IF I GET WPL ABILITIES, I WILL LOCK/STICKY THIS. BUT UNTIL THEN, PLEASE DON'T POST HERE.
Welcome, adventurers, to Atruna: Creators' Kingdom. This game is intended to be about 60-percent roleplaying and 40-percent custom Magic card creation. You will enter a world of my devising and embark on a series of adventures, working together or against each other as you see fit to grow, explore, and defeat the many challenges of the world of Atruna.
What exactly is this game?
Atruna: Creators Kingdom is a semi-freeform forum RPG. The world of the game is a somewhat generic fantasy plane, designed to accomodate all the kinds of creatures and spells you might find in magic the gathering. Players will explore the world, finding and completing quests, gaining experience, battling creatures, and solving puzzles. In order to do these things, they will create their own custom Magic: the Gathering cards to represent the spells and abilities their character is making use of in the world. To get a more thorough picture of the game, check out one of the adventure threads.
So how do you play?
Basically, all you have to do is tell me what you want to do. There's (almost) no limit to what you can do. Since this game is entirely run by a person, me, there's no such thing as an action that's "not built into the game." Here are some of the more common actions you might perform in a turn:
1) Talking to an NPC
2) Traveling to a different area
3) Trading or allying with another player
4) Casting a spell/Engaging in combat
5) Looking for mana OR items OR creatures
All you need to do is post what you want to do, including any or all of the above actions, and wait to get my update and see what happens next.
Rinse and repeat.
How active do I need to be?
I would ask that all players be pretty active forum members, but that's more for your benefit than mine. It can be easy to fall behind in the updates. Should this happen, though, there is no reason to stop playing. Just PM me and ask me to remind you where you left off, and I'll be happy to reply.
Game Rules, In Detail:
Areas
The world of Atruna is divided into regions, and each region is divided into areas.
Like most things in the game, Areas are represented with Text cards. For areas, these cards give a description, tell you who else is there, if there are any active quests there, and where you can travel from there. For additional help with figuring out where you can travel, check the Maps thread.
Characters:
You may interact with NPCs in any way you wish, except that I ask you refrain from attacking them unprovoked.
Some NPCs give quests. When one or more players ask an NPC about quests at once, the quest is given to all of them.
Crafting
In the game, you can perform alchemy, smithery, and infusion. For the first two, you will need the components/ingredients, and the necessary tool(s). For infusion, you need an infusion material and any non-magical piece of equipment. Details on all of this will be much clearer once you are in the game, and only alchemy has been fully realized in the discovered region.
Combat
Combat is, without a doubt, the most confusing part of the game, as it attempts to keep some of the mechanics of the card game.
If you are being attacked by an enemy, you may first cast instant spells or spells with flash. If the spell you cast doesn't kill the enemy or "remove it from combat" then you are faced with a choice: Let combat damage happen, or run away, if possible. If multiple enemies are attacking you, you choose the order in which you deal damage to them, and then damage assignment rules mirror those in the card game. Also, if you control a creature, it can block for you and vice versa. You cannot, however, block for other players. (As a note, some spells can remove an enemy from combat without using the words "remove" or "combat," for instance by tapping or bouncing. These spells, however, will not always be effective. In general, if a spell is ineffective, I will give you a chance to try another one. I don't want anyone to die if it can be helped.)
If you see a non-hostile creature that you want to attack, you may first cast any kind of spell you want, then attack. If you see a swarm of creatures, you can only physically attack one, and only the one you attack will deal damage back to you. The rest of the creatures in the swarm then might 1) attack you, in which case, refer to the above paragraph, 2) do nothing, in which case these same rules apply, or 3) run away, in which case they are gone.
I am aware its a somewhat complicated system when starting out, so PM me if you have any questions.
Experience
Your experience is shown on the illustrator line of your player card. You gain spells by casting spells, epic melee kills, and generally doing cool things. When you gain enough experience, your character will level up. Different levels give you different bonuses, including: P/T bonuses, improved spellcasting abilities, and improved inate abilities.
Equipment
You can equip as many things as fit on your body. The types of equipment are: Helmets, Boots, Armor, Gloves, Amulets, Weapon, Shield.
Once you gain the ability to spellcraft equipment, please only create items of the mentioned types. No rings, greaves, etc.
Looking for Stuff
At any point during your turn, if you're not in peril/combat, you can look for something. You can choose to look for either mana, items, or creatures. This is to let players focus on what they need. If you need mana, you should look for it. If you have enough mana but want cool stuff, look for items. If you want an opportunity to cast some spells, look for creatures so you can have more combat.
Looking for stuff will not always be successful, and your character's class will have an influence on what you find.
Merchants
Merchants are characters just like any other, and sometimes might have quests, but they also sell things.
On a merchant's card will be his or her wares. The price listed is always the price for one item. If an item has a "x1," "x2," etc. next to it, that means there are that many in stock. If there is no number like that next to an item, that means the merchant has an unlimited supply of that item.
Merchants' wares will change whenever a player buys or sells something with a merchant, and sometimes just change arbitrarily when new shipments come in.
For your convenience, check the Merchants' Stock thread to see what each merchant is carrying at any given time.
Quests/Partying:
There are two kinds of quests: Party Quests and Area Quests.
Party Quests are always given by an NPC to whoever asks about them first. At any time, a player may join a Party Quest if both the joining player and the pre-existing party members agree to add the new player. Any player may leave a Party Quest at any time, but the reward at the end of the quest will only be given to those who are in the party when the quest is completed. Experience rewards are given to each party member. Other rewards must be split among the party members, so it's a trade-off.
Area Quests are sometimes given by NPCs, and sometimes appear spontaneously when you travel to an area. They remain active until completed, and anyone can come and contribute. The rewards for the quest, though, are only given to the players who complete the quest's final goal, thus finishing the quest. Some Area Quests, though, may be completed once per player and will stick around in the area forever once discovered.
Regions
Traveling between regions is no different than traveling between areas in the same region. The point of regions is to help the updates not get overwhelming for me, as I can update each one at the pace it needs instead of trying to find a rate-of-updates that works for everyone in all places at once. I also want each region to have a slightly different feel.
Spells/Mana
Just like in the card game, casting spells requires mana. You get new mana by looking for it (see: looking for stuff).
You can cast any spell that's within the restrictions outlined on your player card. Sometimes all you need to meet a challenge is a flavorful spell. Other times, in combat for instance, you will need spells that get the job done. For the most part, practical spells will do what you expect them to do. The exception to this is with tokens and counters, which for obvious reasons are not permanent, but last for a number of turns based on a number of factors, including the cost of the spell that produced them.
Trading
You can trade anything with any other player in the same area as you at any time. Mana, gold, items, etc.
Travel
You may travel a number of areas equal to your level plus one. Some items will increase this when equipped.
Traveling into an area that's not on the map yet, however, always ends your turn.
Finally...
Have fun! Try new things! The more new things you try, the bigger and better the game becomes.
Welcome, adventurers, to Atruna: Creators' Kingdom. This game is intended to be about 60-percent roleplaying and 40-percent custom Magic card creation. You will enter a world of my devising and embark on a series of adventures, working together or against each other as you see fit to grow, explore, and defeat the many challenges of the world of Atruna.
What exactly is this game?
Atruna: Creators Kingdom is a semi-freeform forum RPG. The world of the game is a somewhat generic fantasy plane, designed to accomodate all the kinds of creatures and spells you might find in magic the gathering. Players will explore the world, finding and completing quests, gaining experience, battling creatures, and solving puzzles. In order to do these things, they will create their own custom Magic: the Gathering cards to represent the spells and abilities their character is making use of in the world. To get a more thorough picture of the game, check out one of the adventure threads.
So how do you play?
Basically, all you have to do is tell me what you want to do. There's (almost) no limit to what you can do. Since this game is entirely run by a person, me, there's no such thing as an action that's "not built into the game." Here are some of the more common actions you might perform in a turn:
1) Talking to an NPC
2) Traveling to a different area
3) Trading or allying with another player
4) Casting a spell/Engaging in combat
5) Looking for mana OR items OR creatures
All you need to do is post what you want to do, including any or all of the above actions, and wait to get my update and see what happens next.
Rinse and repeat.
How active do I need to be?
I would ask that all players be pretty active forum members, but that's more for your benefit than mine. It can be easy to fall behind in the updates. Should this happen, though, there is no reason to stop playing. Just PM me and ask me to remind you where you left off, and I'll be happy to reply.
Game Rules, In Detail:
Areas
The world of Atruna is divided into regions, and each region is divided into areas.
Like most things in the game, Areas are represented with Text cards. For areas, these cards give a description, tell you who else is there, if there are any active quests there, and where you can travel from there. For additional help with figuring out where you can travel, check the Maps thread.
Characters:
You may interact with NPCs in any way you wish, except that I ask you refrain from attacking them unprovoked.
Some NPCs give quests. When one or more players ask an NPC about quests at once, the quest is given to all of them.
Crafting
In the game, you can perform alchemy, smithery, and infusion. For the first two, you will need the components/ingredients, and the necessary tool(s). For infusion, you need an infusion material and any non-magical piece of equipment. Details on all of this will be much clearer once you are in the game, and only alchemy has been fully realized in the discovered region.
Combat
Combat is, without a doubt, the most confusing part of the game, as it attempts to keep some of the mechanics of the card game.
If you are being attacked by an enemy, you may first cast instant spells or spells with flash. If the spell you cast doesn't kill the enemy or "remove it from combat" then you are faced with a choice: Let combat damage happen, or run away, if possible. If multiple enemies are attacking you, you choose the order in which you deal damage to them, and then damage assignment rules mirror those in the card game. Also, if you control a creature, it can block for you and vice versa. You cannot, however, block for other players. (As a note, some spells can remove an enemy from combat without using the words "remove" or "combat," for instance by tapping or bouncing. These spells, however, will not always be effective. In general, if a spell is ineffective, I will give you a chance to try another one. I don't want anyone to die if it can be helped.)
If you see a non-hostile creature that you want to attack, you may first cast any kind of spell you want, then attack. If you see a swarm of creatures, you can only physically attack one, and only the one you attack will deal damage back to you. The rest of the creatures in the swarm then might 1) attack you, in which case, refer to the above paragraph, 2) do nothing, in which case these same rules apply, or 3) run away, in which case they are gone.
I am aware its a somewhat complicated system when starting out, so PM me if you have any questions.
Experience
Your experience is shown on the illustrator line of your player card. You gain spells by casting spells, epic melee kills, and generally doing cool things. When you gain enough experience, your character will level up. Different levels give you different bonuses, including: P/T bonuses, improved spellcasting abilities, and improved inate abilities.
Equipment
You can equip as many things as fit on your body. The types of equipment are: Helmets, Boots, Armor, Gloves, Amulets, Weapon, Shield.
Once you gain the ability to spellcraft equipment, please only create items of the mentioned types. No rings, greaves, etc.
Looking for Stuff
At any point during your turn, if you're not in peril/combat, you can look for something. You can choose to look for either mana, items, or creatures. This is to let players focus on what they need. If you need mana, you should look for it. If you have enough mana but want cool stuff, look for items. If you want an opportunity to cast some spells, look for creatures so you can have more combat.
Looking for stuff will not always be successful, and your character's class will have an influence on what you find.
Merchants
Merchants are characters just like any other, and sometimes might have quests, but they also sell things.
On a merchant's card will be his or her wares. The price listed is always the price for one item. If an item has a "x1," "x2," etc. next to it, that means there are that many in stock. If there is no number like that next to an item, that means the merchant has an unlimited supply of that item.
Merchants' wares will change whenever a player buys or sells something with a merchant, and sometimes just change arbitrarily when new shipments come in.
For your convenience, check the Merchants' Stock thread to see what each merchant is carrying at any given time.
Quests/Partying:
There are two kinds of quests: Party Quests and Area Quests.
Party Quests are always given by an NPC to whoever asks about them first. At any time, a player may join a Party Quest if both the joining player and the pre-existing party members agree to add the new player. Any player may leave a Party Quest at any time, but the reward at the end of the quest will only be given to those who are in the party when the quest is completed. Experience rewards are given to each party member. Other rewards must be split among the party members, so it's a trade-off.
Area Quests are sometimes given by NPCs, and sometimes appear spontaneously when you travel to an area. They remain active until completed, and anyone can come and contribute. The rewards for the quest, though, are only given to the players who complete the quest's final goal, thus finishing the quest. Some Area Quests, though, may be completed once per player and will stick around in the area forever once discovered.
Regions
Traveling between regions is no different than traveling between areas in the same region. The point of regions is to help the updates not get overwhelming for me, as I can update each one at the pace it needs instead of trying to find a rate-of-updates that works for everyone in all places at once. I also want each region to have a slightly different feel.
Spells/Mana
Just like in the card game, casting spells requires mana. You get new mana by looking for it (see: looking for stuff).
You can cast any spell that's within the restrictions outlined on your player card. Sometimes all you need to meet a challenge is a flavorful spell. Other times, in combat for instance, you will need spells that get the job done. For the most part, practical spells will do what you expect them to do. The exception to this is with tokens and counters, which for obvious reasons are not permanent, but last for a number of turns based on a number of factors, including the cost of the spell that produced them.
Trading
You can trade anything with any other player in the same area as you at any time. Mana, gold, items, etc.
Travel
You may travel a number of areas equal to your level plus one. Some items will increase this when equipped.
Traveling into an area that's not on the map yet, however, always ends your turn.
Finally...
Have fun! Try new things! The more new things you try, the bigger and better the game becomes.