FAQ
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KushielMUX FAQ
Questions. Glorious questions. Some things might seem confusing at first, particularly for people new to MUX or, as the case may be, new to online text-based games at all. Hopefully this will answer some of the more common questions.
What's a MUX, really?
A MUX is an online text-based roleplaying game. It's similar to games like World of Warcraft, for example, if you take out the killing, monsters, equipment, graphics, levels, and add in a whole lot more roleplaying. Oh, and make it all just text. MUX itself is a server program written in C that runs on someone's computer and people connect to it remotely with telnet programs. It's quite similar to MUDs but, again, lacks the levels, area grinding, experience points, and all that stuff that turns it all into a numbers hack-and-slack game. It's roleplay, plain and simple. Immerse yourself in the game world and interact with other people rather then PK them and take their phat loots or whatever it is you kids do these days.
Do I have to get SimpleMU or MUSHclient?
No! There are lots of different MU* clients you can get, particularly on other systems like Linux or Mac. It's just that I am not personally familiar with any of them, so it's difficult to suggest them. I've used Telnet and Putty (two very simple bare-bones telnet clients) for years. Telnet is handy in particular because no matter where you are, at work or home or school there's always a telnet.exe kicking around (usually in C:\windows).
Work? What happens if my boss catches me playing?!
Well, if your boss is an angry troll and will fire you, then don't play at work. Duh. If you're paranoid about your work checking the sites or addresses you've visited, I recommend Putty as a client - it comes with full network encryption, unlike many other clients, and doesn't need Windows administrator access to use. However, Putty lacks many of the common features of the other clients.
I'm interested in being a staff member. How do I become one?
First off, the best way is to be a player for a while first. Get to know the game, let the staff realize you're friendly, enjoy making RP, have some real skills when it comes to roleplay, are laid back, and get along well with others. When we're looking for new staffers, we'll advertise for them.
What's a helper or a builder? Are they like staffers?
Yes, in a way. Helpers and builders are sort of "sub-staffers" in the hierarchy of game admin. A helper is someone who takes on extra responsibilities to help new players and keep things rolling, particularly doing their best to help people new to MUX in general. It can be horribly confusing. A builder is a low-level staffer who focuses entirely on the building, inspection, and maintenance of the "grid"; ie. the rooms and exits in the game world. Many full-fledged staffers will have proven their trustworthiness by being a friendly helper for a while first.
What's with all these commands? +blah and @blah and $blah?! What happened to "bash orc" and "trip donkey"?
Number the one, KushielMUX is not a MUD. There are no orcs to bash or donkeys to trip. There's no combat, there's no real stats, there's no leveling up and no grinding areas for teh phat lootz. Just fun and roleplay. Number B, the various commands can be one of the most confusing things about MUX/MUSH, unfortunately. Essentially, it pays to understand the following: a command can have any weird symbol prefixing it and it'll still be a command. Most commands in fact do have prefixes simply because it helps seperate then from exit names. In general, anything with a @ can be found in help commands, (like @desc) while anything with a + or $ can be found in +help. (like +time)
My name is really dumb/isn't capitalized/is an NPC name how can I change it?!
Easy. Just type this command in your MU* client: @name me=<new name>. Such as: @name me=Metatron or @name me=A donkey. Note that if you have spaces in your name, you really should set an @alias too. If you want to log in with a name with spaces in it, use "quotes" around the name (like connect "Jon Franklin" mypassword)
These [Public] and [Newbie] things are really spammy and annoying.
They might be, but that's okay. They're public channels and everyone that is in the game can talk on them to other people regardless of where they are. These channels are for OOC (out of character) talking only - IC roleplaying is done on the grid. Doesn't make much sense that your characters would be interacting without being in the same room, would it? To turn a channel off, use <channel alias> off where <alias> is 'pub' for public and 'nn' for newbie by default. pub off. nn off. pub on. nn on. Say it with me.
I logged in and it said I have a mail waiting for me. Huh?
Mail is the standard mail-sending dealie on most MUX games. Mail and bboards are different animals entirely, but are similar in some ways - mail is a person-to-person private message while the bulletin boards are generally readable by anyone who has access to the board in question. To check the list of mail you've gotten so far, type @mail by itself. You'll see a list of messages with numbers next to them or (if you're me) you'll see no messages. Sniffle.
To read a specific message, type @mail <number>where <number> is, obviously, the number next to it. So if you want to read #1, type @mail 1. Simple!
On the other hand, to send a mail to someone else, the easiest way is this: @mail/quick <person>/<title>=<text>. For example, if I wanted to tell Metatron he's a jerk: @mail/quick metatron/Jerk=YOU ARE A JERK I HATE YOU. You can substitute multiple names in the <person> field-- such as @mail/quick anael metatron ishamael=this game rules will send a @mail to Anael, Metatron, and Ishamael.
Wait whats this bboard thing you mentioned?
The bboard is KushielMUX's global bulletin board. Generally, most things on the bboard are Out of Character except in very specific circumstances (IC Laws & Punishments, IC Requests, and whatnot). To see the list of boards, type +bbread by itself. To browse a certain board, type +bbread <number of board>. To read a specific message IN a board, type: +bbread <number of board>/<number of message>. Easy as pie. To be flooded with all the messages in a board you have yet to read, type: +bbread <board #>/u and to just slowly plod along to the next unread message, type +bbnext.
Note: many boards (particularly the Announcement and House Rules boards) are very important. It's a good idea to stay up to date with all the bboards when you log on.
This seems like a cool setting. Where can I learn more about it?
Kushiel's Legacy is a very good fantasy/quasihistorical series, written by Jacqueline Carey, who's done a number of other works as well. Check the links section for links on various Kushiel-related things, including a very well-done Wikipedia page. I also recommend that you buy the books themselves if you haven't read them - though it's definitely not necessary to play on KushielMUX, it's still a good read. The fourth book, Kushiel's Scion, is excellent too.
Hey, you're not allowed using a setting without the author's permission!! She should SUE!
Settle down, Sparky. Not only do we actually not need the author's permission, we got the author's permission anyway to use it. We decided to put the setting ~150 years in the future beyond the series's ending so that her character's integrity is kept. I'd rather not have a dozen Phedres and Joscelins running about, thankyouverymuch. Originality is key! We want to build a new story here, not clone hers.
But you guys are making profit off it! That's illegal!
Actually, we're not making any profit off it whatsoever. We don't take donations, we don't take favors (though I'll take a good backrub if anyone wants to offer), and the server is paid for by the awesome nails, who hosts the entire MUSHpark family. It's entirely a labor of love by us staffers. In fact, nails is cool enough that he deserves his name in big letters:
nails!
There.
So what's the goal of this game anyway?
It's whatever you want it to be. Want to just sit around for fun and roleplay with people? Go for it. Nobody will force you to get involved with anything you don't want to. Want to be King or Queen? Fine. Roleplay it out enough, negotiate, assassinate, and screw your way to the top of the heap. Now you're in power and in control. By "power" and "control", of course, I mean different things. For one, Royalty can make or break laws and regulations. The more influence you have, the less you're affected by such petty things as murder or grand theft. Then again, acquiring these positions also means you've got much more responsibility..
Wait, there's sex in this game?
Sex and violence. It's not a kid's game. You must be over 18 years of age to play (though we won't be actively checking - if someone admits it, well, say hello to the banhammer). Characters themselves can be any age, though anyone under 16 who's ever caught in any sexual activity will have their player banned as well (13 to 16 is somewhat different, mild experimentation is alright). In general, sex is private at all times. The d'Angelines are an enlightened nation - public sex and violence are frowned upon. However, behind closed doors is another matter entirely..
I have a problem/complaint/stalker! Your game sux!
Send a mail to staff about whatever problems you have. First page a staffer who's on, and if none are then type this: @mail/quick *staff/problem=<text> and one of the staffers will get around to fixing it. If nobody answers after a few days, send a page to an online one when you see one. If you tell someone to bugger off and they keep bothering you (or their alts do), send a @mail to *staff and they'll more than likely be banned faster than you can say 'rutabega'.
But <x> isn't in the series! That name's not right! That never happened! Wahh!
We're not the series. Jacqueline Carey is not making this game. If something isn't 'canon' than deal with it - things change over time and we're 150 years in the future from the series. For example, the date some people have given for the series is the 14th-15th centuries -- we decided the date was closer to around the 11th century and set our own date accordingly (it's around 1180AD). Mainly, this is because there was no real "dark ages" that regressed society in Kushiel's Legacy Europe while in real life there was, so things advanced faster. On the other hand, if you have a good idea for a plot idea/theme idea/news file than certainly feel free to submit it to *staff or post it on the Suggestions bboard.
There's not enough players on. There's no Roleplay anywhere. This game sucks!
Well. With any luck (and the massive efforts of all staffers) the game should neither suck or have not enough players on. Staff members themselves can play NPC characters to stir up RP and there should always be events to plan for, plots to think out, regicides to proceed with, friends to chat to.. Of course, in any new game there's going to be some "dry" times, like late at night EST, particularly with a game that's still in beta testing. Just find somewhere to park yourself, and on public channels just mention "some RP in <location>" and people will probably soon wander by. Remember, RP is what you make it.
I have a question not answered on the wiki or in the game's news files.
Then ask a staffer. All staffers know what they're doing or should be able to point you to someone who does know what they're doing. Use page <person>=<text>. Such as page metatron=You rule. Woo!
As an emergency method (such as if you cannot log on the game at all) than feel free to register a Wikispaces account and post on the Discussion board here with questions (at least until we get a proper forum). For example, some libraries and colleges block the telnet port needed - there's no real way around this except by doing something exotic like a shell account or an online telnet client that uses http rather than direct telnet.
