Policies

Actors

Players on Gloom MUX have the option of choosing an actor to represent their character on the game's wiki, much the same way a casting director chooses an actor to play a character in a film or on a television show. To see which actors are already in use, please visit our Taken Actors page.

Staff asks that players only upload one image to represent their character. Character galleries, although entertaining for the player creating them, can quickly eat up space on a wiki — we only have so much available.

If you absolutely must have a character gallery with multiple pictures of the actor portraying your character, please create it off the site and provide other players with a link to it at the bottom of your character's page.

(Need help resizing or adjusting a picture? Try PicMonkey — it's free!)

Alternate Characters

Gloom MUX is a new game; until we're really up on our feet with a consistent amount of RP happening on the grid, players are restricted to two characters.

The current policy as outlined below is subject to change as the game grows and evolves:

  • Players may have two characters - one mortal and one Touched/mortal with supernatural abilities.
  • One of these characters must be affiliated with, or a member of, the Watch. This character must be the first character you apply for. Staff's plotting is focused around the Watch, and we want to be sure we have a way to pull in all of our players to plot happenings.
  • Only one of these characters may have supernatural abilities, either from becoming Touched or other paranormal source.
  • Before you can apply for a second character, you must have earned 15 applauds from actively scening with people.
  • People are welcome to have both their characters affiliated with the Watch, as long as their alts aren't directly benefiting one another.

Example A: Billy applies for an unaffiliated mortal character as his first alt. His second alt must be an affiliated Touched.
Example B: Sally applies for an affiliated mortal character. Her second alt can then be an unaffiliated Touched.
Example C: Timmy apps an affiliated Touched. His second alt may either be an affiliated or unaffiliated mortal.

For a definition of the categories, see the bottom of this page.

*For the purposes of the above policy, the rules that apply to Touched also apply to paranormal characters.

Building

Players are encouraged to add locations to the game's grid, whether they are businesses, public places, or personal residences. If you have a building project in mind, @mail staff with the following:

  • Room name
  • Room @desc
  • What existing room you would like to link the new room to

For building projects that require more than one room, please submit a +request using the game's +job system and explain what the project is, how many rooms you need, and what the project would add to the game's atmosphere. Staff will get back to you within forty-eight hours.

Character Creation

Gloom MUX takes a new (and slightly unusual) approach to character creation. After creating a bit on the game's welcome screen, players submit a +request that details their character's concept - if approved, staff mails the player the password required to join the game's site, where the player applies for their character using a built-in form that automatically generates a page for their character and eliminates the need to store character data on the game itself.

This policy was put in place to help attract new people to the hobby who might be put off by the sometimes extensive Character Generation systems on some MU*s, and to encourage players to make use of the game's website.

Consent

Gloom MUX is a consent-based game, which means that it doesn't use stats or dice; players are here to write with one another and cooperatively share in the storytelling process. This said, staff firmly believes that in-character actions should have appropriate in-character consequences, and although we would like to be able to promise that no one's character will be killed without their consent, we've discovered over the years that there's always a rare exception, so we'll refrain from promising anything.

Please do not pose another character's actions without their player's permission, be willing to compromise in situations where characters may come into conflict with one another, and abide by the ruling of their storyteller. In the same vein, storytellers are expected to make every effort not to maim or kill other players' characters without their consent, and to warn their players if their actions are putting their characters in immediate danger.

If there is a debate between a player and their storyteller that cannot be resolved, both player and storyteller should contact a staffer for assistance. 

Harassment

Treat other players the way you would like to be treated: with courtesy and respect. Gloom MUX is a game for players who are 18 and older, so let's act like the adults that we are — and this goes for both players and staff.

If you're having problems with another player, try to talk it out with them. Explain things from your point of view, and if that doesn't work, you can page or @mail staff to mediate any disputes as they arise.

Idling

Characters who have not logged in for 60 days or more will be classified as missing and assumed to have been absorbed back into the Gloom. If you want to take a hiatus from the game or know that you're going to be away for more than a two month period, please contact staff — there are alternate ways of shelving your character until you return.

Should you return to the game after your character has been classified as missing, that's no problem. @mail staff to let us know you're back and where you think your character might have been, and we'll reinstate your character bit ASAP.

NPCs

NPCs on Gloom MUX come in two varieties: short-term NPCs and long-term NPCs. NPCs (or Non-Player Characters) are support characters that assist with storytelling — they might be someone who has come to the Watch seeking assistance, a friend or family member of a Player Character, or someone the Watch is interviewing for an investigation.

The primary difference between short-term NPCs and long-term NPCs is the duration that they stick around, and how much they contribute to the character development of Player Characters. Short-term NPCs typically don't stick around for more than a couple of scenes; they're the bartender who takes your drink order, a murder victim, antagonists controlled by storytellers for the purpose of a confrontation, police officers who haul members of the Watch back to the station when they're caught snooping around where they shouldn't, etc. Long-term NPCs will have repeated appearances over a longer period of time, and show up often enough that they're a step above short-term NPCs without becoming full Player Characters in their own right; they are more likely to be long-term antagonists created and run by storytellers over multiple plots, family members or friends of Player Characters, employers, or characters who otherwise develop a relationship (friendly or otherwise) with the Player Characters.

Most short-term NPCs don't need to be +requested. If they have paranormal abilities or are an Other for the purpose of a plot, they should be +requested when the storyteller who plans on running them submits their plot request.

Long-term NPCs should always be +requested, whether they have paranormal abilities or not. A storyteller in charge of controlling them may make a page for them using the template on the wiki after approval.

Rating

Gloom MUX has a rating of R due to the nature of its theme. This said, players are prohibited from posting explicitly adult (sexual) material on the site, as it violates our host's Terms of Service.

Players must be 18+ to join Gloom MUX.

Requests

Submitting +requests using the game's +job system is the fastest way to get a response from staff (short of paging them). It's used by storytellers who want run plots, players who are encountering issues that require staff intervention, new players who are submitting concepts before formal application, and players who need to inform staff that their application is waiting for their review on the wiki. The easiest way to submit request is:

+request <title>=<description>

If you need further help on the subject, type: +jhelp player

Restricted

Certain concepts on GloomMUX are restricted or even outright closed. Please review the Concept Guidance page for more information.

Storytelling

Gloom MUX provides its players with a platform to tell stories within the parameters of the thematic information available here on the wiki. Staff's responsibilities involve keeping the site up-to-date, reviewing and approving new character applications, and giving feedback to players who want to act as storytellers for their peers.

Most characters on the game belong to a clandestine organization called the Watch, which is committed to protecting humanity from the horrors that lurk in the realm beneath the surface of our world. This involves not only combating paranormal entities, but keeping the existence of the Gloom a secret as well. Creatures that originate from the Gloom are collectively known as Others, and are known to take countless shapes and forms, making it easy for storytellers to design their own antagonists for the purpose of terrorizing their fellow players.

Stories usually (but do not have to) follow a sort of monster-of-the-week formula, which might look something like this:

  • Inciting Incident: Several Underground maintenance workers go missing while on the job. Although police are called in to investigate the disappearances, they have no leads.
  • Investigation: Suspecting Others may be responsible for the disappearances, members of the Watch begin their own investigation and send a team into the subway where the missing people were last seen.
  • Confrontation: During the investigation, the team encounters and destroys a nest of giant telepathic spiders after discovering the desiccated remains of the missing maintenance workers.
  • Conclusion: The character in charge of the investigation writes up a report for other members of the Watch to view, available on the game's wiki on the Watch Database.

The above is just one example of what storytellers can do using the game's setting. Most stories will last a week or two at a time, and will be told through a series of scenes, but longer, more involved arcs are possible using long-term antagonists.

To run a story for other players, submit a +request to staff with the following information:

  • What is the basic 'plot' of the story?
  • If the story requires the use of NPCs, who are they? If there is an Other responsible for the activity, what does it look like, what does it do, and how can it be killed? This part is important, because it will eventually be included in the final report, and will allow other storytellers to use the same type of Other in future stories if they so choose.
  • How long do you expect the plot to last?

Staff will process your request within forty-eight hours.

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