New Roleplayers' Guide

Welcome to MassiveCraft! This is the New Roleplayer’s Guide. Do not be afraid to ask questions in the Discord. Other players or staff members should be able to help clear up any confusion.

The World

MassiveCraft's lore is set in a universe called Aloria, a late medieval universe on the cusp of advancing. It is a world where knights in heavy armor, barbarian wildlings in thick fur, haughty Elven Mages, and caped French musketeers freely mingle. Aloria is a story of great Empires, the marks they have left on history, and the people they leave behind when they collapse. Most information about the world is held on Heritage pages, which explain how Characters from different parts of the world feel about culture, religion, Magic, and one another. All Heritages can be found on the Races page, but a neat summary of each is below. These summaries include physical form as well as lore information, and are grouped by shared story.

Heritages

Imperial Heritages are defined by their strong relationship with the roleplay setting, the Regalian Empire. These Heritages are easy to play and straightforward.

Ailor Humans, inspired by a range of European and Near-Eastern cultures, are numerous and diverse. The roleplay setting, the Regalian Empire, was founded and led by Ailor. Strongly recommended for new players.
Eronidas Orcs, inspired by ancient Near-Eastern cultures, are a warrior people who emigrated from the distant west to find fortune. They are integrated deeply in the Regalian Empire as fine and loyal soldiers.
Solvaan Elves, mercenary Wind Elves, turned on their Allorn ancestors to help found Regalia instead. Solvaan lore discusses the dangerous, exciting Mistlands they hail from, and their monopoly on most mercenary work.
Sihndar Elves, frugal Dark Elves, wage an eternal war against Demons in the north. With influence from Ailor Scandinavian-inspired cultures and strong Regalian support, the Sihndar are martial but embattled.
Urlan Beastfolk, minotaurs from the frozen continents, have a special relationship with Regalia as shock troopers in the Imperial armies. Urlan are excellent hunters and trackers, and are always at home in the wilds.
Narim Beastfolk, created to tend ruined cities, found a new purpose in the Imperial religion of Unionism and defend the capital city's underground from the horrors always lurking in wait deep beneath.

Allorn Heritages are defined by their claim to some continuity from the Allorn Empire, an Elven Empire of Magic that directly preceded the Regalian one.

Lanlath Elves, serene High Elves, broke with the Allorn Empire long ago and were expelled to their secretive realms in the in between lands. The Lanlath are benevolent, wise counselors and masters of Radiant Magic.
Fin'ullen Elves, brash Sea Elves, live across most of Aloria's coastlines. A martial, outgoing, and maritime people, the Fin'ullen can be found not just in ex-Allorn realms but anywhere the pay and mead are good.
Suvial Elves, Indian-themed Fire Elves, built their own Empire in the Allorn shadow. Masters of Demon binding and bitter enemies of the Kathar, the Suvial have the sole privilege to legally perform this illegal art.
Maquixtl Elves, Aztec-themed Jungle Elves, journeyed west to ruins on the lost continent of Guldar. Maquixtl culture mixes a rural windmill and cottage appeal on one end with gene shift and mutation science on the other.
Yanar Elves, culturally Elven plant people, were the Elven gods' heralds to forestall calamity. Now that the calamity has passed, they are tenders of many of the groves and quiet, peaceful places of the world.
Kathar Elves, proud Dark Elves, turned to worshiping the Void Gods for power in the Allorn Empire's collapse. Kathar wildly differ, but share a universal drive for power and self-improvement that puts them at odds.
Teledden Elves were the original High Elves who ran the Allorn Empire, and are presently trying to bring about its return in the face of vast foreign opposition. It is not recommended to play a Teledden.

Draconic Heritages are defined by their interactions with Dragons, ancient creators of the world, and by the Dragons' war against Demons and hostile Magic.

Songaskian Humans, inspired by West African cultures, are physically descended from Dragons. Songaskian lore discusses their wars with the Qadir (another Heritage), their heavy use of Magic, and their hate of Death Gods.
Sihai Humans, inspired by East Asian cultures, allied with Dragons long ago. Sihai lore discusses their endless defense against Demons, their faraway Kingdoms, and their attempts to reach out into the wider world.
Isldar Elves, stoic Ice Elves, disavowed their Allorn ancestors and fled their Empire with Dragons in tow. Isldar lore discusses their pro- vs. anti-Dragon civil war, their icy spire palaces, and their swordplay and poetry.
Slizzar Beastfolk, serpentine shapeshifters, were created as the personal attendants of the Dragon Nox. Slizzar lore discusses their role as excellent spies and watchers of history who live in disguise for millennia.
Bralona (robot or slime-like) were left isolated by Dragons on the distant island of Justinia. Recently discovered by foreign explorers, their lore discusses their attempts to make sense of the world around them.

Ancient Heritages quest to rediscover their lost Empires' histories of engineering and Technology, turning back the clock to resurrect their legacies. This lore is considered more 'advanced'.

Qadir Humans, inspired by Near-Eastern Arabic cultures, are integrated with the Ailor. Masters of clockwork and gear automata, their Sariyd Empire was destroyed in a Magical calamity in its war against a clade of Dragons.
Dwarves hail from the distant north. Inventors of steam tech and black iron foundries, their ill-fated war with the Elves who would become the Isldar and violent invaders from underground has pushed them to their limits.
Asha Beastfolk, inspired by Ancient Egyptian culture, are adventuring seafarers with mental control over their mercury-like Living Metal who lost their Empire millennia ago in an apocalyptic war with the Allorn Empire.
Allar Beastfolk, studious lizardmen and fishfolk, are peerless alchemists and researchers of the natural sciences. Driven into exile from their home of Sendras by their Void-worshiping cousins, they now live in the Hadar isles.
Maraya (Tiefling-like) hail from before even the Elves existed. Masters of crystal resonance so advanced it appears Magical, their world-spanning Empire was destroyed by Demonic invaders, its survivors saved in cryo-sleep.

Artificial Heritages cover sapient entities without a defined culture or origin, like Automata, Spirits, and Homunculi.

Mystech is the in-universe term for this category. It includes Automata (variously advanced robots), Spirits (ghosts, Demons, Demons in robots, Demons in people) and Homunculi (lab-made, soulless people).

Extra Reading

Magic

Magic is strongly woven into the history of Aloria as both an uplifting and dangerous force that has started as many civilizations as it has ended them. Different Heritages, Cultures, and Religions have very strong opinions about Magic and its use that can often become polarizing. This section will not go into the nuances of Magic in detail. However, it's a generally good rule of thumb that people and civilizations who have had bad experiences with Magical enemies like Vampires and Demons are more likely to be suspicious of even normal Mages who aren't hurting anybody, while the more familiar a Culture is with Magic, the less likely it is they fear it. Certain Religions impose that only their type of Magic is valid, such as Draconism that only favors Magic from the Dragons. More information about this can be found on Heritage, Culture and Religion pages, as well as the Magic page.

Affinities and Afflictions

Besides Heritages, Affinities and Afflictions can be optional reading for designing a Character in the world of Aloria. These are unique conditions a Character can have that lock them into a certain design niche.

The Arkenborn Affinity is for Characters born as the children of the Arken, some of the world's most powerful Demons, worshiped as Gods in some religions. Arkenborn are powerful but mentally unstable and caustic Mages.
The Godborn Affinity is for Characters born as children of the Gods, entities venerated by millions of faithful. Godborn follow the story and archetype of their Godly parents, in search of their divine purpose.
The Archon Affinity is for Characters who swear fealty to the Dragons, ancient architects of the world and the living, and pledge to join their war against the Demonic and otherworldly as foot soldiers, spies, or strategists.
The Marken Affinity is the Alorian word for Werewolves who can lose control over themselves and change forms at strong emotions or the turning of the moon.
The Vampire Affliction is as it says, a famed and feared curse that lurks in the corner of every realm, promising sweet gifts of immortality and power at the cost of one's soul.
The Geist Affliction is a lesser understood curse sowed by the Dead Gods that lends those struck with it the desire to feed on the memories of others for their fell masters.
The Undead Affliction is a blanket term for those who died and came back to life, considered sacred warriors in some religions and accursed to be slain in others.

The Setting

The actual Roleplay is set in the city of Regalia, the capital of the Regalian Empire. As the Imperial capital, it is host to all walks of society, and generally speaking any concept available works (though more extreme options, like being a Vampire or Undead, might draw hostility and limit Roleplay options unless the player is careful about disguising). Regalia is divided into four areas: the Town, Crookback, the Sewers, and Gloomrot. Most Roleplay happens in the Town proper, where businesses open and people gather. Crossing the bridge into Crookback takes the Character into a space that is more open to the Afflicted, heavily Mutated, and the obviously very Magical, while following the stairs down into the Sewers brings them into contact with the more utterly illegal, such anti-state agents and violent criminals, who need a place to hide. Gloomrot is the dark, shadowy forest in the countryside of Regalia dotted with a few little cottages and taverns, where mysterious creatures lurk and small parties of travelers can frequently be found.

Mechanics

All of MassiveCraft's mechanical systems are explained on the Proficiency page.

Getting Started

First, join the Discord.
Next, make a forum account. You have to have logged on for that, so log onto MassiveCraft at the IP massivecraft.com, and then log back off.
Then, go to the forums and make an account with the same name as your Minecraft username.
After, go to the Character Sheets section and read the template.
Hit Post New Thread in the Character Sheets section and fill out a copy of the template for your Character.
That’s all! Get on and roleplay.
Please use the Ticket Bot in the Discord if you have any questions at all or need a skin. We’ll get you sorted.

The Chat System

Run /rpmode to leave non-roleplay channels. You are now in Local Chat.
Run /nick use CHARACTERNAME. Your dialogue will now show up with your character’s name.
- Typing and entering Hello. will print ~CHARACTERNAME says: "Hello."
- Typing and entering jumped.+ will print ~CHARACTERNAME jumped.
- Typing and entering jumped. "Woah!"+ will print ~CHARACTERNAME jumped. "Woah!"
- Typing and entering Hello.$ will print ~CHARACTERNAME mutters: "Hello." This has a shorter range than normal.
- Typing and entering Hello.* will print ~CHARACTERNAME whispers: "Hello." This has a very short range.
- Typing and entering Hello.)) will print Hello. in local Out Of Character chat.

Utilities

You can revisit the tutorial at spawn.
You can use /fav add USERNAME to see when a friend logs on and off.
There’s an activity board near spawn (/tp Golden Willow) to show you where players are.
/tp WARPNAME will take you around the city. Warp names often match activity board names.
If you ever can’t find RP, check #looking-for-rp in the Discord.
Ask in a ticket if you’re new and struggling to find anyone.