Getting Started at Halcyon Days
Welcome to Halcyon Days!
We were once a part of a large Bleach RPG community that had two years of wonderful history and game play but due to personal differences between certain members we broke off and began exploring our own main plot that not only involves the cast in Soul Society but also organizations that exist within the real world.
Shinigami, Vizards, Quincy, Advent Humans - all of these races are available for you to play in our story. Excited yet? Got creative ideas just churning around inside your head? That’s great! Let’s keep going then.
Please note that to fully enjoy the Halcyon Days RP experience, we highly recommend that you catch up with the Bleach manga. We will use technical terms and other material that may be a spoiler to anime fans.
We have an AIM chat that stays active nearly 24/7 and while the name changes every now and then, if you contact anyone from the forums they will gladly send you a chat invite. Just check their profiles and find their AIM name and send a friendly IM. Anyone there will be willing to help answer questions you might have about our system. Currently our chat room name on AIM is - mangaden
Step One: Getting Familiar[]
Rules[]
First off, before you even join, you should know the basics: the rules. These are pretty basic, general etiquette. Read the rules, get a feel of what’s expected of you and your behavior. Don’t break them. Link to rules - here.
What is a Text-Based RPG?[]
Got the rules down? Good. Now, do you know exactly what you're looking at? If the answer is no let’s elaborate. In a text based RPG you take on a character ( in this RP the character is original and of your creation ) and write out their stories and events. There are several ways to write your character’s happenings in this RP but we’ll touch further on that in the next section.
Chapters and Collabs[]
Here at Halcyon Days there are two primary methods of writing: chapters and collabs. Chapters tell your personal story and your personal plot regarding your character. Collabs are written collaborations with other people, and can be done over AIM, or open-collab (post-based) style. Chapters and collabs can be about anything, but if you’re going to use other characters, plot-characters, or anything *too* special make sure to get permission. By too special I mean raising an entire army of hollows, creating a spiritual-based nuclear bomb device, or burning Rukongai down, etc. Confused about the details? Understandable! If you’re still finding yourself confused don’t hesitate to ask someone in our chat or IM a forum member.
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Plot Background[]
Know a bit about the RP’s settings and history, and where we are right now, so you won’t be in the dark when you create your character. At the very least skim the history and background info and read the important stuff. The details can come later after you’ve gotten in. The history and settings can be found in the link provided.
The Restricted Records section of our board will contain plot pushing events, letters, collabs, and fights so please check there regularly for any big happenings that might effect your character!
Staff[]
Well, someone's gotta keep a hold on you guys! These people run the RP and make sure it functions properly. The Staff Listing changes from time to time to ensure that the best work is being done.
Additional Questions[]
If you have any questions not answered / covered here, feel free to ask in the Newbie Q&A section. Don’t worry, we don’t bite. Additional questions should be placed here!
Step Two: Making an Application[]
To join you’ll first need to make an application. Make sure you have all the fields complete before submitting an application. Lacking portions required will make your application considered incomplete and can’t be considered a final draft for evaluation/approval by the application staff. Make sure to include a contact name for AIM, so that we can invite you into the RP's chatroom. This is where much of the action happens - planning and discussion, arranging collabs, and just generally hanging out and having fun! Click here for the guide to making an application.
Step Three: Waiting Approval[]
When you have all of the above and requirements satisfied, you can post your application. Members of the RP, as well as the application staff, will drop by and leave helpful comments which you can improve your character sheet or sample chapter. Listen to the feedback, because they will point out mistakes and errors, and give out constructive criticism.
Post your application in a new thread here!
Final Draft[]
Once the staff has reviewed your application they'll let you know if its ready to post in the Final Draft thread or not. Once you’ve posted, the application staff will then seriously review your application and decide whether you get in or not.
Post your character name, race, and link to your application here when you’re ready for review.
Approval or Disapproval[]
Your application will either be approved, meaning you are now officially part of the RP, or disapproved, which means you still have significant errors or that your writing needs improvement. Don’t feel discouraged though, you have infinite attempts at applying, and you can change / correct things before resubmitting for approval. One of the members of the application staff will post in your application to say whether you’re APPROVED or DISAPPROVED.
Step Four: Getting Started[]
Once you’re in the RP, congrats! But you’re not home free yet…
Profile[]
Now that your character is approved, you can now post your character’s profile in the respective place they go. There are four sections for each race ( Shinigami, Vizard, Quincy, and Advent Human) There are labeled registries in each section for your character profile goes.
Note: Until further notice, Vizard and Quincy factions are not open to applications.
Take the information from your application and redirect it to the appropriate section.
Personnel Agenda[]
While you post your stats in your profile and keep it updated every week, we also like to have an entire list of charcters and their stats in one thread every week. This way its easy to watch the advancement of all players as well as keep the chances or 'slip ups' happening. Cheating has a serious penalty in this RP! Find the latest week available and mimic the format other players of the same race have posted their stats. The Personnel Agenda section can be found here.
There are many other things to learn about in our RP ( Kais, Items, Feats, Division Techs, etc ) but those will come with time and there are several members here willing to help at any time!
Additional Information[]
Grades[]
By now you’ve maybe posted a chapter or collab or two. Now what? Every week ( starting on Sunday 12:00 AM (EST) and ending Saturday 11:59 PM (EST) ) a new writing stretch begins. Whatever you’ve submitted up until that point will be reviewed by your faction leader and graded. An explanation of how things are graded exactly can be found here.
Now that you understand how grades work, where can you find them? Every week gets a special grading session thread and inside there you can find your grade and hopeful some critique and comments from your faction leader. The Grading section is located here.
Bonuses[]
Did your faction leader mention any special bonuses for you to add on to your grade/stats? They should have! There’s all sorts of bonuses that are rewarded for creative writing, constant activity, and hard work! A complete guide to how bonuses work and why kind of bonuses there are can be found here. A BIG note to keep in mind is that NO bonus can be received if you did not write at least 1,000 words that week!
Items[]
Items are one of the two systems that are the same no matter your race or division. Added on to your stats you’re allowed to hold three general items and two unique items . For an explanation and list of general items that you are free to equip at any time please go here.
Feats[]
On to system two of two that all characters will use! The Feat System! What are these feats? Feats are unique abilities that characters or a group of characters may possess. These are substantially different from techs ( which you’ll read about further down ) as they are unattainable by anyone else unless you specifically teach a feat to them ( though they must meet the same requirements that you have to learn ). A complete explanation on feats can be found here!
Racial Links[]
For other information regarding your specific race please visit your race section.
Advent Humans