A short intro to Strolen's Citadel.

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	But you are a writer not a roleplayer?
	Don't worry you are perfectly welcome here, though a couple of people might look at you funny (metaphorically speaking). While we are a gaming community, a roleplaying workshop so to speak, we actually do quite a bit of writing. Think of most of this as a place to post up pieces of a story not yet written. If you have an interesting character, location, setting, item, or plot, you can work it out here by posting it up. Our view of utility will be a bit different than a standard writers group, as characters, locations, groups, etc, written up will need to be supporting types... things that can be "placed" in the game stories of others. The best thing about this site is it gives you a concrete way to practice descriptive writing and creative elements. If you just posts one thing every day, you will hone your writing stills and your ability to produce prose. You can also build off the ideas of others. You can also exercise your creative muscles here and find new ways to find inspiration. Here is a quick list of great Codices/Scrolls that can be used as writing exercises: City Image, Garage Sale from Hell, Societies, Establishments, Neighborhoods, Rest of the Cast, and 10 in 10.


	Quote from: Ancient Gamer Do check the place out! I can promise you these things: Great ideas to peruse at your leisure, great egos/friends to get to know , great feedback to your posts and... honest opionions. The honesty has gotten us in trouble in the past... You get to see small incidents every now and then, as people dislike having their pet ideas stomped upon, but that is kind of what we do here. We tell people what we think. It can be hard at times, but if you weather the storm, I am sure you will do alright! It always stings when we get bad feedback, but look at it like this: It stings for all of us and even our best writers get a blooded nose every now and then (except Iain, but he doesn't count.)


	Use the Features!
	While we will never call ourselves a Wiki, we do have a few similar features. We tried to make it as easy and intuitive as possible to post but often times things still get missed or overlooked. Links Links are a keystone of the site, use them and use them often. They are as simple as putting a title of a submission in [] and the site will auto link them. There are more advanced ways to link but that will be for the mechanics page. If another submission inspired you then simply throw a link to it as you write. It is a shout out to the author as well as bringing other posts back to the reader’s attention. The more links there are, the more apt people will be able to visit these lost posts. Again, we want all the posts to be read over and over, we don’t want any to be buried in the back pages due to their age. Codices Don’t fear the Codex. Before you go through the trouble of putting together a codex it might be wise to inquire about the idea in the forums. But don’t let that stop you. If you have a way to bring a bunch of submissions together, we already love it! The more that the subs are linked and crosslinked and attached to codices the more visibility they will get. Visibility is good in whatever form it takes! Freetexts Don’t go too crazy with freetexts, we want them to be useable. Take a look through the freetext links and see if your submission could be added to any of them. Add it if you can. If you start a new freetext, take a few minutes to ensure that it will be useable to others. Freetexts with only one submission attached to them aren’t useful to anybody. Suggested Submissions Don't take them for granted, actively hunt out complimentary posts. After you put in a submission search around for others that offer a match with yours. You are helping everybody out by pointing out other submissions, plus, you get a few extra XP for every suggestion. Don't let somebody else find the sub that fits with yours and steals your XP! In Work / Advice Requested Don’t worry if you don’t immediately have a masterpiece to reveal to the world. There are three options available to you once you register where you can safely work on your submission without worry. “In Work (hidden)” which is just that, you are the only one that can view it. “In Work (viewable)” is still not an official submission but you will be able to share it with other people to get opinions. “Advice Requested” is a post you are actively working on and you are actively pursuing some kind of help with it. Best bet is to give us a push in the forums and let us know that you do indeed wish some help. Share Credit If you use another’s idea to a point where it is almost a collaborative submission, do definitely give them their just rewards and add them as contributors. They will then share in the glory of the XP with you. Quests Join a quest and follow the instructions to earn extra XP and a chance to win glory and riches. Every quest has a T-shirt reward for first and second place so prime your creative juices and put in a submission following the quest requirements. We try not to leave more than a month in between quests so there is almost always one available or getting ready to start. Use HTML Yes, please format your submission how you desire. On the submission page there is a HTML help reference that can expand in the right column. Use it, make your post easier to read with headings and any other toys you can come up with.


	Tips for Better Posts These are five good tips for those who want to produce better items, npcs, lifeforms, locations, plots, and such. First: Review! Review the top rated posts of the category you want to post it. If you want to do an item, click into items, then the highest rated (in red) and it will give you a list of the best items. Read the first ten or so. Second: Effort! Put some thought into your post. Take your time putting the post into print. Taking time to do a post right shows you care not only about your audience and yourself, but you care about the thing you are posting about. If you aren't spending a minimum of 15 to 30 minutes on the post, it will probably be abused and low rated. Most of us spend 45 to 60 minutes on a post. Remember, you will spend more time actually thinking about your post before you put it up, if you want to do it right. Remember that you can edit your post, so if you find something wrong, go back and fix it. Third: Check it! I really mean it. Go through your posts. Make sure it follows the basic rules of grammar . Sentences start with capital letters, end with punctuation, and have everything moderately correct in between. Extra lines should be inserted between paragraphs (and there should be paragraphs). I can not stress the next part more that simply scream, "Spell check!". If you can, copy (from web site) and paste (into word processor) your post into a WP with spell check. Run the spell check (and the grammar check if it has it). Copy and paste it back. If you do this, it will automatically improve your post by one point (on average). If we can simply and easily read your post, we can start critiquing it rather than your awful spelling. If English is not your primary language, let us know. However, be warned that many of our best posters have English as a second, third, or even fourth language. So all we ask is that you continue to work at it, to get it right. Fourth: Completeness! Your posts need to tell us nearly everything about the subject. You should strive for items that are generic, rather than dependent on a specific setting or campaign. While being vague can help make the item more "generic", you need to "imply" the answers. (For example: while my game might not have Rykor the BloodSlayer, I can figure out an approximate match "The most dreaded demon riding Dark Knight in history.") Implied answers act as guidelines for the GM/ Player adapting the post. To be complete, your post needs to answer; "Who is involved?", "What is happening (and where and when)?" and "How and why things occur?". If it is an item or setting then include: What is the item/place? and What can it do? Details are not as important as completeness. Read your post. Is there anything that someone (who doesn't know your campaign and the backstory) might have a question about? If you find such a question, edit the write up and include the answer to that question. Keep reading your post until you have answered every question (including ones that seem really stupid... there are a lot of really stupid people out there). Fifth: The Gold Standard If your post could not be part of a published fantasy novel, it needs work. That is what you should aim for. If your item/ npc/ plot/ setting is not as well described and developed as something you would find in a published fantasy novel (excluding most DnD licensed novels), then it is not equal to the gold standard and needs work. This standard is really not that hard to meet. New members often meet it on their first or second try. You do not need to be a professional writer, you just need to put a little effort into doing it right. Read, Post, Play!


	English Posts
	Why Posts should be done in Standard English This is a comment I made in response to an item response from a member of the Barbarian Horde. It is generally aimed at English speakers that are too lazy to use proper grammar and full sentences. Some insist on sneaking in 1337 speak and chatroom slang and wonder why they get called on it. The posts here are held to proper English standards for three reasons. 1) This is a world wide site, so the English needs to be standard English so people who have English as a second or third language can understand the post. (So, sure, the natives can understand it, but someone from Austria might have a problem.) We are not asking for nor expecting perfect English, but we are asking for you to strive towards that as a goal. 2) Our non-native speakers are typing in standard English and using proper diction and idioms, why can't you? 3) Unlike most sites which come and go within a year or three (when their owner loses their url or free hosting), this site endures. That means every post is a legacy to future gamers. That is why every posts needs to at least be of a quality of expression equal to that responsibility.


	A lot of people admit they are a little bit intimidated when they think about posting. The first post here, they say, is like jumping off a cliff. It is a leap of faith and you are never sure about how your submission will be received. Admittedly, we are a slightly heavy handed bunch that don’t pull punches. That is one of the main reasons I used Ancient Gamer’s quote above. We do try and be gentle with the new submissions but, yes, it is a bit of a initiation. If you can power through the first couple submissions and make it I can guarantee you that you will win over even the most stringent Strolenite to your side and if you need help, you will be adopted and mentored. The fact we don’t pull punches is probably the best thing about the site. If you want/need honest feedback, then you will get it. We want your posts to get better and in most cases we will ask questions and give hints on how to do just that. We will bend over backwards, actually, we can't wait to bend over backwards to help if you seem to truly care about your submissions. We know not everything is going to be an outstanding post. A vote of three is a very satisfying vote which people sometimes don’t understand. It takes a solid bit of information to earn a three. Many voting systems quickly get overinflated, but we try our best to keep it honest so expect to earn what people truly think of it. So don't despair over lukewarm comments and medium votes, that is to be expected on many submissions. When you hit a good one and the compliments flow it will all be worth it! Unfortunately, many crumple under the initial constructive criticism and, possibly, low votes and once again disappear into the deep corners of the net. Stick it out, it is worth it. If you truly want to improve your game world then this is the place that can help you! Post your ideas and accept honest, helpful, and good intentioned feedback...oh, and give some out yourself! Don't just accept it, dish out some of your own. We are an equal opportunity comment system. :) Remember though, flames will be snuffed out without thought or remorse.

Overview - Read - Post - Play - Mechanics


	The size and number of knots in hair, tied around neck, or hanging from belt could signify family, importance, worship, guild affiliations. Being able to translate the meaning of the size and placement of knots can give you a a large understanding of who somebody is. May be used in a more barbaric society. Where in cities peoples clothes and crests show who they are, barbarians have no need for this so use knots. ~ Strolen


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