Behavior
The core rule about behavior is something we probably all had exposure to in grade school 'The Golden Rule'. Simply put 'Treat others as you would have them treat you.', that's it. That's the whole kit and kaboodle in a nutshell.
Don't be a jerk.
Nobody likes a jerk.
If you plan on being a jerk then please make sure you read up on our Eviction policy.
Eviction
If numerous (or fewer severe) complaints about a character or player reach staff, this will be investigated and the player spoken to in an attempt to rectify the situation. If it becomes obvious that the situation cannot be resolved, the player's character(s) will be evicted from the grid (unapproved and removed from play) and the player may be banned from the game.
Staff reserves the right to deal with any problems as they see fit. The goal of this game is to enjoy ourselves in shared storytelling, and anything contrary to this will be dealt with as swiftly and fairly as possible.
- Eviction requires one staffer to enact.
- Banning requires staff to vote unanimously on the first occurrence, and a simple majority on the second.
Hopefully we will never need to evict or ban anyone.
Heroism
Heroic Player Characters are expected to be heroes, though this is somewhat less true of Street Level characters, they live in a grayer world. That said, what exactly do we mean by 'heroic'?
- Heroic characters tend to avoid killing, though there are exceptions. Remorseless or casual killers are not suitable and will not be approved.
- Heroic characters will generally do whatever they can to help people even if this is at considerable risk to themselves. You most definitely do not have to be a shining paragon of virtue, but you should not stand by and watch someone get mugged or worse.
- Heroic characters will generally respect the law, even if their vigilante activities are not technically legal they still fight crime. Criminal activities are grounds for possible Eviction. Stealing food so your impoverished character can eat is one thing, but robbing a liquor store quite another.
- Street Level heroes are allowed a lot more leeway as far as killing and criminal activities, but that doesn't by any means mean we'll permit kill crazy rampages or crime sprees. Street Level adventure tends to be a lot darker than the more Four Color stuff. Heroes kill, but not randomly, always with a purpose and only bad guys. Heroes might have to steal a car but will often make amends after the fact.
Those are the guiding principles we use.
The game is about heroes, indeed, the word Heroes is in the very name of the game.
PC Villain
Here at Age of Heroes MUX you have two ways that you can play a villainous character.
The first method requires no approval, namely you can make a villain or use one that is marked as public and emit it in a Player Run Plot (PRP) or a One Off Plot (OOP). When all is said and done you've emitted a scene, maybe even several, and then the Villain is put back in the box until the next time you or someone else needs it. Your creations can be put up on the wiki, if desired, and noted as Open or Closed use - allowing or disallowing others to use them in plots. Changes in open villains' status - arrested, dead, etc - should be posted on their wiki page.
The second method requires staff approval and will result in you having a Temporary character much like your own PC or PCs. There are significant restrictions on such an app, first and foremost a full write up of the villain must be submitted for staff approval. In the writeup should be the full stats of the villain along with a general plan (or specific write-up) as to what he/she/it will be out there trying to attempt.
Inevitably, a Villain character will be captured, killed, or fly off into the sunset cackling gleefully. The character bit will either be placed in the freezer for possible later use, or destroyed, by the desire of the player and decision of staff. Once the villain is retired thusly, the player gains an XP bonus to apply to any of their heroic characters. The villain may be used by another player with your permission, or if you leave the game - if you are still on the game when they do so, you gain a small amount of XP in exchange for your original design.
Temp Villains will be very carefully scrutinized - such characters exist to expand RP and the gameworld, not as tools of OOC revenge or harassment, and any complaints about the way the character is used will be fully investigated, severe accusations may lead to an immediate @newpassword of the character object during the investigation. If the complaint is deemed correct then the villain object will be immediately destroyed and the player who ran it abusively will be barred from ever having another temporary villain. If the abuses are considered dire enough it could lead to further action, up to and including banning from the game, as per the disciplinary policy.
Tiny Plots
Tiny Plots or TPs are player or staff run adventures that take multiple scenes for resolution and can have serious impact on the game grid. Player run TPs must be approved ahead of time, the details of the plot including the impact (if any) on the grid, and the broad details of what the plot is about submitted for staff approval. Once approved the TP will be announced, and then run to completion barring anything unexpected.
- A TP should run over the course of several sessions, in general if your TP has little to no impact on the grid and can be run in less than three sessions it is probably more suitable as a Player Run Plot.
- A TP should be open to any character that could reasonably be involved, though the rosters can be fluid and the GM is the final arbiter of who best fits the story they want to tell.
- A TP can be deadly, PCs can die in TPs.
- A TP should be small enough in scope that people can opt out of participation easily.
At the end of the TP a player emitter receives bonus XP equal to .25 XP per scene run, maxed at 1 XP. To qualify for this bonus the scenes must be logged and posted to the Wiki.
Globals
Globals or Global Plots are staff run events which tremendously impact the game world. Participation in a global is generally not something you can opt out of as the events that occur are so far reaching.
Globals will be announced well in advance and broad details shared including NPC writeups for public use during the event, and suggested scenes to give folks RP Hooks. Though a Global is staff run and arbitrated players are encouraged to run their own scenes that take advantage of them as well.
XP will be awarded as normal for participation in globals and the posting of logs. It is possible that staff might award bonus XP at the end of a global, though this is by no means certain.
Privacy
Private rooms are just that — private. If a player makes a home, or has a living area at the back of their shop, or whatever, that's a private room and it is to be respected as such. If without being invited to you enter a private area by mistake you should leave when you realize it (if unoccupied) or immediately upon being asked with no exceptions. Failure to comply will lead to staff taking action up to and including Eviction per our policy.
Rest assured that as Staff we will not be lurking in your residences Dark to spy upon your activities. We also won't be reading your mail or the like. We have a lot better things to be doing with our time, so don't fret. We are very keen on privacy — ours and yours and will go to great lengths to protect it.
Tiny Sex
What you do in private is your own affair (maybe literally!). If you wish to engage in TS that's definitely your option, but do not do so in any sort of a public area. If you really must RP 'thrill sex' in a public area, do it in private and just pretend you're in public.
The last thing we want to do is walk in on people making the beast with two backs in public.
Age of Heroes is a game about Supers doing heroic deeds, fighting crime and generally engaging in high adventure. TS can be adventurous it is true, but it is not appropriate in public and will lead to Eviction or possible Banning.
Plots of an overtly sexual nature are not appropriate, nor are character concepts focused on such. Please feel free to RP such characters and scenes at other sites like Shangrila, or FurryMUCK.
XP is awarded in three ways at Age of Heroes MUX.
- Logfiles posted to the Wiki can be awarded XP
- Legwork requests can be awarded XP. XP awarded (if any) will be detailed in the response to the request.
- Staff might award XP for exceptional RP or efforts that benefit the game at their option
Logfiles
A logfile posted to the Wiki must have the following as a header:
- Name of the Log
- Date of the Log
- Name of the Emitter
- Names of the Participants
- A brief summary of the scene
There are three types of logfiles that can be posted for XP, the first is Mundane.
- Mundane logs are those that detail mainly social events with little impact on the people involved. Mundane logs are worth .25 XP each with a maximum of .5 XP per month.
The second type of log that can be posted is a Dramatic log.
- Dramatic Logs could include stealth missions or information gathering, or social scenes with large impact on the players involved. The RP that leads to a team forming, or a trial are two examples of dramatic logs. Dramatic logs are worth .25 XP each with a maximum of 1 XP per month.
The third type of log is a Heroic log.
- Heroic logs are those that involve risk to life and limb and combat. These are the scenes that superheros are all about. Heroic logs are worth .25 XP each with a maximum of 1 XP per week.
If a player emits a Heroic scene or scenes for others they earn a bonus of .25 XP that week.
XP Spends
All the wizards at Age of Heroes will be processing your XP spend requests. All you need do is submit a request to the XP Queue and it will be reviewed and either approved and implemented or denied. A denied request will detail why it was not acceptable and suggest changes that would allow approval.
- XP spend requests should detail what changes you wish to make and the rationale behind the changes. Simply stating 'I want X' is not sufficient and such requests will be denied. The request need not be War and Peace, a concise line or two will generally suffice unless the request is complicated or otherwise extraordinary.
- XP spends to increase a skill or ability by more than 2 ranks will seldom be approved.
- XP spends to buy a new power might require logs or a scene(s) be run to explain it.
- XP spends can be submitted to change an ability or abilities for various reasons such as a power not working as intended, or if the power or abilities haven't been used. These sort of spend requests might also require a scene(s) be run before they can be approved.
- XP spend requests to power up a character to a higher level slot, for example if you wanted to change your PL6 street level hero to a PL10 will not be approved or processed without the completion of a TP and the posting of the log or logs of same.
XP Transfers
There are two times when you can transfer XP from one of your alts to another.
- Freezer You can transfer unspent XP from a character you're putting in the freezer to one of more of your alts as you see fit.
- Retirement You can transfer all unspent XP and one quarter of your spent XP if you retire a character permanently. The XP can be transferred to any alt or alts you have including a new one if you so wish.
