Tours should be something that are normal to give, but they absolutely need to have some sort of standardization. A lot of tours that are given by non-Customs-House-volunteers are quite fine, but there are a fair amount that do not cover all the necessary bases, and cover TOO many unnecessary ones. So, here's the checklist of what should definitely be gone over in a tour!

What Kind of Server We Are

Valence is a roleplay server, but not every new person understands what that is. Many SMPs that exist and are popular are very different from the one we all play on.

Make sure new people understand the following points:

• We are a D&D-based RP server. We have set storylines and everyone has an original character that they play as. HOWEVER, every character has their own story- and they are free to have their own personal storylines and plots.
• Because we are an RP server, they cannot build a home in the wilderness, and must live in a set town. We don’t use any of those fancy plug-ins or mods that give commands like townies or land claims,; everything is done completely in-character.
• There are two different “worlds” on the server, Orlan and Cirallia.
  • Make sure they know that they are referred to as “islands” and can be travelled to by interacting with Captain Caspian Weatherly.
  • Kara is the collection of islands, the Kingdom of Stone Bay is the country of the islands. Everything that is Kara is a part of the Kingdom of Stone Bay.

Mechanisms New Players need to Know

Our Chats

Have them type /chats in-game to see all of our in-game text chats.

The 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.

** The 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 is Action: this chat allows you to describe a physical action your character is doing.

The commands for extra actions

• /sit - Players can use this to sit on any empty block they are standing on. Players can also right-click on an empty slab or stair to automatically sit. Shift to stand up.
• /lay - Causes the player to lay down on their back. The block that they are standing on when they use this command is where their head will go, and the direction they are facing when typing it will make their legs go that direction. Shift to stand up.
• /crawl - Causes the player to crawl around on their belly, as if they stood under a trap door and opened it. Shift to stand up.

How to Get Started

Once they understand the most commonly used commands, it’s time to get them actually started on the server. There's a starter questline that will get them tools, armor, weapons, and other items to help them get started.

The Quest: Gretchen

Get food, a Compass, and a set of Scrappy Tools from Gretchen. She'll be the first step in the Quest to get Started, and will direct them 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 their compass pointing to the Windmill and give them a weapon and armor so they can help his friend Claudia with a rat problem in her basement.

The Quest: Claudia

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

The Quest: Mickey

Talk to Mickey at the Silvermines. Have them use the weapon and armor from Godwin, and the pickaxe they got from Gretchen.

• Make sure they know to right-click with the pickaxe to mine silver.

Once they've gotten five silver, talk to Mickey again and he'll give a Summonable Donkey mount, which can be use to ride back to the city.

Take the raw silver back to the Tempered Talon and talk to Godwin. He'll direct them to the furnace where you smelt silver, then direct them to the Royal Bank of the Bay next door, where Clarence will mint silver ingots into currency.

The Customs House

Ask if any Customs House volunteers are around to get them checked into a room. They'll get a starter kit of items, and will be able to stay in the Customs House for up to two weeks while they explore the rest of the server and determine what town they'd like to join!

• See if they need help making a character. If they want help or seem unsure, direct them to open a writing ticket here.

Things in Discord

• General Text - ALL OF THESE ARE OUT OF CHARACTER
  • Chat
    • General chat. Self explanatory.
  • QOTD
    • A question of the day is posted every day! Anyone can respond.
  • Characters
    • A place to post and read character bios. You do not need approval to post in this channel.
  • Art Pics
    • A place to share pictures, screenshots, art, and other things!
  • Ads Promotion
    • The ONLY place where self-promotion is allowed. Usually used for D&D games, art commissions, and Twitch streams.
  • Lore Plotting
    • A place to advertise your character, or storylines for others to participate in. Also a good way to make some friends in-character.
• Support Category
  • This is where they can open a ticket, request a name change, and apply to the staff team.

General VCs - ALL OF THESE ARE OUT OF CHARACTER

• a place to hang out with other players out of character. They can join these VCs any time as long as it is not full. Encourage them to MEET NEW PEOPLE.
  • If they want to make VC themselves and have people join, tell them to join the "Click to Create" channel.

    

Roleplay Text - ALL OF THESE ARE IN CHARACTER

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

• Events: This channel is where our Event Team posts 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 monthly newspapers detailing current events. 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.

Roleplay VCs - ALL OF THESE ARE IN CHARACTER

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

• For Example: If there is an RPVC of people in the silvermines, you cannot join the RPVC if your character is at the docks of the city.
  • This is where MOST of the roleplay happens.
  • If they can see a group of people in-game, they can join the call. They don’t need to ask permission to join.
  • To make a new RP call, click “RP VC Create”.

Important Note: Let them know they 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!

Places to Live

• DO NOT GO AROUND SHOWING THEM EVERY SINGLE TOWN.
  • You do not live in every single town. You cannot give a 100% accurate description of every single place on the server. I cannot even do that.
    • Not only will your description not be accurate, but it will be a LOT of information for a brand new player to process. We don’t want to overload everyone.

• Tell them about which towns exist, and who they can talk to about those towns. - In the Customs House is a sign that tells the rent/taxes for each town.

  • If you don’t know who they can go talk to about specific towns, just ask in global for help.
  • If they ask if they can just go into the wilderness and build, the answer is no.
  • Advise them to talk to some new people, and see who they vibe with.
    • New players should be given options, and shouldn’t feel pressured to join any single town.
  • Make sure they know that if they don’t like where they live- they can just leave and move somewhere else.

Closing Statement

Congrats! You've finished touring around a new player, I hope this helped all y'all. Make sure they feel welcomed, we want them to stick around and have as much fun as the rest of us have had. I always suggest friending them on Discord, or simply offering yourself if they ever have any questions.

Get out there and get touring!

Love,

Kayse