What is Roleplaying?

    An RPG is short for Role-Playing Game, a game in which you take on the identity of someone else, usually someone of your own imagination. An RPG can come in many forms - Dungeons and Dragons was the original RPG. It started out as a board game, but RPG's are also present as computer games (think Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale), text-based games, chat-like RPG's, and also as message boards. In all these mediums, the basic idea is the same - play aanother role. You are no longer John Smith of Blahsville, Blabbityplace, you are... uhm... Jordan Black, supreme lord of the universe! <g> Of course, characters must be made realistically... you can't just pretend that you're Superman/woman/person and go around destroying things. Realism is important as well... Role-playing games exist to create a separate reality and to let people get creative and use their imagination.

What is Nouvelesprit?

    Nouvelesprit is based on Hogwarts, the magical school of Harry Potter. It is an RPG in the form of a message board, meaning that you post your actions in messages on the board and a Game Master (GM, someone who is in charge of the game) will respond with the results of your actions and any additional events. Basically, each post is a descriptive paragraph or so that explains what your character has done -

For Example: (taken from the boards)

    The hallway's richly-patterned carpet muffled Jordan's footsteps as he made his way towards his office. The walls were hung with the portraits of the old headmasters, something that used to make him nervous in his beginning years as Headmaster. Back then it had seemed to him like walking a gauntlet, with the stern faces of his predecessors commanding him to live up to their expectations. Now, with the burden of being headmaster passed on to someone else, he felt relief and a slight sense of regret.

    He wasn't sure what he'd been thinking a year ago, when he'd just packed up and asked Kent to take over Nouvelesprit. He still didn't know what had come over him and forced him to leave Nouvelesprit, taking him around the globe. He had the passport stamps and cheesy souvenirs to remind him of his travels. He traced the long scar on his left forearm, the result of a barfight in Australia. He'd nearly been killed in Brazil and married in Stockholm, and he wasn't sure which had scared him more. It had been a year of strange and interesting experiences, and he had one person to thank for that.

    Kent. He stood in the open doorway and watched his old friend in his old office. Hair tousled, with the same goofy charm that had worked so well back in their school days together. They'd always had their set parts to play back in school - Kent had been class clown, and he had been class president. Now that the roles had been reversed, Jordan felt the first hint of confusion creeping up on him. Where did he fit in now? He shook the thought from his mind and stepped into the room.

    "Kent, Lady Milcah... I hope you weren't troubled by my absence?" He smiled slightly.

    Now, normal posts don't have to be so long, but they should be something like the above post. Most posts, on average, are at least a few sentences. A one line post is not very satisfying, for reader and writer alike. Plus, the more information your provide in your posts, the more background and information a GM has in order to respond to your posts in a satisfactory way.

    As with anything, there are rules that come with role-playing in Nouvelesprit. Please read these rules carefully and understand them. And don't break them!

Rules
1. No cursing, profanity, or any other inappropriate language.
2. No taking names from Harry Potter books, or names that are obvious rip-offs.
3. You cannot claim to be the long lost relative of some family from the Harry Potter books.
4. You cannot start out with a distinct advantage over other players... this means starting out with established magical skills, or with more money, etc. Unless you have been at Nouvelesprit for an established amount of time and learned these spells yourself, you may not use them.
5. DON'T BUNNY!!! Bunnying means roleplaying the actions of someone else. You can control your own actions, but not anyone else. Only Game Masters have that distinct privilege <grins>.

What You Start Out With
1. 100 Gold Galleons
2. A Newbie's Guide to Nouvelesprit (this page!)
3. Your Nouvelesprit ID Card

Supplies
1. 3 Sets of Plain Work Robes in Cotton, either in Light Blue or Dark Blue
2. 1 Pair of Protective Gloves, Dragon's Hide or Similiar
3. One Winter Clock, Wool, any color
4. Wand
5. Cauldron
6. 1 Set of Vials
7. Telescope
8. 1 Set of Scales

Books and additional course materials will depend on the class itself. Your instructor will inform you of any needed supplies.

Optional
1. 1 Set of Dress Robes - we may be having formal functions at Nouvelesprit, so please be prepared to dress up!
2. A Pet

    I hope that I explained things well enough! If you still have questions, please send me an owl and I'd be glad to explain things in more detail. Better yet though, you can check out the boards themselves and see other members in action. See you around!