Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]

A Beginner's Guide to Imythess
Hi there, welcome to Imythess! :welcome:

For new members like yourself, a board as big and as old as Imythess may seem a little intimidating! But don't worry, the staff and members are very friendly and want to do their best to help you have fun here. This guidebook is a summary of everything you need to know to get started role-playing here; we've accumulated a lot of information over the years and we don't want you to get lost!

The guide is broken down into different sections, each of which you can jump to by clicking below. Feel free to skip over any parts you already understand.
  1. What is Imythess?

  2. Registration

  3. Rules

  4. Introduce Yourself!

  5. Character Creation

  6. Account Settings

  7. Posting

  8. Special Groups

  9. Shops & Inventories

  10. Asking for Help

  11. Chit Chat & Games

  12. Suggestions & Staff Requests

  13. Miscellaneous

Let's start from the beginning, shall we? :)

1.] What is Imythess? [Back to Top]
  • Imythess is a creative writing board where you narrate the story of a character in the medieval land of Imythess, on the planet Chaon. Each topic is an opportunity for your character to interact with the world and its peoples by cooperatively writing pieces of a story with other members, one post at a time. We call this role-playing, because you assume the identity of your character as if it were your own.


  • Traveler's Guide: You can read more about the in-character world of Chaon and the land called Imythess in our Traveler's Guide. The guide is chock-full of information on our history, geography, common races and holidays.


2.] Registration [Back to Top]
  • In order participate, you must register an account for each character you would like to play (only one character per account, please). Registration is free, fast, and simple. On the registration page you can even start filling in some of your character's description if you so choose. If this is your first time in Imythess, we recommend sticking to just one character while you become familiar with everything.


3.] Rules [Back to Top]
  • It is always important to understand the rules of any community in which you are involved. Our rules can be found here, and are pretty self-explanatory. Anything you don't understand will probably be explained in this guide.


  • Our chat box also has its own set of rules. Be sure to read over them before chatting.


4.] Introduce yourself! [Back to Top]
  • We love getting to know our newest members, so please stop by the Welcome Board and say "hello!" This is where you are likely to receive your first invitation to role-play, so don't be bashful; we aren't!


5.] Character Creation [Back to Top]
  • No Approval Necessary: Once you've registered, there is no approval process or application required to play in Imythess.


  • Basic Profile Information: Pick your character's basic information by first going to Preferences -> Update Profile and filling in the fields listed there. The Character Profile Explanations in the Character Creation Guide forum can help you with understanding and choosing these details. We recommend reading the list of Imythess' common races for ideas on what types of characters you might want to use, but as long as you follow the rules then you are free to write whatever character details you choose, including custom races and classes. These profile fields have short limits and are intended to be a very brief description that appears next to each post you make.


  • Extended Description: If you want to write a more detailed description, you can start a new topic in the Character Descriptions forum. We highly recommend that you put a link to your extended character description into Preferences -> Update Profile -> Link to Extended Character Description.


  • Character History: You are also encouraged to come up with some background history information for what your character's life has been like up to the point at which their story in Imythess begins. You can create a topic for this in the Character Histories forum.


  • Character Reviews: If you'd like to get feedback on your character or get help working out the details, you can ask for advice in the RP Tips & Help forum.


6.] Account Settings [Back to Top]
  • We recommend adjusting some of your account settings, starting with your time zone if you haven't already done so. You can set your time zone in Preferences -> Board Settings.


  • Avatars: An avatar is a picture that represents your character. By default, if you don't have an avatar, this icon will serve as your avatar. To change it, navigate to Preferences -> Change Avatar. You may either choose an avatar from the default gallery, link to an external image, or upload an image from your computer. For uploading, the maximum file size is 35 KB. When your avatar is displayed on the board, its maximum dimensions are 170 pixels wide by 250 pixels high. If your image is larger than these dimensions, it is automatically scaled down proportionally.


  • Signatures: Your signature appears at the bottom of each of your posts and can be edited by navigating to Preferences-> Change Signature. This is where you should put links to any additional character-related information that doesn't go in your profile, like your character's history, lists of RPs and character ties, or character themesongs.

    Any new items you receive may be placed into your signature as well. If you leave your signature blank, that essentially makes it not exist and does not allow admins to edit it, so be sure to put something in there or have an inventory topic made.

    Members will often include small banners or character-related artwork in their signatures, all of which are limited to a maximum size of 500 pixels wide and 400 pixels tall.


  • PM Notifications: Unless you keep a close eye on the one tiny number at the top of the board, it can be difficult to tell if you have a new PM. If you go to Inbox -> PM System Settings -> Display an alert whenever you receive a new PM -> Yes, you can turn on a nice toaster-style pop-up notification that makes it much easier to tell if you've got a new message in your inbox.


  • Enable Blog: In Preferences -> My Blog you can enable your own personal blog. Feel free to use this for whatever personal thoughts or wishlists you'd like to share with everyone.


7.] Posting [Back to Top]
  • Role-Playing: This is what makes the Imythess-world go 'round! Once you've filled in your character's profile information you're ready to use them in Imythessian stories. Every post made in the In-Character boards should tell a little piece of story revolving around your character and their adventures. It is preferred for you to use the 3rd person perspective to describe your character's actions as though you were an observing narrator who is not part of the story."


  • Plotting & Character Development: It often helps to plan your topics out a little with other members to define the goal of the topic and keep it moving. The Role-Play Related Discussion forum is a great place to plot out your topics. It is also meant to help you discuss your character's personal development if you're looking for new direction or something to spice up your character's ongoing storyline.


  • Tips: If you are looking for ways to improve your writing, you can ask other members for their feedback in the Role-Playing Help & Tips forum. It can help to have a fresh pair of eyes look over your writing and give constructive criticism if you are struggling with something. There are also some good topics pinned inside to get you started.


  • BBCode: There is a special set of coding called Bulletin Board Code (BBCode) that allows you to format your text when you post. The BBCode Usage List tells you what codes are available, how to use them, and where they work.


  • Guided Role-Plays (GRPs): Often abbreviated as GRP, a guided role-play is a staff-made storyline seed for a group of players to use in a role-play topic, usually for a reward. These are most often used for holidays and to drive the board plot forward. Most GRPs can be found in the GRP forum, but are sometimes posted in the Announcements forum as well.


8.] Special Groups [Back to Top]
  • Role-Player Levels: In order to balance quality and quantity of posts, members have the opportunity to earn discounts in the shops by putting more time and effort into their posts. This is done by applying for different Role-Player Levels that are awarded based on your creativity and proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation etc. The four levels are Role-Player (every member begins here upon joining), Intermediate Role-Player (IRPer), Advanced Role-Player (ARPer) and Expert Role-Player (ERPer). Participation in the RPer levels system is completely optional.


  • Guilds: There are several member-created groups called guilds in which you can participate to identify yourself with a particular group of characters, an organization, or a set of common interests or goals. Many of these guilds come with their own guild RP forums and special group colors. You can read the guilds information topic for complete information on how to participate.


9.] Shops & Inventories [Back to Top]
  • What It Is: There are limits on your character's abilities and the equipment they may possess. Initially, you only have basic food and clothing and your free starting equipment. Everything else (spells, weapons, transportation, etc) must be purchased from our shops.


  • How To: In order to purchase from the shops, you must have enough gold to spend on the item(s) you desire. This topic fully explains how to earn gold, as well as how to use it for buying, selling, trading and auctioning.


  • Inventories: When your Sales Counter transactions are completed by the staff, your items will be placed into either your signature or your inventory topic. You are required to keep a topic for holding all of your inventory items, as this is how the staff tracks which items you possess. You can do this by starting a topic in the Inventory Pages forum.


  • Pricing: All items have a base price and a sell back price that is half of the base price. Members who have earned higher RPer Levels receive a discount for each new level. All of these prices are listed next to each item in the shop topics.


  • Item Customization: You are allowed to make modifications to your items. You can change their pictures, colors, and other non-essential details about them without having to ask. For more complicated/powerful changes, like fusing 2 weapons together to create a new, unique weapon, you may request staff approval in the Staff Requests forum. The fusion/modification guide will help clarify what you can and cannot request in your customizations.


10.] Asking for Help [Back to Top]
  • Hopefully you've read the guide, rules, and various pinned topics, but you are still likely to have questions. Before asking around for help, we recommend reading the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page. A lot of your questions are probably already answered there.


  • Next, try using the search page to dig around the Help forum and see if your question has already been asked and answered there.


  • If all else fails, post a topic in the Help forum. Please don't PM the staff with your questions because posting them in public allows for everyone on the board to see and answer your question. It will get your question answered a lot faster, and it will also benefit others who may have the same question.


11.] Chit Chat & Games [Back to Top]
  • Looking for somewhere to discuss non-RP subjects, play games, or share links to artwork and other websites? The General Discussion section and its subforums house the main out of character sections for you to discuss whatever is on your mind.


12.] Suggestions & Staff Requests [Back to Top]
  • Suggestions: If you have an idea you'd like to suggest to the staff, you're welcome to start a topic about it in the Suggestions forum.


  • Staff Requests: Any time you spot a typo in an official topic/page, or something that needs corrected on the board, you can let us know by posting about it in the Staff Requests board. This is also where you post your applications for new RPer Levels and staff positions. It serves many other functions too, so please read the Staff Requests Guidelines for full details.


13.] Misc [Back to Top]
  • Holidays & Events: We love to celebrate holidays and periodically have events. It is usually worthwhile to stop by the board on every major holiday, there are giveaways and competitions that give you the opportunity to earn gold and items outside of role-playing. We also celebrate Imythess' birthday every year, along with holidays that are unique to the world of Imythess, so be sure to learn about our culture in the Traveler's Guide section on Events & Festivals.


  • Birthday Presents: Every year on your birthday, you get a free gift from the shops with a value of up to 100 Gold. Or, you can opt to just receive the gold. You should read the birthday prize guidelines to learn how to claim your birthday gift and how long you are eligible to receive it.


  • Terminology: We have a lot of common role-play related terms we will often abbreviate. Some words and acronyms that you will see very often are:
    • Thread - Another word for "topic."
    • Sig - An abbreviation for "signature."
    • Char / Chara / Charrie - An abbreviation for "character."
    • Alt - An abbreviation for "alternate account/character."
    • Guild - A type of member-run "club."
    • FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
    • IC - In Character
    • OOC - Out of Character
    • PC - Player Character
    • NPC - Non-Player Character
    • RP - Role-Play
    • RPer - Role-Player
    • IRPer - Intermediate Role-Player
    • ARPer - Advanced Role-Player
    • ERPer - Expert Role-Player
    • PrC - Prestige Class
    • GRP - Guided Role-Play

Theme © Lothlómendil · Theme Images © World of Warcraft
Imythess © Laoura · Posted content © its respective authors.
RPG-Directory RPGD CATEGORY :: FANTASY Red Carpet & Rebellion The A List RolePlay Gateway Facebook Twitter Google Buzz Planet Nexus