6.8 Mentors

The mentoring system in Aetolia is a system that is designed to ensure a friendly reception into Aetolia by newbies. When an older player (who must have at least 300 hours of playing time, and be at least level 50) offers to become your mentor, you may AGREE if you wish to become his protege, or do nothing to politely refuse. Mentors are usually someone you find within your guild or city, or someone of similar beliefs who has helped you out.                                                     

If you wish to get rid of a mentor, simply type REJECT MENTOR <reason for doing so> and it shall be done. Remember however that if you have played more than 50 hours, bought credits, or gained level 21, you will need to wait one year until you can take on a new mentor.               

In return for taking on the responsibilities of a mentor, the mentor has a chance to profit, if you become a more serious player. These responsibilities are essentially those of answering any questions you might have, and helping you to help yourself. For instance, while a mentor might give you a bit of gold and some basic equipment, generally they would rather help you to learn how to get the gold yourself, so that you can equip yourself.                                            

A mentor should, unless urgently busy (for instance, involved in a fight with another player), take the time to patiently answer your questions about Aetolia, and should be willing to take you to areas of the game that you need to get to, and generally be a source of advice for you. Remember: a mentor is supposed to generally put themselves second, and you, the protege, first.                                                     

We take the position of mentor seriously, and if your mentor is not performing his duties, then you should report him or her to a God.      

Once you have reached level 50 and have played for at least 300 hours, you may take on proteges. The file HELP FORMENTORS will tell you more.  

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.                 

See also: FORMENTORS, MENTORBENEFITS