Choose a Channel, any Channel!
Yes, choosing a proper roleplaying channel can be a hassle. But they're not that hard to find. Almost anything with Inn, Own, Tavern, Keep, Altar, Castle, or anything like that in the channel name, is a legitamate roleplaying channel. It's choosing the one that's right for you that's such a pain. Like any decent catologue or trusted guide, I will help you choose that channel.
I -can't- give you a reliable listing.
The Broken Dagger
Official Channel Name: #broken_dagger
Official OOC Channel? No.
Any side channels? On an "as needed" basis.
Current status: Open and running.
Category: Fantasy Medievil FFRP. Technology is limited to the crossbow.
Overview: The Broken Dagger is what is considered a "walk-in" channel - there are a lot of people, but no unified Storyline or Kingdom surrounding it (although I've been told otherwise by the Ops, I have yet to see any information I can access without asking for it). This pretty much means you can do almost anything and come from almost anywhere - as long as you don't break the Op's rules, leaving for a somewhat unrealistic experience, but ideal for less experienced players. The characters make up their own plots and rely on each other to make it interesting, and the ops take moderation over participation. Kind of like your singles' bar with censor bars and bouncers.
If this channel were a movie, I'd rate it as: PG to PG-13. No cussing in OOC, mild cursing in IC, very low adult themes/content, usual violence, low realism.
Reputation: Established/popular family channel. However, to most other channels, the Broken Dagger is mocked.
The Ops: Prescence somewhat limited, but they are usually handy. The founder isn't about all that much.
What peeves them the most: Lack of respect for other players and not reading their rules.
The People: Depends on who you talk to, but as long as you don't tick anyone off, you should be fine. However, the channel does have a more than occasional problem with OOC goofs and OOC bickering. The roleplaying talent is kind of a grab-bag, ranging from people who can't type to those who should be in a better channel; there's very little sense of community. On occasion, the RP will center around a few characters and will neglect the others.
Times of RP: All the time, it seems.
Recommended for: Beginners to medium level roleplayers.
Website: Yes (click here). Rules are mandatory reading and cover most of what I've given to you so far, with their own little twists. Character Profiles are updated regularly and provide limited information on established characters. The website is below-standard fare and a quick read.
Bian-Riza
Official Channel Name: #bian-riza_tavern
Official OOC Channel? Yes, #retreat
Any side channels? Yes, #bian_city
Current status: Open and running.
Category: Fantasy Medievil FFRP. Technology is limited to the crossbow.
Overview: Bian-Riza is set in a world and thouroughly describes the setting, if you can get through all the crap on their website. It centers around a tavern and the surrounding city. The characters are free to make up their own plots, and the ops participate regularly.
If this channel were a movie, I'd rate it as: PG-13. Mild cursing, low adult content/themes, the usual violence, realistic.
Reputation: Year-old channel. Most noted for its OOC channel - other RPers tend to go to the #broken_dagger instead.
The Ops: Ops frequent the channel.
What peeves them the most: If a person comes in for help one day and becomes scum the next. Also, people who don't interact with others and start their own exclusive cult of RP.
The People: Bian-Razi doesn't have as much of a problem with OOC goofs, mostly because there aren't many people who want to RP in the first place. All in all, they are a solid, experienced crowd whose RP will tend to center around a few characters and ignore everyone else.
Times of RP: In North America times, nights. Otherwise, it's on an "on ask" basis.
Recommended for: I wouldn't recommend this channel to many people, but if I had to, it would be medium/advanced players, because they'll probably laugh at anyone else.
Website: Yes (click here). The webpage is mildly to heavily confusing and at most, frustrating. Even I had a problem figuring out what was where and why there were so many, many pointless buffer pages running around wild. However, they are -extremely- thorough in establishing the environment, the rules, and the setting. Warning: a lengthy read.
Imperia
Official Channel Name: #twistedblade_inn
Official OOC Channel? Yes, #imperia
Any side channels? Yes, #arennonmist_inn , various others open as necessary for SLs.
Current status: Open and running.
Category: Fantasy Medievil FFRP. Technology limited to standard medieval, magically enchanced medieval and magical technology. Guns, however, are extremely rare.
Character Approval/Registration Required?: You need to have your character approved, but actual registration is optional.
Overview: Look abroad, maties! This is where we get into some choppy waters. Sure, the setting is well-described (I think I can even see the fishies and the coral reefs), but somehow it may seem..TIDAL WAVE!..overwhelming for some less experienced players. As I said before, it's heavy stuff and playing in there is like total immersion into their world - or drowning in it, whichever. The ops participate regularly and heavily, creating plots and updating the political situation. Realism is key here, and people who don't fit in usually get filtered out in a week or two. Most of the action settles on the TwistedBlade Inn in the city of Tantallon. ArennonMist Inn is kind of like the Twisted Blade, only it's in construction and it will be designed for less experienced, less violent players.
If this channel were a movie, I'd rate it as: R for TwistedBlade. Heavy cursing, adult themes, heavy violence, nitty-gritty realism. ArennonMist will be projected as PG-13. Mild cursing, usual violence, low adult content/themes, very realistic.
Reputation: TBI: 7 years, well known. AMI: New channel.
The Ops: Ops almost -make- the channel. They also participate in the RP and help newer people learn the ropes.
What peeves them the most: People who ignore the background RP, like if there's a big fight going on and someone just acts as if nothing's happening.
The People: There is an occasional OOC goof, but that's very rare. Although the people are highly critical of non-realistic RP, they are still open to new people and new plots. They also react harshly to poor typing, but that's understandable, considering a place like this has no haven for little kiddies. All around, they have good talent and a decent sense of humor.
Times of RP: Usually, in North America times, nights to early mornings. Otherwise, it's on an "on ask" basis (although there is now more daytime RP).
Recommended for: TBI: Medium to advanced players. AMI: Medium players.
Website: Yes (click here). Or, try this mirror site. Although they are thorough in establishing the environment, the rules, and the setting, the website still appears as if it's under heavy construction - it needs some structural work and needs to be completed/updated, although I have no doubts that once completed, I can safely say that this is the way one does a roleplaying webpage. The webmaster has listened to my frank suggestions and updated the graphics - they look much better now. The gallery, on the other hand, is still as nice than ever. Warning: a lengthy read, but a good one.
Do I RP there?: Heck yes.
Personal Praise: Despite some of the gripes I'm about to give you, the actual system is very creative, and well thought out. Although some updates were well overdue, who's got the time? For all the IRL crap that goes on in the Ops' lives, they still take time to come in to take care of business. They also have a great sense of humor and a lot of wisdom when it comes to RPing. The political situation is also very neat and opens people up to SLs.
Personal Gripes: No offense to Imperia and its founder, but the more I roleplay here, the more I find it's like FFRP and D&D combined. It's nice to use an established system for inspiration, but most of the exotic creatures are from the Monsters' Manual or something. The Imperia people are inviting, but also somewhat..well..Imperialist (sorry about the bad pun). Nice people, nice people, they roleplay well, but they tend to enjoy ripping people new arseholes a little -too- much. Gods, Titans, Nobles, other assorted powerful people etc. seem to wander in a little -too- often. Yes, it's fun to watch and fun to react to, but I'm beginning to think these more experienced people are somewhat into favoritism. Then again, who could blame them? Why treat SlutVixen the same respect as Robert (the Inn's current IC owner)? It also seems that only the ops are allowed to make plots - and *most* (not all) the player-characters without opship are just pawns, most moreso than others.
GoldenDrake Inn
Official Channel Name: #goldendrake-inn
Official OOC Channel? Not decided.
Any side channels? Opened on an "as needed" basis.
Current status: Yet to be released officially.
Category: Fantasy Medievil FFRP. Technology is limited to the crossbow. Technology beyond is especially rare.
Overview: This channel is a hopeful, but I am quickly losing sight of it ever running. The operators plan on taking the player and immersing it into the world that they created through its website, still in progress - although they've been saying that it'll be open "the day after", it's been a few months. The ops, at the time of the interview, plan to create their own SLs, but allow other players to create their own as well. The ops are planning to participate in the RP as well as moderate.
If this channel were a movie, I'd rate it as: PG-13 to R. Medium-heavy cursing, low adult themes, the usual violence, nitty-gritty realism.
Reputation: Brand-spanking new!
The Ops: The ops are around and ready to answer any questions about the new channel.
What peeves them the most: Lack of effort, one-line posts, and the lack of interest some people hold outside of the basic "man-woman" relationship.
The People: Yet to be Determined.
Times of RP: Yet to be Determined.
Recommended for: Medium to advanced players.
Website: TBA, although I am not sure if it will ever be released - at least they've *completed* the website before they open the channel, then, unlike most other channels, who have yet to finish. I'm hoping they do it right.
Nitewyn Caverns
Official Channel Name: #nitewyncaverns
Official OOC Channel? Yes, #stronghold
Any side channels? Opened on an "as needed" basis.
Current status: Open.
Overview: If there was a WRONG way to do a modernistic channel, this would be it. This is a medievil FFRP channel with modern conveniences, basically, although it -says- "futuristic". Apparently, it puts extreme restrictions on wireless technology and weapons. This place is a wannabe ego boost for poor roleplayers - a part of the description is cut-paste, and the rest is rather inflated - I got extremely bored after reading most of it. The premise is nice, but it desperately needs polish. If the Golden Drake turns out like this, I'm going to scream - all fluff, no substance. This place tries so hard to appeal to everyone that it appeals to no one.
If this channel were a movie, I'd rate it as: They say that it should be R, but with daggers as the only weapons allowed inside, it's more like PG-13.
Reputation: Seven months old, not well known, not popular. Most of these people RP elsewhere.
The Ops: The op/founder Luciferra is usually around.
What peeves them the most: People who ignore others and act like all-knowing jerks.
The People: Most of these people are Luciferra's friends. My expectations of this channel are low; I don't think this channel will do too well.
Times of RP: Not much RPing going on.
Recommended for: I wouldn't recommend this channel to many people, but if I must, beginner to advanced players.
Website: Yes, (click here). To people who have seen this page before it was officially released, although I did say renovations on the web page were going well, I didn't think it would fall into the oblivion of suckage. The structure's horrible, the content is like a flat souflee, and the graphics are outdated, nothing more than what you can find in Angelfire's image library.
Wintercrest Inn
Official Channel Name: #wintercrest*inn
Official OOC Channel? Yes, #rpg*ooc
Any side channels? Open on an "as needed" basis.
Current status: Open and running.
Category: Fantasy Medievil FFRP. Technology is limited to the crossbow.
Overview:
If this channel were a movie, I'd rate it as: PG-13. Mild cursing, low adult content/themes, the usual violence, somewhat realistic.
Reputation: About six years old, established.
The Ops: Ops frequent the channel and are patient, ready to answer any questions.
What peeves them the most: People who expect things to be a certain way but don't help out.
The People:
Times of RP: In North America times, nights. Otherwise, it's on an "on ask" basis.
Recommended for: Everyone who wants to RP.
Website: Yes (click here). Geez, I hate this thing; it really sucks. However, to be fair, they -are- going under renovations. It's an interesting read - if you can ignore the ALL CAPS TEXT on the front page and the typos. They are very thorough with background information, just okay on rule writing, and the humor and the recipies just add to the experience. Once it goes under renovations, everything will be -so- much better.
HaldorNote: I have not have permission to include them yet, so this might be removed.
Official Channel Name: #haldor
Official OOC Channel? Yes, #haldorooc
Any side channels? Open on an "as needed" basis.
Current status: Open and running.
Category: Fantasy Medievil FFRP. Technology is limited to the crossbow.
Overview: Where the Green Dragon Inn fell, Haldor stood. Or so I'm told. I've seen this room before, and I've been told it's good. They were right. They plunge you into their little world quite well. The ops, when present, participate about as much as the players. They start official SLs every once in a while, but players are free to make up their own.
If this channel were a movie, I'd rate it as: PG-13 to R. Cursing, adult themes, descriptive violence, nitty-gritty realism.
Reputation: Three years old?
The Ops: Ops are -not- at the channel often.
What peeves them the most: Flooders.
The People: They have an occasional goof, but who doesn't? I found the people I talked to very helpful, and as I watched the roleplaying, I liked this channel even more.
Times of RP: North American times, afternoon to evenings. Otherwise, it's on an "on ask" basis.
Recommended for: Medium to advanced players.
Website: Yes (click here). Wow. This proves the simple format the superior when it comes to making roleplaying web pages. I found the navigation and the reading easy to follow where most other black background web pages fall behind. Bian-Riza could take tips from them, that's for sure. This website needs a little updating, but otherwise it's fine.
Redmist Castle
Official Channel Name: Not determined.
Official OOC Channel? Yes, #fortgryphon - #delourm_hall as an OOC channel is being phased out.
Any side channels? Open on an "as needed" basis.
Current status: Closed and under renovations.
Category: Fantasy Medievil FFRP. Technology is limited to the crossbow.
Overview: Imperia's supposed "rival," they stand well enough on their own. Information to come as it is found.
If this channel were a movie, I'd rate it as: R. Cursing, adult themes, descriptive violence, nitty-gritty realism.
Reputation: Five years old.
The Ops: Ops are at the channel often.
What peeves them the most: RPers that can't spell (i.e., netspeak during RP) or form entire sentences. RPers that think they have to be RPing 24/7 or at the snap of their fingers.
The People: They have an occasional goof, but who doesn't? I found the people I talked to very helpful and relaxed, laid back.
Times of RP: North American times, weekday evenings. Otherwise, it's on an "on ask" basis, or on scheduled plots.
Recommended for: Medium to advanced players.
Website: Yes (click here). The site is down until the renovations are done.
