MUSH Fundamentals
by Linda Naughton O'Meara
The word MUSH stands for Multi-User Shared Hallucination. MUSHes are online role-playing games, where players from around the world gather to tell collaborative stories. To play, you create a fictional character of your own. The exact type of character is going to vary based on the game's setting. It could be anything from an intelligent robot, to a medieval knight, to a colonist on Mars. Using the MUSH game commands, you describe the thoughts and actions of your character as you interact with other characters and events on the MUSH.
This article is meant to give new players an introduction to some important concepts about MUSHing.
Storytelling
Since the whole purpose of a MUSH is to tell stories, it's important to understand how that's done. In a traditional RPG, everything is done vocally. A Gamemaster (sometimes called a Referee or Storyteller in some games) sets a scene, and the players describe how their characters react. For example:
Gamemaster: "You step out of the apartment. The sun is very bright, almost blinding.
Rob (playing Nathan): "I pull down my cap a little to block the sun."
Gamemaster: "Okay. As your eyes adjust to the light, you cast a glance around at the daily traffic outside." The GM launches into a description of the run-down building and the crowd outside then says, "Lynn, something catches Caitlin's attention as you and Nathan walk down the steps. Across the street, two burly fellows are pushing a third man into a building. It looks like your friend Charlie. He seems to be struggling. What do you do?"
Lynn (playing Caitlin): "I nudge Nathan. 'Look! Over there- isn't that Charlie?' I nod my head in the direction of the building, trying to look inconspicuous."
Rob: "I look over there. Do I see him?" The GM tells him yes. "I nod to Caitlin. 'Yeah, it looks like it is. Come on.' I hurry across the street towards the doorway they went through, motioning for Cait to follow."
You can see in this example how the Gamemaster sets the scene but ultimately it's the players who decide how their characters react to the situation. The players speak about their characters in the first person. "I do this", "You see that", etc. Yet there's no physical activity. The players just say what their characters do. They also stay in character, roleplaying out some of the dialog between them.
Here's the same scene as it might be handled on a MUSH.
Tilting his cap a little to block out the sun, Nathan strolls down the apartment building's steps, marvelling at the warm summer day. A street vendor hawking his wares catches Nathan's attention briefly, before he turns back and waits for Caitlin.
Caitlin follows Nathan, squinting against the bright sunlight. She pauses, as something stands out to her. "What the devil..." Caitlin mutters in confused surprise as she sees two burly fellows pushing a third man into a building across the street. She touches Nathan's elbow to get his attention and asks, "Look. Over there, isn't that Charlie?" Nodding her head in the direction of the other building, a concerned look plays across her features.
Nathan follows Caitlin's gaze and sees the three men. His face turns downward in a frown and his nods grimly. "Yeah, it looks like it is." Considering their options for a moment, Nathan finally says with determination, "Come on." He hurries across the street towards the doorway Charlie disappeared through, motioning for Caitlin to follow.
It's the exact same situation, but the presentation is significantly different. It reads like a story, which is the ultimate goal of a MUSH. Note that the action takes place in the third person, present tense. "Nathan follows", "Caitlin says", etc. There's much more emphasis placed on descriptions (Nathan marvels at the summer day as he walks, he frowns when he hears Caitlin's news, and so on) and even a glimpse into the thoughts of the characters (Nathan considering their options).
The other big difference is that there's no single Gamemaster dictating events. The players work together via their typing to figure out what happens. Note, though, that many games do have Gamemasters or Storytellers who run adventures for the players or help to resolve conflict situations.
IC vs OOC
Perhaps the most important MUSH phrases are IC (In-Character) and OOC (Out-Of-Character). The distinction between the two is sometimes hazy, but always vital.
IC refers to things involving the characters of the game, or the fictional game world. Things your character says and does, things he knows, things that happen to him - these are all IC events. It is important not to take them too personally. You might be best friends with someone who is your character's worst enemy.
OOC refers to things involving the players of the game, or the real world. Things that other players tell you, things that you do in real life - these are OOC events. It is important to remember that what you know, your character might not know. Using OOC information to benefit your character is a form of cheating.
Code
There are various game commands - also referred to as MUSH "code" - available for your use. Some commands are for your character. They allow him to move, speak, use a communications device, etc. Other commands are used for you, the player. They allow you to see what's going on around the MUSH, talk to other players, plan MUSH events, and so on.
There are two types of commands - hardcode and softcode. Hardcode comes from the basic PennMUSH software that the game runs. Most hardcoded commands have an "@" sign in front of them, like @emit, @describe, or @force. A few have nothing in front of them, like page, news, or who. To find information on hardcoded commands, type help followed by the name of the command. For example, help page tells you all about the page command.
Softcode is written specifically for the MUSH you're playing on. Traditionally, softcoded commands have a "+" sign in front of them, like +finger, +who, or +attack. Most games have a +help command that works just like the built-in help but for softcode instead of hardcode.
Characters
When you first start playing, you create a character. This character is a Player Character (PC) since he is controlled by you alone.
Some games allow you to have more than one character. These secondary PCs are called Alternate Characters (Alts) because they are usually not played as often as your main PC.
Non-player Characters (NPCs) are different than PCs because they are not controlled by one player exclusively. They usually are considered to belong to the MUSH community as a whole, and are the supporting characters in the story. A game without NPCs would be like a movie without extras. Making frequent use of NPCs can bring more life to the game.
Communicating
Poses communicate your character's actions to the other players. They can be very simple or very complex. Below are a few examples:
Caitlin says, "Good evening Nathan."
Turning at the familiar voice, Nathan smiles in greeting. "Ah, Caitlin, it's good to see you again." He reaches over to take her hand and kisses it lightly.
Thomas grins at Nathan. "Always the gallant one," he remarks.
The second pose is a special kind called an emit. Unlike regular poses, emits do not start with your character's name. You can use them to vary your writing style, or to describe the actions of NPCs. Do not use emits to pose for other characters without their permission.
The commands you use to communicate with people in the same room as you are shown below:
For regular speech, you type a " followed by what you want to say.
You type: "Hello there world.
The room sees: Joe says, "Hello there world."
For a pose, you type a : followed by what you want to do.
You type: :waves, and greets the world, "Hello!"
The room sees: Joe waves, and greets the world, "Hello!"
For a possessive pose, or semi-pose, you type a ; followed by what you want to have after your name.
You type: ;, ever cheerful, smiles and waves.
The room sees: Joe, ever cheerful, smiles and waves.
For an emit, you type @emit followed by the emit.
You type: @emit The ever-cheerful Joe waves, "Hello there world!"
The room sees: The ever-cheerful Joe waves, "Hello there world!"
You can communicate with other players in a variety of ways. Always remember that these forms of communication are OOC, meaning that you should not information gained through them ICly, except in rare circumstances.
OOC Comments, are often interspersed with poses as shown below. They are designed for short questions, answers, or clarifications. Using them for lengthy conversations generally annoys other people. Some games have a softcoded command such as +ooc or +sooc for OOC comments.
Nathan nods to him, "I must be going."
<OOC> Thomas says, "Who is Nathan nodding at?"
<OOC> Nathan says, "Oh, he's nodding at Michael."
Michael looks between Nathan and Thomas. "Well, it was good talking to you."
On some games, you insert the '*' character after ':' in a pose to denote OOC comments.
Nathan nods to him, "I must be going."
Thomas * "Who is Nathan nodding at?"
Nathan * "Oh, he's nodding at Michael."
Michael looks between Nathan and Thomas. "Well, it was good talking to you."
Pages can be used for private conversations among players. You can send a page to a single player, or a list of players. Pages use the page command and look like this:
Caitlin pages, "Will you be online later tonight?"
From afar, Nathan nods, "I'll be back after 9pm sometime."
Lastly, Channels allow groups of players to talk about a certain topic. All players listening to that channel automatically see the message. Channels can be good places for public chit-chat or asking questions. More info on channels can be found in help chat. Channels look like this:
<Chat> Gregory says, "Hey - has anyone seen Nathan around today?"
<Chat> Caitlin says, "He said he'd be back after 9pm."
Power Playing
There is a fine line between acceptable roleplay and power-playing. In general, power-playing is stepping on another player's toes by imposing your character's actions on them without giving them a chance to react. It is best illustrated by an example:
Nathan throws a snowball at Caitlin, hitting her square in the face.
Here, Nathan's player has assumed that he was able to hit Caitlin, and further that he was able to hit her in the face. That's power-playing because it didn't give Caitlin a chance to dodge, or do anything.
There are three common ways to handle conflict situations like this (a snowball fight is a silly example, but the same principle applies to confrontations of any kind). The first is to obtain the other player's consent for the action you're going to do. For example:
Nathan pages Caitlin: Do you mind if I hit you with this snowball?
From afar, Caitlin grins, "Not at all - go ahead."
The second way is to use the MUSH's combat or skills system to resolve the situation. Those rules would determine fairly whether the attack succeeded.
The third way is to call in an impartial observer (most MUSHes have a group of people dedicated for this task, either judges or regular staff members) to mediate the dispute.
Geography
The MUSH is divided into many "rooms". Contrary to its name, a MUSH room is not necessarily a single room inside of a building. A MUSH room can be indoors or outdoors, large or small. It could represent anything from a cramped elevator to a wide open field. It is important, therefore, to pay attention to the room descriptions to see what each one represents.
In general, a character's actions and speech are only transmitted to other characters in that room. It is important to keep the room's size in mind while roleplaying. If the room is a large marketplace, it is unlikely that your character will be able to see everything going on there, even though you - the player - can see it.
A common mistake on a MUSH is to assume that if something doesn't have a room, it doesn't exist. That's simply not true. Just because something is not built, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist ICly.
Time
Time is more flexible for tabletop games. A single night's gaming session may cover days or even weeks of time in the game world. When the players start playing again next week, they can pick up from the exact point in time where they stopped last time. "Downtime" (i.e. time between adventures) is often glossed over or skipped entirely.
A few MUSHes use this same model, but they are the exception rather than the rule. Time on most games parallels real time. If a day passes in the real world, one passes in the game world too (though on some games time passes slower or more quickly). Every day holds the possibility for adventure, or the possibility for experiencing the everyday details of your character's life. Time does not stop "between sessions" because there are no sessions - MUSHes are typically going 24 hours a day.
Because of this, you have to be a little flexible when dealing with MUSH time. Since we can't type as fast as things actually happen on the game, there will always be a disconnect between IC time and OOC time. You often won't get to play out every event in detail, and must sometimes have things happen "off-camera".
Tinyplots
Tinyplots (TPs for short) are the MUSH equivalent of "adventures" in a traditional RPG. In fact, TPs are so important to MUSHing that they have their own section in this rulebook. Not all TPs revolve around conflict or adventure, though some do. A TP is simply something unusual that happens. It can be good or bad, life-threatening or life-changing, but it is usually interesting.
Consent
In a tabletop game, if the GM says something bad happens to your character, you could try to argue with him but in the end it's his decision. Some MUSHes are run the same way. This is called "Non-Consent". In a Non-Consent MUSH, people don't have to get your permission to roleplay with you. If you're doing a scene in a public hallway and someone happens by, you can't just tell them to leave because you don't want them there. You can ask them politely, but you can't make them. Also, bad things (including death or jail sometimes) can happen to your character even if you don't want them to. Jumping into a raging river to save a child may seem cinematic and heroic, but your character might drown in the attempt. Firing a gun in the middle of a government building may sound interesting, but it will probably get you arrested or killed. This is known as "IC Actions = IC Consequences". If you make your character do something, you have to face the consequences of his actions.
The opposite end of the spectrum is a "Consent" MUSH. On one of these, you have the final say over what happens to your character, including who you roleplay with and what happens to you. As one might imagine, it takes a certain maturity level to play on places like this without degenerating into the 10-year-old Cowboys and Indians bickering: "I shot you!" "No you didn't - you missed me!" Still, a lot of players like this environment because you are safe from losing your character due to random die rolls or other players' actions.
There are many places that fall between these two extremes, but it's important to keep in mind a MUSH's consent level when you start playing there.
Conclusion
Hopefully this guide has introduced you to some of the basics about MUSHing. There's a lot more to learn, and many websites that can help you. Check out some of the other Articles on this page, and our Links to get you on your way.All content copyright 1996-2002 by Linda Naughton O'Meara unless otherwise noted. Shadowrun is a copyright and trademark of WizKids, LLC. Earthdawn is a copyright and trademark of FASA Corporation. Crimson Skies is a copyright and trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Babylon 5 is a copyright and trademark of Time Warner Entertainment. Battlestar Galactica is a copyright of Sci Fi / Universal.
Any use of characters, names, places, etc. from these systems is done with the greatest respect for their creators, and is not intended as a challenge to any copyrights or trademarks.
Last Modified: Sunday, 26-Oct-2008 12:25:06 MST
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