- Invitation Status
- Look for groups
- Posting Speed
- 1-3 posts per day
- One post per day
- Multiple posts per week
- 1-3 posts per week
- One post per week
- Slow As Molasses
- Online Availability
- 8 AM - 6 PM and 10 PM - 2 AM
- Writing Levels
- Intermediate
- Adept
- Advanced
- Prestige
- Douche
- Adaptable
- Preferred Character Gender
- Male
- Female
- Futanari
- No Preferences
- Genres
- Fantasy (High and Low), Sci-Fi, Modern Fantasy, Modern Realistic, Apocalypse, Drama, Romance... I have lots of interests!
[fieldbox="Join Iwaku's Mass RP - Ilium!, goldenrod"]
Hey Iwaku!
I am here to let you know about this thing that is going on that I think many of you folks might have interest in! You DO like roleplay after all, right?
The current Iwaku mass RP, Ilium, is looking for new players! You may have seen the forum for it lingering down in the Roleplay section of Iwaku all by itself! Curious? Read on!
[/fieldbox]I am here to let you know about this thing that is going on that I think many of you folks might have interest in! You DO like roleplay after all, right?
The current Iwaku mass RP, Ilium, is looking for new players! You may have seen the forum for it lingering down in the Roleplay section of Iwaku all by itself! Curious? Read on!
What is Ilium?
In a nutshell, Ilium takes place in a post-apocalyptic fantasy world called Sunne. The basic backstory is that it occurs centuries after the Cataclysm, when the gods went to war with one another. Nobody knows why, just that it rocked the world and essentially separated the world as we know it into three very different landscapes. One, a fiery desert. Two, a poisonous forest. And three, a vicious icy mountainscape.
Within these three areas, people gathered and began to rebuild. Each landscape eventually formed its own nation. Kaustir, the Red Empire. Viridos, the Green Realm. Pegulis, the Blue Republic. In the 300 years since the Cataclysm, the Three Nations have risen and grown, each with their own unique styles of life and government. But as they continue to expand, inevitably they would have to cross paths. Now, war is upon them again.
But there are trump cards.
Divine Weapons. Dropped as the gods fell, they are rumored to still be in existence. They have the power to turn the tides of war in your favor - but at what cost?
Cool! What else do I need to know?
If this sounds exciting to you, read on!
Ilium is a different sort of roleplay. Traditionally, a RP's reward is in player-player interaction. Here, much of the reward and delight comes from contributing to the story, having your work read and built upon by others, and open plotting to further ilium's story. This style of collaborative writing means that your lasting mark on ilium will be a unique, seamless contribution to our world, and may not necessarily be the types of back and forths you are used to.
Once again, Ilium is a mass roleplay. It's so large, it needed its own section of the forum! To date we have over 100 PLAYER CHARACTERS (not NPCs!) created and accepted, with many of them still active. There are over 80 unique players who have been, or are still involved in Ilium.
This means there is almost always something new to read! Always a plot to uncover, always something to pursue! Ilium is filled with many of Iwaku's best writers, so it is also a wonderful way to improve and grow as a writer and roleplayer. The world is well fleshed-out but there is still much to uncover, so it poses a great opportunity for worldbuilders as well!
Using Ozzie's Posting Expectations as a guideline, Ilium falls somewhere between the Adept and Advanced levels of the spectrum, depending on player involvement - some players I would assess as even being Prestige quality.
The Ilium forum contains the IC, as well as the Plot Discussion and character applications. We also have a Group called the Ilium Lounge which is used for OOC banter and an ongoing Skype chat as well.
If you are looking for an incredibly satisfying roleplay adventure which will challenge you like no roleplay has before, I strongly suggest you submit an application for a character! Before doing so, please thoroughly read the Introduction and Code of Conduct. These are very important - in a roleplay of this size and scope we need to rely on everyone to pull their own weight by following the rules. It will only take you a moment but will save all the players (including yourself) a lot of headache in the long run!
Q&A
I will use this section to address some preliminary questions you might have. If you have a question that is not covered here, feel free to ask it in this thread and we'll try to answer it for you! Heck, I might even put that question into this post!
Who came up with Ilium?
Ilium is originally the brainchild of @Quill, a member who has left Iwaku due to real-life commitments. She formed the idea with the help of @Asmodeus, and together they ran it as a roleplay (twice) before @Tegan ended up coming in with some fresh ideas to completely revitalize Ilium and reshape its future.
Who are the GMs of Ilium?
Previously, Asmodeus and Tegan were GMing Ilium. They have since departed to pursue their own writing career together, and have left Ilium in the capable hands of @unanun, @Diana (yes, THAT Diana), and @Jack Shade (the most followed member on Iwaku). Handling regional matters (DMs or Dungeon Masters) are the wonderful @Zen, the incredible @Peregrine, and myself, @fatalrendezvous.
What if I'm intimidated by the posting expectations and/or all these great writers?
Everyone starts somewhere, and I'll give you a life spoiler: nobody starts at the top. Don't be intimidated! We love to plot and plan and the player base for Ilium is lively and friendly. Most of the time.
What kind of player is Ilium looking for?
We look at applications based on the character itself, so if the character fits with the story and is interesting, it is likely to be accepted. That said, Ilium is a proving ground that has shown itself to be most rewarding for the types of players who are adaptable and not afraid to take initiative.
What are the rules of roleplaying in Ilium?
The standard rules of no godmodding and no powergaming apply. However, we are very lax with (and in many cases, encourage) character "hijacking." In a roleplay this large, often times it is necessary to include the actions or responses of other characters in your post rather than leaving them open-ended for that person to respond. It helps to streamline posts, and improves your ability as a writer to have to think and act for multiple characters at a time. The roleplay also utilizes a karma system to keep characters in check.
I am not comfortable acting or speaking on behalf of someone else's character. Can I still join Ilium?
Absolutely! We still encourage players to collaborate on posts. Who knows, as you get more comfortable with collabs, you may find yourself more open to the idea of playing someone else's character for them!
You also mentioned something called a "karma system." What is that?
Essentially, the karma system is our equalizer. It's our way of preventing players from powergaming or from doing things that are unrealistic. The more you try to abuse power levels in the roleplay, the more likely you are for a GM to intervene and give your character an injury, a pulled muscle, an illness, or have other unfortunate things befall them.
How come there's no section in applications for history / character / attitude / likes / dislikes / etc.?
When a character joins a roleplay, we want to learn about them organically. When you meet a person for the first time, if they IMMEDIATELY told you all of those things without you asking, told you their whole life story, gave you a general flowchart of how they react to situations, told you their likes and dislikes... you'd probably 1) find that person weird, and 2) no longer have motivation to talk with that person because you already know just about everything there is to know.
The bare Character Sheets help to resolve that problem. It is much more interesting for other readers to learn about your character and peel away the layers over time than it is to know everything about them right away.
How long has Ilium been running?
The first posts in this version of Ilium were made on April 7, 2014. So it has been about five months (as of the time of this writing). It's still early.
Early!? How long is Ilium going to run for?
This is a tough question to answer as it will depend on posting speeds and density of content. The goal is to have Ilium span three "books," and to have each book take approximately a year to complete.
What if I don't know if I'll be around for that long?
While we certainly hope you will stick around, don't let that deter you from joining! It's not a huge problem if you have to disappear, especially if you can do the GMs the courtesy of letting us know first! That way we can decide how to proceed with your character and your character's story arcs.
I have concerns about how my character will fit into a roleplay that has already been running for months! How can I possibly catch up?
There is a brief plot synopsis for each chapter in the Story So Far section of the Ilium Library. The GMs and players from each nation can also help fill you in on important details. But what is really important is this:
Ilium is currently approaching an interlude, which is going to serve as a bit of a reset where virtually every character is going to start anew, on a blank slate, with new quests and plots. This means that now is one of the best times for new players to join Ilium!
As we approach the interlude / reset, we can approve your character and then easily fold you in and let you hit the ground running.
What if I have another question that wasn't answered here?
Then feel free to post it and we will answer it for you in the thread!
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