Newcomer's Guide (no ontology)

From Mazeworld

Welcome on the Newcomer's Guide. This page will help you prepare yourself if you are new to MazeWorld and you wish to know everything you need as a player.

Step 1: Inform yourself

The first thing to do, if the game is to your liking and you wish to participate, is to head on the FAQ. If you have more questions, head to IRC and ask questions about the game. Once you feel ready, it will now be time to think about making a character.

Step 2: Creating your contestant

Creating a character is easy and fast, so long as you respect certain conditions. Due to the nature of the game, your character, the contestant, must comply to certain restrictions.

First and foremost, select a gender between male ♂, female ♀, otoko ☿, or futanari ⚥.

Next, think up of a name! Single-named characters are allowed as much as long form names, as long as they can be referred to with a simple, single informal name or a nickname. (If your character's name was to be Maximillian, it would likely be referred to as Max simply. If it has a nickname, it can be used as the main referral as well.)

Human characters are preferred. Not-entirely-human species are allowed, so long as they are virtually the same as a human and their assets are cosmetic only. No contestant must have anything more than a regular, healthy human at the beginning. Therefore no inherent ability and no magic is allowed - the game's point is to find and acquire your strengths. The most popular variant of non-human character is humans with cosmetic animal features, such as ears, tails, unnatural hair, eye and skin colors, and so on.

Examples of humans with animal features:

• Nekojin (♂/☿: nekomusuko, ♀/⚥: nekomusume): People with feline ears and tails, but no claws or fangs, informally referred to as cat-people.
• Inujin (♂/☿: inumusuko, ♀/⚥: inumusume): People with canine ears and tails, but no claws or fangs, informally referred to as dog-people or wolf-people.
• Hebijin (♂/☿: hebimusuko, ♀/⚥: hebimusume): Snake-people, so long as they have legs and arms, and their tail is not too long. Again, no fangs and no inherent poisonous bites. They are informally referred to as snake-people.
• Other human-animal combinations are possible; ask on IRC to know if the combination you thought of is acceptable.
• Alien, nonhuman, or 'hybrid' creatures, with light physical differences from a human's only. Abnormal skin, eye, and hair colors are tolerated. "Sonic-styled" hybrid creatures, and other similar hybrids are not tolerated as their physique differs too much from a human body.
• No extra limbs or features such as a third eye, wings, more than one pair of arms or legs, etc. Tails are tolerated, so long as there is only one and it cannot serve as an extra limb (prehensile tails and such are not acceptable)
• If you have something else in mind that does not enter the descriptions above or if you wish to know if the combination you had in mind is possible, please ask questions on IRC and provide as much details as you can.

After this, a short physical stats sheet is required. The full list of data needed:
Height, weight, age, skin color, hair length, hair color, eye color, and when applicable, breast size.

Age restrictions: Physically, at the very least 14 years old, and no older than 65. A certain fitness and maturity are required.
Height restrictions: Avoid heights under 145 cm (4' 9") and over 215 cm (7' 1").
Weight restrictions: No overly lithe or weak characters, and nothing over the realm of overweight - adapt the weight in consequence.
Constitution restrictions: A minimum amount of physical strength is required because your contestant is likely to carry a LOT of swag, but no physically better than an accomplished athlete - no Schwarzenegger-like bodybuilders either, because they have a superhuman advantage of strength.

It is optional, but if you have a backstory for your character, please provide it! It will adorn the contestant's very own article on the wiki and will be shown for all to see. It may be used to develop or reveal details about this contestant's past life, personality, behavior, etc, so use it to flesh your character up!

Step 3: Sign up and play!

Contact the author, usually through IRC, and request that your character is signed up for play, by providing your contestant's name, gender, and any physical details you can. A backstory is optional, but encouraged, as it speeds up the creation of your very own contestant wiki article.

Once you are officially signed up, check the Game Schedule to pick up a date to know when to play!
The days are divided in two slots, Slot 1, or Early Game, and Slot 2, or Late Game.

The author lives in UTC+1 Standard (winter) time. Early Game is usually between 1 PM (13:00) and 7 PM (19:00), and Late Game is 11 PM (23:00) - 5 AM (5:00).

The most common time zones employed by players of the game are:
UTC+1 (Western Europe, France) - Best adapted for both slots
GMT (Greenwich Mean Time - United Kingdom) - Best adapted for both slots
EST (Eastern Standard Time - USA East Coast) - Better for Slot 2
PST (Pacific Standard Time - USA West Coast) - Better for Slot 2
MSK+4 (Irkutsk Time - Central Russia/China/West Australia) - Better for Slot 1

Step 4: Keep track!

During your progress, you will have to keep track of your character's statistics, equipment, and inventory. To avoid the hassle of reminding it in full before every session, you must make your invetory sheet and track it appropriately, changing, adding and removing to it as you play. Although the GM (The real-life one, not the in-universe GMs) also tracks your sheet, try to ask for verifications only occasionally or if you really are unsure.

More information: How to make an inventory sheet