The Beginner's Guide to Model Hogwarts

Welcome to Model Hogwarts! Maybe you've read over everything once or twice, asked a few questions, but you still don't have a grasp on the routines and systems in the Model. How often can you get Chocolate Frogs again? How do I attend class? This guide is meant to give a summary of the most important parts of the Model, from rules and roleplay etiquette to features and routines.

## Questions and Contacting Staff

### Staff Roles

Model Hogwarts contains a number of different teams with oversight over different areas of the model. The most critical roles, however, are **Admins**, **Mods** and **Professors**. **Staff** is a blanket term that covers all three of these roles.

* **Admins** or **Administrators** handle systems, worldbuilding and essentially all things that affect Model Hogwarts, both day to day and in the long term. They oversee tasks that are handled by other teams, including Mods and Professors. A list of current Admins can be found with the .`**admin**` command.
* **Mods** or **Moderators** handle all tasks relating to player relations. This includes dealing with concerns, complaints, and assigning punishments for rule breaches. A list of current Mods can be found with the .`**mod**` command.
* **Professors** roleplay characters that are professors of classes at Hogwarts, and are responsible for teaching those classes in character. They also lead discussions and make decisions about systems and worldbuilding that affects their subject. A list of current Professors can be found with the .`**prof**` command.

***For more information on what these and other roles do, go to Authority Positions.***

### Questions

* For new players, any questions belong in the #new-player-lounge channel. If you need to speak with an admin, ask and one should follow up with you soon.
* For existing players, general enquiries can be made in the #player-help channel. Questions that can be answered by any suitably knowledgeable server user belong here.
* If you have questions that can only be officially answered by Staff members, ask these in the #questions channel.
* If you have a question you'd like to keep private, you can request a private discussion with Admins by pinging @Admin in the #private-discussion-queue channel.
* If you want to make an anonymous comment or suggestion, you can use this form.

## Rules

***For more information, go to Rules & Guidelines.***

### OOC Guidelines

1. Profanity is allowed, but explicit language and adult themes/content is strictly forbidden.
2. Bullying, discrimination, slurs, and personal insults are strictly forbidden.
3. Do not share personal information or doxx yourself or other members of Model Hogwarts. For safety reasons, using your real name as your character name or discord name is not allowed in Model Hogwarts.
4. No spamming.
5. No advertisements unless given explicit permission by an Admin.
6. Be polite to new players; do not trick them, maliciously lie to them or accuse them of being an alt.
7. Alt accounts are permitted, but must be declared to Admins or Sorters as soon as possible upon joining, and must follow the Alt Code of Conduct.

### IC Guidelines

1. IC channels all have strict guidelines on what is and is not allowable. These are listed in the IC Server Ratings.
2. Do not give your character your real name.
3. No godgaming. Do not control another character’s actions, injure or somehow change another person’s character without the player's permission.
4. No metagaming. Do not act on information that you know OOC, but your character does not.
5. Be mindful of others. Everyone has the right to ask for an RP to be toned down if it is making them uncomfortable.
6. Don’t let arguments IC get personal. Hate the character not the player!
7. All spells must be cast using the spell bot. You must RP attempting to cast the spell, and may attempt !cast once per description.

### +Safeword

**+safeword** is the safe word on the Model. If you ever feel exceptionally uncomfortable IC or OOC, you may simply type this in. As a general note, other players should respect the usage of this word by stopping whatever it was that made the player uncomfortable.

### Wiki Rules

Anybody is free to make their character a page on the Wiki after joining Model Hogwarts! However, there are a few rules that are important to abide by when writing your page and editing other pages. These are outlined in our Wiki Policy, which is required reading before making or editing any Wiki pages. The basics are: don't edit anyone else's page without permission, do not include inappropriate content, and avoid excessive joking around or memeing.

### Roleplay Etiquette

***For additional information, go to Roleplaying Basics.***

* Do not barge into others' roleplay without asking for permission first. Professors, head students and prefects have limited authority to break this rule: for details, see the Authority Positions page.
* You cannot keep a channel to yourself or reserve a channel.
	+ If you pause a scene or no one has posted for a while, another player may use the channel. There is no blanket rule here as different people have different preferences, but generally, once you have let a scene go without a response for a couple of days, it can be considered open for anyone to post there.
	+ The only exceptions are the #long-term channels, where the rules about channel etiquette are in the pins, and the #open channels, where anyone is allowed to join in at any time.
* If you wish to speak to a professor, ping them in advance, bearing in mind that they may not have time to respond immediately. Sending a letter is another possibility.
* Avoid making a scene in classes. Both professors and other students have limited time for classes, so if you want to do anything that develops your character, think about how much time it may cost. For information about proper etiquette in classes, see Attending Classes.

## Useful Information

### Learning and Casting Spells

***For more information go to Spell Casting & Learning.***

Every 2 weeks you get three learn points, which you are able to put into spells that you can learn in your year and below. The learn points are given to you every second Friday at 9 am GMT. Learn points stack, so you do not have to spend your 3 points in the same week you get them. However, they must, when spent, be spent on spells that were available in the year you got them: you can't save up your points and then spend them all on powerful spells.

When you learn spells, you must roleplay the learning process. You can do this in a roleplay channel, or in #learns-and-trains. As an example, you might post "<Character> practiced some spells after their Charms class." as your roleplay, and then do the bot command: `!learn Wingardium Leviosa 1`.

### Training Stats

***For more information go to The Stat System.***

In the model there are four stats: Vitality, Finesse, Wisdom and Social. All of these improve by training, which you may do once every two weeks. New trains are available every second Friday at 9 am GMT, on alternate weaks from learns.

You can train a stat using the `s!train STATNAME` command. Each time you train, you get 1/2 of a point. You can also check your current stats with the `s!stats` command. To see if you have or haven't trained this week, do `s!verify`.

Similarly to learning spells, all stat training must be roleplayed, in a roleplay channel or in #learns-and-trains. An example of training vitality: you might post "<Character> went for a run around the lake." and then do the command `s!train vitality`.

### Gathering Ingredients

***For more information go to The Potions System.***

Twice a week, you are allowed to gather three ingredients, using the `p!ingredient` command in the #ingredients-cabinet channel in the Bots & Roles category, or at #slug-and-jiggers in Diagon Alley. This process does not have to be roleplayed. New ingredients are available on Wednesday and Sunday at 9 am GMT.

### Collecting Chocolate Frogs

Every day you can use the `c!frog` command three times to gather chocolate frogs. Similarly to learns and trains, this must be roleplayed. Your three frogs reset at 9 am GMT. You can check the different cards you possess with the `c!cards` command.

An example of collecting a chocolate frog card: you might post "<Character> ate some chocolate frogs." and then use `c!frog` to get the cards.

### Other Bot Commands

* `k!housepoints`: Can be used to check House Points.
* `+help`: Can be used to discover a bunch of useful commands.
* `+bots`: Will give you a list of all the bots.

### Glossary

A glossary of terms and acronyms used on Model Hogwarts can be found here.

## Attending Classes

* To attend a class, simply show up at the time class begins.
	+ Professors will generally announce the class time beforehand in their respective channel and ping your year when it is time to begin.
	+ There is no sign-up for classes.
* Classes are not mandatory and your character is assumed to have attended the class even if you could not be there or chose not to roleplay being there.
	+ If you're late for a class, your character is assumed to have already been there from the start unless you state otherwise.
	+ You can choose to say your character was late for class, but please be mindful and ensure it doesn't break the flow of the class.
	+ If you are later for class or skip classes in character, there may be appropriate in-character punishments.
	+ Because you are assumed to have attended the classes, you will gain knowledge of class taught spells. A list should be available in your year's spellbook channel.
* If you wish to speak in class, you need to raise your hand. This can be done by sending a single 'b', or by writing out that your character raises their hand.
	+ Professors don't always pick the first person who raised their hand to answer their question.
* Homework and exams are not mandatory, but completing them may grant you House Points.
* Keep in mind that classes are a shared scene between many players and professors. Don't make a scene or disrupt the class.

## Adventures and Plots

***For more information, go to Adventures and The Plots.***

In the Model, players are allowed to host adventures, however all but Trivial Adventures must first be approved by an admin. The exact process can be found in the Adventures page linked above.

As well, there may be one or more plots that runs through the year directed by plotrunners. Plots are run similarly to adventures, except they are open to any player in Model Hogwarts. Participating in the plot is optional.

## Clubs

***For more information, go to Clubs.***

In the Model, you can participate in a club simply by joining during sessions. You can join a club in the #roles channel or with the `.rank CLUBNAME` command and see a current list of clubs using the `.ranks` command. Club leaders will ping the club role in order to alert members when meetings are starting or about any other club related announcements.

## Duelling

***For more information, go to The Combat System.***

As a newbie in Model Hogwarts, you are unlikely to go through any difficult combat scenarios. The general rules and guides for a combat scenario can be found in The Combat System page.