Glossary

Terms both unique to Underlight and general to Roleplaying

Art - A learned ability that allows your character to effect other characters and objects in the game.

Awaken – The term used to express that you will exit the game.

Boundary Mists – Un-passable mists dividing the shards of Cloudsbreak, dividing dreamers from each other in their waking worlds.

Chaos – Un-ordered material. May refer to the world outside of the city of Underlight, the boundary mists surround shards, or the unpredictable nature of some dreamers or creatures such as Mares.

Chaos Library – Information available outside the game (OOC) such as guides, stories, and logs. Information attained from the Chaos Library is considered strictly OOC and not accepted as valid information in-game (see Crossover).

Cloudsbreak – Your character’s waking world. (Not the same as real life.)

Codex - A virtual scroll containing a certain amount of characters which could have an infinite or limited number of charges. Writing a codex requires the art of Inscribe.

Collapse - Loss of all hit points, also known as dreamsoul, which changes your avatar into a soulsphere and costs you 1% of your total experience points. Not a form of permadeath.

Common tongue / Dreamer – The English language. Since England or any other country in the real world does not exist in Underlight, this term is preferred.

Crossover, IC/OOC - Talking about real world events or topics in the game; your character using information you gleaned from the Chaos Library; your character B knowing what only your character A heard about; or any other instance in which your character knows things they would not physically be able to know. The most common type of IC-OOC crossover is player A attacking player B for what player B's character did inside the game. Crossover is illegal and infractions are eligible for GM discipline.

Dream Standard Time (DST) – The official timezone for Underlight. Corresponds with Pacific Standard Time (PST).

Dreamstrike - Permadeath.

Elder – Game master (GM).

Essence - The compound of which all things in the city of Underlight is made, including your avatar. When an avatar of any sort is collapsed they leave behind an "essence" head. These heads have very little function in game though they are sometimes used by players in unique roleplay situations.

Experience – Points gained through many avenues including hunting mares, collapsing another dreamer, roleplaying, and performing tasks for your house.

Focus – A path chosen by each player for their character. The paths determine which arts you can learn, not your creativity or how you may contribute to the dream. The four foci are Willpower, Resilience, Lucidity, or Insight. You cannot change your focus once your character has been created.

Generator - Spontaneously creates items at set intervals. Certain generators create more powerful items than others. A generator is capable of creating shields, elemens, chakrams, alterors, elemental masses, and charms.

Great Awakening - The day that scores of new dreamers entered the city. Also known as Game Launch on Oct. 12, 2007.

Halo - A rotating ring of color around a dreamer's head which signifies that they are a teacher. A halo's color corresponds to the focus of the teacher. Gold: Gatekeeper. Emerald: Soulmaster. Ruby: Fatesender. Sapphire: Dreamseer. An apprentice for the rank of teacher is denoted by a white halo.

IC – In Character.

Item "genning" - Gathering items by spending time near a generator.

Mares - Also known as "Nightmares," they are NPCs that you can fight for the reward of experience points and items. Known as Emphants, Bogroms, Agoknights, Shamblixes, and Horrons, they are increasingly powerful (and, thus, more rewarding) in that order.

Maren - The language spoken by mares.

Newly awakened – Any new character recently arrived in the game.

NPC – Non-Player Character. In other words, a computer character.

OOC – Out Of Character.

Orbit - Gained by increasing your experience. Every tenth orbit is known as a sphere which can only be earned by tasking from a teacher.

Plane - An area of Underlight consisting of multiple rooms.

Portal - A door that separates rooms and planes. NPCs cannot pass portals.

RL - Real Life. Also referred to as IRL: In Real Life.

Roleplays – Scenarios in which characters interact. Some are on a small scale (i.e. the relationship between two dreamers) and others are larger (i.e. a cataclysm that influences everyone in Underlight).

Sanctuary - No offensive weapons or arts can be used in a sanctuary. It will restore your soulsphere to coherence and provide you a safe place to regain dreamsoul (hit points).

Seneschal – A GM controlled character who is responsible for monitoring the leadership of a house and aiding in roleplays.

Shard – The plane of existence in which a character resides. Each shard is small, ranging in size from a minute island to the state of Rhode Island and is mainly agricultural, with very little technology.

Soulsphere - When you lose all hit points, also known as DreamSoul, you are "collapsed" to a soulsphere and lose 1% of your total experience points. It is not a form of permadeath. As a soulsphere you cannot evoke arts or emote and you must be restored either by another dreamer with the art Restore or by entering a sanctuary. If you exit the game as a soulsphere you will lose 1% of your total experience points.

Spawn - How a NPC mare appears. (Emphant, Bogrom, Agoknight, Shamblix, Horron, and Revenant). The exact location in the room is referred to as a "spawn point."

Sphere - A level that is earned by satisfactorily completing a task from a teacher. 10 orbits equal 1 sphere.

Storm – Game lag.

Stormed – The game client or your PC crashed, kicking you from the game against your intentions.

Teacher - A player or GM who has the ability to grant arts and are denoted by a halo. A dreamer is required to satisfactorily complete a series of tasks, assignments, or whatever their teacher mentor requires and, finally, a series of interviews before being granted the rank of teacher. Only with additional training can a teacher grant a sphere.

Threshold - Gateway to the Dream City

Trance – You are AFK (Away From Keyboard).