Due to general agreement between people on both sides of the line, TOWN and ACRO merged. Thus, all threads which previously would have fallen in once category or another, are now tagged [NEXUS].
LONG LIVE THE NEXUS!
So, what is Nexus?
Spoiler
Well, the Nexus itself is like a rift, a single, brilliant point where all the universes in this strange thing we call 'reality' meet. Traveling to, from, and between any world or cosmology is theoretically possible here, and the Nexus itself seems to encourage this happening, often sucking beings and locations out of other universes at random, and dumping them on the world that lies at its center. It was not always like this, however. Once there were two worlds at the Nexus' heart, separate and distinct, though somewhat similar in ways. Similar enough that they slowly and eventually merged, so that only one remained. Here in this world the Nexus' influence reigns supreme, and as such the world has defied almost all attempts at classification. Here, knights of old may engage with Jedi knights. Gleaming spaceships land in Dark Age hamlets. Cowboys and samurai quest together to find holy sandwich boxes. And in the heavens above, Xi Wangmu and the Flying Spaghetti Monster meet every Woden's Day to play bowls with Pelor (it gets pretty epic). Here the possibilities are endless, and the universe without rules (except the Forum Rules, and the general FFRP rules, and the Individual Thread Rules, and oh whatever). Welcome to Nexus. Fun is had here.
Major Locales
Spoiler
For an endless world that defies all logic and classification, Nexus can be pretty darn consistent at times. As such, several locations have survived the test of time, remaining (somewhat) constant amidst the chaos of the rest of the world.
Inside - Inside mostly resembles a modern city, with high-rise buildings and apartments, alleyways and roads, though the odd Demonic Monument can still be seen rising up above the surrounding suburb, teeming with dark cultists. Inside is the current seat of the Acronymian Empire, which controls much of the surrounding area.
Outside - If you ain't Inside, you're OUTSIDE! Simple as that. Outside is a meta-thread for all those wildernessy type areas that don't merit their own threads, be it wood or lake or tiny shack.
ACRONYMS - Home to adventurers, these complexes provide headquarters and occasionally living space for like-minded Player Characters. Invariably equipped with cheesy names, these structures provide a place for their various members to fight crime, cause chaos, or anything of the sort. Current Acronyms include:
AMEN - Association for the Malicious, Evil and Nefarious. Evil aligned organization, exists to be EVIL! And sometimes Ebil.
HALO - Heroic, Anti-evil and Lawbreaking Organization. Non-Evil aligned organization, exists to smite wrong-doers.
GLoG - Good League of Good. Good aligned organization, exists to redeem evil-doers.
LANTERN - Lawful Awesome Not-Neutral Truthful Anti-Evil Respectable Nothing Else. Good-Aligned group dedicated to fighting evil and crime of any sort.
NO - Neutralist Oganization. Neutral aligned organization, exists to perform mercenary contracts for other organizations and individuals in the Nexus without taking sides
WATCHTOWER - You Know What? Screw It. Non-aligned aligned organization. Exists to destroy threats to Nexus, whatever form they may take.
SAINT - Society of Assassins, Infiltrators, Ninja, and Terrorists. Assasin's guild, located in Riverside.
PACK - Perfectly Acceptable College for Kids. The local Nexus school. Class mostly occurs offscreen, though...
The Taverns
What kind of vaguely DnD-esque adventurer would you be if you didn't visit one of these places at least once? The various Taverns, Grills, Hotels, Cantinas and Restaurant provide meeting places for the Player Characters, areas for quest givers to stand mysteriously in, and also places for people to eat and spend the money they seem to have infinite amounts of. Though there are a vast number of such places in Nexus, some with their own thread and some without, throughout history three major hubs have existed, without which Nexus as we know it wouldn't exist. The Dancing Fox Inn, which is located in What used to be Town but is now another part of the Inside. Taverna Generica, which is located near Inside's more NPC inhabited areas. Finally, there is Trog's Tavern, which is located, maddeningly enough, at every corner of the Nexus at the same time. There is also the Black Dragon's Den, it's located roughly between the docks and the slums of Inside, and is the local hive of scum and villainy.
General Nexus FAQs:
Spoiler
Is there a guide to getting started? Besides this post, which you're currently reading, you should also read post 3 of the stickied FFRP Central thread. Once you've read both, you can ask any questions you ask in the current Nexus OOC thread. If you have no questions, post in the Nexus OOC anyway to introduce yourself. And welcome.
What kind of character can I make? Any. There are no restrictions on genre, alignment, world of origin, etc.
Will my power work the way it does in the source setting? Almost certainly not. In your setting, you may have been the Mighty Zorlox, whose power to control the world's socks was absolute, but in the Nexus, you may run across Madam Bo Peep, who controls the world's wool.
If my power goes against your power, who wins? In combat or any type of adversarial situation, the defender has the final say. So if Zorlox tries to turn Bo Peep's wool socks purple, Peep's player gets to decide if her wool power prevails. But if Bo Peep tries to have a pair of wool socks strangle Zorlox, then his player gets to decide if his sock power wins.
Oh no! Someone's already using my character concept! In the Nexus, all cosmologies are true. Just because someone is playing the incarnation of Death doesn't mean you can't as well. You are very unlikely to come up with a character concept that is wholly unique while remaining playable; there is nothing new under the sun, and so on.
Sometimes you'll say 'I just came up with a great character idea - they have x race and y abilities and z backstory and I'll call her Linda' and someone will say 'You mean like my character Lynda over there that I introduced last week?' No one really knows why these sort of coincidences occur, but the Nexus seems especially prone to them. When they do, the best thing to do is to fiddle with your character concept a bit to set them apart.
Where should I start? Long answer, you can start in any thread that isn't a private thread or a plot thread. Short answer, Trog's. Just start at Trog's. Do I need to get pre-approval for my character, or fill in a registry form before I start? Nope. You can if you like, but it's not required. And sometimes it's better to get a feel for your character first, before deciding all the details about them.
Your first character (copied from FFRP Central)
Spoiler
So, you're ready to make your first character. One of the hardest things to get used to in ffrp is that you don't start out in an adventuring party, and there's no DM to push characters together. You'll have to actually find people to interact with on your own. Here are some tips (not requirements!) for making that easier on your first character:
Don't be the quiet person in the shadowy corner. If you roleplay as someone who is outgoing and talkative, you'll find it easier to make IC friends. Someone who is curious or greedy will be more open to plot hooks and adventure opportunities. But if you roleplay someone who is shy or quiet or wary of other people, you're likely to be left alone.
Don't be openly evil. If you walk into the tavern and start murdering npcs, you are unlikely to make a lot of friends and very likely to get jumped on by a bunch of PCs who were looking for a fight.
Consider starting low-powered. It's tempting in a freeform system with no scores or points to decide that your character is the best at everything, but where will they go from there? They can always gain powers or magic items or skills as they go on.
Don't be too needy. Remember in ffrp, you are not THE hero of the story. You are A hero, and there are many stories. The characters you meet at first are likely to be involved in their own affairs. Some players start by having their character immediately in need of rescue, healing, training, attention, etc. This can work well, but make sure you have a plan B in case there is no one willing to drop everything to devote themselves to being your rescuer! Can your character make it if they receive only a minimal amount of help, or none at all?
Don't be too self-sufficient. Remember in ffrp, you are not THE hero of the story. You are A hero, and there are many stories. If you are a combat powerhouse and a healer and a master of obscure lore and a spellcaster, people are likely to get weary of their characters taking a back seat to yours and decide you can do just fine without them.
Be aware of deadtimes and real life. Sometimes, not many people are online and active. Sometimes the people who are may only have a limited time to play and want to use it to progress their favorite storyline instead of meeting new people. Try to be patient and remember that it won't be long before you'll be the one wrapped up in your own favorite storylines. Talk to people in the ooc thread while you wait for your character to get 'stuck in'.
Have fun! Remember this is a game, and if it isn't fun, you aren't doing it right.
Note: This is the OOC thread. Not a roleplaying thread. That's what the actual roleplaying threads and SMBG are for.
__________________ The (somewhat) overdue avatar of Adir, my FFRP character, was done by Gulaghar. Thanks!
Spoiler
In a dream I found a place
of rotting meat and eldritch grace
and looked upon his primordial face
and from my thoughts could not erase
that sense of time that sense of space
and my heart the darkness did embrace.
-Johanna Stokes
Not yet, but in Nite time it hasn't been two days yet.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moff Chumley
Well, I'm done with AMEN.
I can't help but feel you're overreacting here. I really don't see anything particularly bad about what ThePhantom is doing, especially since Wolfy is handling the Empire's side on the fight.
Hasn't been any fun for quite a while, and I'm just not digging the atmosphere, to be honest. I've been trying to change things, improve things, but I don't like the drama and I don't like the direction things are going in, so I'm going to spare myself the headache.
__________________
Avatar by Kid Kris
Last edited by Moff Chumley : 01-15-2011 at 08:04 PM.
Well, that's a shame. I hope you'll still be around the Nexus otherwise, though.
__________________ The (somewhat) overdue avatar of Adir, my FFRP character, was done by Gulaghar. Thanks!
Spoiler
In a dream I found a place
of rotting meat and eldritch grace
and looked upon his primordial face
and from my thoughts could not erase
that sense of time that sense of space
and my heart the darkness did embrace.
-Johanna Stokes
Hasn't been any fun for quite a while, and I'm just not digging the atmosphere, to be honest. I've been trying to change things, improve things, but I don't like the drama and I don't like the direction things are going in, so I'm going to spare myself the headache.
I'd like to chat if you'd want to come to Oakland or Piedmont.
Avatars aren't too hard. And Pringle, you can use Marisha in your avatar if you like. If I still had energy, I'd make it but... yeah, the list of things I'd do if I had energy is really really long. =/
Of course I'll stick around. I do wish I had somewhere better to stick The Moff, but for reasons others would better be able to describe, creating another evil org is a Bad Idea. For some reason.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lord pringle
I'd like to chat if you'd want to come to Oakland or Piedmont.
That's quite the drive from where I'm at.
__________________
Avatar by Kid Kris
Last edited by Moff Chumley : 01-15-2011 at 08:07 PM.
Of course I'll stick around. I do wish I had somewhere better to stick The Moff, but for reasons others would better be able to describe, creating another evil org is a Bad Idea. For some reason.
Yeah... I'm not to sure why it's a bad idea either....
__________________
Thanks to Dorian Soth for the avatar.
Yeah... I'm not to sure why it's a bad idea either....
*puts on top hat and monocle*
Because AMEN has history, folks. XXXVIII. That's one big number.
__________________
Avatar by Gulaghar. Yeah.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Julius Caesar, Shakespeare
Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,
It seems to me most strange that men should fear,
Seeing that death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come.
There we go. My response to the embargo is up. As a bonus I've made a soon to be angry merchant. He's on what he thinks will be a trip to Inside, but will soon find out he's going right back to Riverside.
Yeah... I'm not to sure why it's a bad idea either....
Several reasons.
First, however you want to put it... if you start a new evil organization, you're pretty much competing with AMEN. From there on, the two organizations are vying for new members. "The more the merrier" you might think, right? Wrong. Very few people are going to play in both, so instead of two strong competing evil organizations, you have two very weak ones struggling to stay alive.
Second, history. There's been several competing factions and none of them stood against AMEN well enough. In fact, ages ago, even non-Evil organizations (mostly) failed to do so.
Third, we've established that you'd be competing with AMEN, but that's not completely IC, because it implies an OOC disagreement, so you're not just competing with AMEN, but also with AMEN's players.
Personally, I think Moff's decision to not create another evil organization is very mature.
The Nexus has changed a lot, but a very long time ago, when there were just the acronyms, I wrote a quick guide to creating factions, and the bottomline was: Think about it. Think about it slowly, thoroughly, sleep on it, talk to people. Don't do it on a whim.
EDIT: This is not a rant, a talking to, or a telling off directed at anyone. Please do not take offense at anything written here.
RSS Feeds: 
[NEXUS] Nexus OoC 13: Saturday the Nexteenth
Simple as that. Outside is a meta-thread for all those wildernessy type areas that don't merit their own threads, be it wood or lake or tiny shack.
Interested in Nexus FFRP? Read 
