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Welcome to Dark Age Legends, chapter 6 sign ups! Chapter 6 will pick up where chapter 5 left off, but due to the break in the action, this is an excellent point to jump in if you haven?t already. If you haven?t been following the story the entire way through, don?t worry. You are not expected to read the entire RP-- just the summary and guidelines below. However, if you never played in a forum RP before (particularly this one) you may want to read a random page or two in the middle to get a sense of how everything works. Current players should also read this, as there are some slight modifications to the chapter 5 rules. In particular, character creation is much more lax this time around.
ThemeA fantasy medieval type deal. Magic is encouraged. Technology should be low (but a few weird inventions are okay). Guns are permitted if you really want them, but they shouldn't be too effective.
ArchivesThe automatically updated <a href='
http://darkagegames.net/dal/viewer.php?id=472' target='_blank'>DAL Archives</a> might be easier to read than the topic on this forum if you want look back at the story (it?s just a script that reads from the forum database and strips off all the signature, avatar clutter, etc.) This is useful if you want to save some pages to your harddrive.
You can also download the entirety of <a href='
http://darkagegames.net/dal/DAL.zip' target='_blank'>chapters 1-3</a> in a single ZIP file (400 KB). (I don't have chapters 4 and 5 in there yet.)
Background Story (Chapter 6 prelude)It has been five years since the chaos has subsided and the near end of the world. The planet (
Gaian) thrives in fertility once more. The
Dark Empire has disappeared, replaced by a much smaller yet no less fearsome
Crimson Empire based on the Terius content (a.k.a. The Dark Continent). New kingdoms have sprouted across the world, replacing formerly subdued lands. It is a time of peace and rebuilding...
Of course, not for long...
Dark Age Legends Rules v1.5There are two types of people in the RP: characters and NPCs.
You can have up to four active characters (who you'll set up here). These are your characters and your characters alone. No one can control them but you.
Creating CharactersThe level restriction is gone. Just post your characters and be fair (see last section). You can create new characters at any time during the RP, not just during the "sign up" period.
NPCsNPCs are more flexible. Often you?ll see some soldiers, villagers, monsters, or other non important characters. Generally, anyone can create and use these characters. But if someone is using a NPC in a character like fashion, it?s probably best not to control it for them. Generally NPCs die off or leave the story in some way after a few posts, so posting them on the sign-up isn?t necessary.
SwappingYou can make any one of your characters inactive at any time. Making a character inactive means that that you have room to make a new character or make another inactive one active again. Remember that you can have up to four active characters at a time.
Methods of making a character inactive include making them fall unconscious, having them go to sleep, leave the action, etc. You don't really have to say "so-and-so is now inactive", unless it's not obvious.
ActionsEach character is limited to two "actions" per post. An action is something your character does. Some examples:
- Attacking another character
- Defending an attack
- Preparing an attack (i.e. for bigger than normal spells)
- Starting to walk/run/fly from one place to another
- Arriving on the scene
- Picking up an item
... etc. Basically use your own judgment. Conversation with other characters doesn't count (so you can talk as much as you want).
Charging TechniquesThis section made more since when there were character levels, but for now, if a character takes more than one post to perform an attack, honor that attack as more powerful than normal.
Story events and nature of actionsAs far as the story goes, anything can happen as long as it's in good taste and doesn't disrupt the flow of the RP. The only restriction is that you don't control other players' characters. i.e. If you throw a fireball at someone, you let them decide whether they get hit by it or not.
TravelTry and be realistic in the amount of time it takes to get to one place from another. You should never leave one area and arrive in the next in the same post. Places that are farther away should take more posts to get to. I'm not going to spell out the distances between each place we've been to so far, so use your own judgment.
Be descriptive! Especially when you're entering a place of your own design. Try and build off of other posters' descriptions as well. This is important, as it?s easier to tell what?s going on if you know where you?re at.
PostingThere is a limit of two ?updates? per day. An update is a post that contains any actions for any of your characters. The only exception is a post that contains only dialogue, i.e. if your character is just talking to another character.
On the other hand, try and stop in to update at least once a day!
Three day rule: If you are fighting someone and your opponent doesn?t post for three days, assume they were hit by your attack and knocked unconscious (heh?)
LimitationsNo unbounded instant teleportation. If they have the ability, characters can only teleport for short distances, and even that should be used sparingly. No instant transmission from one place to a totally different one. (Okay, every once in a while is okay, but just don't try and have one character be in two battles at once. Heh...)
CommentsComments not part of the flow of the RP should be made obvious by placing them in between parentheses or slashes, etc. Try and keep commenting to a minimum. Major questions should be asked on this topic, rather than in the middle of the RP.
Try and refrain from quoting other posts unless absolutely necessary, since they just look bad and disrupt the flow of the RP.
ReadingIt is important to
read every post of the RP since your last post, and perhaps a page or two before the current point if you?re just signing up. In order to create a coherent world, we all need to know what is going on with everyone else, even if what other characters are doing on the other side of the world don?t immediately affect your own.
Though the rules are long, they are probably not as long as the collective posts the RP receives on a good day.
<span style='color:red'>Chances are if you?ve just skimmed though the above rules and jumped to this line you are not cut out for this RP.</span>(Heh?)
Character signupTo start, post your characters in this thread. Continuing chapter 5 players should repost their characters as well. Include the following information:
Name:
Gender:Race: Can be pretty much anything
Age:
Job:
Weapon(s): plus a description, if necessary
Alliance: Could be a kingdom, tribe, cult, etc. (or no one at all!)
Description: Physical appearance
Bio: A short background. Perhaps just his/her immediate past, but can be more in depth if you want.
Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Bio: If your character was in any previous chapters, give a short description of what he/she did in each.
Here's mine:
Name: Ven Hyul, The Silver Knight
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Age: 27
Job: Vagabond
Weapon: A sliver long sword strapped across the back
Alliance: 
Description:Ven's body armor is a dazzling reflective silver, but much of this beautiful armor is hidden beneath a plain black cloak. His long dark brown hair falls behind his shoulders in locks, complementing his short beard. His eyes are dark and serious, always aware, always searching...
Bio:This quiet, brooding man travels from town to town, endlessly searching for something... but what? Is it for personal gain... or something greater...?
(We'll see more of Draven later.)
Chapter 6 begins in a week or so!
