Game Setup

So, you’re familiar with the tools. Lets get you ready to play, so you can start making your character and getting straight into the thick of it.

Discord-to-DDB Integration

No matter where you plan to create your character sheet, you need to create a DDB account and connect it to Discord. The overwhelming majority of Avrae’s functions rely on this integration to properly connect server subscriptions to your account, allowing you to issue commands, request lookups, etc.
Once you’ve created a DDB account, in the top-right corner of the web page hover over or tap your profile icon and in the drop-down menu, open your Account. You should now be presented a page with several tabs – make sure you’re looking at My Account, then scroll down until you see Discord. If you haven’t already, click Link a Discord Account and follow the prompts to connect your accounts.

Create your Character Sheet

Using DiceCloud or DDB, if you haven’t already, create an account and get logged in.
To create a DiceCloud sheet, it’s as simple as selecting Characters on the left-hand navigation bar, then using the plus (+) button in the bottom right corner to create a new (character) sheet.
To create a DDB sheet, we recommend joining one of the below campaigns we’ve created for the server then creating your character sheet from there. Since DDB sheets are dependent on unlocked compendium content and many of you have not purchased the content yourselves, we don’t intend to make you – by joining one of these campaigns and creating your characters within them, you’ll automatically unlock everything we have shared with the campaigns, which is just about everything. Campaigns permit up to 12 unique players each and are first-come-first-serve. If we’re out of player slots in the campaigns, check with Wraith in case we need to prune any inactive players to free up a slot.

• Campaign #1: https://ddb.ac/campaigns/join/11621411959641102
• Campaign #2: https://ddb.ac/campaigns/join/5049502416228066
• Campaign #3: https://ddb.ac/campaigns/join/24077101519878143

Create your Character

For those new to the server or new to D&D in general, see the Character Guide sections for a more detailed walkthrough. Otherwise, all you need to know to create your character is the following:

• You gain a bonus feat just for existing. This feat should connect to your backstory in some capacity to give it more meaning, as it is among the many reasons that set you apart from the common folk of the world.
• Choose either the Emerald or Ruby Start, setting your starting level, gear, wealth, and items.
• Your character must be adults according to your chosen race’s measure of age. Children are not permitted to join the guild (not to be confused with childish adults, which can and do exist, but the point remains. No minors).
• We use High Fantasy Point buy (36 points instead of the standard 27). As mentioned elsewhere, we use the Sanity score in addition to the standard six scores, so make sure to include this in your allocations.
• Your character can be any alignment other than Chaotic or True Evil. Lawful evil characters are permitted on the common grounds they can work in the best interests of the guild and society, even if their own goals are ultimately self-serving, but do note that playing an evil character can and often does invite negative interactions with other members of the guild, and thus your character may not be popular with other members of the guild (even if the players themselves have no issue with you).
• You may spend 50 gp from your starting wealth to join the server with an additional proficiency of your choice (weapon, tool, or language, but not skills).
• You may spend your starting wealth on any items normally purchasable (gear, magic items, etc) and consider these among your starting items, rather than items freshly purchased.
• In the event your character dies, determine whether you wish for your character to be listed as "DNR" or not. If you choose to be listed as DNR, consider whether you're willing to donate your bones for use in the high mage Garrison's "Bag o' Bones".
• Don’t forget to choose an Ordning power from the Hero's Badge!

Once you’ve finished creating your character, go to #character-sheets and create a new thread for this character (yes, if you have multiple characters, each character needs its own separate thread). The title of your thread should include your player name and your character name (for example “[Wraith] Ioskarr” or “[Gan] Another JoJo Reference”). Tag Chromatian Staff into the thread, then post the following:

• The link to your character sheet (either direct or via your sheet manager’s “Share” button)
• Your character’s Sanity score (as this is not normally noted on your character sheet)
• Any preliminary sales or purchases of starting gear
• Your desired Ordning effect
• Whether your character is DNR and/or a registered Bonor (Bone Donor).

A staff member will review your character sheet and notes as soon as available, and assuming nothing needs adjusted or corrected, provide approval. Do keep in mind that staff are human and while we’ll do our best to get to you as soon as possible, those pesky things like day jobs, school, and chores can get in the way and sometimes we forget or overlook the request. Allow 24 hours for a staff member to review and respond; if there hasn’t been one by then, leave a comment in the thread checking for update.

Create an Alias

You’re free to note this during or while waiting for character approval, but if you haven’t already, you need pick a “keyword” for your character as well as a character portrait or token. The keyword can be anything you want as long as it's something short that you'll remember (for example, your character might be named “Damneara Nithing”, but your keyword could be “dna”). Post these in your #character-sheets thread.
For those that would like to make a formal character token, consider TokenTool or, if you'd rather not install anything on your computer, Token Stamp. A staff member will configure your alias as soon as available and assign it to you, as well as provide instructions for posting as your character.

Importing your Sheet

In your character thread, use the !import command (followed by your character sheet URL) to import your sheet. This command should work regardless of which sheet manager you use. Avrae will begin the import, which may take a few minutes to complete. 

Configure Class Integrations

To support class features and traits not normally available in Avrae, we use the !level command to generate the counters necessary for many of the custom commands we have installed and created to work. To set these up, in #dice-rolls, enter and run the following commands:

!level
!level "class" "sub-class"

The first command is necessary to enable the command set for your character. The second imports your character’s class and levels; for characters who multi-class, you’ll need to run this second command once for each class. For some sub-classes with long names, like the College of Swords, it helps Avrae if you only use one identifiable word instead of the whole sub-class name (like “Swords”).
If you’ve run the command correctly, you should see sync with your character’s level and your sub-class details. To make sure everything’s loaded properly, use the !cc command to display your character resources (counters) and make sure everything is there (don’t worry if you don’t see spells or spell slots – these are called with a different command).

Enter Experience

We use the !xp command here. While some folks track their experience on their source sheets, we ask that you make sure your experience is logged on the server with this command whenever you gain it.
If you chose the Emerald Start, run !xp 900 Emerald Start as a command.
If you chose the Ruby Start, run !xp 34000 Ruby Start as a command.
Going forward, whenever you gain experience, use the !xp command to add XP and write where you got the experience from after the number so it’s logged properly. If staff ever need to check for discrepancies, this can help us keep track of where you got how much and when.

Add Wealth

Like experience, we prefer wealth be tracked within the server.
For DDB users, run !game coins <###> to add your starting wealth to your sheet. You can run !g coins convert to “compress” your coins to the highest value (so every 10 cp turns into 1 sp, every 10 sp turns to 1 gp, and every 10 gp turns to 1 pp).
For DiceCloud users, run !coins <###> (do not include “game”) to add your starting wealth to your sheet. Some folks like to use !coins convert and !coins compact to automatically turn everything into and only display gp when running the coins command.
Going forward, you’ll use these commands to add or subtract wealth whenever earned or spent.

Configure Sanity

Since Sanity is not a score officially listed on any character sheet, we have to use a custom command to support the score. First, run !sanity in #dice-rolls to add the counter to your character.
Then, run !cc sanity +# replacing # with however many points you invested in your sanity score after 8, since this is the default value. Ergo, if your sanity score is 15, that means you’ve invested 7 points into your score. Thus, you would run !cc sanity +7, which will update your counter to 15.
Later, if and when a game master asks for a sanity check, run !sanity and Avrae will perform the check using your modifier and proficiency.

Let's Play!

Everything’s ready! Head on over to #lfg and ask to play! Staff may try to organize an initiation for you, during which you’ll be introduced to important guild NPCs, side quests, or story elements to help get you into the game and up-to-speed. Depending on staff availability this may not always be immediate, but you’re welcome to hand waive the formal guild initiation as something that has happened off screen and get straight into the game with your fellow players, either through social threads out and about the world or the guild, or even through Miscellania quests organized by community game masters.
If you're looking for some more involved tips on how to play in our environment, check out Social Interaction and its related articles.
Whatever the case may be, assume your character has been asked the following questions, and keep them in mind throughout the game. Consider working them into your backstory for best results:

1. Where do your talents lie? Not just in your class abilities and proficiencies, but what are things your character is good at, and how do they effect your ability to contribute to the guild’s efforts?
2. If your character dies – which can and has happened – are you comfortable with the idea of resurrection? Or would you rather let your fate be final? An answer of “let me die” is considered “DNR – Do Not Resurrect”.
3. In the event of permanent death, are you willing to donate your bones to the guild’s necromancers? An answer of yes considers your character a “Bonor”. We know. Very mature. Blame Garrison.
4. Does your character have any outstanding rivalries, feuds, or other “situations” that might follow you to the guild?

It’s assumed whatever answers you gave were honest and direct, as they are given under the effects of potent magics capable of detecting lies and compelling the truth out of the deceitful. There are forces within the guild who can hear nonsense – even magically protected nonsense – and still pick out lies, so when it comes to guild membership, honesty truly is the best policy (or at least, being sufficiently indirect without telling a blatant lie).
It’s worth reminding that on completion of your initiation, your character is gifted a Hero's Badge, a curious artifact laced with latent powers and strange abilities, the least of which being the ability to measure your strength and experiences and assign your rank. You must always wear your badge within the guild’s halls as a security measure, but even abroad, the badge can be used to produce unique effects otherwise not available to the masses.