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Post by Ashleigh on Mar 28, 2010 16:39:08 GMT -5
IntroductionSo you've looked through this board and thought "Hey, this looks really fun! I think I'd like to join this, but... I've never played a Harvest Moon game!"
No problem! That's what this guide is for. While this guide won't explain everything there is to know about Harvest Moon, it will give you enough information to roleplay without a tonne of confusion. It's actually pretty simple to get, so you should be fine. Table of ContentsI. About Harvest Moon II. Jobs III. Relationships and Marriage IV. Children V. Time Mechanics VI. Holidays
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Post by Ashleigh on Mar 28, 2010 16:59:29 GMT -5
About Harvest Moon The GistHarvest Moon is a series of video games where your character is a farmer who is given the task of turning a dilapidated old farm into a successful ranch. Along with becoming a successful farmer, your character must also find someone to marry and start a family with. The DetailsAll the Harvest Moon games follow the same general pattern and storyline.
You have a character who is either male or female, depending on what game you have. Your character either inherits a run-down farm from a grandparent or moves to the farm from the city.
The farm is in rough shape. It has no crops, no animals, run-down or non-existent animal buildings, and a tiny one-room shack as a house. Your character is given the task of taking this mess and turning it into a successful, fully-operational farm.
You get to work growing crops, raising animals and upgrading buildings to try to achieve this, but life on the farm can be very lonely without anyone to share the fruits of your labour with. Luckily there is an entire town of people to befriend and even settle down with.
The villagers all have different jobs, schedules and personalities, so you're bound to find the love of your life somewhere, right? Well, not if you don't get out there and try. Along with building up your farm, your character must choose a woman or man (depending on what game you have) to court and eventually marry. Your character needs to talk to this special someone every day, find out their likes and dislikes and give them their favourite gifts to make them fall in love with you. Then, when the time is right, you can ask for their hand in marriage and live happily ever after with your soulmate. Roleplaying Harvest MoonThe roleplay follows the same kind of theme as the game, though your character doesn't have to be a farmer or get married. You certainly can if you want to, but there are plenty of other ways to earn a living in the roleplay which will be described in more detail in the Jobs section.
What all of your characters must do is somehow find themselves living in Bakersville and decide to settle there. They must find a way to earn a living, whether it's by starting their own business or working at someone else's business. They must also build relationships with the other inhabitants of Bakersville.
Whether you're looking to marry and have children or not, you're not going to get far in Bakersville if you don't build friendships with your neighbours. Of course, having an enemy or two could be quite thrilling as well.
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Post by Ashleigh on Mar 28, 2010 17:29:11 GMT -5
Jobs The Role of JobsWell, to put it simply, if no one works, everyone dies. If there's no farmers to grow food, people starve. If there's no carpenters to build, people freeze. If there's no police officers to keep the town safe, the people get robbed and murdered.
Every town needs a functioning work force to allow its inhabitants to grow and thrive and the world of Harvest Moon is no different. Jobs in Harvest MoonIn the game series, your characters settle in an already-formed village. There's businesses and villagers to run these businesses, and your character becomes the town's farmer.
All the towns in the Harvest Moon series have similar businesses. here is a general list and brief description of some of the businesses you'll find in any given Harvest Moon game:
Supermarket: The Supermarket sells ingredients for cooking, and oftentimes also sells seeds for farmers to buy and grow.
Ranch: The ranch is usually where your character buys their first animals in the game. Sometimes you can buy all your animals here. Other times, there is a separate Poultry Farm and Ranch.
Restaurant/Bar: This is where people can go for a good meal or a night of drinking with their friends. Villagers usually gather here to socialize.
Inn: The inn is where visitors passing through town can rest their heads for a few nights. People usually choose to have their characters stay at the inn when they first start roleplaying until they have an idea of where their character wants to live or what they want to do.
Library: The library contains all kinds of books on farming and plants, as well as history about the town and books for pleasure reading. It's a nice quiet place to spend a lazy afternoon.
Carpenter: The carpenter is integral for a town to survive. The carpenter builds houses, other businesses and farm buildings for people, provided that they have the funds and materials.
Blacksmith: The blacksmith is a farmer's best friend. They can upgrade flimsy tools into powerful, sturdy objects that get farm work done a lot faster. They also make and put horseshoes on horses and make jewelry. Of course, they can't make anything at all if the customer doesn't give them any raw metals to work with.
Clinic: The clinic is where people go when they're sick. It's also where pregnant women go to give birth. If you're not feeling well, a visit to the doctor/midwife will help you.
Of course, you aren't limited to only these occupations in the roleplay. These are just some of the more important jobs, but your character could be a police officer, a writer, a wandering poet, an artist, a fashion designer, an actor or singer... the possibilities are endless! Jobs in the RoleplayThis section will be updated as more people start their own businesses.
Clinic: Niamh is the town midwife and runs her own clinic in Bakersville. She uses herbal remedies to heal and deliver babies and she's very good at her job.
Ranch: Carmen Stone is the owner of Bakersville's ranch. She deals specifically with abused and neglected horses, nursing them back to health and rehoming them. She doesn't have cows or chickens, but if you need a horse or equine supplies, Carmen is who you want to see.
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Post by Ashleigh on Mar 28, 2010 21:43:10 GMT -5
Relationships and Marriage Oh no! This Looks Complicated!While this is probably the most complicated part of the roleplay, the system is pretty simple and once you understand it, you'll be well on your way to happily-ever-after in Bakersville. We'll start with how things work in the game and then move on to how this system has been adapted to work in the roleplay. Trust me, you'll be relieved when you read it and realize that it's super-easy. Getting Married in the GamesMost of the Harvest Moon games have the same marriage system. Some stray from this system, but generally, this is how getting married works in the majority of the games:
I. Your character starts talking to eligible spouses and you notice that each potential spouse has a little heart next to their picture on your screen. This heart is tiny and black.
II. As you talk to them and give them gifts that they like, you see this heart grow in size and change colours.
III. This heart is that person's level of affection towards you. You have to raise it to the highest level in order for them to accept a marriage proposal from you.
IV. Along the way, there will be certain events you have to trigger before they'll accept a marriage proposal. These are called Heart Events and some can only be triggered at a certain heart level. There are four of these events. You trigger the first one at a black heart, the second at purple, the third at blue and the fourth at yellow.
V. Once you've risen the person's Heart Level to the highest colour and triggered all four of their Heart Events, they will marry you when you propose to them. Okay, How Does This Work in the Roleplay?Much the same way, actually. In the game, it takes about a year to raise a person's heart level enough for them to marry you, so to replicate this, we've set up our own system.
I. Your character moves to Bakersville. You tell everyone who you're claiming. While you can't have same-sex relationships in the games, they are allowed in the roleplay, so gender isn't a factor here.
II. You have your character meet and befriend their future spouse. Their heart will start off at black, the first level, but you gradually raise this heart level by interacting with that person regularly.
III. Just like in the game, you can't marry anyone without triggering all the Heart Events. You must pre-write all of your character's heart events when you make their profile.
IV. You can only trigger a Heart Event once every 30 in-game days. This ensures that no one is getting married too quickly. Just let everyone know that what you're writing is your pre-made Heart Event. You also need to let people know when you raise your future spouse's heart colour.
V. Your character keeps gradually raising the heart levels and triggering events until their boyfriend/girlfriend is at the highest heart colour, then you can get married. So What Are the Heart Colours?Here is a list of the heart colours in order from lowest affection to highest affection. You can't skip colours. You have to gradually move up from one colour to the next.
Black: The lowest level. This means that you're a stranger to the person and they don't have any affectionate feelings towards you. You can trigger your character's Black Heart Event at this level.
Purple: They have a small crush on you and you two are considered acquaintances. You can trigger your character's Purple Heart Event at this level.
Blue: The person really cares about you and considers you a wonderful friend. You can trigger your character's Blue Heart Event at this level.
Green: The person is beginning to fall hard for you and considers you more than just a wonderful friend.
Yellow: The person has fallen in love with you, but it's new love and they're not quite ready for wedding vows, yet. You can trigger your character's Yellow Heart Event at this level, which is the final heart event.
Orange: The person is beginning to think that maybe you're the one they want to be with forever, but need just a little push to make them sure that's what they want.
Red: There is no doubt in their mind that you are their soulmate. They love you and only you with all their heart and want to spend the rest of their life with you. Pop the question now and you're sure to hear a positive answer. DivorcesWhile you can't get divorced in the games, you are allowed to divorce your spouse in the roleplay. Be aware that once you divorce your spouse, you cannot claim them again and they will become claimable for marriage again by anyone, even if you have children with them. Be really sure you want to part ways with your spouse for good before you sign those divorce papers. A Quick RecapOkay, so flirt and woo the person you want to marry, raise their heart colour from black to red while triggering the corresponding heart events, and wait 30 days between heart events, right?
Yep, you got it! That's all there is to it. Now that you understand the most complicated aspect of both the game and the roleplay, the rest is a breeze! I told you this roleplay wasn't that hard, didn't I?
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Post by Ashleigh on Mar 29, 2010 12:10:48 GMT -5
Children About ChildrenFirst comes love, then comes marriage, then comes your character with the baby carriage!
So you've found a job, fallen in love and gotten married. What's the next step? Starting a family, of course! While your character doesn't have to have children if they get married, many people choose to do so as having children is a huge part of most of the Harvest Moon games. Children in the GamesHere is how the process of having children works in Harvest Moon. I'm using the most recent system in the more recent games, as that is the system that most closely resembles our roleplay system.
I. 30 days after your wedding, either you or your wife (depends on the game and your character's gender) will fall mysteriously ill. You and your spouse will go to the Clinic where you will be informed that you're going to be parents.
II. The pregnancy will last 60 days. On day 60, you or your wife will go into labour and the doctor will come to your house to assist with the birth. The gender of the baby depends on what game you have.
III. Your baby will be dependent upon you completely and won't be able to walk or talk for 60 days.
IV. Your baby will grow into a toddler 60 days after it is born and be able to walk and start learning to talk.
V. Your toddler will grow into a child 60 days after this and be able to go exploring and playing on their own.
VI. Your child will become a teenager 60 days later and this is when their personality will be fully developed.
VII. Your teenager will reach adulthood 60 days later. Congratulations. You've been a stellar parent (hopefully, anyway).
VIII. In the games, you can only have one child and there is no adoption. All children are biologically related to their parents.
IX. You cannot have a child out of wedlock. Children in the RoleplayThe pregnancy and aging system in the roleplay is the exact same as in the game. You still get pregnant 30 days after your wedding, have the baby 60 days later and your child will grow in intervals of 60 days following their birth.
We have made some changes to other aspects of the game, though. Here are the changes we've made:
I. Since we have same-sex couples in the roleplay, we have added an option to adopt children. While same-sex couples cannot have biological children together, they can adopt children. Opposite-gender couples can also choose to adopt children.
II. Adoption follows the same time frame as pregnancies. This is to ensure that people aren't just adopting to get kids faster. It takes the same amount of time to adopt a child as it does to have a biological child. You must wait 30 days after your marriage to apply for adoption, and then it takes 60 days for your adoption application to be approved and for you to take home your child. All adopted children need to be adopted as babies. The adopted child ages in 60 day intervals, the same as biological children.
III. You may have more than one child in the roleplay, but you cannot get pregnant with another baby until 60 days after the birth of your last baby. With adoption, you cannot apply for another adoption until 60 days after you took your last child home with you. Basically, there's a 60 day wait period between kids, no matter if you adopt or have them yourself or do both.
IV. No multiple births/adoptions. This has caused gross overpopulation and a lot of arguments in other Harvest Moon roleplays I have been a part of.
V. For both biological babies and adopted babies, the gender will be randomly decided (we'll probably roll a die or do eenie-meenie-miney-moe or something of that nature) by the mod of the roleplay or an admin if there is no mod. This is just to make sure we have a balanced number of males and females in the town. Do not argue with the mod over the gender of your baby. You will be given a slash.
VI. You may have/adopt a baby out of wedlock, but you still need to follow the same steps you would to get married. Raise affection with someone to a red heart, go through all the heart events and whatnot, then wait 30 days to get pregnant/adopt. Basically do everything you would to get married, just skip the actual wedding ceremony. Be aware that if you don't plan on actually marrying a character, you can't claim them, even if you plan to have a child with them. That character can still be claimed for marriage by someone else.
VII. If you want to adopt a baby on your own without any partner, you need to wait 2 in-game years before applying for adoption.
VIII. Once your child is an adult, you can choose to have them move out of town and only come back for visits, have them stay in town as an NPC, or use them as your new main character, making your other main character an NPC or having them leave the roleplay somehow.
All of these regulations surrounding children are there to keep the population under control with a balanced number of males and females and to ensure that no one is at an advantage by being able to have children faster than others.
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Post by Ashleigh on Mar 29, 2010 12:29:03 GMT -5
Time Mechanics Is This Going to be as Complicated as Marriage and Kids?Nope, not at all. This is probably the easiest thing to understand about the game. So How Does Time Pass?Instead of months, the roleplay goes by seasons. Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. There are 30 days in each season. When you reach the end of Winter, the cycle starts over again at Spring 1 as a new year. How Fast Does Time Progress?Time progresses at a pace the roleplayers dictate. Sometimes there is something exciting happening on a certain day so the roleplayers spend longer writing about that day. Sometimes nothing interesting is happening at all, and the roleplayers will go through several days very quickly.
Although we largely leave it up to the roleplayers to decide when to move on to a new day, please try to keep things at a reasonably steady pace. Try not to leave other roleplayers behind more than a day or two.
Also, try not to come to a stand-still in time. If we notice that a new day hasn't started in three pages or so, we'll force time forward to the next day. Try your best to keep things moving while making sure you're not excluding other roleplayers by skipping too far ahead of them. Birthdays and AgingWith time passing comes aging. All of your characters will age and eventually die, because that's just the way life works.
When you make a character, give them a birthday. It should be a season and a number between 1 and 30. On that day in the roleplay, your character will age by one year and you can have them celebrate their birthday in the roleplay if you wish. All characters need to have a birthday in order to age.
Your children's birthdays will automatically be the day they were born in the roleplay.
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Post by Ashleigh on Mar 29, 2010 12:40:30 GMT -5
Holidays While every Harvest Moon game has special holidays and festivals for the villagers to partake in, Bakersville does not yet have any holidays of its own. Maybe if more people come to live here, Evette will decide to start some for the people of her town to enjoy. Check back here if Evette decides to start some festivals to see when they are and what they're about.
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