So, you've joined Valence: how do you start?

Make a character!

It doesn't have to be elaborate: I encourage you to make your character as simple as possible to start out. (That gives you freedom to explore later on!). If you're unsure about the world and want to know some basics, check out this Intro to Valence. If you're unsure of how to create a character, check out this Intro to Character Creation.

• Lots of people use DnD or similar RPGs as a basis for their characters, though this isn't required!

• If you'd like some more help with character creation, open a Writing Ticket.

• Set your character's name in game here.

Join the game!

Leave the Hub world by right-clicking the compass in your hotbar. You'll spawn in the City of Stone Bay, the capital of the Kingdom of Stone Bay. Right at spawn, there's an NPC named Gretchen.

• To interact with NPCs, right click to talk. Select the dialogue option you want by using your W and S keys to navigate between options, and select using right-click.

The Quest: Gretchen

Get food, a Compass, and a set of Scrappy Tools from Gretchen. She'll be the first step in your Quest to get Started, and will direct you to the Tempered Talon just up the road.

The Quest: Godwin

Talk to Godwin at the Tempered Talon. He'll have a floating exclamation point above his head. He'll set your compass pointing to the Windmill and give you a weapon and armor so you can help his friend Claudia with a rat problem in her basement.

The Quest: Claudia

Talk to Claudia at the Windmill. She'll direct you to her basement, where a broken floorboard will show you the cave where the rats are. Kill five rats then return to Claudia. She'll give you a few silver as a reward.

The Quest: Mickey

Talk to Mickey at the Silvermines. Bring your weapon and armor that you got from Godwin, and the pickaxe you got from Gretchen. Right-click with the pickaxe to mine silver. Once you've gotten five silver, talk to Mickey again and he'll give you a Summonable Donkey mount, which you can use to ride back to the city. Take your raw silver back to the Tempered Talon and talk to Godwin. He'll direct you to the furnace where you smelt silver, then direct you to the Royal Bank of the Bay next door. Talk to Clarence to mint your silver ingots into currency.

Now you have food, a character, and some basic gear, but you need more money.

Check out this guide on How to make Silver. This step isn't super important for now: there's lots of ways to make money IC, and you'll naturally get some as your character becomes involved.

Now you have food, a character, and know how to make money! But how to actually RP?

Type /chats in-game to see all of our in-game text chats.

Here are our Out-of-Character Chats in-game

• /g is Global: everyone across the server can see this chat.

• /ooc is OOC: only players within 30 blocks of you can see this chat.

Here are our In-Character Chats in game

• /l is Local: only characters within 30 blocks of your character can "hear" this.

• /whisp is Whisper: only characters within 3 blocks of your character can "hear" this.

• /do allows you to describe a physical action your character is doing.

Here are our Out-of-Character VCs in the discord

All VCs in the GENERAL VOICE category are 100% out-of-character, and can be joined by anyone at any time.

Here are our In-Character VCs in the discord

All VCs in the ROLEPLAY VOICE category are 100% in-character, and can only be joined when your character is in the same location as the RPVC.

• For Example: If there is an RPVC of people in the silvermines, I cannot join the RPVC if my character is at the docks of Stone Bay.

Important Note: you do not have to speak in RPVCs. There are lots of people who join RPVCs while muted, and respond in-character using /l! It's important for everyone to find a way to RP comfortably!

Now you know how to RP, but how do you find a place to live?

Because Valence is an RP server, players can't just build their own house in the middle of a forest outside of one of our towns.

Newcomers get free housing in the Customs House near where you first spawn. To get a free room, just talk to one of the workers (ask if any are around in Global chat using /g).

• You're able to stay there for a few weeks while you explore the various towns of Kara and find one that fits your character.

Explore the towns! There are several towns, Duchies, and Baronies scattered across the two islands that make up Kara, each with their own build and roleplay style.

• To travel between the islands, speak to Caspian on the docks.

Once you find the town you'd like to live in, speak to the local town leader!

• This may be someone like a Mayor, Baron/Baroness, or Duke/Duchess! They'll be able to get you a plot of land to build your house on or an already-built house to live in. They'll also let you know whether your character will need to pay rent or taxes (some towns have their residents pay rent or taxes, while others don't!)

What is the Roleplay Text Category?

This category is in-character, so your character knows the information that is publicly posted here.

• Events: This channel is where our Event Runners post information for upcoming events! If you want to get pinged when they are posted, get the Lore and Story ping in Channels/Roles.

• Kara Press: This channel is where our Writing Team posts some newspapers of recent events, usually every month or two. It has some fun IC information.

• The Board: This channel is where important IC information is posted, whether about Parliament, current events, or otherwise.

• Classifieds: This channel is for money-related things: people post jobs needing to be completed, sell/buy items, or auction items or outfits.

• Rumors & Whispers: This channel is made of rumors that your character likely heard while passing by. To submit one, DM the Rumors & Whispers bot what you want it to say.

I'm still confused. I need help.

No worries! We're all here to help. We have a Help Chat specifically for new players to ask questions. You can also ask in Chat or Open a Ticket to speak to one of our Support Team members. We're all here to help: we were all new once, too!

Welcome to Valence, and have fun RPing!