03 -- Welcome to the Wizarding World

So, stepped into the magical world, have you? Well, welcome! Now that you’re here, let's think:

Has your character entered through the back of the Leaky Cauldron like Harry did? Are they experiencing the same culture shock Harry did in his first trip to Diagon Alley? Or was your character born in the wizarding world? Is that the “normal world” for them? Is the muggle world the foreign place for your character? It does make a big difference.

For you, as a real life muggle, the wizarding world is a fascinating, wonderful and often puzzling place. It’s the very thing that, most likely, has drawn you here and made you to want to roleplay.

Consider, then, that if wizards had a roleplaying game, many might choose to roleplay the ordinary daily life of a muggle (sounds boring to us, doesn’t it?). That’s the issue with perspective.  We’re drawn to want to experience the same world Harry did and be fascinated and filled with awe and wonder just like he was. It’s what keeps us coming back. Your wizard character, if he or she was born into the magical world, sees things very very differently than you do.

First, get into the mind of your character. If he or she has never experienced the muggle world, you must erase the knowledge that you’ve grown up with of muggle things that your character either doesn’t know at all, or only has a very bare understanding of. Or, they might have a complete misunderstanding of it. Arthur Weasley’s fascination with all things muggle gives us a bit of an idea of what that must look and feel like. If, then, your character is not a muggle or muggleborn, you might want to erase from your character’s mind any knowledge of driving a car, flying in a plane, surfing the internet, using a mobile phone, etc.

Now that you’ve done that, the other thing that you need to consider is that your character knows boatloads of things you do not.  After all, it’s a whole different world! Currency, fashion, transportation, terminology... Its all different. And if that weren’t enough, everything you learned in school is different to what your character is either now learning or has learned.

Compare what you’ve learned to the list of courses that Hogwarts has been known to teach:

• Astronomy
  
• Charms
  
• Defence Against the Dark Arts
  
• Dark Arts
  
• Divination
  
• Flying (And that’s a broom, not routinely with a plane or a cape)
  
• Herbology (and those are often magical plants - remember the mandrakes?)
  
• History of Magic
  
• Muggle Studies
  
• Potions
  
• Transfiguration
  
• Alchemy
  
• Apparition (wizard transporation)
  
• Arithmancy
  
• Care of Magical Creatures
  
• Study of Ancient Runes
  
• Ancient Studies
  
• Art
  
• Frog Choir (does your frog sing in tune?)
  
• Ghoul Studies
  
• Magical Theory
  
• Muggle Art
  
• Music
  
• Muggle Music
  
• Orchestra
  
• Xylomancy
  

When’s the last time you studied all that? Well, exactly! Most of us haven't got any experience with those things. Your magical being, if they’ve gone to a school like Hogwarts, sees the world entirely differently that you do. That’s part of the fun of roleplay - to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and live a different life.

It’s not entirely possible for us to provide you with every little bit of knowledge your character would know. Even if we could, that takes away some of the fun of exploring and making the experience your own.  What we can offer you, though, is our very best advice on how to do this effectively.

Research things you don’t know. Your first resource here should always be the canon (the work/books/etc) itself. JK Rowling is our guide for all things Potter. Then, if you need more, you might try the Harry Potter Wiki, the Pottermore Wiki, or the Harry Potter Lexicon.

Make use of the guides provided here on the site. This will be your best source of how we interpret the magical world here on PA. It isn’t always in line with canon, although we try. Sometimes we have to tweak it a bit to make gaming easier.

Likewise, research other sources (at least check wikipedia) for non-potter related information.

Feel free PM the staff at any time if you have questions, and we’ll try to help.

Get to know the other players and get some tips from them. We have a forum called Roleplay Advice, which provides several different opinions on effective ways of writing and how your character might interact in the Wizarding World.

Learn not to take the game too seriously. It’s not meant for that.

Explore options for your character, like joining a faction, getting a job, learning to duel, choosing a magical ability or two, trying out all sorts of different play locations and interacting with all ages and types of characters made by other players. (That is what you came here for, right?)

And, above all, explore, create, and have fun!