Hey, sorry if this is the wrong place to ask, but I'm new to the board and when signing up I was given a noob kit of only basic gear.  Does that mean I can't play an experienced character?  Do I have to essentially begin at level 1?

Welcome to the site!

This doesn't mean that you can't roleplay an experienced character.  You just have to refrain from mentioning items/skills/weapons (within reason) as much as possible until you are able to purchase them.

Well, luckily my character's the kind of person who doesn't go all out due to underestimating the enemy.

Though I have two questions, one regarding spells.  I purchased a few more to my inventory, but are they considered one-time use spells?  Will I have to buy multiple fireballs to use more than one?  Am I restricted on what spells I can learn based on my chosen class?  I went with Arcanist, which is basically a wizard so I imagine I can only use arcane?

The second one is can I edit posts?  I tried to edit in the previous question to my first post but I didn't see the option.

Purchasing a spell is like learning it. Once you have one copy, you don't ever need to purchase another. There are no restrictions on spells based on class, either, so you can eventually "learn" all the spells.

Editing posts isn't currently allowed. It may be in the future for non-roleplay boards, but it's left out right now for moderation related issues.

Alright, good to know on both accounts.  I'll try to be careful when I post…

How does casting magic work in RP here?  Do I need to spend a turn saying I begin casting the spell and then wait until next post to actually use it?

Regular users don't have the ability to edit posts.  You need to message an admin or moderator to do that for you.

Spells are not restricted.  If you can buy it, you can use it.  They are not one time use (unless the description says).  Some have casting limits on how often.  It should all be in the description when you purchase it.

Spells can be cast within the same post. What we mainly look for is how much energy a character uses up in the process of a spell. If your character is a regular warrior without much magical expertise - based on how you've written them - and they suddenly cast meteor without getting tired, that's an issue. Spells like resurrection, on the other hand, say in their description that even experienced wizards will be exhausted when they cast them. Basically, just make your spell-casting logical when it comes to how much mana your character would need to use and how fatigued they might be afterward. The mana required to cast an epic level spell (ie. costs 1000 silver in the shop) is much higher than a fireball, and should be represented that way.

As for methods of casting, that's completely up to your imagination. You can do chants, by-will casting, circles of power, potions, and pretty much anything else. You can also say that your character specializes in certain spells at the expense of others, so the favored spells would be easier to cast while the others would be harder (ie. specialize in explosion, but make ice elemental magic harder).

Alrighty, awesome.  I'm looking through the beginner's guide currently to see where I should start, but knowing I'm playing a halfling mage any suggestions?

Oh, and I noticed there are some letters in brackets next to most threads (P and R specifically), what do those mean?

We currently have an event going on with details here. It will last until the end of the month and includes exclusive items made by our lovely admin Pyzis. Posting anywhere will give you divine tears, which you can then spend to create the items in this shop here.

I also suggest you check the Tavern Hall/Roleplay Discussions for people looking to start threads. There's currently some people looking for new writing partners that you could hit up in there. There are also some people (aka Angela Rose) who are always looking for more threads, but she prefers if you use the messages tab up top to set them up with her.

I highly recommend posting a request for a roleplay partner in the greenhorn guild located here. Even if you're not new to roleplaying in general, you can get a huge boost in spells early on by partaking in it. You'll get triple silver for every post you make during the first month you're here, and the greenhorn guild gets you the silver from your rp partner's first five posts in addition to yours. It's a great way to boost your mage so that she actually has the spells to back up her experience.