The Best Newbie Guide Ever
From SuspireWiki
Here’s a not-so-quick (but at least partitioned into sections!) guide to being a newbie on Suspire Roleplaying Network. We’ve hit on any topic that comes to mind here and explained it out as best we could to help you into the game. If there’s topics we’ve missed, and you’re not a newbie, feel free to add on into the wiki-thing here.
This guide does assume that you have already registered an account on the website and on the IRC server, so if you haven’t, you’ll need to go back to the main website and follow the Step One process under Starting & Creation.
Contents |
Commands and other Technical Stuff To Know
Bot Notes, Forum Notes
Why Bot and Forum Notes are Important to You
Bot and forum notes are direct contact to your character from other players, their characters and Storytellers. Everyone uses Bot Notes and Forum notes to leave messages for each other. Sometimes those messages are IC, sometimes they’re OOC, but either way they’re 100% important to know and check very, very regularly.
Checking Bot Notes
Checking bot notes is pretty simple, and you can find other commands (such as sending and receiving and erasing) on the Rolling & Commands page. However, we were nice and reprinted it here for you:
- /msg Azathoth notes yourpassword read all - Reads any and all notes left for your botname on Azathoth.
- /msg Azathoth notes yourpassword erase all - Erases any and all notes you have saved on Azathoth.
- /msg Azathoth notes yourpassword erase 1-2;4-7 - You can designate what notes you wish to delete, and to skip any by using this command.
- /msg Azathoth notes yourpassword to Person - This is how you send a bot note to someone
Keep in mind your Bot password is potentially not the same as your website password, depending on what password you chose when you first registered on the IRC server with Azathoth and linked your IRC Bot account to your Website and Forum account.
Most people on Suspire actually have their notes checked automatically when they log in through a feature built in to the mIRC client. You can actually see a picture-fied how-to on doing that by clicking this link.
Checking Forum Notes
On the Suspire forums page, at the top near where you log in you’ll generally see a layout that looks similar to this:
- Return to Suspire Character Journals SuspireWiki FAQ Search Memberlist
- Log out [ Your Username ] You have no new messages Profile Usergroups
When you have a new forum message, the part that says “You have no new messages” will actually tell you that you have a new message, and generally pop up a window. Also, we’ve made it so on the main website’s sidebar, at the top under the Home and Log Out links, if you have an unread forum message, it will tell you that you also have a new message until you’ve read it.
Some people, when they want to send forum messages to other players, have trouble remembering what their forum nick is since it’s almost always different than the name of the character they’re playing. So, we created a page that will tell you all of the current active characters and their forum names so you won’t have to ask everyone and their mom to find out what forum name you should be sending to. You can see that page here.
Nickserv, and Why it Doesn’t Suck
What the Hell is Nickserv
Nickserv is a service for Suspire that registers and maintains nicknames for anyone on the server, so that someone else can’t have it – basically. It also allows other things like killing off a “ghost” (a ghost is when you get disconnected and come back and your nick is still there because it hasn’t pinged or peered out) and grouping your nicks.
Registering a Nickname with Nickserv
Registering a nickname is pretty easy. All you have to do is be on the IRC server and type /msg nickserv register APassword YourEmailAddress. That’s it. When you sign on from then on, it’ll ask you for your password and you just have to use the command it gives for you and you’ll be identified with nickserv. It’s important for you to realize that identifying with Nickserv has nothing to do with a sorta-similar command that you do with Azathoth.
“Ghosting” a Nick
Ghosting a nickname is essentially when you sign on after a disconnection and have your nickname still being used by a “ghost”. To get rid of the ghost, you just have to do the ghost command, through Nickserv, to disconnect it off of the server. The command is simple, just /msg nickserv ghost Nickname Password.
Forum Usergroups, Staying Connected
What’s the Big Deal About Individual Forums and their Groups?
The answer is simple: it’s easier to organize things over a forum than a bunch of teeny tiny notes to various people. Most forums have IC representation, but they’re not generally used for much more than supplemental play. Obviously, not everyone plays on the same times, so a forum supplement – for messages left, phone messaging system or even an IC “Internet Discussion Forum” – really helps to tie everyone together in a covenant, clan or coterie.
While a lot of things might not be going on in the forums, it’s still a big choice of avenues to try and schedule events for clans or covenants where it’s easier to just have an OOC post asking what time everyone is available to play on an ooc level for a meeting that requires all people, rather than trying to set it up individually (which could take too long).
Getting Added to a Forum Usergroup
The thing about Usergroups is: you don’t get added automatically, you have to request access! Unless you request access, and are granted it, you can’t view any of the topics or posts in a restricted forum. Naturally, if you’re not playing a Nosferatu, there’s no reason for you to be requesting access to the Nosferatu forum, and that will be denied.
Now then, to request access to a Usergroup forum, just go to the top of one of the forum pages, find the link for “Usergroups” and click it. Find which group you would like to join in the appropriate drop-down box and click the View Information button. Then, click the Join Group button to request membership to the group. Pretty simple, eh?
Vitae Loss/Gain and Hunting
Uhhh, Why Don’t I Have Any Vitae?
The bots automatically deduct one vitae point from every active vampire character each day to represent them waking from slumber and wandering around doing vampire things. This naturally is modified for a few things, like Coil of Blood, or Protean 2 – but we’ll get to that in a second.
The bots don’t discriminate when it comes to taking blood, so you have to have your vampire hunt regularly if you want it to keep up it’s blood supply.
Why Can’t I Hunt More Than Once a Night?
Basically, it’s assumed your character spends a couple hours in it’s downtime action of hunting for mortals to suck der vloood. That’s represented by allowing the character to use the hunt command once per night.
There are other ways to get blood besides hunting, though. You could have the Herd merit, which we’ve modified to give additional, excess vitae from on a per week basis (and has it’s own command), or you could even have other things from blood sorceries that store vitae (like Vitae Reliquaries in Theban).
What’s All This Domain Shit?
We devised a way to implement a lot of Domain/Territories of the city-based play into our game by creating a merit called Domain. You’ll find references to domains and the Domain merit all over the place. There’s hunting modifiers for every domain, depending on how “good” or how “bad” the hunting there is, and all sorts of things like that.
That’s why, on the Hunting page, there’s information about what’s bad news and what’s not.
Why Does My Blood Drop Automatically When I Use Protean 2 to Sleep!?
Basically, if we have your character listed as sleeping in the dirt (or whatever substance you choose), the bot will automatically deduct the additional vitae required for sleeping with protean 2 per night (putting you at 1 vitae to wake up and 1 vitae to sleep).
I wasn't Hunting in This Domain, Why Are People Saying I was?
Probably the simple answer is: if you changed domains to feed in from what’s on your sheet, you didn’t register the change with a Storyteller. Thus, technically you’ve been feeding in the location that’s on your sheet up until you officially get it changed – same thing as with living. So, make sure if you want to move your hunting grounds that you snag a ST and have them change it in the system for you.
Roleplaying and Channels
Channels
What Are Channels?
When you’re on the IRC server, you can type /list and your client should pop up a new window showing all of the channels on the server and how many individuals are currently in those channels. The default number is “1”, because every channel on our server has a bot in it.
You have public channels, which are generally things like club channels and park channels, that everyone can join.
Then you have channels that are semi-private, which are basically just your Elysium channels – or channels that most characters know about, but not always.
Then you have your private channels – channels that are normally for a particular group, that are either private locations like a group haven or private land and that sort of thing.
Finally, you have your General Purpose Channels (GPCs), those are represented and designated by their topic “General Purpose Channel”. GPCs are private scenes that can be anywhere that’s not a channel in the city. Such as an Elysium office, a private Haven, a walk down a sidestreet, etcetera.
What’s the Stuff in the Topics for Every Channel?
First, you’ll find your Predator’s Taint modifier for that particular channel listed. An example of this is “(PT Mod: +1)” which means that if you have to roll PT in that channel, you will get a +1 modifier on your Resolve + Composure roll.
Next you have, in some cases, exterior channels. Exterior channels are channels that you must go through to get to the channel in question. Generally these are road-channels. For instance, to get to the Scarlet Mansion, you should first roleplay going through it’s exterior channel, Peachtree Street. You could roleplay parking your car and walking up to the Scarlet Mansion club or something similar.
Can I have a Channel? How do I go about getting one?
We actually allow (and in most cases encourage) characters to further their own goals even if it means adding extra channels to our game (since it's your game too, you know). If one of your goals is to create a communal haven for members of your coterie, and you’d like a channel for it, generally there’s really no problem.
There’s just some minor requirements we have: you gotta have a character a month at least, have a place to make the channel and you have to make a Wiki page to detail your channel. Damn, that’s some tough requirements, huh?
You should speak to a Storyteller before going to the work of making a Wiki page to make sure everything is kosher.
Roleplaying
So, Like, How Do You Roleplay?
Basically, and most always, scenes are real-time. You have to emote your character’s actions, have them talk and have them interact with other characters. There are specific ways to designate OOC text and specific ways to designate rolls that you make for your character in a particular channel.
Here’s an example of a short snippet of roleplay text and text you’ll see on joining a channel:
* Now talking in #scarlet_mansion
* Topic is '(PT Mod: +1) #peachtree_st as exterior A quiet, dark piano lounge decorated in all shades of red and brushed nickel. A favorite gathering place of the wealthy socialites of Atlanta. See: http://www.suspire.org/wiki/index.php/Scarlet_Mansion'
* Set by natasha on Sat Mar 10 18:26:45
-Nyogtha- Temperature: 85F / 29C Conditions: Clear Current Moon Phase: a waxing half moon
-Nyogtha- Most current news topic: Woman Found Dead in Piedmont Park's Lake Clara Meer. -- Read the Full News Story: http://www.suspire.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=771
* Becky steps inside through the front doors of the Scarlet Mansion, her eyes sweeping across the sedate crowd and few dancers by the scarlet piano.
<Migel> ::he shrugs his shoulders absently:: Well, like I said, I don’t really know what was going on, I thought I’d just run it by you and you could tell me.
* Burt leans back in his seat, looking at Migel across from him, “Well, alright. I appreciate you telling me all the same.”
<Becky> ((Places?))
<Burt> ((Sitting in a booth near the rear of the club, across from Migel))
* Becky walks further into the club, and around past the bars – making sure to steer clear of the mirror behind the bar. As she rounds the corner and continues making her way further inside, she happens to spy the pair of familiar vampires. That being said, she diverts where she was originally walking and heads in their direction.
<Migel> So, what are you going to do?
<Burt> I don’t know, maybe I’ll talk to some of the Carthians about it, see if they care...
<Migel> ::his eyes drift from Burt and then settle onto Becky as she draws near:: Got company...
* Burt turns and looks in the direction Migel is looking in, and eyes Becky. After a few moments, he puts on a smiling face. “Hey, hey, what’s up?”
<Becky> Hey... mind if I join you two?
<Migel> ::he rolls his eyes:: Maybe.
* Burt shrugs a little, “Sure, if you want, we were just sitting here watching the fucking grass grow, eh?”
* Becky looks between the two as she's sitting down, then focuses on Burt for a few moments, looking him over.
<Becky> !roll 5 wits 3 + empathy 1 + status 1 (Empathy: Burt)
* Nyogtha =Becky= ##wits 3 + empathy 1 + status 1 (Empathy: Burt)## 9 3 5 3 2 <1 Success - 0 Rerolls>
<Burt> !sroll 6 manip 2 + subt 2 + spec 1 + status 1 (Resist)
* Nyogtha =Burt= ##manip 2 + subt 2 + spec 1 + status 1 (Resist)## 1 3 5 3 2 10 <Failure - 0 Rerolls>
* Becky slides back up out of her chair, "Nevermind, I can tell when I'm not wanted. Pricks."