A Quick GuideWant to get into the Multiverse immediately?
Navigate to the Multiverse
roleplay/the-multiverseClick on the 'Characters' tab.
Select 'Add new character' in the top right corner.
Submit your character with as much or as little detail as you like.
Go to Posting, Places or Chat.
Find a place with recent activity or ask someone (in chat) to roleplay with you.
Read the preceding posts of the scene in question.
Post, making sure to tag your character and the other characters relevant to your post using the 'tag characters' option beneath your post, or on the right of your post once it is submitted.
Be patient. Some people take a while to reply, especially if they weren't expecting someone else to join in. If you are not acknowledged in the first post, understand that you may not have given much room for interaction or the other player might have been writing a post at the same time as you.
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In Depth Guide To The MultiverseThe Multiverse is a persistent world, like an MMO made up entirely of writing and driven purely by players and their actions. The Multiverse is designed to support large volumes of players and tracks every post made in multiple places to ensure a consistent chronology is recorded. Creative freedom and working with other players are both highly encouraged to keep the Multiverse healthy and active. To quote the creator of Roleplay Gateway
"The Multiverse is, in essence, a writing game in which all players have equal input into the story.
There are no statistics or win conditions, and instead, the constant overarching goal for each player is to explore the extensive possibilities that occur when there are no limitations on the scope of reality."
— Remæus, Render of the Realms
This quote can also be found on the Introduction page of the Multiverse where the basics of the rules and etiquette players are expected to follow going into the roleplay.
roleplay/the-multiverse#introductionAlso keep in mind the site rules.
rulesPostingThe most unique thing you will encounter within the Multiverse is the way the tab system handles posts. It can be confusing at first, but its quite simple when explained. The Multiverse is broken up into hundreds of different locations, each acting as its own forum-style thread, showing the posts in chronological order. These places can also be visited by through chat, but more on that in a bit. When a post is submitted to a location, a user has the option to 'tag' characters in it. Posts tagged with a character appear in that character's sheet as their history. It is important that all posts that include a character are tagged appropriately, so that future users can follow events and stories that have played out within the Multiverse. This brings us to chat. If you wish to roleplay in chat, you are able to. You simply enter chat, which will put you in the out of character chat, then select your character's portrait from the left to take you in character, then /join [location] to move to the location you want to post in and post. Any posts made in chat will automatically tag with the character you are using, however it will not tag other people in the roleplay with you. It is beneficial for the Multiverse to tag your posts as you RP or after you are done. If you wish to find a location to roleplay in, select the 'Places' tab, and it will take you to a page that lists all the places within the Multiverse from most recent to least recent.
Posting EtiquetteThere are some important things to keep in mind before posting;
What Has Been PostedIt is very important that you understand the context and setting of what is going on in a scene. While the location may take place on the city streets, the RP currently going on within it may be within someone's apartment. If your character tries to approach in this situation it could lead to awkward questions and upset characters wondering why someone is in their apartment uninvited. Ensure you know the setting of the scene before you post. Likewise, try to be aware of the tone of the scene. If the tone is sad, mourning the loss of a friend or saying goodbye, it might upset the narrative feel to have something silly and lighthearted happen. If the mood is a romantic dinner for two, joining in uninvited might be received the same way it would be received in real life! If you want to join the RP but you are unsure on what is going on or if you will be welcome, try contacting the users involved, either through Private Message, or by going into Chat and seeing if they are there.
Posting Order and CollaboratingIn a sense of fair play, it is generally considered right to follow a posting order. When there are three or more players it is expected that you will post in a loop, waiting for each other player to post once before your turn. This ensures that every has a fair go at contributing. If you find that you have nothing to write but your character has no reason to leave, it is perfectly fine to 'pass' or ask another player to go before you. It is also acceptable to collaborate on your post with another player. For example, if an action your character would make relies on knowing what the other player's character will do first, it is perfectly fine to ask them what the outcome would be, then once you have agreed, write it. Collaborating with other players is an important part of ensuring fair play and that good stories are written within the Multiverse.
Posting and Multiverse TimeDifferent players post at different speeds. For some, posting at a constant rate is the only way they play. Others like breaks between each post to think over what they will do next. Some even like to post several times quickly, then take a break to wait until their partner is free to do it again. A scene can carry on for weeks in real life but not have passed an hour in story. Other roleplays might pass in-universe days at a time while only having roleplayed for an hour. Time is only consistent to one place at a time. The Multiverse uses a loose sense of time to keep track of the series of events, and what happens to one character may be considered an exclusive history to what happens to another. This 'wobbly' time is necessary to ensure that the Multiverse continues to flow. It is also advised that you try to match the other players' post sizes, and not post at-odds with them, to maintain a certain amount of flow. As one last point, for the sake of consistency, try not to post one character in multiple places without a good reason.
Characters and ConflictOne of the most important things to keep in mind about roleplaying is that you and your character are not the same person. An attack or an insult directed at your character is not also directed at you, the player. The Multiverse rules state that you should write in past tense third person, such as 'she did' or 'Alex heard'. Avoid writing 'I', 'Me' or 'You' outside of dialogue. Try to keep your personal feelings separate from your character's feelings. As said in the earlier quote, there is no way to 'win' in the Multiverse, in the same way there is no way to 'win' at reading a story. The Multiverse exists as a sandbox for people to create, write and explore different and interesting stories and ideas. Conflict is almost inevitable. Where conflicts are concerned, try to keep the spirit of the Multiverse and other players' feelings in mind. Make sure you are using this conflict to create stories, not destroy them. Ultimately, it is your choice when your characters' stories end, and even if killed, there are avenues to keep their stories alive.
Metaknowledge and ForeshadowingMetagaming is when a player uses information that their character could not have possibly known to make decisions for that character, such as knowing a superhero's identity without ever being told or being present to see the fact. Many players may justify how they know, such as hidden monitoring equipment or psychic powers. However, introducing this knowledge without prior warning that the character knew is widely frowned upon. If your character does have some method to find this information out and has a good reason to try to, then it is best to say what they are trying to do in advance to finding out the knowledge. Using foreshadowing in this way prepares players and gives them a chance to react before the fact has happened. In general this ties into the rule that all actions must allow for the opportunity of the impacted characters to respond. Psychic detection may fail because of outside interference or factors you don't know about. Likewise, if there is something on a persons character sheet, for example a rare and unique material or weapon, it is probably best to assume your characters won't know what it is. Alternatively, ask the other player if your characters can know.
Character, Creation and Limits of the MultiverseThere is no limit on character creation in the Multiverse.
Now, knowing all that you know about the rules of the site, the rules of the Multiverse, and the general etiquette expected of players, it should be easy to understand why this does not cause problems, and it should give you a few things to keep in mind when making your character. If you aren't sure what you want to make, think of characters you like or are most comfortable to play as. For example, if you like tough soldiers and military roleplays, that's a good place to start until you get a feel for what you want to play. The real strength in the Multiverse is the large amount of diversity in things you will encounter and play alongside. While it might seem silly for a person with a gun to encounter someone with a sword, it is also a chance for them to share and reflect on their life experiences that might be different by their choice of weapon and the beliefs that led them to use it.
Scope and the Ideal MultiverseThe dream for the Multiverse is to make it a fully organic world and experience, that there will always be someone to fill a need or niche from your character's first arrival to all the great adventures they might have or relationships they might form. The idea of a player character being every part of a quest chain, every shop and every service needed lead leave the Multiverse fulfilling and immersive. Right now we are setting the groundwork for this future vision, solidifying places, building up activity and steadily forming groups that will serve as the start of a great environment for people to jump right in, get involved and add their legacy in the form of new characters and ideas.
How To Get InvolvedThe first step to getting involved in the Multiverse is to roleplay. If you follow what's been written so far, you'll know where to find it and how to ask. But if you're still not certain it can help to visit the chat and ask people what is going on or invite them to roleplay with you. Arranging roleplays before you start them allows you to tailor the scene to your characters and give you a better chance of a roleplay that actually goes places. Other good places to start include joining a currently active group or nation that exists within the Multiverse. At this time most groups have very few players in them and most people are happy to have another. More characters owned by more players makes a group feel more diverse and real and gives it a better overall presence in the Multiverse. On the other side of the coin, its maybe not best to start with a group, as there are already quite a few out there and it can be difficult to fill the numbers. Try looking for existing groups (either by asking players, checking recent activity or looking at the Groups tab) and if you can't find any similar to what you are trying to achieve, then make your own.