• First thing you have to do: read the site-wide rules! They're brief, concise, and clear, offering examples to provide clarification for those who are confused and to further cement what exactly the rule details.
  
  
• Take a break. Breathe. Prepare.
  
  
• Next, it's time to delve into the Caste System. There are multiple, lengthy threads found here but you need to read each. Even if you plan on only being a Citizen, something in the Royalty thread may affect you. Many rules are listed in the Caste System and pleading ignorance to their existence will not get you off the hook if you break these rules.
  
  
• Take another break. Chat in the cbox. Learn names and get yourself out there. We're an extremely friendly community, trust me, everyone would love to meet you.
  
  
• Then head on over to the War System. It may not affect you yet, but it will definitely affect you someday. All of the Colonies have a "draft," which means, no matter your horse's rank, you will someday partake in a War. The War System is very unique and can be complicated here on Meta, so you need to tackle that right away and get it under your belt.
  
  
• If you have any questions, you can post in Who Knows? If you have any suggestions, you can post in Should, Woulda, Coulda's. If you find any glitches or typos, you can report it in The Grammar Police.
  
  
• There are plenty of boards here on Meta with odd-sounding names that can get your head spinning. If you ever get lost, refer to our Site Directory or glance on over at our side-table called "Metamarks" that features a lot of quick links to various important areas.
  
  
• Something that's very important for you to check is the Announcements for any Activity Checks. Even if you just joined, you will be deleted if you do not post in the Activity Check. If you do not have a character yet, just post some sort of nonsense, such as "I'm new but I'm here!" so that your account is preserved.
  

• To create a character, head on over to Genesis. There, you will find the joining form, fill it out accordingly, and post it in its own thread. Then you must wait until a staff member comes along and accept your biography. If for some reason they find something wrong, they'll pend your biography (suspend its acceptance) and ask you to fix whatever error they saw. If this happens, don't worry, you aren't in trouble! It just means something needs to be altered. No one will have a negative opinion of you nor think you are stupid. Just politely change your biography accordingly and let them know when it is corrected and, should they verify it is done, they'll accept your biography. Once that's done, they move it to the appropriate sub-board and you can begin roleplaying your character.
  
  
• But wait! Genesis is locked! This board is password-protected to ensure everyone has read the important threads of Metaphysical. Simply read through the rules very thoroughly and find the letters--there is one letter of the six-letter password in each of the following threads: The first is in The Constitution. the second in Royalty, the third in Aristocrats, the fourth in Commoners, the fifth in Disgraced and the last in Hybrids. Now just piece together the letters you found in the order listed without any punctuation, capitalization, or spaces, and you have access to Genesis! Keep in mind that the password may change if radical updates are made to the Constitution or Caste System.
  
  
• First pick a Colony. You can base an entire character on which Colony it will belong to. To pick the Colony, start by reading the Colonial Powers. Each Colony has a completely different set of powers and four different levels that your horse can ascend to. Decide which set of powers is the most desirable to you or provides the most muse for a character. Remember, you can create more than one character if you're torn between a few Colonies.
  
  
• Before you race off to create your new character with the Colony you just chose, you first need to ensure you actually like how that Colony operates. There's far more than mere powers to each Colony. They all have separate rules and ranks and wartime traditions. You need to read all of them before you make any decisions. What if you join a Colony and then find you hate the rules? Do you discard that character you put so much effort into? It's better to have precaution and read the Colonial information first. You can find links to each below, which will take you to the board that has the informative threads--they'll be the ones that are stickied:
  - Byzantium
  - Incarnadine
  - Celadon
  - Aureolin
  - Azure
  
  
• Your last task to decide which Colony to join is to see what they have to offer you. The Recruitment board is where the Monarchs all post their ads, trying to get members to join their Colony. You can find perks, benefits, persuasive arguments, and other influential features here that may be the deciding factor when it comes to picking your Colony.
  
  
• The Site Stats can be useful when deciding a Colony, name, and gender. It lists the details of each character so you can see which Colony is largely populated and by what--males? Females? You'll also be able to see if there are any horses bearing the name you wanted.
  
  
• There are more options for your horse than simply joining a Colony and living a herd life. You can create your character, kill them off, and return as one of the Undead, which can be purchased in The Agora. You could purchase Create Hybrid or Hybrid Foal from The Agora and become the wielder of two Colonial magics, living in the Fused Dimension. You can join a Colony, get exiled, and live amongst the anarchy in Pandemonium. Whether it be climbing up the political ranks, living a life of solitude, or being your everyday horse, there are many options for you when choosing your horse's residence!
  
  
• If you aren't very knowledgeable about horses, you can use our Guide to Horses thread to learn more about heights, breeds, colors, patterns, frequent roleplayer terms, anatomy, and markings. While reading that thread, if you think of anything that should be added, feel free to PM me.
  
  
• The only fantastical thing that characters can have in their appearance is unnaturally-shaped markings. However, you can buy plenty of items to create a completely fantasy-woven creature. Holographic fur, changing eye shades, horns, highlights, and so much more can be bought through The Agora. If you just joined, you probably don't have any money, but don't worry--any staff member will be willing to buy you an Appearance item when you're first starting off. Just send them a PM or ask in the cbox and you'll find yourself quickly accommodated!