General Tips (Including Tips for Character Creation!)

[Laola]

Here's a basic system by which many people make characters (or some variant of it):

[border]Name:
Age (or relative idea of that):
Height:
Weight:
Where from:
Some other info:

Appearance:

Personality/History/Backstory/WTFever:[/border]

Of course, that's just what a lot of people start with. You don't have to fill every field out, or even one of those, and it can be in first-person, third-person, or even second-person perspective. What is seen here is just a good base for human characters. (You can even make a character who's just a sentient blob, like an overgrown protozoa thing. See if I mind.) Remember that we have no site-wide templates; you can put whatever you want into your bio. You just have to be sure to list your equipments (and their effects/abilities, if any), expendables, and such in your inventory, your abilities in your ability list (herpderp), and list any allies in the respective list, if you have any.

If you're thinking of a basis for inventories, check Leilani's and Laola's out; Lei's may make your head swim, but that kind of detail and complexity makes for some hard-to-knock equipment, and her ammo list is powerful and versatile. Laola's equipments are simpler, but still well-designed, while Noah's are well-designed for him and also fairly simple (I think, at least). I'm sure that you read the guide to expendables, but take a look at Alexsys's (and the corrections that I mentioned, since they haven't yet been made, since last that I checked) to get an idea of some items, just as in Leilani's. If you're running short on ideas for armor, that's okay; no one said that you have to have armor at all, and you can always buy some badass suits from Leilani, but try to think of at least one good weapon. If you would like me to list some weapons properties that may help you to decide, ask away.

As far as abilities, there are so many ways to make them, but a couple ideas that I like to use when making my chars are as follows (if my opinion matters at all):
Pick a theme, e.g. death. It does not have to match the char's personality; in fact, if it doesn't, the contrast may make a good story element, but it's all optional. Think about how you want to go about using this theme, whether as more of a manipulatory thing, e.g. necromancy, as a fuel for all kinds of things, or simply as a common theme among your abilities that has nothing to do with how they're used. During this stage, I'd recommend looking through the Final Fantasy wiki, the Fire Emblem wiki, and/or other things to get some ideas. Think of animé, video games, movies, and whatever else (even those that you don't like, because there can be some good ideas in there, too) to think of some bases.

Decide on character stats and archetype. Do you want your character to be a slow, but tough-as-nails tank char with lots of physical strength and defense in addition to health, but problems with magic, resistance, and speed? Maybe you want someone who's strong and fast, but not very tough, or maybe you want someone who's well-rounded? Perhaps you want more of a magical character, like Noah? Don't forget to take your parameters, such as health energy, mana, and chakra into account, especially if you want to keep fighting. These are just some examples of some common archetypes (although Noah deviates from the norm by quite a bit), but you can come up with anything that you want. For instance, Leilani has an atypical archetype, being both fast and defensive, although not very defensive. She is a viera, after all. This is all based on your style and preferences. Oh, and don't worry about your character being a lightly armored girl; the first rule of women's armor is that more revealing = more defense. -dodges slap- I'm kidding! XD Seriously, though, it's easy for a light-looking armor to be tougher than the normal knight's armor, so don't think that appearance and stats have to relate.

Decide whether you want your abilities to relate to the theme of your equipment or not. You can always change your mind as you go, but it's generally good to decide on some preferences before you get too far into things. Just consider it; if you really can't pick either way, don't worry about it.

Start making abilities up that go with your theme as you like them. Don't just think of what makes sense and go from there; think of what you want, then make sense of it. You'll find that to be a broader perspective, I think. If you think of some sort of thing that you want to do, but aren't sure how to make sense of it, just ask here, and we'll help you come up with something. During this process, you may delve into the next two steps, which is fine.
Example of sense-making: I want to be able to make as much of this slime as I want . . . Ah, the paintbrush can be a gift from my sensei, who enchanted it in ways that I don't know about to be able to provide infinite goop.

Consider any other themes that you want to put into this. As you can tell by reading his stuff, Noah has several themes put into him, just as Leilani has a few, and Learpabru has a couple. It's okay to have just one theme! In fact, a lot of people start with a character that just has one theme, and that is completely fine. I like to put multiple themes into a character to make him/her/it/whatever more unique, more versatile, and more complex (like an "always keep them guessing" thing, so that you can't stop one of my abilities to completely stop the battle), but you can keep things as simple as you want. Also, keeping things simple has the advantage of allowing you to grow to be more experienced in that one field (and thereby have an easier time of translating your experience to related fields), both as a character and as a user. I mean, if I can manipulate water, lightning, earth, and wind, but you can only manipulate water, you're probably a much more strategic water-manipulator than I am. Of course, the magnitude of our water manipulation is based on our MAG ratings; if I have more MAG and we do the same thing, my trick will either cost less or hit harder. However, you'll get more experience in using it, so you'll come up with new tricks sooner. Is that understandable?

Think of abilities (often Support Abilities, for me) that go with most/all of your themes, or, if you have just one theme, just think of abilities that go with that one. Noah's and Leilani's Support Abilities are good examples.

Finally, look everything over and decide if it's sufficient. Are you as mobile as you wish to be? Are you as offensive as you wish to be? Are you as defensive as you wish to be? How's accuracy looking? Do your moves share a common weakness, such as all of them leaving you to be too vulnerable? Are they too straight-forward, so that you can't get very creative with them, but have to adhere exactly to their most basic uses, or are they more versatile? Can you potentially win in any fair fight? Can you at least get away from an excessively unfair fight? Are you going to run out of juice mid-battle, and, if you do, can you recuperate? Go back through and tie up any loose knots, and you have a great ability list.

Anywho, those are just some suggestions that you may want to consider; you don't have to listen to me at all. Oh, and here's a little tip: In case something screws up, write them out in Wordpad, Notepad, Microsoft Office Word, or something, then copy and paste them onto Sein, so that you still have them when your internet or the site fails. Also, don't be afraid to hit that "Save" button when putting stuff on; if you're not finished, you can just save a draft to come back and fix-up the next day, then submit. You could also just label your posts as unfinished somewhere in the post or thread title, and we won't bug you to finish things or anything like that. Sein isn't nearly so glitchy as Esc was, but I know better than to hit "Submit" without selecting everything and copying it so that I can paste if something goes wrong.

[Learpabru]

This applies more to character information than anything, but it's a good tip for many things:
Worry about organization afterward, if it helps. When I'm setting something up, I usually organize my ideas into a mental essay, then type it out. However, you may find it to be beneficial to just write down the stuff that you think of, then look everything over. Organize things your way, and decide what stuff you want to take out (perhaps to be used in another character), what stuff you want to take out for now and learn later, and all that. Don't be afraid to write down a ton of ideas and work down from there, or "brainstorm," as they call it. There are many ways to organize things, so don't feel like it's senseless to reorder things to be better-looking. Also, don't feel like you have to conform to a certain way for each list; deciding which ways are "better" than others is a matter of opinion. Some examples of different organization methods are seen below (and you can click the "Abilities" link on this post for another):

Leilani
Laola
Choh Lehko
Bianca
Noah Ivaldi
Dycedarg

The following is an overview of each and some alternatives (Please read these; you should learn something. However, they're not suggestions for the respective characters; they're just here to give you ideas.):
(Note that "OD/HP" setups are arrangements in which abilities are categorized by their primary functions as "offensive" (as a catch-all), "defensive/healing" ("defensive" including beneficial stat augmentation), and "passive" (or "support"), usually a matter of target-others attacks and hindrances, target-self and/or -allies protections, status changes, and remedial methods, and effects that are constantly in play or otherwise do not require fully conscious, delegated activation. "OD/HPU" setups are the same, but include abilities that exist almost entirely for utility purposes, such as an ability to give flavors to plants. There are other variations with different letter orders or different letters omitted, of course. The primary flaw in such setups is that they can subconsciously limit one's mind to only thinking of using some abilities offensively, others only defensively, et cetera. For those whom can easily surpass this mental limit and maintain versatility, though, they're no worse than any other setup, usually. They can be unhandy when abilities have widely varying uses, though.)

Leilani- Here is an example of skillsets, which is what we call the categorized organization of abilities, and our first example of support abilities. The first skillset is her Machine Magic, which is her textbook method of mana usage and the basis for several abilities down the road. They're loosely organized into an arrangement of the following:
[border]costly spells that go with her job as a machinist and artificer by helping her to gain constructs immediately
an inexpensive spell with a variable effect that's based on its targets
offensive spells[/border]
She then has her traps, which could use a bit of rearrangement, but presently have a loose order of:
[border]offensive
based on spells (mostly offensive)
more offensive
defensive (though only while immobile, one of which leaves you no choice)
more offensive[/border]
Note that she begins with some important explanatory information at the beginning, then a footnote at (naturally) the end to add a loophole to a would-be flaw in the skillset.
"Gunmanship" is another skillset with an explanation at the beginning that specifies the fact that the abilities can be used with any (standard) attack, not just gun shots.
Sharpshoot is the second example of a skillset with a stipulation. In this case, it's an equipment requirement; the abilities are available to Leilani when equipped with a greatbow, which is classically going to only be her automail arm, the Master Bow. Although it is only available with her Master Bow, the skillset is a part of Leilani's capabilities, not those of her arm, so it's a skillset of her ability list, not the Master Bow section of her inventory.
Ballistics and Cannonry are both examples of skillsets with equipment stipulations; the former can only be performed with Master Bow and the Ark, while the latter is only available to use on the Ark. Both of them are Leilani's capabilities, not the capabilities that come directly from those weapons (They are only available with those weapons.), as will be shown when she learns to use them with other weapons if she obtains more greatbows and hand-cannons. The Ballistics skillset begins with its essential ability, "Prime," then its healing ability, then two defensive/healing abilities, next a utility/variable ability, and finally two offensive abilities, all of which require preparation via Prime. Cannonry has four offensive-preparative abilities, then one prepared-variable ability (since she can use Mirror Items with Item Shell). Item Shell can be considered as a prepared-D/H ability that is made variable by Mirror Items.
Finally, she has a handful of support abilities, most (but not all) of which are based on her preceding skillsets.
Alternatively, the list could be organized into an OD/HPU setup, or that could be implemented in any number of her skillsets. Her equipment-dependent skillsets could be listed at the top or the bottom to segregate them, but they're already at the bottom of the action abilities. The Machine Magic could also be listed at the bottom to demonstrate her ineptness with magic and primary focus on physical and metaphysical effects, though it could also be considered as a "get it out of the way soon" concept right where it is.

Laola- She begins by getting the fact that she's a standard earth manipulator out of the way. After that, there are her skillsets. She begins with Outreach, the skillset of abilities that come most naturally to her (which is ironic to her personality, if you think about it). Her Raevehm Botany skillset follows it with almost no particular arrangement whatsoever; aside from the more elementally-focused skills being listed at the bottom of this skillset, the others are dispersed randomly. The next skillset, Poison Fang, has no particular order, either, unless you count the fact that it begins with one basic, offensive ability that is followed by two status-changing, offensive abilities. Her support abilities can be considered to be in an order all their own, since they begin with a utility, lead into a life-based one, delve into physics, follow up with a magical version of the former, and end with an ability that relates to all her other energies.
Alternatives are pretty limited, since most of her abilities have a wide variety of applications. Her Raevehm Botany could be arranged into an OD/HU setup, but that maintains the previously mentioned issue.

Choh- Everything's divided into skillsets, and each skillset has a seemingly random arrangement. You can ask for the motivations of each arrangement. In this case, action and support abilities are individually labeled (except in the Solar Flair skillset). This list also serves as a prime example (moreso than most others) of a list that begins with an explanation. Lists often begin with information that applies to a majority or all of the following, which can vary from attack properties to costs to, well, pretty much anything. In this particular case, there's an explanation of how she has the abilities (always a good thing), some cost and other drawback specifications, a terminology specification, and a loophole for a would-be flaw.
This could have in stead been arranged . . . however. Really, there are a ton of alternatives, but the chosen method is pretty creative if you know it, so it's hard to even think of any changes.

Bianca- This list has a simplistic style to it. She begins with plant-related abilities, rolls into other earth-related abilities, sets a section apart for combinations of the former and other stuff, and finally lists utilities (primarily related to plants). Some of the plant abilities are attached to each other as extensions of their predecessors or different kinds of what is essentially a single ability. It's simple, clean, and effective.
Alternatives are few and far between. One option would be to arrange the plant abilities into an OD/HPU setup, but some of her abilities throw that with their non-distinctive versatility, much like Laola. Really, her list is just nicely organized.

Noah- Oh, boy. Yeah, it may be intimidating, but it's worthwhile. Noah's list demonstrates pretty much every noteworthy list property; there are skillsets, sub-skillsets (Our first example of them is the different sub-skillsets of the Summon skillset.), labels of the action abilities, support abilities, a sort of extension of supports that is movement abilities, a series of specifications at the beginning of some sub-skillsets and other abilities over which they preside, an ability that results from combining others (Transummon), a skillset that's composed of others that have been modified (Arcanism), a list of "Reaction Abilities," which are partially like A-abilities and partially like S-abilities, and one more element that's only seen here, so far. That entire eyesore of a first post is his explanations, stipulations, specifications, and other details of every skillset and sub-skillset. Then, for every set that is composed of multiple spells (not like Terramancy and Necromancy, which are more generic in use, much like standard elemental manipulations), there's a massive list of every spell within the set. Yes, it does seem to be endless, but that's just proof of the potential versatility. Actually, you should probably read it now, because he gets around, so you'll probably end up facing him at some time or another. Also, since his lists will only get longer, it's a good idea to read them now so that you don't have to read every detail in full later on.
There really aren't many alternatives to this; the list is massive, and its organization is pretty much just right for it. The only noteworthy change that I could come up with would be to list Terramancy and Necromancy after the other A-abilities, since they both have their own energy sources, while everything else replies on mana. Really, that just means moving them under Lore, which was put near the bottom for lack of favor in most of the skillset, and the Elemental Affinities, which are also placed lowly for their lack of magnitude and favor. It's pretty hard to argue with any of the organization, really.

Dycedarg- Here, we have more stipulations at the top. Some of these are terminology specifications, including some that only apply to one or a few abilities. We have skillsets with their own brand of power, range, and radius determinations, all of which are A-abilities. Some skillsets have footnotes for some abilities, but most notes are seen at the top of appropriate skillsets. One skillset has two hardly distinct sections (the Jump skillset). The vast majority of his abilities rely on his equipped weapon, and some require his inventory. There's one attack that stands alone, then a list of effects. After that, we have a small mountain of S- and R-abilities, including his signature Arcane Blade support. Finally, we have the visual aids.
It could just be the fact that my brain is presently mush from sleep deprivation, but I can't really think of any alternatives that aren't a matter of "simplify make it to be as generic as everyone else's," which is pretty much exactly what was being avoided.

Learpabru- Again, we have skillsets that have their abilities arranged with some underlying themes in mind, but loosely. The naming scheme of the slimes also has a pattern to it, but with some variance.
This one is what it is; about the only differences that one could make would be to make the arrangements and naming scheme more steady.

[Leilani]

Inventory organization can be similar, but also easier to make decisions on. Classically, most RP chars have some variant of this:
[border]All of my equipment yada yada blah blah about how/why it's special and mine. Here's some explanation for why most or all of them are indestructible, auto-repair, or are just hard to break, usually. Blah blah other effects that apply to them all. Here's a statement about my training with them, so you know why I'm pretty good at wielding them. Dribble dribble other information.

Weapons blah blah, sometimes yada yada about some weapon types, then the individual weapons.
Weapon 1: Blah blah name, yada yada details, dribble dribble special effects/explanations.
Weapon 2: See above.
Weapon 3: See Weapon 2.
So on and so forth . . . Just keep in mind the fact that any abilities that are directly derived from any piece of equipment should be listed with the respective inventory item, not in the abilities of the character.

Armor blah blah, much like weapons.
Lots of people like to start from the top and head down, so we firstly have headgear, then anything on the neck/shoulders, anything on the arms, torso armor, lower armor (if different from the previous), stuff on the legs, and shoes. Accessories can be defined individually. Most people consider anything that goes on the arms, legs (though shoes may or may not be considered), neck, and pretty much anything that isn't just headgear or armor to be accessories. Accessories are classically listed after other armor stuff. Leilani's armors (which are also her weapons) are listed from bottom to top, with the exception of her hip-pack, since that's just her storage device. It is strongly recommended that you come up with some manner of storage and packing, because you'll be carrying a lot of stuff. Unless you want to be like Choh and just lug around a bunch of bags of stuff because you're so strong that it's really easy to you, a storage system is really handy. However, don't feel like you're being pressured into building one at the start; you can always get tons of storage methods later on or even just after you get started.

Expendables list (except perhaps ammo, which is usually listed with respective weapons, but typically listed separately for ammo that can be used for multiple weapons) and explanations dribble.

Storage systems are actually listed at the bottom or top more often than not, and may or may not be synonymous with the armor.

If there are any vehicles, they're typically listed at either the top or the bottom, too, but, since storage systems are usually held on the person, then vehicles are often on the outside of those.[/border]

Really, just as with abilities, there isn't much of a "wrong" way to organize inventories. The relative method that's seen above is tried and true, but you can organize them by theme, switch orders around, or whatever to your heart's content. Remember that you don't have to fill any particular set out; many characters have no armor, many have very few or even no starting weapons, and almost none have starting vehicles. Unless you have potions scattered throughout your sword list, remedies listed amidst your armors, ammo at the top in random order, and a vehicle's details listed throughout the entire page, you pretty much can't organize an inventory poorly; if you give it so much as a single thought, it should fall into place well. Just take it easy, write what comes to you, edit as you think, and rearrange things into a desired order once you're done.

Oh, also, if you're wondering about shields, don't worry about it. If you aren't keen to using them as weapons, it's probably more fitting to list them with your armors, and, if you're more of an Athenian-style fighter, you'll want to list your shields with your weapons, or perhaps at the top of your armors or bottom of your weapons, so that the closeness signifies the fact that they are primarily one, but have sometimes been used as the other. Whether you put them under either of those categories, even under "accessories" or another category, or situate them alone, they're versatile enough that they really fit in anywhere on your list.

Noah's inventory is an example of some weapons at the top with their effects (The Blood Sceptre has quite a few.), then the armors from the outside inward, followed by his accessories list (presently one item, that being his shoes), and an "Other" section that includes his Chaos Satchel, his storage system.
Leilani's is an excellent example of equipment with effects (including equipment that is part of the body) and abilities to their own, as well as an example of an order that does not classify weapons and armors separately (as they are often several in one). As of yet, as previously mentioned, she also has the most expansive and versatile ammo list of all, and she has a nice supply of other expendables.
Dycedarg has a nice armor list after two weapons and their descriptions (including a variably detrimental, beneficial, or benign ability), and he finishes it with his spammy teleportation-bastardry.
Laola has an example of a 'make my own weapons' setup, in which she states that she has the ability to produce simple weapons with her otherwise mentioned abilities, and she states what is most common of that. She then has a list of some cool armors with abilities.
Bianca could technically build her own weapons, too, but mainly chooses to stick with a pair of very nice, trusty weapons with a hefty ammo supply that she can add to with her abilities. There aren't many frills, here, but that just shows that you can have a fairly simple inventory and kick just as much ass as anyone else.
Choh has a list of weapons with very little in the way of effects, then armors with just a couple more. Still, there's a lot of versatility in there, so it's possible for it to be just about as handy as Noah's or- Well, okay, probably not Lei's, but close enough.
Alexsys pretty much just has some expendables, so far.
General and all his variants (which may be called by different names and backstories, but, let's face it: they're all based on the same bloody concepts and stuff) have inventories of weapons and tech that they use. However, some tech is listed with the abilities because they act as abilities. G doesn't equip them and swing them around or anything.

Those are just some examples. Really, you pretty much have to try to poorly organize an inventory, and, if you put some thought into it, it shouldn't be hard to make one that kicks ass.

[Dycedarg]

When someone launches an attack at you that is swiftly chained from another attack, just too fast for you, or especially one that you walked into, try just taking the hit without quibbling about that one-in-a-million chance that you had to get out of the way in time. Frankly, if it's hard to dodge, it probably has drawbacks to it that make it no big deal to get hit by it, anyway. Especially with standard, physical attacks, the more accurate attacks don't generally hit as hard. Just think of a simple rule to some basic punches: Jabs are quick and hard to block, but not as strong as straights. Straights are more well-rounded. Uppercuts are more predictable and a bit slower, but hurt badly. Of course, the drawbacks could be costs, charge times, wait times, or whatever, but the point is that you shouldn't feel bad about taking a hit from time to time. Unless you took your DEF or RES down to total crap, you can probably take it easily enough, and, if the attack has a wait time upon connection, you have a chance for a much better counterattack. The phrase, "to pick one's battles" isn't entirely accurate, but keep the general concept in mind. If you're just happening to get lucky on just about every attack that comes your way, you're performing a godhack. A small one, perhaps, but a godhack. No one wants that, right? Shut up, Bill. Haha, seriously, though, it's just a matter of playing fairly. If you have massive speed, sure, you're not going to get hit all that often, but, if you set your SPD to average and only get hit once per 15 normal attacks, you're pretty much completely ignoring your limits. It's a lot like reducing your MAG stat to crap (thereby allowing your other stats to be higher), then saying that you can use an infinite energy source to deal magical damage that has nothing to do with your MAG stat and is fairly powerful. Sure, some things are acceptable, but they must have a lot of limits; everything has to be limited in order to be fair. No one's asking you to just randomly take hits when you shouldn't; just, you know, don't be afraid to take a hit when you rightfully should. This isn't one of those sites where everyone god-modes by never getting hit because they want to be "realistic" and have everyone die in one stab, so it's okay for there to be very accurate attacks and even autohits, and you can really stand to take them.

[the General]

I know this isn't my say or anything, but here goes.

When creating your characters back story please refrain from saying unknown this and unknown that. Why? because even if they dont know or the metaverse doesn't know, it still happened, one way or another it happened, they may not remember killing of the Escellsia Realm then fighting an epic battle with the Zentradi Forces, but it still occured. This is just something that bothers me, cause unless they just appeared from the molocues and matter that make up the metaverse they have a story.

Now K even you know this makes sense. unless the profile is being told in a first person perpsective then the back story is'nt needed if they don't know, but it'd be good to have one anyways. Cause hey the right character may come along that can unlock some of those lots memories.

[Noah Ivaldi]

He's kinda' right. I mean, I don't mind if you leave a lot of your bio details to mystery, but, especially if you want it to be in third person (as that's generally a clean, reliable method of writing bios), you shouldn't just say something like,
"he wok up outsid huocm wit no memeri," or the like. Put some effort into it; think things through. If you really don't want to put a lot of effort into it, at least tie up the essentials. If you say that you're from some other planet, what's the planet called, and in what galaxy, what universe, what dimension-intersection? How did you get here? If your character lacks memory of past events and you're writing a third person bio, what caused the memory loss, and what memories were lost? No, you don't have to give a detailed outline of everything in the character's imaginary life, but don't just use lack of in-character knowledge as a cop-out to any sort of a decent bio. We're not asking for much; a paragraph or two could serve as an acceptable bio, but don't just throw some generic info out and call it good.

Relatedly, if you're the kind whom likes to write an essay out of your character bio, you're allowed to do so, but don't expect me to read it any time soon, so, if there's any sort of relevant info in there, it should be pointed out immediately. I don't care whether you do so by boldfacing and underlining important details that will be noteworthy in battle and such or simply stating a list of important details outside everything else, but, if you want to spend four hours writing a bunch of stuff that most people aren't gonna' bother to read (which is partially because many people whom write long bios do so in unoriginal, boring, and trivial ways), spend another four minutes to outline any stuff that we should care about.

[K]

The following is an excerpt from a conversation about why technology is allowed in a fantasy RP, rather than keeping to the sterotypical setting of modern-day society in an age in which a crossbow is the most complex weapon in existence:

Mirage: If I can ask you a question however, because I've been wondering this myself, why aren't you letting him use technology? I know why /I/ wouldn't let him, but I'm curious to see if yours is the same. >>
K: It's because of what we were just discussing.
In real life, no, technology can hardly be considered as magical.
I told him that, but he insisted thart I was being a lunatic, so I blocked him.
*that*
However, in an RP setting, "magical" refers to a collective group of a wide range of aspects.
There are three damage types:
physical (hack-and-slash)
magical (spells, skills, curses, rituals, wards, manipulations, many jutsu, techno-beams, et cetera, et cetera)
metaphysical (generally hits like physical, but has properties that make it a sorta' half-and-half deal)
null (examples are ultra-rare, usually resembling another attack type, but counting as none, usually ignoring all sorts of effects and defenses)
Er, wait.
I said damage types.
Those are the four attack types.
The three damage types are physical, magical, and null.
A piece of technology can be a "beam sword" (so long as they say what the fuck the damned beam is).
That can be physical; it can just be a glorified sword, basically.
Examples are seen in Revil's weaps.
If a machine teleports things around, assembles them without actually moving mechanical parts to push them together like normal, whatever, it's magical.
A particle beam can hit magically or physically, depending on its methods of charging, firing, what the beam is made of, et cetera.
The point, summarily, is that technology can be limited just like anything else.
It can Level-up and otherwise grow just like anything else.
If you were to read the Ivaldi Class weaponry inventory's intro, you'd see that Lei can build Growth Weapons (i.e. stuff that depends on the user and thereby gets stronger with you, just like all other weapons) or Indifferent weapons (guns and such that simply hit just as hard at all times, no matter how strong the wielder is, just like in real life).
Entirely, it's just a matter of the fact that technology is "magical" and can be evaluated just like everything else; it can just as easily be fair.
Just, you know, not when you try to use it to make-up for detrimental stats to be a total godhack...
See, this is why we have the stats system.

Note that Mirage understood it after this one explanation. If you don't get it, read it again, and, if you still don't get it, ask about it.

[K]

Be advised that you should utilize the top buttons. I never have use for any sort of topic-finding function other than "View new posts" and "View your posts" because they are reliable for keeping track of every topic, presuming that you've read all the older threads. The User Control Panel (UCP) should be visited at least once to set your preferences, then additionally for Personal Messages (PMs). In the UCP, click "Profile," and you will be in the "Edit profile" module. Here, you can set up some contact methods for yourself as well as personal info (Set your birthday so that we can know when it is and wish you a happy one!), what factions you are in (little groups that you can make up; they have no significant, in-game meaning), and links to your character info (Please give links to them after they are approved; they make it easier for people to check your stuff mid-battle.). After that, "Edit signature" is right under "Edit profile," so you can make your sig to attach to posts. Immediately after that is where you can set your avatar, then a module that allows you to change your e-mail and/or password.
Under Board Preferences, most people have the following preferences for "Posting defaults":
Enable BBCodes by default: Yes
Enable Smilies by default: No
Attach my signature by default: Yes
Notify me upon replies by default: No (This would cause you to automatically "subscribe" to each topic, thereby causing you to receive e-mail alerts for every new post in that thread.)

You also probably want to go to your mChat settings and turn the sound off. Aside from that, though, you're probably done with the UCP; I implore you to explore it thoroughly when you get the chance, but most people see little to no use for its other functions.

[K]

Go here for a tutorial on how to insert pictures and attachments, as well as some basic BBCode descriptions.

[K]

To send a PM, go to your User Control Panel, which is accessible only when signed-in.
On your left, there will be a box with several options. "Private Messages" should be one of them.
The rest should be simple, but here's how to send a new message, just to be sure that it's clear:
Click "Compose Message," an option on the left that will be visible after you click "Private Messages."
In the left box that appears, type the username that you wish to send the PM to or select them from the "Find a member" box that appears when you click the button that is under the left box. If you wish to send a message to more than one member, insert a line break between each name by pressing your keyboard's Enter button. If you wish to send the message to an entire group, you should see where to click the group name.
Click the "Add [To]" button.
Type your message's title in the subject box.
Type your message in the large box that is meant for the body of the message.
Hit "Preview" to see what your message will look like before sending it, or simply hit "Submit."

[Dycedarg]

If you post a topic and no one's replying to it, it's not a problem for you to post to yourself. Don't post to yourself too much because we then have several pages of one person doing a bunch of stuff without giving others a chance to join. If you make a thread and no one replies to your first or second post, look for a way to open the topic up for others. If you just post that you crash land in some area, you can't expect others to join because you're not actually doing anything; time isn't really passing. You crash land . . . and then . . .? If you pick a direction and start walking in it, great! Now, someone can be in your way and meet you. If you stand there and talk to yourself or sit there and think to yourself, sure, someone may happen along and start something. Maybe, if you're in a town, someone will walk by and say hi. Maybe, if you're out in the wild, a monster will come along for a fight, or someone else who wants a spar. Even then, it depends on exactly where you are. Still, the chances of someone just happening to come along while you're just sitting there isn't too impressive, and we can't do anything if the moment is frozen on your entrance or the like. Basically, just make sure that your topics are open for more people to join, and people will indeed join. If they aren't, it's probably because you haven't opened the topic up. If you're confused about whether your topic is open enough for people to join, or if you want some tips on how to keep your threads open, feel free to ask something in the chatbox or here.

[K]

When you post your char details up, admins and mods look them over to see that it's all fair, right? When we do so, we put some serious thought and effort into detailing each problem. Whether an issue applies to a single ability, all your weapons, a collection of your allies, or whatever, we aren't just complaining about what we don't like; we're telling you what's overpowered and generally why. We may also tell you what's underpowered, as in what you can tone up to fit what a Sein char should be capable of. Whatever we say, we say with proper consideration. It's not all serious stuff, but, when speaking of what needs to be adjusted, we speak from real consideration of what is and isn't fair to other players and the game.

Therefore, when you see our corrections and analyses, you should give them real consideration. "Fix this aspect" is not the same as "fix this number." When [admin/mod] says, "This needs to be fixed because you could just use it many times in rapid succession to do something that's overpowered," you shouldn't read, "Try changing 4 to 3 and seeing if I like it, then." Toning an ability down doesn't just mean making it deal a bit less damage, slightly shortening its range, or something. You have to really analyze what's fair and what's not, and your analyses will, in all likelihood, be flawed, so I appoint people who know what they're doing. I appoint people who comprehend the rules and have a good hand on what is and isn't fair. I'm not saying that the analyses are perfect; I'm not even guaranteeing 100% precision with my analyses, and I'm, well, me. You're not only free to, but encouraged to question reasons for something being adjusted; it shows that you're actually reading what we're saying and using your head. Obviously, asking why you're not allowed to start with a guaranteed instant death attack or why you shouldn't be allowed to have infinite fuel is dumb, but, if you want to ask why X attack shouldn't be as strong for Y cost or something, go ahead and pose some logical arguments. We welcome logic. Do not just keep editing in a guess-and-test method of seeing what we'll accept. It just gets on our nerves and wastes everyone's time. That's one reason why we don't yet have a ton of members; some people have decided that, rather than thinking their things through, they'll just toss ideas around until we say "approved." It doesn't work. We have the patience (even though it is very rude to us), but others end up giving up because they can't just throw something together half-assed and expect it to fly. They're lazy and rude.

We have a lot of patience; I don't appoint someone to modship without seeing that (s)he has quite a bit of patience, and I don't even think about appointing someone to adminship without seeing several times that (s)he has mountains of patience. It's not like we'll ban you if you screw up at all. It's not like you can neglect something that we say and catch all Hell for it. It's not like we'll kill you if you don't play the way that "we want you to play" or some such nonsense that other sites do. If you're blatantly ignoring us and just throwing crap around like a monkey, though, we will warn you, we will eventually scold you, and, if you keep at it, we'll enact punishments. It's rude, it's lazy, it's inconsiderate, it's obstructive (hence why we don't just tolerate it), and it can be solved if you just be mature and use your head. It's not complex.

Here are some examples (partly thanks to Bill . . .), so that you know what to watch for:

Bill, you can't have an infinite fuel/ammo system; you can't just draw as much energy as you want from the cosmos.
What if I make it so that the energy comes from a different source, like other planets, in stead of the stars?
No, Bill. It's not about where it comes from, although that could be a problem separately. It's that you can't just have as much energy as you want.
What if I make the energy come in at lightspeed, rather than instantaneously?
. . . Bill, seriously, give it up.

I don't see how this works. One minute, you're fighting them in the sky, and next, you're talking about hits from underground. You never mention teleporting, dropping down and digging, or anything; you just go from a sky attack to a ground attack. What's the deal?
*changes it to not hit as hard*
Did you even read what I said?
*changes it to hit more weakly still*
. . . Hello? What are you doing? You're not answering my question.
How weak do you want it? D:
. . . . .

I'm so tired of seeing this attack. You have tried to implement it in so many chars, both abilities and inventory, and I've told you how overpowered and illogical it is every time.
What if I call it something else?
Will changing its name make it logical? No. Will it make it fair? No. Can you guess what the answer is?
What if it's [blahblah name]?
Bill, stop. Get rid of the damned beam.
What if it works like this: [blahblah other explanation]
That's just as overpowered, because you'd essentially reduce others to nothing but physical combat while you're free to do as you please. That's not fair.
What if it only works from one angle at a time?
Not everyone starts with multi-directional attacks, and I'm not going to let you mandate that everyone should. People can fight how they bloody-well want to fight, and you can make things that aren't so overpowered as to limit people to abilities that they wouldn't bother with if not for you.
What if it only applied to [this category of abilities of the previous selection]?
It's the same issue, Bill. It goes for the other godhack barrier, too.
So I can't defend myself?!
No, you can; you can't just stand there and run a couple barriers on your infinite energy system to become nearly invincible.

I can spend an average amount of chakra to gain twice that in mana at any time.
I see that both of those parameters are high. So, you could bombard people with a ton of magic, spend half your chakra to do it all again, winning just about any battle, then just pour more chakra into your mana and wait a while for them to both fill back up so that you can go win nearly any other battle? How about not?
What if I can only use it with a quarter of my chakra at a time, or what if I spend only a little chakra to get twice that in mana?
. . . What's the difference? There's still nothing to stop you from just using it multiple times.
*quits*

If someone blocks this ability, this happens.
You need to describe this more. Among other things, it lacks an explanation of what happens if it is not blocked.
*changes it to deal less damage/have less of an effect*
Um, no, that's not what I said . . .
I don't get it.
If I block it, this happens, but what if I don't block it? Because you don't describe this, it's assumed that refraining from blocking it results in no damage or effect, so the ability is almost totally useless.
Oh . . . Well, how about the same thing happens if it's not blocked?
Then it's just unblockable. If blocking an attack doesn't change it from refraining from blocking, it just surpasses one's block attempt.
(Finally, one that ended well!)

I don't see how this is an ability. You describe a series of attacks that you do, but there's no effect, nothing special. It's just a series of normal, physical attacks. It's fine to have some combos pre-planned (though you should always have your mind open to adjust), but you don't need to list them if they're just normal attacks strung together.
What if I kick twice after the first punch?
You could seriously solve this by just removing it from the list, but you intend to change up the layout until it fits what you think that I'm looking for. Really?
*removes it*

It makes no sense for this ability to just have a minimum range without a maximum. That's effectively saying that you can't use it to very well protect yourself (as walls are kinda' supposed to do), but I can be on another planet and you can spawn it right on top of me to get in my way.
*changes the minimum range from 5 to 3 feet*
Did you even hear me?
(This one turned out to be accidental, thankfully.)

It deals some damage over time.
Is it incremental or continuous? Is it proportional or calculated by something else? What's the damage type? How long does it last/what can get rid of it?
*change* It deals small damage over time.
. . . Thanks. You're obviously paying attention.
*change* It deals small damage continuously.
There's progress . . . Now, the rest of it.
*change* It deals damage for fifteen seconds.
You're . . . regressing . . .
*change* It deals damage for ten seconds.
Okay, I'm going to stop replying until you figure this out.
What do you want; only five seconds?

The list goes on. Obviously, I paraphrased a lot for your sanity's sake, but you can see that this is a recurring problem. I normally let people's rudeness slide, but, like I said, this is getting to be obscenely obstructive. Stop just changing things until you see "approved" or "this is okay" on something. Listen to what the mods and admins have to say about what needs to be changed, and apply logic.

[Leilani]

If you're making a char and you're worried that it may be a bit of a Mary Sue/Marty Stu, check out this test (suggested by Emmy):
http://www.springhole.net/writing/marysue.htm

Keep in mind the following:
READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY! If you don't, you are 99% guaranteed to get screwed over.
Be generous with your answers. If it's "technically, I guess," go ahead and mark the box. If it's, "usually, but the question makes it sound like an absolute," go ahead and mark it, anyway. At the end of the test, you'll know how much leg room your score has.
Be sure that you're working in the right areas. Most of the questions apply to all chars. There's a section that's just for fanfics, which you can write in the Spam section of the site, but are not canon to the site's primary direction. There's a section for original fiction characters. That is not applicable because this fiction, Seinvocc, is already established, and you don't control other characters, but you should fill it out, anyway, if any of them apply to your backstory. You may skip question 10 of that section.
Finally, when you read the recommendations at the bottom, keep in mind the fact that they are pretty accurate, but have lots of leeway. Many people have complained that the test author's requisites are too strict. There are a lot of situational factors; the test author openly admits that the test is not and never will be perfect.

If you're curious, Noah, my character that could be accused of Marty Stu-dom more easily than any of my others, scored a 48. I scored him very generously (checking bad boxes that I felt to be less than 70% or 60% accurate, not checking good'ns unless at least 95% accurate), and there were quite a few situational factors, so, even if I didn't think that the requisites are rather strict, he'd be pretty savvy for an RPG char.

Since there will probably be plenty of talk about it, yes, most or all of us will agree that the score-based recommendations can be highly accurate for fanfic chars, original fiction chars, and some RPG chars, but will often be a little over the top for many others. That's okay. I don't blame the author; (s)he consolidated a test for all sorts of chars into one simple page and knows that it can't be all-telling, so (s)he knows that his/her recommendations can be a little rough. Overall, the test has my stamp of approval, but don't get all miserable just because your char scored pretty high. If the score is above 60, though, you probably should reconsider some stuff . . .

[Joanna Larken Shosmyth]

Oh, also, don't answer any of the questions about abilities. This is sorta' covered in the instructions, which state that you shouldn't answer something that's common in your universe, i.e. uncommonly colored hair/eyes in a universe with a ton of variety (like Houcm), wings in a universe in which unaided flight is normal (like Houcm), and such. What I'm saying is that this also applies to questions about whether or not your character can heal or take out a bunch of military units at once, 'cause those are standard procedure for normal Houcm chars. Well, not so much the latter once they get here, 'cause Houcm has no real military to speak of, but you get my drift. I think that I marked a couple of these questions just for the argument's sake, and my score was still not bad. I win. (By the way, since Noah didn't qualify for any of the sexual questions, which tends to be the hallmark of Mary Sues/Marty Stus, that tells you how much the test is harshly scored.)

When you get to questions like these, though, give them some thought for excess. A question about saving the world more than others or such doesn't much apply to Houcm chars, but, if your backstory involves a lot of your char being a superhero of sorts, you may as well mark it, which can also apply to questions about rebellion against authority. If you spend a significantly sized paragraph or more describing how pretty the char's hair/eyes are, mark away. As a general rule, look heavily upon your backstory, not just what's gone on here, 'cause that's the part that you wrote alone and the part that defines your char. If it asks if your char is supposed to be able to sleep with whoever xe wants, even if the other is normally chaste, don't look at Learpabru and say, "I'm pretty sure that she'd kill me twice if I even hinted at it," but look at the stuff that you have written as a backstory. Basically, just use your head.

If you're thinking of making a succubus/incubus/similar character, first, I'd advise against it, because there is almost no good way to make and operate such a char. If you still want to go ahead with it, it does not exempt you from the sexual questions. It's a well-known fact that such chars are often Mary Sues/Marty Stus, and the sleep-with-whoever-I-want-ness plays a major contribution to that, as it does with most Mary Sues/Marty Stus.

[Learpabru]

It occurs to me that some people didn't know this: You can click on various forums and subforums to see pictures of the regions and sub-regions as well as their descriptions. In case it's not obvious enough at this point, here is the full list:

You can click "Universe of Houcm" to see all of Houcm Planet and Guild World in one page. Oh, and Chao World.

Click "Houcm Planet." You'll see all the major regions and their pictures. Pretty, huh? Look at them closely, 'cause you'll be able to very easily tell how to get around by them. They're what I used to mentally map out Houcm's structure.
In Twisted Fenlands, there's K's Mansion. It's locked from being posted in by just anyone because it is heavily protected, as the description tells you.
The Necrohol of Rodentia houses the Lilith Commune.
The Hydra Yggdrasil is found in the Void Meadow.
Umbral Island is in the Abyssal Sea.
Crash Pastures have the Vuhm Guest Houses.
The Flint Ranges have Obsidian Canyon.
Shallows Village: There is the Village Broadway, The Muddy Breeze, the Boat Store, Shallows School, Shallows Pokécenter, and Bianca's Cottage. These subforums don't have pictures.
Meidkuad Castle: There is Meidkuad Palace, Scuttlejolt, Meidkuad Market, and Meikuad Pokécenter. These also don't have pictures.

Click "Guild World."
Everdrop Caverns has Entropy Chase, Nightmare's Folly, Candy Canal, and Sweet Relief.
Hutaudvale has Locco, and Xuten is in Sandstone Hollows. Sacucasu is the only one that isn't in another region.
All the guilds have a Bill Board and Residences. Locco/Sacucasu/Xuten has the Grigori Alcove/Foyer/Observatory and the Levelling Field/Infirmary/Void. Locco has the Adrenaline Springs, while Xuten has the White Hall. Locco has the Subterrane Tomb, Xuten has the Xuten Bookstore, and Sacucasu has the Forgery Pub and Highsword Halls. Like the sub-regions of the towns, the guild sub-regions don't have pics.

Go to Chao World.
Go to Chao Stadium. It has Chao Race and Chao Karate.

That's it! If you see a typo in one of the descriptions, let me know. :3