Welcome to WCO, @
xaandiir !
1) For brand-new members like me, is it recommended to only make kits, or may I also make apprentices (despite not having a mentor already, as I'm brand new) or warriors (despite not having gone through the on-site training process)?
I recommend looking at the Allegiances for what a main Clan accepts and doesn't accept! You can find that
here! For a more straight-forward answer to that, it is not required for your cat to start off as a Kit/Apprentice! Many of my cats I own right now were created as Warriors! Apprentices do have to go through training with Warrior mentors, which can be found by making a form thread seeking one in
this forum! Apprentices generally aren't supposed to be posted into the Allegiances unless they have received a Mentor beforehand ^^
2) Is there a "recommended" amount of cats to start with? At the moment I just have one in WindClan but I would like to make at least a couple more in different clans to get more interactions; but I want to check if that is commonplace for new members or if I should stick with one for now to get used to the site.
From personal experience I recommend starting off with one for each Clan! After that it usually gets a bit hectic and if they're developed after awhile with many different characters from other users quoting you to reply to roleplay threads or whatever else, it gets a bit overwhelming! But some users are absolutely able to handle more than 10 characters, from character from the Main four Clans to Dark Forest, Starclan and kittypet/loner/rogues! Go wild with the amount, though! Any user can make any amount of characters!
3) Can the same character be used in multiple topics simultaneously or is that frowned upon? For example I currently have my cat Whisperkit in the nursery, but could I also use them elsewhere for further interaction during the same roleplay with another user in the nursery?
Absolutely! I have a character named Thistlestorm that is currently interacting with an Apprentice, a kit, a fellow Warrior, her former Mentor, and that's just to name all of them off the top of my head! You are allowed to be in the Nursery and then have that same character be in the Clan clearing or an event (If it allows kits from the Clan Whisperkit is in, of course!) at the same time!
4) Is there a typical place that character information is stored? I've seen a few people have links to Wix sites that describe their characters; is this commonplace or are things like ToyHouse or other sites also used?
Here's a list of all the places I've seen people store their characters!
-Website-making tools like Wix.com!
-Toyhouse
-Placing character storage threads in the
biographies forum! (This is where I've posted my own characters!)
Of course there's many other places you can put them but this is the most popular places WCO characters are placed!
5) Overall what is the best way to find others to interact with? I've seen the FAQ point me towards the Character Resources but I've been a bit shy about posting there because it seems to more-so be about changing rank or in-depth character finders.
Ahh, I understand how you feel here, but WCO users are very friendly! You are completely free to post in the Character Resources forum, but if you are interested in simply roleplaying with one user you can VM (Visitor Message) them! From there you can conversate about what should happen! I can confidently say that Character Resources is a
veeery good place to find characters you didn't even know you wanted to interact with until then, so I'd say that's the best place to find interactions! Take your time, though, there truly is no rush!
6) I've seen a couple post discussing Finders vs NPCs but I cannot quite figure out what those mean, so an explanation of the jargon would be helpful ^^
I've dealt with this dilemma before, so I think I can explain it pretty well! Finders are when users post threads looking for people to fill in relationships for their own characters! For example, a recently-made character may need a basic family; a mother, a father, some siblings, or a character may finally be time for a mate and some kits, and they post a thread and people can fill out forms to be that characters father, mother, mate, etc! NPCs are similar to how NPCs in games work; they are used to fill in places for characters but they are often deceased or aren't played by any users! I myself use NPCs since I find it overwhelming making finders for characters that might get dropped by users or not interact with my own, but I do not say that as if to call other users unreliable in that field! It's just easier making NPCs for me, but it is so much funner roleplaying with family/mates/kits you've built with other users!
I hope all that explained every question well enough! Have fun!
