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the Rift
| FAQ |
CREATING A PROFILE How do I edit my profile? Do I have an OOC account? Does the profile support HTML? Can I join as a hybrid or with magic? What are the size limits for avatars and profile pictures? What is an "other"? I am not good at art. How can I get a picture? Why can't I join whatever character design I want? YOUR FIRST POST Where should I make my first post? What style should I use? Do I have to have good grammar? Is there a word limit? No one has responded to my post, what do I do? HELOVIA LORE Who are the Gods and what do they do? What are the four herdlands and who lives there? What is a "Random Event"? What is an amulet? What is a companion? What is a magic ability? How do I get magic/companions/amulets? GAME PLAY How does my character build relationships? What are "foal stats"? How do I get a special rank in a herd? What is a stealth, and what do I do if my character is stolen? What is an "invasion"? How do I edit my profile? Editing your profile is a rather simple process. Directly under Helovia's banner is a series of links. User CP will appear bolded. Click on it. It will take you to your control panel. On the left side is another series of links. Click on Edit Profile and it will take you to another page that will allow you to edit your character's profile information. Do I have an OOC account? No. The only members of the site that will have an OOC account will be the Admin. Does the profile support HTML? Yes, the profile does support HTML. The only thing you have to keep in mind is when you want to start a new line you must use a break. Can I join as a hybrid or with magic? The only time you can join as a hybrid or with magic is if you claim a hybrid or magic slot at the beginning of each season or if it was awarded to you as a prize. Foals within the site however, may be born as a hybrid or with magic depending upon parent genetics or contest prizes. What are the size limits for avatars and profile pictures? Avatars must be 220px long by 100px wide. Profile pictures must be no larger than 750px wide. What is an "other"? An other is a character that you join that is no species of horse. Each player is allowed to have one 'other' character. You can change your other's species once within the first month of creation. After the month is up you may not change it again. Others may gain through the site, 1 active magic ability and 1 passive magic ability, may participate in drops, but they cannot bond to companions. Others can breed with characters, though any offspring has very little chance of survival. I am not good at art. How can I get a picture? There are two ways in which you can get useable art on Helovia that is within the rules. You can use the pre-made templates which are located here: http://helovia.net/showthread.php?tid=2312 or you can post a thread on the Art Nook board requesting an image for your character. Why can't I join whatever character design I want? We get this question asked alot! The simplest answer is to think of Helovia as "Lord of the Rings". Most of the characters in LotR were understated visually but driven by their character. This is what we strive for on Helovia. Characters who are odd looking are considered odd looking. So if you have a character with alot of feathers or multiple eyes, they would be considered a freak - just like they would be a monster in LotR. You can join these more odd characters once you've been around playing with us and have earned passes, but your first character should be driven by the content of their hearts and souls and not by the flash of their appearance. You can also think of Helovia as a "wild horse" RPG with rare and exciting magic. Most of the characters are ordinary creatures raised to the extraordinary by the gods and powers. Helovia is very rural with no standing structures or modern government systems. It's old time fantasy through and through! Where do I make my first post? You must make your first post in the Helovia's Threshold. The admin treat your first post like an application of sorts and check to see if your profile is filled out; if you need to make adjustments, an admin will contact you via PM. Your rank will not be changed until you address the issues. If you know what herd you want to join, select a prefix (located to the left of the post title) with the proper herd. They are color coded so that herd members will know to get your thread! What style should I use? Helovia has no set style, so use whatever style you're comfortable with or, if you want, experiment with a new style! Do I have to have good grammar? Yes. Helovia is a literate site meaning that you must spell correctly and have correct grammar. If you are unsure about how to spell or if your grammar is incorrect you can put your post in Microsoft Word and check it there. Is there a word limit? There is a 150 word minimum for every post you make In Character. To lengthen you post describe the area around your character, what your character is feeling, or thinking. No one has responded to my post, what do I do? Check your post first. Have you posted in the correct forum? Is your grammar and spelling correct? If it is not then correct it. If you still do not receive any posts you may bump your thread because it may have been skipped over. If you still do not receive any posts you may contact one of the Admin for guidance. Who are the Gods and what do they do? Helovia is the home to four main deities: God of the Sun, God of the Moon, and God of the Earth, God of the Spark. All four of the Gods are responsible for controlling the magic on site through various drops. The gods have shrines that can be visited at the Veins of the Gods, where they may periodically appear to speak with a mortal. The God of the Sun is responsible for Fire and Light magic. The God of the Moon is responsible for Wind and Dark magic. The God of the Earth is responsible for Water and Earth magic. The God of the Spark is responsible for Spark and Time magic. What are the three herdlands and who lives there? There are four herdlands in Helovia and you can information about their residents and ranks within stickied threads in the herdland boards. The Aurora Basin is an icy wilderness full of caves and frozen beauty at the Northern edge of Helovia. The Dragon's Throat is a desert waste with an oasis and unusual tree at the Western edge of Helovia. The Windtossed Foothills is a mountainous range with grasslands and a waterfall at the Southern edge of Helovia. The World's Edge is a forest plateau full of mist jutting out over the sea at the Eastern edge of Helovia. What is a "Random Event"? Random Event is an admin controlled account used for drops or any other spontaneous activity that may occur on the site. The NPC account, which is a similar account to Random Event, is user run and open for anyone to use, but it is restricted from giving away magic, items, or companions. What is an amulet? An amulet is a magical stone, often crafted into some sort of jewelry for the ease of the wearer, which has magical properties. There are four kinds of amulets in Helovia, each one dedicated to a certain God. They are typically colored in the theme of that God, but they do not have to be. God of the Sun - this amulet is a "storing amulet", and it allows for any magic purposefully cast in its direction to be stored for a single use. God of the Moon - this amulet is a "stealing amulet", and it allows the holder to replicate any magical ability cast in the near vicinity to be stored for a single use. God of the Earth - this amulet is a "warding amulet", and it allows for magic cast at your character to be absorbed until itself, shattering, but saving you the damage. God of the Spark - this amulet is a "deflection amulet", and it allows for magic cast at the character to deflect back onto the character that cast it, shattering afterwards. What is a companion? A companion is an animal which can be bonded to your character. A 'bond' will eventually lead to your character being able to communicate through mind speech with its companion. A bonded character will likely never be far from its companion, and the death of either one will likely bring on the death of the other. There are two types of companions on Helovia: mythical and normal. A normal companion is any animal that can be found on Earth. For example, this includes cats, dogs, birds, ferrets, etc. Anything you can name, your character can bond to. A mythical companion is a creature that is not found on Earth. As the name implies, mythical creatures often have inherit magic and other skills that separate them from a normal companion. What is a magic ability? A magic ability is the presence of one or two elements of the gods in a character, giving them power. A character may have 3 abilities total, 2 active magic and 1 passive magic – Others may only have 1 of each. Active Magic is any ability that may affect the character, other characters, the environment, or variations of all three. This ability may be used in battle, and has certain restrictions specified in the Records page. Magic may only be used twice in a battle unless specified otherwise. Passive Magic is any ability that only affects the character. It cannot affect other characters or the environment, and is a magic that a character doesn’t turn on or off, but occurs constantly. Because of this though it may be present in a battle, it cannot be directed towards anyone or anything, and will wear off over the course of the fight as the character takes damage. Examples of abilities that are not passive include: crafting, eavesdropping, healing of others, illusory, mood altering, telepathy, shape shifting… etc. Certain ranks within a herd come with rank magic, but these are rank abilities that your character doesn't possess once their rank is changed. These are not considered personal magic, as magic is normally referring to. How do I get an amulet/companion/magic? Magic, amulets and normal companions can all be earned through site contests as prizes that may be offered, through drops that occur periodically in the site, or as random gifts bestowed by the gods to characters deemed active and deserving. How does my character build relationships? Your character will build relationships with others through posting with them. If you are having trouble finding people to post with, or you have a certain plot you want to play out with your character, you should try visiting our Plot board located in the OOC section of our forum. On the Plot board, you may request friends, a lover, or even enemies for your character. If you have a certain story you want played out with your character, you may include this as well. The Plot board may also be used to find aid for quests. What are "foal stats"? Foal Stats are the basic make up of foals born on-site in Helovia. An admin will post these from the Official account when your character breeds with another. Please be sure to note that foals are only conceived when the stats of both parents have been posted. More information is located in the Secret Grove Things included in foal stats are the foal's gender, future height, coat color, health, and whether or not the character is born with magic. How do I get a special rank in a herd? The first thing to do is check the herd's page which details out available ranks. These will be stickied threads in each herdland, and be mindful that each herd is different. Some ranks may be "begin" ranks, and these are ranks that your character is allowed to automatically assume once you are accepted into the herd. Other ranks, which are of a higher caliber than begin ranks, will often require permission from the herd leader to assume. Most ranks may also be challenged for. Be sure to read the rules of the herd to determine which ranks can and cannot be challenged for before starting a challenge thread. To challenge for a rank, you will need to post an official challenge thread in the Battleground board with either the current holder's name or, in the case that the rank is empty, the leader's name in the title of your challenge. Please see our fighting rules for further details on how to continue. What is a stealth, and what do I do if my character is stolen? A "stealth" is an OOC function that allows characters to be stolen IC. The Stealth board is home to all stealths, both current and archived. A stealth is usually a small verse with clues about the character being stolen. Further rules and guidelines are located on the Stealth Board. If your character has been successfully stolen, then it is usually assumed that they are taken to the herd or outcast who has stolen your character by force. An ambush type scenario is often used, but you may be as creative as you wish. You may not challenge for your freedom nor be saved for 1 week real time. However, your captor may release you before that week is up. What is an "invasion"? An invasion is an attempt to overthrow a herd and replace it with another outcast band or herd. Challenge threads will be posted and the defending force (the herd being invaded) is responsible for responding and fighting to keep their herd from being taken over. Any established herd may invade another, and if they are successful, that second herdland comes under their control. An outcast band may also invade a herdland in order to gain a home. If an invading force is successful, they may choose whether or not former members of the herdland may stay or they may force them to leave. |
