Getting Started

Introduction

Welcome to Spellbound MUX and thank you for checking us out!

This is a basic guide towards getting started on Spellbound MUX, where to look and how to begin constructing your character. It is designed for anyone of any level of understanding, although those who are familiar with playing in MUXes may wish to skip the very first section.

This guide does not supplement help from staff, even if we pointed you here — feel free to ask questions if anything is unclear.

Logging in

The first thing you may want to do is step into our client. If you are well versed in using MUX, then skip on to the next section once you've seen the connect information. If you are not, then this step may seem a little complicated, and hopefully this step will help, as MUX RP is a fulfilling, fast-paced medium that encourages writing and is easy to get the hang of once you are familiar. Spellbound MUX is especially tailored towards having as little unnecessary code as possible.

First, you must connect to the MUX via a client. Although Telnet is available on Windows, we do not recommend the use of this client, as it's incredibly unwieldy.

Commonly used clients include:

The instructions that follow are specific for SimpleMU, but every client follows the same basic set of steps.

  • 'File' —> 'New Connection Wizard'
  • Enter 'spellbound.mechanipus.com' for the host address
  • Enter '4376' for the port number
  • Select 'MUSH, MUX, etc.' for the game type
  • Enter 'Spellbound MUX' for the game name

This will open the connection and bring you to the welcome screen. After you've created the connection once, most clients will save the connection information in an address book, from which you can quickly connect to it again.

Follow the instructions to log in, and once there, you can say hi to us on the Help channel by typing:

+h Hello.

From there, we can help you with further code questions.

Reading theme

First thing you will want to do is take a look at our Thematic Overview, which will give you a very general and broad idea of what Spellbound MUX is all about, what the story is, and what RP you can expect to find here. Once this has been grasped, it is encouraged that you read all the relevant theme files, which you can find at the Newsfile Index.

That said, if you want a quicker idea of theme before tackling all of it and want a place to start beyond the overview, we would suggest checking out Setting and Characters, which are the two cornerstones of knowing what kind of RP to expect. Magic Index illustrates our fantasy element, Culture will give you an idea on our social setting, and Technology will help define the advancements (and declines) of the new age.

On the same page as the Newsfile Index, you will also see our Policy files. Policy is basically our rules, and what will and will not fly here, on an out of character level. Though you don't have to read these before you start your character, you should definitely read them at some stage to make sure you agree with them.

That said, two files will be of special relevance to you before you begin, which we shall describe in the next section.

Choosing a character

You are familiar with our theme and still want to join us. Excellent! Now it's time to consider the character you will be playing.

First, assuming you have read Characters, make sure you have also checked Alts for an up to date note on how many characters you're allowed to play, as this may alter your decision making.

Second, we would encourage you to take a look at Character Roster and see if there are any available pre-generated characters that fit into the kind of character you'd be interested in playing. We will always have need for interested players, as the Roster is designed to make sure niches are filled to improve the game, and this has the added bonus of instant plot hooks and relationships.

If you opt for a roster character, let staff know and we will help you log in.

If you would rather create your own character, then this is fine too, and the Characters newsfile expands upon helping you create a thematic character to play. Go back to the welcome screen, and log in with the name of your character by inputting:

create name password

Character generation

Next is going through character generation (or chargen). We have created a Guide to Character Generation that lists out each room's description and some helpful notes and tips, so feel free to check it out if you want more information.

We use basic chargen rooms, which means you will be guided from room to room to fill out information on your character onto your 'bit', until you reach the end and hit +apply. You will be contacted within a few days with approval, or noted amendments for you to adjust before your character is approved. Note that at any time during the chargen process (before you hit +apply, that is), you can go back and make changes, skip forward to preferred sections, etc.

While you wait, feel free to stay logged in to talk to existing players or read up on what the wiki has to offer.

What now?

So you have gained approval and have a shiny new character. What happens now?

You should consider creating a Wikidot account if you do not already have one, because we consider our wiki to be the information nexus of our game and generates a strong sense of community and story sharing. While this isn't compulsory, you may find you are missing out on a large part of the way Spellbound MUX players interact with one another, and it's very simple to use once you get used to it (and more than a little addicting).

You should have received a password in your approval @mail — click Join this site in the righthand sidebar and input your password, and voila, you can create and edit pages here.

We recommend starting out with creating a character page so that others can view information on your character, although note you do not have to put everything about your character on your page if you don't wish to. You can create a page by doing the following:

  • input char:<name> into the Create new page field on the righthand sidebar
  • follow the instructions in the form that comes up
  • change your title from char:<name> to your chaarcter's full name
  • hit Save
  • upload a file image for your character's profile picture

Note: It is good and wise to upload thematic profile images — whether you do this through strategic cropping or finding your actor in a costume that looks a little basic, old fashioned, or otherwise shabbily post-apocalyptic is up to you. In some extreme cases of unthematic images, we may help you find better ones.

If you get lost, feel free to ask staff for help, or even try some reverse engineering by checking out other character pages and clicking the Page Source button under Options (bottom righthand corner).

For more information and guidance on wiki use, as well as policy, make sure to read Wiki.

Playing

Now it's time to play.

You might want to make an introduction to your character on our bboard system in the game, by posting to the Introductions board with a quick description of your character, your RP hooks, and what you want to do if you have any solid ideas.

Otherwise, feel free to shout out on the public channels or the OOC hang out room to see if anyone is interested. If no one bites immediately, don't be disheartened — there will inevitably be someone, sooner or later. If you are struggling, please do contact staff, and we will be more than keen to help out.

You can also type +events to see if there's anything going on, and join up if there's space free.

We hope you enjoy your time with us, and again, if you have any questions, please contact staff!