So at this point I've spent considerably more time studying the histories, wiki, and assorted helpfiles than actually playing, yet I find I still have OOC questions that need answering before I feel comfortable finalizing a description, writing permanent background, and (finally) delving into RP.

Off the top of my head I'd be specifically interested in a summary of major events after the coming of Estarra (where the histories leave off), additional information about what daily life in Magnagora might be like in the current age, any details on how non-adventurer humans generally fit into society, and how much of an effect mixed blood (mother, father, or ancestor of a non-human race) might have on a human's appearance (if any) before they are considered nonhuman.

I'm also interested in any tips on game etiquette people may have. For example, all methods of communication in-game seem to be IC, but is it frowned upon to ask for OOC information or clarification via tells?

Thanks!

The best place to get a summary of the in game events is the Events board, which you can read off-line here:

http://www.ironrealms.com/game/news/Lusternia/Events?from=1

Tells can be OOC, as long as the other person doesn't mind--in fact, except for the Newbie channel, that's pretty much the only allowed OOC communication in the game.

To expand on the OOC versus IC channels....


CT or City/Commune Aether = IC always

CGT or Collegium is a little more lax but still IC

GT or Guild is IC always

CLT or Clans can be either OOC or IC...it is up to the person who owns the clan...typically if the clan is owned and run by a guild or City/Commune they are IC. If the clan is private the owner of it will decide and would more than likely let you know ahead of time if its OOC or IC.

FT or Family is IC always


There are some variations of these depending on your status within your City/Commune. The best practice I would say is to assume everything is IC unless otherwise told.

When you send a tell to a person, signify OOC tells from IC tells by doing something as follows....


IC Tell = tell zilias "Greetings, Zilias. Might you have a moment to speak with me?"

OOC Tell = tell zilias (Hey there, I had a quick question about LUA and was told you are the guy...can you help me out with some triggers?) <--- used ( ) to signify this was an abnormal type of tell..hopefully this helps and isn't to confusing...I kind of rambled a bit..


If the person doesn't like OOC tells they will generally let you know that. From my experience, the first time doesn't usually upset people, especially if you are just learning the game.

It's fine to pick things up as you go along, and "I just came through the portal in the past few years so I don't really remember/know about/understand x is a perfectly valid ic excuse. It can be particularly helpful to use this as an excuse for not having a permanent background, as there's only so much of a feel for the game you can get without actually playing, and you may find people that you really want as parents, but it might conflict with whatever background you developed. Descriptions can be changed, and very few people use the background command, although developing a background is a great thing to do.

Which events are going to be considered major is going to depend a lot on where you end up, and so that's something else that's great to learn in game by asking people to tell stories about events they've experienced. There's been a LOT of events, and so this gives you a better way of discovering which events have relevance to the people around your character, and, therefore by extension, your character.

About the human thing, different people are going to have different opinions. Personally I'd be leery of doing anything to a human beyond the odd skin colour mentioned in HELP HUMAN. I would particularly advise against taking anything that could be considered an identifying feature of one of the other races. As most races are the shards of an Elder God, it makes justifications of genetic inheritance of racial characteristics a bit complicated. I can't think of any NPC humans that have anything more unusual than strange skin colour.

NPC humans are found primarily in Delport and Stewartsville, although I think most cities have at least one human NPC running around. There's nowhere that will find humans particularly strange or distasteful, although elistists in a place will likely look down on them a tiny bit for not being whatever the prefered race of the location is.

If you have an ooc question, tells are the way to go unless you have an ooc clan accessible to you. Or you can message. Most people are quite understanding of the amount of confusion that can be caused for new people by simple mechanics, and particularly anyone who is a college professor/guild secretary/undersecretary will be more than happy to help answer your question.

Best advice I could give:

1. Alt, alt, alt. Don't make a character you expect to play for a really long time. Make one in every org to get a feel for them, but save that name you have fuzzy tingly feelings towards for when you figure out where you want to hang out.

2. Jump in. Reading about Lusternia is nothing like being a Lusternian.

Welcome. Hope you stay forever! =]

I would like to make a small comment. Ayisdra is, and always has been my only character. When Hallifax came out, I moved him (instead of waiting to make an alt.) I personally don't believe in alts. I have only tried one time (this was shortly after Ayisdra was made. This character lasted about two minutes (that is two minutes into the intro before I just stopped and went on Ayisdra.)

So my point is, if you have read the stuff on the main site (preferable the old one), and pieces here and there on the forums here. is you can get a good feel for the other orgs without ever having to make an alt (and try to manage your time between them.

Although most would say this advice/comment is horrible for a newbie, but Lusternia was my first MUD, so I was a true newbie too and I am proud of the fact I do not have 10+ characters like some.

It's not something to be proud of, it's just how you dealt with the situation. There's nothing wrong with having multiple characters! You just have to go with what feels right for you, personally.

Nothing wrong with having multiple characters.

No matter what, remember to have fun! It's pretty easy to get caught up in things and forget that concept.

The alting advice works well for some, but others (including myself) can't get very into it/would find alts overwhelming and prefer to just focus on one character from the start

Do what you want, and yes, have fun!