i'm totally lost. where do i start?
That's easy; start by reading the important threads! They can be found to the left, in the sidebar, under navigation. Simply hover your mouse over the text that says 'hover for the links' and they'll appear! You should start by reading the rules, the Asperia handbook, the history of Asperia, and the species. All of those threads are extremely important for you to understand everything about Asperia! You should also look at the canon characters found in the create a character forum - even if you don't plan on trying out for them, it's good to know which gods and goddesses go with which Dynasties. From there, you can make an application for your character!
how can i play a canon?
To obtain a canon, you have to wait for auditions to be announced. We'll hold auditions for one pair of canons at a time. For example, we might hold auditions for both of the deities of the Mordia Dynasty at the same time. However, we won't hold auditions for more than two deities at a time. You may also audition for the role of Emperor or Empress for the Dynasties - these will usually be held at the same time that the auditions for the deities for that Dynasty are held. So if we're holding auditions for the God and Goddess of Mordia, then we'll likely also hold auditions for the Emperor and Empress of Mordia. You may NOT play more than one canon character. However, you may audition for more than one. You cannot audition for both deities or both the emperor and empress of a dynasty, though. Instead, you could audition for the God of Mordia and the Empress of Mordia - just be aware you can only be picked to play one at the most.
what's the difference between a god and an emperor?
A god (or goddess) is a celestial being. They do not live in Asperia, but instead in a heavenly place known as Ethereal Bounds. They are immortal, forever frozen in the prime of their youth. All are unearthly beautiful, and have a kind of aura that draws the beings of Asperia to them. You can simply look at a god or goddess and know that it's a deity. They also have powers; they can kill or cause terrible pain with a thought (though they typically refrain from doing so), they can teleport themselves anywhere they please, they can manipulate the elements - fire, water, earth, air, they can heal horses who are on the brink of death, and they simply exude power. Nymh and Eros are the exceptions - while they still look like deities, and while they exude power, they do not have all of the powers the other gods and goddesses do. Why? Because they have a strict purpose in life. Eros has all the powers of life; he can heal, bring back to life, and give foals their first breath of air. Nymh has all the powers of death; she can bring great pain, she can maim, and she can kill. She takes the souls of equines and guides them to the Ethereal Bounds, where they have their own afterlife of sorts.
An emperor (or empress) on the other hand, has no magical powers whatsoever (except the normal ones of its species, the only difference is their powers tend to be stronger than others.) However, it is usually one of the strongest, or most clever, or perhaps, most charming, equines of its species. They lead their Dynasty - they are like kings and queens. They rule over their subjects, keeping order, punishing those who need it, and all that lovely stuff. They are below gods and goddesses, but above everyone else.
what's the banomith, exactly?
The Banomith is a place for the misfits of Asperia. Whether they be hybrids, rebels, or just those who never quite fit in with the system of their Dynasty, all come to The Banomith. There's really no other option - they could truly be loners, but then The Banomith's militia seeks them out, asks if they would like to join, and if they refuse, they are killed. Simple. It's like a huge herd, but without many of the dynamics of a herd. Stallions do not recruit tons of mares; if they wish, they are allowed to choose one mate, no more. Of course they can separate and choose another later on if they wish, but it's a one-at-a-time rule, mostly to prevent stallions from hogging mares. The Banomith are known for their militia, though, because they are truly fearsome. Only the fastest, fiercest, and bravest stallions (and occasionally mares, but they need to really impress the Leader) are chosen to be a part of the militia. They recruit new members (and kill those who won't join), and if they find any members of other Dynasties wandering about... Well, chaos is sure to ensue. The rest of The Banomith is really one big group, together but fending for themselves, raising tiny families, traveling across their lands, etc. The Leader of The Banomith is supposed to be the toughest, most fearsome stallion of them all. A few times in history, the Leader has been a mare, but it's extremely rare - even if gender doesn't matter as much to those of The Banomith, there are some manners of thinking that are hard to get over. The Leader watches over the members, decides when to move on, organizes the militia, etc. He can be challenged at any time, but losing is rare, so the Leader typically stays in charge for a while, until he's old enough that a younger equine can actually stand a chance against him. He too, is only allowed one mate. She is always respectfully addressed as "Lady" by her subjects, and nothing more. The Banomith are also huge on respect to each other and their leaders - showing disrespect is usually met with severe consequences.
where does my mare go once she's accepted?
The first place you should take your mare is Echiole's Valley - unless she's a hippocampus, in which she should simply head to a male's land and request entry into his harem. That being said, obviously hippocampi males don't need to have a mare before claiming a land. - where she can wait to be claimed. She does not have to leave with the first male that requests her, she can wait and see who else comes along if she so wishes. Or, she can travel to a male in her Dynasty's lands and request a place in his herd. If she is denied, she'll need to go back to Echiole's Valley and wait to be claimed. If a mare doesn't want to be claimed at all, she can of course join The Banomith.
how can my stallion claim a land?
A stallion - unless he's a hippocampus or an emperor, in which case he can automatically claim a land - must head to Echiole's Valley to find and claim a mare before he can claim a land. To claim a land, you MUST make an in-character post with your stallion claiming the land. A staff member will then accept the claim, and after that you'll need to make a herd ranks thread in your land, listing the different ranks and who is in them. Herd ranks can be found here. The ranks do NOT have to match those given - be creative! But you must always explain what each rank means. You must also post in the Herd Statistics board, in the thread of your land, updating every time you add a new member to your herd, have a foal, etc.
how many characters can i have?
If you keep all of them reasonably active, you can have as many as you want! But try to keep the ratios even. If we see you making ten female unicorns, we're going to step in. Now, we want more females than males, just because there should be more females than males in a herd, but especially for the species, we want ratios as close as possible. So just to keep us sane, try to make a different species when you make a new character - and really try to choose one that doesn't have as many characters as others. But of course, if you notice there's twenty mares and one stallion in a certain species, maybe consider making a stallion.
i'm having trouble with writing/coding. help?
If you're having a hard time meeting the word count, or if you simply want to make your posts have a better quality, the first thing you should look at is our Roleplaying Guide, located in the Roleplaying Academy. If that doesn't quite cut it, feel free to apply as a student, so that a mentor can teach you one-on-one. If it's coding that you're having issues with, take a look at the Coding Guide, located in Coding Central. And if that isn't enough, feel free to post a question, post in someone's studio to ask for custom-made HTML, or test out your own codes in our HTML Testing Arena.
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