The Starter Guide

Hello, and welcome to the Shadowed Earth community. This thread will explain how our community operates and provide links and resources to help you begin your journey on the site. We have several pages of essential reading, and this summary will guide you through them.

1. Rules: Here are the main rules of the site, including expectations of behavior and role play guidelines. During the first few weeks, we understand that new members might not fully grasp rules that are unique to our community. However, after this initial period, breaking the rules will not be tolerated as they should have been thoroughly read and understood.

2. Books of Shattered Earth: This thread contains information on how we organize time lines, events, and the "books" of our site. Please read through it to understand our current status.

Character Creation: Your next step is likely creating your character and diving into Shadowed Earth. Members can create as many characters as they like, but each one must go through a grading process. Staff will review your character to ensure it is balanced and will assign an Energy Class and skill levels. Be sure to read the character creation guide to understand the grading process, character expectations, and other important details.

Character Creation Guide

To prevent staff from being overworked, every member must make 20 posts with their most recent character before submitting a new one. Be aware that lengthy character applications do not impress us; they add extra work, increase frustration, and delay the grading process for all character applications. Please keep this in mind when writing your application. If you are unsure of proper application lengths, check the majority of approved applications first.

Site Events: When a site event occurs, members sign up characters to participate. Some events will be small, others large, and slots are filled on a first come, first served basis. Once the slots are full, you'll need to wait for the next event. Each event will be unique, but one rule remains constant: characters in event threads are subject to death. While normal threads typically involve member discussions to avoid killing off a character someone is developing, event threads are an exception. Event threads are also the best chances to earn character upgrades, as these stories are designed to have a greater impact on site history than general threads.

Creating an Organization: Whether you're interested in a small faction or a large organization, we highly recommend joining one of the existing on-site organizations. Any new organizations must be created in-character or have at least four other members, not characters, willing to co-sign their creation. We aim to avoid an overabundance of factions when many already exist.

Site Inactivity: When a member is deemed "inactive," it means they have not completed at least three threads within six months. Activity checks occur twice a year, in June-July and December-January, lasting for two weeks. Inactive members will have their characters archived and marked as inactive. Inactive characters lose their leadership positions, face claims, and will need to be rechecked if the member returns. A character can also become inactive under the same rules, even if the member remains active. This is particularly important for characters holding positions of authority within organizations or factions. Such characters are not allowed to become inactive and will be removed from their roles if they do so.