Getting Started

## What We Are

Iron Throne RP is a roleplaying forum based on Reddit, where users come together to write and collaborate in a shared world, where their actions and decisions affect the people around them. It takes place after the events in the books have concluded, though in an alternate universe where Renly Baratheon and Robb Stark win the War of Five Kings.

## How the Roleplay Works

This is a reddit based RP - so all of the actual roleplay is done on /r/IronThroneRP. Basically, once you have your character approved and ready to go, you begin by posting to the sub - you write and describe what your character is doing, or going through, or thinking. Some people have storylines outlined before hand, and work toward some end goal. Others take in events around them, and develop their characters more organically.

The key to any roleplay is interaction. Your character will be affected by the decisions and choices of other characters, especially those nearby. You can interact with these people by commenting on their posts (often called threads) and beginning a conversation. They will then reply, and so on, and so on. Its usually best to arrange such interactions OOC - use our IRC chatroom to get to know your fellow roleplayers.

A big issue many new players have is grasping how the timeline works. Because this is a forum-style roleplay, and not everyone can be on all the time, our timeline works in a very fluid fashion. You're allowed to have more than one thread open, where your character is interacting with more than one person at a time. There is no direct IC time - OOC time conversion. More on how time works can be found below, in the TIme, Travel, and Distance section.

Getting the hang of reddit RP can take some time, but with the help of the ITRP community, it won't be as hard as you think. All of Westeros and Essos is open to you - you, as your character, can interact with it however you see fit. Craft your characters story in a way that is meaningful to you - and watch as it meshes and builds upon the tales of those around you.

## Creating a Character

Creating characters on ITRP is a two-step process, but before you begin you must first have a character in mind. Westeros, Essos, and the lands beyond are home to a wide cast of races, cultures, and civilizations, the vast majority of which are open for your choosing. You should, however, choose a character that you’re interested in writing, and won’t abandon.

If the house your character is from has not been established by another player in the RP, you’re free to flesh out its family members. If a house you wish to play in has already been claimed, feel free to contact the player who established it, and talk to them about picking up a member. Most players are more than happy to share a house – but if they refuse, you must pick a different one. Though we do our best to make sure there are plenty of family members for new players to pick up, there are, of course, a limited number of members in each family. Late additions to Great Houses will not be accepted.

### Skills, Gifts, and Negative Traits

When you create your character, you may decide to grant them a gift, skills, and/or a negative trait. While these features do have a degree of practical use – espionage, for example, is needed for spy attempts, and martial skills give you an advantage when duelling a less skilled opponent – they are not comprehensive. ITRP is primarily a ‘roleplay’; that means your character’s traits ought to come out through your writing, not a list of skills. Its advised that you don’t create a character based around a skillset, but rather choose skills that fit the character you wish to create.

### Applications

Once you have your character in mind, you’re ready to move on to Step One of the character creation process. The application is the simplest part of the procedure, asking for the most basic aspects of the character you have in mind; their name, house, traits and skills, titles and age. This step is largely to make sure there are no glaring faults with your character design – or overlooked issues such as taking an already established house – that can be addressed before you embark upon the lengthier portion of the application process. A successful application needs only one moderator’s approval.

For more information on Character Applications, as well as the template, visit its dedicated page on our community forum.

### Bio-timelines

The bio-timeline is arguably the most important part of the application process. It outlines your character’s history, family, and household, and require you to make decisions on just who your character is. This part of the process has four parts; the biography, the timeline, and the family and household sections.

The biography is just that – a biography of your character, that explains how they gained their skills and/or negative traits. It does not need to be the life story of your character – that can be decided upon later – but it needs to establish their history and how they fit into the lore and the world around them. The timeline is much the same, only in an alternative format, and encourages you to think carefully about the dates of events that have occurred in your biography, to better ensure there are no conflicts with established lore. Your family and your household are up to you. While we encourage larger families for canon houses, so that new players who join may find spots where they wish, its, of course, optional. The names and ages of your family members are entirely up to you, unless previously established.

For more information on Bio-timelines, as well as the template, visit its dedicated page on our community forum.

### Alts

Alternate characters, or Alts, are characters that are played by a person who already has one or more previously established characters. In ITRP you are allowed to make as many as you wish, though there is a maximum limit of two heads of houses, with a third available upon request, at the discretion of the mods. No two alts may be of the same house, and we encourage you to branch out, trying your hand at different regions, personalities, and walks of life.

## Jumping In

Once your bio-timeline has been approved by the Head Mod and one other mod, you’re ready to begin! How you do that is entirely up to you. Its often a good idea to get a general grasp of what has been going on in your region – this can be achieved by visiting our State of the Realm page, or by hopping on the IRC to talk with our incredibly helpful community. Once you have your bearings, the world is yours to explore. Go on an adventure, try your hand at court intrigue, or attempt to expand on the glory of your house. How you roleplay is up to you.

## Mods, and their Role

The moderators of this sub are not here to punish or police, but to facilitate a story that flows naturally and fairly for all parties. They’re here to serve as impartial arbitrators, helpful advisors, and, when needed, instigators for future conflict. Our mods are selected from the community, chosen as members who have not only expressed interest in moderating, but also have proven themselves to be helpful, kind, and dependable.

If you’re looking for information on ITRP, its lore, or its mechanics, our mods are but a few of the sources that can provide answers – our community is often just as knowledgeable, and just as willing to help. If you’re looking for something more official, however, or need help settling a dispute, addressing a concern, or just need someone to speak to, feel free to message us on Reddit, or hop onto the IRC and visit us at #itrpmods.

## Time, Travel, and Distance

Because ITRP Is a roleplay, not an RPG, the focus is on the story, not “winning”. Things like travel and distance and time – while important – are also fairly malleable. There is no direct correlation between IC time and OOC time, nor is there a hard and fast rule on how long you should wait between posts when travelling. Most often such decisions are left to the discretion of the player, though of course the mods will step in if they feel action needs to be taken. A good way to keep things aligned is to remember that you cannot ‘win’ a roleplay. Attempting to move too quickly in an effort to defeat your opponents, or skipping over long stretches of time or distance to gain an advantage, are both examples of metagaming, and are frowned upon. Do your best to keep your timeline in line with other players. Communication with the rest of the community and the mod team is a fantastic way of doing this.

## Wealth and Conquests

To continue on with the theme of ‘there is no winning an RP’, wealth and conquests are two features that are often too strongly focused upon by new players. No one is saying you cannot be rich, or conquer plenty of lands – but the story is the focus here, not artificial gains. Our wealth system is purposefully vague, dividing players into only three categories – poor, average, and wealthy – because while the overarching fortunes of your family can absolutely affect how you RP, the gritty details are usually unimportant.

Conquests are similar. If you mean to take up a title in Essos, or Westeros, and immediately begin to conquer the world, you’ll find your process slow going Wars are not fought nor won in a day. They take time to build up, prepare for, and execute. While major shifts in borders are possible, expected, and even hoped for, try to avoid creating a character just to wage war on others. We cannot stress enough that the focus should be on your story – not victory.

## Battles

There are two ways for battles to be decided. The first way is for the participants to settle upon an outcome between them. If both parties agree on how the events occur, they can write out the battle as they see fit, and post it on the roleplaying sub.

If the combatants cannot agree, however, a mod-run battle will take place. This is usually facilitated by the Common Man, and will be an interactive battle post that will produce a binding and final decision. Players may lose their characters in such a battle, or suffer wounds or capture.

For more information on Game Mechanics, see our dedicated page on the community sub.

## Where You Fit In

Each story and character is unique. Every player that joins ITRP brings something to the table that wasn’t there before, and is a valued and appreciated member of a story we all work together to create. Whether you wish to play as a king or beggar, merchant or mercenary, your tale will contribute to the lore of ITRP, giving it depth, purpose, and hopefully giving your fellow RPers an even more fleshed out world to expand upon. What you choose to do with your time here is up to you – but every story, no matter its size or scope, is welcome.