PSA for novices or people considering the WT (ooc)
Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2021 5:51 am
Inspired by the other thread, I would like to just answer ooc some commonly asked questions, in no particular order. As we are now having the wave of new players inspired by the show, I think it's a good moment to post something like this.
You don't have to be a top RPer already. Yes, you need to be willing to learn and do a bit of it. You can be a future Green, but the Tower has a role in keeping the game atmosphere bookish. But you are definitely not expected to do long rp sessions most of the time!
Honestly, you don't have to be top at anything, being a novice/Accepted is a wonderful opportunity to learn to play your FC and to learn various aspects of the game, that's what the whole novice/Accepted phase is about And you have tons of opportunity to learn from others, many of which excel at the various aspects of the game. The WT is meant to be the default clan for FCs, the clan for learning.
You don't need a too elaborate background story either. Honestly, something simple like "I am a shoemaker's daughter, I had thought I'd just marry and have kids, but then an Aes Sedai came to our town and tested me" is often better than a huge combination like "Oh, I was always a prodigy, already know everything about the Prophecies, but half my family got killed by trollocs, others by aiel, and my best friend got leashed by seanchan". Leave yourself some space to grow, don't try to be everything at once.
Sure, novices are not allowed to leave the island. But these days, you can get the ring in a few weeks (really!) and you can profit from those weeks well. The novice exping zones are actually wonderful for exping (and most Accepteds have a surplus of qps, so issuing pines is no problem). And they are a great opportunity to improve your weave timing on the mobs, learning/following other novices around etc.
Don't be shy to approach others. Yes, being a novice alone can get boring after your basic quests. But with others, it never is.
Even when it comes to RP, there is a distinction of IC and OOC. An Aes Sedai doing something else than complimenting you is not necessarily trying to samotage you, but it is often more fun rp. There is a difference between being a RP troublemaker and being OOC incapable of following basic rules. Examples of RP troublemaking I've enjoyed (as the one doing it or as the one catching someone): a novice looking at amyrlin through a key hole (she Shawled!), water battles by the kitchen sink (done that and am sometimes missing it), rpishly being too bold towards an aes sedai etc. Examples of OOC rulebreaking that is annoying: novices pretending they misported to somewhere fun, Accepteds breaking the renting rule suspiciously often, Accepteds waking up just to get tons of stuff from the novice chest, etc.
As to declanning: these days, there are various options for you. I think the best place to learn is the WT, but if you find out it is not for you, get the value you can find, and continue somewhere else. If you ask, you will be declaned with a runaway flag (that means entering TV will mean you being caught and put on a farm for a while), that will be removed after some time (I think it's half a year). You can refuse the Arches three times out of fear or fail the test (haven't personally seen that, but can happen). You can be put out for repeated and serious enough rule breaking. All of these mean that you will never again be allowed to clan the WT on this alt (but some people Shawl their second or third, it really depends), but you can shine as a Wisdom (if you are into rp and healing, they are great!), a Kin (hard to get to, but there is the prestige of being in a secret clan), a Damane (if you want to fight a lot and like the Seanchan leashed rp), and several clans that will take wilders and let you do a lot of fun stuff just, without the clanned weaves: the Kandori Merchant's Guild (smobbing, crafting, anything!), the Dragonsworn (search for the Dragon, a great group of people, but a challenging role in the mud), the Legion of Unity (less active these days, but a wonderful clan unique for this MUD). But if you are a beginner to FCs or the mud, I really think starting in the White Tower is the best choice.
Have a look at the publicly open WT forum, the current version of the handbook, etc.
You don't have to be a top RPer already. Yes, you need to be willing to learn and do a bit of it. You can be a future Green, but the Tower has a role in keeping the game atmosphere bookish. But you are definitely not expected to do long rp sessions most of the time!
Honestly, you don't have to be top at anything, being a novice/Accepted is a wonderful opportunity to learn to play your FC and to learn various aspects of the game, that's what the whole novice/Accepted phase is about And you have tons of opportunity to learn from others, many of which excel at the various aspects of the game. The WT is meant to be the default clan for FCs, the clan for learning.
You don't need a too elaborate background story either. Honestly, something simple like "I am a shoemaker's daughter, I had thought I'd just marry and have kids, but then an Aes Sedai came to our town and tested me" is often better than a huge combination like "Oh, I was always a prodigy, already know everything about the Prophecies, but half my family got killed by trollocs, others by aiel, and my best friend got leashed by seanchan". Leave yourself some space to grow, don't try to be everything at once.
Sure, novices are not allowed to leave the island. But these days, you can get the ring in a few weeks (really!) and you can profit from those weeks well. The novice exping zones are actually wonderful for exping (and most Accepteds have a surplus of qps, so issuing pines is no problem). And they are a great opportunity to improve your weave timing on the mobs, learning/following other novices around etc.
Don't be shy to approach others. Yes, being a novice alone can get boring after your basic quests. But with others, it never is.
Even when it comes to RP, there is a distinction of IC and OOC. An Aes Sedai doing something else than complimenting you is not necessarily trying to samotage you, but it is often more fun rp. There is a difference between being a RP troublemaker and being OOC incapable of following basic rules. Examples of RP troublemaking I've enjoyed (as the one doing it or as the one catching someone): a novice looking at amyrlin through a key hole (she Shawled!), water battles by the kitchen sink (done that and am sometimes missing it), rpishly being too bold towards an aes sedai etc. Examples of OOC rulebreaking that is annoying: novices pretending they misported to somewhere fun, Accepteds breaking the renting rule suspiciously often, Accepteds waking up just to get tons of stuff from the novice chest, etc.
As to declanning: these days, there are various options for you. I think the best place to learn is the WT, but if you find out it is not for you, get the value you can find, and continue somewhere else. If you ask, you will be declaned with a runaway flag (that means entering TV will mean you being caught and put on a farm for a while), that will be removed after some time (I think it's half a year). You can refuse the Arches three times out of fear or fail the test (haven't personally seen that, but can happen). You can be put out for repeated and serious enough rule breaking. All of these mean that you will never again be allowed to clan the WT on this alt (but some people Shawl their second or third, it really depends), but you can shine as a Wisdom (if you are into rp and healing, they are great!), a Kin (hard to get to, but there is the prestige of being in a secret clan), a Damane (if you want to fight a lot and like the Seanchan leashed rp), and several clans that will take wilders and let you do a lot of fun stuff just, without the clanned weaves: the Kandori Merchant's Guild (smobbing, crafting, anything!), the Dragonsworn (search for the Dragon, a great group of people, but a challenging role in the mud), the Legion of Unity (less active these days, but a wonderful clan unique for this MUD). But if you are a beginner to FCs or the mud, I really think starting in the White Tower is the best choice.
Have a look at the publicly open WT forum, the current version of the handbook, etc.