A Guide to Universes

Universes is a unique area in Illusion Vale :

You (your character) is plucked from your world. When you awaken, you find yourself in a new world, either similar to or far removed from your old one. Two things are certain- you are somehow changed and the world you are in is definitely different from what you know.

You are soon greeted by a stranger and told of Illusion Vale, the land you now find yourself in. You are taken to a city, Vale City, and shown some basics on how to restart your life.

But it seems too soon when you are left to your own devices. There are many paths to choose from now – so many directions to go.

There are several Houses you can choose to dedicate yourself to – and some Guilds that promise to teach you more of yourself. Where you go now, what you choose to do is up to you.

Your destiny is yours. Or is it?


There are several subforums: Gateways, Character Sheets, Character Skill Sets, Gatherings, Archives, Wanderings, Guilds, Houses and The Arena.

In this thread I will be explaining the different forums and the rules you need to follow when participating in Universes.

First and foremost is the fact that you need to contact me (Wraith) before you post in Universes if you are interested in joining. In your contact PM to me, you are asked to give a brief bio (or one you would like to post) and when you are accepted, Skill Sets are created for your character class (if there isn't one yet) and then you are able to start your own Gateways thread.

The premise of this Forum is actually rather simple. That is, you have been transported to a different world than your own. The world you come from can be anything that you like. It can be Earth, it can be Star Wars, it can be a fantasy world, it can be anything you can come up with.

When you are transported to Illusion Vale, you are essentially changed. Whether it be physically or in your abilities. The only thing that I ask is that there be no 'normal' human beings in the Vale. You can be an exceptional human such as a magic user, or even a mutant, but no normal humans, please.

No matter what you were in your past life, you have come to a new place now. Essentially the goal is to finally figure out how to get out of here, but for now, that is a mystery.

Apon arriving, you are met by a stranger who explains that you are no longer where you were before. They explain that there is currently no way to get yourself home. However, the Lady Wraith, whom you assume is the leader of this land, is doing all that she can to make it so that you will eventually be able to.

Once settled into Illusion Vale somewhat, you face several choices. There are many things you can do, and the few pieces of gold the Lady Wraith gives you will not last for long.
You will discover that some Valiens choose to dedicate themself to a 'House'. These are House Eleanor (the Healing House), House Vakka (The Mage's House), The Protectorate(A House devoted to serving and protecting the peace), House Aemon (The adventurer's/researcher's House) and House Katrian (a House for all manner of crafting from smithing to jewelling). You find that you can join any House but when you make the decision, you cannot leave that House, nor join any other. The Lady Wraith advises you choose carefully.

You also find that there are Guilds as well. A Fighter's Guild, Magicks Guild and Adventurer's Guild. All three Guilds are open to all Valian citizens, however some parts are for Houses only. Depending on what House you a part of, you will learn different skills in the various Guilds. If you are of no House, then the Guilds welcome you too but you may not advance as far as you want in your studies unless you join a House.

So now... what do you do? Will you live in this world peacefully? Will you go insane and seek the destruction of the world you were so cruelly pulled into? What happens next is up to you.

In this forum, you are asked to place a Bio for your Universes Character. Through out the Roleplay experience, you will collect Skills via postcounts and participation in the rest of Illusion Vale. These Skills will be continually added to your bios, so your bio is a work in progress until such time as your character leaves the Universes.

A standard Bio will look something like this, of course you are welcome to add anything that you think is worthwhile in your bio.

Name:
Original age:
Years in the Vale: (this will at first be set to 1 as it will be your first year in the Vale.)
Gender:
Race:
Height:
Weight:
Hair:
Attire:
Distinquishing features:
Skills Aquired:
Vale Status: (This can be added later when a special rank is assigned to your character.)


Original Universe:
Race:
Age:
Time period:
Occupation:
Original Universe status: (any special rank you had in your original universe.)
Abilities:
History:

This forum is where you will explore your entry into Universes, or if you prefer, Illusion Vale. In this you start your own thread and are welcome to have a few posts for your previous life if you'd like to explore that. Once you are in the Vale, I (with and NPC character or the Lady Wraith) will join you and introduce you to the Vale.

This is just a standard RP section. How long your Gateways thread will be is up to you and can be worked out with me.

For any examples of how a Gateways thread works, I encourage you to look at any Gateways threads that are running. They should provide all the information that you need to get started. Of course, should you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me and I'll be happy to answer.

This forum contains the Skills for your particular character class. The current classes that we have are:
Vampire
Necromancer
True Blood Dragon
Riada
Shapeshifter
Elemental Sorceress
Minotaur
Angel
Demon
Orc
Gargoyle
Robot

Each Skill comes with a required postcount. This means that you must reach this postcount before you can acquire that particular skill for your character. More than one character may use these skills, as long as they are of the same character class.

For example: A vampire needs a postcount of 30 to get Blood Memories.

One way to get your postcounts up is to write in other RPs in the Vale section of this board, or you can participate in the community forums which can be found under Elfsong Tavern. Just please refrain from spamming in order to get your postcounts up. If instances of spamming are found, you will be warned. The next time will be another warning and they will be deleted. After that, you will be banned for a predetermined amount of time.

When you aquire a new skill, simply let me know and I will add your name to the skill you have achieved.

This forum is for group RP's involving your characters from Universes.

In this Forum, oriented 'missions' or threads will be DMed by myself, therefore I will be the thread starter. There will be a briefing thread in which the mission is laid out and those that wish to participate can express their interest and then the actual thread will start.

These missions will usually make use of what skills you have aquired. They also help your character along in the Universes storyline.

Creation of a Gatherings Thread without my consent will be deleted. If you wish to have your own oriented Mission/threads then please post them in the Wanderings Forum.

When the briefing thread and the mission thread are run though and finished in Gatherings, they are moved to this forum. This allows all missions to be read and yet keep the Gatherings forum uncluttered with only the current mission to be played out in it.

In this forum, Universes members can create and run their own thread. This can be on their own, in conjunction with me or other Universes members. Only Universes characters that have a current or ended Gateways thread can post in Wanderings.

Current Wanderers are as follows:

*Golden Drakon
*Wraith

The Arena was made specifically for battle. That is, for battle between roleplaying characters. This is all in good fun and is expected to be rather entertaining.

There are a few rules when using the Arena. Most rules are set during threads by the Overseer of the Arena, that is, the Judge.

Mainly, this is a forum for battling between Universes characters and Non-Universes characters. Or any combination thereof.

Because there are Four Forums in the Arena, each forum having its own rules, reading [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]will be a helpful move should you wish to participate.

There are three Guilds that Universes members can choose to study with. While all three Guilds train everybody in the Vale, it would be suggested to be a part of a certain House (explained later) to further those studies.

You may be a part of as many Guilds as you want. As each Guild has its own rules, you may want to read up on them before joining one. Those rules can be found in their respective forums.

Three in total, they are the following:

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Companion Guild to House Aemon - this Guild caters for those with a thirst for knowledge or adventuring.

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Companion Guild to House Vakka and House Eleanor- this Guild deals with Magick in every form that can be found.

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Companion Guild to The Protectorate - This Guild is for those that wish to learn about combat in its many different forms.

Please note that while House Katrian does not have a specific Companion Guild, it can be safely said that all three Guilds can be called Companion to House Katrian.

There are currently five different playable Houses to choose from. Each House has a different purpose and once you choose to dedicate yourself to a particular House, you may not leave, nor join another House.

Each House has their own rules, which can be read in their respective forums. Should you fail to comply with any of their rules, you will find yourself (after two warnings) banished from that House. Once Banished, you may never re-enter that House nor sign up with any other.

The five Houses are as follows:

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This House is dedicated to serving the Vale by keeping the Peace. They can be both Valian Militia or Watchmen with Knighthood being their highest rank.

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This House is dedicated to the Healing Arts. It advances understanding of the body as well as Spiritual Healing.

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This House is dedicated to Craftsmen of all trades. Smiths, Jewellers, carpenters - as well as those that make finer items such as amulets, magical weapons or magical items.

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Dedicated to Magick in all its forms. You can discover hidden branches as well as the more well known ones and dedicate yourself to a particular vocation.

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This House is dedicated to the research and discovery of Illusion Vale. Members both seek to understand the world and how to escape it.