Guide

The player guide system is one of Rhizome's new player engagement tools. One key factor in retaining new players in an RPI is how quickly a new player can experience their first roleplay exchange with another character. Player guides in Rhizome are experienced players who have been selected by staff to fill this role for new players, helping us retain newbies. As part of the character initialization process, new players are rowed to shore in a rowboat. At this point, they are provided the opportunity to wait for a guide to puppet the oarsman to row them ashore. Player guides online at this point will be given a notification to occupy that oarsman and given the tools to roleplay.

Guides are occupying an oarsman with experience ferrying people to the shores of Hyphae, and therefore can use this position to impart wisdom and give advice to new players. Some suggestions:

1. Ask the new player about their character's profession or desired profession, and give them advice on organizations (NPC or player) that can support them, or where to harvest/craft/train for the profession they want
2. Warn the new player about dangerous areas to avoid and relatively safe areas to prioritize, local services, and how to reach town
3. Inform the new player about current events, what is happening in the colony, major battles, conflicts with the natives, or important shifts in the balance of power.

Ultimately, player guides are trusted to make the scene entertaining and informative to new players as they roleplay rowing them to shore. This is an important job. As such, it is not a thankless one. In addition to the one standard weekly play point that all players can get via gameplay, player guides receive one extra play point per week so long as they guide a new player into shore.

Accepting a position as an oarsman after being notified will stage you to leave your character as soon as the new player EMBARKs from the frigate, so you may be suddenly transported elsewhere and your main character logged out, so make sure you get yourself into an acceptable position for that to happen before accepting. If you remain idle as an oarsman for more than five minutes, the scene will automatically end, so do not accept and then go afk. All guide scenes are logged automatically for staff to make sure no abuse is happening from or to guides.

Command           Where            Does
guide             your character   Lists who is waiting at the rail and whose
                                   seat you hold, if any
guide accept      your character   Takes a seat. With several travelers
                                   waiting you pick one from a numbered list;
                                   then you pick which oarsman to play. Blank
                                   cancels either list. Case doesn't matter
                                   (GUIDE ACCEPT works)
guide release     your character   Gives up a seat you hold, before the
                                   traveler embarks
cast off          as the oarsman   Ends the scene: you return to your own body
                                   and the boat rows ashore
staff <message>   as the oarsman   Sends one line to every staff member
                                   online. Nobody in the boat sees it
release           as the oarsman   Also returns you to your body (the same
                                   command GMs use to leave a possession); the
                                   boat rows on