1.1 Concept
Aetolia is an interactive novelworld. In it, you take on the role of a member of any of our many fantasy races who has reached their majority (you can select your character's age from 18-30), with a backstory that is up to your imagination. Through myriad experiences, ranging from sojourns into the deepest dungeons to roles of political leadership, to, if you prove worthy, Ascension to the ranks of the Gods themselves, you will grow as a character in depth and, if you desire, in fame. The first thing to understand about Aetolia is that it is not a game as you may be used to. There is no way to "win" Aetolia; it is an ongoing and everchanging story. Even so, you will find a number of goals to strive for. You may seek, for instance, to become a guildmaster or city ruler, positions of power and honor. Perhaps you will choose to attempt to join the ranks of the greatest combatants of all time by honing your reflexes and putting the vast store of knowledge you must acquire to use in besting another human opponent in the arena of combat. Or, you may desire to gain a reputation as a master craftsman or merchant, leveraging your skills of trade and creation. By thoroughly reading Aetolia's many help files, you will find out enough to get started and to get some glimpses of what may lie ahead of you. By no means, however, is everything in Aetolia included in the help files. We choose to try to fully document everything that new players will encounter, but we prefer to leave the things more advanced players may deal with for them to discover. Aetolia has an automated introduction for new players that will guide you through some of the most basic commands in the game, so we will not explain them here. While all new players begin in the introduction, if you have accidentally left it and wish to return, ask on the NEWBIE channel about it.