I'd like to join AoC, so now what?
First, are you familiar with Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series of books? It's perfectly fine if you are not, but it should influence the type of character you create. We allow all new members to create any type of character they would like, but the older and more complex the character, the longer and more detailed history we require for the application.

We have four types of beginning level characters for new members who do not have a lot of familiarity with the Wheel of Time, and we try to work in these types of characters into our storyline a little slower than some of the other types of characters which require more attention to background information.

Novice of the White Tower - Novices are beginning-level female spellcasters. Aes Sedai are fully trained spellcasters, and they reside in the White Tower. Aes Sedai are always female, and this plays an important part of the story line of AoC. Novices are just beginning to learn to use their power, and we guide novices through some of the history and background of the story through classes. The classes are not required, but we encourage participation and suggest you at least read those threads to familiarize yourself with the background story of the Wheel of Time world. A novice goes through a test to rise to the level of Accepted. We require only that you have 50 posts, in any forum but the games forum, and add the description of your test to your profile. You may choose to roleplay it out, which is fine, but not required. Another 50 posts, and a description of your second test is required to be raised from Accepted to Aes Sedai. The purpose of the post limit is mainly to help you get acquainted with the background and history of the site.

Warder Recruits - Warders are male fighting-based protectors of Aes Sedai. They bond with Aes Sedai using a spell that not only connects them and the Aes Sedai so they are able to sense the emotions and whereabouts of each other, but it also gives the Warder longer life and extra strength. Warders are not spellcasters, but learn to fight with sword, staff, knife, and by hand. Recruits are able to raise to full Warders after 50 posts by having an Aes Sedai has to agree to accept the character as a Warder.

Soldiers of the Black Tower - The Black Tower is where the male casters reside, and fully trained male casters are called Asha'man. In the past, male channelers went insane from using their power, which was tainted by evil. The taint was removed, but male casters are still met with distrust and suspicion. Soldiers also raise to Dedicated after 50 posts and a summary of their experience as a Soldier in their profile, and again using the same process to full Asha'man.

Citizens - In our story world, there are all types of citizens, but the most common are merchants. Tar Valon, the city where AoC is primarily set, is rich and full of activity. Other types of citizens can include Gleemen, which are bards, regular soldiers and guards of the city, and sailors, as Tar Valon sits on a large port. Shadier citizens, such as thieves and rogues, require a more complicated application, which you are free to attempt.

Caster Scores
To make things fair, we've implemented a dice roll caster level system. After your profile has been approved, an admin will send you a set of numbers from an online dice roller. There are five numbers, which you will assign to Air, Fire, Water, Earth, and Spirit, and the overall score determines how strong your character is in the One Power.

Every caster on the site, from admins to novices are subject to the dice roller, and we're keeping strict records, along with copies of the emails. Within the Aes Sedai, strength in the One Power determines the social pecking order. This is not so much true for the Black Tower or the Kin.

Because you do not know your caster strength before you are approved, please do not make any references to how powerful your character is in your application.

Notes on Character Creation
1. Talents are by application after 150 posts on one character. We do not deny talents from our list if they are well explained with a solid reason for roleplaying them. However, each player is only allowed to apply one talent to one character, so choose your talent and the character to which to apply the talent wisely. You may suggest new talents, but there needs to be a solid roleplaying reason for adding that talent, and we reserve the right to deny any new talents.
2. We do allow for characters to become Darkfriends, but they must make a secret application after having at least 100 posts. On AoC, Darkfriends are "secret" and cannot become visibly "dark" without submitting the plot to the admins for approval. They have a secret plotting forum where players may develop secret plots and have their characters work them outwithout letting on that they are a Darkfriend. The application must show a sense of detail, and a solid understanding of our plot and the Wheel of Time world. The number of Darkfriends is also limited in ratio to the number of members on the site. We also keep it in ratio of the numbers of staff to members (i.e. we don't want staff to take up all the positions). The application can be found in the signups forum under the plot developments forum.


AoC Character Creation Forum