New to ERT? Here's some info that might be useful

[ERT-RPG 2]

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So you decided to join ERTRPG or maybe you are still thinking about it.  Well there's a few threads on the forums already that should help you out already but they don't seem to get read.  Well here's another one that likely won't get read but it could be useful to you.

ERTRPG is an emergency services text-based roleplay that does it's roleplaying on the forums you are browsing right now.  If you scroll down further you will see sections called 'stations', 'emergency call area', and 'social life'.  That's where we do our roleplaying.  Sorry but we don't do our roleplaying on games such as GTA, Emergency 4, Flashing Lights, FiveM, etc....

Upon joining you will be asked to make a character.  For help on making a character go to the +create option on the top of the forums and select 'character' and fill out the name of your character, add a picture of your character in the avatar, and add character information in character biography for your character.  For character info all we really want to see is the full name of your character and date of birth though you can also add things like height, hair color, eye color, and a history of your character's background if you so choose.

As new members to ERT you will have the option to join one of the three main departments: Fire, EMS, and Sheriff.  You will also be starting off on Probation so the title you will add in character creation will either be Probationary Firefighter, Probationary EMT, or Probationary Deputy.  You can make additional characters to the other departments but they will also start off on probation.  Furthermore you can not make another character in the same department until you pass probation.  However at least once you pass the probation period your second character in said department won't have to go through the probationary period.

A tip for making your character: make them realistic by not making them over the top.  A good character isn't perfect.  They have flaws so don't try to make a badass character who never misses shots or never loses fights.  Don't try to make their flaws over the top either. 

Another tip: please make your character human.  While we do not discriminate based on sexual or gender orientation we are, as I have said, a RP based on realism.  Hence we are not PAW Patrol, Zootopia, an Intergalactic Space organization, or the Knights of some sci-fi fantasy based world.  Feel free to use a drawing or a picture of someone for your character's profile/avatar picture but just please make them human.

Some other threads you can read to help you with your character:

Character Sheets

How do the Character Tabs work?

Make sure to fully fill out the stuff in character creation because you won't be able to add or change anything until an admin approves of your character.

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Now that we've talked about characters let's talk about the world we roleplay our characters in.  ERT takes place in a fiction county called Shiloh County that is located in a fictional state called Saratoga.  Thus even though our world is based on reality it is fictional and some historical events in real life, like Covid-19, have been excluded from happening in our world.

Full information on Saratoga and Shiloh is located here

There are 9 towns/cities in Shiloh County from the metropolis that is Ft. Shannon, to the suburbs of Oxnard, and the rural areas of Kimberly.  Make sure to check out the threads for each city and town in the county for maps.   After all this is where your character lives.

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That should probably cover information about the world we roleplay in.  Now about how we roleplay.  We roleplay in the 1st person and use ' for talking and " for talking on the radio or for yelling.  Simple right?  If you need more of an explanation on this topic refer to the following threads:

General Text RP Information

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By now we've talked about what ERT is, character creation, the world we roleplay in, and how we roleplay.  Now here is some additional stuff that I couldn't figure out where to place in this thread.

As mentioned before when you create a character as a new member that character will be put on probation.  This means that there might be things your character would be restricted from doing unless told otherwise.  Some things that would be restricted includes driving and using the radio.  For Probationary Deputies a restriction from being able to carry a patrol rifle also applies.  Yes, I understand that might be frustrating but if you do well in your probationary period you won't be on it for very long.  Just be active, listen to your FTO, and understand that ERT is not all about the big calls that involve shootouts or five alarm fires.  Small calls matter too.

Though totally optional feel free to make a home for your character in home life.  We like to see characters do more than just show up for work just to go through the motions.  It adds depth to your character if they have a social life and can potentially create a good story for everybody to enjoy.  After all creating stories is why we roleplay in the first place, isn't it?

Last thing to probably bring up.  Every Department has a section to display their policies, station layouts, and show reference pictures for the vehicles in said department.  Make sure you go through them so you can get picture of how things look and to know more info about each department's policies.

Sheriff

Fire & EMS

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Use this sheet to fill out character information for your character's profile:

Name: <Rank/Title> <First Name> <Middle Name> <Last Name>

DOB:
Current Address:
Job/Title:

Previous Residences (including hometown):

Height:
Weight:
Hair Color:
Eye Color:
Distinguishing Features:

Family:

Biography:

Employment history:

[ERT-RPG 2]

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Under this site, we'll be using IP.Characters, an app designed for RP sites to make it a lot easier. 

For game purposes, feel free to create your primary account to whatever name you want. For this, it'll be considered your Out of Character Account. 

To create a character to play with, click create in the top, and then choose character. Create their profile for the character.

When you create your character, you'll be given several fields to fill in. 

Name: Your first initial and Last Name. 

Title: Your rank, any titles you might have with that. 

Avatar: This will no longer be where your badge goes, but instead where your character's face goes. The way InvisionCommunity handles avatars, your picture will appear best if you upload a square image (make blank space on the short side if necessary) and center your face in the frame.

Signature: Staff will handle this for the most part, but you can fill in some details yourself. Your signature image, with the first and Last name, as well as an prefixes or suffixes, followed by unit, and then badge number.  Fill in as much as you can, if you don't know, staff will complete that when your profile is approved.

Character Biography: Formerly posted in blogs, you can now attach your biography directly in the profile. This is an unlimited text box, so load away. 

Badge: This area is for staff to upload your badge image, or applicable ID or Leather front as needed. Staff will upload this for you. 

ID Card: This new area appears only on your profile and will be submitted by staff. An ID wallet, or Badge Wallet will be visible on your profile with this field. 

When posting, you can choose a character, who can be either your Out of Character, or any of the characters you've created. If this is not your primary (OOC) account,  when you post, it'll say player: and your primary name. 

This will make it easier for players, but also for knowing who you talk to! 

Post any support questions here.