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Housing and Shops
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Applications only need to be made for mortals with special knowledge
or abnormal abilities, and for those who aren't entirely human. This includes
all of the super types (Mages, Vampires, etc), as well as Familiars, Ghouls,
Kinfolk, Kinain, and so on. Before sending in any sort of application,
you should check the information listed under the '+news Characters' listings,
as well as the +finger information of the specific admin. It is also a
good idea to at least run the idea by the admin that would be in charge
of that character, to see if he or she would fit in with their plans and
ideas for the group. After this, you should have an idea as to how the
application should be structured, and how it should be sent in. For information
on the next step, please see +news Approval.
Last Update: Dec 3 1996
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There are three basic levels of approval here at Crescent City: That for mortals, that for characters who have submitted applications, and that for high stats. Each of these is covered separately below.
Mortals
These are the characters that have gone through the chargen system
here, who fill the rank and file of the MUSH. Those without knowledge of
the supernatural, or extremely unusual backgrounds fall into this category:
the teachers, reporters, waitresses, accountants, and so on, who form the
bulk of the city's residents. These characters can be approved by any of
the RP admins, though certain people, depending on background, the mortal
admins: Desire and/or Ragged Robin, for final approval.
Supernaturals, Mortal plus, Numina, Hedge Mage, etc
These are the characters who mailed a complete preliminary background
and list of stats to one of the admins, for either supers, or mortals beyond
the norm. The approval process for these types follows this pattern: The
admin who received your application will review it, and decide whether
or not they wish to accept you. If they do, then the application will be
submitted to the other RP admins, who vote on the application. A majority
vote (Five out of Eight, including the primary admin) is required for approval.
If for some reason your application is turned down, you will be notified
as to what the problems with it were.
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Never assume that all of the books published by White Wolf are used
here, nor that all of the rules in new additions or supplements are in
effect. In addition to the House Rules bb, there are news files on what
books, and what parts of books, are used here. The commands are +news vamp-books,
were-books, mage-books, wraith-books, and fae-books.
Last Update: Aug 22 1997
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The books I Use
Changeling: The Dreaming (First Edition)
Nobles:The Shining Toast
Autumn People
Dreams and Nightmares
-EXERPTS-From Changeling: The Dreaming II
I only use the above. I occasionally will accept things from
other books, but usually, I only accept those things I can find in the
above books. All other books do not exist here.
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These are the books that are considered "canon" in the mage sphere,
except where I have made alterations that are posted in +news Mage-Rules,
the house-rules bulletin boards, and the mage board.
Mage 2nd Edition.
The Book of Shadows
The Book of Chantries
The Book of Madness
Ascensions Right Hand
The Book of Worlds
Traditions Book: Sons of Ether
Traditions Book: Celestial Chorus
Traditions Book: Cult of Ecstasy
Convention Book: Iteration X
Convention Book: New World Order
Convention Book: Progenitors
Convention Book: Syndicate
Convention Book: Void Engineers
More will be added as I get funds.
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Below is a list of the book that will be used for the Vamp sphere (those
denoted with an * are crucial)
Vampire: The Masquerade (3rd ed)*
Vampire: Players Guide - Soon to be converted to Guide(s) To the Camarilla
and Sabbat.*
All Clanbooks.
These are books that I will accept /some/ things from. Individual cases
will be discussed:
Elysium (on rare cases).
Storytellers Handbook to the Sabbat.
A World of Darkness (2nd ed.)
Ghouls: Fatal Addiction.
Books not listed are most likely not going to be used here though,
as with the above, some exceptions can be made.
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Books recognized in the wraith sphere:
Wraith 2nd Edition
Wraith Player's Guide
Shadow Player's Guide
Dark Reflections: Spectres
The Risen
The Quick and the Dead
Mediums: Speakers with the Dead
Mummy 2nd Edition
All rules from these books are used here except as noted in House Rules.
The exception to this is crossover rules, which are usually ignored. See
the crossover rules bb for what /is/ used.
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The Basics
All players start with 8 quota for building rooms and objects, regardless
of resource level. If you find you need more quota, contact your RP admin
(or any admin if you are mortal), and outline what you need. Any decisions
they make are final; contacting a second admin for a request that has already
been turned down will not be looked on kindly. Please check the +news housing-shops
for information on apartments.
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For help on how to build, please see the following files:
Tutorial: The Bare Basics of building
two rooms
Rooms: Everything
about where you spend all of your time as a character
Exits: Where
all the little details are needed.
Build-Extras: Flags, Commands, and the like
Desc-Tutorial: Help for how to Udesc and Wdesc
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First Things First
This news file, and those that follow, will take you through the bare
basics of the necessary code for building. Please refer to the other files
listed under +news Building, as well as the MUSH Help files, for further
information.
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Starting Out
To begin with, you should know what it is you're building, and have
a general idea, either on paper or in your head, about the layout for your
project. For this Tutorial, we'll be building a simple one-bedroom apartment.
You should keep in mind when building that space in the database of the
MUSH is somewhat limited; you should only build rooms that will actually
get used. So please, no bathrooms, closets, and so forth. In our case,
we'll assume that we are building off the Blueprint Room (accessable from
the OOC Room). This is usually, but not always the case, so your personal
building project may begin differently, but the basics should be the same.
We start by digging a room, in this case, the front room of the apartment,
by typing: @dig Front Room - Joe's Apartment.
A note, at this point. When you use the @dig command, the MUSH will tell you that such-and-such room was build with a certain number. This number is the Room's Database Number (shortened to db#), which all objects on a MUSH possess. Please make sure to keep this number handy, as it is referenced most immediately by the commands for exits.
So, you've dug the front room of the apartment. It's time to connect this room to the Blueprint Room. To do so, we follow the remainder of the directions that can be found in that room; We @chown, or change the ownership, of one of the available exits, then we @link that exit to the db# of the room we created. Finally, on this side, we re-name the exit so that a) people will know it has been taken, and b) it will indicate what this exit leads to when your building project is done and approved. In our case, we will assume that the exit named '5' is available, and that Front Room - Joe's Apartment was created with db #400. We would then type the following: @chown 5 @link 5=#400 @name 5 = Joe's Apartment <JA>;ja;joe
From this point, we're done on the outside. We would then type 'ja'
to enter our newly created room, so that we can continue with the building
process.
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Finishing the Basics
At this point, we only have two commands left before the bare-bones
layout of our building project is done. At this point, after entering the
room we created, there is no exit out. This we take care of first, by @opening
an exit. In this case, since we are linking it to the Blueprint Room, we
know the db#, 35. So, we would type the following:
@open Out <O>;o;out;x;exit;leave=#35With that done, we have but to create the bedroom, and the exit in and out. A form of the @dig command allows us to do all three of these things in one swoop. We need only to type this
@dig Bedroom - Joe's Apartment=Bedroom <B>;b;bed;bedroom, Out <O>;o;outThis will create a second room, the bedroom, with an exit into this room from the Front Room named Bedroom <B>, and an Out <O> exit from the bedroom back to the front room. The basics are now done!
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Fleshing Things Out
Once the basic layout of rooms and exits is created, it's time to fill
things in. This consists of two main steps: descing, and setting up the
exits. Descing, or describing things, is the primary concern. This is what
tells people what things look like, giving the spaces you are building
a sense that they're actually real. A wonderfully described room will do
much to add to the roleplay that goes on within it. All rooms and exits
need to be described. The basic format for this is: @desc <object>=<description>.
For rooms, you can replace <object> with 'here' if you are in the room
at the time. Room @descs should be someplace between half a screen and
a full screen in length, while exit @descs should just be at least one
sentence long. For our example, we describe the front room first, including
the furniture, posters on the wall, the kitchenette, etc, then the two
doors here simply like so:
@desc o=A wooden door leading out of the apartment.After doing this for the other room and exits (including the exit into the apartment), we're ready for the final bit of coding.
@desc b=A doorway leading to the bedroom.
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Final Touches
After all the @descing is done, all that remains is the final coding
on the exits. We'll assume for this tutorial that none of the doors will
be locked, since most exits are done this way. Locking exits, and the additional
code needed, will be covered under the +news Exits files. In our case,
we will only need three commands:
@succ@succ is the message which is received by the character actually moving.
@osucc
@odrop.
For these last two commands, @osucc and @odrop, the moving character's name automatically prefixes the message you set on the door.
For an example, we'll set these three messages for the door into the bedroom. While in the Front Room - Joe's Apartment, we would type the following:
@succ b=You step through the doorway and into the bedroom.Once these commands are used for all the exits, your building project is done! If you want more detailed help, please read through the Help files for all of the above commands, as well as the other Building +news.
@osucc b=steps into the bedroom.
@odrop b=walks into the bedroom.
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This file and those that follow include all the basics on just what
a room on a MUSH is, and how you go about creating one. It is designed
primarily for those new to a MUSHing environment, or those who have never
built anything. It also includes some specific information on how rooms
should be dealt with here on Crescent City, so while most of the files
will apply on any MUSH environment, not all will. Also note that further
information can be found under the other +news Building files, as well
as the MUSH help files.
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So, just what is a room? On a MUSH, a Room is an object that represents
a physical location. Along with exits, which are used to connect rooms,
it creates an imaginary topography that characters can maneuver through
and interact with. At the barest minimums, a room consists of an object
with a name, database number, description, and an exit leading out of it.
Exits are covered under a separate topic, due to some complexities involved
in their code.
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Rooms are created with the @dig command. This command has a number of
different forms, depending on what exactly you want it to do. You can,
if you wish, build the room, an exit into the room, and an exit out of
the room, all at the same time. Or, you can build a room completely unattached
to any other room. We'll discuss all the possibilities here, but specific
information on exits is under another set of files. At it's most basic
form, the @dig command creates a room unattached to any other by exits.
Such a room, with no link to another room, is termed a 'floating room'.
The MUSH will notify you if you own any rooms which are not connected to
any other rooms. To create a room in this fashion, say a bedroom, you would
type the following: @dig Bedroom
The format for this is @dig <name>. Notes on standard naming conventions
for rooms can be found below. When you use @dig, it informs you of the
db#, or database number, of the room. This allows you to use the @tel command
to get to it (especially important if you created no exits.) You can also
get into the room at the time of creation by using @dig/teleport <name>.
In order to avoid having to @tel anyplace you want to go, rooms are
connected by exits. This can be done as the room is created, and building
is generally done this way, since it makes things much easier. The format
for @digging in this fashion is: @dig <name>=<exitlist>,<exitlist>
An exitlist is the name of the exit, followed by a list of aliases for
that exit separated by semicolons. This is explained in more detail in
+news Exits. In the above command, the first <exitlist> is for the exit
which leads into the room, while the second <exitlist> is for the exit
which leads out of the newly created room. Also note that you MUST own
the room you are standing in when using the above form of the @dig command,
or the exit in that room to the room you have just @dug will not be created.
As well, you must either own the starting room, or it must be set link_ok
for the exit out of your newly created room to work correctly.
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The name of the room helps the player who's just entered it to orientate
themselves as to where they now stand. In general, just a word are two
are sufficient, depending on the location. Examples of such room names
are the following: Kitchen, Bedroom, Church Confessional. However, it often
helps to provide more detail than this, by defining just where this kitchen
or bedroom is. One of the standard conventions for this calls for naming
rooms with a list, starting with the most specific, separated by hyphens.
For example, if you were building a bedroom, you would include the apartment
number the bedroom was in (ie: Bedroom - Apartment 201). You may also want
to include which building the apartment is in (ie: Bedroom - Apartment
201 - Whispering Palms Apt.), but this is more a matter of personal taste.
Also note, the name of a room usually only matters for helping to define
exactly where a player is standing. All commands used to set attributes
on a room accept 'here' instead, as long as you are standing in the room.
So, to rename a room, you have only to type: @name here=<whatever>
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The final bit of code needed on a room is its description. This is truly
what makes a room important for players; it tells them what the room looks
like, any important objects it contains, and gives them a solid grip on
just where it is they're standing, which helps roleplaying immensely. Roleplaying
in a void is often very difficult. To set the description on a room you're
standing in, you type the following: @desc here=<description>
In general, room descriptions should be approximately half a screen to
a full screen in length. More than that tends to overwhelm a player with
detail.
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Here at Crescent City, we have two additional descriptions that need to be added to each room. These are the Umbral desc, and the Shadowlands desc. These will generally not be seen by mortals, but a number of supers will use these from time to time, most especially Wraiths. In order to set these, please use the following commands: &udesc here=<Umbral Desc> &wdesc here=<Shadowlands Desc> If you are unclear as to what the Umbra or Shadowlands refer to, please talk to any member of the staff, and they will be happy to help you out. +news desc-tutorial will give you an example or two to look at.
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Special Descriptions
The Shadowlands and the Umbra
The Shadowlands are like our world, through a mirror, darkly. Where we see new buildings, they see those already touched by time. Where we see a garden, they see dying blooms and browning leaves. For even the most cynical of us, we live in a world of Summer. They live in Autumn, just around the corner from Winter.
The part of the Umbra that touches our world also mirrors it, only not necessarily very completely. Only people and things with a some sort of spiritual ties will have made it to spirit world -- buildings with a long history, objects imbued with some strong emotional ties, nature allowed to grow wild; these are the things that tend to show up best, though sometimes those things that are the very opposite of spiritual or natural show up as well: highly technical areas often appear covered with the webs of the Weaver, computer networks may have small net.spiders running around in their Umbral counterparts, polluted areas may show up twice as strongly as a blot upon the Umbra.
Example One
A courtyard at a rooming house:
The regular description reads:
Between the two wings of the building, one can sit and enjoy a breath
of fresh air. Flowers and bushes lines the stone walkways leading from
the entrance hall around the courtyard; two pathways lead to suites in
the east and west wings that are graced with patios. Several willow and
cypress trees are planted here, shading a brace of benches. In the back
of the courtyard is a vine-covered gazebo.
The Shadowlands description reads: Between the two wings of the building, a barren garden lies. Stone pathways missing blocks lead around the courtyard and to suites in the wings on either side. Dead willows and cypress trees missing branches stand placed to shade two benches, but shade them no more. In the back of the courtyard is a plain wooden gazebo with dead ivy twining through the screened section.
The Umbral Description reads: Vibrant flowers and sturdy trees (willows
and cypresses) stand between stone walkways, creating an area where one
could sit and relax and enjoy a breath of fresh air and nature within the
confines of this otherwise urbanized area. A brace of stone benches sit
invitingly in the shade of the trees and a gazebo near the back is covered
in ivy and morning glories that are always blooming no matter the weather.
Example Two
A normal office building:
The regular description reads:
The lobby of Talbot Properties is typical tile-and-off-white-wall modern
americana office in style. An elevator stands ready to take passengers
to the upper two floors, a directory near it available for visitors. A
small office is visible from here; near it a hallway goes to what you presume
are more offices.
The wdesc is: The lobby of the building is a typical modern american office; dirty tiles on the floor, off-white walls with fingerprints and handprints. An elevator shaft gapes open on one side of the lobby. A small, totally dark office is visible from here; the sign on the door reads "Ta b t roper s."
The udesc is: An empty lot, weeds growing around it, small spiders'
webs visible in several of the plants.
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Exits
This file, and those that follow, include all the basics of exits on
a MUSH, how to create one, and what needs to be done to make it function
properly. Like the files on Rooms, it is designed primarily for those
with very little MUSH or building experience. Further information on building
can be found
under the other +news Building files, as well as in the MUSH help files.
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An exit is an object which connects one Room to another on a MUSH. Generally,
exits are created in pairs: a way in, and a way out. At the minimum, an
exit consists of an object with a name, description, and three coded responses:
@succ, @osucc, and @odrop. These last three are the messages sent to the
player using the exit, the room that player left, and the room the player
is entering, respectively.
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Creating an Exit
There are two commands which can be used to create an exit. The first
of these is the @dig command, which is covered under +news Rooms, as it
creates Rooms and Exits at the same time. The second is the @open command.
This just creates exits, and has three basic forms. These forms, and their
uses, are as follows:
@open <exitlist> Creates an unlinked exit.
@open <exitlist>=<db#> Creates an exit linked to a room.
@open <list1>=<db#>,<list2> Creates an exit linked to a room, with a second exit created in that room linked back to this one.
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The name of an exit is important: it shows a player which ways he can
leave a space, giving some indication of where that direction leads, and
has a list of alternate names, or aliases, which can be typed instead of
the full name to move in that direction. The basic format for an <exitlist>,
or name of an exit, is: Name <abbreviation>;alias1;alias2;etc. This
breaks down like so: The 'Name <abbreviation>' is what shows up on the
"Obvious exits" list when you look at a room. Examples of typical name/abbreviation
combinations are: Kitchen <K>, Wooden Door <WD>, Hospital Lobby <HL>.
Aliases are alternatives to typing out the entire name of the exit when
you wish to pass through it. Most of the time, the first alias is the same
as the abbreviation; so, for example, the full name of an exit into a kitchen
could be: Kitchen <K>;k;kit;kitch. Be careful not to use aliases in
exits which are the same as the abbreviations for MUSH commands; the most
common of these are: i, h, r, and l.
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One Last Bit on Creating Exits
Note, you must own a room to create an exit in it. You can connect an
exit to a room you don't own, as long as that room is set link_ok. If you
have need to own an exit in a room someone else owns, have them create
the exit, then @chown it to you. You can own an exit in a room that isn't
yours, you just can't make it there initially.
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The Details
It's here that most people fall short on exits. Four attributes need
to be set on each exit for it to function properly. Without these attributes,
especially the last two, people moving through the rooms you've built will
be left confused. These four attributes are: @desc, @succ, @osucc, and
@odrop. The first, @desc, is a command you should already be familiar
with. It describes the exit. Just a brief sentence or two should
suffice for the majority of exits.
The second basic attribute needed on an exit is @succ. This is the message which is shown to the player moving through the exit; in general, a single sentence will do. For example, the @succ for an exit leading into a kitchen could be: You push open the door and enter the kitchen. Just a brief note so the player knows how he entered the space.
Next is @osucc. This is the message emitted to the room that the player is leaving. @osucc messages are appended by the player's name, so the attributes often look like fragments of sentences. Continuing our example, the @osucc for the kitchen exit might be: enters the kitchen.
The final attribute is @odrop. This is the message which is emitted
to the room the player is entering, and like @osucc, is appended automatically
with the player's name. Finishing our example, the @odrop for the kitchen
exit might be: comes in from the front room.
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Substitutions
Sometimes, especially in @odrops and @osuccs, you will want to use
pronoun substitutions rather than the player's name. Since these are variable
depending on who is passing through the door, you have to use a special
command which evaluates the @sex of the player moving before sending the
emit in question. Three of these substitutions (which are explained in
detail under HELP SUBSTITUTIONS) are commonly used on exits: %s, %o, and
%p. These are for the subjective (he, she), objective (him, her), and possessive
(his, her) pronouns, respectively. An example of substitution use could
be: @odrop kitchen=ducks %p head as %s steps through the low doorway.
In the above, it would return "ducks his head as he steps
through the low doorway." if a player set as a Male used that exit.
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Locks
Exits, as discussed so far, can be used by any player. There is a way,
however, to lock an exit so that only one player, or a list of players,
can use it. This requires the use of the @lock command. Full details on
this command can be found under HELP @lock, but the basics needed for an
exit are covered below.
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For any door that you're going to be setting a lock on, you need to
set two additional attributes: @fail, and @ofail. @fail is the message
which is sent to the player attempting to pass through the exit if they
don't pass the lock. Such things as 'You try the door, but find it locked.'
are perfectly acceptable. The @ofail is a message emitted to the room the
exit is in when someone tries to go through a locked door and can't. This
message, like @osucc and @odrop, is prefaced with the player's name. Something
simple like 'tries the door, but finds it locked.' is usually all that
is needed.
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To lock a door requires one command: @lock. The general format for this
is "@lock <object>=<key>". <Key> is a list of objects or players
which are allowed through the exit, separated by |. In the case of player
names, unless they are currently present in the room, you have to preface
their names with an asterix (*). So, for example, to lock a door to everyone
but two players, Tom and Hugh, you would type: @lock door=*Hugh|*Tom. This
would allow only Hugh and Tom to pass through the exit.
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The above example of a lock will only allow the named players through
the door at all times. In order to unlock it, the owner of the exit must
use the @unlock command, and then that same owner must re-@lock it. In
cases where two players are supposed to have keys to the exit, this becomes
unrealistic, and a hassle. So, as the last bit of information on Exits,
we offer a simple coded lock function for those who are code-clueless.
In what follows, <db#> refers to the number of the exit leading into
the space, and <room#> refers to the database number of the room. These
two lines of code should be entered on the room the locking exit leads
into, and both the room and the exit should be owned by the same player
for this to work properly.
&cmd_lock here=$+lock:@lock <db#>=<player1>|<player2>|(and
so on...);@remit <room#>=%N locks the door. &cmd_unlock here=$+unlock:@unlock
<db#>;@remit <room#>=%N unlocks the door.
Once these two commands are entered, anyone can type +lock to lock the
door, and +unlock to unlock the door, regardless of object ownership. And
since only those who can pass the lock can get inside to unlock the door
to someone else, this adequately simulates having multiple keys to a door.
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This file, and those that follow it, cover miscellaneous topics relevant
to building on a MUSH. Further information is available under the other
+news Building files, as well as the MUSH help files.
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Commands
There are two additional commands which have some use in basic building:
@search, and @tel.
The first command, @search, gives you a list of objects under a given search criteria. Usually, when used in conjunction with building, this command is used to find rooms which are not yet connected by exits. The format for this type of search is: @search type=room.
The second command, @tel, is used to move your player from one room
to another, as long as the room you are moving to is either owned by you,
or is set jump_ok. This is quite handy in conjunction with the @search
pattern above, since it gives you the db#'s of the rooms you own. The syntax
for this command is @tel <db#>, or @tel <object>=<db#>, if you
want to move something you own to a room which you can legally @tel to.
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Flags are special attributes which are set with the @set command, which
control certain other commands. To set any of the flags listed below, type
@set <object>=<flag>, and to remove a flag, use @set <object>=!<flag>.
Note that <object> can be replaced with "here" if the flag is being
set on a room.
FLOATING -- This flag is set on rooms. Used when a room, or series
of rooms, does not have an exit leading to a room connected to the rest
of the MUSH, it stops the MUSH from notifying you that you have floating
rooms.
ABODE -- Also set on rooms, this allows a player to set that room as their home. See HELP HOME for more details.
JUMP_OK -- Again, this flag is generally set on rooms. It allows any player to @tel to that location.
LINK_OK -- Yet another room-primary flag. This one allows other players to @link their exits to your room.
CHOWN_OK -- This is used on rooms and exits. It allows another player to use the @chown command to take control of an object. Please see HELP @CHOWN for more details.
TRANSPARENT -- This is used on exits. When you look at the exit, you
will see
a description of the room the exit leads to, as well as the exit's
desc.
AUDIBLE -- This is used on both rooms and exits, but primarily on exits.
On a room, everything from a say, pose, or emit inside that room will be
sent to anything on the room's Forwardlist. On an exit, it will forward
all of the same to the room the exit is connected to. Please see HELP AUDIBLE
for more detailed information on related attributes.
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There are three +help files which are of special attention to builders:
Descs, senses, and +placeshelp. Please see these for information.
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While not common, audible exits are used frequently enough that they deserve some mention on setting one up beyond the listing of the audible flag. That, of course, is the first step necessary: @setting the exit AUDIBLE. There are two other attributes which need to be set on the exit: @prefix and @filter.
The first, @prefix, is the message which preceeds the information which is forwarded by the audible exit, so that players in that room know where the noises are coming from. For example, if you had an exit between a front room and a kitchen that was supposed to be mostly open space, you could set the @prefix on the exit out of the kitchen as "In the kitchen,". So, if someone posed that they had said 'Hello', people in the front room would hear: In the kitchen, Joe says, "Hello."
The second attribute, @filter, determines what is and isn't passed on
through the Audible exit. Specific uses for this vary from exit to exit,
but
in general, you will want to set the following, to help cut down on
spam when people are moving around: @filter <exit>={* has arrived.},{*
has left.}
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These topics cover the type of characters allowed here, as well as if slots for them are currently open or not, the information the specific admin wants in an application, and so on. Please check back to these periodically, as information will be added or updated as time passes.
Mortals: The normal folk who
do everything.
Crime: Those
who work around the law.
Police: Diligent law
enforcement.
Gypsies: The Rom are few,
but present, here.
Mages: Information
on the Awakened.
Fomori: Nasty minions
of the wyrm.
Wraiths: The unique society
of the wraiths of New Orleans.
Changelings: Glamour is plentiful in this city of
artists and revelry.
Hunters: When the Prey fights
back....
Vampires: Notes about the Undead.
Voodoo: Mortal practitioners
of voodoo.
Bataa: Craft
magi of a voodoo bent.
NOTE: These files change often, and as such, should be view on
the MUSH itself.
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Various people that the Co-Gods would like to thank for their help:
First off, the staff. They have been instrumental in getting things working and working well. Special thanks to the first Destiny (for the help files and +vote) and the first Desire (for building, coding, news files, and the yellow pages). Also to the third Death (now Jolly Roger) for her WWW news files, updating the first Desire's efforts marvelously.
Secondly, Amethyst@MountainCauldron for our channels and aura systems and help in compiling the damn server. Also, thanks to Whoopi@Darkweb for helping with the server hacks and MarxBrothers@Darkweb for permission to use some of their code.
Third, I'd like to thank a whole slew of coders for the useful stuff
of theirs I pilfered: Amy Chen@Darkweb (help on ghost code), Romanticism@Damned
(werecode), the gang at AmberMUSH (places), Myrddin@Dreaming (BBS), and
van@TinyTIM (FugueEdit).Also to Andromeda@Miami by Night for the local
bboard code.
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Getting experience
Any week that you log into the MUSH, you get an automatic experience
point for. After that, there are two ways to get further xp: staff awards
and +votes. The first are at the discretion of the admins, who can award
as much or as little bonus experience as they see fit. They usually do
so for excellent scenes they have run or when people send in recommendations
for xp for a person beyond what they can offer with +vote. The second means,
+votes, is simple. You can +vote for as many people as you like in the
week, but can only vote for a person once. At the end of the week, usually
on Saturday morning, +votes are tallied and xp is awarded as follows: 1-3
votes = +1 xp, 4-8 votes = +2 xp, and 9+ votes = +3 xp. If you think that
someone who have RPd with deserves even /more/, +mail your or their admin
with an explanation of why their RP was no compelling and they may reward
the person with bonus xp.
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Spending Experience
Once you've got it, what do you do with it? +mail your admin, preferably
with a meaningful subject like "XP Expenditure." For each stat increase,
include what you are raising a stat to, and justification: how did you
learn the knowledge/increase the attribute/learn the new power or whatever?
Note that the higher the stat, the more justification it will need. 4s
and 5s are rare, and even 3s usually take a fair length of time to justify.
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The Crescent City is aptly named. It follows a bend in the Mississippi
River, wedged between it and Lake Pontchartrain. The conventional directions
(north, south, east, and west) are nearly useless, because of this. So,
instead, they use: Riverside, Lakeside, Uptown (or upriver), and Downtown
(or downriver). They are beautifully self-explanatory and, using them,
the city actually makes some sense to navigate. For those of you who are
looking for something, in particular, use +map to see a rough text map
of the Quarter and +map/extra for areas outside of it.
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The following newsfiles contain information to help make RP more realistic
and enjoyable, as well as explain some conventions and mechanics.
+news Getting-Around: how the grid is
set up.
+news Housing-Shops: how to acquire or
create residences and businesses
+news IC-Laws:
frequently-broken laws that are always in effect
+news IC-Security:
a note on building security measures
+news Weapons:
rules on firearms and other weapons
How to get an apartment.
1. Read the profiles of available apartment complexes.
2. Choose an apartment within your resources.
3. All apartments, with the exception of Pontalbo are built in the
Blueprint Room.
4. Contact Jolly Roger when the project is finished to have it linked.
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| Building Index |
Can I have a house instead?
There are a variety of places on the grid for building stand alone
homes. As a general rule, houses require Resources 3+. Home in the Garden
District are very expensive and are reserved for Resources 4+. Moss Street
and Gov. Nicholls are two places Res 3 homes are allowed. Wizard approval
is required for building a house. Please get this approval -before- building.
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| Building Index |
Quota. How much do you get? How to get more.
Every character, regardless of resources, begins with an @quota of
8. This is enough for you <the player object>, two rooms and basic in/out
exits, and one prop object <cellphone, notebook, etc> If you wish to
build more than your initial allotment of 8 allows, for example, a shop,
or a larger home, this request must be requested, justified and approved.
You do not need to build each and every room that a home or apartment may
have. Build only what will be used for roleplay. +senses can be used to
add details, when quota is limited.
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| Building Index |
Building a business or shop
Approval of concept is required -before- you begin construction of
a shop/public hangout/restaurant/etc. If you wish your PC to own/run a
buisness, and you want that business on the grid, be sure to request permission,
or run the risk of being disapproved, and your hard work being for nothing.
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| Building Index |
Office Space
Talbot Properties, located at Lee Circle in the Central Business District,
has several offices of varying sizes available for rent/commercial lease.
This is the preferred place for business space. Approval for on-grid, stand
alone offices may be approved with justification.
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| Building Index |
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| Building Index |
Profile: Rosen House Apartments - Students
Rosen House is Tulane's primary dorm. Living space here is not granted
on basis of resource level, but on your status at Tulane. Faculty, staff,
and students: both under- and post-graduate, are the only people allowed
to obtain space here.
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| Building Index |
Profile: Florida Street Projects - Res 0,1
Florida Street Housing Projects is a subsidized government housing
area <welfare>. Proof of income and qualification is required. These
are run down apartments of varying size, depending on number of family
members. It is a high crime area.
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| Building Index |
Profile: Heritage Square Apartments - Res 3,4,5
The Heritage Square Development offer a new elegance for you to enjoy,
in the historic warehouse district. Luxury apartments at Heritage Square
offer many special features designed to offer residents the best quality
and elegance. Exclusive.
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| Building Index |
Profile: Pontalbo Apartments - Res 2,3
Pontalbo Apartment offers casual and affordable living in the French
Quarter. Flanking Jackson Square, ajacent to St. Louis Cathedral these
apartments are historic and boast century old architecture. Demand for
this location is high, and a waiting list times can range from weeks, to
months.
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| Building Index |
Profile: Beight's motel
For temporary Resources 1+ or permanent Resources 2+
Beight's Motel is a run down place in a not-so-good part of town. A
haven for prostitutes and drug dealers, it rents rooms by the night, week
or month. Rooms in the motel will not be chowned. Only the exit leading
into the room will be chowned.
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| Building Index |
Profile: Lamoth House - Resources 3+
Lamoth House is an upscale Boarding house. Ideal for single professionals
who do not desire the upkeep on a house or apartment. Three meals are provided
daily, as well as optional maid service.
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| Building Index |
Profile: Maisonettes - Res 2+
Upscale cottage living. Eight cottages surround a charming courtyard
shaded by orange and cypress trees. Private. Quiet. Adult only. No children
please.
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| Building Index |
Profile: Lafitte Apartments - Resources 1-2
Situated above the (in?)famous Cafe Lafitte in Exile, these apartments
provide a balcony overlooking Bourbon Street. Each apartment comes complete
with two rooms and small half-bath: the apartments share a communal full-bath.
This area of town is predominately gay and lesbian oriented.
OOC Contact: Jean-Batiste (Batty)
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| Building Index |
Resource 0 housing.
Sleeping rooms for Resource 0 or 1 are available. Located above shops
in the seedier part of Bourbon Street. These are not apartments, there
are barely bigger than a jail cell, and rent for next to nothing. (with
good reason)
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| Building Index |
IC Laws
PARKING: It is illegal to park on Jackson
Square, or on Bourbon Street. The exceptions are Bourbon and St. Peter
(in front of the Raven), and Bourbon and Toulouse (in front of Dark Secrets).
Vehicles found parked in prohibited areas will be towed and impounded.
Getting your car out of impounding costs around $200, more if the car has
been there for a long time (daily holding fees).
DRIVING: It is illegal to drive along Bourbon.
Cross-street traffic is allowed (as in crossing Bourbon while driving along
St. Peter). There are concrete barriers to prevent driving along Bourbon.
It's not only illegal, it's practically impossible.
CARRYING WEAPONS: Laws for carrying and concealing handguns can be found in +news weapons-laws. Switchblades and other handheld weapons also apply to these laws. Swords, practice swords, fighting poles, etc. may be carried, sheathed, as part of a costume or a historical re-enactment group.
AGE OF CONSENT: In IC New Orleans, the
age of consent is 18. RL, it is 16, but because of precedent, it is different
here. For our purposes, the change was passed at the end of IC 1998.
IC Security
If you have cameras watching your buildings, guards, or other IC security,
you must tell an admin (probably whoever links your building to the grid)
so that they can judgenote this. If you add them later, contact an admin
and ask them to note the new security. If it's not noted. Chances
are, if it comes into dispute, it doesn't exist.
Weapons
Weapons and other quasi- or illegal equipment (as well as equipment
that would be difficult to obtain: use your common sense) must be put on
your sheet by an admin. To request these items, contact your admin via
+mail. Your request's success depends on things such as your resources,
contacts and allies, and related abilities; decisions of the admin are
final.
Weapons Laws
The Louisiana laws that we most commonly see enforced are as follows:
1. No state permit is required to /possess/ a rifle, shotgun, or handgun.
2. It is lawful to carry a firearm provided it is not concealed. A
firearm in a holster is not concealed. It is lawful to carry a handgun
in the glove compartment of a motor vehicle.
3. It is lawful for a person to possess a machine gun provided it is
registered with the Department of Public Safety of of Louisiana and provided
all federal laws and regulations have been complied with.
4. State law does not require the registration of a machine gun "which
is unserviceable and which is transferred as a curiosity or ornament."
5. It is quite legal, for an everyday, law abiding citizen, to carry
a holstered, unconcealed handgun on the street. The exception to this is
during Mardi Gras.
6. Knives and other weapons are illegal to carry concealed. Long
blades and swords are /illegal/ to carry, open or concealed. They are legal
to own.
The following people are prohibited from carrying guns:
- Anyone under indictment for a crime punishable by 1 yr or more imprisonment
- Anyone who has been convicted of such a crime
- Fugitives from justice
- Unlawful users of controlled substances
- Illegal aliens
- Dishonorably discharged military officers
- Those who've renounced U.S. citizenship
- Anyone convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence
- Anyone under the age of 18 or deemed mentally incompetant
Directly from Louisiana state law on the subject of weapons sales to
minors:
"Unlawful sales to minors is the selling or otherwise delivery for
value by anyone over the age of seventeen of any firearm or other instrumentality
customarily used as a dangerous weapon, to any person under the age of
eighteen. Lack of knowledge of the minor's age shall not be a defense."
That is, anyone over 17 may not legally sell or trade any firearm OR
OTHER WEAPON to anyone under the age of 18.
Weapons Stats
See +news weapons-stats on the MUSH
All requests for weapons are sent to the player's admin through +mail.
Permits and other legal documents are applied for through the Police admin,
and the sphere admin. Requests must include this information:
- specific name of the weapon (see +news weapons-stats for examples)
- the stats of the weapons (+news weapons-stats)
- how the character ICly acquires the weapon
- why the character ICly would need or want the weapon
Languages
Each point of Linguistics you have gives you 5 points to spend among
different languages. Each language is then ranked from 1-5, just like other
stats, depending on fluency.
1 - you know a few words and phrases
2 - you know some useful phrases, broken conversation
3 - you can hold a simple conversation
4 - you are fluent, but have an accent
5 - you are equivalent to a native speaker
Your rating in the language will determine how much you will understand
when someone else speaks in that language. If you only have two dots in
French, for example, and someone says "My name is Mary, pleased to meet
you.", you might only see "My.... Mary, pleased... meet...". Please remember
your rating when speaking in the language, as well.
We are making an attempt to add +news for all the lores and what each
level means. These will be accessible with +news <lore> (ex. +news voodoo-lore),
but are a work in progress. Not all may be done, as we are going to add
them as people's time permits. For a full list of the lores available,
see +listlores.
This is a summary of the events which occured in May, 2000, by the game clock.
First, tensions between Pakistan and India mounted until a cabal of military leaders seized control in Pakistan for three days and managed to launch three nuclear missiles. One hit, and destroyed, New Dehli. The other two were fired after a failed U.S. attempt to remove the extremists from power. One of these two missiles was intercepted by a rocket and crashed into the Pacific and detonated just below the surface, sending tsunamis to devestate the islands and coasts of the North Pacific. The second malfunctioned and detonated near Albequerque, New Mexico, causing the city to be evacuated.
The second major event was a plague which swept through Europe and parts of Asia, Africa, and even was spreading to North America until a team of international scientists was able to come up with a treatment and vaccine. Still, hundreds of thousands of lives were lost. Third, there was a number of unexplained animal attacks, mostly on other animals. Wolf packs would fight each other until wiped out, panthers would attack construction crews in the amazon, and whole prides of lions and packs of hyenas would devestate each other without provocation.
Lastly, there was massive devestation to the Amazon Basin. An illness
began to sweep through the plant life, killing hundreds of acres a day,
until a drastic plan involving burning a huge swath of forest in the path
of the encroaching illness managed to stop it. Still, scientists doubt
the rain forest will make it to the next decade, given the damage. Also
of note, a spacecraft named the Prometheus was launched two years before
all this, to take advantage of the planetary alignment. It took detailed
readings of the dark side of the moon on its second pass around Earth,
as it was gaining momentum. However, shortly after the Millenial events,
NASA announced that the probe struck a stray asteroid on approach to Jupiter
and was destroyed, in a freak trick of fate.
Stories are medicine. They have such power; they do not require that
we do, be, act anything - we need only listen. The remedies for repair
or reclamation of
any lost psychic drive are contained in stories.
Stories engender the excitement, sadness, questions, longings, and understandings
that spontaneously bring the archetype back to the surface. I encourage
people to do their own mining of story, for the scraped knuckles, the sleeping
on cold ground, the groping in the dark, and the adventures on
the way are worth everything. There must be a little spilled blood
on every story if it is to carry the medicine.
Please read these, as ignorance is no excuse.
Types of Damage:
Bashing - Punching and blunt trauma. Bullets, for vampires.
Lethal - All other types of damage. Bullets to the head, for vampires.
Aggravated - Fire, radioactive waste, and certain supernatural sources.
Bashing damage can be soaked with Sta + Fortitude.
Lethal damage can not be soaked by mortals, but can by vampires and
shifters.
Aggravated damage can only be soaked by Fortitude.
Armor applies against all types of damage, except sunlight and fire.
Bashing damage is halved (after soak, rounded down) for vampires.
My rules come from time spent on this mush, and some careful (and not so careful in some spots) thought. If you have any thoughts on these, let me know.
Common - Noble
Nobles of the 'commoner' kith (ie: not Sidhe), do not get the boons
and flaws of their respective houses. Although they can roleplay as if
they do, they don't actually, and any rp on their part is pretense to these
flaws. Nobles of non Sidhe Kith do not have to choose houses to affiliate
themselves with, although it's considered bad form not to.
Seemings
Changelings see the world around them as two fold; first in their chimerical
form, and tthen in their mortal form. Thus a changeling who is 10 feet
tall, is ten feet tall in his reality. He will duck to get through doors,
cramp up in chairs, and have a hard time with cars. To everyone around
him, he will seem strange, maybe even crazy. Therefore, the code reflects
the ability to see this chimerical world first. When a changeling used
'look', they will see the chimerical world firstt, and the mortal one if
they concentrate hard on it.
Also, things like a sidhe's beauty, a troll's strength, a satyr's speed...
the redcaps' ability to eat his hat.. these things are very present in
the mortal world, because glamour is real. However, the goat legs, pointy
ears, and such are hidden from the world by magic, lest the changeling
die off. Not all traits can hide, and those boons and flaws a changeling
posesses are evident.
Iron
Fae cannot cast a cantrip on a person or place that is wearing, or
is surrounded with cold Iron. Cold Iron is defined as: Pure iron, not steel
or any other alloy. This means that most people won't be wearing iron as
a piece of jewelry, but if they are, you can't cast a cantrip on them,
and bieng near them is painful. Iron is for all intents and purposes, banality
11. It's the poison for your system,and painful to touch. If you touch
it enough, and aren't dauntain, it may leave scars, depending on your banality,
or such.
Forced Enchantment
When trying to enchant anyone against their will, you must roll the
glamour you are using to enchant, against their banality as a difficulty.
If you are successful, they are enchanted for a scene. If you're not, they
aren't enchanted. A botch gives a point of temp banality. You need not
give someone something to enchant them this way; it's called combat enchantment.
Another way to do this, if the victim wants to feel somewhat in control
of their defense, is to have the enchanter roll their glamour vs 5, and
have the victim roll their banality. Each success of the victim takes away
one of the enchanter, and whoever gets the most, wins. (This last is experimental.
If there are any better ways, let me know. -D)
Banal Enchantment
When trying to enchant anyone with a high banality <over 7>, please
do the following <This is for willing subjects>: Decide how much glamour
you're going to invest into the endeavour. +spend it, and roll that amount
with the difficulty bieng the person's banality. The amount of successes
is the amount of glamour that actually enchants a person. So, if you succeed
with 2 glamour, your victim is enchanted for 2 days. A failure is a failure,
and it doesn't feel too good. For each botch, you get a point of banality.
The Faesee
Any people who are banality 1-3 naturally, may see the dreaming world.
This includes Chimera, and Biengs with seemings. Those things are more
real than the 'real' world that everone else sees.. and tthese people are
certifiably insane.
Kenning Kinain
Any Changeling with Kenning of 3 or more may sense Kinain.
System is: Perception + Kenning, diff 7. The more succs you get, the
more information.
Ie: 1. There's a Kinain about. 2. Who here IS a kinain.. 3. What kind
of Kinain is that person. 4 & 5. Possible side the heritage comes from,
or other odd details.
Kenning
Kenning here does not detect 'Prodigals' (The fae word for other supernaturals),
or Magick. Kenning detects what it says it does in the first edition book:
Things of a glamourous nature. Since the fae already live in the world
of glamour, they don't need to use it to see powerful chimera and the like
as it lists in the book; unless the fae in question is very close to bieng
undone, in which case, they need it.
At lower levels, you can search out a freehold, recognize sleeping changelings, etc. At higher levels, you can track glamour, see 'signatures' of glamour, tell what cantrips a person has, feel cantrips from great distances.. tell when glamour has been in a place, etc.
As with anything, there are exceptions to my rule, regarding Wraiths,
and Magi. See news files for those.
Cantrip Succs
The fae are continuously trying to defeat the banality of the world.
Their magic is borne of dreams, and is hard to generate. Large feats of
sorcery are even harder. Therefore, the following rule applies: For every
success after 5 (the upper limit in the book when describing effects) that
the caster rolls, the caster must spend an extra point of glamour per success.
This is not to say that the caster isbound to it. If it (Ha, neutral pronoun!) wishes it may forfiet paying that glamour, or choose how many extra they want to pay for. Extra successes that are automatic on cantrips to effect: Fae, Affinities, or if you are in a freehold are free. (Ie: If you roll 5 succs, and any of those bring your succs over the 5 limit, you don't have to pay for them.) If you are in the dreaming, casting a cantrip, you don't need to spend the extra glamour, but no going overboard.. don't pop into the dreaming JUST to cast a cantrip on someone every time you want to get 8 succs on something. I would like solid reasons, or solid situations.
Certain circumstances, usually described by me at the time, make this null and void. Because I am your leader. :P This will restrict the people with lower glamours, and it should.
Those people have a harder time connecting to the dreaming in the first
place. This rule helps to reflect that.
Fae Misc.
1. Oakenshield costs a temp point of wp per point you are shielding.
2. Primal 5 will only work when used to change another person into something
else, if you know that person's true name. Most mortals wear their true
names as their own.
Fae-vamp
The vampire drinking from a fae, rolls self-control (or instincts),
vs the permanent glamour of the fae. If the vampire fails the roll, it
(Gender neutral)is in bedlam, threshold 2. If the vampire botches, it is
in bedlam, at threshold 3. There are also effects that happen to the vampire,
based on the permanent level of glamour of the Fae drunk from. The efects,
and the bedlam (effects and all), lasts for 1IC hour/point of blood taken.
After all this, the vampire is effected by the mists, as any mortal would
be. Thus if you are a thousand years old, and have a banality of 10, you
don't remember a thing. (+help mists). Malkavians do -not- get special
treatment, by virtue of their clan, it is done on a case by case basis.
Kiasyd are not subject to mists. Glamour levels, and *POSSIBLE* effects.
Effects are up to storyteller discretion, or consent when non judged.:
1-2: Includes kinain and such. Very pleasant tingly feeling. Perhaps
sensations of bieng alive again.. light music heard, nothing too horrible.
3-4: Small Visions, constantly seeing lights, or talking animals; things
of that nature. Mild effects that won't cause a person to ignore an emergency.
5-6: Distortions, some effects from the dark ages book of a really
mild nature: Weeping at the sound of music, mood swings. Inner psychological
demons or pleasures coming to the surface. Effects which will hamper emergencies,
but subject can be forced into action.
7-8: Severe effects, can use dark ages book. Anything from sunlight
shooting from the poers, to instant addiction/blood binding. Severe effects
which will dehabilitate the drinker in emergencies. Large hallucinations
such as conversations with Caine or Yoda perhaps.
9-10: Anything goes, multiple efects, and there can be no actions in
an emergency.
A vampire drinking from a kinain need not roll self-control (or instincts),
though the mists and the effects still apply. Do not forget to +mail dream
and death about the roleplay, or there will be severe problems.
Faestruck
Faestruck: You have a danger of being faestruck if you are enchanted
for more than a month. If you are continuously enchanted, you will get
a roll (Dream may roll this for you), to see if you are so. The roll is
Banality, diff 8. Failure: Enter the next stage of dreamstruck. Botch:
Enter third-stage dreamstruck. There are three levels of Dreamstruck.
1.First stage: Daydreaming, and an inability to concentrate. A toreador-like fascination with beauty.There are various ways to help someone with it, usually reserved to the fae. Once you are in a stage of dreamstruck, you stay there until one of those ways occurs.
2.Second stage: Spend more time sleeping, is hard to wake up. Loses the ability to distinguish between their dreams and reality.
3. Third Stage: Catatonia, unable to do anything but sit and stare into space, lost in their own dreams.
PAT
Mage is a difficult game; the very system demands that you be constantly
creative /and/ relatively flexible in order to fully realize its potential.
Unfortunately, most magick use on MUSHes can be reduced to mechanics and
die rolling: blah, commonplace, and frankly, not very Magickal. Players
had gotten so embroiled in the technical aspects of the Magick <difficulty,
effect, successes>, that we had forgotten the visual and theoretical aspects.
To solve this problem, we use a format for magick use, referred to as a "PAT". PAT stands for Phenomenon-Action-Theory, and a staff member will say, "Give me a PAT." All magick will require this PAT, save in combat situations.
PHENOMENON--This is what would be visible to a generic observer in the room; it includes the visible effect of the magic if any and the use of foci, even if unnecessary. It is different from the action of the target, if direct magic is being used.
ACTION--This is the technical procedure of casting magick; it should be paged between caster and staff member, but some people prefer that it be done openly. This will be determined on a case by case basis.
THEORY--This is the part that most frequently disappears. /How/ does your character think he or she is doing this. If your character is an Akashic Brother, is she making herself one with the world-mind of the steel door before she steps through it? This is different than phenomenon in the sense that phenomenon is ALL sensual--no one can see making himself one with the stone.
During an attempt to cast magick, when the judge asks a mage for his or her action, they will expect three different pages from him or her--a Phenomenon page, an Action page and a Theory page. The pair will then resolve the necessary technical matters, after which the staff will alert the mage to pose the results. This will slows things down; some mages will have short pages while some have very long pages but the staff and the players must be patient.
Here is an example of a PAT execution.
Momma Louise, a Celestial Chorus Sister of Gabrielle, mopping down
the main floor of the convent, turns the corner and sees Niles Briscot,
the Ventrue elder, sipping on Sister Thelma <Niles can only drink virgin
blood.> Incensed, she attacks. Destiny asks for inits, and Louise wins
while Briscot botches! Louise is going to attempt to invoke her magick;
Destiny asks for a PAT.
First Page: p Destiny=P--Louise propels her body forward as fast as
she can, raising her mop like a spear. Screeching "In Nomine Christos Domino,
exitare infernii immediatare!" a fragment of an exorcism, she plants the
business end of the mop on the side of the bloodsucker's face.
Second Page: p Destiny=A--Louise will use Prime 2 to enchant the mop
so it does aggravated damage to the vampire. She is uttering a prayer,
an unnecessary foci, -1, and she will spend a point of quintessence to
lower the difficulty of the effect.
Third Page: p Destiny=T--This is a house of the One, and both Louise
and Sister Thelma are My servants. I will certainly strike against the
corrupted creature who seeks to defile this holy place, and a tool of cleanliness
wielded in the Truth of the One is as powerful as any weapon.
Destiny determines that Louise will have to make a melee plus dex roll--a
normal attack--to hit Briscot--but that she can do it, as he is in the
middle of feeding and surprised--and that she will have two penalties to
her Arete roll, +1 for the Holy mop, as the resonance is all wrong, and
+2 for the running and striking, as it is a bit of a distraction. Louise
makes the to hit roll, and then she rolls her 4 Arete at a difficulty of
7--vulgar without witnesses, as Thelma is in the throes of the Kiss. She
gets one success, which is all she needs - Briscot's going to smart. Destiny
tells Louise to pose.
There are also practical aspects to this three tier system. Phenomenon allows the judging staff member to determine coincidence and vulgarity within his or her own terms. Remember, mages may not always have the experience, emotional state, or patience to determine whether something is vulgar or coincidental. The casting mage may be unaware of the frightened sleeper clerk hiding behind the counter. By giving the Phenomenon, the staff member can take things like this into account.
Theory is the great limiter for mages. A mage who cannot conceive of how to do something in his or her paradigm /cannot/ do the effect. This frequently restricts Technomancers most of all, as the Iteration X armature simply cannot calibrate his scanner to detect Tachyons as that Conventions physics say that Tachyons do not exist. No matter if he has forces one or not, he cannot use the Tachyon event to look backwards in time. <High level physics here, just trust me.> This ruling means that if the mage cannot justify the magickal effect he or she is attempting to use in his or her paradigm, he or she /cannot/ do it.
Theory also has a two-edged benefit: Resonance. The number of success
required to pull off an effect is dependent with the difference between
the situation and the theory behind the effect. For example, a Verbena,
seeks to find her friends who are lost. Unable to go herself she attempts
to conjure a sparrow out of thin air to search for her missing compatriots.
Her Theory is that she "is calling on the hand of the Goddess, in which
all creation rests, to give her a part of her life force in the form of
a bird" <Verbena enthusiasts, forgive me>. Now, if she did it in a sacred
grove of a local druidic group, though not a sanctum, she would need less
successes then she would if she tried to do it in the middle of a Progenitor
genetics laboratory. It is simple resonance. But, if the Progenitor wanted
to clone a pre-designed sparrow using modified RNA structures and genetic
memory, they would require fewer successes in the lab than in the grove.
Effects
A LONG-TERM EFFECT is an effect when, after the required numbers of
success have been achieved for a simple success, extra successes are "spent"
to increase the length of time the effect lasts. I use the chart in Mage
2nd Edition as a guide. For example, four extra successes make the effect
last six months, while five extra successes invokes the dreaded "up to
the Storyteller". Successes spent after five may or may not increase the
length of time depending on the nature of the effect.
As a guide for you, I use three factors in determining the duration
a long-term effect can last.
1. How contrary to Static Reality the effect is--this gives an edge to Technomancers. A Son of Ether's laser-sharpened diamond-edged knife will last longer then a Dreamspeaker's rune-covered Spririt Dagger, no matter how many successes were created.I presently hold that long-term effects that are cast on objects /do not/ count towards the casting penalties of mages for multiple effects up. Long-term effects cast on yourself or objects you carry /do/.2. How powerful the effect is--the greater the strain on reality, the less time it will exist.
3. The status of the mage who cast the effect--long-term effects can be influenced by a mage's death, sickness, emotional state, or Quiet.
A TALISMAN, on the other hand, requires the use of Prime 3, as you all
know, to create. They are usually permanent, though exceptions immediately
spring to mind. The basic success required is enough to make them permanent
as well, and the three factors mentioned above have no bearing on their
existence. Once you create a Talisman, it will exist until destroyed by
another force or Paradox, regardless of its contrariness to Static Reality,
its power level, or the status of its creator. It also requires beaucoup
successes on extended magick rolls, as well as special materials.
In my theory, when a mage creates a LONG-TERM EFFECT, he or she is
devoting part of his or her will and energy to maintaining this shift in
reality. Therefore, the effect is part of the mage's being, essentially
connected. The mage's constant participation is required to fend off the
normalizing influence of static reality. A TALISMAN, once created, exists
independently of the mage, as the mage has set up, in the flow of quintessence
that requires Prime 3, a method for the /item/ itself to stave of the Paradox
effect. The Talisman may still bear the psychic imprint of the mage who
created it or not, depending on precautions.
Thus, there are several benefits to creating a Talisman--increased security
of identity, the risk of Paradox is reduced, and allies can use the Talisman
without the mage's concentration. A Long-term Effect, while easier to do,
can be traced to the mage who cast it by any other mage with Prime and
Correspondence, can become Vulgar with Witnesses in certain situations,
and can only be used by another person with difficulty.
Something that needs explaining is the difference in procedure when using Counter-Magick, Anti-Magick, or UnWeaving on Long-Term Effects and Talismans.
Aggressive Counter-Magick--Counter-Magick formulated to attack the effect itself and not just to defend against injury--and Anti-Magick can destroy Long-Term Effects--each success the opponet scores reduces the total number of successes the Long-Term Effect has, which is why I always include the number of successes of the effect on any judgenote I create < I HOPE! >. Thus, a mage could feel his Long-Term Effect weakening under the assault of other mages. On the other hands, while the effects caused by Talismans and be assaulted by Counter-Magick and Anti-Magick, the existence of the Talisman /cannot/ be threatened. The work may be stymied, but it cannot be destroyed.
UnWeaving, however, can destroy Long-Term Effects and Talismans by, as the name implies, undoing the work that was done to create them. UnWeaving simply has to achieve the same number of successes that were necessary to create the Long-Term Effects and Talismans to begin with. Since Talismans are difficult to create, they are also difficulty to destroy, requiring Prime 3 or some means of physically destroying the object/person/place formed into a Talisman.
Willpower and Botches:
The rule allowing you to spend a point of willpower to avoid a botched
Magickal effect in order to avoid Paradox is not being used here. If you
want to spend Willpower, you have to declare it before you roll for the
effect. The only exemption is in the case of extended rolls, described
below.
When you make an extended roll, you can choose to do it one of two
ways.
A) I will tell you how many successes you need. You will tell me how many rolls you are going to try. You /will/ roll all the rolls you announce, even if you re ach the number of successes on an earlier roll.In both cases, the rules from the Mage 2nd edition book are in effect. Note that this is the only time you can use a willpower point to undo a botch on a magick roll. You still cannot on a normal roll. Also note that is a change from my pre vious practice, which forbade all spending of willpower on Arete rolls /after/ the roll.B) I will /not/ tell you how many successes you need. You will roll until you fe el comfortable that you have achieved enough successes. You may stop at any time .
FORCES DAMAGE: When using Forces 2 or 3 to at tack an opponent, add
one success for damage calculations. When using Forces 4 or 5, add TWO
successes. This reflects the increased amounts of energy you are able to
bring to bear at this level. Please note this is balanced by the ability
to physically dodge a Forces attack.
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Paradox
Paradox is metabolized at a rate of one point per RL week, but only
if the mage garners no paradox in that time. That means /no/ vulgar magick
of any sort. Even in the last day of the last hour, you break its arbitrary
rules, it pays attention to you. It is the player's responsibility to keep
track of paradox metabolization until I discover some way to code it.
Mages do not /choose/ their paradox flaws, nor when they manifest. Paradox
is not something that can be coaxed. You are free to make suggestions to
the Lord of Paradox <the mage staff> about what you think would be appropriate
flaws, but you don't get to instantaneously burn off a point of paradox
by choosing a minor flaw. Only Masters of Prime can start to manipulate
paradox
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This is not bad; everything you have been taught about it is right, as well.
The spirit world, the dimensions, the Gaia-sphere, or whatever you call it is an infinitely complex space. You can learn its pathways, but you do so with the caveat that they change and mold and that there is /no/, as much as the Void Engineers would like to change that, one way of looking at it. Most "maps" are ways of thinking, not geographical representations of the umbra. While many people use the Mercurian Cosmology or Lupine Cosmology, they are neither more valid nor less valid as any other cosmology: the Catholic Churchs, modern astronomy, the Zulus.
However, for the ease of use I am going to state a /sketch/ of cosmology as I run it, simply because you need to have some concept of what is required to get well. I use a lot from the Book of Worlds, but not all and not in the same way. You are going to have figure out whats going on when you go there. In this, I am arbitrary, so you can direct complaints to the Gods.
There are five major parts of the Umbra, to use that nomenclature, because
it is the shortest: the Penumbra, the Low Umbra, the Middle Umbra, the
High Umbra, and the Deep Umbra.
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Gauntlet
For Garou or other shifters, the strength of the Umbra determines the
difficulty of manipulating across it. However, the strength of the gauntlet
does not effect the difficulty of a mage's Arete rolls. However it does
effect the number of successes needed for any single effect to /cross/
the umbra.
These apply to any magickal effect or rote that crosses the gauntlet,
whether it be sight, calling, pushing things across, stepping across oneself,
or any other. For example, if a mage wants to step across the gauntlet,
and the method is Vulgar Without Witnesses, then the difficulty would be
seven before normal modifiers. The difficulty would /not/ be affected by
the strength of the gauntlet.
However, that is not all that is required. Piercing the Gauntlet is
much easier in the caern than in the prison, as any werewolf can tell you.
The amount of successes that the mage requires vary in accordance to the
strength of the Gauntlet.
Gauntlet 1-3 One success.Therefore, crossing the Gauntlet in an NWO prison facility is extremely hard for a mage.
Gauntlet 4-5 Two successes.
Gauntlet 6-7 Three Successes.
Gauntlet 8-9 Four successes.
Gauntlet 10 Five successes.
There are some confusing statements in the rulebooks: for example, Technocrats have an easier time stepping through the gauntlet, it is said, in their high-gauntlet areas. To me, this is accounted for through Resonance, or the harmony or disharmony that a mage's paradigm has with the mage's local environment. Even though the walls of the gauntlet in the Techno lab are thicker, the paradigm of the Technocrat is more in harmony here than elsewhere. Resonance can lower the initial difficulty of a roll, and thus make it easier for the Technomancer to cross here than elsewhere. Making four successes as difficulty 4 is on the same par as making one success at difficulty 7.
However, the opposite is also true. A technomancer in a rural, wild primitive area is going to have more trouble than a Dreamspeaker. The Void Engineer in the Utkena Caern only has to make one success, but doing it at difficulty nine is going to hard.
This applies not only to stepping sideways, but also to /any/ magick that crosses the gauntlet. In the previous example, it would be /very/ difficult to drop a fireball through the Umbra into Technocratic Headquarters. Not only would it require six successes to do /any/ damage <two for the forces damage and four to get it through the gauntlet>, but the difficulty would be high and probably vulgar.
TWO EXAMPLES:
Technomancer Astronomy Lab Resonance Penalties.
Dreamspeaker, Marauder +3Utkena Caern Resonance Penalties
Hermetic, Verbena, Nephandi +2
Akashic Brother, Cultist of Ecstasy, Celestial Chorus+1
Hollow One, Euthanatos, Orphan, Ahl-I-Batin +0
NWO, Syndicate -1
Son of Ether, Virtual Adept, Progenitor -2
Void Engineer -3
Virtual Adept+3
Progenitor, Hollow One, Syndicate, NWO +2
Celestial Chorus, Void Engineer +1
Orphan, Son of Ether, Ahl-I-Batin, Euthanatos 0
Nephandi, Marauder, Cultist of Ecstasy, Akashic Brother -1
Hermetic, Verbena -2
Dreamspeaker -3
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Fog&Delirium
THE FOG. This issue can be difficult to understand because many MUSHes
have ruled the Awakened beings aren't effected by the Fog. This isn't true.
The Fog is caused by instinctual fear of death and the dead. The only people
immune to it are innocents, because they don't grasp their own mortality,
and necromancers, because they bear a fascination for the dead, which overrides
their fear. Unless you fall into one of these categories, you are effected,
in some way, by this phenomenon. As Awakened beings, particularly those
of you with spirit, you will be given a little leeway, because you are
more aware of the true nature of the world. However, you are still mortal
beings and, hubris aside, you can die as easily as anyone else. Death still
scares you and, thus, so do the dead. Dealing with them should be unsettling
and deeply uncomfortable, on a gut level, even if that dead person was
dear to you in life. You will try and forget your experiences in this realm.
Those of you with dead loved ones will try and move on, as your base instinct
to live overrides your emotional devotion. You cannot dwell on what is
dead. You are living beings.
There are only two exceptions I will accept as valid, and they won't be /immune/ to The Fog. They will just know how to deal with it.
The first are necromancers, because of their morbid fascination. I don't just mean any mage with spirit and knowledge of wraiths. Necromancers are those mages who study the dead. There is no requirement, except paradigm and history. This will be judged by both the Mage administrator and the Wraith administrator.
The second are what I call ghost-busters, for obvious reasons, and they
are also judged by history and paradigm. But they /will/ be inimical to
ghosts. If they suddenly get friendly with the Restless Dead, they lose
their ability to diminish the affect of The Fog.
DELERIUM. As written in several supplement, mages are immune to the
Delerium. This does not mean they are immune to the unsettling effect of
high-rage shifters. After all, you are still mortal.
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Learning
Teaching Other Mages. In order to teach another Mage a Sphere, you
must have the Sphere at the rating you are trying to teach and have the
Instruction or expression abilities. When it's time for the learning mage
to spend experience on the Sphere, the teacher can roll Charisma + Instruction
to determine how much experience was saved, one point per success.
Also note, if the two Mages are of different Traditions, it takes an additional two weeks to learn that Sphere, due to the need to adjust for differences in Paradigm. This is a serious delay at lower levels, but becomes less so as the Mage advances, when it should be easier to convert.
Quick Learner reduces the number of XP needed for spheres and abilities. For example, if you are a Virtual Adept studying Prime 3, your normal formula is <Present Rank in Sphere> X <8>. Quick Learner reduces this by one: <Present Rank in Sphere> X <7>. It works the same in Abilities, except Quick Learner can never lower a multiplier below one.
Quick Learner also reduces initial costs by one as well, so it would
be nine points for an initial sphere, two points for an initial primary
talent or skill, an d one point for primary knowledges and secondary abilities.
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Miscellaneous
Willpower is returned one point of willpower per one RL week of low
intensity RP. That means no tragic events, gun fights, or dangerous magicks
in one RL week and you get a point of temporary willpower back. I decide
what constitutes a relatively stress-free week.
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Lores
These are guidelines for what the different levels of Lore mean. They
do /not/ replace RP. They do not give you information you do not already
have. Remember what your character knows and RP that. The lores are for
the /staff's/ use. I am not going to say you need a certain level of a
lore to act like you think mages exist. But a little knowledge is a dangerous
thing, and the ramifications of announcing this in public will occur.
To claim a certain level of lore, you need to demonstrate that you meet a majority of the guidelines below. And simply, "so and so told me" is not going to cut it. I need specifics of when, who and what was said. Grandfathered lores will be more lenient, but raises will have to be specific. This goes for /mages/ as well.
Just a note. Knowing that there is a group of people who call themselves mages or wizards and practice magick does not give you any lore. I know there are people who call themselves "Nazis" and practice Nazism, but it does not mean I /understand/ it.
MAGE-LORE
1. The definition of True Magick.
2. The nine spheres; definition of paradigms; existence of the force
called Paradox.
3. What the spheres do; ability to recognize paradigms; the nature
of Paradox.
4. The concept of the Tenth Sphere; advanced paradigmatical knowledge;
Paradox realm formation and mechanics.
5. Advanced unity studies; new paradigm formation; manipulation of
the Paradox force.
These lores fall under the control of the Mage Wizard. Below each heading are what the levels you mean. /Remember/, these are guidelines only.
TRADITION-LORE
1. Existence of the Council of Nine; existence of the Ascension War
2. Names of all nine traditions; organization of the Council; the Protocols.
3. History of the Traditions from the Declaration of the Ivory Tower;
relations between the Nine; names and nature of the most famous chantries.
4. History of the Traditions from the beginning of the Common Era to
the Declaration of the Ivory Tower; balance of power in the Council; names
of most chantries; names of the leaders of the most famous chantries.
5. History of the Traditions since the Age of the Pure Ones; leaders
of most chantries; location of most famous chantries' earthly Aspects.
TECHNOCRACY-LORE
1. Knowledge of the its existence as a /global/ organization; its perspective
on the Ascension War.
2. Names of the five Conventions; the Precepts of Damian; existence
of Symposiums.
3. History of the Union since the Declaration of the Ivory Tower; the
various methodologies; familiarity with their methods of Social Control;
knowledge of the most famous constructs.
4. History of the Union to the beginning of the Common Era; lines of
communication; most constructs; general strategies for unified Ascension.
5. Knowledge of details of the TIMETABLE; who's who in the Union; extensive
knowledge of Union Organization.
<FACTION>-LORE
1. Knowledge of the existence of the faction; its perspective on the
Ascension War
2. Basic Vocabulary; knowledge of local members; basic paradigm information
3. History of the faction since the Declaration of the Ivory Tower;
advanced paradigm details; sub-factions.
4. History of the faction since the beginning of the Common Era; advanced
vocabulary; access to their key literature; knowledge of their full organization;
present concerns of the faction
5. History of the faction since the time of the Pure Ones; major personalities;
knowledge of the balance of power; dirty little secrets.
NEPHANDI-LORE
1. Existence of the Outer Lords; knowledge of their participation in
Ascension War.
2. Four classes of Outer Lords; the meaning of Descent; interaction
with cults.
3. Specific differences between classes of Outer Lords; methods of
cult interaction; minor rituals.
4. Names of major Outer Lords; relationship between sacrifice and power;
major rituals.
5. Catalog of Outer Lords; nature of "anti-existence"; grand rituals.
AETHERIAL-LORE
1. Existence of High Umbra; how to enter
2. Differences between Umbras; regions of the High Umbra
3. High Umbral survival; specific places of interest
4. Unique characterstics of this state; wide-ranging geographical competency
5. Knowledge of the process of APOTHEOSIS; native-level geographical
knowledge.
UMBROOD-LORE
1. Basic nature of umbrood
2. Basic species; factions
3. Major Lords; the Courts; basic etiquette
4. Minor Lords; political balance between Courts and factions; advanced
etiquette
5. Who's Who and What; knowledge of behind-the-scenes maneuvering.
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TrueName
TRUE NAME <5pt. Merit> The act of naming has always had a special
power. In the Book of Genesis, it is the first thing Adam did once God
gave him dominion over the world. Identity is a powerful subconscious belief,
whether it manifests itself in the pseudonym of a writer who feels able
to write as another person r in the fear manifested by primitive peoples
about their picture being taken. Certain Traditions embody the power of
naming in a ritual known as the True Name. Knowing an opponent's True Name
is a great advantage, but having a hidden True Name is an advantage as
well, protecting your innermost self from others. A mage, through the process
describe d below, can take a True Name. Only a member of the Traditions
or a Nephandi can take a true name. Orphans and Marauders are not allowed
this merit as their natures prevent it. Since there are no secrets in the
Union, neither can Technocrats.
The act of taking a True Name is usually some form of ritual, though this ritual can take many forms. For example, Hermetics who use this merit frequently take a True Name at the end of their Apprenticeship in a grand ceremony. Some argue that the merit arises when the mage is in close alignment with their Avatars and t hat is actually the "name" of their souls. One chosen, a True Name can /only/ be changed by an Oracle of Spirit.
ADVANTAGES. A mage with a True Name that is unknown is more secure against the assaults of Sympathetic Magick or sympathetic magic. On the Correspondence Chart, the attacking mage is always considered as having No Connection to a victim wit h a Hidden True Name. For hedge magic, gifts, cantrips, arcanos, rituals, or disciplines that require a sympathetic connection to the victim, the attacker must achieve three extra successes in order for it to work at the minimal level; for powers that receive modifiers for a sympathetic connection will not recieve them.
DISADVANTAGES. The discovery of a True Name by an enemy can be devastating. An enemy mage always uses the Very Familiar level on the Correspondence Chart, and h is or her difficulties on effects are reduced by two for ANY direct assault upon the Mage. An enemy mage possessing a True Name gets two extra dice for thier poo l when attempting counter-magick. For hedge magick, cantrips, gifts, or rituals that require a sympathetic connection or receive modifiers if such a connection exists, the opponents difficulty is lowered by three, to a minimum of three. How ever, the enemy must have True Names worked into their paradigms or philosophies. Mages of the Hermetic Order are almost always included, as are Mummies with access to Ren-Hekau rituals, and Fae Naming Sorcerors.
DISCOVERY. Consequently, mages guard their True Names carefully and
with great paranoia. It requires Mind 3 to pull a mages True Name from
his mind, and the enemy mage must gain a number of successe equal to the
targets Arete +1. The same goes for disciplines, cantrips, arcanos, and
gifts that attempt the same funciton. Most mages with a True Name build
additional mental defenses just to protect a True Name, but they can be
discovered.
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Sanctums
According to rules, Sanctums have three effects. Given the strength
of the Sanctum, it makes all magick performed by the paradigm it is attuned
to coincidental, it has a degree of Arcane, and it, through virtue of the
supplies it stores, reduces the difficulty of some magick. I will take
each one separately.
A) Magick that is cast within a Sanctum is coincidental for that paradigm
only, the scope of which is decided by the faction to which you belong.
All Technocratic Sanctums work for all Technocrats. Tradition Sanctums
are bound by their traditions, i.e. Verbena or Order of Hermes. All Nephandi
Sanctums work for all Nephandi that serve the same entity, i.e. Demon Lord,
Maeljin Incarna, Dread Cthulu. All Marauder sanctums are individual.
As well, the coincidentiality applies only to effects where both the
caster and the /effect/ is within the boundaries of the sanctum. A mage
within a Sanctum with Correspondence, Spirit, or Time can create a Vulgar
effect outside the boundaries of the Sanctum. For example, you cannot stand
in your sanctum, use Correspondence 2, Prime 2, and Forces 3, and create
a glowing green fireball in a city b lock, and have it coincidental. The
effect and the casting must be within the boundaries.
B) Remember that Arcane is not invisibility or a cloaking device. If you draw attention to yourself, it will not protect you. In other words, if you use Correspondence and Forces magick to drop above said fireball into the Technocrat Construct, the Arcane does /nothing/ to protect you from discovery by a backtrace. However, if the Technocrats are doing a general sweep of the area or are given a tip by some turncoat as to its location, the Arcane will help protect you.
C) The "stocks" that aid you in your casting must be desc-ed. If a staffer
judges a roll in an empty room, there will be /no/ benefit for said Sanctum.
This does not necessarily mean packets of stuff. A Verbena could have a
grotto beneath a waterfall, while an Akashic could have a meditation room.
However, this can be ruined, for example, by the Verbena bringing in a
polyester couch <TACKY!> or b y the Akashic Brother playing Aerosmith
on a CD player.
Creating a Sanctum is a two step process, and it is very difficult.
The world is a continuum of realities--the dominant paradigm is, of course,
the one the Technocracy has imposed. There may be obscure places, such
as a top of a Himalayan mountain or in the Marianas Trench, and nodes where
the dominant paradigm has shifted to something else, but nine hundred and
ninety-nine times out of one thousand, if you draw a discrete area large
enough to be functional, the laws of science will apply.
When a mage creates a Sanctum, he or she is "shifting" the dominant paradigm over that discrete area. As you can imagine, this is not an easy process. It requires time, effort, and perception. There are some place you simply cannot make int o sanctums, and some mages who cannot /make/ sanctums.
The first step is to choose the site and the form of the Sanctum. As I just said, there are some places that cannot be sanctums. The two things to consider are the way the Sleepers view your chosen location, and the way your own paradigm de fines reality.
A) When trying to realign an area to your paradigm, you must have the cooperation of sleepers. Most of them know only a little about magick, and what they know they don't believe fully, but there are certain expectations. They "expect" to see ghosts in a haunted house, for example, or in a graveyard. For example, if you are a Wiccan priestess, you cannot create a Sanctum for your paradigm on the twentieth floor of an atmosphere-controlled skyscraper. Orphans have an easier time with this than other mages. It is easier to create a Sanctum if you build on a Sanctum that already existed but has been destroyed, as long as it is identical to your paradigm.
B) Your paradigm must be able to be "symbolized,", i.e. there must be a way to connect into the scheme of the world. This is where the other mages have a /distinct/ edge over Orphans. You must convince reality to hold your paradigm, but it must have an anchor, and simple force of will is not sufficient. If you have a highly abstract or unearthly paradigm, it is going to be nearly impossible for you to create a sanctum.
The second step is the actual construction of the Sanctum, which requires A. and either B. or C.
A) You must craft, personally, the area that is going to be your sanctum. The Verbena is going to grow plants there by hand or raise animals or fill it with simple craft objects. A Virtual Adept is going to install all manner of computer tech devices, building a client-server desktop, rewiring the walls. A Progenitor F ACADE engineer will create a fully stocked and operation operating theater that they have performed many surgeries in. You can see how they will do this. This step must be done over a period of months and /without/ the use of magick. No magick at all in this step, or you draw the attention of Paradox too soon.
B) You must hold a ritual with /sleepers/ involved--a great ceremony in which yo u consecrate the place as a Sanctum. It is easy for Verbena and Celestial Chorus members to do this. Cultists could have a great party or concert or even produce a great deal of art in the would-be Sanctum that will be viewed by a great man y people. Hollow Ones could do the same, perhaps by showing "Rocky Horror Picture Show" one hundred nights in a row with an audience. A Virtual Adept could create a chat-line dedicated to discussion of the theories underlying his paradigm, hosting it in a machine in his would-be Sanctum.
OR
C) A great magickal feat that includes Prime magick must be done here--a
magickal feat that serves as a focal point of the Paradigm that will become
coincidental. It will always be Vulgar. For example, a Verbena, who has
spent a year growing saplings to be her Grove, as a final step, /forces/
the Saplings to grow to the same size as forty-year oaks.
Once all these steps are completed and the logs sent to me, I will
decide if it works and how strong the Sanctum is created. I will be available
for consultation every step of the way.
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Vamp Rules
The New Orleans here at Crescent City MUSH does not follow the published atmosphere or political situation described in White Wolf's New Orleans by Night. That book does not exist here. We, as staff, have created our own interpretation of the World of Darkness in New Orleans, and that vision has progressed, and adapted through the roleplay of the players here.
These files will cover the some of the adaptations of the printed rules
that are applied here. Please keep in mind, that as a storyteller, I, and
the rest of the staff reserve the right to change, adapt or ignore printed
rules, not for unfairness, but for story potential.
Wraith Rules
Misc Rules
This MUSH is set in the colorful city of New Orleans. First populated by prostitutes, criminals, and exiles from France, it gained, over the years, a great mix of cultures: African,Spanish, German, French-Canadian, Irish, and Italian, just to name a few. There are two main cultural 'groups' that are unique to the region: the Creoles, which descend from the French-African colonies of Haiti and Santo Domingo, and the Cajuns, descendants of French-Canadian settlers who settled in the region known as Acadia. Creole, a dialect of French, is still spoken by a good portion of the population, though it is not as prevalant as it used to be or still is in Haiti. The local Indian population was Natchez, Chickasaw, and Choctaw, but was radically diminished, as they were everywhere. The city was founded by the French, came into Spanish hands, then went back to the French, and was finally sold to America with the rest of the Louisiana Purchase around 1800. The original Creole population was aristocratic and decadant, while the Americans were more working class and democratic, causing a great deal of conflict for much of the early occupation. The French Quarter (or Vieux Carre) was Creole territory, while the Garden District was American. The Cajuns kept mainly to the bayous to north and east of the city. The Irish settled in the 'Irish Channel', just downtown of the Garden District. The Germans settled upriver just after the city was first founded.
What's a Creole?
There's some variance in the definition of what "Creole" is, but here
in New Orleans, the term is generally used to mean those people who are
of partially African descent, whose European ancestors were French (although
sometimes Spanish), who are light-skinned, and who generally speak the
Creole language (a variant of French). The culture of the Creoles is in
part a mixture of African/slave culture and that of the French settlers,
although naturally it has evolved its own customs, including the Creole
food and Zydeco music.
Creoles in New Orleans often follow the Vodoun traditions; many of them
are Catholic as well. For more information on the Vodoun, if you have access
to the Web, try
http://www.arcana.com/shannon/voodoo/voodoo.html
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Crescent City was designed to be darker, grittier, and more real than
previous MUSHes. We didn't want to restrict ourselves in order to make
it fit other people's idea of 'family values' and such. Thus, there is
no limit to what can happen here. The stuff that goes on in the real world,
goes on here. Rape, murder, torture, sex, nudity, senseless death, all
of that fun stuff. We have do allow people some say in what they personally
take part in (+help prefs for info), but the MUSH itself is unrestricted.
If you come here and see stuff you don't like, that isn't our problem.
We warned you in advance. The same applies to people 18 or younger: we
asked you to leave. If you don't, there's nothing we can do, but we won't
be held responsible. Dem's the rules. Thanks.