Monster Media 1994 - The BEST of 1994/monster1.zip/monster1/BBS_GAM2/MUD_131.ZIP/EXAMPLES.ZIP/AMBER.TXT

Text File | 1994-10-13 | 27KB | 464 lines

WHAT IS AMBERMUSH?

        AmberMUSH is a themed MUSH set in the universe of Roger Zelazny's
Amber novels. Roleplaying is emphasized, and given some structure through
the use of certain rules from Eric Wujcik's "Amber Diceless Roleplaying
Game". While knowledge of the novels and ownership of the RPG is not
necessary, it is extremely helpful to have at least read one of the Amber
novels. The "Visual Guide to Castle Amber" also contains some information
that may be useful to players on the MUSH.

        The Amber novels are divided into two groups of five novels. The
first five are Corwin's Chronicles, and focus primarily on Amber itself.
The second five novels are narrated by Corwin's son Merlin, and focus
on the conflict between Amber and its opposite, the Courts of Chaos.
The novels are as follows:

1. Nine Princes in Amber                6. Trumps of Doom
2. The Guns of Avalon                   7. Blood of Amber
3. Sign of the Unicorn                  8. Sign of Chaos
4. The Hand of Oberon                   9. Knight of Shadows
5. The Courts of Chaos                  10. Prince of Chaos

In the universe of the novels, Amber and the Courts represent opposite
poles of reality. Amber casts "shadows" -- reflections of Amber in other
worlds, including Earth. Thus, almost anything you can imagine exists
in this world; magic and technology exist side-by-side, although the
power of each varies with the shadow. The world of the novels focuses
primarily on the intrigues between the near-demi-god royal family of
Amber, and the Courts of Chaos; on the MUSH, this has been expanded to
include other shadows.

        AmberMUSH is somewhat conflict-oriented; characters are usually
scheming for In-Character (IC) power, and it is hoped that players will
cooperate to create interesting, exciting stories. There are no "judges"
or "GameMasters" on AmberMUSH; players are expected to act like mature
adults and arbitrate their own conflicts, although the Wizards (the
administrators of the game) will occasionally hand down rulings. The
structure of the RPG rules also help to keep things ordered; there are
certain abilities and powers whose uses are known and circumscribed.
AmberMUSH is not combat-oriented; while fights do break out, roleplaying
a good "scene", rather than comparing numerical statistics, is intended
to be the goal.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOW DO I CREATE A CHARACTER?

        Character development is the central focus of the game, so it's
a good idea to spend some time thinking about your character history.
You can think of AmberMUSH as an interactive story, where hundreds of
separate story threads weave together to form a rich, complex tapestry.
Your first step, as a new player, is to try to figure out who you want
to be. At first, the choices may seem overwhelming; the Amber universe
literally encompasses anything you can imagine. As you first start to
form your character concept, keep in mind these basic rules:

1. The average character on AmberMUSH is somewhat unique, as he has
   discovered a way to escape the confines of his home Shadow. Such
   characters tend to be above-average (compared to a normal human)
   in at least one trait, whether it be intelligence, strength, affinity
   for weapons or magic, or some unusual talent.

2. "Killer" characters are a no-no. Just like in a face-to-face roleplaying
   game, it's not any fun if someone is capable of destroying the universe
   in the blink of an eyelid. The same is true of characters who are the
   "best at" X or "most powerful" at X. This is clearly going to be an
   untrue claim in the Amber universe, and you won't be able to support it
   with your statistics, so don't bother to try to create one.

3. Characters from the books do exist on AmberMUSH; you cannot play one
   without submitting an application to the Wizards. It is permissible
   to be part of the Amber royal family, or one of the Chaos Houses, but
   you must obtain permission from the appropriate party; this usually
   means submitting a character concept to another character you want
   as a parent. It is recommended that parentage be the _last_ thing
   you consider, when creating a character. The same thing is true if
   you're thinking of being a shadow of an Amber royal; you should ask
   permission first, and realize that it's quite likely not to be granted.

4. Characters strongly based on other game systems, or on other settings
   whose underpinnings run contrary to the Amber mood, are generally very
   difficult to play. Examples include Champions-style superheroes, Pern-style
   dragonriders, and WhiteWolf-style mages. Ultra-high-tech characters also
   tend to be very difficult to play, and characters from worlds where
   magic is all-pervasive will find their talents generally restricted to
   what's possible with the Conjuration and Sorcery powers.

5. Similarly, if you can't represent a power within the context of the
   AmberMUSH powers and abilities defined below, you shouldn't have it.
   Note that skills are different from powers; for example, it's reasonable
   for a character to have medical or locksmith skills, but not reasonable
   for characters to have eyes that shoot a ray of ice or a touch which
   turns creatures to stone.

        Every character on AmberMUSH has a "sheet" which loosely defines
his or her powers and abilities. Such ability and powers are based upon
those in the "Amber Diceless RPG"; AmberMUSH does not, however, strictly
follow the RPG rules, so you should rely on the on-line news to give you
information about what different powers are capable of doing. The RPG
rulebook does go into more detail than the news does, so reading it is
still extremely helpful if you need clarification on something.

        There are four abilities that all characters have. The first
is Strength, which is physical strength -- sheer raw muscle power, and,
to some extent, one's ability to absorb physical attacks. The second is
Endurance, which is constitution, one's tolerance for exertion, one's
ability to tolerate wounds, and one's rate of healing. The third is Psyche,
one's willpower; those with high Psyche are empathic and may have psionic
powers, including forms of mind control. The fourth ability is Warfare,
which is skill in battle; this is both mastery of weapons and mastery of
strategy. All abilities start at -25 points (Human Level). All players
receive a total of 200 points to spend on abilities and powers.

        Statistics are loosely classified into ranges, as follows:

-25             Human
-10             Chaotic
0 to 49         Basic Amberite
50 to 79        High-level Amberite
80 and above    Feature-level Amberite

        No two abilities may be more than 50 points apart; for example,
if your Psyche is -10, the highest any other ability may be is 40. If
you submit a character concept to the Wizards, and it is approved, this
allowed difference rises to 75 points. Also, once a month, Advancement
Points are granted; if your character receives APs, the allowed difference
rises by that amount. For example, if you have submitted an approved
character concept, and you have gained 10 APs, the biggest difference
in your abilities can be 85 points. Details on earning APs are given
later in this document.

        You can also use points to buy powers. The following powers are
available to new characters:

1. Sorcery (15 points).  This is the power to cast magical spells. In
   the Amber universe, magical spells must be carefully prepared ahead
   of time, and take time to cast. The strength of spell effects is
   based on Psyche. Sorcery is quite flexible, although slow; it can
   be used for attack and defense, enchantment, and even, to a very
   limited extent, healing.

2. Conjuration (20 points).  This is the power to create objects and
   empower them with special properties; this is the way to create
   "magical items".

3. Shape Shift (35 points).  This grants one the power to shift shape.
   This power is most commonly found in the Courts of Chaos, and it is
   a prerequisite to obtaining the Logrus Mastery power, detailed later
   in this document. Shape Shift is based on Psyche, but the change of
   shape uses a lot of Endurance. A shape-shifter can morph into any
   form he has studied; when designing a character, keep in mind that
   every form you use should have a story behind it.

        There are several other powers available to characters, but
they can only be gained through In-Character roleplay. They are:

1. Trump Artistry (40 points).  This grants one the power to draw cards
   called the Trumps, which allow communication and travel over long
   distances. It requires Amber-level Psyche. In order to obtain this
   power, you must find a teacher, In-Character, who is willing to teach
   you; you must also roleplay learning the art over the period of a
   few weeks.

2. Broken Pattern (30 points).  This allows one the ability to walk
   through Shadow. It is only available to those who do not have normal
   Pattern or Logrus power, and once one has Broken Pattern, one cannot
   obtain either the Pattern or Logrus power. It, too, can only be
   gained by finding someone who is willing to "sponsor" you.

3. Logrus Mastery (45 points).  This allows one to summon the power of
   the Logrus; it can be used for both attack and defense, and enables
   the master to walk through Shadow. Only those of the Courts of Chaos
   can obtain this power, and a teacher is needed as a sponsor. The
   Shape Shift power is a prerequisite.

4. Pattern Imprint (50 points).  This allows the character to walk through
   Shadow, and use, to a limited extent, the Pattern in attack and defense.
   Only Amber royalty -- descendants of Oberon -- can obtain this power. In
   order to obtain the power, you must first find an Amberite who is willing
   to be your parent. Then, you must find someone who is willing to teach
   you what you need to survive the initiation of Walking the Pattern; most
   Amber parents are willing to teach this to their children. Finally, you
   must find an In-Character way to access one of the Patterns; this usually
   involves obtaining the permission of the King of Amber. An Amber-level
   Endurance is needed to survive the initiation.

        There are other powers available, and there are Advanced and
Exalted levels of some of the powers; these must, however, be discovered
through roleplay. Keep in mind that Advanced powers usually cost at least
20 points more than the Basic-level powers, so you might want to save
some points when creating your character.

        These powers are presented to give you an idea of what is available.
When designing a character, you should first think about story, rather than
numbers; fit the powers and numbers to the character, not the other way
around. Some helpful things to think about:

1. Where do you come from? Is it a place of magic, technology, or both?
   Is it peaceful or warlike? What did you do before you blundered out of
   your own Shadow? What was your childhood like?

2. How did you obtain your current powers and abilities? What skills do
   you have, and where did you acquire them?

3. What's your reaction to travelling Shadow? Do you still return to your
   home world? How do you currently earn a living?

4. What do you look like? How do you normally dress? What is your favorite
   food? Your favorite drink? Your favorite type of music?

        Please note that many Shadows, as well as Amber and the Courts, are
interested in characters who are guardsmen, court-bards, chamberlains, and
so forth. If you were born in Amber but are not part of the royal family,
you might be minor nobility, or be one of the many artisans and guildsmen
who populate the city; if you were born in the Courts, but not into one
of the prominent Houses, you might be the servant or assistant to an
important Lord. Not everyone will be from a Shadow world. It is generally
to your advantage to look around AmberMUSH and see what the current Shadows
are; if you can fit a character concept into an existing location, it will
give you many more opportunities to roleplay. You should, however, check
with the proprietor of a place before declaring your character originates
from that world.

        Some characters may have been born into the Amber royal family, or
into one of the major Houses of Chaos. In order to obtain such parentage,
you must pick a parent on the MUSH and convince him or her to accept you
as a child. Each of the Amberites and Houses have their own methods for
doing this. At the very least, you will be required to submit a detailed
character concept and history, and the parent will usually want to see
some proof that you're able to roleplay well and won't be an embarassment.
In general, it's easier to obtain second- or third-generation Amber
parentage than it is to become the child of an Elder Amberite; if you're
doing this, however, beware -- if your parent has not walked the Pattern
and has not been confirmed as being of the royal blood, it's possible that
he might not turn out to be part of the family after all.

        Amber or Chaos parentage is usually the _last_ thing you should
think about when generating a character, since there are far more people
looking for parentage than their are parents. If you do decide to try for
"special" parents, you would do well to research the MUSH history of the
parent you want, and suggest ways that their character history might hook
into yours. Different parents look for different types of children; the
best way to improve your chance of success is to create as plausible a
reason for your existence as possible.

        Finally, don't discount the possibility of being related to someone
not of Amber or Chaos blood. While being related to someone in Shadow doesn't
confer the same advantages, it does provide your character some immediate
hooks into roleplaying situations, and such hooks are always valuable. Ask
around the MUSH for people looking for relatives.

        It is strongly suggested that you not set up your sheet for a
while. Instead, look around the game, consider your character concept,
and figure out how your character fits into current MUSH situations.
Once you have a solid of idea of who you want to play, and how that
character meshes into the story, then you can start giving some thought
to the specifics of his powers and abilities; the RPG information above
has been presented just so you have some idea of what it's possible to
create. Note that you don't have to spend all your RPG points; most
people reserve some. But once you buy a power or attribute, you can't
remove the power or lower the attribute, so you should wait until you
know what you want before trying to set up your sheet; this generally
means waiting until your character has been accepted into the staff of
a Shadow, hired himself out to someone, gotten the parentage he wanted,
or the like.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

WHAT ARE THE "RULES" OF THE GAME?

        AmberMUSH stresses cooperative roleplaying. Therefore, it will
generally be up to players to decide the outcome of situations that
characters find themselves in. If you find yourself at an impasse, you
are certainly welcome to ask a Wizard, or another player, to moderate.

        All players are expected to keep up with the news entries and
the bulletin board. Important announcements are posted to the bulletin
board, including changes in the rules; ignorance is not an acceptable
excuse for breaking a rule. News is the first resource for determining
what is legal within the game. If news doesn't contain what you need,
consult a Wizard, or the Amber RPG; beware that for basic powers, if
news doesn't say you can do it, you probably can't do it.

        Roleplaying is expected to remain tasteful, especially in public
areas. Please remember that when roleplaying in a public area, you have
an audience, and your actions should, if possible, create something
interesting for the audience to watch. Excessive gore, pointless use of
phrases normally deemed offensive in polite company, and sexual situations
that couldn't be shown in a PG-13 movie will probably both annoy players
In and Out Of Character (IC and OOC). Such behavior is likely to get you
reprimanded by the Wizards, and witnesses may choose to express their
displeasure IC (an Elder Amberite who's just had his meal ruined by you
isn't unlikely to deprive you of essential body parts).

        AmberMUSH characters tend to congregate in bars, coffee-shops, and
similar establishments. One of these establishments, the World's End Bar,
often simply referred to as the WEB, drifts around Shadow, but can always
be found off the Hall of Mirrors. There are many other Shadows which can
be entered from the Hall of Mirrors; it serves as a travel nexus, allowing
players who are not able to walk through Shadow an easy means of IC
transportation between locations.

        In order to use a mirror in the Hall, IC, you must gaze at it and
concentrate. As you look at a mirror, you will see the area it is a  gateway
into, and slowly you will see your reflection appear in the  mirror, as the
scene changes around you. Thus, people cannot be pushed into mirrors, nor
can one run into a mirror to escape a pursuer; it is a transportation medium
which requires standing still and concentrating.

        Another way to travel is by use of the Trumps. A trump artist can
create a Trump which is a picture of a place. If a character is in possession
of such a Trump, he can be transported to the place by concentrating on the
card's image; it takes several seconds of concentrate to effect a transport,
although certain masters of the art are capable of creating gateways which
work faster. There is a second way to travel via the Trumps; if you are in
contact with another character via a Trump, you may offer to pull the other
character to your current location, and vice-versa.

        The final way to travel is to walk through Shadow. This is a slow,
laborious process, in which the character slowly changes the landscape
around him, until it looks like the place that he wanted to go. A desired
item can be found this way, and the most skilled are even able to find
specific people this way. However, this method of travel is only available
to those with Pattern Imprint, Logrus Mastery, or Advanced Shape Shift.
It is possible, however, for those without the power to follow others
through Shadow.

        Using the MUSH @teleport command to travel IC is frowned upon
on AmberMUSH; generally, you should be using one of the methods of
transport detailed above to get where you need to. For this reason,
players should not set the JUMP_OK flag on rooms; if the flag is found
on an object, it will be removed.

        "Fair IC play" is a very important concept on AmberMUSH. There
are numerous ways to "cheat" on things. Don't do it; eventually, someone
will find out. There are no winners or losers on the MUSH; you should be
concentrating on the storyline, and if someone out-manuevers you, you
should be gracious enough to allow them their victory -- although nothing
stops you from plotting your revenge.

        Some characters on AmberMUSH are more powerful than others. You
will normally hear these characters referred to as the Major and Minor
Features. This includes characters from the books, as well as a few
others, such as the Lords of the Houses of Chaos. The most powerful are
generally the Elder Amberites -- the sons and daughters of Oberon. Not
only are they centuries old, with abilities that far surpass normal
humans, but they regard the "lesser" denizens of the universe much as
humans regard insects -- curiousities, usually annoyances, to be swatted
when they become overly irritating. Cross one of the Elders, or one of
the Chaos Lords, and, unless you have many allies, you will probably
regret it. However, these characters exist in order to further the plots
of the game; the feud between Amber and Chaos, and the internal feuds
of both the Amberite family and the Chaos Houses, are all common knowledge,
and you can frequently play powerful characters off each other.

        AmberMUSH holds as the central tenet of its roleplaying style the
concept of "consent". In particular, you cannot be killed without your
agreement; more generally, things which afflict permanent damage should
not occur without your consent. However, in the majority of roleplaying
situations, you should not be invoking the consent rule; if you roleplay
your way into a bad situation, you should, in general, take the consequences.
While nothing prevents you from paging your opponent and complaining about
the situation, asking for a set of consequences different from the ones
he had in mind, keep in mind that attempting to weasel out of a situation
that you got yourself into is likely to irritate other players. The way
to avoid unpleasant consequences is to avoid doing the actions that lead
to them.

        You should roleplay your character as if the consequences of your
actions could be fatal. Nothing is more annoying than a player who,
knowing that the consent rule will prevent him from dying, decides to act
recklessly, flaunting death. This is unfair to the other players who are
roleplaying with you. If you do it repeatedly, expect other players to
start refusing to acknowledge your IC presence; part of consent is the
right to refuse to roleplay with another person.

        Most situations of direct conflict are resolved via the comparison
of attributes; there are +commands on the MUSH for doing this. It is not
true that the highest attribute always wins; situational factors strongly
influence the outcome of a given conflict. Also, a single comparison of
attributes might amount to half an hour of roleplay; combat, in particular,
should be roleplayed, not based solely on numbers.

        OOC pages are very useful when a confrontational situation arises.
One useful method is to do the relevant attribute comparison, then talk OOC
with the other player to determine a final outcome. Then, roleplay your way
to the conclusion; if you've got an audience, make sure it's interesting to
watch. It's generally in bad taste to have loud confrontations in public
without giving the audience any clue as to why the confrontation is taking
place.

        AmberMUSH's time system is by definition difficult to define, since
time moves at different rates in different shadows. The closest thing to a
standard is "WEB time", generally equivalent to real-life Eastern Time.
However, since everyone is typing, certain actions will, by necessity,
take longer to happen. In particular, whenever you're roleplaying, you
should allow the other player adequate time to type a response. This is
particularly important in combat. Remember that spells take a lot of
time to cast, and the mirrors and Trumps all take time and concentration
to activate. It is not, for example, realistic to see an enemy and Trump
out in the blink of an eyelid.

        The use of extremely fast-time shadows is generally strongly
frowned upon. For example, if you are injured in a fight, don't claim to
have gone to your personal fast-time shadow, returning twenty-four hours
later completely healed because a month passed in your personal shadow.
While none of us enjoy being out of the action because we're stuck in
bed recovering, the solution to that is to avoid getting into fights in
the first place, or getting people to come visit your bedside.

        In general, whenever plotting a situation which is liable to
severely injure or kill another character, you should leave that person
some way out, or negotiate the situation ahead of time. If a character
willingly roleplays himself into a corner, this can be rather difficult;
the best way to deal with this is to OOC page, "If you continue your
actions, I'm going to be forced to react in a way that you probably won't
like; are you sure you want to do this?"  If you feel that a situation
is reaching an impasse, it's usually best to stop and figure things out
OOC; if there's a rules question, or if you feel that one of the roleplay
principles is being abused, you might want to consult a Wizard.

        Whatever happens, don't take it too personally. It's not uncommon,
for example, for characters to be attacked in a bar fight. This tends to
be true if, for example, you insult Amber in the presence of some of the
Amber royals. Thus, such behavior usually isn't smart, in a new character.
If, as an innocent bystander, you're getting dragged into a situation
you don't know how to handle, it's no crime to page the main characters
in the scene, to explain that you're new and you're not quite sure what
a good reaction would be. Usually the other players will be happy to
help. In the course of your adventures on AmberMUSH, you will encounter
many friends and enemies; play within the spirit of the game, have fun,
and remember that the evil guy dripping slime in the corner is in reality
probably a nice fellow with no particular grudge against you.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOW DO I GET STARTED?

        Once you create a character, read the news, and read the bulletin
board, your first step should be to hang out someplace public and get a
feel for what's going on. Look for someone to "hook" yourself onto. The
bulletin board frequently contains "Wanted" ads; consider answering one or
more of these, since by joining someone's staff, you are automatically
creating roleplaying opportunities for yourself.

        If you are unfamiliar with MUSH, you may wish to obtain a MUSH
manual. Documentation, client programs such as TinyFugue, and other useful
things can be found for anonymous ftp on caisr2.caisr.cwru.edu.

        The best way to figure things out is to play. Involve yourself in
plots. Hire yourself out to someone until you have a better idea of the
situations on the MUSH; there are dozens of ongoing plots, some minor,
some major, many feuds, many interesting stories of the past, and the
easiest way to get involved is to attach yourself to someone who's already
part of those stories.

        Enjoy!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Comments and corrections for this document should go to Deirdre.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------