MUSH 101: Beginner Class

Brody says, “Welcome. So, you want to know something about MUSHing, eh?”

Zu perches on Guest2′s shoulder.

Guest2 says, “Litar says I do, so probably.”

Lilihierax says, “Litar knows best, honestly.”

Guest2 says, “Oh no.. don’t swell her ego.. That’s my job.”

Vadim tags Li out to lower spam.

Brody grins. “I declared Litar hero of the internet earlier today. I therefore concur. The simplest description of a MUSH is a collaborative interactive fiction experiment. A bunch of people work together to craft stories around their characters. Different MUSHes do this different ways. They’re a subset of MUDs, but with much less focus on automated combat and more attention to characters and how they develop over time.”

Guest click-click-clicks in agreement.

Brody says, “On a MUD, you might chart your character’s accomplishments by gaining levels, killing increasingly tougher monsters, or hoarding great amounts of treasure. On a MUSH, the accomplishments are measured more by experiences – adventures survived, epic moments experienced during the course of the story. It’s a little more esoteric than a MUD. But that’s actually a good thing, since those great achievement measurements on MUDs are easily replicated on MMORPGs like WoW. The experiential achievements are not as easy to manage with the big graphical games.”

Brody says, “Any questions I can answer so far?”

Guest says, “Yeah … why is the sky always gray?”

Brody says, “Get out of England?”

Coyote says, “It turns out, you’re colorblind.”

Guest2 says, “You in space?”

Newt says, “Get out of the house?”

Rillitan says, “It turns out that isn’t the sky.”

Rillitan says, “It’s the ceiling of your cell.”

Litar returns from checking her car for mice.

Guest says, “Last one is most acceptable”

Guest2 says, “Commands are?”

Guest2 says, “Help commands is rather.. vague”

Brody says, “Okay, some basics about commands….”

Brody shares: https://www.jointhesaga.com/oscommands.html

Brody says, “The look command, or l.”

Brody says, “That shows you the room description and its contents.”

Brody says, “You already know say – that’s how you can just spout a bit of dialogue.”

Brody says, “What we do more than that, though, is pose. We use :walks across the floor and grabs the broom to swat at a bat to pose.”

Zu takes offense to that particular example.

Newt performs the miracle that is the funky chicken.

Guest says, “ACK!”

Litar swats at Zu.

Guest2 says, “What example?”

Guest says, “ACK!”

Coyote throws a pokeball at Zu.

Guest says, “ACK!”

Newt says, “It may have been a cricket bat that Brody was referring to.”

Shok breaks out after the third wobble.

Brody notes that if you decide to really get daring, you use @emit to mix things up. “So, you could type @emit Light flashes in Guest2′s eyes as recognition kicks in.”

Zu does too…

Shok heads into OOC Tavern.

Shok has left.

Once the funky chicken is duely performed, Newt goes to get a drink.

Crowds cheer as Litar punts Zu all the way to Normalspace.

Brody says, “If you want to talk privately to another player, like Zu, you type p zu=I’m gonna hit you with a broom.”

Brody says, “P is short for page.”

Guest2 says, “I fail.”

Brody says, “That lets you talk to them no matter where they are on the grid.”

Guest2 says, “I’m gonna mess that up.. a lot.”

Brody says, “Whisper can be used if you’re both in the same room. So, you’d type whisper litar=These people are bugnuts crazy.”

Coyote says, “Whisper seems fairly rare in practice, though.”

Brody nods.

Brody says, “There are some basic information commands too – type who and you’ll see a bunch of people are online.”

Zu says, “Usually only used to convey stuff only they’d ICly know.”

Litar says, “She already had a small heart attack looking at the who list.”

Brody says, “Type where and you’ll see where RP is happening on the grid.”

Guest stage whispers to Guest2, “My BugNuts are turning Blue.”

Guest2 says, “It was only a minor coronary. I’m over it now.”

Brody says, “And type rpwho to see which people from all on the who list are actually in RP mode instead of loafing around out here with us  “

Brody says, “Any other questions coming to mind?”

Brody notes that most of these commands are fairly common across MUSHes.

Guest2 says, “Is there a color mode where I’m not just looking at dark text?”

Brody says, “Yes.”

Coyote says, “@set me=ansi color”

Brody says, “Already set, apparently”

Newt says, “Might be a client issue”

Brody says, “Might depend on your client settings.”

Brody nods.

Guest2 says, “Oh, guests can’t do that”

Brody checked.

Litar says, “Brody, what is the grid?”

Brody says, “Excellent question.”

Guest2 says, “I would’ve gotten there.”

Guest says, “You probably need a permanent character.”

Newt has left.

Newt enters RP MODE.

Brody says, “The grid’s basically the stage in the theater. This area, the out-of-character area, is backstage. Anyone can hang out here and what we do has no consequences in the in-character or IC world.”

Brody says, “Once you have an approved character, you can go out to the grid where the real action happens.”

Brody says, “Does that make sense?”

Guest2 says, “You mentioned character name approval, what does that entail?”

Brody says, “That varies from MUSH to MUSH. Some have pre-made characters that you apply for via email, giving a rundown of your RP experience – almost a resume. But many are like OtherSpace in that they require you to read enough to learn some thematic basics about the game universe so that you can submit a character biography. The staff then takes your submission under consideration. If it works, you get approved. If it needs work, they give you notes on what to fix.”

Coyote says, “To continue the stage metaphor – somewhat like an audition process. You write up ‘this is the character I want to play’.”

Brody nods. “That’s close, yeah. Playing on a MUSH is like being a writer and actor combined. Sometimes, if you’re ambitious, you’re also a director.”

Brody says, “Although, being a director on our stage is really more like being the prop guy.”

Tiana Ryoleli arrives from OOC Arena.

Tiana Ryoleli has arrived.

Tiana Ryoleli has left.

Tiana Ryoleli enters RP MODE.

Litar says, “(Do we have grenades? We just need grenades. Do we have rope, too?)”

Brody says, “Players don’t generally like being told what they’re doing – they prefer to be given a situation and then improv based on their character backgrounds and their skills.”

Brody says, “So, event directors like me end up improvising as we go along too, based on cause-and-effect with the players.”

Brody says, “And, yes, we have grenades!”

Litar grins.

Guest2 says, “Do you have cannons too?”

Brody nods. “And, eventually, things to put them on.”

Litar says, “Plasma cannons!”

Guest2 says, “Seriously? I was only joking..”

Brody says, “Some MUSHes, OtherSpace included, have crafting systems.”

Litar says, “Just a note, the crafting system here is quite a bit different than on our MUD. It’s easier. “

Brody says, “So, you can earn money, gather commodities, and make stuff. You can also customize the stuff with your own name – call a gun Vera like Jayne in Firefly – or describe it with your own custom look.”

Brody nods. “Here’s the page on crafting commands – https://www.jointhesaga.com/oscrafting.html“

Guest2 says, “I’m done crafting. My brain hurts from trying to build over there.”

Brody grins. “Good! You can be a customer for the people who do craft here.”

Coyote beams at Litar. “Thank you! I tried to make it easy!” 

Brody says, “The sorts of stuff people can craft can be found here:https://www.jointhesaga.com/oscraftables.html“

Litar says, “Trust me, Coyote. Crafting over her is waaaay easier.”

Guest2 says, “It’s soooo boring, and time consuming over There.”

Brody ponders. “Something else to cover: When writing a pose on a MUSH, it’s usually in present tense, as if it’s happening right now because it *is*. Most events occur in real-time. On OtherSpace, a game day=an RL day.”

Porter has arrived.

Porter arrives from RP mode.

Colchek nodnods.

Guest2 says, “That makes sense.”

Guest2 says, “If it was in the past, it’d be boring.”

Brody says, “When you’re on the grid and in RP mode, you can make out of character comments by typing OOC <comment goes here>. We prefer to keep that to a minimum, but it’s sometimes good for getting clarification during a scene or letting off steam when it’s tense.”

Brody says, “When we pose, it’s preferred that anything you say about someone else in the room be fair game for them to respond to. For example, it would be bad to do the following…”

Brody looks at Litar, that big-boobed idiot, and says “Have a nice day.”

Guest2 says, “well the big-boobed is true.”

Litar looks at Brody with his really retarded antlers and replies, “Sure, you too!”

Brody laughs!

Brody says, “But you could do something more fitting like…”

Brody just rolls his eyes at Litar and says, “Whatever.”

Litar sharpens her horns menacingly.

Guest2 says, “emote command Lit?”

Brody says, “The : is your pose/emote.”

Brody says, “:plus whatever you want to pose.”

Guest2 struts.

Brody nods. “There ya go!”

Guest2 says, “It’s supposed to be a comma..”

Coyote types –> :works like this.

Coyote works like this.

Litar says, “You can also use a semicolon (;) to do no space after your name (so “;’s face crumples under Brody’s fist” -> Litar’s face crumples under Brody’s fist.)”

Coyote types –> ;’s using no-space version.

Coyote’s using no-space version.

Brody nods. “What Litar said.”

Litar says, “And then @emit for free-form writing. Just be sure to put your name in there somewhere!”

Vadim’s crumples under Brody’s fist, much akin to a redheaded step-child.

Brody says, “But that brings up another point: It’s a bad idea to assume success in a pose that involves kicking someone’s ass, for example.”

Coyote types –> \backslash is the same as @emit.

backslash is the same as @emit.

Brody wouldn’t just say Brody punches Litar in the throat.

Litar says, “Yeah, always phrase something like you’re goig to *attempt* to do it. The other character can either allow it, or ask you to roll skills for it.”

Brody says, “Precisely.”

Litar says, “Speaking of that, BRODY! What’s a +sheet? What are skills? What are dice rolls?”

Announcement: Wik shouts, “Alopexers, we’re gonna see some real live action tonight. Meet on the bridge.”

Brody says, “Wonderful questions. I’ll start with the +sheet. If you’ve ever played tabletop games, you’ve filled out a sheet before. If you’ve played a MUD, you’ve probably seen a stats page, and if you’ve played a MMORPG, you’ve seen a character panel with stats and skills and achievements. Our +sheet is basically how we keep track of what our character knows and can do.”

Litar says, “G2 – +sheet = score”

Brody says, “Skills are another way of measuring your character’s growth over time. When you start out, you get a certain number of points to spend on your +sheet. Over time, you earn more points and you can raise existing skills, add new ones, and expand your capacity to learn more.”

Brody says, “On OtherSpace, we have a pretty tight skill system these days – type +skills to see the various groups that they fall under.”

Guest2 says, “Anyway to turn off certain channels, like public?”

Coyote says, “@chan/gag pub”

Reode spams over here too

Reode hugs guest

Reode says, “+silence”

Coyote clamps his jaws on Reode.

Reode squeals!

Guest2 says, “Thank you coyote”

Brody says, “+skills Physical will show that group of skills”

Brody says, “Under that, you’ll see a cluster of things like Agility, Endurance, Larceny, etc.”

Guest has disconnected.

Brody says, “Type +sinfo agility to see what specialties you can learn under that skill group.”

Guest2 says, “Class based?”

Brody says, “No, it’s very a la carte.”

Brody says, “You can be a pilot who knows medicine or a merchant who’s also an assassin.”

Guest2 says, “Nifty”

Litar says, “Or an ass-kicker who ice sculpts.”

Litar >.>

Brody hehs!

Zu says, “Or a freaking samurai.”

Guest2 says, “woah.. profanity?”

Brody says, “Yes, you can cuss here.”

Rynnkk Caerrikk has disconnected.

Vadim says, “As much as you like.”

Guest2 swoons.

Vadim says, “It’s pretty great.”

Brody has had some nasty-mouthed characters.

Litar says, “Although we keep it to a minimum on +pub, I think?”

Reode cusses at Vadim.

Litar says, “And anything X-rated goes on the +corndog channel.”

Reode says, “Oh uh, er”

Reode says, “Is this the mush class? D:”

Vadim makes lewd commets about Reode’s mother.

Reode >:(

Coyote says, “Yes, Reode.”

Reode says, “I feel like I’m intruding”

Brody grins.

Brody says, “Reode, you can help the newbie feel welcome.”

Guest2 says, “The more the merrier.”

Reode :I

Coyote hands Reode to Guest2.

Reode says, “Hai guest”

Guest2 says, “Gifts!”

Litar says, “She’s a cute little bat.”

Brody kinda gave up policing Public too much. “It became silly. We just avoid politics and religion there for the most part.”

Reode squeaks.

Brody says, “Corndog is a good no-holds-barred place to go.”

Litar says, “@chan/list shows you all five million channels.”

Brody says, “Okay, where was I? Dice rolls.”

Guest2 says, “5 million?”

Litar says, “Give or take a couple mil.”

Vadim says, “Give or take”

Guest2 says, “Good god..”

Vadim says, “There used to be more recently until Coyote deleted some really old ones.”

Brody says, “The long and short of the +sheet is it determines how you do when you roll the dice to test your skills during a scene that requires such tests. Usually, this involves a ref (a staffer or a player running an event).”

Rynnkk Caerrikk has connected.

Brody says, “When told to roll the dice, you’ll be informed which skill to test and any modifiers that are required based on difficulty or other situational elements.”

Rynnkk Caerrikk has left.

Rynnkk Caerrikk enters RP MODE.

Litar says, “IT sounds complicated, but it isn’t.”

Guest2 says, “That’s a little beyond me. I’m used the game rolling for me per se”

Brody types +roll running at -2

Litar says, “And the ref will always tell you what to roll, so if – like me – have nfi what to do, you don’t have to.”

Guest2 says, “Yeah we’re so much alike, it still scares me.”

Brody says, “It takes a little getting used to, but it’s painless after a while.”

Announcement: Wik shouts, “Last call for Alopex alts for an adventure.”

Litar says, “Oh yes, I did forget to mention that Guest2 is my twin in spirit. I hope she stays to plague ALL OF YOU.  “

Guest2 says, “Oh, obvious question.. What races are there?”

Brody says, “Once all the dust is settled and the dice rolling is done, we’ve got commands to inflict damage and to heal it too.”

Vadim says, “A bunch of races.”

Vadim says, “More than you can shake a stick at.”

Brody nods. “There are oodles. But here’s a link: https://www.jointhesaga.com/osraces.html“

Guest2 says, “I don’t know, I can shake a stick at a lot of things.”

Coyote says, “To the tune of 40+ races?”

Litar says, “Oh yeah, G2, we actually USE our wiki over here, btw.”

Vadim picks up Reode by the feet. Shakes at Guest.

Reode chitters.

Brody says, “Basically, we’ve got furred, scaled, chitinous, vanilla human, big rock guys, tiny people, bird people, jellyfish, salamander folk, fish folk…”

Reode says, “Be a bat”

Guest2 says, “is the wiki ic or is ooc with bad information like over There?”

Coyote says, “It is both IC and OOC in equal parts.”

Brody says, “Well, if someone wanted an IC journal on the Wiki, that’d be IC. Yeah.”

Brody says, “A lot of it is just OOC storage of RP logs, info about the game.”

Guest2 says, “Why bat?”

Reode says, “Why not!”

Rathenhope has disconnected.

Guest2 says, “Just wondering why bat is appealing.”

Zu says, “We are kind of awesome.”

Coyote says, “They are cute.”

Reode grins, teases. Be a grumpy ole human like Vadim.

Brody says, “Tupai are kinda cool – bat-like, sonar, fly around.”

Guest2 says, “Humans are boring.”

Litar says, “You’ve gotta like the Guest NOW. <3″

Brody grins.

Zu says, “I don’t know. Humans can be kinda cool with the whole rift thing we have here.”

Brody nods. “Rifted humans rock.”

Reode says, “Yep.”

Guest2 says, “But.. um.. wow.. that’s quite a list of races. If I were to pick now though, it’d probably be a…. Riftwalker”

Reode will make one, one day.

Brody says, “You can be a Wild West cowboy dropped into Hiverspace.”

Vadim snorts.

Vadim says, “Humans are not boring. Racists.”

Reode 

Reode likes humans, actually.

Zu had a samurai for his first character that is still his favorite to play.

Brody says, “We’ve also got a space system. If you think dice rolls are complicated…well, our space system is pretty simple, but it involves a few more commands.”

Brody shares a link: https://www.jointhesaga.com/oscspace.html

Litar says, “But there’s a love CSpace page on the wiki with all of them listed out!”

Brody nods. “And the Wiki page, yep.”

Brody says, “The space system is starting to come into its own these days – people are getting ships and now that we have the commodities crafting/buying/selling, they have more reason to use them and go exploring.”

Coyote says, “There are a lot of custom systems and commands for different things – generally speaking, any command that is specific to this MUSH will be a +command, like +roll, +sheet, etc.”

Brody nodnods.

Brody says, “There are a couple of ways to get a ship: 1) Pull together a crew and ask the staff to make it for you. 2) Earn one as a Veteran Reward by playing here a while.”

Coyote says, “The basic stuff – say, pose, and emit – is really enough to play the game, if you don’t use all of those other systems like crafting.”

Brody says, “Exactly.”

Guest2 says, “Okay back up.. There are rewards for playing?”

Altor has arrived.

Altor arrives from RP mode.

Brody says, “Yes, there are. We reward you: https://www.jointhesaga.com/osvetrewards.html“

Litar says, “Yes, you get IC rewards for longevity, starting at – what, one onth?”

Litar says, “*month”

Brody says, “Starting at 1 month, yep.”

Guest2 thinks.

Guest2 says, “Sooo where do I sign up?”

Guest2 says, “I don’t know how much time I can give, but it’s worth trying out I think.”

Brody says, “Well, you only have to give as much as you can spare. The universe moves on, but we always say hey when you wander back :0″

Litar says, “The dotted line at the end of this document titled “My Soul”.”

Brody grins.

Brody says, “You go back to the connect screen and type create Name Password”

Guest2 says, “Oh well Lit already has my soul, so that’s not going to work.”

Litar >.>

Guest2 says, “Okay let me see if I can get back in. hang on.”

Coyote says, “Just type QUIT to go back to the login screen.”

Brody says, “Or LOGOUT”

Guest2 says, “apparently I can’t do that.”

Guest2 has disconnected.

Kalique has connected.

Kalique says, “There we go”

Brody says, “Welcome  “

Brody says, “Your next step is to go through the exit marked CG. If you need help, pipe up on the Newbie channel with +new MESSAGE”

Kalique says, “CG is where I’ll create my race, etc?”

Brody says, “Indeed”

Kalique says, “Well, here goes nothing.”