6.8.1 For Mentors

The mentoring system in Aetolia is a system that is designed to ensure a friendly reception into Aetolia by newbies. 

Before you take on proteges, consider the following:

A protege is someone who you are charged to help on a regular basis. Simply helping a newbie now and then is not sufficient. If you just wish to help a newbie occassionally, by all means, do so! But, given that proteges can take up a lot of time, it's probably best not to overextend yourself. Remember, the honor and joy that comes in aiding the young and knowing that you played a crucial and perhaps even pivotal role in the life of a young adventurer that may perhaps, one day change the course of Aetolian history! If you wish to mentor - do it. You are informed when new mortals arrive in Aetolia for the first time and graduate (if you have NEWBIEON) - seek them out and help them if this is what you truly wish - otherwise, you may need to re-examine your motives for the truth is this -- There are far too many mentors in Aetolia who are not taking seriously the great honor that has been bestowed upon them. Their motives lay in the gifts that Varian so generously offered those who would sacrifice of themselves so. The reward for mentorship lies not in such vague and amorphous things as "lessons" and "credits" but in a relationship built and a young mind molded to be the best it can be.    

Ask yourself these specific questions before applying to become a mentor:                                                                 

1) Are you dedicated to sharing your knowledge of this realm with the 
   young and inexperienced for the sake of their enlightenment with no 
   thought of ulterior motive?

2) Do you have the heart of a servant and will you loyally commit 
   yourself to the honor and responsibility that comes in taking on a
   protege?

3) Have you already sought out the young and done your best to serve 
   them so that the desire spoken of by your lips is already reflected 
   in your life and actions?

4) Do you have a strong working knowledge of those quests and 
   opportunities for advancement that the young are provided within 
   these lands? Particularly, do you know Sehal inside and out?

5) Are you aware of how to recognize and approach those who have freshly
   and naively arrived in Aetolia?

If you can answer all these questions with, "Yes," then congratulations,
you have our blessing. Go and be that which you desire.

Syntaxes:

MENTOR <player> - Offer to mentor another player, must be in the same room
REJECT PROTEGE <player> <reason> - Remove yourself as someone's mentor
PROTEGES - List your current proteges

In return for taking on the responsibilities of a mentor, you will gain a plethora of benefits, listed in HELP MENTORBENEFITS. However, under NO circumstance, are you to ask the newbie if he or she intends to buy utilize these benefits, nor should you simply be taking on proteges for this gain. 

The responsibilities of you as a mentor are to answer all questions about Aetolia that a newbie has, to the best of your ability, and to, at the very least, help him to help himself. You may choose to give him gold, or equipment, but at the least, you must help him go ratting, help him find other things to fight, and perhaps even help him do some quests or kill some things. If your protege needs help, you are expected to help him or her. The privilege of mentorship means that your proteges come first, and you come second. If you cannot handle this, do not be a mentor.                                            

Generally, once the newbie has either purchased credits or played for at least 25 hours, he will likely need less help, but you should still be willing to grant reasonable assistance if need be. Remember that it is to your advantage to help him out. The more interested in Aetolia he becomes, the more likely he will be to buy credits, and the more credits you will get.                                                           

We take the position of mentor seriously, and if you are not performing your duties as a mentor, then you risk having your ability to be a mentor taken away.                                                      

Tips for Mentors:

1) When dealing with newbies, always try to be in-role.

2) Even if it is not entirely in-role, be patient with them. Remember 
   that Aetolia is probably much different from their previous mudding
   experience (if any).

3) Don't try to push them to buy credits. It's the sort of thing you 
   might want to casually work into a conversation if the newbie asks 
   about other ways to get lessons, but any hard-selling is strictly out   
   of the question.

4) To sum it all up: Be professional. You are representing Aetolia to 
   newbies, who are the lifeblood of the world.

See also: MENTORS, MENTORBENEFITS