Some say that with great power comes great responsibility. For a roleplaying game, DarkStorm gives a lot of power to the player. Most roleplaying games of this type limit content creation to game masters or moderators. Most with a class or profession system are also balanced by the creator(s) to give everyone an even playing field. Also, many adopt the MMOG view of characters starting weak and gaining power over time. We used to have all this with DarkStorm Classic, but things have changed.

DarkStorm is supposed to be heavily story-driven. Why must Desperado and the game masters drive the entire story? Players have the power they need to create their own!

• Characters don't need to start as commoners. Your character can already be powerful when you begin, because he or she will potentially have a back story.
• Every player can design and host events and storylines, as long as they are within the boundaries of the overall plot.
• Every player can have an unlimited number of characters.
• Items can be created by anyone.
• Characters are not balanced, leading to more realistic situations.

Some may like all this, while others may worry. This freedom provides a lot of room for creativity, but every player needs to understand his or her responsibilities in DarkStorm.

---------------------------------------------------

- Currency is not unlimited, and a character should not be roleplayed as having unlimited wealth.

- Characters are not invulnerable. There may be a tendency for new players to fight indefinitely until they "win", but this is truly not interesting from the standpoint of one's own storyline. The protagonist in most stories is not invincible, and could even fail many times at whatever challenges get in the way. It could be more interesting to follow a character who is struggling with a difficult quest, than to follow an evil warlock who can play billiards with planets. Well... Such a warlock would be pretty awesome, but you get the point. =P

- Classes are not balanced, but that doesn't mean you have to pick the most powerful of them. Just set up a character who is cool in your opinion, and not one who can simply win battles. You're writing a story... There's no battle system to worry about, just be creative.

- If you want your character to realistically survive through a bad situation, escape or rescue are probably good alternatives to becoming super-human (or super-caeriu!).

- The best equipment should have a story behind it. Without a story, even the most destructive of weapons probably won't be that impressive. There are no stats and no battle system, so you should try to make your character interesting, which includes his or her equipment. A great place to seek cool stuff is during events, because a reward could have more of a meaning than merely a name. Remember that over time, your character's equipment could be made legendary through one's actions. For example, your steel claymore could have a name, and could eventually be known as "the blade that felled...", "guard of the...", "...-bane", or whatever else that makes sense. You can get as creative as you'd like!

- If an item is not realistically accessible, such as a "skyrite" weapon, then only Desperado (the admin, not the class =P) can provide it. Try to be somewhat realistic about your character's equipment.

- Your character is not realistically a friend to everyone. Go ahead and make some enemies, but remember that in reality you're interacting with real people. Try not to go too far with hostility, because there's no need to make real-life enemies as well!

- There's no need for excessive descriptions of death and similar things. It is fine just to say that someone was defeated. Blood and injuries don't always need to be mentioned unless it is particularly important for some reason.

- Nothing should be posted that is against the general guidelines for our forums. This is common sense, but should be mentioned anyway.