The Player’s Handbook will provide you with all the information necessary to create and play your own character in ‘The World of Arcadia’, the game setting for Ilkor: Dark Rising.
Ilkor is an easy game to play, it is alot of fun and it’s highly recommended that you strike up conversations and alliances with other players. One major PBM strength is the in and out of game diplomacy that is largely instigated and run by the players themselves.
Exploration and Mapping of the world is something that can be hugely rewards and can bring about many benefits, especially if this sort of information is shared amongst like-minded PCs for mutual advantage. Knowing where we are, where you need to go and what is around you can be very important in the decision making for your character.
Progression in Ilkor is slow. This is largely a side affect of the PBM hobby and also due to the fact this is a game that I am running in my free time and I’m only able to process turnsheets so fast and still have a family life! There is also a balance between ‘number of players’ and ‘turnaround speed’. My aim is to provide a turnaround of between 1-2 weeks. Due to this slow turnaround characters will advance slowly.
Currently the game has been designed to 15th Level. Obtaining Experience Points is how your character will rise up the levels. I’ve estimated this will take between 5 and 8 real-life years, assuming your character lives! Of course it could take even longer. If the game turns out to be a huge success, there is nothing stopping me from adding additional levels beyond 15th.
Characters start out extremely weak and not much better than a normal peasant. Ilkor is not a game where a PC starts with any real power. It’s highly advised to take note of this. Your character may have aspirations of becoming a powerful mage or a mighty warrior one day, however your PC will be far from this at the start. Player’s need to be patient, start out slow and work their way up the levels. The world of Arcadia is a dangerous place especially for low level adventurers, its much safer to stick to the settlements and main roads.
Join the Game: It’s very easy and quick to join. It’s also free. Free to join and free to play. There are no hidden costs at all.
Character Creation: This takes place very soon after a player has joined (registered). The GameMaster sends the custom Character Creation Form to the player who needs to complete the form and return it.
Turnsheet Submission: Once character creation has been completed the player will be sent a turnsheet. The player will be expected to complete the turnsheet and return it to the GameMaster. The GM will process the turn and return both the results and a new turnsheet.