Ey! My name is Smithy, and I'll be guiding you through the wonderful world of Newbie on Chiaroscuro.
So, you've just connected and been bombarded by folks on the newbie channel. Don't be afraid, and don't take our feverish rush to help you as some kind of mental illness. One thing I'd like to note before I go into this is that nearly /all/ players on Chia are very kind and courteous to newbies, and absolutely any question you have will not be considered 'stupid' at all to be asked on +newbie.
You can also ask around by going page <CharacterNameOrAlias>=<Message>. (I'd also like to note, if you see me surround anything in this guide with '<>'s, that just means something you can set to whatever you want. The '<>'s are not needed.)
First thing to do with creating a character is, well, making sure your name's in order.
If you've got something you'd like to change about your name, just @name me=<NewName>. If you'd like to make your name /two/ names, you can accommodate spaces by going @name me="<New Name>". You can also @alias me=Alias to create a shorter tag on your character so people might refer to you as it.
For example, Norran Lomasa's character name is Norran Lomasa, but his alias is set to 'Nor', so you can page him by going page nor=You rock! instead of typing out the whole thing. You can also change your password by typing @password <Old Password>=<New Password>. Another note, for a lot of these @commands and regular commands, like page, you can actually type help <Subject> or just help in general to get more info after them.
A lot of these help files are just stock with the code, so don't expect anything accurate about Chiaroscuro or the theme in there.
So, now you're all capitalized and spiffy (If you weren't already!). You'll find yourself in the OOC (Out-Of-Character) room upon connecting. This is where people hang out when they aren't on the 'Grid', or RP mode. We'll talk some more about that after you're approved.
To start your wonderful journey into RarGen, just type CG, which will bring you into Character Genderation. You'll be put in a big room that gives you the description of Chiaroscuro's theme. All the room descs in RarGen are very helpful in completing RarGen, which means less droning you'll have to hear from me. If you're stuck on anything in particular, try reading over the desc. Anyway, this room has one object in it. It's a Real Object, which is the same sort of object that players, horses, and carriages and stuff are. You just look <Thing> to check it out. It lists a bunch of questions, so just answer those to the best of your ability.
When you finish that, you'll be put in a room to select where you'd like you character to be. Fastheld is the best place to start, as it's the most established. For the purposes of this guide, I'm going to be assuming that you'll be starting a Fastheldian (Also known as Imperials). But what I say holds true for most places. So, just choogle on down over to F.
This next room consists of an explanation of the theme, and I'd suggest digesting it all so you get a nice grasp. At the end of the room's description, you'll be prompted to answer another question before you move on.
This room is where you'll choose what gender you want to be. I'll save all of my quips and my giggling for another day, and I'd suggest you be quite grateful for that. The room description delivers even more juicy, delicious Chiaroscuro theme, so you should lap that right up. When you've decided on a gender, head on in. M for dudes, F for chicks. Let's move on.
In this next room, you some more theme and a chance to pick what social class you'd like to be. The room description even gives you ways to check out the theme behind both! Geeze, when /I/ went through CharGen, all they did was give me toothpick and a chewed wad of gum and then they told me to dig. Kids these days. Either object will give you plenty of background. N for Nobility, F for Freelanders.
If you picked Freelander, the next room will give you a wealth of information about how they work. There's even a Naming Convention you can look at to tweak your name further if you wish (The @name command is available for your use). This is also the room where you have to set your description. Pretty much, everything's done by typing @desc me=<Description>. Here's a few tips!
Your description is pretty much entirely /only/ what people see when they look on you. You're also required to show in some way everything that you're equipped with. So, try not to put anything into your description that would make assumptions about your character, say regarding beauty or how smart they might be.
Everything about a description is physical, and you're not going to be forcing any psychic suggestions on anyone. Try to put in as much as you can. Hair color, eye color, build, obvious scars mayhap, skin complexion, height, that sort of thing. Also, on regards to height, /please/ refrain from making characters oddly short for your race or oddly tall. +sinfo Awkward explains the consequence. We had an influx of people that were all 6'6 feet tall or higher, and it got out of control.
When you go through character generation, you'll be given padded armor (+consider padded armor). So, you have to work that into your description. For the moment, it's all you got. Later on you can drop by the Emporium and change your description to anything you might like! +wardrobe/help is a nifty command to save your current description and add a new one in later.
If you chose Noble, the set-up is pretty much the same as Freelander except broken up into two different rooms where you'd choose which House you'd like to be in.
Your next room will decide if you'd like to be an Untainted character, Sunkissed or Shadow-Touched. The description tells you you can look at things to get more information. The latter two are closed to new folk due to the familiarity you need with the MUSH, so just head on in to Untainted (UT).
And here it is, the end, the LAST ROOM! Here is where you'd write your biography and send it off to be checked out. Check out Sahna's Biography Guide for that, as it pretty much explains everything in much greater depth.
If you'd like to go back or redo anything, just go B in the CharGen or SO if you're at the bio process. After you finish submitting your biography, just type C and you'll end up in the OOC room.
And soon, when you're approved, prepare for Chiaroscuro Post Approval Guide!