Introduction to MUSHing

What is a MUSH?

MUSHes are a glorious bit of technology leftover from the beginning of the internet that no one really got around to throwing away. The 1990s were their heydey, and though things have calmed down--MUSHes still thrive. Tenebrae receives 20 to 30 connections a day, and runs plots every week, with a thriving grid that's "open for RP, whenever you want it to be."

Imagine a MUSH as a "text-based MMORPG on a roleplay server," or a "living, text-based world." Players login as their various characters, and meet together to RP in any number of virtual locations. If you've never been to one, you're in for a treat. The tutorial below will walk you through the basics of how to use them, and what they are.

Step One: Connecting

Connecting to a MUSH is done through a MUSH Client. These are small programs, and can be found for free. A sample of recommended ones can be found, below.

If You're Using...	You Probably Want...
Windows XP	SimpleMU
Windows Vista or 7	MUSHClient
Mac OS X	Atlantis
Linux	Potato

Once downloaded, you'll want to connect. Clients will generally ask you three things:

Name for the MUSH? Tenebrae

Server? tenebraemush.net

Port? 4001

For client-by-client help:

If You're Using...	Connect This Way...
SimpleMU	File > New Connection Wizard
MUSHClient	Connection > Quick Connect

For Atlantis and Potato, the connection setup is going to be similar. Look for a "New Connection" or a "New World" setting.

Step Two: Saying Hello

Once you've connected, a "banner" will fly into your Client's screen. It says, The Emblem of Ea, and should look vaguely like the below:

                                       
           __ __| |           ____|           |     |
              |   __ \   _ \  __|   __ `__ \  __ \  |  _ \ __ `__ \
              |   | | |  __/  |     |   |   | |   | |  __/ |   |   |
             _|  _| |_|\___| _____|_|  _|  _|_.__/ _|\___|_|  _|  _|

                                    _ \   _|
                                   |   | |
                                   |   | __|
                                  \___/ _|

                                  ____|
                                  __|    _` |
                                  |     (   |
                                 _____|\__,_|


           "Tenebrae - The Emblem of Ea"
           http://www.tenebraemush.net      
     "A Third Edition Dungeons and Dragons Mush"   
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  "connect <name> <password>" connects you to an existing character.
  "create <name> <password>" creates a new character.
  "con guest" connects you to a guest character.
  "WHO" tells you who is logged in to the game (case sensitive).
  "QUIT" exits the game and saves your character.
  "news" informs you about recent program changes and items of interest.
  "help" gives help on the commands.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Type connect guest to enter the world as a guest. This logs you into the game, much like you'd log into a MMORPG or a chat room. In fact, it looks like this:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome to the world of TinyMUX.  Explore places.  Meet people.  Have fun!
If you need help, just ask somebody (type a double quote mark and then type
your question, like this:

"Where's a fun place to explore on this MUX?

The question will appear to others in the same room as:

<yourname> says "Where's a fun place to explore on this MUX?"

If you want to create a character of your own, type LOGOUT and then follow
the directions for creating a character.

Enjoy your visit.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MOTD: 

MAIL: You have no mail.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--<* The Gaming Table *>--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

          A large table monopolizes one side of the room, fringed with gleaming stools. The stools hover on glowing blue hoverpads and are cushioned with translucent, water-soft ergonomic seats. Bags of dice scatter over the table's gleaming surface, as well as copies of Dominion, Small World, Settlers of Catan, and other games. 

          This is the OOC Gaming Table, a place to relax while you shoot the breeze with Tenebrae's gaming community. Sit back, throw some dice.

          Website: http://www.tenebraemush.net
          New Players: Website > Getting Started > New to Tenebrae
          Geek Corner: Website > Community > Geek Corner

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-- Contents --=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
 Arissa          17-19ish female, long blonde hair, blue/white cloth.  3m   1h
 Munch           Dreadlocked golem with metal scales.                  27s  3h
 Alteri          Eldanar fighter; dark hair, pale eyes, shit luck.     12m  4d
 Nim             He appears to be a tall human with thick black hair.  53m  3h
 Abrahil         A valiant, gnomish slayer of paper demons.            0s   1d
 Boshter         An arvek nar in robes. Oh no!                         27m  3d
 Sunshine        A tiny gnome girl in armor                            9m   9h
 Manly           Hansome manly man who is very not gay.                41m  1w
 Xander          Wears black. And a goatee. Must be evil!              1m   1d
 Jugga           Giantborn warrior woman. Chaps, sleeves and apron.    1m   16h
 Jenner          Sailor Mage!                                          12m  22m
 Valadhiel       An elfmaid with dark auburn hair.                     4m   54m
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-- Objects =--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
Floating Dorfbeard
Cuddles the Otyugh
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--= Exits -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
Character Generation <CG> Staff Nexus <SN>          Quiet Room <QR>
Building Nexus <BN>       Roleplay Nexus <RN>       
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

Congratulations! You're on Tenebrae.

Step Three: I'm Connected!

Right now, you're in a virtual room. You can type look to look at the room and see who's there, or use +glance to see a list of people who are in the room with you.

Some Commands For Getting Around
Type This	It Does This
look	You look at the room!
look PersonName	You look at someone in the room.
say Hi!	You say, "Hi!"
: waves!	Guest waves!
page PlayerName=Hi!	You page PlayerName 'Hi!' ...this is like sending a secret message.
+staff	Gets you a list of helpful folks.
WHO	Tells you who's online.
+where	Tells you where everyone is.
+help	Our ingame help files.
QUIT	Quits the game safely.

Step Four: What Now?

You might want to practice moving around and talking to folks. The basic commands you learn, such as look, are the main ones you'll need to use Tenebrae, so settle in and get comfortable.

From here, you'll want to make a character. To do this, you'll want to leave the game first, by typing QUIT. Then, log in again, only instead of connecting as a guest, type create NameOfMyCharacter MyPassword. This is now your character, and you and she, or he, will be able to do a alot of different things.

Once you have your character, check out Chargen, which is a series of rooms that walk you through the chargen process. There's a chargen guide available on this website also, and don't be afraid to page a staff member or helpful player.