[ Role Playing Guide ] | A basic foundation |

[The Grand Weaver]

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Role Playing is the breath of life for the characters within the Realm. They grow, they think, they live, they die by the written word. Sometimes we have an idea for a character but often time they surprise us and develop on their own. In time, these characters take on a life of sorts. Role playing not only breathes life into fictional characters, but it forms powerful bonds between players and builds up a community united through story. We laugh together, we cry together, we celebrate life and pay our respects to characters who have fallen in the name of a good story. They become legends and a small part of who we are.

Here at the Realm of B'alam, we reward a good story. The more you role play your characters, the more you contribute to the story of the Realm, the more heart you put into your stories, the more you will be rewarded.

Role Playing brings along an assortment of perks within the shop. When we say we want to build a community, we truly mean it. Rewards include, but are certainly not limited to:

◘ Additional offspring in breeding.
◘ The obtaining of a Magus.
◘ Additional spells for your Magus.
◘ Colonies.
◘ Prizes for colony contests.

This guide is here to help you understand the benefits and guidelines of role playing within the shop. If you still have questions or concerns after reading over the guide, feel free to ask us! We want to ensure that everything is easy to understand so we can all get on with the fun!

 

[The Grand Weaver]

Life & Death •••

The Birth of a B'alam - Woven into Being •••
When a B'alam enters into the realm of life without the aid of a mother and a father, they are given life directly from the hand of the Grand Weaver himself. While woven cubs can and do happen, often times the Grand Weaver will breathe life into an adult B'alam directly. These B'alam have the ignorance of an infant but the instincts within them to survive. Most B'alam are given the desire to learn and the instinct to seek out a Magus, an awakened being, to understand their world a little better.

This instinct will often lead the B'alam to seeking out B'alam who share their tribe, or species, with them. They dwell in environments suited to their needs and grow together as a community under the protection and guidance of a Magus. B'alam often find their place within these kingdoms, taking up a trade that plays to their individual skills and strengths. Together, they build communities and cultures as unique as they are.

However, rogue B'alam are just as common as those that seek out the guidance and leadership of an enlightened being. Some B'alam choose another path. They seek their own way, they explore the land, and in time some may even grow to become lead Magus themselves. B'alam can create their own colonies under the jurisdiction of the founding Magus or their descendants. Some create colonies, others create armies. Everything from their first breath to their final one is a choice. Some are content to live as they were designed to live while others defy their own design.

The Birth of a B'alam - Blessed to a Yoliliztli •••
When the two halves of a whole, a male and a female, unite under the Grand Weaver's blessing, they can produce new life. The couple carve out totems and present them to the Grand Weaver. If he finds them to be worthy of blessing, some or all of their totems are given new life. These are the makings of new B'alam. The new B'alam resemble their parents and carry on their legacy. These B'alam are the only B'alam with parents, siblings, and blood relations.

These B'alam grow under the care of their parents. Their personalities, strengths, weaknesses, and opinions are often formed by the sort of upbringing that they have and the experiences they have growing up. The blessed-born B'alam are not given the instincts of their parents and must learn how to hunt, how to seek out water, and how to survive in their world. In every sense of the word, they are blank slates to be shaped by the world around them.

Some B'alam remain with their family their entire lives, others may choose to leave when they are old enough to fend for themselves. The choice is always theirs.

Special Questions

"Can a B'alam be born with a disability?"
Yes, this is something that can happen. B'alam woven directly into being may be given a special challenge to their being. No B'alam will be born missing limbs or with confusion regarding their spirit or being. Acceptable disabilities are as follows:

• Blindness
• Muteness
• Deafness

Further disabilities will be the result of a B'alam's life and hardship. A B'alam can lose limbs, break bones, lose their eyesight, their hearing, their voice, etc. through life circumstances. The Grand Weaver is not so cruel as to weave a B'alam into being with anything too extreme. These things come about due to decisions made by the individual or those around them.

"Can a B'alam be born with a predisposition or confusion regarding themselves?"
No. Every B'alam is essentially a blank slate. They have a half-spirit, a body, and an awareness that they will be fully aware of from the moment they take their first breath. Some B'alam will choose to question these things, even attempt to change them. Some B'alam will make choices that will lead others to believe them to be evil or delusional. Some will form their own beliefs regarding the realm, their own being, and the ways of the world. Some B'alam will wish to be something else, regardless of what they were woven to be. Some may wish they were birds, some may even see themselves as gods. All these things are a result of things after they have been woven into being. Again, the Grand Weaver isn't the type as to weave evil, confusion, or delusion into his creations.

"Can offspring die at birth?"
Not unless they are killed by another. Every Totem is given a strong breath of life.

"Are all carved toems given life?"
Sometimes they are. It's really up to the player how many totems the couple carves for themselves but it's up to the Grand Weaver to decide how many of those totems should be given life. Out of character- this is often determined by a dice roll. You can role play as if all or just some of the totems are given life. The lifeless totems are not 'stillborn offspring', they're trinkets that were just not given life. They're no more dead or alive than the material they're made out of.

The Death of a B'alam •••
While B'alam will not pass away from old age, they can die. B'alam are exposed to illness, violence, and accident as much as anything else is. In time, wars may even break out, cults may rise that believe that some individuals should be exterminated, or illnesses can begin to effect the population. The land itself can even be dangerous. There are storms, floods, fires, and blizzards that can pose as a threat to B'alam that are not well-equipped to face such things.

B'alam are living things. They hold longivity so they stop aging around the prime of their lives but they can be killed, they can grow ill and fade away, they can fall into a trap, or get swallowed up by a storm. These things may happen more and more as the plot of the shop rolls on. The shop actually may give away characters that are predetermined to die so this reality is revealed to the B'alam and to add some depth to the story.

We will even reward character death in our own ways. It takes a lot to kill a character, especially if you have grown to love them. However death as much as life is part of a great story that moves all things along.

Questions concerning death

"You said you reward death? What does that mean?"
Often times we will give away characters with the stipulation that they die in a future plot. These characters will die, yes, but they will also be guaranteed a breeding slot before they die so their legacy will pass on. It's up to the owner whether or not they seek out a lifemate and take us up on this offer.

"What if I decide to kill a B'alam without it being predetermined?"
This is a pretty hard thing to do, we understand. But we do want there to be some death to give some gravity to the shop, the story, and the characters that will be effected. If you kill off a character, you will be given a free custom credit that you can use when a colorist opens customs. These credits can only be applied towards on-gaia custom openings. RL bribes are another matter entirely. Essentially, you get a 100% discount if your custom is taken up/rolled/whatever.

"Can my B'alam come back from the dead?"
No. Once your B'alam has died they have returned to the hand of the Grand Weaver and are assumed to be in the forever-lands as pure spirits once more. They're free from pain and strife, so don't worry about them anymore!

"Can my B'alam return as a spirit?"
For now, no. This may change in the future but if we allow it, spirits will be heavily controlled and extremely limited.

 

[The Grand Weaver]

Qualifications of a "Complete Roleplay" •••

Many times you will see the term, "Requires a complete roleplay" and you may be asking yourself, "What does that mean?" Well, that means that you'll have to hit a 'bar' of completion.

This term is a little misleading, as there are many ways to roleplay. In a way, you'll never really finish a rp so long as your character lives. Sure, there will be moments that begin and end but that doesn't mean that they are complete. "Complete" is an umbrella word that's familiar to those of us in the B/C community in dealing with roleplaying requirements. "Complete" here is meeting a bar of effort. We want to reward effort and dedication, not how many threads you start.

Some people are perfectly fine creating thread upon thread for different moments and chapters in their characters' lives. Some people RP over a messenger and log the role play. Still others may create a thread and rp for ten, twenty, even a hundred pages. One style takes any more or less effort and we're not the sort of shop to demand a certain way of roleplaying. There may even be massive role plays where several players interact in a common ground.

There is no reason why a thread with 20 posts should get a reward because it says "Finished" in the title and a thread with 20 pages should be considered incomplete because it's still ongoing. This kind of restraint makes us feel rushed, like we have to meet some sort of deadline. Instead, we want to see effort equally rewarded.

So what makes a roleplay "complete"?
• You can create a thread and roleplay within it, logging a single moment, chapter, or interaction. You begin it, you roleplay the moment, and you close it. In order for this to be considered "complete" each participating party needs to have at least 1,000 words. We ask that you post a word count on the first post so we can confirm it for your perks easily.

• You can log aim, MSN, Skype, or PM roleplays in a thread. You don't have to declare a set beginning or end. Every 1,000 words counts as a 'complete' roleplay. If you have a rp log that has 3,000 total words, you can count that as 3 'complete' roleplays. Just mark these 1,000 word milestones in your post.

• You can create an ongoing rp in a thread. Rather than post or page counting, again we're asking that every 1,000 words be counted as 'complete'. You can keep a continuing word counter in the first post of this logged rp and update it as you go. If you go 10,000 words in however many pages, this will count as 10 complete rp's.

Do's and Don't's of "Complete Roleplays" •••
Do •••
→ While it's not a requirement, it makes confirming complete rp's easier for the staff if you include a word count at the start of a rp. The player who posts first should be tasked with this.

→ Roleplay as much as you'd like. Don't feel like a RP has to be 'wrapped up quickly' to qualify for perks and breedings. Just as long as you've hit 1,000 words on your part, you'll get credit. Don't rush things, that's how stories start to get boring.

→ Include as many players and characters as you'd like. Sometimes this really helps to add a lot to a roleplay. Again, don't feel constrained. Just do your part and make sure that you hit 1,000 words.

Don't •••
→ Do not assume that one person can carry the weight of any milestone. If you're throwing out one-liners while your partner tosses out large paragraphs, they will get the credit and you will not. YOU are responsible for 1,000 words, they are responsible for 1,000 words. We will not let anyone carry someone else's weight in this regard. You get rewarded for your effort and your effort alone.

→ Do not try to trick us. We will be double-checking word counts. If you have 800 words and claim 1,000 you can have your perks suspended. We're going on an honor system right now. Do not abuse it.

→ Do not try to use roleplays that have already been used. These credits are like currency. once you've spent a certain rp it's used up. You can't use one rp to gain a breeding and a magus- you have to use different rp's every time.


The rule of 1,000 •
One thousand is not a scary number when it comes to writing. It's pretty standard for an essay, a summery, or a very short story. It does take some effort to produce, but after a while it'll come easier and easier. If you're the type of rper to do one-liner's back and forth this may take more time but this is the most fair way of ensuring that everyone is rewarded regardless of how they choose to rp.

A Thousand Word Visual

Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Blah blah 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blah.
_______________________________
1,000 words total.

See? It's not so scary.

Presenting your complete roleplays •••
Organization may not be your strong point. We understand. However, if we're all a little organized, no one person has to run around micro-managing. We don't really care how you keep track of your roleplays and points. Until it becomes a problem, we're going to run on an honor system.

Most people will log their rp's in their journals. This is not a requirement, but it is a handy way of keeping your rp's in order. We have an optional form here for you to use if you choose to do so.

[b]Role Plays ||[/b]
[quote="Key"]
◘ Complete RP/Contains at least 1 complete rp
○ Incomplete RP
x Abandoned RP
[strike]Strike[/strike] - Claimed for a perk
[/quote]
[ ◘ ] || [URL=link to rp]Name of RP[/URL] || [ [u]Current Word Count [/u]| 000 ] || Character(s) Involved || Complete RP's Included in Link: # ||

Posting for Perks •••
When presenting rp's for perks such as breeding, a magus, or new magus spells, you must include a link to every RP you have completed. In the case of a long, ongoing 1,000+ word rp, be sure to specify that the link you provided includes more than one complete rp. This link should specify how many words are included on the first post and how many words belong to which players.

Example

"Avengers Assemble!" - RP
Characters: Thor, Loki, Captain America
Players: Thalion, Ririka, Gunsniper
Wordcounts:
→ Thalion || 2,500 words | 2 Complete RP's |
→ Ririka || 800 words | 0 Complete rp's |
→ GunSniper || 3,000 words | 3 complete rp's |
__________________________
6,300 words total

_____________Rp begins in next post_____________

In this example there is a total of 6,300 words between three players. Thalion and GunSniper have both earned some RP credits. Ririka, however, has not! She only has 800 words. Just because there are over 6,000 words doesn't mean that everyone involved has put in the same amount of effort. Thalion and GunSniper have earned their perks, Ririka has not. Likely because Loki is adopted. (Running joke...)

So if Ririka wants to claim a complete RP on this, she will have to kick out another 200 words which, really, is not much. A decent sized paragraph is 200 words easily.