Chiaroscuro

Welcome to Chiaroscuro! This is a text-based roleplay games with a modern fantasy theme.

On this forum you will be able to create a character and then interact with other players as that character. You will both be able to create your own storylines and to participate in staff-run stories with a greater impact on the overall world. If you've participated in a forum-based RP of some variety before: welcome! If you haven't, the idea is simple. You create a character and then participate in a collaborative writing exercise with other players where you write only your character's section of the story, interacting to things other characters do and say. It's much like tabletop, except only words. Simple enough!

Before you dive in, however, please be sure to read the rest of this thread, and the other threads in this forum, as they will give you the tools needed to participate happily in this particular forum!

Before you dive into character creation, you may want to know a little bit more about what the theme and story of this setting is, to enable you to make a character that is a good fit for the story and that will be fun to play!

Basic Setting Concept:
The basic concept of this RP is modern fantasy; it takes place in a world almost exactly like ours. However, as a twist, there is Something Happening that brings magic into the world -- a great mystery that we are not revealing too much about, but that centers around a dream world that some people seem able to gain access to. An awakening into this world is done via tarot cards, with a strong interpretive and elemental leaning, and grants the characters magical powers that also manifest in the main setting, to some degree.

Our intention is to have RP that affects both the main world and the dream world, with a focus on mystery, slow reveal of what's going on, character development, and the invitation for players also to contribute to the world we're creating.

Basic RP Concept:
RP at Chiaroscuro can be done however makes you the most comfortable -- either post by post here on the forums, in google docs or other offsite writing tools, or via discord or other direct messaging systems. However, it's important to note that character bonuses, new powers, and other goodies will be unlockable via our onsite currency, which is generated via forum post. Even if you play somewhere else, it's valuable to then post your writing on the forums, not only for tracking but also for your benefit!

Basic Gameplay Concept:
Players here can choose to do one on one RP that develops characters, to participate in GMed storylines and metaplots, or to do a little bit of both! There will be opportunities for solo, character driven plots, as well as greater, meta-impacting storylines.

IF ALL OF THIS SOUNDS GOOD TO YOU -- read on about how to set up your account and begin play!

Account Setup

The first thing you must do -- and which, most likely, you have already done -- is set up a main account. The first account you create should be your Player Account. It can be called anything you like, from your name to a username you've used in the past to any other alias you enjoy. The only trick is that it should not be your character's name. This account is exclusively for use OOC (out of character) purposes. Once it has been created, you must post a topic in the Introductions forum to get your account registered as a Player Account! Posting a new thread in this forum will also grant you 1500 Shards, which you can use to buy special items for your account (see final post in this thread!)

After that, you create a new account for each character you make. These will be the accounts you use to RP as those characters. When making this account, the username should be the First and Last Name of your character. Character accounts will be used exclusively for IC purposes.

In order to easily transfer between characters, once you have created a Player Account and a Character Account, you can connect them via your User Control Panel, accessed via the dropdown next to your username in the upper right hand corner of every page of the forum. Select the Linked Accounts tab, and then click the Link Account + button. Then it's as simple as logging into one account with the other, and you will be able to switch between them with the click of a button!

Character Building

With your accounts made and connected, you're ready to begin play! Read all important posts in the Character & Plotting section of our forum. When posting a character profile in Character Journals, make sure to use the template provided and to post from the Character Account to get this account registered as the proper type.

Readings & Bonus Items

Once you have an account fully set up and a character created, you may wish to have a Reading that grants them Magical Powers! If so, this is the time when you can use that initial 1500 Shards to buy yourself the necessary items from our Shop.

• Reader Token - This is required for all Readings, and costs 1000 Shards. If you don't buy this and instead choose to use your Shards on other things, you'll have to RP your character or do art for other users to acquire the on-site currency!
• Fated Suit - This enables you to choose a suit for your Reading, and costs 500 Shards. If you have a strong feeling about your character's element, you can use this card to choose between Swords, Pentacles, Wands and Cups instead of having 1d4 rolled to choose in your Reading thread. It can also be used in combination with Fated Value to choose an exact card -- but you'll need to RP to get enough Shards to manage this!
• Fated Value - This enables you to choose a value for your Reading, and costs 500 Shards. If you have a strong feeling about your character's pip number, you can use this card to choose a number from Ace - 10 instead of having 1d10 rolled to choose in your Reading thread. It can also be used in combination with Fated Suit to choose an exact card -- but you'll need to RP to get enough Shards to manage this!
• Expertise - Your character has an exceptional or prodigal talent for a specific mundane skill. When performing this skill (this should be a skill mentioned as part of a character's profile), your character may add +2 to the roll as the result of exemplary talent, skill, or trained ability. This must be specific—it would not be appropriate to declare “sports” but would be appropriate to declare “basketball”. Likewise, "art" would be too broad a category for this skill, but you could declare "painting" or "photography" as a character's specialization.

These are all the steps required to get you started on RP! You're now ready to read Setting Information threads in any relevant IC locations, and to start threads to interact with other players!