From saramalkah@hotmail.com Tue Jul 27 03:46:37 2004 Date: Sat, 11 Nov 2000 08:13:54 -0500 From: Michele Marcotte Reply-To: wizards@ta-veren.org To: wizards@ta-veren.org Subject: [Wiz] Newbie Packet - Revised Newbie Packet--Revision Michele Marcotte -- Melith ============================================================================ === CONTENTS -------------------------------------------------------- Starting Your Tale ....Logging On ....Setting up your character I'm in the Game...Now What? ....Communicating .........IC vs. OOC .........paging .........+comm .........+mail Where to find HELP ....Need more help? ....More help? .........help .........+help .........+lhelp .........news and info files .........MUSH School .........The Website Exploring Tales ....Where am I? What is that? ....Who's Here? .........WHO .........@doing .........+where ....What's going on here? .........@listmotd .........+bb ....Roleplay ....QUIT Developing Your Character ....Commands .........@name .........@password .........@sex .........@desc .........+desc .........+finger .........+pref ....Suggestions .........getting to know your char .........naming your character .........how many characters ....Chargen ....Restricted Chars Making Yourself at Home ....@quota ....Building a room ....Making a home your home ....Creating other objects Required Reading Recommended Reading: Resources for New Players A Little MUSH Glossary MUSH Client Resources ========================================================= Starting Your Tale ....Logging On To log on to your character, telnet to the following address: tales.ta-veren.org Port 1998 You can also use the IP Address: 216.122.4.128 Port 1998 If you have problems connecting, or if you don't have telnet installed on your computer, you can get more help at the following page. http://www.ta-veren.org/connect.html Please read the Web page BEFORE emailing for help. If you read it and are still having problems, include information on what operating system you use and what error messages you receive when you mail for help. You may also want to download a MUSH or MUD client to log onto Tales. MUSH Clients have a lot of features that make them simpler and better for MUSHing than Telnet. The webpage listed above has links to some resources. A select few are listed at the end of this document, in MUSH Client Resources. After you have connected to the Tales site, you will need to log on to your character by typing 'connect .' ....Setting up your character When you first log on, your character will be in The Cradle. There you will set a few basic commands on your char, including gender and description. You don't have to write every single detail at this point. In fact, many people find it helpful to RP their character for a little while before writing more than a basic description. You may also want to change the name of your character at this time. You can also change your password. These commands may be used to change your character's information at any time during the game: @desc me= @sex me= @name me= @password = More information on Developing Your Character can be found in the section below, or online at: http://www.ta-veren.org/char.html Continuing to the Agreement Room, you will be asked to agree to follow the rules of the MUSH. The most important rules of conduct are found in NEWS CONDUCT, NEWS RULES, and NEWS RP CONSENT. NEWS CONDUCT also contains the steps for disciplinary action on Tales. See NEWS NEW or the section below on Required Reading for the full list of files that new players should read by the first week or so of game play. Once you agree to follow the rules of the game, you will enter the Waystation and be given the opportunity to choose the area of the game you will call home. For more information on the areas, you can 'look' at these exits before you choose one. If you start with the Aiel exit, your character should be an Aiel, and you will stay in the Waste except for approved plots. If you choose the Ogier exit, your character should be an Ogier, or you should get approval from the Ogier leader for your char concept. Choosing an exit will set your home to the Common Sleeping Area of the local inn, or its equivalent. You may change your home later on. For example, if you build a room for yourself you might want to set that as your home. More information about building rooms and changing your home can be found in this packet under Making Yourself at Home. You may decide later to travel to other areas of the game. This is permissible, but we ask that you respect the IC restrictions to travel. Most traveling in Tales is done by walking or on horseback, and takes a few days of travel time. More information is given under NEWS RP TRAVEL. The type of character you choose may also restrict your travel. For example, Aiel need OOC permission to travel out of the Waste. For more information about the restrictions of the character type you choose, see ______________ ============================================================================ ====== I'm in the Game...Now What? ....Communicating Role-play is interacting with other players on the MUSH. There are a few simple commands that can get you going: say (or) " pose (or) : Substitute your message for the brackets.When you say or pose something, anyone in the same room as you are will see it. Examples: You type: say Hello The people in the room see: Melith says, "Hello." You type: :takes a sip of tea. The people in the room see: Melith takes a sip of tea. .........IC vs. OOC Tales separates IC, or In Character conversation from OOC, or Out of Character conversation. To talk to someone in the same room with you OOCly, type OOC . In order to maintain the flow of RP, it's a good idea to limit OOC remarks. You can also talk on the comms (see +help comms), which broadcasts a message to anyone currently online and on channel. .........Paging Paging sends a private message to a single online player, whether they are in the same room with you or not (see help page): page = or p = You can page more than one person at a time by using the multipage command (see +help mp): mp ...etc= .........+comm You are automatically joined to the newbie channel when you become a player. To talk on the channel type =new . There are always staff members on the channel to help you. Channels are available for each of the areas, coding, and other options. For more information see +help comm. .........+mail You can send longer notes to players, even when they are not online, using the +mail system. This is kind of like Tales e-mail. To start a message, type +mail = and ENTER. You may then type the body of the mail, by using -. Once you've entered your text, type +send to send the mail. To read mail you have received, type +read . For more commands to use with +mail, see +help mail. ============================================================================ ====== Where to find HELP Most new MUSH players have lots of questions about the game's setting and rules. Our information files are available to answer those questions. Our Staff are very helpful, but you should make an effort to find answers to questions on your own, first. We recommend you read the following as soon as possible: NEWS NEW NEWS CONDUCT NEWS CHAR RULES NEWS RP (all entries) NEWS RP SEXISM INFO SETTING NEWS SPOILERS NEWS QUOTA ....Need more help? +greeters, +staff and the Newbie Channel Greeters are experienced players who've volunteered to help new people learn the ropes. You can find them online by typing '+greeters'. Staff are also available to help. You can list Staff online with '+staff'. You can also ask questions on the Newbie Chat channel by typing: =new ....More help? help...+help...+lhelp .........help Typing 'help' will get you help files for general MUSH commands. You can also type 'help commands' for a list. Information on some of the basic commands is also given in this packet, and also in the MUSH School -- MUSH Basics (Type 'school' to go to the MUSH School). .........+help Tales has its own custom commands. You can list these commands with +help. There are in-depth tutorials on many of the commands in the MUSH School. Try out the +help by reading about these useful commands: +help mp +help finger .........+lhelp Each area has local commands that work within that area. Type '+lhelp' for a list of these while standing in any area room. The +lhelp also includes area policy and background information for plots, characters, etc. .........news and info files One of the most important commands on any MUSH is 'news'. Unlike how it sounds, this command does not tell you about events in the world. Instead it is a listing of game rules and other helpful information. Type 'news new' for a list of news entries all players MUST READ, plus additional entries that are recommended to new players. The 'info' command offers information on the Wheel of Time setting. Type 'info' for a listing of available categories. 'Info theme' lists key WoT info files (rites, religion, calendar, etc.). 'Info nations' gives you info on the nations and groups of the WoT world. .........MUSH School The MUSH School offers tutorials on how to enhance your MUSH experience with MUSH commands and commands listed under +help. Some of the topics include: Basic MUSH Commands, Building, Character. Type 'school' to enter the MUSH School from anywhere in the MUSH. .........The Website The game's website at http://www.ta-veren.org is jam-packed with information about MUSHing in general, details about Tales, roleplay, developing a dynamic character, and The Illustrated Wheel of Time Worldbook, a guide to the Wheel of Time setting. ============================================================================ ====== Exploring Tales ....Where am I? What is that? Feel free to explore the public rooms of the area of the MUSH you are in (It's a good idea to get permission before entering private areas, such as houses. NEVER enter someone's room without their permission). Some areas have a useful +lhelp feature to help you find your way around. Typing +map will show you a map of the area, and tell you what room you are in. When you enter a room, you will automatically see a description of the room. If you want to look at it again, type 'look.' You can shorten that to 'look' or even 'l'. You will notice that the room's description also includes a list of players, objects and exits in the room. You can use the 'look' command to look at yourself, another player, an object or an exit. In some descriptions you may see a note which reads: 'There are places and +views here'. Places are not objects, but they are separate areas, where private conversations can be held. They are usually tables or benches. Type 'places' for a list of places in the room and who is sitting there. Type '+help places' for more information on using places. +Views can be set on rooms, objects, and players in order to give more detailed information. For example, a painting on the wall, or a sword with a special mark may be given detail in a +view. Type '+help view' for more information on this feature. ....Who's Here? .........WHO Lists all the people currently connected to the MUSH. The Idle column shows how long its been since each person last typed a command. This command is case sensitive, you have to type it in capital letters. .........@doing You can set a short message next to your name on the WHO list by using this command. .........+where This command lists connected players by location. ....What's going on here? There are two places to check for updates on game events: .........@listmotd Type this command to see announcements of upcoming events and game changes. .........+bb The bulletin boards include both game announcements, and in-game news. To learn more about how to use the +bb, you can read '+help bb' or go through the Bulletin Board Tutorial in the Communication section of the MUSH School. (Type 'school' to get to the MUSH School.) ....Roleplay Roleplay is what Tales is all about. That means playing a character that is not you. You may have qualities in common with your character, but he or she also has differences. None of the characters on Tales live in a technological society, to give a general example. There are lots of news files to help you get started roleplaying. Type NEWS RP for a beginning list. These are also available on the web at: http://www.ta-veren.org/rp.html The Introduction to Online Role-Play http://www.ta-veren.org/rp/guide.html includes tips for portraying your character through speech and gesture, how objects and non-player characters work on a MUSH, and other helpful information about role-play on Tales of Ta'veren. ....QUIT When you want to leave the MUSH, type this command. It is case sensitive, you have to type it in capital letters. =========================================================================== Describing and Developing Your Character ....Commands to Use: @name me= Changes your character's name @password = Changes the password you use to log on. You must have the old password in order to change to a new one. If you can't remember your character's password, you can check the e-mail you were sent confirming the creation of your character, or you can log on as a Guest and page a wizard. @sex me= I hope this is self-explanatory ;) @desc me= You can create a description of your character that people will see when they look at you. You'll notice on Tales that the length of descriptions varies. Some people like short sketches, others prefer long detailed descriptions. Some help for writing descs can be found at: ______________________ +desc If you want more flexibility in your character's description, such as changing your dress or coat, or donning a cloak in cold weather, the +descer may be for you. Setting the descer on your character will erase your @desc and replace it with several categories of clothing. You can add descriptions to the categories, add more categories, and change these around. More information can be found at +help desc, and in the MUSH School -- Character +finger The +finger command can be used to find out more information about a character. Some of this information may be OOC. You can set the details of your character's +finger with the following commands: @alias me= &fullname me= &pos me= &oocpos me= &email me= &www me= &schedule me= &plan me= "e me= +pref The Preferences system allows people to indicate types of role-play they do or do not wish to engage in. You can set your own preferences, or use the command to see what other people's likes or dislikes are. See +help pref for more information. ....Suggestions for character development This information is from NEWS CHAR and can also be found at http://www.ta-veren.org/char.html The details of your character's gender, description, background, national origin, job, etc, are all up to you. Tales has some rules of what you may not be able to do, or what might require approval to do, but within those guidelines, who your character is is completely up to you. We recommend that you spend some time playing on the MUSH before you set all the details of your character in stone. You are welcome to begin play with a lightly-sketched character, and you are free to change your initial choices if you decide to change your character concept. Staff and other resources are available to help with questions you might have about developing your character. ....Naming your character These guidelines will help you select an appropriate name for your character on Tales of Ta'veren: Character names should be appropriate to a non-industrial fantasy setting. Most "real life" names are fine. Names like BikerDude, Vampirella, or Cyberman are unacceptable. Do not use the name of any major character from the Wheel of Time books. The names of minor characters are acceptable if your character has a unique characterization. (Example: you could use the name Paitr, but not if your character is a Darkfriend from Market Sheran.) We recommend that you avoid names from other books/movies that are clearly identifiable, like Spock or Frodo. You may also wish to avoid names like Death, Envy, MonkeyBrain, etc., as these tend to be poorly-received by other players. If you use a name like Envy, you should consider it your character's nickname, not his or her given name. ....How many characters can I have on Tales? You may play as many characters as you like on Tales of Ta'veren. To obtain an additional character, simply email to: chars@ta-veren.org, or contact a wizard online. Character generation is a way of defining your character's knowledge and abilities (how strong she is, whether she knows the Old Tongue, etc.) We require that you play your character for at least two weeks before going through character generation. Unless you want to play a restricted character, chargen is completely optional. It is possible to RP in Tales without ever going through chargen. The 'cg' files contain documentation for the character generation and associated systems. Type 'CG' for a list of files. They are also found on the web at: http://www.ta-veren.org/char/chargen/index.html ....Chargen ....Restricted characters Virtually all characters with exceptional abilities are designated as "restricted". Restricted character types include, but may not be limited to: female Channelers, those with special Talents, Sniffers, Assassins, Wolf Brothers, Blademasters, those who are Warder-Trained or wish to receive Warder training, and those who possess special objects like ter'angreal, heron-marked swords or Power-forged weapons. To play a restricted character, you must go through the Character Generation system, and have your background approved. For more information, see CG RESTRICTED or http://www.ta-veren.org/char/chargen/restricted.txt A note on nobles: nobles are not restricted, but all noble characters must be OOCly affliated with an existing Noble House. Page or +mail the OOC head of the noble house in order to get permission to play one. See NEWS NOBLE for more info. =========================================================================== Making Yourself at Home ....@quota Each player is allotted a limited quota for building objects, puppets, and rooms. To see your available quota, type '@quota me.' ....Building a Room Eventually you may want your own space on Tales. This can be a room at the Inn, or linked to a street or an existing house (with the owner's permission, of course). All rooms must be inspected by a wizard before they can be linked to the IC area. Therefore, you will build your room off of the Building Nexus in the OOC Zone (type 'zone', 'bn'). The simplest way to create a room is to use the Roombuilder in the Building Nexus. This will automatically create a room with your name, and two exits linking it to the Building Nexus. You will need to add a room description. The MUSH Tutorial on Building (type 'school', 'building') is extremely useful for all aspects of creating, describing and linking your room. ....Making a home your home Once you have your room built you can set it as your home with the command: @link me=here. Then when you type "home" you will be automatically teleported to that place. ....Creating Other Objects You may want to use your quota for creating other objects. Keep in mind that because this is an RP-based MUSH, you don't need to actually create objects in order to RP using them. See NEWS RP OBJECTS for further info. Puppets are useful and fun objects. They allow you to create temporary characters without going through the process of requesting a character. You can also make an animal puppet. See NEWS PUPPETS for info on how to create your own puppet. =========================================================================== Required Reading The following is a list of files new players must read. You don't have to read all of these your first session, but you should make an effort to read them all within a week or so of beginning play. The news files can be downloaded from:_____________________________ NEWS CONDUCT - rules for player behaviour and conduct - MUST READ NEWS CHAR RULES - rules that apply to all characters on the MUSH NEWS PRIVACY - your privacy on a MUSH INFO SETTING - an overview of the Wheel of Time setting NEWS RP CONSENT - rules for resolving IC conflict situations NEWS RP IC - rules related to staying IC and IC vs. OOC knowledge NEWS RP TIME - the game's time-scale, and role-playing time NEWS TRAVEL - information on travel and tips for role-playing travel NEWS RP SEXISM - in-character gender roles for men and women NEWS RP OBJECTS - character "equipment", object policies and information NEWS RP NPC - how to use non-player characters, and NPC policies NEWS TP RULES - rules related to pre-planned or organized role-play NEWS IDLE - policy regarding wizard destruction of characters NEWS BUILD GENERAL - exit, room and general guidelines for ALL building NEWS LIST - our email lists, how to subscribe and unsubscribe, etc. NEWS SPOILERS - spoilers on Tales, how to avoid ruining books for others NEWS QUOTA - useful information for *all* players on quota issues INFO MAGIC - how "magic" works in this world, and who can use it INFO DRAGON - who the Dragon was, dragons as symbols on the MUSH NEWS NOBLE OVERVIEW - Feudalism in the Tales setting =========================================================================== Recommended Reading: Resources for New Players Role-Play and TinyPlots - http://www.ta-veren.org/rp.html ----------------------------------------------------------- NEWS RP INTRO - overview of MUSH RP style, recommended reading NEWS TP INTRO - TinyPlot definition, suggestions for spur-of-the moment RP Story +bb - plot announcement bulletin board, see '+help bb' Character-Related Information - http://www.ta-veren.org/char.html ------------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS CHAR DEVELOP - tips for developing an interesting character NEWS CHAR JOBS - tips for finding a job for your character NEWS CHAR CLASSES - list and definitions of character roles in this setting NEWS SALARY - salaries for different types of characters CG RESTRICTED - how to play a Warder, Aes Sedai, Wolfbrother, etc. CG - index of character generation documents CG INTRO - overview of chargen and important information about it NEWS CONTACTS - a short list of area and organization leaders NEWS AREAS - directory of detailed contact info for nations and orgs NEWS ORG - joining or creating an organization (Guild, etc.) NEWS CHAR2 - information on specific char types (Nobles, Warders, etc.) More about MUSH Coding - http://www.ta-veren.org/mush.html ------------------------------------------------------ NEWS CODE HELP - location of help for MUSH coding and commands NEWS CODE GUIDELINES - guidelines for coders, please follow these! NEWS PUPPETS - what puppets are, how to make and use them MUSH School - MUSH command tutorials, type 'school' to get there More About the Wheel of Time Setting - http://www.ta-veren.org/tav2.html ------------------------------------------------------- INFO - glossary of Wheel of Time terms and MUSH acronyms INFO THEME - list of key WoT info files (rites, religion, calendar, etc.) INFO NATIONS - info on the nations and groups of the WoT world ============================================================================ A Little MUSH Glossary Joe says,"Mary's AFK atm. She'll BBL to RP." What the heck does that mean? MUSH players use a lot of abbreviations. You may be familiar with some of them from chat, but some of them are particular to MU*-ing, and a few to Tales itself. Here's a short glossary of some of them. If you don't know, ask! AFK = Away from keyboard. The player is taking a break in real life. ALT = Another character played by the same player. ATM = At the moment BF = Balefire. A Wheel of Time term for retconning, erasing or deleting a pose or scene. BBS = Be Back Soon. Hopefully what someone who is AFK will be. BRB = Be right back. BTW = By the way. Char = Character. DBREF = Database reference number. Every object in the MUSH, players, things, rooms, exits, is assigned a unique number. ElseMU* = On another MUSH, MUD, etc. As in, "Can't RP with you right now, am busy ElseMU*." IC = In character. The thoughts, words, gestures of your character. As opposed to OOC. ICA=ICC = In character actions equal in character consequences. Although Tales is a consent-based MUSH, many areas have IC rules and laws. If you choose to flaunt the laws, there will be consequences. Example: destroying property in an Inn may result in a jail sentence or IC time 'working off' the damages. Log = A record of what happens on screen while you are connected to the MUSH. Most clients can save logs. You can see some logs of Tales roleplay at http://www.ta-veren.org/logs.html Log on/Log off = To sign in or out of the MUSH NPC = Non-player character. OOC = Out of character. Player = The real person in front of the computer screen and behind the character(s). PC = Player character Puppet = A character that is owned and operated by a PC (You can see who owns a puppet by typing 'ex Puppetname.') retconn = erasing or deleting a pose or scene. RL = Real life. That which happens when you're not sitting in front of the computer. RP = Roleplay. What you are doing on Tales when you are IC. snug = A snuggle-hug. Demonstration of affection. tmi = Too Much Information. We don't really need to know what you're doing when you're AFK. TP = Tinyplot. A roleplaying scenario that involves some planning ahead. TPs can be small and short or large and long. See NEWS TP for more information. Wizard = The primary administrators of a MUSH. Wizards do the behind the scenes work that keeps the MUSH running. ============================================================================ == MUSH Client Resources There is lots of software available for connecting to and playing MU*s of all kinds. This list is only a fingernail sketch. Make sure to choose something that's going to work with your computer. The MUD Connector MUD Client Page http://www.mudconnector.com/resources/Mud_Resources:Mud_Clients.htmlhttp://w ww.mudconnector.com/resources/Mud_Resources:Mud_Clients.html The following are links to some of the popular clients for different Operating Systems: Windows Systems MUSHClient http://www.gammon.com.au/ Simple MU http://www.together.net/~shae/simple.html ZMud http://www.zuggsoft.com/zmud Linux/Unix Mudix http://dwizardry.dhs.org/ TinyFugue http://tf.tcp.com/~hawkeye/tf/ MAC The Macintosh MUDding Resource Page http://www.hsoi.net/mud/ Rapscallion http://homepages.tcp.co.uk/~ajlewis/Rapscallion/index.html Savitar http://www.heynow.com/Savitar ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Replies to this post will go to the list. If you only want to reply to the sender of this post, please check the To: field of your reply and ensure that only the sender's address appears. -------------------------------------------------------------------------