New to SA

So now you’re a member - great! We are so happy to have you in our SA family. This page is here to help you get into the game; basically tips and tricks for getting started after joining. We know SA can be a bit intimidating (we know there’s a lot of stuff), but there’s no need to stress about it. Our staff are here to help, and the older members are very helpful too. Don’t be afraid to ask for help!
== Where to Start? ==
First of all, we recommend you join us on Discord, if you haven’t already! Most of our active members are over there, chatting, sharing art and plotting together. Discord integration is a big part of the group, as that’s where we keep our members updated on news and updates as well. 
If you join our discord, you can tag our helpful Newbie Mentors - experienced members who are there to help you get your bearings. Just tag @mentor on Discord and they’ll be happy to help. They’re ready to plot with you, and help you out by explaining stuff as well. They’ll also know when to ask a staff member to come help instead.
=== Making Your AP Tracker ===
Before you do anything else, it's a good idea to create your Astral Points (AP) Tracker for your first character if you haven’t already. This is where you will track the AP you collect in-game. AP is accumulated per character, so when you make another character in the future, they will get their own tracker as well.
AP is one of SA’s main ways of developing your character, and unlocking them new things, like talents and blessings. You’ll need your tracker to be up to date if you want to unlock things, so it's good to get in the habit of updating it. 
=== Making a CS Tracker ===
The Crystal Shard (CS) tracker is almost as important as the AP one. You’ll only need one of these, and can read up on them by following the link. CS is basically the currency you’ll use to buy your characters blessings, items, familiars and other such cool things. You get 20CS as a starting purse when joining, so if there’s something you want to pick up, you can do so.
=== Fill in the Introduction Meme! ===
We always recommend the introduction meme to our new members - it's a good way to quickly introduce your character to others, but also a great way to get to know your character better, and start earning AP. if the Introduction meme isn’t really your style, perhaps try the first set of Checkpoints instead?
We also have a whole bunch of other memes that you might like!
=== Jump into Events & Activities ===
SA often has at least some stuff running - we have monthly prompts and challenges that can be used for character development and earning a bit of extra AP and CS. These are a nice touching down point after introduction meme and checkpoint set, as they provide you with more ready-made prompts to work on. Around major holidays we also tend to have out-of-character events, usually with nice rewards, and these are an excellent opportunity to get to know people and have fun.
== Storyline ==
SA has a lot of story that’s happened within the game. We’ve been running for more than 5 years now, and have 9 major chapters and a whole bunch of mini events under our belt. While catching up on everything can feel intimidating, we have made herd specific timelines to help you out.
If you didn’t read through your herd’s timeline when joining, doing so before getting involved in herd happenings can really help in getting you caught up. You can find all the timelines here - just pick the one that matches your faction.
=== Don’t be afraid to join Mini Events! ===
If your herd has a Mini Event running, don’t be shy and just jump in! Mini Events are a good way to jump into what’s going on with your chosen faction, and get your character involved with the plot. Our Mini Events vary in requirements and how you participate, but most have the option of simply creating your own writing/artwork around the given event or prompt. Some others may be roleplay based, but there’s no need to be shy - the older members and staff are happy to help you out if you feel lost.
=== What are Chapters and should I join them? ===
Chapters are our major roleplay events, where members who sign up are sorted into a number of plots. Each plot will forward an element of SA’s overarching story, allowing members to participate in the story and its development.
While Chapters can appear pretty wild at a glance, if you have the time, you should try joining in. Chapters are a great way to meet with people you might wouldn’t have spoken with otherwise, and get your character into unexpected situations. 
If the roleplays sound a bit too time consuming for you, you can also participate via more freeform Open Threads, or the Faction Prompts. We really recommend you join in one way or another - Chapters are a big part of SA.
== Onwards - Unlocks and New Characters ==
After you’ve been playing for a bit, you’ve probably accumulated a bunch of CS and AP, and your first character is starting to level up. This opens up new and exciting options for you.
=== Leveling Up ===
As you gain AP, you start filling up your characters experience bar. Each AP level has some small unlock or perk attached to it, so its a good idea to check back whenever you hit a threshold.
=== Talents ===
Talents are free, and you should claim them when you can. Your first talent (unlocked either through your rank, or by hitting level 3) is always a tier 1 talent. On a later level, you will unlock a second talent slot, which can be either tier 1 or tier 2, depending on your choice.
Talents are useful because they give you free items, skill points and additional perks. The talent you choose doesn’t have to directly relate to your character's story - you can pick the one you like best, although we do always encourage combining gameplay and storytelling aspects.
=== Familiars ===
You unlock access to familiars at level 4. These are essentially mini-characters attached to your character - pets and companions that you may utilize on roleplay and storytelling. At level 4 you unlock the Level 1 familiars, which are mostly smaller critters - but if you’re patient, you can wait to unlock more sizeable creatures on later levels. You can even import foreign creatures, although it will be costly.
=== Rank and Talent Rewards ===
As you gain AP, you can also assign it into your characters rank and talents. Note that the AP assigned here is not deducted from your total AP - the level up bar progresses regardless of how much AP is assigned to talent and rank. So if your character has 40AP, it would be level 3, and that 40AP can also simultaneously be assigned to their rank. You need 300AP to max out your rank, and both of your talents. If you ever end up changing ranks, you get to keep the rewards you got from the old one, but have to start all over when it comes to filling out the rank bar.
When you hit thresholds on the Rank and Talent bars, you will earn additional rewards. Rewards that give you SP don’t require you to do anything except add it to your Skill Point totals. Rewards that grant in-game benefits (like AP bonuses) don’t need to be confirmed either, but you need to link your tracker whenever you use those rewards. For rewards that give you items or familiars, you need to note the Shop Group to claim them.
=== Blessings ===
At level 5, you unlock the ability to get your character a blessing. Blessings are the magic equines wield in Starborn Alignment, and they grow stronger as you level up further. At level 5 you may choose any of the patron gods to ask for a blessing chosen by an admin - you will get your pick from two options. If your character is the undecided type, you may also make your request to any of the gods. If you wait until level 6, you can simply petition to get whatever (non-Holy) blessing you desire. You can read more about blessings here.
=== New Characters ===
Once your first character hits level 5, you unlock an additional character slot. At this point, you should make a character slot tracker. Creating a second character is just like creating your first, except that you now have a much wider range of options for ranks and factions. Existing members are not limited by what is available to newbies. Admins rarely close their factions to existing members (usually only if said admin is on a hiatus of some kind). You can view all the available ranks and herds here.
After making your second character, that character must again be leveled to level 5, at which point you will earn a new slot, and so on. There is no character limit in Starborn, and no general activity requirement. You can have as many characters as you like!
==== Submitting your Second Character ====
Just like with your first character, follow our Application Guidelines. Additional characters are submitted directly to the appropriate herd gallery. You should link your Character Slot Tracker in the correspondence of your submission.
Note that your additional characters can come in with accessories already on them, unlike your first character. You do need to buy everything they’re wearing beforehand, however. 
==== Limited and Activity Check Ranks ====
Limited ranks essentially mean that there’s a limited number of rank slots available, and that the rank might be closed (sometimes rather suddenly), if too many characters enter that rank. Limited ranks might have hard numeric caps, or simply go by when it just seems too overpopulated. Limited ranks generally require a deeper understanding of lore, and your application may be denied if it has too many lore problems.
Activity Check Ranks are usually also limited ranks. If a rank requires an Activity Check, this means that you must show activity with that character every month. If you miss two months in a row, you will lose the character’s rank, and will have to reapply them into a different rank.
We recommend that you do not take on more activity check ranks than you feel comfortable handling. We also recommend that you keep at least some characters who don’t require a check.
== Helpful Pages ==
SA’s wiki is a great resource, and we are constantly updating it to make it even better. We hope to develop a wiki that’s easy to navigate and has answers for all your questions - but we probably aren’t quite there yet!
Still, here’s a collection of pages that you might find helpful.
=== Basics ===
Astral Points - guide to how to calculate AP
AP Tracker - guide to filling in and using your Astral Tracker
Blessings - list of blessings and helpful info
Crystal Shards - guide to CS; how to track and use it
Character Slot Tracker - guide to making and maintaining a character slot tracker. Wiki guide TBA
Skill Points - skill points and how they affect your character
Talents - list of all talents
=== Shops ===
Accessory Shop - shop with accessories, weapons and armor - basically anything your character wears
Familiar Shop - the pet shop
Magic Shop - the shop for out of character changes and breeding items
The Shop Group - where to send shop notes
=== Updates and Lists ===
Available Ranks - list of the ranks and herds open for creation
Calendar - future updates and 
Checkpoints - prompts for character development
Meme Directory - all our memes!
Monthly Challenges - our previous monthly challenges
Monthly Prompts - our previous monthly prompts
Tome of Names - checklist for names already in use
Update Log - past updates, going back to 2017
=== Newsletters ===
Aodh
Breim
Serora
Talori
Vagabonds
War Forged
=== Story ===
Aodh Timeline
Breim Timeline
Cult of Digend Timeline
Freedom's Flight Timeline
Kirin/Heralds Timeline
Serora Timeline
Unaligned Vagabond Timeline
Talori Timeline
Vindicator Timeline
War Forged Timeline
=== Other ===
Activity Checks - guide to activity checks and their requirements
Frequently Asked Questions - a collection of questions and answers
How SA works - a dive into SA’s inner workings
Rank Changes - how to change ranks/herds
Retiring Characters - how to retire characters
== Glossary ==
Some SA lingo for new members
AC - Activity Check. 
Chapter - A major roleplay event that forwards SA’s main plot. Takes place during summer.
Corrupted - A corrupted blessing is a blessing that’s been altered by Digend to have new and special effects. You can read about them here.
Crystal Statue/Sapphire Statue/Statue - An item (officially called Sapphire Statue) that can be used to bring in a new character without the need to level your previous ones.
Fire Dad - Nickname for Ignacio, the fire god.
Hippo - Shortening of hippocampus, one of the SA breeds
Holy/Holies - The Holy Blessings - more powerful blessings that you may petition for at level 10.
Lamp - A joke about Digend and her association with moths
Peg - Shortening of pegasus, one of the SA breeds
Sand Hippies - A nickname for Serorans.
Shards - Crystal Shards, aka CS. The main shop currency.
Sky Mom - Nickname for Alya, the air god.
SP - Skill points
Stag Dad - Nickname for Ignacio, the fire god.
Teke - Telekinesis, a skill all Hireath equines have.
Tome - The tome of names. A checklist for character names that are currently reserved.
Totem - A rare item that can be used to bring in a single kirin without unlocking them. Usually received as raffle prizes.
Vagas - Shortening of Vagabonds.
War Frogs - a jokey nickname for War Forged
Category:Gameplay
Category:Guides