RTJ (reference document)
I start with this Warning -- I am, by nature, a very sarcastic person. Also, despite my dear, departed Mother having been a School Teacher, as well as me having a few close friends who are School Teachers, I hold a very low personal opinion of the quality of the American Educational System as it exists today.
As you are here on RPoL, playing these games, I take it for granted that you not only can Read and Write, but that you want to Read and Write--that you enjoy Reading and Writing.
Disappoint me at your own peril!! *_*
So, getting to it, when you Request To Join, there are only a few requirements to be aware of and a couple of questions I'd like you to answer:
1. Race: Right now, at the very beginning, everyone is restricted to playing a Human. From Earth. The United States of America, in fact. Well, you don't have to be American, but the Patron who initiates the adventure is an American, and things will start off with the characters each receiving a letter from him--so how you may know the Patron is also something that will need to be thought of. If your Character is American an association is just slightly easier to come up with, but being American is not mandatory.
*sigh* But if you really, really, really have to play a non-Human right now--or your head will pop like a balloon--then I'm willing to listen. But your pitch better be really good--otherwise you better be ready for an answer of No.
2. Character Concept: On one side of the Atlantic Ocean, they were calling the times The Victorian Era, but on the other side of the Atlantic, the folks there were calling it the Westward Expansion. What you and I now call The Old West. So Character Concepts can be anything from Earthy Cowboys, to Eastern Dudes, to British or European types--the World is the limit. Your Concept can be as minimal as "a bookish type who doesn't fight well" to something as complete as "he is from a Cadet Branch of the Vanderbilt family--that's the New York Vanderbilts, of course--and has recieved a fine education. However, he's also an outdoorsman, like that young firebrand down in The City--Theodore Roosevelt--and like that gentleman he camps, hikes and hunts. And he is not unknown to the Manly Arts of Self Defence".
I'll have a number of Setting specific Professional Edges in a list for you to peruse, to give you some ideas on how to build some Victorian Character Concepts. Or you could just pick one or two of these Professional Edges, when that time comes.
3. Know Space: 1889?: How familiar are you with the original Space: 1889 setting created by Frank Chadwick? (Not essential, but it'd help!)
4. Know Savage Worlds?: How familiar are you with the Savage Worlds RPG? Not to worry if you are completely unfamiliar--it's an easy system to learn and I can assist you in making your character. I'm just trying to get a heads up on who's a Newbie and who's a Grognard.
5. What type of game do you prefer: What is it about these gaming sessions that really grabs your interest? Is it combat, exploration, puzzle-solving, role-playing. Note that while combat can often be resolved fairly quickly with Savage Worlds, that is mostly true when you're playing Face-to-Face. In Play-by-Message or Forum Board type games--like RPoL--combat can generally take a long time to resolve, some times a 30-second fight can take 2-weeks to resolve, so I don't throw combat at you that often, but rest assured there will be some combat (unless everyone on the team is really into combat--and you all answer this question with an answer like "I am a Combat Monster who Lusts for the Sight of Blood"). Of course, if that really is your answer, I can recommend a nice Sanitorium with beach views...
6. A name for your character: Though, at this point in Character Creation this can just be a place holder. I realize that during the creation of your Character you may make choices and changes to better fit with elements of the Character that develop, and these could change your whole concept, possibly, and you might want to use a different name when all is said and done. So a name at this point isn't mandatory, it can always be changed later, just give me something to call this character while we work on it. I usually use "Bubba", but you could use "The Toronto Terror", if that's what floats yer boat.
7. If you have any questions: Just ask! As my State-Provided Thought Suppressors--uh--I mean my School Teachers always used to say "There are no stupid questions". If something doesn't make sense to you, just ask! If you have an idea for a Character Concept, but you're not sure how to accomplish it in the Savage Worlds system, ask! Between my twisted grammar and cut-and-pastes I'm making between various Savage Worlds books, here, the wordings of some of this stuff could be easily misunderstood.
Just ask. If you don't want anyone to know about the question, just send me a "Private to GM" note in a regular Post, or send me a full Private Message. No worries, I'll never call you Dummy! No, wait, I call everyone Dummy...um, how about I will never, even if threatened with the horrible 12 Hours of Italian Opera torture, never ever call your question stupid. But you can call me stupid, anytime ^_^
8. Surprise! It's a Test!: Yup, and it's an Essay Test, too! I'd like a sample of your blood...no, that's not right, this will just feel like that. I want a sample of your Posting style. Below is a short GM-style post, laying out a scene. I would like you to write a response. Assume you're some kind of Victorian Era person--exactly what doesn't have to be too solid; just a vague idea works.
What I want is for you to write a post the way you normally would--make it long or short, don't worry about spelling (well, don't obsess over it), the scene is sorta a mystery setting, so you have a little free reign on "discovering" small things, i.e., you can make up some of the description of the location. Here's the scene:
[VANADIAN FAMILY MANOR, UPSTATE NEW YORK. 1889]
You head down the upper hallway in the Vanadian family manor, holding the three-stick candelabra up where it can provide light without shining directly into your eyes.
The hallway's décor is much like that you have seen elsewhere in the manor--floors covered in fine carpets, the walls covered in exquisite red and gold wallpaper, small side tables holding numerous small bric-a-brak and the occasional silver or crystal candelabra. But it's still the door you can see in the dim candlelight at the end of the hallway, that draws you on.
It's not just that your friend, Peter Vanadian, has avoided every mention of the room beyond the door with a trite "It's just a storage closet.", but it's the doors strange appearance--all the doors in this stately manor are solid three-panel doors made of red oak and maple stained a warm medium brown, but this door! This door, at the end of a hallway off which are several guest bedrooms, this door appears to be made of a handful of solid-looking wood planks, held together with three wrought iron bands, and all of it is painted a pale white. That is not normal décor for a hallway where guests one wishes to impress will be staying.
And, of course, the occasional sounds of movement you are sure you have heard from beyond the door only add to the mystery.
Finally you could take it no longer, so now, in the wee hours of the morning, you are here, standing just outside the enigmatic door, candelabra in hand. Just to the right of the door, on the wall, you spy a small shelf which holds a black iron door key--exactly as it would be if this were a storage room. Quickly grabbing the key from its resting place--before you lose your nerve--you unlock the door and open it.
With the door open, the light from your three-stick candelabra barely makes an entrance into the dark chamber, beyond. In the very dim, flickering candlelight large, obscure shapes--probably furniture--can just barely be seen. About, maybe, twenty or twenty five feet across from where you are, at the door, you can just barely make out a rectangular glowing outline--perhaps a window with all the drapes drawn.
And...there you go. I look forward to your response ^_^
