“How do I get started?”

• Read this page, it’s designed to get your feet wet.
• Go to the Warder Yard main page and look at the links and the annoucements.
• Check the Warder Yard (WY) FAQ and the GT FAQ to learn who's who and what's what.
• You can E-mail the Warder-Channeler Representative (WCR) for the latest issue of the Warder Eyes and Ears Report newsletter, in order to catch up with recent events and announcements.
• Keep in contact with your Mentor and ask questions (see below).
• Take a look at the Raising Requirements page. This outlines the things you will need to do to rise in rank to Ji'alantin/Ji'dar and eventually Gaidin/Gaidar.
• Learn to navigate the Tower in and out of character (see below for a start).
• Keep in mind that the Grey Tower (GT) is VERY social. It's not just a center for creative writing based on WoT, it's also an online community. Feel free to contact people for simply chatting, role-playing, or help.

1. The Master of Arms (MoA)
2. The Master of Training (MoT), Gaidin Captain (GC), and Warder-Channeler Representative (WCR).
3. Gaidin
4. Ji’alantin
5. Drin’far’ji (you)

Mentors
To find out what the mentor system is about, pull down Mentor Listing from the Raising pull-down menu and then click "Mentor Information." You can contact your mentor at any time with questions.

Out of Character (OOC) Navigation:
Most of the links you'll need are provided by the pull-down menus on the left and right of many of the Tower pages. These are what the less obvious ones in the Warder Yard are for:

• The Member List and WoT Cultures are useful for understanding the backgrounds of your fellow trainees and those in higher rank. You can also use biographies of channelers in order to see whom you may want to be bonded to (writing style is a good indicator).
• The Bond Listing is useful for figuring out who is bonded and promised to bond (i.e.: who is taken). Someday you'll be listed there too! Promises are in-character agreements to bond later (usually after both characters are fully raised). E-mail the WCR if you have questions, for she makes bonds and promises official and governs this listing (and others associated).
• Artwork is useful mainly to orient your character (see below).
• The Rules, Schedules, and Punishment pages govern what your character (is allowed) to do. Your character can break these rules, but see the Punishments page for the in-character consequences.
• The Skills and Benefits menu is the hub of what qualifies your character and defines Warders from channeler characters. A certain amount of weapon skill points is required for each raising to the next training rank, so it is important to learn to grasp how the system works! See the Weapon Skills Info. Page first in order to understand the system, then the Member's Skills to see what a typical balance of skill looks like. Use the Weapon Skill Form to submit proof of earning skill to the Master of Arms (MoA). The MoA governs this system, so e-mail him if you have questions.
• Benefits are supplementary to the Weapon Skill System, and optional. Read up on the Benefits Information page in order to understand how they flesh out your character’s attributes and describe his/her fighting style. Similarly, the Benefit listings can demonstrate how certain characters choose to describe what their characters have mastered, and the form submits proof of you mastering these attributes to the Master of Arms (MoA).
• The Warder Officers' Studies is the message board where you post visits to Officers. The board represents the four studies of the Warder Officers. Simply inform the relevant Officer if you report there, such as to request serving a rotation at the Citadel.
• The Hall of Sitters is only viewable to you. Do not post there! The WCR will give summaries of its activities once a quarter in the Warder's Eyes and Ears for your benefit, but it is good to keep an eye on it yourself. The GC represents you there in votes and discussions, so e-mail him if you would like to participate in a thread.
• The Warder Out of Character (WOOC) board is the center of news, announcements, and discussions out of character for the Warder Yard.
• The Warder Day to Day board is "grab bag" of in character interaction in the Warder Yard and among its members. It doesn't really take place in a specific area.
• Training, and Evaluation boards are equated to the in character yards of the Warder Yard. This is where skill points are often earned.
• The Learning Ranks board is dedicated solely to you and your peers in the learning ranks. They can take place in the Warder Yard or the Novice and Soldier Halls (The serpentine building) or the Accepted and Dedicated Halls (the Outer Ring of the Tower).
• The Main Message Board (MMB) is the hub of out of character discussion of the GT. Check this board for important annoucements whenever you're around the Tower.
• The Day-to-Day (D2D) board, the big "grab bag" of in character interactions for the whole Tower.
• The Out of Tower (OOT) board is for short stories that take place outside of the Tower. Major Role Plays often occur out of the Tower, but have more extended stories.
• The Gardens are the favored area for romance and pleasant talks (also useful for practicing weapon forms!) This is another represented area of the Tower.

In Character Navigation:

• On the main page of the Warder Yard site, you'll see a labeled painting of the Warder Yard as your character faces south. Further south the Grey Tower looms and behind you runs the great wall of the Battlements (where you'll be posted for guard duty). The Warder Hall (running east and west) is a four story building that houses the trainees (like you) in barracks, holds in-door classrooms, the Warder Officers' studies, the Executive and Privy Council, matt rooms, and the infamous Loft (home of much naughtiness). There are two buildings that run north and south that store armor and weapons. The Tower blacksmith can sell you such supplies here, and you will be expected to do chores in these buildings learning to maintain valuable equipment. Three yards make up the "Warder Yard": the Training Yard, Sparring Arena, and Evaluation Yard where you will gain skill in wielding weapons.
• Caden Ives Gaidin has expanded upon this by completing several drawings of the interior of the Warder Yard, including the typical room you will be staying in, and your uniform. Be sure to view these before posting such that you will be accurate in your descriptions.
• Ji'dar Amayani do Ciresh a'Sorene and Caden Ives Gaidin have provided this page as well as the Warder Yard main page with graphics that depicts the environment around the Warder Hall. These graphics are displayed on your right hand side. Make sure you click on the links to enlarge the images.
• From the GT Links page under Tower Reference Pages you will find the Maps and Diagrams of the Grey Tower. Use these to orient your character in the Tower. The most useful of which is the Arial view of the Tower that lays out where everything is. For more detail, view the other pictures that describe specific areas.

Other Useful Areas:

• GT FAQ - Information about the Grey Tower
• The Hall of Ajahs - Links to all the Ajah sites.
• Portrait Gallery - Visual representations of GT members.
• Class Listings - Check under Weaponry to find classes that will gain you weapon skills, others may offer Advantages. There are often faster ways to fill requirements than one-to-one training and spars.

The Test of Survival:

• If simple physical survival wouldn't be a challenge for one Drin' then his player should come up with a psychological challenge to push his character in further development. The physical survival is only half of the criteria for the Drin' to become a Ji'.
• Wilderness survival training takes place either off-stage or is explicitly role-played, such as with a Mentor - the player doesn't have to pass a class or gain the Advantage, it just happens IC.
• See: Ashram's archived class on Wilderness Survival and Tracking
• The psychological aspect parallels the Three Arches - which at the GT is written in the form of a mandatory fan-fiction.
• The player is expected to challenge their character and induce growth and change; it has to do with self-sufficiency on their character's part.
• The testing scenario.

Manners and Etiquette:

• Do not, I repeat, DO NOT god mode! God moding is defined as role-playing in an unrealistically powerful or skilled manner. The Weapon Skill System is here for a reason.
How Not to God Mode by Accident:
• Use the Member’s Skill page to determine the gist of who will win in a spar or fight. If your fellow trainee is Skilled (3pts.), and you are Trained (1pt.) in sword, your character should lose unless something unusual happens.
• For NPC shadowspawn, keep in mind that Trollocs are roughly Competant (2 pts.) or Skilled (3 pts.), but Fades are Experts (5 pts.). As a Trainee, you won’t be able to take on a Fade unless you’re extremely lucky.
• If another character has an Advantage in something, and you do not, respect it (i.e.: if another character is a master of Disguise, and you are not, you almost certainly won’t be able to tell if they are not who and what they say they are).
• Respect in-character authority. It’s considered childish and poor writing to role-play a modern teen in angst, unless it’s central to your character. Respect out of character for Officers is also important, simply because they volunteer their free time to maintain and develop the site.
Tips On How Not to Show Disrespect by Accident:
• In character, address all fully raised GT members by their rank (i.e.: Sarine Sedai, Sitter Josua Asha’man, Tomas Gaidin, Captain Akilah Gaidar).
• See: Rules for Trainees for protocol when addressing those of higher rank in character.

On Males and Female Ranks:

Since GT ranks are often described in the Old Tongue (Gaidin, Aes Sedai, Ji’alantin, Drin’far’ji), we have equivalent terms for females in the traditional male Warder ranks. The “in” at the end of Gaidin and Ji’alantin is replaced by “ar” to indicate a female of equal rank. However, many of our web pages use the male term to signify both genders. Similarly, females can apply equally to Officer positions, and the Officer title changes accordingly (i.e.: Master of Arms becomes Mistress of Arms). Make sure to address them as so.

On Councils:

Collectively, the MoA, MoT, GC, and WCR are called “The Executive Council” even if they’re not formally meeting. See the WY FAQ for their job descriptions.

General advice

• You are recommended to sign OOC posts with your name, and rank as if it were an in character letter. Include an e-mail address and/or IM screen name when appropriate.
• When you write to the Admin (greytower1@yahoo.com) in the subject line please include “Attn:” and title of the Officer you are writing to, even if you include another topic header (i.e.: Weapon Skills Attn: MoA).
• In character, do not mention weapon skill points. Instead, use the verbal descriptions such as "Trained" "Skilled" "Expert" etc. The term “weapon skill points” should only be used out of character.