New Player to the MUD, question on theme vs backstory.

[Jinxie]

So, As the title suggests, (and feel free to move this to another board if you feel it better fitting!)  I am looking at the prospect of starting this MUD.  I like the RP enforcement, and enjoy the concept of the depth of character and story telling that creates. I have always wanted to place a certain type of character, but it never really leant itself to being all that fun sitting at a real table, with real players for D&D or shadowrun, but I may be able to make it work in a world like this.  Especially if shady deals and other things are done between player guilds, NPC guilds, and so on.  Anyhoo... on to the point.

The story needs a lot of fleshing out, which I want to do if it is even plausible to pull off in game, but the concept of the backstory goes like this...

She was quite young, possibly 4 to 5, completely raised off the streets.  She doesn't remember her infancy (obviously), or much before this moment and had never really had many close friends, or identity.  No real concept of a parent either.  Her earliest memory is that of attempting to pick some bread to eat.  She almost succeeds, unnoticed, but is later followed down an alley.  The figure, who appeared to her to be the shopkeeper she robbed, essentially offers to teach her the ways of the life that she already had a talent for.  That of a pick pocket/thief/spy, though not so named by him.  Knowing no one, and never having a consistent bite to eat, she decides that learning to be better at what HAS fed her, she will take him up on the offer.  He sweeps her away, and after she signs herself over to him, he feeds her.  Her first meal is drugged, and when she awakens, she has no ability to formulate speech.  She can make sounds and that sort of thing, and her thoughts are coherent, but she can't put her thoughts through her lips.  What we in real life know as Aphasia.  A dark doctor type, had done surgery to purposefully damage the parts of a brain that connect thoughts to communication.

The man explains to her, that all of his guilded pupils are given this treatment, to make them the absolute best at what they do.  In that they can never truly reveal their motives, their contractors, or their guild should they be caught.  So from here, she becomes some of everything.  She is a dancer for entertainment, a courtesian of general variety, listening to the information of the suitors that pay her keeper for her time.  She is taught to slink through the night, and creep into places and burgle property, or important documents. To pick pocket.  She is taught the basics of self defense should the need arise, but not the most formidable training in combat.  Murder leads to more questions than an unknown thief rotting in a cell.

A war of spies takes place, and her guild is mostly wiped out, including her teacher. And she is again thrown to the streets for her livelihood. This time with no ability to speak, and her only knowledge of writing is that of the code of a guild that no longer exists.

I haven't even written what happened to her parents, who they are, or were, or if she actually knows if her Teacher / Spymaster is dead.  And I think its better that way, since really it gives room for story telling.

For those playing the home game, its a bit of a hybrid of Garret, and Cassandra Cain (Batgirl).  But its an archetype I always wanted to try to take the challenge and RP.  Someone with no vocal ability.

Is this something that would actually be feasible in this game? or is every method of progression going to be hailing an NPC, then going through dialogue promits, AKA Everquest 1 quest system?

How would you build a character in char gen to fit a story like this?   Not on a Min Max level, but how best would this fit into the world? I was thinking of being an elf or half elf. Probably a half elf.

Any other thoughts/suggestions, on pulling this off?

Thanks for your time, and for getting this far!

-Jinxie

[evilcabbage]

writing, probably not - the languages we have in game exist, and reading/writing is very illegal in most of the known world (especially the main cities).

it does sound like a nice concept, but start small first. save this idea for later on when you really understand the game world. for now, i would start with something very simple, and grow from that.

you don't want to get denied. especially with that reading/writing thing? that would be a special application, which i highly recommend you wait to do. get a few months of the game under your belt, then start doing crazy stuff.

also, i don't believe a doctor would know what part of the brain affects the talking center in this era. however, it could be explained as (potentially) magickal or psionic damage of some kind. maybe her family treated a witch poorly, and this was the punishment for how they treated the witch.

[Barsook]

Welcome to ArmMud, dibs on your boots!

I would suggest that you role a human because elves and breeds do require racial roleplay and also the subrace of elves, desert elves require one karma to play them.  City elves don't require karma nor the breeds.  Plus the docs do suggest that.

I believe the only place you can start is in the city-state of Allanak because of the first character rules.  Don't start in the 'rinth though.

I hope that helps.

[evilcabbage]

there are no quests in this game that are not established by players or staff. your quest is to live, and make of your life what you can.

[Barsook]

Going off evilcabbage's post above:

In a way, your quest to to tell your character's story and also help other players to tell their characters' stories.  You can use your imagination and your characters backstory to create "quests" (you can use change objective and bios as a as a way to keep track of progress) as a way to tell your character's story.  For example, nowadays I like to play characters that focus on learning things within the game world.  The main topic of what I want to learn is the main question, almost like a dwarf's focus (when I don't play a dwarf) but not that too focused, and I use change objective and bios to keep track of progress of that main quest.

You could use vision quests or life-changing events as ideas for quests.

EDIT TO ADD: Added links.

[Jinxie]

Yes, I saw the change objective page. It is partly why I sorta liked this backstory. There are quite a few things I could choose for that.  It drew me to the concept of the half elf, because the character herself, tried to find a community, and when it was taken from her, she could try to find out, who she is individually, by searching for her parents, or try to find the ACTUAL knowledge of what happened to the spy master and why? It would be about a loyalty to a community, but she would be rather individually inclined on the matter.

[evilcabbage]

you don't necessarily need to be a half-elf to do that, and i strongly recommend you don't, because half-elves are extremely disliked by all races, not just humans or elves. nobody likes them. they are a disgusting, filthy abomination, as far as the game world is concerned.

but if you want to try that out, go for it!

[Barsook]

If you do, good luck!

Anyways, if loyalty is one side, you need to think what is the other side because of the bipolarity of the breed's personalty that is from not being accepted.

[Jinxie]

Thanks, I think I will come up with a new concept that is a bit more forgiving to learn the setting and behaviors properly, the way Cabbage originally suggested.  I do have a question about what he meant by "denied" though.  Do they go over a character creation process and make sure its accurate? Is a deny a hard deny? or do admins give feedback and suggestions on how to make it thematically appropriate?

[Lizzie]

Jinxie, the trouble with your story that wouldn't mesh in Arm, is that her ability to speak was removed in an attempt to prevent her from telling anyone who her master is/was. Armageddon has psionics, and every person on the planet has the ability to psionically contact and communicate with each other. In order to have -that- removed, you'd need staff intervention - a special application, that could take weeks - or even months - to get approved, before you can ever play that character.

As the cabbage and sookie say - start small. Make a generic human who comes fresh off the turnip farm (in this case - the chalton ranch), eager to find her way around the big city and make her fortune. Consider it a rite of passage. If you make it through that one, then you'll be ready for the next challenge.

[Barsook]

Thanks, I think I will come up with a new concept that is a bit more forgiving to learn the setting and behaviors properly, the way Cabbage originally suggested.  I do have a question about what he meant by "denied" though.  Do they go over a character creation process and make sure its accurate? Is a deny a hard deny? or do admins give feedback and suggestions on how to make it thematically appropriate?

Yes, the staff do check every application and I do believe they do give suggestions on what is wrong. So, no, it's not a hard deny, you can change your application and resubmit it. I don't know if they suggest on how to fix it.

I could suggest that you roll up a human who seeks a community to be loyal to.  I would suggest maybe an human with the indent to become an aide for a Highborn (Noble or Templar) or a crafter who wants to be loyal to a Great Merchant House.  Keep in mind how on where you character will hang around people, as in the tough-type or the aide-ly/crafter type of people.  So basically the Gaj or the Red's Retreat for joints to meet other people and to also get a job, if needed.

[Lizzie]

Thanks, I think I will come up with a new concept that is a bit more forgiving to learn the setting and behaviors properly, the way Cabbage originally suggested.  I do have a question about what he meant by "denied" though.  Do they go over a character creation process and make sure its accurate? Is a deny a hard deny? or do admins give feedback and suggestions on how to make it thematically appropriate?

Once it's denied, it's denied. But if it's something plausible, and easy to fix, it's possible they wouldn't deny it but instead, send you a note asking if you'd mind fixing it, and give suggestions. Then you resubmit and they will decide whether or not to approve or deny. I don't know how common that is, but I do know it has happened in the past and therefore is certainly a possibility given the right circumstances.

[Jinxie]

Jinxie, the trouble with your story that wouldn't mesh in Arm, is that her ability to speak was removed in an attempt to prevent her from telling anyone who her master is/was. Armageddon has psionics, and every person on the planet has the ability to psionically contact and communicate with each other. In order to have -that- removed, you'd need staff intervention - a special application, that could take weeks - or even months - to get approved, before you can ever play that character.

As the cabbage and sookie say - start small. Make a generic human who comes fresh off the turnip farm (in this case - the chalton ranch), eager to find her way around the big city and make her fortune. Consider it a rite of passage. If you make it through that one, then you'll be ready for the next challenge.

I was not really trying to sound like I was debating that with him, so much as to understand the parts that WERE the problem, so I didn't commit them on the next rendition of a character story.  I hope I wasn't coming across entitled to that character or anything like that. I just like to understand my mistakes and fix them is all.

[evilcabbage]

a deny is a "hard deny" in the sense that if they deny it, they will tell you why, and ask you to fix it.

you can ALWAYS resubmit, making the changes they feel you need to make.

[solera]

I played a 'Rinther kid after my first long lived Byn character. I don't mind playing solo. She was human, but half elf would have worked.   My PC's boss was a breed, though it took a long time for me or her to realize that.
Though sometimes sparse, the other PC's in the 'rinth I found were excellent at teaching my kid her place. She  started off scavenging and through choice, stayed semi detached for a while, though she did drink at the bar. She eventually took the step of 'making friends'  with another teen, and drifted into a local (coded clan) crime organization. At one point she joined the Byn, maybe when her crew was wiped out, and stayed in the byn until she ran away back to the Rinth after the streets of Allanak, and the life of the Bynner , became very unsafe.

I would join others in suggesting a generic human, a bit lost in the big city, for your first character, to give you an idea of how it works, before plunging into what you really want to do.

My kid's background, in case you're interested.

Street kid.  A baby.  Its mother was a girl who had survived through to
adulthood, sturdy enough  to conceive and bear a child.  Had nurtured the
child until it was old enough to scavenge the streets for its own food.  And
to assimilate into the gang of streetwise kids on whose turf it had been
raised.
This was Bugs family, that supplied a ration of security,
sustenance, an identity and a name.  Grunts gang.  Together they survived
and looked out for the youngers, not forgetting  their own age of weakness.
Grunt was further up the ladder of spice and death dealing.  However, when
it was his day of dying, there was more than a single death.  There was a
secret  uncovered, and the gang was erased.  It wasn't a 100% kill rate, one
or two lucky ones weren't around.  Bug survived.
  It was the most precarious time of her life.  Finding sids and sustenance was the easy part, keeping
safe  was a daily ordeal.   And then there was the worry of that bag of sids
she was carrying around, to be handed on to Grunt, except...   Instinct told
her to dump it, but she wouldn't.  Maybe she could spend just a bit of it,
without being noticed, after a while. 

Staying safe, and unnoticed  was her objective, for almost as long as she lived.  (She got too cocky and chased after a psychopathic half giant that was after her boss. Ouch. Hot keying Flee doesn't work if you are knocked over)

[Reiloth]

Hi Jinxie! I hope you give ArmageddonMUD a good try.

My recommendation for a first PC is to play a wide-eyed young adult from one of the farm villages surrounding Allanak, which is the major population center of the game. Yaroch, is a good example (Though I always forget if it was Yaroch or Menos that was destroyed a long time ago, someone else can chime in). This allows you to be confused by what many consider to be normal, and it gives you a way to ask questions and not appear suspicious. Playing the country bumpkin allows you to fit in where you might otherwise not, and asking questions via the OOC channel is acceptable to a point. If you need to know how a command works, use the OOC command in the game. But long winded questions or questions about the setting should be directed towards the Helpers.

You can access 'Helpers' by going to the main webpage (www.armageddon.org). Scroll down and you will see a Mantis pointing to a 'Live Help!' button. Click and you will find the helper chat channel, where Staff and Helpers can answer your questions outside of the game.

I would save a high concept like this for when you've played a few characters. Permadeath means your PCs -will- die, and starting with a concept you love and wanting to see it come to fruition will only likely turn you off when they die suddenly. There are many, many ways to die in Zalanthas, and only a few tried and true methods to staying alive.

I highly recommend joining a clan like the T'zai Byn, if you are interested in hunting or pursuing the combat world. I highly recommend joining the Atrium, if you are more politically bent and social.

Good luck, make your first PC, and get started already!

[Beethoven]

Yaroch is still around! I think Menos is gone.

[a french mans shirt]

Menos has been replaced by New Menos, a village on top of a clay pit.

Here's a few ideas that will work, in case you go the way of the dodo like I did and start going through applications dying to animals---

1. A tribal whose tribe is all dead, because you betrayed them to an evil witch to save yourself.
2. A rinther kicked out of his/her gang for refusing a dangerous job, leaving to the southside because that was the only option. (the rinth is highly dangerous--- i'd recommend something like this for your first rinthi. It would give you a taste of the position a rinthi has in the outside, and what they can do for a job.)
3. The son/daughter of a drunken incident between a breed and a human, who easily passes for human and is ambitious.
4. A child of bynners who dreams of becoming a sergeant in the Byn. (they might not take you if you're too young, like 13.)
5. A freed slave (you can't app a current slave) who dreams of becoming a master of weaponry (warrior for the possibility, anything else for the eventual failure of your dreams)

[solera]

I could be wrong, but I don't think the 'rinth is ' dangerous' for those starting there with few possessions?  Of course, it is lawless, and even if the NPC's think you have nothing worth taking, PCs might still fancy your boots.
Tip for starting in the 'rinth. If you spawn at nighttime, with no visibility , south= city, north= The Labrinth.

[a french mans shirt]

West side of the rinth is human, east side is elven/other. Breed can technically go both sides but they're likely more welcome east. I once had a rinthi elf who was killed because I went west and didn't understand there was a difference.

[Riev]

Plenty of players have had their first character be in the 'rinth and had the world really come alive for them. But I believe they are the minority. The 'rinth requires an active playerbase around your time to be interesting, because otherwise there really isn't much there to 'do'. You end up getting your social itch scratched southside, which often times might not be totally in character for you.

'rinth is not pointable on your first PC anyways, I thought... simply for this fact.

[Reiloth]

West side of the rinth is human, east side is elven/other. Breed can technically go both sides but they're likely more welcome east. I once had a rinthi elf who was killed because I went west and didn't understand there was a difference.

This is a relatively new player reinforced concept. It isn't documented anywhere. It also isn't documented that Southsiders should be met with immediate distrust. Considering a large population of people who virtually live in the Rinth are outcasts, spice heads, gamblers who skipped the vig, and well, Southsiders it's a little incongruous. However, having these things clarified in the "What you know Labyrinth" may assuage confusion.

[nauta]

West side of the rinth is human, east side is elven/other. Breed can technically go both sides but they're likely more welcome east. I once had a rinthi elf who was killed because I went west and didn't understand there was a difference.

This is a relatively new player reinforced concept. It isn't documented anywhere. It also isn't documented that Southsiders should be met with immediate distrust. Considering a large population of people who virtually live in the Rinth are outcasts, spice heads, gamblers who skipped the vig, and well, Southsiders it's a little incongruous. However, having these things clarified in the "What you know Labyrinth" may assuage confusion.

Actually, it is documented somewhat -- I too was curious if it was or not, and did a little looksie-loo (below).  'Somewhat' because (a) non-elves can live on the westside, and even some elves -- it is 'predominantly' human -- and so too vice verse: non-humans can live on the eastside, and even some humans -- it is 'predominantly' elf.

I do agree that the kill-elves-on-sight thing with Westside is a recent PC-invented thing.

Relevant bits from the docs:

Geographically and demographically the 'rinth is made up of two distinct areas - the Westside and the Eastside. The Westside's population is, for the most part, made up of humans while the Eastside's is mainly elves. This has led to a futher sub-division of 'rinth culture as the two main population groups generally keep to themselves and view each other with mistrust and suspicion despite the fact that the general social structure and day-to-day life for most occupants of the 'rinth is the same.

[...]

Given the above, it is no surprise that the average 'rinther will generally treat a fellow inhabitant of the alleys with considerable suspicion and mistrust upon first meeting them. This attitude is often magnified when a Westsider meets an Eastsider or vice versa. However, this Westside - Eastside mutual suspicion would probably not be as great as a situation where a 'rinther meets a person who is not from the alleys. All other things being equal, a 'rinther would be more likely to side with another 'rinther than somebody not from the alleys. However, this "bond" is loose at best and, as a 'rinther, not one you'd like to have to depend on.

[...]

This, coupled with the fact that the general citizenry and militia of Allanak avoid this dark ghetto, has given most 'rinthers an insular "them vs. us" attitude. A person not from the 'rinth found wandering the alleys would be viewed with a deal of suspicion. After all, why would any sane person willingly come into such a filthy and dangerous place?

That said, the most important bit of advice I'd give out to a new rinther would be the following (from the same help file):

Thinking, dressing and acting like a 'rinther will greatly help you in this regard.  (NB, emphasis, double bold, on the 'dressing'.)

[Reiloth]

Worthy of another thread, but I know Armaddict and I have plenty to say on the Rinth.

I don't recommend it as a starting location for a new player, mostly due to low interaction.

[Yam]

Also NPCs from 1998 who will murder the shit out of you if you slip up.