Frequently Asked Questions

NOTE: The FAQ will be updated and changed frequently as questions are asked and added, and certain material is moved to the appropriate sections of the wiki.

Regarding MUSHing

What is a MUSH?

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MUSH stands for Multi-User Shared Hallucination, which is a form of MUD (Multi-User Dungeon or Dimension). It is a text-based interface that allows people to interact in virtual "rooms" through a coded system.

Wikipedia defines a MUSH as a text-based online social medium to which multiple users are connected at the same time. MUSHes are often used for online social intercourse and role-playing games, although the first forms of MUSH do not appear to be coded specifically to implement gaming activity.

Simply put, a MUSH is an online, text-based multi-player role playing game. Think of it as a series of chat rooms with role playing going on simultaneously, and (mostly) lacking dice and character stats. Participants in the MUSH create a character and bring them to life in the designated world.

The lack of stats encourages role-playing, which involves participants in a combination of game-playing and storytelling.

How Do I MUSH?

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In order to connect to the MUSH, you will need to use Telnet.

There are those 'old school' and masterful types who can telnet right from their browsers or via a command line. For the rest of us, there are telnet clients. Here are a few that are used most frequently by our players:

On the PC

• SimpleMU
• MUSHClient

On the Mac

• Atlantis
• Savitar

On Linux

• TinyFugue

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Regarding Playing

Ghosts

Do ghosts fade?

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The short answer is "Yes, ghosts do fade over time." The long answer is a bit more complicated.

Ghosts linger because they have unfinished business, they are unaware that they are dead, or they simply do not want to move on. If a ghost resolves his unfinished business his crossover portal will appear. Sometimes, ghosts ignore their portals, or spend years (or centuries) with unfinished business. Eventually, these spirits will fade, but the duration of their stay on the physical realm varies from ghost to ghost. Differing factors influence it, including but not limited to: the ghost's attachment to their human life, the spirit's attachment to other mortals, the awareness of the spirit that it is a ghost and should move on.

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Psychics

Can telepaths read the minds of other supernaturals?

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It all depends on the race of the other supernatural.

The minds of Vampires are closed to telepaths. A telepath attempting to read the mind of a Vampire will find themselves reading nothing more than a 'blank spot' or 'empty space.' This is different from encountering someone with a shielded mind, who reads more like a brick wall or a barrier. The mind is there and the telepath senses that. With a Vampire, the telepath has no sense of a mind, even though they may be visually tracking the Vampire and knows the person/being is there¹.

Can psychics have more than one branch of power?

Yes, but both will not be super-powerful.

What this means is that a typical psychic following one branch will be a telepath. This telepath may also be empathic, able to project thoughts and control others, or slip into dreams. These abilities interweave and relate, grow together and build on one another.

A telepath who also is telekinetic will have their development divided between the two branches. One ability will be weak and one strong, or they will be equal. However, this means that they will never have the full strength of psychic who is only telepathic or telekinetic.

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Shifters

Can Shifters be magical creatures?

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No. Shifters are, by their very nature, magical creatures. They can not shift into mythical beasts (unicorns, gargoyles, merfolk, etc.) from any mythology. They cannot shift into half-creatures like centaurs or minotaurs either.

Shifters take on the forms of animals that generally live in the area that they're from.²

Can Shifters be large zoo type animals?

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They can be things such as lions or tigers, yes. Even elephants. Just remember that the game takes place in New York City, and having large zoo types running free in Central Park or the streets of Manhattan would cause some serious chaos.³

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Vampires

Are Vampires awake during the day?

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Yes, NYC Vampires can be awake and active during the day. However, all vampires, aside from those who possess Daywalking as a special ability, have to avoid sunlight and stay indoors during the day⁴. Because of this, most Vampires have a nocturnal lifestyle and choose to keep it that way.

Even though Vampires may be awake, their bodies do require a 'death sleep' or 'torpor' for a set number of hours per day. The time required is dependent on a combination of factors: the age of the Vampire, the time of last feeding and how well fed the Vampire is, the last time they entered torpor, and how active the Vampire has been. Younger vampires (those under fifty years old) often require entering into this state for eight to twelve hours every day⁵ while older Vampires may only require three-to-four hours every day or six-to-eight every other day.

NOTE: Torpor is very different from human sleep. During torpor, a Vampire's body is resting and recharging. To all observers, this is when the Vampire truly appears to be dead; there is no pantomime of heartbeat and breathing, nothing that would make one believe the body is ever animate. This is when a vampire is most vulnerable and for that reason, the place where Vampires choose to torpor is often well protected or guarded.

Do Vampires need sleep?

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Vampires do not need sleep the way that humans do. Vampires need torpor (see above). However, Vampires do have the ability to nap and sleep, though it will not recharge them the way that torpor does.

Do Vampires have souls?

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Yes, contrary to a great many mythos on vampires, the Vampires of NYC do have souls.

The process of becoming a Vampire does not eject the soul from the body and leave a demon with memories. Instead, the process is a metaphysical melding of the human soul with the demonic energy/force (or in some theories, plain demon) that reanimates the body and hungers for blood (and chaos.) Indeed, whatever it is that makes up this force, whether it is just a 'living' force of chaos, or a true demon, is what allows Vampires to feel things; or alternately, to turn off their emotions and humanity.

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General

How do I get involved with the meta plots?

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Ask.

It's no harder than that. Ask an active staffer either by paging them on the grid, or sending them mail. Tell them you want to be part of the plot, and how you think your character can get involved. We're story tellers and we want everyone involved, especially in the over-arcing large plots. (It helps if there a posted logs as well so we can see what your character has been up to and what they may know or not know.)

So … ask. Directly. We'll see what we can do⁶.

Are there restrictions on races and playing/app-ing certain ones?

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Yes and no.

We don't have a hard and fast list of restrictions, or a full ten page write up of what a player can and cannot play and can or cannot app. This is a case where we are going to rely on the mature mind set of our player base to use common sense. If you're creating an uber!powerful Vampire or a Super!Sorcerer who summons demons, and haven't consulted with Staff about it, then chances are good that the character will be rejected.⁷

So, please be logical and reasonable about your character creation. Look around and see how strong/weak the other characters are and that should tell you the character limits. If you have a question, ask. (As a caveat to this, if you ask and something is approved, don't embellish it or add to it in your background or once your character is live. Stick to what was approved or we will pull out the the whips and cattle prods.)

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Notes

1. There are theories, few and scattered as not many telepaths have had much chance to identify and attempt mind reading of vampires that suggest that it's not impossible to read the Vampire's mind. However, the mind is so alien that the normal telepathic human mind can't process it.

2. In New York City these are more specifically things such as chipmunks, squirrels, cottontail rabbits, herons, muskrats, swans, painted turtles, rats, cats, dogs, and coyotes.

3. That being said, ICA=ICC. If a shifter chooses to turn into an elephant and stomp on vehicles, expect the character to be tranquilized or worse.

4. Yes, even on rainy days, because as long as the sun has 'risen' then there is sunlight.

5. Which could very well be the reason for the mythology that believes Vampires must sleep all day.

6. Don't assume and don't self-insert. The story tellers have a specific plot or ideas in mind, and you might find your storyline pulled or retconned if you just assume where your character fits. That's a waste of RP time. When in doubt, always ask.

7. With great power comes great responsibility. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. We have seen powerful characters abuse their power and other characters. We want to avoid that.