BoB's Newbies Guide: Start here!

[Orion]

Welcome to Beasts of Beyond! We welcome you with open arms to the website and hope this guide will help you on your journey. First of all, you are not required to read this guide. This guide is here to serve as a quick refresher to roleplaying or even a beginners guide. With that said, continue reading if you wish!

We do highly suggest reading our rules before continuing further.

On Roleplaying

Beasts of Beyond specializes in two main games: Human RP and Animal RP, with a side focus on other types of popular roleplay that happens. We also focus on ability based characters. This allows a fantasy and sci-fi dynamic to our website. Both of our main games involve a simple list of abilities and mutations that can be found within the the Shop.

What is roleplay?

Roleplay is the act of personifying your own character in writing. Many do this by creating their own OCs, also known as Original Characters, or mimicking one of their favorite characters from a novel, movie, or band.

How do I roleplay? I'm new to this!

Beasts of Beyond is a post-by-post roleplay game. We do not use chat-speak, but instead write out our character's actions all in one post, similar to a book... except with more people! One select person will start a thread. Often threads are tagged with OPEN, PRIVATE, or PAFP (private after first post) signaling what type of characters they'd like in that thread. If you see an open thread (or a PAFP with no posts, along with a private labeled with your character/username), you are welcome to post! After you reply, you will have to wait for the other user/character to respond. Thus, giving you the chance to reply.

What perspective should I use?

Any perspective! First-person, second-person, and third person are all allowed on Beasts of Beyond. The majority of our users often use third person though.

What can I not roleplay?

Since the site is PG-13, we are open to violence and sexually suggestive comments. Other than that, we do not allow the roleplay of lewd, sexually explicit scenes.

Resources:

On Characters

Making characters on BoB is as easy as one, two, three. There are no sign-ups or forms needed to start roleplaying with us.

How do I create a character?

You don't even need to create a form or a biography! With an idea in mind, you can hop right into roleplay straight away. Though, if you're looking for a specific character with in-game relationships, we suggest using the Adoption Agency to see if there any slots available in a popular litter or tryouts for a high position's child. With that in mind, you can also head to the Biography board if you wish to create a biography/tags for your character.

What's a subaccount?

A subaccount is an account linked to your main account. While it is not required, many users of Beasts of Beyond use these accounts to separate character profiles and organize their profiles. These special accounts linked to your OOC account allow you to post, organize, and track your progress individually by switching between them simultaneously. Here is a short guide to creating a subaccount!

Resources:
- A Guide to Subaccounts: In this short guide you learn how to make a subaccount! It's as easy as that.
- Making A Character: This guide goes more in depth about making a character on Beasts of Beyond.

On Posting

When it comes to posting, there are no limits. We only ask for you to try and attempt to use proper grammar, as it makes understanding your writing easier.

How can I format my post?

Here on Beasts of Beyond, we use BBC. BBC is also known as Bulletin Board Code and it's quite simple to use. For example, you can do [ b ][ / b ] within your posts to create bold text. Along with this, you may also do italics(i), underlines(u), urls(url=URLHERE), and images(img). To make things easier, above each post you'd like to make, you have plenty of these options to choose from. If those are not available, you may also type these commands yourself.

If you wish to get more advanced with your post styles, you may also create a post template!

What's a post template and where can I learn to code a post template?

Post templates are used to add style to your post. With post templates, you can edit the size of your post and how it appears. The post you create is up to you. To create a post template, you'll need to know how to code one first! For other tips and premade options, you can visit the Coding Center and Artist Loft.

How can I create a default post template?

First off, head to your profile! From there, you will see a list of options on the left above 'summary - your display name'. Click on 'Profile Info' then head to 'Post Templates'. Proceed to add a new template and paste your code in. Next time you want to post, select your post template and watch it appear before your eyes.

How do I see when someone replies to my post?

To find when someone replies, go to the top right corner of the website and click 'recent unread topics.' Topics will be updated and pop up whenever someone replies there. You can also use 'updated topics' in the top right near your icon or 'posts' on your profile to see a cohesive list of topics you've participated in.

Resources:
- A Guide to Post Templates: Learn how to spruce up your posts with this guide.
- Artist Loft: Here you can find shops to buy art, customize templates, or find premade templates that you can use.
- Coding Center: A common place to have storage threads and practice your coding.

On Socialization

Where can I introduce myself?

New to the site? Visit the Welcoming Board and introduce yourself. Include any information about you that you're willing to share, but we would like to curtly suggest that personal information should be out of the picture. Your safety is a priority.

Where else can I chat and get involved with the community?

For anything and everything, members can use the General Discussion board! If you wish to discuss with your group, you can use their designated OOC board. For plotting, you may also use the Plotting board.

Can I privately contact someone?

Of course! We have personal messages (PM) that you can send to other members. Head to their profile, click on 'actions', and then navigate to 'send personal message'. After that, type your message and send!

How can I keep in contact with Beasts of Beyond elsewhere?

You can keep up with our several social medias and chatrooms!
- Discord: Discord is similar to American Instant Messanger (AIM) or any other chatroom/box. Beasts of Beyond uses Discord to communicate faster and more openly with the community if need be. By joining the server, you accept our rules and conditions both on-site and offsite. All bans on the site will carry over to the server accordingly.
- Twitter: We use Twitter for quick and easy announcements. Followers will get notifications from Beasts of Beyond if notifications are enabled.
- Tumblr: Tumblr is used for longer and important updates. Tumblr is also a hot-spot for featuring our artist's art and comments, besides DeviantArt.
- Steam: Beasts of Beyond does not specialize in games, but we would love to keep in touch and play some with you. Steam features our own BoB group for you to join. In the future, we may hold gaming events and tournaments.
- DeviantArt: DeviantArt is an art-sharing platform! Right now, we have our own group for featuring art shared on the website.

[size=18pt]On Profiles

Profiles do not have a limit on what they can contain as long as they stay PG-13.

What are avatar dimensions?

Our current avatar dimensions are 150px (width) and 250(height).

What are signature dimensions?

As of right now, there is no limit to signature dimensions. The dimensions matter on what size of screen you use. Even so, the site will resize signatures as need be.

How can I create a custom profile theme?

Head over to the Coding Corner! You'll get people who are willing to help you and a full guide on what each category means. After you copy your code, click on your profile and head to ultimate profile. Paste your finished code into 'Customization'. Fix any modifications as necessary!

Resources:
- Full Profile Code: Here is the full code to edit your profile freely.
- Guide to Profile Customization: Learn how to edit your profile's colors and images with the help of our wonderful user Fabrie!

On Site History

Beasts of Beyond started as a roleplay website on March 10th, 2018. The idea was created between a few friends after a dilemma which fueled our passion for roleplay and socialization. To keep connected, we created Beasts of Beyond. Eventually, the site grew and so did our friend group. To note, that you may not see posts from March 10th. After a certain problem on that day, the site had to be redone due to complications. It was brought back up the next day.

Our first main game was Animals, starting off with our current four groups: The Ascendants, Snowbound, The Typhoon, and Tanglewood. After that, we started to create our human game with Griffingate's and Blackfall's dramatic rivalry. From there, we added several other boards and made sure we had an other roleplay section for other options.

Help! My questions weren't answered.

If you have any further questions, feel free to post your concerns and questions within the Helpful Hub.