Name: A few things to think about when choosing a name:

• You might like to try fitting the name of your character to your homeland eg: if you are from the Two Rivers, a surname with the al' prefix would be appropriate, and if you come from Shienar or Arafel, names tend to sound oriental, such as Ikusero or Uno. Of course, you don't have to follow these patterns, but they might help provide inspiration if you're stuck for a name.

• Secondly, you might want to make your name sound either masculine or feminine as appropriate, to avoid misunderstandings. Eg: names ending in 'a' or 'e' generally sound feminine, and names ending in 'd', 'n' or 'r' sound masculine. Don't ask me why, but if you look at the Member Listings at the last letters of people's first names, you'll see it's a general pattern. Again, this is just a note, not a rule or even a guideline. Your name is completely your choice! Other places to go for help with names are listed in the FAQ.

• Try to anticipate what the shortened version of your name will be, and check you like it.

• Don't use existing major Wheel of Time character names, such as Rand or Egwene. Minor character names are acceptable, but most people prefer to make up their own.

• Finally, if you have time, you might like to just have a quick glance at the Biographies Section to check that the name you choose isn't already taken. This very seldom happens, because of the flexibility of WoT names, but you never know.

Email address: The one to which you'd like GT-related mail to be sent.

Nation of Origin: Well thankfully, I can just point you in the direction of Rashenne Sedai's Cultural Overview of Randland for this one. Please note that if you wish, your character may originate from more specific areas of a country, e.g. The Two Rivers, or even from somewhere that isn't an official country, e.g. Haddon Mirk. The Tower Nationality Demographics is a good resource if you don't want your character to be from the same place as twenty other tower members (or if you don't want him to be the only one). Use it to determine how unique you want your character's nation of origin to be.

Rank: The decision here is twofold. Firstly, you must decide if you are going to be a channeler or a non-channeler. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, and more information can be found in the Warder Yard. Secondly, your character must be either male or female. I don't need to tell you that male channelers are called Soldiers and female ones Novices, but I just did. You might want to make your character the opposite sex to yourself, and this is becoming ever more popular. Please note that a Drin is a Warder-in-Training, a Soldier is an Asha'man-in-Training and a Novice is an Aes Sedai-in-Training.

Ajah: Please note that at the level of Novice or Soldier, no final choice on Ajah is necessary. Most Novices and Soldiers do not express any preference until Raised to Accepted or Dedicated, when they declare an Ajah of Aspiration. If, however, you are already sure which Ajah you eventually want to join, this section allows you to declare that preference now, so that you can begin interacting with a mentor from that Ajah as soon as possible. If the size of the Ajah plays a role in your decision, check the Tower Demographics. Larger Ajahs will have more support for their learning ranks (concerning the raising requirements of Mentoring and your Ajah Interaction) as well as development of your future Ajah Benefits when you are fully raised. However, the smaller Ajahs are in most need of aspirants and you are more likely to gain a Sittership position and influence in such Ajahs. Please only select this if you are already sure...it is possible to change your mind later, but if you're at all uncertain, please choose "Not decided yet", and you'll be assigned a mentor of any Ajah. You will learn more about the Ajahs, and which suits you best, as you work through your time as a Novice or Soldier.

Biography: The most difficult part of the joining form to complete. This is where your character gets a life, background, personality and physical appearance. I am reluctant to be too specific about what to write here, because it might result in a generation of identical characters. Please make sure your biography is at least 250 words, or your character will be very shallow and people wanting to find out more about their in-depth background will be disappointed. I'll just make a few general points as to what to include:

• Be realistic. Your character is not the strongest channeler/most beautiful woman since Rand al'Thor/Lanfear. In fact, you can't even tell how strong you will become, as you are only just beginning your training. Your character is not the King/Queen/Ruler of a nation, although he/she may of course be a noble of some description. Your character is not yet a Blademaster, it is Warder policy that he/she must train rigorously for this position. Your character has not yet mastered the One Power, even if he/she is a wilder who has already learned control. Most newcomers have only just discovered they can channel.

  Note: The GT has a page that lists the strengths of our characters. You might want to take a look, and see what other people have gone for. When choosing the strength of your character, it is important to consider that he or she does not have to be strong - playing a weak channeler can be just as much fun as playing a stronger one. Role-playing around their limitations and problems can be more enjoyable and intriguing that writing a character who can do everything, and who does it all right on their first attempt.

• Leave your character room for development. This can be interpreted in hundreds of ways. In the past, we have had characters with blocks, characters who have lost their memory, characters who are hiding from Whitecloaks, even characters who used to be Whitecloaks! All of these offer interesting RP opportunities. You don't have to remain exactly as you are in your biography, it simply provides a starting point for your entry to the Tower.

• If you're joining at the same time as someone else you know, or even if you already know someone at the GT, you could consider writing your character as a relation of some sort, such as a cousin. Obviously it would become ridiculous if everyone did this, but if you have a particular RL friend or even an RL relation here, it can be interesting.

• The way in which you write your Biography is entirely up to you. Some prefer to keep it impersonal and short (e.g. Zavian's Biography), while others prefer to write it in in the style of a fanfic describing their history (e.g. Cora's biography). If you feel you can never fit in all you want to say about your character in that small space, you can keep your bio short and snappy, and wait until you are a member before writing the world's longest fanfic about your life story. (My Life Story, written by former M'Hael Melabrid Daleb) That way, you also get an easy raising requirement.

• There is a prize pouch of Two-Rivers tabac and a bottle of apple brandy donated by the Grey Tower Orphanage Fund, for any IC parents of joining characters who manage to survive their biography without being murdered by Trollocs, Whitecloaks, bandits, the Black Ajah, Bela, etc.

• Above all, enjoy your character. Make a person who will be fun for you to RP and interesting for other people to RP with.

Finally: Most of what I've said here is only suggestion and advice. Don't feel you need to follow every scrap of it compulsively. Most of all, I appreciate that if you are new to WoT RPing, everything will seem confusing. Raising requirements? Sitters? Many of the answers can be found in the FAQ, but the best way of learning about the Tower is the same OOC as IC: experience. Just start role-playing, talk to people, ask about things you don't know, and you'll soon find your feet. The Mentor Program is also available. Each new member here will be assigned to an experienced Tower member who can guide you in any way you wish, as soon as you join, and they will prove to be a great help.