Introduction - New Players, Read This First!

Hello, and welcome to the website for Djemity, the Michaelmas and Hilary term 2010/11 Roleplaying Games Society freeform game. If you've never played any sort of roleplaying game before, never fear! Here's a quick introduction. If you're a seasoned roleplayer, feel free to check out the quick guide to sections of the site at the bottom of this page.

One important thing to be aware of first:

You don't need to read this entire website!

There's a lot of material here, and you certainly don't need to know all of it to start playing. Read only what interests you and what's relevant to a character you might like to play! You will find a guide to sections of the website and what they tell you below.

Any questions, concerns and character concepts should be e-mailed to the The GM Team.

There are a few acronyms used throughout the website which might be a little confusing if you've never played before. Don't worry - help is at hand! And if you're confused by anything, feel free to email us to ask questions!

• OOC or OC - Out of Character. Events and circumstances in the real world. For example, Djemity sessions take place OOC at Lincoln College every Tuesday in term.
  
• IC - In Character. Events and people in the World of Djemity. For example, Djemity sessions take place IC on the Citadel (a floating fortress) every three months.
  
• GM - Game Master or Game Moderator. Us! The team of people who write, run and maintain the game for your playing pleasure. The first place to turn if you have a question.
  
• PC - Player Character. You! The characters that Djemity players create and represent in the fictional world. You will usually play the same PC every week through the course of the game, though you may switch or retire a character if you get bored.
  
• NPC - Non-Player Character. Us again! Important characters (such as Rulers, Ambassadors and other great Heroes or even the Enemy) who are present at the meeting but played by a GM. NPCs will usually vary week-to-week, and GMs will often play several NPCs during a game session.
  

A Roleplaying game is somewhere between amateur dramatics and collaborative storytelling. You turn up, create a character to play, and play them! There are no scripts or lines, no set outcomes to what will happen - just a setting, a bunch of other characters to interact with, and some GMs to make sure it all runs smoothly.

Djemity is specifically a freeform roleplaying game, which means that instead of narrating your character's actions during game sessions, you actually perform them; you turn up each week, walk around and talk to other characters, make deals, trade news, gossip, diplome, eavesdrop and orate. This doesn't mean you need to be a great public speaker - just be able to speak as your character would!

For various reasons, combat and other harmful activities aren't possible on the Citadel - if anything unusual has to happen which can't be acted out, the GMs will freeze the scene and describe what occurs.

Most importantly - Roleplaying is about having fun and creating stories with other players. Absolutely no experience is required to play the Society Game (indeed, it's designed to offer an easy route in for new roleplayers!), and there will be plenty of supportive people on-hand to help you out if you're confused about any aspect of the game. Turn up and enjoy yourself!

Every Tuesday, during termtime players meet in a room at Lincoln college. These meetings represent the meeting of the War Council on the Citadel; players represent the attendees at these meetings, deciding the fate of their races through their words and actions. Djemity is a high fantasy setting centred around the actions of great Heroes of five different races.

During these meetings, players exchange news, meet with other important representatives from around Djemity to discuss the latest affairs and arrange the running of their states. The GMs will be on hand, usually playing NPCs, to offer help, advice, information and to keep the game running smoothly.

Each week between games represents three months of IC time - and that's the period during which your character has the most freedom to act; you can travel the world, take action against other PCs, fight, trade and politick! Each week, we ask that players send in a summary of what they want their character to be doing in that three month period; the GMs will then judge the results of your actions and report back to you on how everything went.

There is a system for these 'Turnsheet' actions, detailed here - but don't feel you need to memorise it all; we won't be accepting turnsheet actions for the first week (which is purely devoted to Character Generation!), and we're more than happy to help you out if you're having trouble working out what you want to do in the early weeks!

Having a good concept for your character - including some character goals - is the most important part of the Djemity game. There is a system of skills and traits to help get an idea of what your character is good at and where they stand in the world - but this is merely a way of representing your ideas; the numbers are by no means the most important part of the game!

If you're stuck for ideas, try checking out the Races page, or read other parts of the setting. Browse through the character generation system to get inspiration of what you can achieve mechanically and what the archetypes for the game are. You can even build a character around a series of unlikely Traits - why is your Teklo General an Amnesiac with several Enchanted Items in her possession? Are these facts connected? The answer could be the inspiration you need to bring your character to life.

Alternatively, turning to fiction is often a good idea. If you’re trying to think of ideas you might like to play with, it often helps to check out books and movies from a high fantasy setting – many common fantasy characters and ideas from even the Lord of the Rings can lend inspiration.

If you’re still having trouble, please do ask the GM team or other players for help or inspiration – we almost always have ideas for groups which need extra players, and there’s almost always a veteran gamer or two looking for an in-game cousin, student, spouse or deadly nemesis to play alongside!

Good places to start are:

• This Page - contains a quick-start guide to what you need to know about roleplaying!
  
• The Where and When? page - gives quick logistical details of how to get to the first game and when the games happen.
  
• The Overview page - gives you a general idea of what the world of Djemity is like.
  
• The Races page - an overview of the races and their strengths. Below you will find more in-depth guides to the races.
  
• The History and Geography pages - talk about the general situation that you will find yourself in and give you a grounding in what we imagine Djemity to be like.
  
• The Archive and Enchantment pages - these are roles of some importance in the world of Djemity.
  
• The Character Generation page - once you have an idea for a character, gives you information on how to bring them to life in the game!