Welcome to Gaia! ::

Aerandir Character Creation
-Some hints on creating and working with your Aerandir character.
There are some significant differences between Aerandir and humans. Aerandir in general have a stronger sense of community, and they tend towards heavy specialisation - they will become interested in a particular job early in life, and pursue that occupation for their entire life. They will always tend to be helpful and trusting - sometimes even to the point of naivete - with a generally hopeful outlook on life. They will not become raging hormonal beasts at the adolescent stage (as described in the stages section in the front page), nor will they be suspicious or paranoid as a matter of course.

This does not mean that your characters have to be limited. Trustworthy, loyal Aerandir could dislike another just as much as we could - they will just deal with it differently. Aerandir can still be egotistical, quiet, loud, bouncy etc., but in a different way to humans. Remember this when you RP.

Please note that if any of the Aerandir start being played as manic depressive, suicidal or just really nasty, I will remove them from their owners. The Aerandir start with healthy, well-balanced personalities, and are much less subject to hormonal and chemical imbalances than humans, so such a situation could only have been caused by neglect on the part of the guardian. Not only will they be showing that they haven't read these notes, but they will have demonstrated that they cannot give their child what they need to be emotionally healthy.

Other notes:
Not all Aerandir will be able to fly well, or indeed at all. If the species of bird from which your Aerandir takes part of their attributes is not a strong flier, then your Aerandir should not be either. Strength, speed and agility are the three aspects you should consider. Most species are defined by one of these attributes being much greater than the others - for example, a hummingbird is highly agile, with a little speed but no strength; whereas a raven has a lot of strength, but very little speed or agility.

Regarding jobs, you should remember that although each Aerandir has an innate store of knowledge of their job, most Aerandir children will need to be taught, at least to some extent. For instance, a child born to be a woodworker will not become a wonderful carver overnight. She may have a feel for the grain of the wood that seems uncanny to a human, and she will learn remarkably quickly and intuitively - but she will still have to learn and practise hard in order to become proficient.

Individual Aerandir should also try not to stray over the boundaries of other Aerandir jobs. Our carpenter may be able to make some basic wooden jewellery, but she would have to concentrate much harder and take much longer than a jeweller, and her work would appear much less skilled. In general, the different types should work together, and any overlaps should only occur if something is needed and there is no suitably qualified person - for instance, a well-read spellweaver might be able to work up some basic healing salves after some research if there were no herbalists in the tribe.

Other Aerandir
Which brings us onto other Aerandir. You should undertake as much interaction with others as is possible, to help your Aerandir socialise and get to know their peers and companions. They will be able to explore their own and others' personalities, as well as giving you something to roleplay and to write about in your journal.

Aerandir may work together on projects, find new ways to apply their talents, explore their environment, make or do useful things, or just have fun - possibly all at once. They should also be willing to use their abilities for the benefit of their island 'group'.

Acceptable Owner Characters
No giant mecha, please. If you bring a mecha to the island, it will immediately be pounced on by spellweavers and immolated, drowned, buried in earth, then turned into a giant metal chicken.

Generally, having a character who is bent on the destruction of the world (or solar system, galaxy, universe, etc) is not a good idea either. Why would such a character choose to help a species such as the Aerandir return? They're too cheerful to be enlisted into an evil empire army, after all.

However, powerful characters are allowed - though I ask that you keep your power under check, and try not to overuse it for your own benefit. For instance, in-character Alyosha is a kitsune with some fairly powerful water-elemental powers, but he's usually too laid-back to use them (apart from occasionally giving Ieyasu a well-deserved soaking...) Generally, I ask what most GMs would ask of their roleplayers - balanced and relatively believable characters which fit into the setting.

I would also discourage those who wish to play a particularly angsty or depressed character. Although there is no formal in-character selection process for Aerandir guardians, Alyosha keeps an eye on prospective island occupants, and such a character would not be allowed to look after an Aerandir on the basis that they would probably be unable to bring up an Aerandir without causing them stress and mental problems. A bit of angst or depression is perfectly warranted, given appropriate justification, but every second post is a bit much.

If you have an existing character which you use around Gaia, you can either bring them to the islands (provided they don't fall afoul of the rules above) or you can create a new character specifically for use in the Aerandir RP. If you're thinking of bringing your own character, you should perhaps consider the setting and existing inhabitants - for instance, a cyberpunk-esque gunslinger would not fit in particularly well on Cetalu.

An interesting alternative is to use an alternate version of your character - returning to Alyosha, his character on Cetalu is the same person as the character I played in another Gaia RP, but many years later, much mellower, and with a desire to make something useful of himself for a change.

Joining the Aerandir RP with your character does not preclude you from participating in other RPs at the same time (although we do ask a certain minimum level of commitment, which is detailed in the rules) but since the island chain is quite distant from the mainland, you may wish to split the RP off somehow - for instance, by implying that other RPs take place some time before or after the Aerandir RP, or in an alternate timeline, or even - as two of our guardians have done - creating a magical duplicate of yourself in order to send it to the island while you remain at home or vice versa.

Other pets are acceptable, although you should keep in mind that accommodation is relatively basic and space is limited.

'NPCs'
Most 'NPCs' you encounter on the islands are in fact played by separate people, rather than just being mule accounts for myself. You should treat NPCs as you would other guardians, since they are full characters and players in their own right, working towards the upkeep of the Aerandir and their habitat. The term 'NPC' (Non Player Character) applies only to the fact that they are not guardians, rather than meaning that they are only there as simple entities for the providing of information or items.

The NPCs - Osero, Rahujo, Anthony, myself and any archaeologists 'present' - are there if you ever need to ask a question, get some training for your Aerandir (or even yourself), obtain some unusual or hard-to-find item, or even just have a spot of RP. The players behind the NPCs are real people, and people who like to interact - so don't be shy >.o

Homes
"Homes" are an important part of the Aerandir RP. The first thing you are generally asked to do on arrival is claim a house on your assigned island, and create your home by making a post on the front page of your journal describing your dwelling. It doesn't need to be long, and it can take the form of a sketch or plan rather than paragraphs of text, just as long as you do something to show that you have a livable space suitable for taking care of a young Aerandir. Until this is done, your artifacts will remain separated, since it will be assumed that you are still moving in and setting up your home.

All homes on the island are of small-to-medium size, with only three rooms on the ground floor (living room, kitchen and bathroom) and a large attic space. They are made out of sturdy, leakproof wood and mud-brick, with a thatched roof, and some have porches or verandas. Each house sits on enough land for a reasonably sized garden or yard. Additions and alterations may be made to the houses, but the limited transportation will preclude anything drastic - it's hard enough getting basic supplies onto the islands, let alone building materials and labourers, so most building is done using local wood, stone, clay, earth and so on.


Setting Notes
There is only one ferry per week. This means you shouldn't be "nipping off to the mainland" and getting back in time for tea.

The only way to travel between islands is by a small motor boat or a canoe. Travelling to any non-inhabited islands is prohibited to guardians, although Aerandir may explore some when they are old enough to fly there unaccompanied.


(more may be added)

A rough guide to the animalsyou may find in and around the Islands.

Sea Birds:
Sea birds are common arounds the Islands though they tend to nest on Uissa rather than any of the other Islands.
Species found include:
Gulls
Cormorants
Terns
Albatross'
Boobys
Petrels
Shearwaters
Penguins (Humbolt) though rarely seen.

Land Birds
Shore species:
Herons
Oyster catchers
Avocets
Plover

Inland species:
Egrets
Warblers
Mockingbirds
Doves
Cuckoos
Swifts
Swallows
Cockatoos
Parrots

Mammals:
Various bat species
Numerous small rodents (rats, mice)
Pikas / Rabbits / Hares
Small Wildcats (some indigenous species)
Squirrels
Civets
Weasels
Martins
A few small monkey species (vervet, tamarin type)

Sea Mammals:
Seals
dolphins (common, grey and bottlenose)
small whale species 'within' the reef (e.g. Minke)
larger whale species outwith the atoll (e.g. blue, sperm) infrequent visitors.

Reptiles:
Sea iguanas
various small lizards
A few non-venemous snake species

Amphibians:
Frogs - tree frogs (few standing water species)
Toads
Newts

Fish:
Shiny happy bright fish >_> (Think finding nemo)
Several edible types such as salmon, cod, mackerel, sunfish, snapper and swordfish. MAny larger species found on the outer sea rather than inner coral-ey areas.


This list does not, in any way, cover all ofthe creatures found. A general guide is to look at species found in tropical island habitats. As a general rule there will be no largecarnivores and larger versions of usually smaller species. You may even make up your own species if they fit within that niche. If you wish to make up your own pecies for the Island, taking into account the above rules then please PM me with the details and I'll add them to the "indigenous species" list smile

Indigenous Species
(example)
Black Wild Cat
Description: A small-ish wildcat with a black coat which preys on small birds and rodents.
Where found: generally inhabits areas within the forest and stays away from coastal regions
Notes: Generally has 3-6 young, is nocturnal and is fond of swimming in freshwater pools. Has been known to 'fish' from time to time.

The village is located at the southeast of the third largest Island (Cetalu - Ke-ta-loo) in the atoll. It is surrounded on three sides by forest, the other being open to grass and (being an Island) the sea. The village itself has been paved to make sure the many footsteps of the archaeologists, keepers and Aerandir don't turn it into a mudy slurry.

To the lower end of the village stands the community centre which has several rooms - a kitchen, bathroom (with a link to the outdoor hot baths), a main lounge area, 6 spare rooms (3 currently in use) and Alyosha's apartments.

The village houses themselves are quite spacious. They contain three rooms and have a large outside storage. The main room and bathroom are located downstairs as well as the hearth and a small wooden ladder connects to the sleeping area upstairs. Windows are small but numerous, allowing many beams of light into the houses. There are plenty of blankets and screens provided for those who need them. In any other way keepers should feel free to customise their lodgings - the walls are simple constructions which may allow for some (though not too much) enlargement / adding to.
The storage areas house wood for the fire and anything else you might wish to put there. They are compartmentalised to allow for this space. If you need storage for anything larger / more delicate there is always extra space within the community centre.

To the north of the Island is a densely forested area, to the east and west, beaches. On the west coast, at each promonitory there is a tall wooden watchhouse which has views over the other islands in the atoll. There also appears to be a sunken vessel off of the west beach within the shallow water area. Just off the coast (and linking between some Islands) is a shallow water area. Aerandir should not venture past this area either whilst swimming or flying until they are adults as, if an accident occurs, they may not be strong enough to get back to shore. The deepwater has treacherous currents and high waves.

The archaeology site on this Island has now been closed and covered over. Specimens are being examined at the moment.