Mendos is right. I have noticed quite a few completely new players recently. Some of you are definitely on the right path, but I've also interacted with some who I worry might not do well/come back. So, in that spirit, here are some of Sam's friendly OOC tips on being a newbie in CF (since I was one at one time).

1) Keep your head up. Honestly, that's the most important thing. As anyone who knows my forum identity knows (or those who read the main board today) I tend to get discouraged by things I don't like about CF. That's not the right attitude to enjoy the game. Instead, you should act like I did when I played my first character, when I was a newbie. If anyone wants to look at the link for the character here it is: http://forums.carrionfields.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=4&topic_id=43130&mesg_id=43130&listing_type=search and http://forums.carrionfields.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=31&topic_id=8396&mesg_id=8396&listing_type=search.

Basically, my goal for that character was to con-die. I had no illusions of getting to level 51, getting a title, having fun. My main goal was TO LEARN. I didn't give a crap about anything else. And I always put effort into RP.

As a new player, I guarantee if you do that, you'll get rewarded somehow. It might be finding out how to PK as your class. It might be making other players notice you (and that can lead to good things for you). It might be allowing the IMMs to notice you (which happened with Kruuank).

If you do that, you'll learn even more than you ever could by reading a "manual" or learning the secret cheat codes.

2) Always try to put yourself in the character. If you're playing a necromancer, then if I am an paladin, we probably aren't going to get along. You may roleplaying a "friendly" necromancer, but the paladin class is meant to be a "bastion" of goodness and raising people from the dead isn't in line with their RP.

Basically what I am trying to say is even if I notice you're "new" as a paladin, if you're playing a necromancer I'm still going to try and kill you. Just maybe not more than once.

3) Post-death RP. I've found this is both a blessing and curse of CF. Bad post-death RP can ruin a character. Great post-death RP can MAKE a character. Some of the best character interactions I've ever had on CF were post-death. Alriac/Kruuank, Zesam/Thrakazhaar. DON'T BE AFRAID TO TRY AND GET TO KNOW CHARACTERS. Some of us vets will put stuff in our description begging for people to talk about it. I hate when my description says "wears a pink fluffy hat" and no one ever asks me about the hat. The players you're going to want to meet are the types that appreciate this. If you die to me, and then you ask me what you did wrong and try to initiate RP with me I'm going to go OUT OF MY WAY TO HELP YOU OUT OOC.

4) Don't be afraid to use the newbie channel a ton. I know it can be discouraging sometimes as it's not always as helpful as it could be, but nothing is perfect. My recent lowbie invoker got asked to group by a storm giant. I tried my hardest to explain a Bloodoath invoker would not be the best groupmate for a storm giant, but at the same time I'm not going to break RP to do it. IF THE NEWBIE IN QUESTION HAD SAID SOMETHING ON NEWBIE CHANNEL I COULD HAVE EXPLAINED. Maybe that's on me (or other veterans though). Perhaps I should have gone on the newbie channel and said something like 'Yo, newbie, I told you to piss off because we can't group, not because I hate you or anything'.

5) Focus on getting better at RP. PK skill will come through learned skills over 100s of hours. You can be an RP super-star from the very first hour of your first character though.

Daevryn (an IMM who most players love to talk about since he's been here from the beginning and is widely considered the best PKer) always said his favorite roles were really simple ones done right. You don't have to be the Half-Demon Half-Angel Elf with 6 different multiple personalities to stand out. You can be the failed Voralian guardsmen who decides that the Law can't protect all the innocents from evil. You can be the bastard son of a former Imperial Shadow Lord who wants the world to know his name. You can be a simple farmer who's house and farm gets burned down by battling mages (it's cliche because it works people!).

If I can think of any more tips I'll make sure I post them under this thread. Good luck to all of you! It's your game just as much as it is ours!