Starting Guide

Antarok is a forum roleplaying game - a Forum RPG - where stories are facilitated over forum threads using a character sheet (CS) to represent your character, who they are, and what they can do. This is analogous to tabletop roleplaying games, but without dice. The game is freeform; you come up with goals based on what your character would want, and write about them with respect to the grimdark-steampunk fantasy setting of Antarok and its lore.

Starting a Character

Registration

The very first step to playing on Antarok is registering a forum account here. Once that is done, it's recommended to join our community Discord. We will be able to assist you with any questions you might have from that point on.

You can find Character Sheet Templates here. Post them in this forum, in the following order: Information, Skills, Inventory, Relationships. We recommend using a Word Processor such as Google Documents, Microsoft Word, or Scrivener (the best!) to organize your writing.

BBCode

Every character sheet has BBCodes such as [b]Name:[/b]; make sure you write your words after the [/b] so that 'Name' is highlighted but not your own words. Be careful not to mess up your codes, and remember that you can always 'quote' another post to look at its code without submitting that reply.

Race & Age

When creating a character, you must first figure out which race you would like to play. Each race on Antarok has its own biology, racial abilities, appearance, and some are even born with Arcana!

• Race List

Appearance

Find an image online to represent your character, then write at least a paragraph describing what your character looks like. Refer to the race you chose for additional reference material.

Personality

Write a paragraph or more talking about how your character acts, what they like or don't like, and how they might respond to certain situations. Opinions, philosophies, religion, Arcana, and even race can play a huge role in shaping someone's personality.

Location

Where is your character now? Peruse the available domains on the forums; areas with lots of player activity will make it easier to find a partner.

Name

Each race should have a naming convention associated with it, but these are not required. Avoid having names that are offensive, overt puns, or names that contain numbers. Your forum account name should match one of that character's names; If a character has a title as their account name, they should also have a given name in their character sheet. You can change an account name here.

Arcana

Antarok is a setting steeped in magic. Consider beginning with a form of Arcana and tying your character concept to it, but know that some regions outlaw certain kinds of magic; in Dullahan, all Arcana is outlawed or regulated in some way. See Arcana.

History

Now that you know where your character lives and who they are, write 2 or more paragraphs about who they were and where they have been. What kind of job do they have? Have they been through any conflict in their life worth mentioning? Were they initiated into Arcana; did they attend some manner of university? Did they have any friends? What were their family like to them? These are some of the questions you might ask about your own character.

Skills

• XP is earned from Solo or Collaborative threads and spent on Merits or progressing Skills and Arcana.
• Player characters begin with 250 experience that may be allocated towards skills and as many Minor Merits as you can afford.
• 'Starting Package' XP is spent by subtracting an amount from the 'Skill Ledger' located on your Character Sheet.
• Add any bonus XP from your chosen race, but this cannot cause a skill to exceed 250 XP.
• Merited skills may begin play at 0 XP - Novice.

Skill Values

00/250 XP: Novice Skill

25/250 XP: Apprentice Skill

50/250 XP: Journeyman Skill

100/250 XP: Expert

250/250 XP: Master Skill

Compounding Merit Costs

00 XP: First Minor Merit

25 XP: Second Minor Merit

50 XP: Third Minor Merit

75 XP: Fourth Minor Merit

100 XP: Fifth Minor Merit

Examples: Purchasing an Apprentice skill would be represented as having a 25 out of 250 XP in that skill, and you would be left with 225 XP. Your first Minor Merit is free, your second costs 25 XP, and your third costs 50 XP. If you wish to begin with an Arcana, then you will need to expend a Minor Merit to buy it. This means any character can usually - if not Reborn - only afford up to 5 forms of Arcana aside from Theorems and, if Undead, Syphon.

Inventory

• All characters begin with 500 Gold.
• All characters begin with a free set of clothing and a container that makes sense for who they are.
• All characters begin with free toolkits for any skill or arcana they have experience in.
• All characters eat for free if the meal makes sense for their standard of living.
• All characters begin with a home based on their living standard. This does not need to be written up until referenced in play.

Gold is earned through wages or play and spent on the Price List. Feel free to spend your gold as you wish prior to starting play. Deduct spent gold from the Finances Ledger on your Character Sheet. Silver and Copper coin expenditures are not tracked unless they amount to more than 1 gold in total; items worth less than 1 gold may be obtained for free if not bought in bulk. Hoard those knick-knacks!

Languages

• Characters may speak any languages they have a good reason to be fluent with.

Relationships

There are rules surrounding NPCs; by default, all characters get both a companion and an antagonist with total XP linked to their own. These do not need to be written right away, and can always be written up later - or never! See NPCs.

Rebirth: You may apply to use some of your earned XP from other similar Forum RPGs. See Rebirth.

Playing

Pick a roleplay forum matching where your character should be. Read any supplied codex or relevant material in the Out-Of-Character portion of that forum. A calendar may also be provided with plot prompts for the area. Once you have decided to play there, fill out a post in the character registry for that area, and consider messaging other characters from that topic via the forums with your ideas.

Any in-character post to any thread requires a minimum of 150 words to be a valid post. It's encouraged that authors write in third person. First and second person are discouraged but allowed.

Thread Types

Prefixed to a thread may be one or more tags. These prefix tags indicate what type of thread it is, and the author should do their best to properly tag their threads.

Solo

A story written by oneself. Minimum 450 words total to submit for review and earn XP from them. On Antarok, there is no pressure to collaborate with others, and you may write by yourself for as long as you wish. 150 words written solo is worth 1 XP, up to 1500 words for 10 XP.

Collaborative

A story written with others. Each participant must write a minimum of two posts, the minimum word count being 150 words per post, and they must each reach 450 words total to earn XP in a review. 100 words collaborative is worth 1 XP, up to 1500 words for 15 XP. Threads in roleplay boards without the Solo or OOC tags are assumed to be collaborative.

Open

A collaborative story where anyone with a character nearby can join, without prior permission. Take care to read the thread and contribute to the overall plot instead of derailing it. A thread without the Open or PM to Join tags is assumed to be 'closed' to new characters the author hasn't invited.

PM to Join

A story where anyone with a character nearby can PM (Private Message) the person who made the thread and ask permission to join.

Memories

Memories are stories taking place before the current season, marked with the Memory prefix. They allow characters to play in differing periods within their lives, sometimes in other locations they’ve been to prior. Memories do not allow for the gain of material possessions, and care should be taken not to violate the causality of the timeline.

Dream

A story taking place in a character’s dreams, marked with the Dream prefix. Anything within the character’s imagination can be explored without consequence, but memories of these events are fuzzy without lucid dreaming. See Sopor.

Non-Canon

A story that never happened, marked with the Non-Canon prefix. While XP can be earned from these, they are not considered valid canon and cannot be referenced in-character. Some stories with poor lore or causality interpretation may be declared so until specific changes are made. These should still be in some way related to Antarok, whether it’s Antarok with Sci-Fi elements or something more subtle like playing from the point of view of a historic figure. If it’s completely unrelated to Antarok, it cannot be reviewed for XP.

Mature

A story with mature themes, marked with [M]. Mature content refers to excess violence or blood, horror, vulgar language, or tasteful adult material. This does not refer to 18+ content such as smut or gore which have their own private board covered placeholder:here.

Job

Job threads have to do with earning seasonal wages from a career. They pertain to some aspect or complication of your job. See Careers.

Rules of Play

Rules of Play: Several philosophies govern how Antarok is moderated, and how its players should interact. Please give them a read, for the good and joy in all of us. Note: You will be quizzed on these. See Rules of Play.