Getting Started

Welcome to Adylheim! This article is intended to answer any questions you may have about Adylheim and to help guide you through the character creation process. If you have any more questions that aren't answered here, feel free to register an account and ask away in the Q&A forum. We're glad to help!

Common Terms

 * PBP: play-by-post (game)
 * RP: Roleplay
 * PC: Player Character - A main character controlled by a player. The "protagonists" of the game.
 * NPC: Non-Player Character - Any other character in the game world, typically controlled by moderators.
 * IC: In Character - Anything that happens in the game world, e.g. a conversation between two characters.
 * OOC: Out of Character - Anything that takes place outside the game world, e.g. a conversation between two players.

Rules and Guidelines
Main article: Rules and Guidelines

You may need to go over the rules before you can play. They can be found here.

Character Creation
Main article: Character Creation Guide

Once you've brushed up on the rules and the setting, you're ready to make your character. Once you've made your character, you're ready to play! We'd like to meet you; posting in the welcome forum is encouraged. Some people like to start by posting their houses as location threads, but it's by no means required. If you're having trouble figuring out what to do from here, the Q&A forum is there to help. If not, go out there and have fun!

What is Adylheim?
Adylheim is a fantasy play-by-post roleplaying game (pbpRPG). The game is set in Adylheim, a set of fiefdoms remaining after the fragmentation of an ancient empire. Society is predominantly medieval, and in most places, magic is the exception rather than the rule. The gods, however, are more than willing to dabble in the affairs of mortals. More information on the setting can be found in the Codex of Knowledge.

How do you play?
The core mechanics will be familiar to veterans of play-by-post and play-by-email games. The game takes place entirely on the forums, and everyone participates by describing the behavior of their characters, who are often nothing at all like themselves. At its most basic, Adylheim plays like a conversation: one player will write a post explaining their character's actions and, perhaps, their thoughts or experiences. Then another player will post their character's actions, etc. In general, players should take turns posting so that everyone has a chance to participate.

Wait, that's it? Where's the actual game?
If your definition of "game" requires graphics, then there isn't one (unless you count our lovely smilies and icons). If so, Adylheim probably won't appeal to you. If you're willing to use your imagination, though, then we encourage you to give Adylheim a try. It's somewhere between a traditional RPG and collaborative fiction, though you don't need either writing or roleplaying experience to play and enjoy the game.

What's with threads, and what kinds are there?
Because everything takes place on a message board, everything happens in a thread. A thread will always have a particular focus, typically either a location (e.g. a tavern) or an event (e.g. an adventure). This focus is usually declared or hinted at in the thread's title. Threads may be moderated or unmoderated, which affects how conflict and uncertainty are resolved (see below). Also, threads are often marked "open" or "closed" (or "private"). This is a matter of courtesy, and indicates whether the player who started the thread would like to welcome random players into the thread, or would like to play only with specific people they've invited into that particular thread.

How are conflict and uncertainty resolved?
This depends on the type of thread. Some threads are moderated, which means that a special player (a staff member called a moderator) adjudicates the thread and the success or failure of the actions of the PCs in it, and typically takes responsibility for describing the environment and the actions of any NPCs present as well. Other threads are unmoderated, meaning players are free to decide the outcomes of their own characters' actions, or, if the participants agree to do it differently, they may decide the outcome of each other's characters' actions instead. Any threads with the potential for great risk or reward for a PC, or the potential for a significant impact on the game world, should be moderated unless permission is granted from a forum's moderator beforehand. Routine events (for instance, purchasing items for the listed price from a shop) generally do not have to be played out on the forums, though players are free to RP such activities if they wish.

So who are moderators and staff?
Adylheim has a volunteer staff who carry out a number of functions on the board. There are two basic types of staff members - administrators and moderators - though there's a lot of room for overlap, with one person often filling both roles. Administrators see to the technical maintenance of the website and forums, as well as various other duties, including overall management of the game. Moderators oversee the IC events in that forum, moderate threads, enact plots and adventures, and in general try to keep things interesting for the players.

What's all this about IC and OOC?
The difference between in-character (IC) and out-of-character (OOC) is arguably the most important part of roleplaying. Anything that takes place in the game world is IC, everything that doesn't take place in the game world (e.g. real life) is OOC. Therefore, the OOC forums are for discussions between players and other things that don't take place in the game itself, while the IC forums are where the actual roleplaying takes place. You'll be expected to be able to draw a firm distinction between the two. For instance, just because you know something (OOC), doesn't mean your character does (IC). Similarly, just because someone's PC says a certain thing or behaves a certain way, doesn't mean that his/her player believes or condones those things. A player can like another player, while their characters hate each other. Most importantly, don't bring OOC knowledge into the game, and don't take what happens in the game personally.

What in the world are Continuity Declarations?
Flexible Continuity is the name we use for our time management system. If you could only participate in one thread at a time, things would move pretty slowly, so with Flexible Continuity, you can participate in multiple threads at once - provided that you can place them all coherently into your character's personal timeline in a way that makes sense. A Continuity Declaration (CD) is a note at the top of a thread or post that helps everyone place that thread or post in time, to make keeping track of things easier. A more in-depth explanation can be found here.

How many PCs can I have?
Currently, players of Adylheim are allowed to have three simultaneous PCs in play. Secondary and Tertiary PCs must be registered with the same email address, and a note should be PMed to an admin listing the two current PCs of the player for reference. People with two PCs are not allowed to have them both in the same thread, or to indirectly help each other in any way.