PantheraKeep

Once the decision is made to enter a Dream, there are certain protocols that one must abide. The following is a list of what you must know as an RPer when you enter (Furcadia Furcadia Role Play ) Foremost is to know how to post your speech, actions, thoughts, Whisper, and intros (Introductions).

Keep in mind that if you are a novice, it is best to observe prior to posting any comments, and take time to notice others� entrances, the way they speak, and how they interact amongst each other. Be well aware what your character is, what their abilities are, whether he/she is armed, their personality plays a large factor, and the most important of all is IMAGINATION; use it. The more imagination you have, the easier it will be for you to interact.

Remember that we are all here to have fun and you don�t have to be perfect, mistakes will come up, but that�s part of the learning process. If you have any questions, simply ask a fellow RPer through Whisper, if need be, and if they do not respond, go to the next Rper. If you still find that no one is willing to help you, you can always contact the Furcadia dreams Rah and ask them.

When you enter a Furcadia Role Play Dream, your Character is not considered to be "In Character" (IC or having legally entered yet) until you have typed and posted an entrance. Before you do, take the time to observe the Dream.

You can simply type up what you think your character might say taking into consideration what the setting may be; for example, you may be in a tavern or out in a busy city street, or deep within the villiages underground tunnels. Generate the words that apply to the terrain and you will be fine. Once you have typed what you think your character wants to say, then you press the "Enter" key, and your character will be alive, so to speak. Now These words will come up in the Furcadia Role Play chat screen under your picture Screen. For the most part, the text will come up in English, unless a player, which is rare, will type up a chant or use foreign language based on their character or action they want to portray. The basic method of writing that is commonly used is written in the first person (in other words, written just as they would speak it), for example: ( back to our Tavern bar .. )

Begin each action by typing a colon or semi-colon before describing what your Character is doing. This will set it apart from speech. For example, if your character sits down, you would actually type ( : Sits down ).. The Colon or semi-colon makes it appear ((without the words 'You say" or says" )) signifying an action. Actions should be described in the third person, which is describing things from an outside point of view. For example you would not do an action like this:

However, when gaming it is a bit different from books, which are most often also written in the third person but in "past tense". When gaming most Players type their actions out in the "present tense". For example a book might read like this:

JimBob The Dark One : happily carries his Sweet October Ale to a table, and sits down, barely in time to notice a petty furre street urchin thief pilfering some warrior�s pocket nearby.

It is not known why this style of writing came to be used for role playing online, but it simply has. It is likely because the storytelling is in real time, and most people feel more comfortable playing and writing that out in the present tense.

Ok, let's say that you are typing a sentence or paragraph, and you want to use both speech and action on the same sentence structure; well, you can execute the post. It is allowed. Remember to use a * around an action sentence or paragraph, or you can use (") around the speech sentence or para. Here are some examples:

Note: that either ( : or .. ; ) was typed before the Action, and that you did not have to place a * before the action, because the sentence would have the appearance of being too cluttered if it had * and ("), and too confusing to read.

Carrion_Comfort says, I'll have bottle of Bloodwyne.. *in a brusque tone as he walks towards the bartender* Note: Again, note that you did not have to place (") around the speech sentence, because you want to make it look streamline

You, now, know how to use Speech and Action together in a sentence; now, you have to learn how to post Brackets. There are two methods that Brackets are used. First, is ic (In Character), you type the Thoughts that your character may have. Second, is ooc (Out of Character), you type your own personal Thoughts to a friend or other. The way to post Brackets is to simply use the *ooc key before typing or Brackets I.E. [[ ]] A sample would look like this:

It is best to use some other symbol to distinguish your characters IC though. ( I.E. ~Knows he can slice his sword across his chest before he strikes~ ) These symbols are often used for mind speak as well. Although it is good to be obvious that it is a thought rather then a spoken. ( I.E. Taps the hilt of his blade absently as he thinks silently to himself knowing he can slice his sword across his chest before he strikes.)

Whisper is simply a message sent to a specified user that only you and they can see, to do this simply type /(Name)(your Message) please use this method for OOC comments unless it is brief.

If you decide to speak ooc (Out-of-Character) with someone, then use double parenthesis or brackets between your statement ((example)) [[example]] that will differentiate between all three actions. Try to remember to post "slips ic" or "slips ooc",or use the #SN Symbol, this let's the other person know what your intentions are.

Amphibian_Girl ( : or .. /super|freak) walked towards her friend, Super Freak, asking in a brusque tone, "Are we going to spar tonight?" [[Hey, I only have 30 minutes to spar with you tonight]]

Note: that you applied both speech and action, that you added ["] to your Speech comment, then you applied a personal ooc statement, and placed double brackets surrounding your sentence.

Once your Character's actions reach a point that they would directly affect or harm another Character, it becomes more important to play strictly Turn Based (also known as T1 Story).

Only each Player can decide what happens to their own Character at Cool1 Persona play, and you must wait to see how others react to know what effect the action had on their Character, if any. At higher levels of Cool, Dice are used to determine if actions were sucessful. If you do not wait, and instead attempt to describe your Character harming or effecting others (this is called an "Auto", or "Autoing"), you will most certainly receive complaints from other Players. or worse yet they will call you a Twink, (( read the twink link at the bottom of the page for more information. ))

This does not however give the defending Player the grounds to refuse taking any hits at all. Taking hits is a standard which is just as important as that of not Autoing, so please make sure to keep it in mind at all times: If you do not wish your Character to be effected or harmed, do not let your Character get into combat situations. this is not a Choice at Cool2 and higher.

Entering Furcadia Role Play , What now? Turn based [Paragraph Role Play ] Free Form Style At Cool1 {Character Interaction} **********************************************

Once you start to interact with someone, you should try to describe your Character's actions as much as possible, so that the other person understands what your Character is trying to convey or do. Meaning, for example, if you find that this person writes a paragraph to describe an action that intermingles or affects your character, then it is suggested that you type an equal amount of words. Although, it is important to remember that each Player has a different view of how much description is needed. One Player may type an eight-line paragraph to describe the same action that another only types one or two lines to describe. It is each Player's responsibility to be accepting of his or her fellow Player's style.

After your Character begins to interact with another Character, it becomes loosely "Turn Based." This simply means that you should give the other Player ample time to enter his/her Character's reaction to what your Character has said or done. How long to wait between entries is a matter of common sense. There will of course be times when there will be no reaction at all and you should go ahead and post your next action, or Whisper (Private Message) the person to find out if they are typing a response.

When describing your actions, keep in mind that you are the Director of your own Character. Therefore, you should describe the action, feeling, distance, surrounding area, objects, even taste, that your character may be experiencing at the moment of conversation or interaction with the other Character.

Princess Jasmine: strides Through the Village untill she sees the Tavern's Bar. Walking across the cave like Dream, glancing towards the bar while removing her sunglasses, the sound of her footfalls barely heard, the scent of an unkempt Street thug filling her nostrils.. saying in a soft tone to the warrior nearest her "Do you mind if I sit down?"

Note: Notice how the Character described, distance, objects, tone of voice, smells and sound. You can add as much as you want, as far as senses are concerned or as little as you wish. Remember that you are your own Director, but it's more interesting if you can describe as much detail when performing an action.

The interaction can continue from there. You can decide to either talk in a casual way, or argue. The other individual sitting at the bar could act aggressive towards your Character and make your Character respond aggressively, as well. Perhaps a fight or battle will occur between both Characters, but at this point, each Player will decide where his Character will go. Your Character may decide to simply walk away when his character is rude. This is YOUR Character and you are the Director who decides the fate. At Cool1

It is important to remember that while you might be looking for a fight with your Character the other Players may not want that, and the same goes in reverse, if you want to have simple conversation between Characters the other might be looking for a fight. At times, it is pretty easy to know if his character's intention is to fight, and if you're not too sure, simply Whisper the Character and ask what his/her intentions are.

If both decide to have a conversation, then you can relax and enjoy typing and describing your Character's motions. On the other hand, if that person's character wishes to battle or fight and you don't. At Cool1, Simply quit the scene. There is absolutely no point in continuing the scene if one of you wants to combat with your Characters and the other does not. This will only lead to arguments and hard feelings that both of you will not enjoy, and neither will the other Players having to watch the arguments.

T1 basicly means, Turn based. Meaning that only one move, or post is allowed per person unless marked with the continued symbol ( c ) or . T1 combat is simple and you can find some basic tips in the �T1 Furcadia rules� section. At Cool1 First and foremost, the player decides what happens to his/her character. Your character can not connect an attack or say what happens to another�s character, Or it is considered an Auto hit which is illegal in Furcadia and most other Free Form Role Play places. You can however point out certain aspects that would make the move uncounterable or unavoidable.

JimBob The Dark One: Having backed him into a corner, Jim grinned deviously, the time has come to deliver the final blow. Knowing full well the only way out was through him Jim made a quick feint for the mans throat with a small dagger held within his left hand, his speed and accuracy immeasurable. In the meantime, his right was in motion, fisted and headed towards the mans gut in case he should somehow miraculously evade the dagger.

If somehow your opponent dodges an attack that should not have been dodgable don�t let it get you down, don�t argue OOC as it will get you nowhere. Simply continue the battle as fairly as you can. If they continue to make quote �illegal� moves then simply Rp a legal exit and get away from them. If you can�t get away, don�t worry, when the transcript (( send a copy of the log file from your furcadia folder)) is reviewed by the Judges or Dream Owners or Rah and they will find it to be illegal and dismiss the entire matter. If no transcript is submitted, then the death and/or battle is void period as it then becomes one persons word against another�s.

This leads me to my next point. If for some reason, your opponent disappears in the middle of a battle, it does not mean you can force a hit or kill. It is a possibility that they were booted and will be back shortly. If they don�t return in at least fifteen minutes then that�s it, it�s over, and the previous wounds and attacks are voided unless they Rp�ed a legitimate exit. Paragraph size and length has nothing to do with the attack. Time.... yes time. If it takes a Spell caster 30 seconds to use his power, time does not stop for those 30 seconds. The opposing character can post what was going on with his character during that time.

JimBob The Dark One: Shaking his head a silent scowl slipped free from his parched lips. He knew if he did not prepare himself in time, the warriors Magical energy blast would tear him in pieces. As soon as the warriors hands started to glow Jim was on the move and within mere seconds had found shelter behind a thick overturned heavy oak table. As the Energy was released and the blast sped towards him he had a dagger in his hand and was ready to vault over his make shift shield and plunge it into the Evil villains chest......

While it took the Spell caster 3 turns roughly 30 second in role play time .. to prep his Power, it took Jim the same amount of time to find a table, overturn it, and get a dagger ready. Usually in this situation, the player would have moved to dodge the power as it was re-leased. But in reality you could have seen it coming and pre-pared yourself for it in the time it took to release . Rather then standing there until it was re-leased.

You must be thinking �that�s it?� Yes that�s it, T1 is really quite simple and there isn�t more to include on how to fight T1. Just follow these simple guidelines which are basically the only true rules in Furcadia and you will find your Rp sessions less frustrating and more enjoyable.

The following scenario is just one possible example to help show the very basics of Turn Based combat. ( Let us assume that all of these examples are taking place in a Imaginarium Tavern or bar..)

Mistress De'Mona: lunges towards her opponent, who stands on the other side of the table. Knocking full glasses of liquor aside without care, she slashes toward Demons right arm with her Magical Fire Blade.

The Demon Spawn Thog:: is caught slightly unprepared for this and with no other choice, he dives quickly towards his left, the tip of De'Monas firey blade just barely slicing into the thick leather of the sleeve of his overshirt but not the leathery skin beneath. He falls to the wooden floor without his usual grace, and thinking quickly grabs the already messed up table and pulls it on it�s side to hide behind from the next attack.

The Demon Spawn Thog:: is caught slightly unprepared for this and with no other choice, he dives quickly towards his left, the tip of De'Monas firey blade just barely slicing into the thick leather of the sleeve of his overshirt, but not the leathery skin beneath. With his usual agility he rolls once he hits the floor, thankful that he was not wearing his armor this day. He quickly gets to his feet, immediately reaching to pull his throwing daggers from their sheaths and tossing one wildly in De'Monas general direction.

Mistress De'Mona: lunges towards her opponent, who stands on the other side of the table. Knocking full glasses of liquor aside without care she slashes towards Demons Spawns right arm with her Firey Blade.

The Demon Spawn: is caught slightly unprepared for this and with no other choice, he dives quickly towards his left, but not in time. The tip of De'Monas Firey Blade slices deeply through the sleeve of his leather overshirt, and he falls to the wooden floor without his usual grace, as blood begins to flow from the gash.. the smell of burnt flesh fills the tavern. In desperation he grabs the table and pulls it on it�s side to hide behind.

The Demon Spawn Thog:: is caught slightly unprepared for this and with no other choice, he dives quickly towards his left, but not in time. The tip of the Firey Blade slices deeply through the sleeve of his leather overshirt, and blood begins to flow from the gash. ..along with the smell of burning flesh. As he falls to the floor he manages to roll somewhat, and with his one good arm pulls a throwing dagger from it�s sheath. Seriously compromised by the wound, but desperate, he tosses it wildly in De'Monas general direction.

And now, depending on what kind of counter The Demon Spawns Player has chosen, De'Monas Player will take a turn again. If The Demon Spawn is now behind the table, then De'Monas Player has the choice to either press the attack further or something else entirely. If The Demon Spawn has managed to throw a dagger at De'Mona then De'Monas' Player takes a turn as the defender and can take the hit or not, and include a counter or not.

The scene would continue like this until the Players end the combat in some way or another - one or both Characters could die, or give up, or there might be OOC reasons (disconnection, offline concerns, technical problems etc.).

As a reminder - each Player is responsible for their own Character only and cannot decide which attacks actually hit their opponent - that would be an "Auto". If the other players attack or defense is too far-fetched, and on the borderlines of impossible, call in a moderator to judge.

A moderator is merely a fight onlooker, perhaps not friends of either combatant, who will judge the moves. A moderator must be agreed upon by both members of the fight, and, therefore, the final say on a move will go to him/her. Taking hits when it is fair to do so is not only good gaming, but can sometimes even help your Character in combat. For example, you could take some small damage to get your Character in a position where he could do even more damage to the opposing Character. Remember though, the fact that the Character takes a hit is by no means a low measure of the Players OOC ability. Indeed, a skilled Player always knows when and how to take a hit. At Cool2 and higher the dice will inform the players when to take hits and what kind of damage is inflicted.

Keep in mind that while one Character might take 4 seconds to draw a 3-foot bastard sword, another could take 2 seconds to draw and thrust a dagger at his ribs. Also, make sure that if your Character is one that needs to take IC time to prepare for any attack, that you allow for the proper amount of turns to go by while this would happen. For example, Shang Tsung entering the previous scene:

Shang Tsung watches the commotion on the other side of the Tavern bar with apprehension. From his point of view, it seems as though the big, Red Demonic creature is unfairly taking on a member of the fairer sex. With a worried frown he begins to call on his Magical powers as he stands and slowly edges his way over towards the two.

Mistress De'Mona: barely has time to twist out of the way of Demons dagger flying through the air at her. As the blade soars by only inches away from her she tries to keep her balance, but bumps her right hip quite forcefully against the side of the next closest table.

The Demon Spawn Thog: curses, but isn�t surprised that he missed with no chance to aim. Still disregarding the bloody gash caused by De'Monas Firey Blade he pushes backwards, not really wanting to be the aggressor this day. "Did you really thinksssss you could hurt me, girliee......?".

Shang Tsung continues to observe with a little jealousy over The Demon Spawns ability to ignore pain like that. As he reaches a spot several arms' lengths behind De'Monas, He feels his Magical powers ready.. the result of which is a low red aura beginning to appear around his two outstretched hands. [1/3]

*Obviously, Shang Tsung is about to perform some sort Magical power. and has started to prep a speel that will take 2 more posts to complete. What he is about to do is not so important for the example - but note that it took the Character more IC time to prep the Magical power, than it did for De'Monas and The Demon Spawn to make their quick movements and speak to each other. So, Tsungs' Player obviously let that IC time and therefore OOC turns go by before Prepping the effect, describing his Character ending the Powers effect

The Player should make sure the appropriate IC time is kept in mind and the proper amount of prep has been made, when describing what their Character has done (and of course remember always to only use what abilities, items and powers that your Character Has at creation or is listed in Furcadia character profiles) ..unless they have properly arranged with the Judge Or Dream Owner to Rp out new powers or skills ..

* Amount of Description does not equal Success of AttackAs previously described, it is not important how much or little description you use when interacting or even when combating.

Shang Tsung watches the Demon, jealous that he can ignore pain like that. He finally gets near the two fighters and his powers are released. A red glow forms around both his clenched fists.

The result is the same, and just as valid as the first example, and in some cases describing things quicker is appreciated by some Players. The amount of description never, at any time, decides the level of power of the Character, or how successful the Attack was. What can and should be factors are:

1. What level of Cool are you using and Does your Character already have that skill or item you are using to attack or defend ? (no changing character stats to suit your combat needs!)

Conclusion :This was only one very basic example of a simple form of combat, to help new Players understand the concept. Combat is not always this simple as it might involve more than two Characters, or use more complicated abilities and weapons. However, in the end, if all Players keep to the simple standards described here most situations can be handled in fairness. If anyone else can come up with a more concise sets of Cool1 t1 rules feel free to post it.

This is a personal preference. Some like Dogproxy because it gives you the option of selecting or adding an extra charcter Or Alt. quickly and manages several characters at once .. : Many hard-core players use this option. For one, if one port happens to be down, you can enter through the alternate, or what many seem to do, is enter using both systems. Yes, you heard right. You may enter into both at the same time in a Furcadia Role Play Dream, actually. What the diehards usually end up doing is to enter a different SN on . They navigate in different rooms or meet both SNs in the same room. It�s a matter of getting used to handling two different characters in your head. At first you may run the risk of posting a comment under the wrong one but over time you will get the hang of it.

( Not recomended, FOR BATLLE Unless set up and scripted into a story ahead of time .. and will not change any plot outcomes or fights. Any under the suspicion of using TWO different SNs to win a battle will be instantly dubbed as bad Rpers by the Role Play community and the death/kill/defeat/encounter of your opponent will be voided ) This kinda of "cheating" or those who Auto others or refuse to take hits, and Enforce lethal combat etc .. if it isnt discussed prior to batttle.. are known as "Twinks" by a large population of rp'ers and it is frowned upon in most all free form turn based role plays/Dreams.

Look in the combat section for A Simple 2D10 combat system Table can be Used to resolve arguements or determine combat outcomes if there is no Impartial judge for fights availible