Roleplay Guide

New Horizons is a role-play-enforced MUD. This means that if you want to play a character here, you must role-play within the boundaries of our world. This does not by any means that we are a role-play-only MUD. We want to maintain a friendly, relaxed atmosphere, but this is not a chat room. If you want to talk to your friends, a Chat command is provided, but role-playing should always take priority. If you are in a room and someone talks to you in a manner which reflects their fictional character (i.e. they are behaving in character, or IC), then you should respond to them appropriately. If you want to talk to someone in a more Earthly manner (i.e. out of character, or OOC), then try to do it somewhere out of the way as to not disturb role-players. Once again, the Chat command should be used for this. It works just like the Say command, except that its appearance on your display can be toggled on and off.

In order to behave IC effectively, you should think about your character properly before you start playing with it. You should consider as many aspects of your character as possible, and writing down a profile for your own reference can often be of use. You should think about the following:

History- Your character starts at age 17-21. That means you have existed for at least 17 years already. This time may have involved some combat training, learning to focus magic, etc., but there may also be content that has led to your character being how it is today.

Behavior- What mannerisms does your character adopt, and how do they differ in different situations. Does your character act differently around a sitha compared to when around an elf? Are you afraid of walking out into a forest? Try to think of questions like these, and then come up with answers.

Race- Look up the history and background for your race. While your character is up to you, there is probably something worth knowing about how your race came to exist where it does today, and about common mannerisms, etc.

Class- If you are a knight initially, then it is unlikely you are going to have a particularly magical background. However, you may despise your status as a knight and strive to learn the ways of magic, giving you an IC transition when you come to reclass into something else.

Homeland- The races come from one of several land masses. On the Kivekian side of the world, three races reside on Abeh, three on Ossaca, one on Palatania, and one on the island of Nidaris just off the coast of Palatania. All of the Kyderrian races originate from the same continent, but it is significantly larger than any of the Kivekian counterparts. Each race comes from a specific hometown (though some may share a hometown). Read the help texts for these places, and for your specific hometown.

Now, a few things to note:

• Build a unique character. Characters from existing fact or fiction, from computer games, or even from other MUDs will not allow you to get the most out of playing here, and other players will not appreciate it either.

• Before you design your character, decide what questions you are going to answer IC. And then answer them.

• Don't assume you know this world. There are a lot of ideas in place, and creating a character, even unintentionally, that completely opposes them will be very hard to play IC. That said, the immortals have only created the guidelines. You should feel free to be creative and make up whatever you choose, as long as you can role-play it.

Finally, remember that you start the game at level 1 and age 17, with very little in the way of skills or experience. Creating a character that is the greatest of all wizards or a master swordsman from the beginning will not be very realistic. Some classes are reserved for advanced players for a reason. The most important thing to keep in mind is that your character should develop. As you work your way through your existence in the lands of Kyderria and Kivekia, your prowess will improve, and you may yet become that master swordsman you aspire towards, or your life may take some bizarre twist as you get involved with other characters and the plot lines that unfold. Be ready to add to your profile and history as you go along. The is a description system in the game for displaying your appearance for when others look at you - make use of it to express your desired 'first impression' to others.

Above all, you should be here to have fun. We are not going to force upon you hardcore role-playing. We only say that you must focus on role-play if you want to play here. Kivekia is a relaxing place to exist in (normally). Enjoy it. And remember, it is only a game.