The Roleplaying Academy

[OmniChaos]

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The Roleplaying Academy
Where We Gather in the Name of Improvement
=========================

Greetings, salutations, and hello. Welcome to the prestigious Roleplaying Academy, where our goal is to help you become a better roleplayer. Don't be shy. Come. Sit down. There is no reason for you to feel any sort of embarrassment. After all, why should you? No one is perfect, everyone can improve their writing and roleplaying abilities in one way or another, even our mentors.

We offer a wide range of specific courses that help improve everything from world-making to character development and a variety of different mentors for you to pick from, so that you can be matched up with a mentor who you believe would best help you. We also offer a grading system, so that your progress can be tracked, and a mentor evaluation, allowing you to grade your mentor on how well they preformed. There is even a recreation area, where you and your mentor will be able to participate in a roleplay with other students and mentors without any fear of being turned down or being criticized.

Or... perhaps you are new to roleplaying? In that case, you may find "the basics" courses helpful, which goes over the basics of roleplaying to get you started. If you are in fact new, you might want to take it easy or slow, as to not be overwhelmed by all the information. Though if you can handle it, by all means, jump right into it.

Well, that's it. This is the Roleplaying Academy and, on behalf of the mentors, I would like to welcome you and hope you enjoy your stay here, while, of course, walking away with improved roleplaying skills.

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About Us
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We at the Roleplaying Academy aim to help those struggling find a place to learn and grow, ultimately not just improving their skills, but ours as well, as everyone has room to learn and grow. We have gathered several top-notch roleplayers, each some of the best in their specialized fields, to help assist and teach, all in the name of helping others so that they, too, may enjoy roleplaying to its fullest. To that end, we at the Roleplaying Academy put our all into helping those seeking improvement. That sometimes means that we may step on some toes. However, even if we do, it is only because we are trying to help those seeking improvement all we can.

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Contents
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Student Information
Pretty much all you need to know if you're looking to get yourself some delicious learnings. Includes Faculty Information, the Code of Conduct and the Student Registration Form.

Character Faculty
The place to go to learn about the various fields taught relating to your own constructed personae. Overseen by Evangeline.

Conceptual Faculty
Where to go if you want to glimpse what's offered when it comes to putting your brain to good use. Overseen by Ordeith.

Composition Faculty
The section of the academy focussing purely on the written word and how to manipulate it. Overseen by The Professor.

The Critique Hall
A communal place where experienced and newer roleplayers can review established characters, roleplays and scenes and find ways to improve upon them.

Staff
A list of mentors, vice principals and more, as well as the form to apply to become a teacher in the academy.

Bulletin Board
Where updates, news, events and more are posted.

[OmniChaos]

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Student Information
==================

Help, I'm lost! What do I do?

Well, for starters, the fact that you are here means that you are seeking some type of help or improvement in roleplaying. That is where we come in. Here at the Roleplaying Academy, we offer a wide range of classes, everything from character development to world building, and should hopefully be able to accommodate you on your needs. The mentors teaching the classes are some of the best roleplayers in their specialized fields. Look through the mentors to find the one most compatible with you. Later on in this post, you will find a short template that we ask you to fill out to request your mentor.

Alright, I have a mentor. What's next?

That is entirely between you and the mentor. Every mentor teaches differently from each other and have different teaching methods. Establishing communications first is key here, as you can't be helped very much if there is no interaction between the mentor and the student. Once it has been established, what you'll need to do is talk with your mentor. You'll need to discuss the specific reason you are seeking and help and then identify any sort of weaknesses. From there, you'll need to discuss the mentor's teaching method and what is to be expected.

My mentor isn't helping me!

First of all, have you tried contacting your mentor through multiple ways (if there are any)? If not, try that first. However, if you've tried contacting your mentor through several methods, your mentor may have something in their life that needs the attention at the time. If that's the case, you can always ask for another mentor or wait for your mentor to come back. Now, if your mentor has been online and has been (or you may suspect them of) purposely ignoring you, then we ask that you bring this to the attention of either Orion or myself. From there, we will look into the incident and let you know afterwards what will happen.

So, how will I know when I'm better or done?

There are a few ways. First off, your mentor will be watching your progress and if they believe that you have improved greatly enough from when you started with them, they will let you know and you'll be finished. Another method of tracking your progress will be via an optional grading system, in which a grade will be given to a small piece of written work (such as a standard roleplaying-styled post) when you first arrive, and then again and again whenever you wish to resubmit a revised and hopefully progressively better copy of the post.

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Facility Information
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Core Curriculum

All of the core classes offered at the Roleplaying Academy fall under one of three categories: Character, which concerns the roleplay characters and their development and interaction; Conception, which concerns the devising of ideas (such as plot) for the roleplay; and Composition, which concerns the grammatical part of roleplaying. You can follow the links below to go to the category-specific post, which will list all the classes that fall under that category and a broader explanation of each catagory.

Character

Conception

Composition

Basics and Learning How to Roleplay

These basic courses are offered to people who are interested in learning how to roleplay, be you new to roleplaying completely or someone who has seen some roleplaying, but has never understood it or its rules. The basics are offered as a broad class for each category, teaching you the basics of that category. Any mentor that specializes in a class that falls under that category can be requested for the basic course of that category.

The Genres

Some of our mentors also have a specific genre in literature in which they excell in, be it horror, fantasy, romance, or thriller, and will impart their knowledge unto anyone who should ask. Different from regular courses, those seeking help with a specific genre will be given a general and broad teaching of that genre by the mentor.

Critique Hall

Have you ever had a roleplay story or idea or a character that you would like to get some one's opinion on? Well, now you can. At the Critique Hall, you can post up a link to a character or roleplaying story and have one of the mentors critique the piece for you. However, if you do this, then you must do it under the understanding that the mentors are going to be completely honest, even if it is brutally honest. With that said, we would appreciate it if you were to not get upset (at least in here) if we were to step on your toes. However, the Critique Hall will only critique a piece once, so make sure all your "i"s are dotted and all your "t"s are crossed before submitting the piece for critiquing.

Recreational Center

A small area set aside so that mentors and their students can participate in a roleplay with other students and mentors without any fear of heavy scrutiny or harsh criticism from other roleplayers. The Recreational Center's roleplay will contain no set plot and is a place for you to practice on your weaknesses with other roleplayers. The Recreational Center is not a place for random people to just hang out and spam the thread. If you are not involved with the Roleplaying Academy, we ask that you please don't post in the thread.

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Code of Conduct
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You came to us to improve your roleplaying and writing abilities. We at the Roleplaying Academy do not need to be here and do not need to help you, but we do in hopes that we can help spread the joy of roleplaying and writing. As such, there are certain things that we expect from you as the students.

Firstly, we ask that you remain polite to your mentor. You might not always agree with their opinions or with something they say, but that does not give you the right to bad-mouth your mentor in any way or to do anything worse. Remember that you came to us for help, and, in turn, we give you that help. However, in doing so, we may step on your toes. So, to reiterate, be polite and don't get mad if you don't necessarily agree with something your mentor says. If there is some sort of problem with your mentor, then we ask that you please inform either Orion or myself and we shall look into the situation.

Second, we ask that you take into account your mentor's life, as, from time to time, things do happen that take priority over their mentor-ship. Please take into consideration that your mentor may not always be able to accommodate your needs at a specific point in time and that some circumstances requires time that would otherwise be applied here. We also ask that you respect the wishes of the mentors if they cannot or wish not to teach you.

Finally, we ask that you are respectful toward your fellow classmates in both this thread and in the Recreational Center thread. Keep any bad blood that may exist between you outside of the Roleplaying Academy.

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Student Registration Form
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Now that you've got through the student information, here is the short registration template for you to fill out to get started.

Username

(Self-explanatory)

Class

(Which area are you seeking improvement in? Post 'Basics' or 'Genre' for said areas and which specific area within those.)

Preferred Mentor

(Who would you want as a mentor?)

Grading System: (Y/N)

(Do you want the optional grading system to track your progress?)

Have you read and agree to abide by the Code of Conduct listed above? (Y/N)

(Self-explanatory)

[OmniChaos]

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Character
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Vice-Principal: Evangeline

Mentors dealing in character-based teachings simply don’t know how to make good characters – they understand how to grow and sculpt beings of depth and interest, with all their traits, quirks, perfections and flaws. These mentors cover topics ranging from physique and equipment to demeanour and background, and have put their own myriad characters through a plethora of scenarios, learning through experience what traits work best for interaction, combat and introspection.

Grey Matterer

Your character is more than the sum of their appearance, equipment and history – what is a character without a sculpted and meaningful personality (aside from a Mary-Sue)? Everything your character experiences through their life will impact their thoughts and demeanour in some way, and these mentors are there to explore these processes that shape your character and the possibilities that stem from them.

Honorable Hero

Is your charisma lacking? Is the Bastardly Villain giving you a hard time? Fear not, citizen, for help is at hand!
True heroes carry themselves with gusto, valour and pride, and these mentors will help cultivate those traits in you until the masses rally to your cause, while avoiding all that nasty clichéd business of spiky hair and giant swords.

Bastardly Villain

Is that orphanage not infernal enough for you? Is the sheen of a unicorn’s fur and the lustre of rainbows not to your liking? Those babies certainly aren’t going to steal their own candy.
People of questionable, dark, and even downright evil moral inclinations act and think in particular ways alongside a presence that can intimidate, terrify or drive witnesses insane. These mentors excel in making disreputable characters and will help you draw out all these traits in your creation, from neighbourhood menace to genocidal, intergalactic dictator.

Drill Sergeant

The perfect person to break your spirit, scrub you clean of personality and wipe your memory - all in the name of making you a killing machine. These instructors are there to get your warrior off the ground, develop concepts into practicable parts of fighters and their style, and outfit them with the equipment and abilities to let you paint the arena red.

Seasoned Gladiator

These mentors will get you well acquainted with all the traits of the best fighters: clad in armour, caked in the blood of your enemies, and lightly sprinkled with herbs and spices. If you’re a young warrior looking to buff yourself up, you’ll need to look somewhere else – the gladiator is there to teach techniques, tactics and talent when it comes to being on the battlefield.

[OmniChaos]

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Conceptual
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Vice-Principal: Ordeith

Teachers who specialise in all the juicy bits of roleplaying – the processes of imagination, creation and exploration – and who derive as much fun from conceiving ideas as they do from playing it out. Conceptual mentors teach across a whole range of areas, all to do with bringing ideas to life – be it the construction of worlds, the amalgamation of disjointed imaginings, or even just getting your brain into its creative gear. Through dozens of projects and countless hours of thought and exploration, these mentors are the people you want to see when your idea needs building.

Intuitive Imaginator

Got an idea, but not sure where to take it or how it can expand? Bounce it the way of the Imaginators – they’re like a brick wall for this stuff, returning your idea ball with a little extra oomph than anything else. Aim for the head for bonus points! Imaginators work off what you provide them with, guiding you in the process of twisting, bending and in some cases breaking your original ideas to produce something completely different, if not immediately better.

Bullshit Artist

Mentors who can take whatever mess comes out of your toilet and shape it into an intricate sculpture; they are masters of explaining the mystifying and making the totally bonkers sound entirely reasonable, if not ultimately possible. Be it through the tweaking of science, the flexibility of the supernatural, or the introduction of an entirely new phenomena or process, Bullshit Artists can help give your fantastical idea a solid foundation.

Web-Weaver

Roleplays are complex matters, with shifting and implacable people, things and events going on all over the place. A good roleplay can be filled with lots of goings-on, but they have little meaning and are hard to understand when they lack any cohesion – roleplays are a great crucible for demonstrating the whole menagerie of ideas you have, but sometimes it’s a bad idea to throw every ingredient you’ve got into a single pot. Web-Weavers will help you pick out the best bits of your concoction, and help you link them all together into something at least slightly more understandable than when they began.

World-Maker

Do all you want with your characters and your fancy language, it doesn’t matter much if your characters are sitting about in an empty void, or a slightly better one. No matter how eloquently you detail a shallow, boring world, it still doesn’t change what the place is at its core. World-Makers will do more than just give you places to travel; they’ll fill them with populations with their own unique histories, alliances and hostilities; secrets known to only a few, a long-buried past, and anything else you could probably want in your place of roleplaying. These mentors don’t just make a world, they give it colour, life and all the other delicious squishy stuff interesting places have.

[OmniChaos]

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Composition
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Vice-Principal: The Professor

Outside of making up people, worlds and narratives exists the functional side of roleplaying: How you’re going to deliver your little snippet of the overall story. These mentors will help you with both in getting out what you want to write, as well as those times when the words just won’t come. With their help, filler posts can be turned into meaningful additions to the overall plot or a characters development, writing blocks can gradually be entirely overcome, and your writing made generally interesting and fun to read!

Block Smasher

Feeling like you’re stuck a bit in the creative doldrums? Is the dreaded writer’s block keeping you from getting the words down, or even beginning to conceive of what to do? Have no fear, for these mentors will help you find ways to chip away at, smash to pieces, or blast into annihilation with a low-orbit ion cannon* that very block that’s standing in your way!
*Low-orbit ion cannon not guaranteed as part of mentoring.

Post Enlarger

Character feeling a little impotent, with little to really do? Got a little snazzy something you’re just dying to get out, but not satisfied to leave it a bit undersized? Post Enlargers can help solve your problem, with treatments varying from mentor-delivered massages, pills, placebos, invasive surgery and some good ol’ homeopathy. Once you’re recovered from the procedures – be it a few hours after a little Chinese lady walks all over your back, to swapping out all your internal organs – you’ll feel good as new and ready to take on the world with your new and bigger-than ever posts!

Cunning Linguist

Is your creative writing lacking that special something? Wishing you could go deeper into the intricacies of writing, to find how to make your posts more exciting? Seek out the Cunning Linguists for all those tips and tricks no one seems to tell you about. These mentors will teach you how to twist and flick your writing in all the right ways, ensuring a pleasurable roleplaying experience for both you and your audiences. Happy ending not included.

[OmniChaos]

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Critique Hall
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Welcome to the Critique Hall. Mind you voice, please. Here, people may submit a piece from the roleplaying section, be it a character they made, a roleplay they've started, or a post they've made in a roleplay. That piece will then be looked over by one of the mentors participating in the Critique Hall and will then be critiqued. Just as with any other critique, the mentor will look through your piece and will point out flaws and where they think you can improve. As with everything else, there are a few rules:

1. No Drama

You came to us and asked for help and our opinion. Therefore, you have no right to rile up drama just because you don't like your work or writing being criticized. If you can't take it, then please don't post your piece of work.

2. The Critique

Please keep in mind that the mentors may, and probably will, all critique differently. Some will go into great detail and point out every flaw, others might only touch on areas and suggest you look for different ideas to place there instead. That being said, you should not expect the mentor to hold your hand and point out every single mistake.

3. Patience

Please remember that these mentors still have their students that they are helping, roleplays that they will be involved in, and their own lives to take care of. They won't be able to always get back to you right away, so, please, be patient and let them get to the work before you start complaining.

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Information
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There are three different types of works that you can submit: Character, which would be a character template; Post, which would be a post made in an rp; and Roleplay, which would be the sign-up thread and the overall plot and background information with it, as well as how the thread is organized and presented. We ask that, for all of these works, that they be fairly new or in an active roleplay.

After you have submitted a work and the mentor has gone over it, that mentor will then post their critique of that work here, which will then be linked to from one of the lists later on in this post. The list will contain information on the piece, such as its name and type, as well as the author of the piece, the mentor who critiqued it, and then the link to it. A completed piece will be listed under one of the three completed lists, while a piece that has not been completed will remain under the incomplete list.

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Critique Hall Mentors
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Mentor Username	Accepting Requests
Darkfyre	Yes
Evangeline	Yes
Nevermore	Yes
Orion	Yes
The Professor	Yes

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Critiqued Works
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[ Request Form ]
Please follow this form when requesting a piece of your work to be critiqued by the Critique Hall. Thank you.

Name:

(of character or roleplay)

Type of Piece:

(Character, Roleplay, Post)

Link:

(self-explanatory)

Preferred Mentor:

(optional)

Other information:

(anything you feel is important)

[OmniChaos]

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Staff
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Here at the Roleplaying Academy, our goal is to help you be the best writer you can be. To that end, we strive to provide you the best support you can receive with our top-notch staff, each one here for the purpose of helping you. Some of the best of the Roleplaying section has gathered here to share their knowledge with you in their specified field of expertise. With a tighter mentor system, we here at the Roleplaying academy hope to place you with a mentor to best fit your needs.

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Staff Information
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Headmasters

The principals of the Roleplaying Academy, the headmasters ensure the smooth and continued functioning of the Roleplaying Academy. Their main duties include keeping the information of the Roleplaying Academy, as well as the academy itself, up to-date and accurate. They are also in charge of the hiring of staff and also dealing with any major conflicts that surpass the vice-principals' authority. Any changes made to the functioning of the academy are ultimately decided by them. The headmasters may also take on the role of a mentor.

The Roleplaying Academy's headmasters are: OmniChaos and Orion.

Vice-Principals

The duties of the vice-principals lie mainly in Student-Mentor relationships. Each of the three mentor categories has its own vice-principal, who is responsible for said category. These vice-principals check up on the Student-Mentor groups on occasion, seeing how they are progressing and if there are any problems. The vice-principals also deal with any minor problems that may arise within their category.

Vice-principals are also responsible for the Progress Reports and Mentor Evaluations sent in by the mentors and students, passing on their evaluations on to the headmasters, giving with it their opinions on what, if anything, should be done.

The Roleplaying Academy's vice-principals are: Evangeline, Ordeith, and The Professor.

Mentors

The backbone of the Roleplaying Academy, the mentors are those who work with those seeking improvement, sharing with them their knowledge and experience in their particular field. Every mentor is unique in the way they teach and what they teach, some perhaps stricter, while others fun.

Mentors teach on different levels of expertise: Expert, which are mentors who greatly excel in their subject (each subject has a maximum of two experts assigned to them) and mentors who teach in Talented areas, which are excellent in their subject, but are perhaps not on the same level as other mentors who are Experts at these subjects. Keep in mind a Mentor's Talented subjects to further tailor your learning experience. (each subject has a maximum of five talented spots assigned to them)

Each mentor is allowed up to five classes to teach, up to two of which are allowed for expert roles. Along with those classes, each mentor can pick a genre in which they feel they excell in the most to teach to those seeking help in a specific genre.

If you are interested in signing up for a position as a mentor, please use the following template:

Username:

(self-explanatory)

Desired Expert Roles:

(if any)

Desired Talented Roles:

(if any)

Specified Genre:

(In which genre do you excell in?)

Critique Hall Mentor:

(Yes or No?)

Extra Information:

(if you feel it's important)

Mentors applying for Expert roles may be contacted by Orion or OmniChaos to provide a real roleplaying example of their skill in this area.

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Mentor List
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Mentor Name	Expert Roles	Talented Roles	Genre	Current Students
Darkfyre	Block Smasher	Bastardly Villain, Bullshit Artist	Fantasy
Evangeline	Grey Matterer	Block Smasher, Honorable Hero, Post Enlarger	Fantasy	Von83194
Nevermore	Cunning Linguist, Post Enlarger	Grey Matterer, Intuitive Imaginator, Web-Weaver	Contemporary Fiction
Oe98	Intuitive Imaginator	Block Smasher, Bullshit Artist, Cunning Linguist, World-Maker	Historical Fiction	King Sora X
OmniChaos	Bastardly Villain	Intuitive Imaginator	Horror
Ordeith	Gray Matterer	Intuitive Imaginator, World-Maker, Cunning Linguist	Fantasy	Lumine
Orion	Bullshit Artist, Post Enlarger	Drill Sergeant, Web-Weaver, World-Maker	Science-Fiction
The Professor	Intuitive Imaginator	Block Smasher, Cunning Linguist, Post Enlarger	Fantasy	MegaWallflower, Taim

[OmniChaos]

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Bulletin Board
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This is the Bulletin Board. Here, you will find important announcements, information, events, and, sometimes, a horrible abuse of the explanation point.

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Announcements
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3/21

The Recreational Center has now been posted in the Original Roleplays section and will be open and ready for use once Orion stickies the thread. Mentors looking to use the Recreational Center should contact one of the headmasters to see if is currently open for free use or if a mentor has reserved the Rec. Center for a private lesson.

~OmniChaos

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Events
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[Ordeith]

Username:

Ordeith

Desired Expert Roles:

Gray Matterer

Desired Talented Roles:

Intuitive Imaginator, World-Maker

Specified Genre:

Fantasy

Critique Hall Mentor?

No; subject to change

Extra Information:

I'm also seeking the position of vice-principal of the Character Department.
Let me know if any extra steps are needed for this, and I'll gladly take them.

[Professor Ven]

USERNAME

The Professor


DESIRED EXPERT ROLES

Intuitive Imaginator


DESIRED TALENTED ROLES


Block Smasher, Cunning Linguist, Post Enlarger


SPECIFIED GENRE

FANTASY


CRITIQUE HALL MENTOR

YEA


EXTRA INFORMATION


Clamoring for the Vice-Principal Chair of the Composition Department. Throw any necessitated requirement at me - I'll be happy to scrawl all over your precious demands.

[OmniChaos]

I'd like to apologize because I'm afraid Orion and myself neglected to add the genre section we planned on, so, if you would, could you both add which genre you feel you excel in, if any?

[umazak]

Username:
Darkfyre

Desired Expert Roles:
Block Smasher

Desired Talented Roles:
Bastardly Villain, Bullshit Artist

Specified Genre:
Fantasy

Critique Hall Mentor
Yes

Extra Information:
I plan on getting into a Vice-Principal chair, so keep an eye out.

[OmniChaos]

It was so much fun the first time, I thought I'd try it again. I forgot one more small thing in the mentor sign-up template, which is whether or not you would also care to serve as a mentor in the Critic Hall.

[Oe98]

Username:
Oe98

Desired Expert Roles:
Intuitive Imaginator

Desired Talented Roles:
Block Smasher ; Bullshit Artist ; Cunning Linguist ; World-Maker

Specified Genre:
Historical Fiction

Critique Hall Mentor:
No

Extra Information:
(Germanic) European history, at the moment, is my speciality. Working on African history in the coming months. Thought I should mention that with the specified genre of Historical Fiction.

[rpgangel]

Username:
Evangeline

Desired Expert Roles:
Grey Matterer

Desired Talented Roles:
Block Smasher ; Honorable Hero ; Post Enlarger

Specified Genre:
Fantasy

Critique Hall Mentor:
Yes

Extra Information:
I'd like to go for the role of Vice Principal of the Character Department.