by Gen (The following is a guide I made for
SinaiMUCK for characters to read over after they'd gotten familiar with a lot of the basics of the system and the world. It's probably mostly nonsence to the people unfamiliar with Sinai but a lot of my gaming philosophies and styles can be found here -- although the setting is unfamiliar and confusing, a lot of the ideals in here can be translated into most any gaming system I think.)
1. Introduction
Hopefully by now you've read through the Player's Guide and other guidelines. It's a bit of a lump to swallow, but it is important that you have a basic understanding of Sinai and how it works. We don't expect you to be able to point out where on a map Gallis is, for example, but it's useful to know that Gallis exists and that it's populated by purebred and mongrel dogs. Sinai is unlike any other role-play environment you've ever experienced. The players are extremely close-knit, and those who are too private to even reveal things like their real names or where they live in real life might find that closeness to be uncomfortable. We're a community made of people who love ROLE-playing, talking about our adventures in off times, discussing future plans for the world and our
characters, and generally letting folks know about ourselves. People with a tendency to be disrupting in public when they don't get their way, prone to temper tantrums and/or other outbursts, or people who feel the need to dump pity trips on everyone around them aren't tolerated on our MUCK. This said, it takes a very special person to fit into Sinai. At least half of the character requests we take
are rejected, and about two thirds of the people that have been accepted into Sinai have later decided that they didn't like role-playing here and have left. (Take a look through the "thread listings" and note how many characters on there aren't active anymore, for an example.) So how do you know if Sinai is a place for you? If you are a very private person and plan to just log in during role-play times and log out when it's over,
never interacting with anybody else or talking much with the people on Sinai, you won't fit in. On the other swing of the pendulum, if you're coming to Sinai just to hang out with your "friends" and chit-chat, and if role-play isn't all that important to you, you won't fit in either. If you like playing character types like assassins, psychopaths, murderers, or general "villain" PCs, then
you won't get along well on Sinai. Our plots usually consist of the "bad guy" losing at the end of the plot. PCs of this type will have guaranteed short lifespans. Other things include a person with a habit for bad language (profanity is NOT tolerated on Sinai) or someone that feels the need to either involve themselves in tinysex or make sexual remarks about
everything. If you have a problem with this, don't apply. There's also the matter of give and take. The GMs don't get paid to be your GMs. The administrator is paying for the site from his own pocket. All we get out of this is the satisfaction of our work. Because of this, we'd like for you to give something back from time to time -- maybe by running a small "light group
chit-chat" log in the Bazaar, or simply by discussing ideas or plots with others. As mentioned earlier, Sinai is a community of friends and family. When someone walks into that community and takes without giving anything back, then it makes others in the community generally grumbly. And finally, should you eventually decide to leave Sinai, remember that -- as stated in our AUP -- every
log of your character and any images in the art gallery will remain there. We won't rip your character from Sinai's tapestry just because you might not want to be associated with Sinai anymore. For more information on this, please read rule seven of our AUP.
2. An Overview of How Role-Play Works on Sinai
First, it's good to have a basic idea of how a MU* (or more specifically a MUCK) works, in regards to commands and rooms and characters. This document assumes that you already know about having a character and how to move about and such. If you are unfamiliar with MUCKs, then it might be a good idea to figure out the basics of one before applying for a character. It starts out in rooms called "holodecks". These are specially made rooms where a GM can change the description, and where people know not to barge in and interrupt while a plot is going on. You've probably noticed that we have a website to store role-playing logs on. These logs are recorded on objects we call
"cambots", which record everything someone says, poses, or spoofs in a room ... except lines with "OOC" in them. That way, you can OOCly ask a question and it won't be recorded. We call these recordings our "logs". ("OOC" stands for "Out of Character". "OOCly" is a made-up adverb that means "to do something out of
character", in a bit of role-play jargon. In other words, you the player are asking a question of the GM, rather than your character asking a question within the context of the adventure. Conversely, "IC" stands for "In Character". Also, since role-play sessions are routinely logged, the term "log" is often used (as below) synonymously with "role-play session".) Logs in progress can also be viewed in another special room we created, called "FST3K" (You probably get the joke.) where everything that is recorded by the cambots gets spoofed into the room. Other players can make comments or jokes, or just chit-chat while keeping an eye on the logs, without disturbing the people in the holodeck. Players in holodecks cannot see what's going on in FST3K. Logs are scheduled, because GMs have very limited free time. (We have lives, jobs, families, and social obligations too, after all!) We'd rather not spend it waiting three hours for someone to "maybe" show up to role-play. The GMs post their schedules on the main bulletin board. When your scheduled time (which
you work out with your GM) comes up, you follow the GM into the holodeck and commence role-play. Logs take between three and five hours on average. Sometimes they can be shorter; sometimes they can be longer. If you have a bad habit of constantly missing out on scheduled roleplay times, you might find that your GM loses interest in running things for you, and that you have to find someone else to run your plots. A guideline we tend to follow in regards to scheduling role-play is the "Three Strikes, You're Out" policy. As far as scheduling plots, if you miss a scheduled plot three times in a row after setting a time with a GM, then the GM reserves the right to hand your plot to another GM or drop it altogether. Also, Sinai will not stop for you. Should your PC suddenly vanish for several months, and he or she
happened to be in a plot-crucial position, we may be forced to write up a reason why he or she suddenly vanished. We will not stick a land or an area (or an NPC) in "suspended animation" while we wait for you to come back. Should the absence be something you have planned, then we can help you come up with a reason why your character might ICly step out of the spotlight until your return -- but if you leave
suddenly, just because you don't feel like role-playing anymore for a while, then we won't put things on hold until you to get an interest again.
3. Helpful Tools and Globals There are several different special commands that are "globally" available on the MUCK (hence the term
"globals"). While on SinaiMUCK, you can type "globals" for an exhaustive list of these various tools and toys, and the programmers add a new one from time to time. Here are a few useful ones that you may want to take note of:
Stats | Players can type this and look at their "stats" (short for "statistics" -- that is, a list of your PC's skills, abilities, other benefits,
and disadvantages). GMs can view the stats of all the players. You remember those skills you pick out for your PC? That's where we store a list of them. Also, if you forget your stats or need to check up on them in the middle of a log, you'll find the Stats command to be very useful. | | | Notes | This is where useful information about your character is
stored. This may include notes as to when you spent points on particular improvements in skills, reminders of names of important NPCs (friends, family) tied to your plot, reminders of special inventory items you've acquired during an adventure, or other miscellaneous information that's handy to have on a quick reference. Players can view their own notes. GMs can view everybody's notes. | | | Rumors | Gossip travels in a city, and talk flies around. Typing in the "Rumor" global keeps you abreast of all the local news and current talk of the town -- from the
perspective of the City of Rephidim, that is. Sometimes rumors are about plots, sometimes they're red herrings, sometimes they're about something a PC did, and sometimes they're just something silly the GMs decided to stick up in a rumor for "local color". | | | Spoof | This is also abbreviated with the period (.) as a shortcut command. All spoofs on Sinai are "free". The GMs use the Spoof command as a narrative tool to have ambiance and such appear around you, while players use spoofs in place of fancy poses. If you type "Spoof A monster appears out of
thin air!" then everyone on the screen will see:
A monster appears out of thin air!
Let's say you're playing a red-furred Skeek merchant named Murray. Instead of every line reading, "Murray does this," or "Murray says," you can use Spoof so that one line reads, "The Skeek merchant says," or "The mouse does this," or even lines like "'So what?' Murray
retorts." Spoof is probably the most heavily used global on Sinai. | | | Asylum | The central area on SinaiMUCK is the
"Asylum". If you somehow get lost wandering around, typing 'Asylum' will get you back to a more central location. Most of the other important locations have "shortcuts" like this, since this is more of a role-play oriented place rather than an "exploration" type of MUCK. | | |
Holodeck | This is also abbreviated as 'Holo' or 'H'. Typing this command by itself will show a listing of the Holodecks, who's in there, and whether there's a cambot in there presently logging. (That will give you as good an indication as any which Holodecks are free and which
aren't.) To teleport directly to a Holodeck, type 'Holo', followed by a space, and then the number of the Holodeck you wish to go to. For example, if the GM says, "Meet me in Holo 1," and you can't remember how to get there, just type 'Holo 1'. | |
And if all else fails, try the "Globals" global. Many of these commands come with instructions, if you type
the command followed by "#help" (example: 'Vista #help') or if you "look" at the action (example: 'Look Vista').
4. General Character Creation Tips - Don't write up your character's entire history from birth to death.
It's okay for your characters to have goals in life, but if there are places where you (the player) expect your characters to be, further down the road, then you'll undoubtedly disappoint yourself. What's more, it means that you're running your character more along the lines of a script. If you already plan on where your
character will be in the future, then you should write stories about that character, and not bother with role-play.
- Be honest. Firstly, because the GMs hate being lied to, and secondly it will mean you'll have
more fun. Telling your GM that you don't mind if your PC gets hurt or in trouble, and then getting upset when it eventually happens won't make the GMs think very highly of working with you. Telling us what you think we want to hear to improve your chances won't work in the long run. We'd rather hear the truth and work with you, as opposed to you lying to us and then spoiling
roleplay for both you and the GM when the truth does come out. We appreciate honesty far more than eagerness to rush out and kick monster hiney.
- Don't give yourself a background you can't live up to. If you decide to play a master thief but
don't have the creativity to escape from a trap or a close encounter, then people are going to wonder how you've evaded the law for so long. If you've written your background up to be a great and noble warrior but lose your temper at the first session and turn into an arrogant bully, folks are going to wonder how you managed to attain your status.
- Don't try to slip in "freebies".
Don't give yourself big important friends in your background unless you've spent points on contacts. If your PC is best friends with the Captain-Astromancer, then it should be paid for in points, otherwise you'll be asked to make some edits.
This pertains to skills, too. Just because your IC parents were machinists or scientists and your
character was "raised around science all his life" (and/or you as the player have a personal knowledge of such things) doesn't mean that you'll be able to play a technological-minded character who can fix anything ... unless you pay the points for that skill. Or if you decide to play a Jupani, it doesn't mean you'll get an enhanced sense of smell unless you pay the points. Also, don't try to be sneaky and give yourselves goodies in your background or stats. Eventually
things like this will catch up with you and will probably frustrate the GM or other PCs for hiding things from them. Sinai isn't a video game with "cheat codes", and your goal shouldn't be simply to "win".
5. General Points on the Workings of the IC World of Sinai The universe of Sinai is a place where actions have consequences and things don't always go like you'd planned. It's a world where PCs can die, be sold into slavery, get betrayed, or locked up in jail if they make the wrong decisions (or sometimes even if they make the RIGHT one). There is slavery, and by the general public in many societies on Sinai, it's not looked upon as a bad
thing. Ranting in public about the evils of slavery will probably get you some eye rolling or some chuckles from passersby. On the flip side, a lot of slaves, if offered a chance at freedom wouldn't take it. Most of them have masters that treat them fairly well and have more-or-less decent lives to live. The GM staff isn't saying that slavery is a good thing, but we're also trying to be realistic. If slaves were beaten and abused
by cruel nasty masters with whips as a general rule, then one wonders why all the slaves on Sinai haven't decided to quietly knife their masters in their sleep and liberate themselves. In a nutshell, there's good and evil on Sinai ... but the "good" quite often has faults, and the evil can
sometime justify itself fairly well. We don't always run things as "white hat, black hat". So taking on a crusade against the evils of the world isn't always as easy as it sounds. Some of the countries are populated by folks who will lie to you and backstab you, while others might
merrily let you into their homes to share tea. There is variety among the people, but it means that there are places you don't want to go without a means of defending yourself, and people you shouldn't trust ... even if they tell you that you can trust them. Stereotypes you may be used to in other role-playing games might not apply on Sinai. The City Guard is
competent and can do its job, as opposed to being "Keystone Cop" types that trip over their own feet. The government in control of Rephidim is corrupt, but they still manage things fairly well, and it's a good idea to steer clear of them. Not every "authority" figure on Sinai is corrupt and evil. There is religion on Sinai, but again not every religion is an "evil" one ... or it might be a good religion with
bad people tied to it. Just as religion has an impact on our society, so it does for Sinai. There are quite a few gods, goddesses, and other entities that people worship all over the planet. You're bound to find someone who worships the Star, Sunala, or Dagh in the course of your role-play. Many PCs have religious leanings as well. Some of the religions parallel Christianity, and a lot of the players on SinaiMUCK are OOC Christians
themselves. We don't intend to use Sinai as a springboard for converting people. At the same time, since it's a religion we're familiar with and like, we draw inspiration from it. You don't have to be a Christian to have fun on SinaiMUCK, but if you're openly hostile towards Christianity, you might reconsider your application. And finally, the administration staff and GMs will always try to be fair. Unless you have a reputation of
taking advantage of things, we will also try to give you the benefit of the doubt and will gladly listen to anything you have to say. But ultimately, the admin and GMs have the final authority over any and all disputes; when we make a final decision then it is a final decision.
6. Character Ideas and General Traits You Should Avoid
- Murderers, cutthroats, and general ne'er-do-wells: As mentioned earlier, criminals aren't a good idea. There are a few roguish types that fit into Sinai fairly well, but few of them spend every
single plot stealing from folks. Don't play characters that like to do criminal acts for fun. The GMs generally don't like it.
- Recluses: Bookwormish recluses that never want to leave their rooms aren't a good idea either,
nor are snobby characters who blow off every person they meet. A certain amount of interaction is required to role-play. If you don't ever want to go out and don't want to deal with anything the GM introduces, then the GM is going to run out of things for you.
- Leches: We also suggest avoiding lecherous characters unless they can be roleplayed in a
manner that avoids gross descriptions of what the character does. Characters may and can eventually have relations or spouses on SinaiMUCK, but what they do in their bedrooms is something we prefer to leave unexplored, undiscussed, out of sight, and off-camera.
- Children: Don't play children or "child-like" characters. This may sound harsh or arbitrary, but
actual experience has shown us that such "innocent" characters often do horrible things and expect to get away with their crimes by blinking their eyes and playing dumb. That won't happen on Sinai. If you play a child who beats a person up without provocation or steals something or generally does something bad, the consequences will be the same as for an adult PC. There are
no advantages gained in playing children, females, or characters with great and noble deeds plugged into their backgrounds for status without paying the points for it. There is no such thing as "special treatment" on Sinai.
- Alter Egos: Don't play "yourself" or personal "pet" characters. All characters should have some
aspect of their players in them ... but avoid personal characters whenever possible. This is mostly because all too often the characters don't fit into Sinai, and the players take every bump and insult their character may receive as a personal affront. We like for folks to create new characters for Sinai and not just recycle the same concepts.
- "Harmless" Disadvantages:
In the character creation process, don't pick disadvantages that you can't play. Don't deliberately pick disadvantages, thinking that you won't see them come into play. They will come into play eventually, and will live up to their name as a disadvantage. If you have any questions about this, then ask the GM what you might be likely to encounter with this
particular disadvantage to see if you're up to it.
7. Silly vs. Serious Despite all the dark talk about Sinai, we do have goofy plots and some light-hearted adventures. You don't have to play a completely serious character on Sinai, but if you choose to go the silly route, you'll
be expected to stay that way ... until you decide to change moods or opt to have your character "mature". Please notify the GM if you want to be silly or serious, otherwise you might find yourself in a plot you don't like. We expect silly characters to remain "light". If you decide to play a cute and goofy character and then
suddenly decide to beat someone up or knife someone in the back, it shocks a GM and completely derails the run of the plot. We tend to view silly characters as almost being in an "alternate world"' where evil vermite-controlling bats with lisps try to take over the world, and things explode for no darned good reason. Silly plots are
very rarely ever world-shaking, but they're still enjoyable. It's just that as a silly PC, you might not be able to do much in regards to the more meatier and serious plots. You're bound to role-play with the characters in them during lighter moments, but silly characters probably won't be marching into battle against Babelite Plaguebringers or helping to hunt down necromantic murderous spirits. 8. Karma This is a general term used to describe the attitude the world has towards your character as determined by that character's actions. Everyone starts out with fairly neutral karma, but as your life progresses, you might make a heroic name for yourself, or become someone so hated that you can't show your face in
public anymore. If you decide to kill a Rephidim Temple Guard and rifle through his pockets, and then find yourself hunted by Zelaks, you don't get disadvantage points for it. On the flip side, if you save a Temple Guard's life from a pack of robbers, you might gain favor from the Temple and make a few useful friends. These friends
don't cost you any points -- but they also can be taken away if you take too much advantage of them. (And, on the flip side, there's always the chance that someone who hates the Temple might think that much less of you for your do-gooding ways.) Karma isn't recorded in your stats, and it isn't anything we tally up as points or such. It's simply an
abstract of the general sum of your actions as viewed by the world.
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