You're scared. It's crazy. There's information in like eight different places and you don't know what to read when. Everyone tells you it gets easier once you're used to it, but you're a child of the MTV generation and you want it to be easy now. Well, at long last, it is.

In addition to your good friends, the Guidelines and the FAQ, this guide will take the guesswork out of becoming a part of the Otherworld community.

First things first...

Read the Guidelines and the FAQ. While some stuff in the FAQ may be intuitive, reading the Otherworld 101 section is a must. You'll find the staff here happy to help out when you have questions, but they get less and less happy when you ask questions that you should have been able to find out for yourself.

Now that you've taken care of that, you're ready to start posting with your accounts. Yes, folks, that's plural! And you'd know why if you'd read the Guidelines. :P

Your Out-of-Game account, the one that represents you, is probably the first one that people will see. You're welcome to (but not required) post a little hello on the Introductions board or just dive on in with the chat in The Everything Else. This is also the account you'll probably use to browse the forum. I really encourage people to take a look at some of the existing storylines to get a feel for the type of stuff we do here.

Accidentally register with your character's name? Don't worry! Just send a private message to me and I'll change the name for you.

The next step belongs to your In-Game (IG) account...

Character Creation

Easy as pie. Just fill out the Profile Generator form, and then paste the formatted text into your post in The Debut. If you write slowly like I do, you might want to fill it out for the easy stuff first, and then past the text into a word document to work at at your leisure. That way, you have a backup in case your browser explodes.

One of the trickier elements of the profile creation is going to be your character's race. I always like to remind people that what's really important is not what your character is, but who your character is. But let's face it, we love Kelley's stuff because werewolves and vampires are cool. The bulk of us are going to want to play, or play with, one or more of the supernatural races. If you're playing a vampire, read up on vampires. If you're playing a vampire whose best friend is a witch, read up on vampires and witches. You don't have to know everything about every race, but you do need to be familiar with any race you're writing about. If something isn't clear on the races page, find the appropriate race discussion thread in the Storylines board and see if it's been answered there. If it hasn't, ask it! We're glad to help out, but this board is set in Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld, and her rules tend to be different than some others that we may be familiar with. It's important to know what you're dealing with when you decide to play a race.

If you're reading this, you're probably about to embark on creating your first character. Keep mind, that third-tier half demons (Exhustio, Ferratus, Volo, Acies, Abeo & Aspicio), as well as characters of mixed races (for example, a witch/half-demon like Eve) are by approval only, and are without exception off-limits to first-time players. This means if this is your first character, do not bother asking. These races are rare in Otherworld, and as such, are reserved for established players only.

Keep in mind that the less we have to ask you to change, the quicker your profile will be approved! If your profile needs a lot of work, it means one of us needs to spend a lot of time detailing that work. It might take a couple of days to get to it. However, if your profile is good to go from the get-go, it's only a couple of seconds to move it over. Do your homework ahead of time, and you save both our time and yours!

Remember, whether this is your first character or fiftieth, all profiles make their grand entrance in The Debut. We'll move it to the Character Profiles board for you when it's been approved!

Your First Post

Now that you've figured out who your character is, it's time to start writing! This is going to be the first impression of you as a writer, as well as of your character, so take some time and make this post shine. Be sure you've taken a look at the IG colour and formatting, because these are required for posting on the board. Be sure that you've checked your post over for errors in spelling and grammar. We don't ask for perfection, but there are some basic things that need to be addressed for in-game posting:

Posts with extremely basic errors like this will be removed. Posts with so many spelling errors that they are no longer legible will be removed. We accept and embrace that there's a wide range of people and talents on this board. That's a huge chunk of what makes it so fun! And again, we aren't demanding perfection. But taking the time to proofread your posts shows respect for yourself, and respect for the people you're writing with, and that's the stuff that strong communities are built on.

Proofreading is a must! I write a lot. I write papers for school, I write documentation for work, I write short stories and posts for Otherworld for fun. I spend a lot of time doing this. And I miss stuff all the time. Proofreading is a good habit to get into no matter what you're writing, and Otherworld is no exception. If you don't take the time to give your posts a once-over and make sure that the aforementioned issues have been addressed, that post will disappear quicker than you can say "werewolf snack."

You've been approved! You've made your first post without incident! Now what?

Keep writing!

... what?

Well, yeah. Obviously you want jump in right away and start writing with people. After all, that's why you're doing it on a public forum, right? But for some reason, your post with the "Attn: Anyone" note on it is just going unanswered, and you just can't figure out why.

Think of it this way. You move to a new house in a new neighborhood. A few of your friendly Mister Rogers types stop by with fruit baskets and casseroles and stuff, so you think, "Rockin'! These guys are friendly!" And you're right, they are friendly. But then you invite them over to your house for your birthday and no one comes. You can't figure it out. You're nice, you're smart, you have a pleasing aroma. But here's the thing. For all they know, you could be a psycho killer. You could be that creep at Halloween who puts needles in apples and then gives them to trick or treaters. You're a stranger. Before you invite people to your house for your birthday, you need to get to know 'em a little and let them get to know you. Chat 'em up when you're getting the paper or walking the dog. Keep your lawn up nice and only blast your music until 10pm at the latest. Before you know it, you won't have time to invite them to your birthday because you'll have so many neighborhood functions that you've been invited to.

It's the same deal here. People spend a lot of time on their posts, and it's a huge chunk of time to invest when you don't know if the person you're writing with is going to do you the same courtesy. So, you know, keep up your yard. Be ready to write your character alone for a bit and show people what you're made of. Join in the OOG chat to show off your own personality and find some like-minded folk there. It takes some time to get to know folks on the board, but it takes time to get to know folks in real life too. There are storylines that have been going on here for almost two years. The gratification might not be instant, but it is lasting, and well worth it when you take the time.

Am I missing something?

Let me know! This guide will always be growing as the community does, but I already know how to play. You've gotta give me a heads up where this guide, and other areas of the site, are failing to answer your questions. If you're wondering about something, chances are someone else has, or will in the future, so don't be shy about asking questions!