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Welcome to Aeipathy! Like our name suggests, we are a vibrant, passionate, and dedicated group of roleplayers committed to character development and world-building. Our setting is a fictional/mythical version of the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian areas of ancient Europe. Our style of writing is primarily historical drama. We encourage plotlines based in familial strife, patriotic war, romantic entanglements, political strokes, and the daily lives of the ancient civilisations we have created. Our story also contains elements of myth and fantasy in the inclusion of the deities and Gods that play dice with the lives of man. We are an intermediate to advanced roleplay with no word count and in-profile applications, shippers, and trackers. We have no character limit per member, and we have a member-driven and decided expansion plan for the realms and worlds of the site, ensuring that no one idea or location becomes staid, as we progress and develop as an out-of-character community and as an in-character world.
No-one enjoys joining a site only to discover its not what they thought. If you are someone who: enjoys an immersive and dedicated world of roleplaying in which you can form a personal and emotional connection; is seeking the opportunity to write within and about new cultures, ideas, and worlds; wants to contribute to that culturally diverse world with interesting character development and OOC participation/voting; likes sites with bold and interesting three-dimensional characters who have sides to them that are both evil and good, and enjoys the challenge of creating such characters personally; wants somewhere to test their writing skills and ingenuity with complex and detailed plots, interwoven with many other characters, and relishes the opportunity of playing both hero and villain within the same character; is open to your characters being vulnerable, disliked or harmed by others in a plot driving manner; already loves or is interested in historical settings that are rich in detail, yet open to creative choices and elements brought in by other members; and is looking for a roleplaying home that you can be a part of for a long time to come... then Aeipathy is the place for you. Read below for our out-of-character doctrines and our roleplaying principles to see if you're the kind of person who would love, and thrive within, the world of Aeipathy.
About Us
Now that you know everything about us and our culture, and whether you would fit in with us as a person, you need to know if we're the right place for you as a writer. The below covers all information regarding our style of writing and the expectations we have our of creators... As well as the expectations our members can have of the staff and the site in keeping the plot and writing environment of Aeipathy engaging and inspiring to all.
Our World
Set in ancient times and centred around the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian area of Europe, our geographical location includes present-day Greece, Italy, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Cyprus and stretches out into Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Circa 670 BC, the kingdoms in existence were Greece, the Roman Kingdoms, Anatolia, Babylonia, Egypt, Assyria, and Sumer. While the roleplayable kingdoms of Aeipathy are fictional, it is the culture and history of these countries - historically and currently - that we draw our inspiration from. Each of our realms is based on a real country/empire, while the fictional kingdoms within each realm allow our members to make suggestions and additions to the politics, monarchy or culture without concern for specific historical accuracy, outside the general setting.
Our Level
At Aeipathy, we don't like labelling writing skills. As detailed in our doctrines above, we all have different skills, techniques and abilities in our creative skills. As such, we believe that the lines between writing "labels" is blurry to the point of nonexistent. That being said, in order to try to indicate appropriate writing "level" to both newcomers and current members, we list ourselves as an intermediate-to-advanced roleplay forum. This means that all writers must have a strong command of the English language (though it does not have to be their first language) and must be able to write with an artistic flair and minimal mistakes or inaccuracies. We are welcoming to, and perfectly accepting of, those who have not roleplayed before, provided they have a strong skill in creative writing through some other format. We do not accept members who have only just started on their journey of writing. We apologise that this is the case and - to a certain extent - wish we could be inclusive to all levels of writing, as we promote a healthy growth and learning environment; everyone has to learn somewhere, after all. However, our setting is a detailed one and its atmosphere dramatic and, at times, tension-filled. It is this element of Aeipathy that most attracts her creators and members, and inexperienced writers can break this atmosphere or upset the balance of the setting without intending to. To protect and maintain the writing atmosphere that our members love, we do not allow roleplayers of a lower than "intermediate" level to join us, at this time. If you believe yourself to be of a writing capability that you could be a part of our community, please don't hesitate to join up!
Our Style
The general genre of Aeipathy is historical fiction/drama. We write with a serious, mature and often rough or sharp style that reflects the harsh realism of the historical era. Our characters and stories can be lighthearted and even comedic but the style of our writing is always reminiscent of the severity of the major plots on-going on the site. Our era is the generic term of "ancient times". For a real world equivalent, you're looking at circa 670 BC give or take a century. This is approximately the time frame to include ancient Greece, the formation of the Roman Empire, Egypt's pharaohs and the creation of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. While we have deliberately made our kingdoms fictional, to allow for any historical inaccuracies, we do expect our members to maintain a certain level of formality and language that would be appropriate in an ancient era. Modern day slang or terminology, for example, should be avoided at all times when writing in character.
Our Content
At Aeipathy, we try to encourage all types of roleplay. In general, our genre is historical drama, but this could extend from huge, war-based plots between nations to the smaller, inter-personal dynamics of a husband and wife. Some of the plotting ideas we suggest but which our members are by no means limited to, would be -
Power Struggles
Between royal families or the different lines of royal blood. This could also include elected monarchs or imperial leaders vying for power or glory. While these plots may seem specific, they can branch out and affect whole kingdoms as certain families or individuals attempt to buy popularity or scare a populace into supportive voting.
Political Turmoil
Between believers of different systems. Many of our realms have a Senate, Parliament, or Congress that the royals and imperials are required to listen to or, at least, have the support of. These politicians wield their own power and could be seeking glory for their own name rather than that of their nation.
Military Campaign
Are the locomotive of change. When realms go on long war campaigns in this era, civilians, traders, and bureaucrats are taken along for the ride - not to mention the soldiers and family members the horrors of war are forced upon.
Arena Games
Can be seen, as some of our realms have arenas or coliseums where entertainment can be found in slave executions, gladiator fights, or chariot racing. Gambling is rife at such events and dramatic results can be yielded from an unpaid bet or a crooked games-runner.
Blood Feuds
Between royal and noble families can be extensive, long-lasting, and deadly. You can roleplay the origin of one or continue one that has existed for generations.
Realm Conquest
Is the end result of war. Whether whole kingdoms are being absorbed or just certain villages and areas, the annexing of new land brings strangers and their social conventions into the conquering realm. This can cause discrimination, disquiet, and complex emotions in those now exposed to an alien culture.
Illegitimate Birth
Is common within the ancient realms, given a lack of birth control. Some of our realms even keep harems or allow polygamy. Different or complicated family trees make for great drama.
Personal Antagonism
Is a simple and effective tool for any writer and, like on any roleplay site, it works perfectly on Aeipathy. If your character has some form of personal issue with another, you already have drama, right there.
Romantic Entanglements
Are affairs of the heart that cannot be tamed. Particularly when combined with any of the above plot ideas, romance is a powerful plotting tool open for your use.
Our Structure
Aeipathy is a communal writing experience that offers multiple ways for characters to get involved in stories and plots. We have different types and styles, so that different writers can find their groove on the forum. All plots that are written IC on the forum are canon and will potentially affect your character. Our world is inclusive and its important to keep an eye on the larger plots on the site. The different types of plot and stories that we offer on Aeipathy are listed below:
Global Plots
Global plots are large, inclusive, encompassing and long-running plots that are designed to affect multiple Kingdoms (and sometimes Realms) at once. These might include political marriages between royals, political upheavals, senate issues, war campaigns or trade agreement talks. These plots are published in multiple places on our site including the Current Story section of our Encyclopedia and should be kept an eye on as the results of these plots will affect the world in which all of our characters live.
Kingdom Plots
These are large scale plots that, while important to be aware of in other kingdoms, only actually affect specific kingdoms. This might be the coronation of a new leader, a change in the law, or a festival or event held in the capital and therefore will affect any character within that particular kingdom. These plots are often played out in our site Events.
Events
The Events published on Aeipathy are large-scale, mass player, in-character threads. They are designed to be an open sandbox playing field where everyone with relevant characters can partake and do their own mini-plots or themes within a singular environment. They are also best used as a springboard into other plots and threads. The Event threads are often used by our members as a means for two characters to interact/meet and establish a connection without a thread dedicated to the purpose. This then allows further plotting and thread creation without awkwardly working out how two characters should know one another.
Provincial Stories
Provincial stories are smaller Events that operate in exactly the same way. They are large-scale, mass player, in-character threads. They are almost entirely posted in the Provinces boards of the site and are always set in the past. The results of these Stories are, therefore, limited due to you being unable to write something in the past that would have a huge effect on the future. They, therefore, have less impact on the site as a whole and are used primarily for historical detail and character development.
Quests
Our Quests are infrequent and are designed to be single thread plots, often set in the past, that involve only those who have signed up for the quest in question. Certain characters or members may also be chosen for quests and sent secret private messages with instructions on how to intrude or join an in-progress quest. Quest sign up threads will be posted for members to join, a week before the creation of the quest roleplay thread. Quest threads are rare and should be jumped on immediately if seen - you never know what you'll find at the end of it...
Curveballs
Curveballs are small announcements posted by our staff team that throw current plotting for a minimal number of characters for a loop. This might be an NPC Canon falling suddenly ill, a bad storm disrupting the harvest of a particular province or something affecting the health of a played character. These curveballs can be either negative or positive and are always set in the present, which means they will have an impact on certain characters but they are normally small-scale. They are also a tool our staff team use to redirect plots when necessary to keep stories going if and when our member or character roster changes. Curveballs are voluntary and if those who are affected by them wish to not play them, they can message a member of staff and the Curveball update is removed. Curveballs are not announced beforehand and are a surprise to all - including those they affect.
Personal Stories
These are the plots made by the members regarding their own characters. These can be decided through personal messaging and then played out anywhere on the forum for as many threads as it takes to complete the story. We have dedicated discussion threads for each of the Houses and groups within our community, as well as a general plot discussion channel on our Discord. These features are in place to ensure that everyone can discuss their plots with anyone else they may affect. Remember, we are all connected and are writing a singular story together. Your plot may affect more people than you realise. Communication is key.
Frequently Asked
[attr="id","enc_awards"]Is Aeipathy welcoming to newcomers? Yes! We work hard at Aeipathy to make sure that all of our newcomers feel welcomed. Not only to we ensure that we are both friendly and not too overpowering (we hope!) on your first entrance to our site and server, we're also super welcoming of all new characters and plots. To us, new members means more stories, more diversity and more fun! We are always super eager to have new members join us. We work hard to encourage dynamic character creation, established plots right from the start and future ideas for where your character can go in terms of relationships, development and defining events. For the sole purpose of helping newcomers feel welcomed and having an experienced member to go to when in doubt, we created our Mentor Team. Every member, when they first arrive with us, is assigned a Mentor to help them through any issues they encounter between joining us and getting their first character established on the site.
Is Aeipathy welcoming of Original Characters? Aeipathy has a lot of canons and wanteds available for people to claim - however, we are just as encouraging of original characters. Because of the dynamics we have in place with our Gods and their requirements for opening up immortal apps, the more canons and wanteds we have the more of our established families we collect, but the more original characters we have the more the Gods can mess with our world. As such, it's a win-win for all current members. Whether you take a wanted, a canon or create an original - we all get something new and exciting. At Aeipathy, we're more interested in ensuring that you are writing and roleplaying a character that you enjoy. If such a character idea you want to write coincides with one of our canons/wanted characters, we will often point you in that direction so that you can rp the character you want with already established plotlines. If not, however, we're always 100% happy to meet and greet new original characters to the site!
Aeipathy is so big! Will I get lost in the crowd? Not if we can help it! In terms of OOC - we have a super friendly and welcoming community who are genuinely friends before they are writers. Ergo, we are interested in all of our members - new and old. You will not feel left out of OOC chatter and will always feel welcomed on our Discord server. When it comes to IC chatter, our Discord server is specifically separated for OOC chat and plotting discussion so that newcomers aren't immediately bombarded by names, events and stories they don't understand. These plotting channels become open to them once they have an accepted character on the site. We also have a "Translate, Please!" bot on our server. Just type in a name that seems confusing to you and our bot will spit out the relevant information about that character, member or place. That way, you can keep up with the conversation, even when you're brand new! On top of this, our staff team (while passionate people ourselves who occasionally get carried away) work hard to make sure we're including and "translating" information for our newcomers. So, if you're ever at a loss and the translation bot just isn't cutting it - shout out to our staff team and they'll be happy to jump in and help out!
Can I become involved in global plots or are they just for older members? Yes! We work on an honour system here at Aeipathy: we assume all of our members and characters will be around for a long time to come. From the second they walk in the door. That means, you can get involved with big and global plots right from the start. Our only word of warning on this topic is that, as we are all writing a giant story together here on Aeipathy, it takes time to put in the foundations and introduce characters realistically. When initially joining, we recommend establishing threads and plots with immediate family members and close friends; getting used to the character and feeling out what you want to do with them and allowing our staff to see how they operate naturally. You can then request a larger part in our global story and our staff will be able to work out how to add your character in organically.
Do I have to be involved in the big / global plots? If you're someone who likes to tell their own story, or personal narratives in your character's own little corner of the world, you can 100% do that! Whilst our larger stories are always going on, ensuring you have an ever changing and developing world for your character to exist in, you do not have to be an active part of them - you can do your own thing, no problem!
Aeipathy has so many members already, don't you have cliques? Nope! Honestly, we're not entirely sure how we've managed to have so large a community without distinctive friendship circles being developed, but everyone truly is friends with everyone over here on Aeipathy. All we have are theories on why. Firstly, our staff team are a hugely inclusive force on our Discord and site. Across our staff team, we roleplay with every single member on our forum. Without fail. By including them in stories, translating situations for newcomers (in front of our current members) and basically setting an example of inclusivity, our community has followed suit. Secondly, the way our forum is structured and the way our stories are told makes it hard to form exclusive cliques of friendships. Your single character might be involved in a House, a Guild, a Faction, a big global plot and a few personal ones. All of these groupings and stories are told with other people. All of whom have their own Houses, Guilds etc... Then you decide to make a second character. By the time you have two under your belt (or even just one sometimes) the web of players your storylines have created means you are already connected to a far larger number of writers than you would normally on an rp site. By making so many connections so quickly, its near impossible to fall into a private group. Also, because we tell a singular story here at Aeipathy; each character forming a small but significant and exciting part in it, it doesn't pay to alienate or ignore other members and characters; your story-telling and plotting experiences are better by being considerate of all others and including more folks. By the time all of that is covered, its impossible to sit back in a small group and only roleplay with them. Cliques just don't form and could not survive on Aeipathy.
How much historical knowledge do I have to have, to write here? Absolutely none! We'd be lying if we said that a familiarity with historical books or tv shows/movies isn't advantageous to certain elements of your writing (language, manners and world view etc.) but in terms of knowledge of actual historical events and what was happening back in 672 BC - you don't need to know a thing! Our world is based on the lands and nations of this era but the kingdoms we actually roleplay in are (technically) fictional. You'll notice that many are based on real places (even have the same name - such as "Egypt") but at the end of the day they are an alternative/fictional version of the empires that inspired them. We use real life historical events, as inspiration for our progressing and developing global plot. But we are also not shackled to them. Nor, do we require you to be a classics major and entirely clued up on this era of history. Instead, we have all the lore you need for our fictional kingdoms, here in our Encyclopedia.
Is there a lot of lore to read? Surprising, no. Despite appearances (yes, we can see that there are a lot of links in the contents list to the left) there's not as much reading to be done in order to get started than you might think. On Aeipathy, we have six different kingdoms in order to support and facilitate a diverse roleplaying experience. Each kingdom and realm has their own culture, language, mannerisms etc. As such, all of that information needs to be stored here. However, your character is only going to be the product of one of these kingdoms (maybe two), which means the information you have to read in order to be ready to rp them is limited to only their kingdom of birth and wherever you want to rp them (because yes characters can travel). So, you can decide exactly how "clued up" on our world you need to be. If you're still uncertain, click the warning icon below (or above at the top of the page) and the required/mandatory reading will turn gold. It's really not as much as you would think!
Do you have a wide diversity of characters? We do indeed! Our canons and played character range in age from 10 to into their 80s. We have a balanced number of each sex, we have differing genders and sexualities in play. We have characters with physical and mental disorders in play. We have over forty POC canons, over 30 of Jewish descent, as well as other races and cultural backgrounds for our character. As far as character traits go, our characters are varied and diverse, from narcissistic playboys to quaint seamstresses; from ambitious young women of the court to stoic warriors. We have slaves, gladiators and pirates; we have kings, nobles and senators. We aim to make Aeipathy as immersive and realistic in feel as we can and encourage characters from all walks of life.
Are you "accurate" in how disabilities were approached historically? Yes and no. Our golden rule/line to be drawn here at Aeipathy is that roleplaying and writing should be fun. But that our members are also here because they want to immerse themselves in this particular historical era: with both the good and the bad. Wanting to write and understand previous mindsets regarding our development as a species (even if we now know them to be wrong) is part of the learning experience of writing. But, writing should also be fun. As such, our kingdoms have been written semi-true to history but with a little flexibility here and there. Each kingdom has their own mindset and levels of discrimination, or lack thereof, on all topics: from gender inequality to mental or physical disorders. These trials and difficulties are led to add an element of drama and obstacle to character's stories; not to be insulting or restrictive. They protect the immersive and realistic world in which we all enjoy playing, but also allow members the opportunity to explore other world views and create minority-identifying or diverse characters.
Do you have a diverse member group? Yes we do! Our member base ranges from late teen years to people into their sixties. We have members of different sex, gender, age, race, religion, culture and those with mental or physical differences. We also have members on our forum for whom English is a second or third language. From our perspective, so long as you can adhere to the type of writing we encourage here at Aeipathy, we have zero fucks to give on your background, label or "classification". Everyone on Aeipathy is treated with equal respect, excitement and friendliness.
Can I play a character / use a face from outside of Greece or Africa? Yes you can! Whilst our staff team recommend the creation of a character from one of our in play kingdoms to begin with (it can help you get more involved with plots right from the start) you are in no way restricted from creating a character "from Lands Afar". Our only rule on this kind of a character is simple: They cannot know anything of their homeland. They might be a slave brought over to Greece or Africa at a young age, they could be a few generations down immigrant, they could have hit their head and developed amnesia. Whatever you like. The only rule is that any information about their homeland must be kept very limited and vague. This is due to the fact that Aeipathy is gradually expanding. We began with only our Greek realm and now have Africa too. As time goes on we plan on expanding further into a total of seven kingdoms that stretch from the Britannian Isles, across the Arabian lands and into the Far East. As such, we don't want any played character's history conflicting with future realm creation. So long as your character personally knows little of their birthplace, you can create a character with any origin or face claim you like!
JD
Staff Team
JD
Staff Team
This post was created by our staff team.
Please contact us with your queries and questions.
Welcome to Aeipathy! Like our name suggests, we are a vibrant, passionate, and dedicated group of roleplayers committed to character development and world-building. Our setting is a fictional/mythical version of the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian areas of ancient Europe. Our style of writing is primarily historical drama. We encourage plotlines based in familial strife, patriotic war, romantic entanglements, political strokes, and the daily lives of the ancient civilisations we have created. Our story also contains elements of myth and fantasy in the inclusion of the deities and Gods that play dice with the lives of man. We are an intermediate to advanced roleplay with no word count and in-profile applications, shippers, and trackers. We have no character limit per member, and we have a member-driven and decided expansion plan for the realms and worlds of the site, ensuring that no one idea or location becomes staid, as we progress and develop as an out-of-character community and as an in-character world.
No-one enjoys joining a site only to discover its not what they thought. If you are someone who: enjoys an immersive and dedicated world of roleplaying in which you can form a personal and emotional connection; is seeking the opportunity to write within and about new cultures, ideas, and worlds; wants to contribute to that culturally diverse world with interesting character development and OOC participation/voting; likes sites with bold and interesting three-dimensional characters who have sides to them that are both evil and good, and enjoys the challenge of creating such characters personally; wants somewhere to test their writing skills and ingenuity with complex and detailed plots, interwoven with many other characters, and relishes the opportunity of playing both hero and villain within the same character; is open to your characters being vulnerable, disliked or harmed by others in a plot driving manner; already loves or is interested in historical settings that are rich in detail, yet open to creative choices and elements brought in by other members; and is looking for a roleplaying home that you can be a part of for a long time to come... then Aeipathy is the place for you. Read below for our out-of-character doctrines and our roleplaying principles to see if you're the kind of person who would love, and thrive within, the world of Aeipathy.
About Us
Now that you know everything about us and our culture, and whether you would fit in with us as a person, you need to know if we're the right place for you as a writer. The below covers all information regarding our style of writing and the expectations we have our of creators... As well as the expectations our members can have of the staff and the site in keeping the plot and writing environment of Aeipathy engaging and inspiring to all.
Our World
Set in ancient times and centred around the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian area of Europe, our geographical location includes present-day Greece, Italy, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Cyprus and stretches out into Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Circa 670 BC, the kingdoms in existence were Greece, the Roman Kingdoms, Anatolia, Babylonia, Egypt, Assyria, and Sumer. While the roleplayable kingdoms of Aeipathy are fictional, it is the culture and history of these countries - historically and currently - that we draw our inspiration from. Each of our realms is based on a real country/empire, while the fictional kingdoms within each realm allow our members to make suggestions and additions to the politics, monarchy or culture without concern for specific historical accuracy, outside the general setting.
Our Level
At Aeipathy, we don't like labelling writing skills. As detailed in our doctrines above, we all have different skills, techniques and abilities in our creative skills. As such, we believe that the lines between writing "labels" is blurry to the point of nonexistent. That being said, in order to try to indicate appropriate writing "level" to both newcomers and current members, we list ourselves as an intermediate-to-advanced roleplay forum. This means that all writers must have a strong command of the English language (though it does not have to be their first language) and must be able to write with an artistic flair and minimal mistakes or inaccuracies. We are welcoming to, and perfectly accepting of, those who have not roleplayed before, provided they have a strong skill in creative writing through some other format. We do not accept members who have only just started on their journey of writing. We apologise that this is the case and - to a certain extent - wish we could be inclusive to all levels of writing, as we promote a healthy growth and learning environment; everyone has to learn somewhere, after all. However, our setting is a detailed one and its atmosphere dramatic and, at times, tension-filled. It is this element of Aeipathy that most attracts her creators and members, and inexperienced writers can break this atmosphere or upset the balance of the setting without intending to. To protect and maintain the writing atmosphere that our members love, we do not allow roleplayers of a lower than "intermediate" level to join us, at this time. If you believe yourself to be of a writing capability that you could be a part of our community, please don't hesitate to join up!
Our Style
The general genre of Aeipathy is historical fiction/drama. We write with a serious, mature and often rough or sharp style that reflects the harsh realism of the historical era. Our characters and stories can be lighthearted and even comedic but the style of our writing is always reminiscent of the severity of the major plots on-going on the site. Our era is the generic term of "ancient times". For a real world equivalent, you're looking at circa 670 BC give or take a century. This is approximately the time frame to include ancient Greece, the formation of the Roman Empire, Egypt's pharaohs and the creation of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. While we have deliberately made our kingdoms fictional, to allow for any historical inaccuracies, we do expect our members to maintain a certain level of formality and language that would be appropriate in an ancient era. Modern day slang or terminology, for example, should be avoided at all times when writing in character.
Our Content
At Aeipathy, we try to encourage all types of roleplay. In general, our genre is historical drama, but this could extend from huge, war-based plots between nations to the smaller, inter-personal dynamics of a husband and wife. Some of the plotting ideas we suggest but which our members are by no means limited to, would be -
Power Struggles
Between royal families or the different lines of royal blood. This could also include elected monarchs or imperial leaders vying for power or glory. While these plots may seem specific, they can branch out and affect whole kingdoms as certain families or individuals attempt to buy popularity or scare a populace into supportive voting.
Political Turmoil
Between believers of different systems. Many of our realms have a Senate, Parliament, or Congress that the royals and imperials are required to listen to or, at least, have the support of. These politicians wield their own power and could be seeking glory for their own name rather than that of their nation.
Military Campaign
Are the locomotive of change. When realms go on long war campaigns in this era, civilians, traders, and bureaucrats are taken along for the ride - not to mention the soldiers and family members the horrors of war are forced upon.
Arena Games
Can be seen, as some of our realms have arenas or coliseums where entertainment can be found in slave executions, gladiator fights, or chariot racing. Gambling is rife at such events and dramatic results can be yielded from an unpaid bet or a crooked games-runner.
Blood Feuds
Between royal and noble families can be extensive, long-lasting, and deadly. You can roleplay the origin of one or continue one that has existed for generations.
Realm Conquest
Is the end result of war. Whether whole kingdoms are being absorbed or just certain villages and areas, the annexing of new land brings strangers and their social conventions into the conquering realm. This can cause discrimination, disquiet, and complex emotions in those now exposed to an alien culture.
Illegitimate Birth
Is common within the ancient realms, given a lack of birth control. Some of our realms even keep harems or allow polygamy. Different or complicated family trees make for great drama.
Personal Antagonism
Is a simple and effective tool for any writer and, like on any roleplay site, it works perfectly on Aeipathy. If your character has some form of personal issue with another, you already have drama, right there.
Romantic Entanglements
Are affairs of the heart that cannot be tamed. Particularly when combined with any of the above plot ideas, romance is a powerful plotting tool open for your use.
Our Structure
Aeipathy is a communal writing experience that offers multiple ways for characters to get involved in stories and plots. We have different types and styles, so that different writers can find their groove on the forum. All plots that are written IC on the forum are canon and will potentially affect your character. Our world is inclusive and its important to keep an eye on the larger plots on the site. The different types of plot and stories that we offer on Aeipathy are listed below:
Global Plots
Global plots are large, inclusive, encompassing and long-running plots that are designed to affect multiple Kingdoms (and sometimes Realms) at once. These might include political marriages between royals, political upheavals, senate issues, war campaigns or trade agreement talks. These plots are published in multiple places on our site including the Current Story section of our Encyclopedia and should be kept an eye on as the results of these plots will affect the world in which all of our characters live.
Kingdom Plots
These are large scale plots that, while important to be aware of in other kingdoms, only actually affect specific kingdoms. This might be the coronation of a new leader, a change in the law, or a festival or event held in the capital and therefore will affect any character within that particular kingdom. These plots are often played out in our site Events.
Events
The Events published on Aeipathy are large-scale, mass player, in-character threads. They are designed to be an open sandbox playing field where everyone with relevant characters can partake and do their own mini-plots or themes within a singular environment. They are also best used as a springboard into other plots and threads. The Event threads are often used by our members as a means for two characters to interact/meet and establish a connection without a thread dedicated to the purpose. This then allows further plotting and thread creation without awkwardly working out how two characters should know one another.
Provincial Stories
Provincial stories are smaller Events that operate in exactly the same way. They are large-scale, mass player, in-character threads. They are almost entirely posted in the Provinces boards of the site and are always set in the past. The results of these Stories are, therefore, limited due to you being unable to write something in the past that would have a huge effect on the future. They, therefore, have less impact on the site as a whole and are used primarily for historical detail and character development.
Quests
Our Quests are infrequent and are designed to be single thread plots, often set in the past, that involve only those who have signed up for the quest in question. Certain characters or members may also be chosen for quests and sent secret private messages with instructions on how to intrude or join an in-progress quest. Quest sign up threads will be posted for members to join, a week before the creation of the quest roleplay thread. Quest threads are rare and should be jumped on immediately if seen - you never know what you'll find at the end of it...
Curveballs
Curveballs are small announcements posted by our staff team that throw current plotting for a minimal number of characters for a loop. This might be an NPC Canon falling suddenly ill, a bad storm disrupting the harvest of a particular province or something affecting the health of a played character. These curveballs can be either negative or positive and are always set in the present, which means they will have an impact on certain characters but they are normally small-scale. They are also a tool our staff team use to redirect plots when necessary to keep stories going if and when our member or character roster changes. Curveballs are voluntary and if those who are affected by them wish to not play them, they can message a member of staff and the Curveball update is removed. Curveballs are not announced beforehand and are a surprise to all - including those they affect.
Personal Stories
These are the plots made by the members regarding their own characters. These can be decided through personal messaging and then played out anywhere on the forum for as many threads as it takes to complete the story. We have dedicated discussion threads for each of the Houses and groups within our community, as well as a general plot discussion channel on our Discord. These features are in place to ensure that everyone can discuss their plots with anyone else they may affect. Remember, we are all connected and are writing a singular story together. Your plot may affect more people than you realise. Communication is key.
Frequently Asked
[attr="id","enc_awards"]Is Aeipathy welcoming to newcomers? Yes! We work hard at Aeipathy to make sure that all of our newcomers feel welcomed. Not only to we ensure that we are both friendly and not too overpowering (we hope!) on your first entrance to our site and server, we're also super welcoming of all new characters and plots. To us, new members means more stories, more diversity and more fun! We are always super eager to have new members join us. We work hard to encourage dynamic character creation, established plots right from the start and future ideas for where your character can go in terms of relationships, development and defining events. For the sole purpose of helping newcomers feel welcomed and having an experienced member to go to when in doubt, we created our Mentor Team. Every member, when they first arrive with us, is assigned a Mentor to help them through any issues they encounter between joining us and getting their first character established on the site.
Is Aeipathy welcoming of Original Characters? Aeipathy has a lot of canons and wanteds available for people to claim - however, we are just as encouraging of original characters. Because of the dynamics we have in place with our Gods and their requirements for opening up immortal apps, the more canons and wanteds we have the more of our established families we collect, but the more original characters we have the more the Gods can mess with our world. As such, it's a win-win for all current members. Whether you take a wanted, a canon or create an original - we all get something new and exciting. At Aeipathy, we're more interested in ensuring that you are writing and roleplaying a character that you enjoy. If such a character idea you want to write coincides with one of our canons/wanted characters, we will often point you in that direction so that you can rp the character you want with already established plotlines. If not, however, we're always 100% happy to meet and greet new original characters to the site!
Aeipathy is so big! Will I get lost in the crowd? Not if we can help it! In terms of OOC - we have a super friendly and welcoming community who are genuinely friends before they are writers. Ergo, we are interested in all of our members - new and old. You will not feel left out of OOC chatter and will always feel welcomed on our Discord server. When it comes to IC chatter, our Discord server is specifically separated for OOC chat and plotting discussion so that newcomers aren't immediately bombarded by names, events and stories they don't understand. These plotting channels become open to them once they have an accepted character on the site. We also have a "Translate, Please!" bot on our server. Just type in a name that seems confusing to you and our bot will spit out the relevant information about that character, member or place. That way, you can keep up with the conversation, even when you're brand new! On top of this, our staff team (while passionate people ourselves who occasionally get carried away) work hard to make sure we're including and "translating" information for our newcomers. So, if you're ever at a loss and the translation bot just isn't cutting it - shout out to our staff team and they'll be happy to jump in and help out!
Can I become involved in global plots or are they just for older members? Yes! We work on an honour system here at Aeipathy: we assume all of our members and characters will be around for a long time to come. From the second they walk in the door. That means, you can get involved with big and global plots right from the start. Our only word of warning on this topic is that, as we are all writing a giant story together here on Aeipathy, it takes time to put in the foundations and introduce characters realistically. When initially joining, we recommend establishing threads and plots with immediate family members and close friends; getting used to the character and feeling out what you want to do with them and allowing our staff to see how they operate naturally. You can then request a larger part in our global story and our staff will be able to work out how to add your character in organically.
Do I have to be involved in the big / global plots? If you're someone who likes to tell their own story, or personal narratives in your character's own little corner of the world, you can 100% do that! Whilst our larger stories are always going on, ensuring you have an ever changing and developing world for your character to exist in, you do not have to be an active part of them - you can do your own thing, no problem!
Aeipathy has so many members already, don't you have cliques? Nope! Honestly, we're not entirely sure how we've managed to have so large a community without distinctive friendship circles being developed, but everyone truly is friends with everyone over here on Aeipathy. All we have are theories on why. Firstly, our staff team are a hugely inclusive force on our Discord and site. Across our staff team, we roleplay with every single member on our forum. Without fail. By including them in stories, translating situations for newcomers (in front of our current members) and basically setting an example of inclusivity, our community has followed suit. Secondly, the way our forum is structured and the way our stories are told makes it hard to form exclusive cliques of friendships. Your single character might be involved in a House, a Guild, a Faction, a big global plot and a few personal ones. All of these groupings and stories are told with other people. All of whom have their own Houses, Guilds etc... Then you decide to make a second character. By the time you have two under your belt (or even just one sometimes) the web of players your storylines have created means you are already connected to a far larger number of writers than you would normally on an rp site. By making so many connections so quickly, its near impossible to fall into a private group. Also, because we tell a singular story here at Aeipathy; each character forming a small but significant and exciting part in it, it doesn't pay to alienate or ignore other members and characters; your story-telling and plotting experiences are better by being considerate of all others and including more folks. By the time all of that is covered, its impossible to sit back in a small group and only roleplay with them. Cliques just don't form and could not survive on Aeipathy.
How much historical knowledge do I have to have, to write here? Absolutely none! We'd be lying if we said that a familiarity with historical books or tv shows/movies isn't advantageous to certain elements of your writing (language, manners and world view etc.) but in terms of knowledge of actual historical events and what was happening back in 672 BC - you don't need to know a thing! Our world is based on the lands and nations of this era but the kingdoms we actually roleplay in are (technically) fictional. You'll notice that many are based on real places (even have the same name - such as "Egypt") but at the end of the day they are an alternative/fictional version of the empires that inspired them. We use real life historical events, as inspiration for our progressing and developing global plot. But we are also not shackled to them. Nor, do we require you to be a classics major and entirely clued up on this era of history. Instead, we have all the lore you need for our fictional kingdoms, here in our Encyclopedia.
Is there a lot of lore to read? Surprising, no. Despite appearances (yes, we can see that there are a lot of links in the contents list to the left) there's not as much reading to be done in order to get started than you might think. On Aeipathy, we have six different kingdoms in order to support and facilitate a diverse roleplaying experience. Each kingdom and realm has their own culture, language, mannerisms etc. As such, all of that information needs to be stored here. However, your character is only going to be the product of one of these kingdoms (maybe two), which means the information you have to read in order to be ready to rp them is limited to only their kingdom of birth and wherever you want to rp them (because yes characters can travel). So, you can decide exactly how "clued up" on our world you need to be. If you're still uncertain, click the warning icon below (or above at the top of the page) and the required/mandatory reading will turn gold. It's really not as much as you would think!
Do you have a wide diversity of characters? We do indeed! Our canons and played character range in age from 10 to into their 80s. We have a balanced number of each sex, we have differing genders and sexualities in play. We have characters with physical and mental disorders in play. We have over forty POC canons, over 30 of Jewish descent, as well as other races and cultural backgrounds for our character. As far as character traits go, our characters are varied and diverse, from narcissistic playboys to quaint seamstresses; from ambitious young women of the court to stoic warriors. We have slaves, gladiators and pirates; we have kings, nobles and senators. We aim to make Aeipathy as immersive and realistic in feel as we can and encourage characters from all walks of life.
Are you "accurate" in how disabilities were approached historically? Yes and no. Our golden rule/line to be drawn here at Aeipathy is that roleplaying and writing should be fun. But that our members are also here because they want to immerse themselves in this particular historical era: with both the good and the bad. Wanting to write and understand previous mindsets regarding our development as a species (even if we now know them to be wrong) is part of the learning experience of writing. But, writing should also be fun. As such, our kingdoms have been written semi-true to history but with a little flexibility here and there. Each kingdom has their own mindset and levels of discrimination, or lack thereof, on all topics: from gender inequality to mental or physical disorders. These trials and difficulties are led to add an element of drama and obstacle to character's stories; not to be insulting or restrictive. They protect the immersive and realistic world in which we all enjoy playing, but also allow members the opportunity to explore other world views and create minority-identifying or diverse characters.
Do you have a diverse member group? Yes we do! Our member base ranges from late teen years to people into their sixties. We have members of different sex, gender, age, race, religion, culture and those with mental or physical differences. We also have members on our forum for whom English is a second or third language. From our perspective, so long as you can adhere to the type of writing we encourage here at Aeipathy, we have zero fucks to give on your background, label or "classification". Everyone on Aeipathy is treated with equal respect, excitement and friendliness.
Can I play a character / use a face from outside of Greece or Africa? Yes you can! Whilst our staff team recommend the creation of a character from one of our in play kingdoms to begin with (it can help you get more involved with plots right from the start) you are in no way restricted from creating a character "from Lands Afar". Our only rule on this kind of a character is simple: They cannot know anything of their homeland. They might be a slave brought over to Greece or Africa at a young age, they could be a few generations down immigrant, they could have hit their head and developed amnesia. Whatever you like. The only rule is that any information about their homeland must be kept very limited and vague. This is due to the fact that Aeipathy is gradually expanding. We began with only our Greek realm and now have Africa too. As time goes on we plan on expanding further into a total of seven kingdoms that stretch from the Britannian Isles, across the Arabian lands and into the Far East. As such, we don't want any played character's history conflicting with future realm creation. So long as your character personally knows little of their birthplace, you can create a character with any origin or face claim you like!
Welcome, Friend
Welcome to Aeipathy! Like our name suggests, we are a vibrant, passionate, and dedicated group of roleplayers committed to character development and world-building. Our setting is a fictional/mythical version of the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian areas of ancient Europe. Our style of writing is primarily historical drama. We encourage plotlines based in familial strife, patriotic war, romantic entanglements, political strokes, and the daily lives of the ancient civilisations we have created. Our story also contains elements of myth and fantasy in the inclusion of the deities and Gods that play dice with the lives of man. We are an intermediate to advanced roleplay with no word count and in-profile applications, shippers, and trackers. We have no character limit per member, and we have a member-driven and decided expansion plan for the realms and worlds of the site, ensuring that no one idea or location becomes staid, as we progress and develop as an out-of-character community and as an in-character world.
No-one enjoys joining a site only to discover its not what they thought. If you are someone who: enjoys an immersive and dedicated world of roleplaying in which you can form a personal and emotional connection; is seeking the opportunity to write within and about new cultures, ideas, and worlds; wants to contribute to that culturally diverse world with interesting character development and OOC participation/voting; likes sites with bold and interesting three-dimensional characters who have sides to them that are both evil and good, and enjoys the challenge of creating such characters personally; wants somewhere to test their writing skills and ingenuity with complex and detailed plots, interwoven with many other characters, and relishes the opportunity of playing both hero and villain within the same character; is open to your characters being vulnerable, disliked or harmed by others in a plot driving manner; already loves or is interested in historical settings that are rich in detail, yet open to creative choices and elements brought in by other members; and is looking for a roleplaying home that you can be a part of for a long time to come... then Aeipathy is the place for you. Read below for our out-of-character doctrines and our roleplaying principles to see if you're the kind of person who would love, and thrive within, the world of Aeipathy.
About Us
Now that you know everything about us and our culture, and whether you would fit in with us as a person, you need to know if we're the right place for you as a writer. The below covers all information regarding our style of writing and the expectations we have our of creators... As well as the expectations our members can have of the staff and the site in keeping the plot and writing environment of Aeipathy engaging and inspiring to all.
Our World
Set in ancient times and centred around the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian area of Europe, our geographical location includes present-day Greece, Italy, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Cyprus and stretches out into Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Circa 670 BC, the kingdoms in existence were Greece, the Roman Kingdoms, Anatolia, Babylonia, Egypt, Assyria, and Sumer. While the roleplayable kingdoms of Aeipathy are fictional, it is the culture and history of these countries - historically and currently - that we draw our inspiration from. Each of our realms is based on a real country/empire, while the fictional kingdoms within each realm allow our members to make suggestions and additions to the politics, monarchy or culture without concern for specific historical accuracy, outside the general setting.
Our Level
At Aeipathy, we don't like labelling writing skills. As detailed in our doctrines above, we all have different skills, techniques and abilities in our creative skills. As such, we believe that the lines between writing "labels" is blurry to the point of nonexistent. That being said, in order to try to indicate appropriate writing "level" to both newcomers and current members, we list ourselves as an intermediate-to-advanced roleplay forum. This means that all writers must have a strong command of the English language (though it does not have to be their first language) and must be able to write with an artistic flair and minimal mistakes or inaccuracies. We are welcoming to, and perfectly accepting of, those who have not roleplayed before, provided they have a strong skill in creative writing through some other format. We do not accept members who have only just started on their journey of writing. We apologise that this is the case and - to a certain extent - wish we could be inclusive to all levels of writing, as we promote a healthy growth and learning environment; everyone has to learn somewhere, after all. However, our setting is a detailed one and its atmosphere dramatic and, at times, tension-filled. It is this element of Aeipathy that most attracts her creators and members, and inexperienced writers can break this atmosphere or upset the balance of the setting without intending to. To protect and maintain the writing atmosphere that our members love, we do not allow roleplayers of a lower than "intermediate" level to join us, at this time. If you believe yourself to be of a writing capability that you could be a part of our community, please don't hesitate to join up!
Our Style
The general genre of Aeipathy is historical fiction/drama. We write with a serious, mature and often rough or sharp style that reflects the harsh realism of the historical era. Our characters and stories can be lighthearted and even comedic but the style of our writing is always reminiscent of the severity of the major plots on-going on the site. Our era is the generic term of "ancient times". For a real world equivalent, you're looking at circa 670 BC give or take a century. This is approximately the time frame to include ancient Greece, the formation of the Roman Empire, Egypt's pharaohs and the creation of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. While we have deliberately made our kingdoms fictional, to allow for any historical inaccuracies, we do expect our members to maintain a certain level of formality and language that would be appropriate in an ancient era. Modern day slang or terminology, for example, should be avoided at all times when writing in character.
Our Content
At Aeipathy, we try to encourage all types of roleplay. In general, our genre is historical drama, but this could extend from huge, war-based plots between nations to the smaller, inter-personal dynamics of a husband and wife. Some of the plotting ideas we suggest but which our members are by no means limited to, would be -
Power Struggles
Between royal families or the different lines of royal blood. This could also include elected monarchs or imperial leaders vying for power or glory. While these plots may seem specific, they can branch out and affect whole kingdoms as certain families or individuals attempt to buy popularity or scare a populace into supportive voting.
Political Turmoil
Between believers of different systems. Many of our realms have a Senate, Parliament, or Congress that the royals and imperials are required to listen to or, at least, have the support of. These politicians wield their own power and could be seeking glory for their own name rather than that of their nation.
Military Campaign
Are the locomotive of change. When realms go on long war campaigns in this era, civilians, traders, and bureaucrats are taken along for the ride - not to mention the soldiers and family members the horrors of war are forced upon.
Arena Games
Can be seen, as some of our realms have arenas or coliseums where entertainment can be found in slave executions, gladiator fights, or chariot racing. Gambling is rife at such events and dramatic results can be yielded from an unpaid bet or a crooked games-runner.
Blood Feuds
Between royal and noble families can be extensive, long-lasting, and deadly. You can roleplay the origin of one or continue one that has existed for generations.
Realm Conquest
Is the end result of war. Whether whole kingdoms are being absorbed or just certain villages and areas, the annexing of new land brings strangers and their social conventions into the conquering realm. This can cause discrimination, disquiet, and complex emotions in those now exposed to an alien culture.
Illegitimate Birth
Is common within the ancient realms, given a lack of birth control. Some of our realms even keep harems or allow polygamy. Different or complicated family trees make for great drama.
Personal Antagonism
Is a simple and effective tool for any writer and, like on any roleplay site, it works perfectly on Aeipathy. If your character has some form of personal issue with another, you already have drama, right there.
Romantic Entanglements
Are affairs of the heart that cannot be tamed. Particularly when combined with any of the above plot ideas, romance is a powerful plotting tool open for your use.
Our Structure
Aeipathy is a communal writing experience that offers multiple ways for characters to get involved in stories and plots. We have different types and styles, so that different writers can find their groove on the forum. All plots that are written IC on the forum are canon and will potentially affect your character. Our world is inclusive and its important to keep an eye on the larger plots on the site. The different types of plot and stories that we offer on Aeipathy are listed below:
Global Plots
Global plots are large, inclusive, encompassing and long-running plots that are designed to affect multiple Kingdoms (and sometimes Realms) at once. These might include political marriages between royals, political upheavals, senate issues, war campaigns or trade agreement talks. These plots are published in multiple places on our site including the Current Story section of our Encyclopedia and should be kept an eye on as the results of these plots will affect the world in which all of our characters live.
Kingdom Plots
These are large scale plots that, while important to be aware of in other kingdoms, only actually affect specific kingdoms. This might be the coronation of a new leader, a change in the law, or a festival or event held in the capital and therefore will affect any character within that particular kingdom. These plots are often played out in our site Events.
Events
The Events published on Aeipathy are large-scale, mass player, in-character threads. They are designed to be an open sandbox playing field where everyone with relevant characters can partake and do their own mini-plots or themes within a singular environment. They are also best used as a springboard into other plots and threads. The Event threads are often used by our members as a means for two characters to interact/meet and establish a connection without a thread dedicated to the purpose. This then allows further plotting and thread creation without awkwardly working out how two characters should know one another.
Provincial Stories
Provincial stories are smaller Events that operate in exactly the same way. They are large-scale, mass player, in-character threads. They are almost entirely posted in the Provinces boards of the site and are always set in the past. The results of these Stories are, therefore, limited due to you being unable to write something in the past that would have a huge effect on the future. They, therefore, have less impact on the site as a whole and are used primarily for historical detail and character development.
Quests
Our Quests are infrequent and are designed to be single thread plots, often set in the past, that involve only those who have signed up for the quest in question. Certain characters or members may also be chosen for quests and sent secret private messages with instructions on how to intrude or join an in-progress quest. Quest sign up threads will be posted for members to join, a week before the creation of the quest roleplay thread. Quest threads are rare and should be jumped on immediately if seen - you never know what you'll find at the end of it...
Curveballs
Curveballs are small announcements posted by our staff team that throw current plotting for a minimal number of characters for a loop. This might be an NPC Canon falling suddenly ill, a bad storm disrupting the harvest of a particular province or something affecting the health of a played character. These curveballs can be either negative or positive and are always set in the present, which means they will have an impact on certain characters but they are normally small-scale. They are also a tool our staff team use to redirect plots when necessary to keep stories going if and when our member or character roster changes. Curveballs are voluntary and if those who are affected by them wish to not play them, they can message a member of staff and the Curveball update is removed. Curveballs are not announced beforehand and are a surprise to all - including those they affect.
Personal Stories
These are the plots made by the members regarding their own characters. These can be decided through personal messaging and then played out anywhere on the forum for as many threads as it takes to complete the story. We have dedicated discussion threads for each of the Houses and groups within our community, as well as a general plot discussion channel on our Discord. These features are in place to ensure that everyone can discuss their plots with anyone else they may affect. Remember, we are all connected and are writing a singular story together. Your plot may affect more people than you realise. Communication is key.
Frequently Asked
[attr="id","enc_awards"]Is Aeipathy welcoming to newcomers? Yes! We work hard at Aeipathy to make sure that all of our newcomers feel welcomed. Not only to we ensure that we are both friendly and not too overpowering (we hope!) on your first entrance to our site and server, we're also super welcoming of all new characters and plots. To us, new members means more stories, more diversity and more fun! We are always super eager to have new members join us. We work hard to encourage dynamic character creation, established plots right from the start and future ideas for where your character can go in terms of relationships, development and defining events. For the sole purpose of helping newcomers feel welcomed and having an experienced member to go to when in doubt, we created our Mentor Team. Every member, when they first arrive with us, is assigned a Mentor to help them through any issues they encounter between joining us and getting their first character established on the site.
Is Aeipathy welcoming of Original Characters? Aeipathy has a lot of canons and wanteds available for people to claim - however, we are just as encouraging of original characters. Because of the dynamics we have in place with our Gods and their requirements for opening up immortal apps, the more canons and wanteds we have the more of our established families we collect, but the more original characters we have the more the Gods can mess with our world. As such, it's a win-win for all current members. Whether you take a wanted, a canon or create an original - we all get something new and exciting. At Aeipathy, we're more interested in ensuring that you are writing and roleplaying a character that you enjoy. If such a character idea you want to write coincides with one of our canons/wanted characters, we will often point you in that direction so that you can rp the character you want with already established plotlines. If not, however, we're always 100% happy to meet and greet new original characters to the site!
Aeipathy is so big! Will I get lost in the crowd? Not if we can help it! In terms of OOC - we have a super friendly and welcoming community who are genuinely friends before they are writers. Ergo, we are interested in all of our members - new and old. You will not feel left out of OOC chatter and will always feel welcomed on our Discord server. When it comes to IC chatter, our Discord server is specifically separated for OOC chat and plotting discussion so that newcomers aren't immediately bombarded by names, events and stories they don't understand. These plotting channels become open to them once they have an accepted character on the site. We also have a "Translate, Please!" bot on our server. Just type in a name that seems confusing to you and our bot will spit out the relevant information about that character, member or place. That way, you can keep up with the conversation, even when you're brand new! On top of this, our staff team (while passionate people ourselves who occasionally get carried away) work hard to make sure we're including and "translating" information for our newcomers. So, if you're ever at a loss and the translation bot just isn't cutting it - shout out to our staff team and they'll be happy to jump in and help out!
Can I become involved in global plots or are they just for older members? Yes! We work on an honour system here at Aeipathy: we assume all of our members and characters will be around for a long time to come. From the second they walk in the door. That means, you can get involved with big and global plots right from the start. Our only word of warning on this topic is that, as we are all writing a giant story together here on Aeipathy, it takes time to put in the foundations and introduce characters realistically. When initially joining, we recommend establishing threads and plots with immediate family members and close friends; getting used to the character and feeling out what you want to do with them and allowing our staff to see how they operate naturally. You can then request a larger part in our global story and our staff will be able to work out how to add your character in organically.
Do I have to be involved in the big / global plots? If you're someone who likes to tell their own story, or personal narratives in your character's own little corner of the world, you can 100% do that! Whilst our larger stories are always going on, ensuring you have an ever changing and developing world for your character to exist in, you do not have to be an active part of them - you can do your own thing, no problem!
Aeipathy has so many members already, don't you have cliques? Nope! Honestly, we're not entirely sure how we've managed to have so large a community without distinctive friendship circles being developed, but everyone truly is friends with everyone over here on Aeipathy. All we have are theories on why. Firstly, our staff team are a hugely inclusive force on our Discord and site. Across our staff team, we roleplay with every single member on our forum. Without fail. By including them in stories, translating situations for newcomers (in front of our current members) and basically setting an example of inclusivity, our community has followed suit. Secondly, the way our forum is structured and the way our stories are told makes it hard to form exclusive cliques of friendships. Your single character might be involved in a House, a Guild, a Faction, a big global plot and a few personal ones. All of these groupings and stories are told with other people. All of whom have their own Houses, Guilds etc... Then you decide to make a second character. By the time you have two under your belt (or even just one sometimes) the web of players your storylines have created means you are already connected to a far larger number of writers than you would normally on an rp site. By making so many connections so quickly, its near impossible to fall into a private group. Also, because we tell a singular story here at Aeipathy; each character forming a small but significant and exciting part in it, it doesn't pay to alienate or ignore other members and characters; your story-telling and plotting experiences are better by being considerate of all others and including more folks. By the time all of that is covered, its impossible to sit back in a small group and only roleplay with them. Cliques just don't form and could not survive on Aeipathy.
How much historical knowledge do I have to have, to write here? Absolutely none! We'd be lying if we said that a familiarity with historical books or tv shows/movies isn't advantageous to certain elements of your writing (language, manners and world view etc.) but in terms of knowledge of actual historical events and what was happening back in 672 BC - you don't need to know a thing! Our world is based on the lands and nations of this era but the kingdoms we actually roleplay in are (technically) fictional. You'll notice that many are based on real places (even have the same name - such as "Egypt") but at the end of the day they are an alternative/fictional version of the empires that inspired them. We use real life historical events, as inspiration for our progressing and developing global plot. But we are also not shackled to them. Nor, do we require you to be a classics major and entirely clued up on this era of history. Instead, we have all the lore you need for our fictional kingdoms, here in our Encyclopedia.
Is there a lot of lore to read? Surprising, no. Despite appearances (yes, we can see that there are a lot of links in the contents list to the left) there's not as much reading to be done in order to get started than you might think. On Aeipathy, we have six different kingdoms in order to support and facilitate a diverse roleplaying experience. Each kingdom and realm has their own culture, language, mannerisms etc. As such, all of that information needs to be stored here. However, your character is only going to be the product of one of these kingdoms (maybe two), which means the information you have to read in order to be ready to rp them is limited to only their kingdom of birth and wherever you want to rp them (because yes characters can travel). So, you can decide exactly how "clued up" on our world you need to be. If you're still uncertain, click the warning icon below (or above at the top of the page) and the required/mandatory reading will turn gold. It's really not as much as you would think!
Do you have a wide diversity of characters? We do indeed! Our canons and played character range in age from 10 to into their 80s. We have a balanced number of each sex, we have differing genders and sexualities in play. We have characters with physical and mental disorders in play. We have over forty POC canons, over 30 of Jewish descent, as well as other races and cultural backgrounds for our character. As far as character traits go, our characters are varied and diverse, from narcissistic playboys to quaint seamstresses; from ambitious young women of the court to stoic warriors. We have slaves, gladiators and pirates; we have kings, nobles and senators. We aim to make Aeipathy as immersive and realistic in feel as we can and encourage characters from all walks of life.
Are you "accurate" in how disabilities were approached historically? Yes and no. Our golden rule/line to be drawn here at Aeipathy is that roleplaying and writing should be fun. But that our members are also here because they want to immerse themselves in this particular historical era: with both the good and the bad. Wanting to write and understand previous mindsets regarding our development as a species (even if we now know them to be wrong) is part of the learning experience of writing. But, writing should also be fun. As such, our kingdoms have been written semi-true to history but with a little flexibility here and there. Each kingdom has their own mindset and levels of discrimination, or lack thereof, on all topics: from gender inequality to mental or physical disorders. These trials and difficulties are led to add an element of drama and obstacle to character's stories; not to be insulting or restrictive. They protect the immersive and realistic world in which we all enjoy playing, but also allow members the opportunity to explore other world views and create minority-identifying or diverse characters.
Do you have a diverse member group? Yes we do! Our member base ranges from late teen years to people into their sixties. We have members of different sex, gender, age, race, religion, culture and those with mental or physical differences. We also have members on our forum for whom English is a second or third language. From our perspective, so long as you can adhere to the type of writing we encourage here at Aeipathy, we have zero fucks to give on your background, label or "classification". Everyone on Aeipathy is treated with equal respect, excitement and friendliness.
Can I play a character / use a face from outside of Greece or Africa? Yes you can! Whilst our staff team recommend the creation of a character from one of our in play kingdoms to begin with (it can help you get more involved with plots right from the start) you are in no way restricted from creating a character "from Lands Afar". Our only rule on this kind of a character is simple: They cannot know anything of their homeland. They might be a slave brought over to Greece or Africa at a young age, they could be a few generations down immigrant, they could have hit their head and developed amnesia. Whatever you like. The only rule is that any information about their homeland must be kept very limited and vague. This is due to the fact that Aeipathy is gradually expanding. We began with only our Greek realm and now have Africa too. As time goes on we plan on expanding further into a total of seven kingdoms that stretch from the Britannian Isles, across the Arabian lands and into the Far East. As such, we don't want any played character's history conflicting with future realm creation. So long as your character personally knows little of their birthplace, you can create a character with any origin or face claim you like!