Getting Started
Questions and answers for new players.
Entries
Question: Why do some people have amnesia? Do I have to forget everything?
Answer: This game is set up so that characters from any previous Amber MUSH can be translated over. It is okay for someone to remember their past, as much or little as they wish to. However, it is also okay for players to not remember their past at all. This is a player choice, and any variation on this is acceptable and can be accomodated.
Just note: No matter what someone recalls from the past, it may or may not be true here and now.
Question: Can my character bring things from where they were before?
Answer: If it is on their person, then items may be brought with them through to the Switchback. However, if they used to have magical enchantments or the like, these may not work as expected, if they work at all.
Please exercise reason in what items you have -- only items that can be reasonably justified as your character having them on their person, please.
Question: How do you get a Feature? Is there a process? Which are open/closed?
Answer: Features are currently closed. You may notice some of them being created or on the Unavailable Roster, as staff are locking down their names.
We do expect that features will open in future, and there will be a way to identify which are open and which not, however this is not yet built.
Question: What is this Fog stuff about?
Answer: There is fog. There's a lot of fog. That's on purpose. For the starting game, there isn't any additional information about the fog provided. This is left on purpose for characters to find out.
One way to find out may be to ask other characters icly. Another way might be to read room descriptions for hints. A third way may be to gain Clues on the topic.
In general, it is safe to say that if you don't see an exit our of an outside room in a general direction (ie north, south etc), there is fog there, blocking further passage.
Question: What is an organization for? Do I have to belong to one?
Answer: Organizations are meant to be groups of players affiliated in some way. For instance, the first organization is Amber.
To begin with, all characters will belong to the Amber Fealty. Over time, we do expect this may change.
Organizations will have their own channels for chatting on; the Amber channel already exists, and you can join it with 'addcom Amber'. You don't have to join the channel if you don't want to - players are not autojoined to any org channel on purpose, to give them that choice.
'help org' will get you more details on organizations and what commands there are. Please note - not all commands may be working as yet, but if you do hit an error, please +bug report it.
Question: I'm on the grid, what should I do now? Are there guidelines for interacting with others? What is power posing?
Give others the benefit of the doubt.
Be generous OOCly -- remember this is a game and everyone has a real life.
Answer: Always assume good intentions of other players, and do not assume actions for other characters.
In particular, remember that some people will have a lot of play time and others might be only able to log in once a week. If a thing happens that is important to you, and someone else is not there because of their life, or because they are in another scene, then be understanding of the situation and generous to your fellow players. It is not cool to assume that they have or have not done a thing in character, when they have in fact been busy, offline, or otherwise engaged.
Power Posing is assuming someone else's action or inaction in your pose. It's not cool to assume what someone else's character is doing, unless you have agreement from the player to do so. Note that this does also include inaction -- assuming someone did nothing while they were offline is just as rude as assuming they did something. We are all adults and this is a game that requires communication - please communicate with each other to continue telling our shared story.
General guidelines (this is not a complete list, but a short list of what we consider polite rp habits.):
Don't assume what another player is/is not doing, without asking the player first.
If in doubt, ask.
If you arrive in a room where there are 2 or more people, it's polite to ask before joining in, even in a public room. That said, public room locations should be expected to hold public rp.
If you enter a scene that is already in progress, wait for a scene set or request one.
If you are in a scene and someone new arrives, please provide a scene set. Let them know the general time of day, weather if applicable, where people are in the area, and what they can see.
Question: How do I get started on this game? What does my character know?
Answer: On getting started on Shards, all characters wake up in The Switchback. Some may walk out of the fog as well, and this is okay, but they will not have been wandering around lost for more than a few minutes in the fog.
Memory is foggy. Folks may have memories of their past - people and places they know, things they can do. The people may or may not exist now, and even if they do, they may not be the same as is remembered. Places may or may not exist now. And things that someone used to be able to do - they may be able to do them still. Or they may not work.
Question: So what do I need to know to play on this game anyway?
Answer: Read the story updates on the story page, review the world page information. Look at any logs from events, if you wish to. There are bbposts that might contain good information for you as well. Help and lore files are good resources.
If you read the Zelazny Amber books, that's great, but it's not required. It will give you a very good idea of what Amber is should you do so.
If you are playing a character from the Roster, you may also find clues, theories, revelations and journal entries that will provide you with some additional information about the character.