Roleplay Starter

Server structure

Overview

Most new roleplay servers die of ambition: forty channels for eleven people, a lore bible nobody reads, and three scenes running in empty rooms. This is the opposite. There are three in-character channels and that is deliberate — #main-scene where the story actually happens, #side-scene for a pair who wandered off, and #quiet-moments for the slower character writing that would otherwise be crowded out. Adding a fourth is the reward for the first three being busy, not the starting point. Getting Started holds #read-this-first, a single page covering the setting, the tone and the posting expectations, and #character-sheets, where a new player posts one character and a Storyteller approves it. Approval is the one piece of ceremony worth keeping at this size: it is what stops the server filling with characters nobody can write scenes with. Out of Character is where a small server actually lives: #ooc-chat, #plot-ideas for what people want to happen next, and #looking-for-scene, which is the single most important channel in any small roleplay server because it is how two people who are both free find each other. The Setting category is two read-only channels — #the-world and #cast-list — kept short on purpose, because lore expands to fill whatever space it is given. One Storyteller, one Player role, one Newcomer role that cannot post in character until a sheet is approved.

When to use it

The commonest way a roleplay server fails is by launching with the structure of a server ten times its size: every scene channel is empty, the lore channels are unread, and new players cannot tell where anything is happening. This layout starts with three scene channels and grows only when they are busy, keeps character approval so the cast stays writable, and puts the looking-for-scene channel where a small group can actually find each other.

What makes it different

• Three in-character channels, not forty, so scenes are busy instead of scattered.
• Character approval keeps the cast small enough that everyone can write with everyone.
• A looking-for-scene channel, which is what a small group needs most and rarely has.
• The lore is two short read-only channels, because lore expands to fill any space given.

Recommended Vetox setup

• Applications

  Run Applications on #character-sheets so each character arrives as a reviewable entry a Storyteller can approve or send back.

• Auto Roles

  Give arrivals the Newcomer role automatically so nobody can post in character before a sheet is approved.

• Welcomer

  Point Welcomer at #read-this-first, since the whole setting fits in one page and reading it is the only requirement.