New User Guide

Before you do anything else, including registering an account or creating a character, you should read FTRP's Code of Conduct in its entirety. By registering an account on FTRP, you also agree to adhere to this forum's Code of Conduct. Not only that, but the forum's Code of Conduct page also includes useful information about Roleplay guidelines and General policies on this website. If you agree to the Code of Conduct, register your account and you're ready to begin advancing through the following steps!

Once you have created an account you can introduce yourself to the community if you so desire. This step is entirely optional, and you don't have to introduce yourself at all if you wish to forego it. If you do, however, simply post an introduction in the Introductions section of the forum. You may include as much or as little information about yourself in your introduction as you like, of course. This section of the forum is also where one can notify other members of the site about extended leaves of absence should you ever need a break from the forum.

Lineages can be a good way to build a solid foundation for future plots. But what is a Lineage, exactly? Lineages, in essence, present some of your character's inherent abilities based on their ancestry. Lineages are pre-made abilities that can range from combat-specific powers, enhancements to certain character traits, passive modifiers, etc. that are rolled for upon character creation. Whether you wish to use a Lineage as a basis for some of your character's plot or other aspects and traits of theirs is entirely up to you. Similarly, you are not forced to obtain a Lineage for your character, or alternatively, it is possible to wait on obtaining a Lineage until you unlock the ability to create a custom Lineage over a pre-made one or forego the process of obtaining a Lineage entirely.

If you are, however, interested in rolling for a Lineage for your character, please see the Ancient One Thread and follow the instructions presented in that thread to obtain a Lineage. After rolling for your Lineage options, see the Lineage Library for the details of your rolled Lineages. To get more information on Lineages, see this section of our Character Rules.

Before you go ahead and create a character here on FTRP, why not read up on some of our interesting and extensive official site lore? Ever given a thought about where your character might be from? Take a look at the Official Setting here on FTRP (includes a custom-made map of Ishgar!). Additional Information regarding the nations of Ishgar that develops as official site lore progresses will be added to the Additional Site Lore Information page as time goes on, and updates in regards to big events on the continents of Ishgar are informed about in the Official Site Lore Sub-Forum as soon as they become available.

Character creation is a step required to get you ready to roleplay on FTRP. In order to RP, a character tied to your account must be registered and approved as your roleplay persona. To begin the process of character creation, start out by copying the code for our Character Template before opening a new topic in the WIP Characters subforum in our registration section. Paste the copied code into this new topic and fill out all relevant information. More information on what information is required in a given section of the character template can be found in the Character Template Thread itself. In the process of character creation, it is also advised to take a look at our current roster of Guilds.

Guilds are organizations of mages your character can join, and the choice of guild is entirely up to you. It is encouraged that you read up on the joinable Guilds currently active on FTRP and then join a guild that catches your interest with your newly created character. If you do not wish to join a guild, you may register your character as Guildless. For more detailed information about Guilds in general and how they function see the Guild and Faction Rules.

After you have finished creating your character sheet and submitted it after filling out all relevant information, your character may be submitted for grading. To do this, you reply to this thread with a link to your character sheet. A staff member will "claim" your application for review and do so at their earliest convenience. If all is in order, the staff member in question will approve your character and move them into the appropriate user group and subforum while also arranging for your corresponding faction colors to be added to your profile. If not, the staff member in question will comment on your thread in order to request edits on your character application to make it compatible with applicable rules and guidelines. Once you edit your character application according to the edits requested by the staff member in question, simply bump the character application thread via a reply of your own and the staff member will review your app once more.

Once your character is approved by a staff member, you may head to the Official Face Claim List to register your character's Face Claim. To obtain more information on the rules applying to characters and the benefits characters can obtain on FTRP, see the detailed Character Rules and Perks.

Every character has access to FTRP's Magic System. This system forms the basis of a character's power and can be utilized in order to create a wide variety of magical, fantastical, and supernatural abilities, which in turn may be used for combat and non-combat purposes alike. All magic and abilities subject to the Magic System must, however, follow FTRP's Magic and Spell Rules, as well as the Code of Conduct, meaning things like auto-hitting other characters or applicable NPCs and instantly wounding or killing other characters or applicable NPCs are not permitted within the Magic System. There are no types of banned magic on FTRP and all manners of magic may freely be made and used with the notable exception of Slayer Magic, which is restricted. For more information on Slayer Magic, see the associated section in the Magic and Spell Rules. All characters can obtain a maximum of 3 magics as they grow stronger and increase in rank.

Magic, Spells, and other abilities can be created in two different ways: With or without including stats, i.e. statistics to assign numerical values to magic, spells, characters, etc. for the purposes of Player-versus-Player combat. Statistics are universally used on FTRP to determine factors such as how much damage a given spell can deal, how much damage a mage can take before losing consciousness, how much magical energy a mage possesses to cast their spells, and so on. This, however, is only relevant in PvP scenarios and certain PvE-Events, and it is therefore advised that players who have no interest in engaging in PvP combat ignore the inclusion of "stats" in their magics, spells, and abilities in general in favor of a more plot-based approach.

Magic and Spells not containing numerical statistics are referred to as "Statless" and base all of the aforementioned attributes like damage, durability, etc. on the creativity of the roleplayer using them, but they can, in turn, not be used in regular PvP scenarios unless all participating parties explicitly agree to this out-of-character. You can find information about the difference between stat and statless magics in the aforementioned Magic and Spell Rules.

Once you have decided which version of magic you wish to create go to the Magic and Spell Template, where you can find separate templates for both the Magic itself as well as every type of spell that can be created within those magics. The template also provides descriptions and explanations for every aspect of a given magic and spell. Copy the Magic Template before opening a new topic in the WIP Magics subforum and pasting the copied template into the newly created topic. From then on, you can fill in the template with information about the magic you are creating, following the Magic and Spell Rules.

After that is done, you can add spells to your magic. Your character will always start at D Rank, which means that, in the beginning, your character will have access to a total of 3 D Rank spells as well as 1 D+ Rank spell. More information on spells can be found in the Magic and Spell Rules. If you are choosing to include numerical values and statistics in your magic and spells, you can find all relevant base numbers for every rank of character and spell in the Tables and FAQ Thread, where you can also find some additional information about the creation of magic. If you are choosing to forego the use of stats and instead use statless magic, use the "Statless" versions of spell templates. If you are including stats, utilize the regular versions of spell templates and fill them out with the relevant information.

Once you have filled out the template for your magic with all relevant information, created your first spells, and posted your finished magic to the forum, submit your magic for approval by a staff member, which can be done in this thread. Similar to your character application, a staff member will claim your magic application and grade it in accordance with our Magic Rules and guidelines, either approving your application or presenting you with edits that must be made to your magic before it can be approved. Once approved, your magic may be used in roleplay and you're ready to start taking on jobs as a mage!

Mages are separated into alignments based on the guild they belong to and ranks according to their personal strength, both of these factors determining what kinds of missions and jobs a mage can go on to earn both invaluable experience and their livelihoods as mages. Experience, or EXP for short, is a value that determines a mage's rank, and thus their strength, here on FTRP, while Money, called "Jewels" in this setting, can be exchanged for valuable items, equipment, pets, and many more useful tools. EXP and Money can be earned in 4 separate ways:

1) As a reward for completing Jobs. Jobs, sometimes also referred to as Missions or Quests, are endeavors mages can embark on over the course of a thread, i.e. a given character or group of characters roleplaying out a job scenario. This can include characters fulfilling some kind of objective over the course of their roleplay in a thread, like, for example, hunting down a specific monster and slaying it, finding a specific stolen item and returning it to their rightful owner, stealthily assassinating a politician's rival, or even simply assisting or hindering others in their daily lives. Jobs can either be picked from a pool of pre-made jobs or, based on the player's preference, can also be customized by taking on so-called "Free-Form-Jobs", which possess no formal objective and are therefore subject only to the player's creativity.

All jobs can be completed as an individual, i.e. completing a job "solo", or as a group of between 2-6 players. For more information about jobs, please see the Job Rules.. You can only take on jobs equal to the rank of your character or lower. If accompanied by at least one mage, who is also at least equal to you in rank, you may embark on jobs of a rank higher than your own rank. Certain alignments are also barred from going on certain types of jobs (such as Dark Mages being unable to take Legal Jobs based on their wanted status as a criminal and vice versa).

To see a roster of available pre-made jobs sorted by rank and alignment see the Jobs subforum of the site. Once you have picked a job you wish to complete, sign up for the job in the Job Sign-Up Thread, where a staff member will approve your sign-up should you match all requirements for undertaking said job. Once your sign-up has been approved, you can create a roleplay thread in the location specified in the job (e.g. if a job specifies that it takes place in "Magnolia", place the job thread in the "Magnolia" subforum of the site) and roleplay your character completing the job in question.

Once you have both fulfilled the objectives of the job and reached either the solo word count or group word count of the job in question between all participating players you may submit the finished job thread to the Job Ending Thread, where a member of staff will review your completed job and verify its completion. Once approved, your character will receive EXP and Jewels in accordance with the specifications of the job you have completed.

Once sufficient EXP has been reached your character can increase in strength and advance a rank (from D rank to C rank, for example). To find out more about the process of ranking up, see this section of the Character Rules.

2) EXP can also be obtained as a reward for completing Dungeons, though at a much lower rate when compared to jobs, as Dungeons also award players an exclusive currency called Dungeon Tokens. Dungeon Tokens can be exchanged for a variety of rewards, some of which are exclusive to the Dungeon system and would otherwise be unobtainable. In essence, however, Dungeons can be completed in a similar fashion to jobs. For more information on Dungeons, see the Dungeons subforum of the site where you can find the Dungeon Rules, a list of available Dungeons, the Dungeon Shop, as well as the associated sign-up and ending threads.

3) As a reward for participation in a variety of in-character or out-of-character events and contests that regularly take place on FTRP. This method is only applicable when such an event or contest is actively taking place on the forum. When events and contests are held they are announced in our Official Discord Server and placed in the Events / Contests Subforum of the site.

4) Obtaining certain VIP statuses for supporting the site.

Jewels your characters have earned can be used to purchase a variety of items and equipment, which can grant certain bonuses to your character or unlock weapons, armor, items, or pets for them to use. Jewels can also be used to purchase spell slots, which can be added to magic to unlock more spells, or purchase custom lineages, which allows you to design your characters own lineage as opposed to using a pre-made one. All of the above may be purchased in the Shops subforum of the site. See the Equipment Rules for more information about the registration and creation of Equipment and Pets as well as the guidelines that affect them.