Beginning Thoughts

Joining a new server can be intimidating! You don’t know the rules, you don’t know what is found where, and (possibly) you don’t know how Discord (and Avrae) interact with D&D, or how a Post by Post (PbP) server works. I have been there, and I have some thoughts on how to begin, and WHERE to begin!

The Server

First off, welcome to Macguffins Ltd, and to Luna Pine!  This is a magical place where pretty much whatever you want to see happen can, and will happen! Want to sail a pirate ship? It’s happened! Want to go to a different dimension? Done! Want to explore an ancient underground temple to rescue innocents from evil forces? Done! 

Combat on a PbP Server

Arena RP is all turn based, so on your turn you can react/act/other as you see fit. You will be pinged on your turn and have 24 hours to make a move or you will be skipped, though we really prefer you take your turn ASAP to keep the flow going, but again, RL comes first! If you can’t make it for 23 hours 58 minutes, that’s what it takes.  Quest RP is an in between. Sometimes scenes move fast, sometimes they go slow. Combat is similar to the Arena model (Pinged on your turn, 24 hours to respond). 

Questing

We have mostly One Shot quests that cycle every 1st and 15th of the month run by our crew of highly trained DMs. Luna Pine itself is semi-well defined (More on that later) but many if not most quests take place outside of this magical town where almost anything goes. (The DMs are free to do what they want outside the boundaries of the town itself. Some become lore, some fades into the mists). So if you are interested in joining a quest, remember to keep an eye on #announcements-general which will notify you one day before the quest cycle what is available on the #quest-board fortnightly. Make sure to react with a 1, 2 OR 3 for your first, second and third preferences, respectively. You can only choose one quest for your first, second and third preference. Also, give a :thumbsup: for any other quest that you are interested in. Make sure that your PC meets the quest requirements, we definitely don’t want to have our level 3 players accidentally face an ancient red dragon! If anything ever comes in RL or if you will need to post slow or not at all for several days or something with the quest just doesn’t fit right with you, just send a quick personal message (PM) to your DM and let them know. 

Downtime

You can do a lot of fun and crazy things as outlines in our downtime document in #downtime-overview. Downtime is released on the 1st and 15th of every month and you get two weeks worth of downtime to earn a bit of cash, make great or poor connections or to try and craft something out there. Remember to wait for approval before rolling those sweet virtual dice!

The Channels

Ok, so you know how quests work, and how PbP work, what now? When you are given your @PC tag a BUNCH of channels open up. As per instructions, read the lore page, and post in the town gates. From there, you are free to do what you please! A thought is, go to the tavern for a drink (Always a great place to start in any D&D town). Certain rooms are free for alls, but always, before entering an ongoing scene with people. Please ask permission to make sure it isn’t a “semi-private” scene. Most of the time the people involved are happy to have more join in. If not, someone will RP with you, just be patient. It will happen!  After that (Or before that) go to #Arena-queue and post a “Check”. This enters you into the Queue for the Arena (PvE). When your turn comes up you will be pinged to enter the arena and if you have questions on how to work it, each DM is different on how they like to run things, so feel free to ask! (Or watch what others are doing and copy them! Well not word for word). After that, whatever tickles your fancy. Downtime? There is a place for that. Shopping? Yep, shops too! RP in the Grove, the Hills, the Horse Farm, the Guard Shack? Find your place and go for it! (Again asking permission to join if someone is already mid-scene).

Timelines

As per server guidelines, you are allowed 1 Quest Instance, 1 Arena Instance and 3 RP instances concurrently. RP instances include the shops, Arena PvP and the Town/Edge RP channels. There are certain times there may be an additional slot added to one or the other, but those are rare and not to be expected. You will be told when you are able to add a slot and where.

If you have a request for a certain quest you want to see for your character development, head on over to #request-board under the Quest tab and read the Pinned message on how to request a quest with the understanding it will be a full party quest most times though it will be telling your story.  It may take a while to get to you (There is a loooong list) but in time, you will get your quest (Unless it is unreasonable, or too high a level).

Final Remarks

Luna Pine itself is a magical place that is intentionally undefined. We want people to see in their mind’s eye what it looks like, not dictate what it is. Part of the magic of the town is it is different for everyone! There are some specifics, NPCs, certain locations, certain connections, and these are all marked with a Pinned message in the channel. Always check the pinned messages in the channel! If there is something specific listed, then that is lore and needs to be kept in place. If there is nothing pinned and specifically noted, assume that anything you reasonably want to see, you can see (If it is unlikely to be there, try to keep it somewhat within the spirit of the place).

I honestly can’t think of anything else to pass along, but if something is unclear, or you have a question about something else, we have a group of @Helper to help you along the way. Feel free to ask questions! That’s what we are here for. There is also a #general-talk channel you can ask in, or even in the #character-creation-discussion channel. We have a wonderful player base willing to help where and when possible!

Happy Adventuring, and we hope you enjoy your stay in Luna Pine!