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Getting Started (!) First, ensure that you meet our criteria for joining. If you are not 21 years or older, please come back when you are. Step One AotM's got a lot of lore! We know that may look intimidating to new players, but rest assured that the vast majority of it you can read as you go or is just present for flavor. The only things you need to read to join are:
Once you've done that, any further reading really just depends on where you want your character to live and work, and we'll help you with that in the character creation guide later. Step Two Your next step is hopping onto Discord and visiting us here! While we don't require that you roleplay on either the discord or the forum-- you're welcome to choose one over the other-- a lot of our important news and mechanics are run through the Discord, so you do have to sign up, even if it's just for OOC stuff. Ensure that staff can private message your discord account if needed. Once you've had a good look around and said hello if you'd like, please sign up for your roles in the #roles-and-alerts room. This ensures that people know important information like your @ping and DM/Private message preferences. It's pretty easy! Just click the buttons! Step Three Got your roles sorted out? Great! Head on over to the #sample-posts room. While we don't require character sheets, we do use sample posts to ensure the kind of quality writing and good cooperative storytelling that we've set out for our game. Please make sure that you're reading the pins in this room and checking out our requirements so that you can be sure that this game is for you. Once you're set with that, submit a sample post (any bit of prose is fine, it doesn't have to be a specific character or even brand new) and wait for staff to message you! We will always contact you via private messages whether you're approved or not. Step Four Once your sample post has been approved, come join us in #the-chatterbox and introduce yourself if you haven't already! We've got a handy ice breaker pinned in that room (and reposted here to help you) if you would like to use it. (CLICK FOR PROMPT!)
**HI! I'M NEW!** **__About me__** What should we call you? What're your pronouns? How did you wind up here? Do you have any pets? Give us a lil bio blurb here. Pretend it's your author's page on the back of your best selling novel. **__Hobbies, Likes__** Do you have any fandoms you're a part of? Shows, movies, or games you like? Do you enjoy drawing or writing or any other creative pursuits? How about a favorite food or animal? Tell us a little about some of the things you enjoy! Filling out your #art-permissions and signing up for our group's forum hosted here on RPR (you may also need to sign up for the site itself if you're brand, shiny new here) are your last steps before heading off to create your first character! FUN EXTRAS AotM has a Supply Store where you can use points you earn doing stuff around the game to buy fun extras like your own discord channels! We also have an achievement system. Both of these parts of the game are completely optional. |
Character Creation Ready to get started with character creation? Since we don't require character sheets, faceclaims, or an approval process, it's pretty simple. The hardest part is really deciding who to play and where! Don't forget to check out our #wanted-list room on the Discord for some ideas on who to play if you're stuck! While there are many worlds your character can be from and explore, we have three main areas both on our Discord server and here on the forums. Most of the information you'll find after this is written in character, and is meant to help you get into the mindset of the character that you'll be playing. After you've decided who and where, all you really have to do is start playing! For those who need a little more help though, or who want to create a character sheet, we have arrival prompts and character sheet templates. You can share links to references and character sheets on the discord in the #character-links room for other people to find! Want to play an Interdimensional Secret Agent? AotM agents can travel to different worlds, and spend a lot of time fighting and studying The Corruption, securing allies, and reclaiming lost worlds. Field agents may go out and destroy infections or secure Corrupted Artifacts. Home Team agents may act as healers, psychologists, chefs, animal handlers, and researchers and generally (though not always) stay at the Omphalos. Agents are most often adults, but skilled (and determined enough) individuals under 18 are also accepted under the AotM's Chaperone program. They are generally very highly supervised. Want to play this kind of character? Check out the guide links in the drop down below! (CLICK TO EXPAND)
The Traveler's Handbook Your character will receive one of these upon joining the AotM, both a paper and an electronic version. It acts as an orientation guide for anyone joining the AotM, and will help you know what your character knows. New Agent Supplies What's a spy story without spy gadgets? Your character will be given special gear and resources upon joining the AotM! This page helps you understand what those are. Codes of Conduct These are the in character rules and requirements for AotM agents, and they'll help you know what your character can and can't do while at home and on missions, as well as what the consequences are for breaking those rules. Active Threats Active Threats is all about the Corruption, which your agent will likely be actively fighting. It also lists any player controlled enemies of the AotM in case you would like to plot with them. Specialists & Ranks This page details the different jobs your character can do within the AotM and how to progress in them. It also details security ranks. Security levels will determine where your character can go in the Omphalos and elsewhere and what missions they can take part on. Most areas aren't OOCly rank locked, but some places have IC security requirements, and if your character bypasses them and goes somewhere they aren't supposed to be, it may land them in hot water with security. The Omphalos's World Page Your character is welcome to live anywhere that their security rank allows them to (this info is detailed in many of the world pages). Most agents choose to live within The Omphalos itself though, as they are given a free apartment in exchange for their services (though sometimes they have to share with a room-mate). The Omphalos is in a space separate from Harbor, Sanctuary, or any of the other worlds to protect it from attacks and location by the enemy. It rests upon a chunk of land free floating in a mysterious pocket dimension. This page will give you an idea of what it's like and what can be found there. Some new agents also choose to live in Sanctuary, though they'll have to pay for and locate their own housing if they do. There are other residential options located through some of the Gates, but they are not typically accessible to brand new agents. ★ When you're all set and know who you want to make, make sure to sign them up on the discord as an agent! Entering them in the #personnel-database ensures that they have access to agent only areas in character. It also enters them into our Mentor Program if they're new, which pairs your character with another players Mentor Character when available. Want to play a Civilian? Not everyone has what it takes to be an agent, and many people who the AotM wind up rescuing from dead and dying worlds wind up in the organization's refugee city, Sanctuary. While this unnamed world is protected from the Corruption, it poses plenty of challenges of its own. Sanctuary is surrounded by impassable mountains on three sides, and a sea full of monsters on the other. Nobody is going anywhere, anywhere fast, and the winters here can be harsh and even deadly. To make matters worse, mutating magical storms known as Cracklers or Crackle Storms for the noise they make, often sweep through the area, twisting and changing things in unexpected ways-- especially technology. The city itself may be safe from the storms, but they make building and living outside of the safety of its barriers a challenge. Still, for many Sanctuary is the only option they have, and most do their best to improve upon their new home in the ways that they can. Some settle here permanently, hoping for a way back home, while others make the most of things while they wait to be placed in a new universe. Want to play this kind of character? Check out the guide links in the drop down below! (CLICK TO EXPAND)
The Relocation Program If your character was rescued from a world taken over by the Corruption or arrived through a Rift (Sanctuary is a Nexus), then they will likely be in this program. It will tell you what to expect for them and what resources they get upon arriving. If they arrived through their own power, then they will likely not have access to these resources. Sanctuary World Page If you would like to play a civilian who interacts a lot still with the main story, they will likely be living in Sanctuary. This page will help you get an idea of what the area is like and what dangers it presents. The Omphalos World Page Civilians can use the public gate in Sanctuary's main square to visit The Omphalos. This is the only way for non-agents to access this location unless they steal a gate key somehow or have considerable power. Deities may be able to simply let themselves in, for example, but they risk drawing the interest of the powers that created it if they do. Sanctuary citizens are welcome to utilize the public parts of the facility, and many have family who are agents within the AotM. Any area with a clearance level of 0 is considered public. Areas higher than that are off limits to non-agents without an escort. You can see which areas civilians can access by checking out the #setting-and-lore area on the discord. Other Locations You are welcome to play as a civilian in any of our listed worlds that allow it. Keep in mind that outside of special circumstances or select worlds, characters who are non-agents cannot utilize world gates, and therefore their interactions may be limited to their own worlds. Consider creating a character capable of traveling through dimensions on their own power (Doctor Strange, for example) if you plan on playing a character who lives in a universe that does not have public gates available. Want to play a Villain? Though the AotM side of the game has a main focus on the hero or hero adjacent characters, there's certainly room for bad guys in our story too! Double agents, enemy of my enemy situations, or pure ambition are scenarios that might come up if you'd like to play a villain in the agency itself. Maybe your bad guy is pretending to be on the side of good to turn on them later, or maybe they think they know best and plan on trying to take over by climbing the ranks? Or perhaps having their world Corrupted was enough to make them want to ally with the good guys, just long enough to get home again. In many of these scenarios, your villain will be assigned another agent to keep an eye on them until they can be trusted. This is something the AotM calls the Leash Protocol. Other villains prefer to set up shop with a little more freedom in Harbor, a city found through secret tunnels through the mountains. They exchange snow for mosquitos and Crackle Storms for uncannily intelligent dinosaurs, but the ability to do exactly whatever they want is worth it for many. The AotM and the majority of Sanctuary as of yet remain unaware of the existence of this growing den of villains. Alternatively, you may opt to play a Big Bad for one of our missions! We're always looking for ambitious story tellers! Want to play this kind of character? Check out the guide links in the drop down below! (CLICK TO EXPAND)
AotM's Leash Protocol If your villain plans on sticking with the AotM and their crimes or villainous behaviors are discoverable, then they will likely become very familiar with the AotM's 'Leash Protocol' until they can be trusted. Please note, the Leash Protocol is usually reserved for violent crimes and dangerous individuals rather than things like theft. If the AotM has reason to believe that your character is not dangerous, their pasts may be overlooked in the face of a common enemy. Harbor World Page Want your baddie to have a bit more freedom? They'll likely be living in Harbor. Though Sanctuary is another option, it lies under the watchful eye of the AotM, and its citizens are very much for frontier justice when it comes to trouble makers. The lucky ones are the ones actually caught by the AotM. Most people of the less than sterling persuasion tend to prefer Harbor for this reason (it's also warmer.) In Harbor, you keep what you take, and the only rules are the ones you make. Creating Missions Anyone can create and run a mission! Want to play your terrible, city stomping monster or your all powerful lich? Consider offering them up as a Big Bad while you DM a story for AotM's agents! This page details how you can go about doing that. ★ If your character has enough of a reputation, someone from Harbor (NPC) will automatically seek them out and show them how to get there, as the city is actively trying to swell its ranks. Your character is expected to keep this a secret from the AotM and other people who might 'spoil the fun' however. OOCly we expect you to follow this rule, at least until Harbor can hold its own against the good guys. |
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