Welcome to Tales of Ta'veren, we hope you enjoy being part of the MUSH! This letter is sent to all players of Tales of Ta'veren to try and answer some of the most common questions that our players have, and to let you know a little bit about the MUSH. The wizards ask that you please take the time to read over the following information. Please contact us if you have any questions that aren't answered here! You can also find out a lot more about Tales on our Web site: http://www.ta-veren.org/ 1. Your Character We've set up a character for you on Tales of Ta'veren. To log on to the character, telnet to the following address. (If you don't know what telnet is, or need help getting connected, see section 2.) tales.ta-veren.org 1998 And then type the following: connect (name) (password) If you want to change your character name, use this command on the MUSH: @name me= We also recommend that you change your password. DO NOT use your character's name as the password, or a password you use on other accounts. A good password is made up of a mix of lower and upper case letters, and numerals, and is not a word found in the dictionary. Change your password with the following command: @password = If you do not connect to your character within two months, we'll consider it idle and destroy it to save space on the game. You can request another at any time by mailing to chars@ta-veren.org. 2. Connecting to Tales If you are having trouble connecting, please read the following 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. http://www.ta-veren.org/connect.html If you know how to connect to a MUSH but find the name address isn't working, try our IP of: 216.122.4.128 1998. 3. Email List All new players are automatically added to our email discussion list at: announce@ta-veren.org. When you are subscribed to the list, you will receive an email message with further information about the list, and how to unsubscribe from it. The list is designed to be as low-volume as possible. There is a second list, chat@ta-veren.org, that players are welcome to subscribe to to chat with one another. If you ever have any questions about the list, your email changes, or you need help subscribing or unsubscribing to any Tales list, please contact announce-admins@ta-veren.org. The wizards who monitor those requests will be able to help you. ------------------------------------------ At Tales of Ta'veren, we recognize and appreciate the important role of players. The best policy, building and code in the world does not make a game great, it takes the imagination and enthusiasm of players to breathe life into a MUSH! Whether you've been playing MUSH-type games for some time, or this is your first experience, we welcome your input and opinions on Tales of Ta'veren. We enjoy feedback on every aspect of the game - the news and information files, the World Wide Web pages, the coding and commands, the building and the policies. We can't fix something if we don't know it's broken, and we can't improve something if we don't know people don't like it the way it is. :-> The following are some answers to common questions about the game, including where to find out more about MUSH and the Wheel of Time theme. Q1. What are the rules of the game? What do I need to know to play? A1. The game rules are listed in the 'news' (type that without the '' once you're on the MUSH.) ALL players are expected to read and follow the rules topics listed by typing 'news new'. Q2. Who administrates the game? How can I get in touch with the admin? A2. The primary administrators of a MUSH are known as "wizards". You can contact them individually or as a group by email or on the MUSH. Type 'news wizards' (without the '') on the MUSH for their addresses or mail to wizards@ta-veren.org to reach all of the wizards. Your wizards are: Saidar, Spirit, Balefire, Cuebiyar, Earth, Mashiara, Prophecy, Sa'sara and Tel'aran'rhiod The Staff members assist the wizards, and are available to help with any questions you might have. Type +staff on the MUSH to list Staff. Greeters are experienced players who've volunteered to help new players settle into the game, type +greeters to list them. Q3. What time period is the MUSH set in? A3. In feel, scope and date, the MUSH was set a few years prior to the first novel, the Eye of the World. We have currently reached past the millenium and have started working on bits and pieces of our own metaplot. That means that some elements from later novels (the Seanchan invasion, the Asha'man, etc) are not currently part of the game world. As in the novels, there will be signs that a confrontation between the forces of the Dark and the Light is approaching. The MUSH is a "shadow world" of the world in the novels, one of the alternate worlds described in the second novel, the Great Hunt. None of the book characters or exact plots are a part of the MUSH world or game - we are exploring our own unique characters and plots. We even are developing our own Prophecies of the Dragon. The history of the world on the MUSH is congruent to that in the books, up until the point of the Aiel War. We try to stay as true to the setting as possible, but there are a few differences for the sake of playability. An example would be that on the MUSH, the Keeper of the Chronicles can come from any Ajah, while in the books, she is traditionally from the same Ajah as the Amyrlin. Type these topics on the MUSH to learn more: +time, news rp time, info history, info timeline, info sow. Type 'news tales' for info on how the MUSH differs from the books. Q4. I want to play an Aes Sedai/Male Channeler/Wolf Brother/Warder, what do I have to do? A4. Several types of characters are designated as restricted. To play one of these, you must take your character through character generation and be approved. You CANNOT role-play restricted abilities before you are approved, but you are free to role-play the rest of your characterization. A few character types (male Channelers, female Blademasters) require an approved application BEFORE you go through character generation. Type these topics on the MUSH for more information: news char rules, news char classes, cg, cg restricted. You can also read the chargen information on the web at: http://www.ta-veren.org/char/chargen/ Q5. Is there a limit on the number of characters one person can play? A5. All players are free to play as many characters as they wish to. You are also welcome to play a temporary character for part of a specific plot. You can request additional characters from any wizard, or email to: chars@ta-veren.org. Q6. What is character generation? A6. Character generation is a method of defining a character's abilities (how strong he is, whether she can Channel) and knowledge (does he know how to use a sword, can she speak the Old Tongue). The character generation system helps bring your character to life on the game, and allows us to code commands that use your character's abilities. Character generation on Tales is optional, unless you want to play a restricted (see Q4). You must spend a minimum of five hours connected to the game before you may go through chargen. If you want a restricted character, you must spend a minimum of 20 hours connected to the game. That only applies to your first character, if you create a second a month after playing the MUSH, you can take it through straight away. For more information, type these topics: cg, cg intro Or see this Web page: http://www.ta-veren.org/char/chargen/ Q7. I'd like to build a house/room/shop for my character. A7. All characters are entitled to a personal area, and those wishing to play businesspeople are eligible for more resources. More information about what to do and whom to contact is available by typing 'news build' on the MUSH, including information on our building tutorial. Q8. What countries/cultures are on the game? A8. Characters from most of the countries and cultures of the world are available. When you begin play, you will be able to select your character's background culture. Seanchan, Sharan and Amayar characters are not available. A smaller number of areas are available for residence and role-play. They are: Tar Valon, Andor, Stedding Maotai, Sunridge Hold of the Shaarad Aiel, the Fortress of the Light, the White Tower, Tinker bands and an Illuminators embassy in Tar Valon. For more information on the areas of Tales, see the links at: http://www.ta-veren.org/tav2.html Q9. What will the role of the Forsaken be? Will there be a Dragon Reborn? A9. Now, if we answered that one, we'd be giving away some of the fun. ;-> We are developing our own Prophecies of the Dragon. We are not accepting applications to play the Dragon Reborn or Forsaken, please don't mail and ask. Q10. I don't know very much about MUSH, where can I learn more? A10. We have set up a Web page to introduce you to all the basic MUSH commands you will need to play: http://www.ta-veren.org/mush/basics.html There is also a MUSH School on the game. You'll see the basics tutorial as soon as you login. Once you're started on the game, you can also go to the full MUSH School by typing 'school' (without the '') anywhere on the game. In addition to the basics, the School also covers custom Tales commands. Links to more info about MUSH: http://www.ta-veren.org/mush.html Q11. Is there anywhere on the Net with additional information about the Wheel of Time books? A11. There sure is! The Wheel of Time setting is very popular on the Net. You can link to many of these resources via our WWW page at: http://www.ta-veren.org/wot.html We also have an illustrated guide to the peoples, nations and culture of the Wheel of Time at: http://www.ta-veren.org/world/worldbook.html If you're having trouble remembering all the details from the novels on one culture or another, take a look at the Wheel of Time Concordance, Saidar's collected notes and page references from the books on geography, customs, songs and stories, economy, and many other elements. There are links to the WWW version of Concordance from the two above sites, or you can FTP/email your own copy from: ftp://ta-veren.org/pub/WOT-concordance.txt Q12. Is there an easier way to get game information than typing NEWS, INFO or CG online? A12. You can view complete copies of all three resources on the Web: NEWS: ftp://ta-veren.org/pub/news.txt INFO: ftp://ta-veren.org/pub/info.txt CG: ftp://ta-veren.org/pub/cg.txt Q13. Does this MUSH have Robert Jordan's permission? A13. We have contacted Mr. Jordan on several occasions, but he has never replied to any of our mail. He has stated that he doesn't mind people using his setting for role-playing games, provided they are not-for-profit. The MUSH certainly fits into that category. :-> Q14. If you need help, I'd love to build Tear/Cairhien/etc. A14. We are only opening new cities for residence as we have the player base to support them. The more areas are open, the more spread out players are, and that may mean there's only one or two people in each area at a given time, which makes role-play very difficult. When the wizards decide to open a new area, one of the wizards takes on the management of a team formed to develop and build that area. The wizard coordinator oversees responsibility for the area building, whether they do it themselves or assign it out to others on the team. Q15. The wizards seem pretty busy, I'd be happy to help out as a wizard or staff member. A15. We think that the current number of wizards is the most suitable size for the MUSH's present needs. The wizards each have different experience, temperaments and outlooks, and represent a wide variety of points-of-view. We are very responsive to the suggestions and ideas of all players - you don't need to be a wizard to have an opinion or contribute to the game! Staff positions are available in the different IC areas of the game (see Q8). Area staff may also become game staff. Game staffers have responsibilities set out by the wizards which are more global in nature. These responsibilities include reviewing completed chargen characters, helping resolve player disputes, assisting with global plots and running seminars on better roleplaying. You should play on the game for at least one or two months before you apply. You may first want to apply for a position as a Greeter. Greeters are experienced players familiar with Tales who have volunteered to role-play with new players and help them learn the ropes. Information on our admin conduct guidelines and applications are available: http://www.ta-veren.org/admin/index.html A title is not necessary to contribute to the MUSH! All players are encouraged to help new people familiarize themselves with the MUSH and the world. Players are also welcome to contribute coded elements or informational resources to enhance the game.