I'm a real boy! When a character becomes "official"
A new character is not considered official until that character has been played at a Event or a between-event gathering. A character can be played on the Roleplay Forums once they have been approved by a Character Guide. The character does not have access to any powers or abilities on their character sheet until they've gone through the check-in process.
Sometimes players will have smaller troupe gatherings. Examples of a troupe gathering would be a Ratkin revel, Corax parliament, or Clergymen meeting.
Please note that characters are approved so that they can become active participants in the main Shadow Accord Weekend events that happen six times a year. The forums and between game events are optional suppliments only.