Poor helpless noob seeking guidance

[Urskar]

Hiya!

I've just had my 'Souls joining application accepted, which I'm really excited and happy about, but I'm just really unsure at the moment how exactly to go about getting started playing. I would like to join a pack, ideally Mistfell Vale; on my joining form I stated that I wanted to join IC, and I had read in the 'joining equitette' page that I should simply start an IC thread in the Mistfell Vale forum, but I am still a little hesitant because I can't seem to find any examples anywhere of anyone else joining a pack in-character; do I literally just jump right in with a thread describing my character waiting at the territory border?

Secondly, after I join a pack, am I just free to interact with any open thread, regardless of whether my character knows anyone else or not? Or do I have to respond to a thread request first instead? I'm assuming that after I join a pack, my character will be at the very bottom of the pack hierarchy; will she be permitted to talk to just anybody, and does she still need to be very submissive towards others? Will other characters know what rank she is, and vice versa? She's also non-Luperci (I'd be interested in having her become a Luperci at some point, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it for now); is she able to talk to Luperci?

I'm sorry if this all seems really obvious or if it's already written down somewhere I didn't look at, I have been roleplaying for a little while now but all my previous experience has been in quite basic, entire-world-and-story-in-one-thread kind of plots, this is my first time playing something this in-depth and if anyone could just give me a quick run-down of how to get up and running, I'd be really really grateful.

[Clementine Salcedo]

Hey Larstral!

First of all, welcome to 'Souls.

To answer a few of your questions, I've dug up a couple of joining threads specifically from Mistfell Vale for you: this one and this one. As you can see, you were correct; you just start a topic where your character calls for a leader.

When it comes to joining threads afterward, most threads marked 'AW' or even 'AW+' are free game. If they've already gone through a couple rounds, politeness dictates that you don't interrupt the established flow, but some people will stipulate that more members are welcome at any point in a threads' progress.

As far as your character's rank and standing in the hierarchy is concerned, your character will start as a Crowstooth in Mistfell Vale and move on up every month if you meet activity and promotion criteria, which are outlined on MV's rank information section of their website. It's generally accepted that other members know what rank everyone is, but that doesn't necessarily have to be true! Sometimes it's fun to make a mistake now and then.

Urskar will be able to freely communicate with other non-Luperci and Luperci. Barring actual language barriers—some characters speak Spanish, Italian, German, etc.—the generally accepted 'common tongue' of the area is English.

[Kamari Kaiser]

'Allo, Larstral, and welcome to 'Souls!

"[D]o I literally just jump right in with a thread describing my character waiting at the territory border?"

• You got it! Most pack-joining posts made In-Character (IC) have the character simply coming up to the border and howling to grab someone's attention so that they can be interviewed for compatibility ICly! There are a few threads in both Mistfell Vale and other packs that you can peruse for getting a good feel about how to go about it. Just look for this icon: , which indicates that that thread is a Joiner thread!

"Secondly, after I join a pack, am I just free to interact with any open thread, regardless of whether my character knows anyone else or not? Or do I have to respond to a thread request first instead?"

• Once accepted into a pack, you're free to either create your own Open Thread (or, "All Welcome" (AW)) or, join another. As a new joiner, I'd be wary about joining pre-existing AW threads made before your Joiner, as it may have ICly occurred before your character joined the pack! You can always touch base with the thread creator though (either through a polite PM or through a Discord message once you join the pack chat!) to see if the thread's IC date flows with when your character would have joined the pack!
  
  Responding to Thread Requests (or creating your own!) is also a good way to get threads going and jumping right into the roleplay though! :3

"I'm assuming that after I join a pack, my character will be at the very bottom of the pack hierarchy; will she be permitted to talk to just anybody, and does she still need to be very submissive towards others?"

• You would be correct! All new-joiners will be slotted into the lowest rank in a pack that isn't a dishonorable rank (unless you just want to go that route!).
  
  It is generally good etiquette (and respectful!) to show submission to those ranking above her, though, some packs are more lenient than others in regards to how strict they are on showing submission. ICly, there is nothing wrong with Urskar being overly submissive! Those she interacts with can always reassure her otherwise if they so desire

"Will other characters know what rank she is, and vice versa? She's also non-Luperci (I'd be interested in having her become a Luperci at some point, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it for now); is she able to talk to Luperci?"

• It all depends on how you want to go about your threads, honestly! As a new member, most pre-existing members are going to assume Urskar to be of the lowest rank since she's new. As for Urskar knowing everyone else's, feel free to talk with your thread partners beforehand to assure that they're okay with such assumptions!
  
  Yes, Non-Luperci, Luperci (Verto/Ortus), and Luperci-immune are all able to talk to each other! The only difference comes in whether they can shift or not. Non-Luperci and Luperci-immune are unable to shift. Luperci can take one of 3 different forms.

Hope that helps<333 If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!

Also, feel free to join our Discord chat! The community is pretty friendly, and joining the chat can help you jump right into the game and plotting fun!


EDIT: XD Shadow-posted by Lorraine!

[Evelyn Escuella]

Welcome to 'Souls, Larstral!

In addition to everything that Lorraine and Songbird already covered, our RP Guide has a wealth of information as well! You may find the Joining Etiquette page especially helpful. c:

Have fun, and don't hesitate to reach out if you find yourself with any other questions!

[Urskar]

[quote="Clementine Salcedo"] [quote="Kamari Kaiser"] [quote="Evelyn Escuella"] Thank you so, so much for such detailed and helpful responses, I really really appreciate it! That makes things much clearer now, just what I needed to know and more; I'll also join the Discord chat too, that sounds like it could be very useful and a good way to get to know the community better.

I'm going to have a good read through the pages you linked and then hopefully I can get started on making my first IC post soon.

Thanks again!