Introduce Yourself to Elysium

There are many ways that you could introduce yourself in Elysium, this guide will give you advice on some of those ways. This assumes that you have already read the help file for your race to use as a guideline. These guidelines for each race aren't something that you have to strictly follow, they just tell you the most common path that members of that race might take. No city could function well if every citizen did the same thing.

Introduction

When starting your new character in Elysium it is a huge deal. Your first few moments in game can define what the rest of your existence will be. You should take some time to research and plan to get prepared to play. There are a lot of different things that you can do in Elysium, so having an idea of what you want to do when you create your character will give you something to start with. Most have already created their characters, but some of the methods described here can always be applied to existing ones.

Creating an Interesting, Yet Believable Character

Anna Quindlen said it best

"The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself."

'Perfect characters' while fun, quickly kill any type of growth or longevity of any character. Real people have flaws, and an interesting character would too. Just because it's text and death is barely anything, doesn't mean your character should be fearless. The dark brooding mage may just be afraid of the dark. Perhaps the colourful acrobatic bard is afraid of heights.

You have a lot of material to use in your everyday life. The people you meet could provide unique material for your new creation. Observe the interactions of people, either verbally or from body language and think how that could enhance a character. When does someone giggle? Outright laugh? What sets them off? Many of these reactions you can apply to many characters. If you aren't confident about role playing, you can even use yourself as inspiration for your character's personality.

Character flaws and traits are the only thing that sets characters apart from each other and are extremely important. While these do take us from being another cookie cutter member of the race, remember they should be believable and some of them should have a basis inside the help file of the race.

Goals for Your Character

Without passion or motivation your character might as well just be a background prop. Everyone has something that moves them... something that they are willing to stand up and argue about. Maybe this something stems from the flaws and traits mentioned above, or it might just be based on how you would enjoy playing. This motivation can be used to interact with other characters, and sometimes provide the needed friction to create subplots. Not to mention they will add even more depth to your creation.

• Provide something for your character to stand for.
• What holds the most value to your character? Politics, religion, romance?
• What does your character hope to accomplish in the next week? Month? Year?

Ready For the World

With all this done and researched you are now ready to show the world your new creation. When choosing your character's name remember this is what will represent you in the world and more then likely determine how most will perceive you at first. It's common for most to think of symbolic names, but try not to overdo it. If the name is too famous, too artsy, or too common your character starts to become less of an individual.

Try to avoid using long and cryptic names. They tend to look more like jumbled letters and are hard to pronounce. The sound of a name is much more important to most people than the meaning.

It is also a good idea to remember that most players will abbreviate your name no matter the length. In other words, chances are you're going to be called by just the first few letters of your name, so make sure you like those best.

Getting Involved

If you're interested in role playing, you should start by forming relationships of different types with other players. This doesn't mean to randomly send tells to players, you should try your best to make a casual meeting in person. Most of the following tips are focused on ways for a new character to find and form relationships with existing characters.

• Never underestimate the value of actual interaction. It's fine to shout, post, or send tells if you need help or don't encounter the players you're looking for, but if you run into someone, actual in room introductions are a great way to start to get to know people and it's a chance to role play!

• Offer to be a helper... Knights need pages, mages need assistants, merchants need apprentices.

• Make it known that you are looking for employment, and see who offers you work. Or you can contact a minister or the emperor of your city and they might give you a small job to start with.

• Don't be afraid to ask for help! There will usually be someone happy to teach you new things or help you find employment, and it's the perfect opportunity to meet people.

• Joining a guild through the leader can give you a chance to role play, but there's nothing wrong with joining through the guild's tutor. Some guild leaders will contact you to teach you a bit about the guild and help you get started even if you did join at the tutor.

If role playing isn't something you enjoy, or you would just rather keep to yourself, you can do most things in the game without having to talk to other players. How much you get involved is entirely up to you.