Application advice to a new GarouMUSH Player

Originally created December 18, 1996

Got all that? Good. So, I bet you're wondering with all that 'disclaimer' why I am writing this, and where I get off doing so.

Well, the latter question should probably be answered first. Although I don't represent the 'management' of GarouMUSH, I was one of the original players recruited before the game was even opened; have been playing consistently there for near five years now after a year off; and have been MUSHing in general for over six years now. I'm a GarouMUSH Lounge Lizard, which means I've dealt with a lot of Garou newbies, been a wizard on other WoDMUSHes, and was Staff on PernMUSH for a year and a half before stepping down. What this basically means is that I feel I have a good general idea of how to help out the new player.

So, why am I writing this? Mostly because one of the more common questions asked in the GarouMUSH OOC Lounge by Guests is: "So, what kind of character should I play?" and it's one of the stickiest ones to answer, although here's the official answer from the GarouMUSH Frequently Asked Questions page. Opinions vary wildly. And, after having gotten into this discussion in greater length than covered by the official answer many times in the past, I decided to write an entire essay on it for public consumption. Arrogant of me? Oh, maybe, but isn't that what the web's for? :)

The Opinion

• Do's
  • What kind of character should I play?
  • Social Butterfly
  • Make a Throwaway Character
• Don't's
  • Metis
  • Lupus
  • Philodox
  • Certain tribes
  • Ronin
  • Humans
• Cub or Cliath?
• Final note
• Glossary

Do's

I think a good example of this is my second character, Megan. My problem with my first character, Sylph is that I never really had a good grasp on the character, she wasn't 'real'. I made Megan to be an interesting character for me, and ignored facts like being the 20th Fianna and the 4th Fianna Philodox in existence, and I'm quite happy that I did.

You might here people groan a bit if you do make a character that seems to be the 5th kind of its tribe/auspice. To that I say: don't think too much of it. We grumble and groan, but it's not meant on you personally.

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Social Butterfly

A new player starting a new character has a number of hurdles to face, the two primary ones being getting involved both in the general Garou society, and in the various events (One Night Stands, Stories) that make up the main focus of the game. For some players, these might be easy to get over, and for other players, it might be difficult.

My take on this is that new players should try to play a character that is both capable of getting along with the normal Garou society, and one that normal Garou society would be generally accepting of. This isn't to say that you should play shiny, happy social butterfly Garou, or that your first character should be a Children of Gaia (as an example of a stereotypical 'nice' tribe). What it is to say that although the rebel, the shy introvert, the eternal outsider, or someone who would normally be shunned might be fun characters to play, the character's persona is going to make it more difficult to work yourself into the game. Minor socializations problems are okay, but major ones tend to interfere more than they're 'interesting'.

What I think this last part also brings up is the concept of GarouMUSH being an environment of 'cooperative role-play' (or 'cooperative RP'). There are two lines of thought about playing on a MUSH; most people's opinions fall somewhere between the two extremes. One camp is me-centric, that you play a MUSH for your own personal satisfaction. The other camp is a concentration on the third letter that makes up the acronym of MUSH: Multi-User Shared Hallucination. How does this apply to what I was trying to express above? Mostly, that there needs to be some sort of balance. If your character is hard to get along with, or difficult to RP with, the likelihood is that people simply won't. There needs to be some flexibility on the part of new players to bend, to make their characters fit in a little better if they're frustrated, rather than the rest of the MUSH be expected to cater to them.

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Make a Throwaway Character

This isn't advice so much as something you might want to think about: make your first character a 'throwaway', one that you intend to play for a few months to get yourself acclimated and learn the ins-and-outs of the game, and then either fade off-screen or kill off during the course of the RP, and then bring in your super favorite character concept. But, just because it's a temporary character, don't ignore the other recommendations I make, and make it into a total asshole or twink or something. Try to make something people will still enjoy RPing with.

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Don'ts

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Lupus

If what you really want to do is play a Lupus character, make a throwaway character (described above). Give yourself the chance to learn the ropes, and what GarouMUSH perceives is a good lupus. Then, make your lupus character as a second character.

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Philodox

The reason that I would suggest that new players not play Philodox is because of what the auspice involves. The Philodox are the Judges for the Garou, and they are expected to follow the creeds of Honor and Wisdom. This may sound easy in print, but in practice, it's often not. Philodox are expected to be just and fair, and from my observation, that's expected as much OOC; if you, the player, aren't seen as being fair both in your opinions of characters and other players, it's hard for your character to be respected.

On a more pragmatic note, it's also harder for a Philodox to advance, renown-wise, than almost any other auspice, partially due to the above reason. It also has to do with the nature of the game, though. The most frequent memorable events that occur during the course of normal RP are often not the types of things that someone would look back on and say "You know, he showed a lot of Honor" here. The primary, big event past-time that gets people noticed usually relates to combat, either in ONS's or part of a Story, and the primary type of renown earned in combat is Glory. The opportunities to make a name for yourself in terms of Honor and Wisdom are much less frequent, and much less publicized; this makes advancement slower. When I hear younger Philodox express frustration at how slowly they seem to be gaining respect, I tell them

"The biggest lesson you have to learn is patience, and to stop trying so hard. When you stop trying to get everyone to look at you and just try to follow the Creeds as you feel they need to be followed, if you're doing a good job, that's when they'll notice you and give you the respect."

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Tribes

The other is the Shadow Lords, though. The reason for this is similar to why I don't think new players should play metis. Throughout most of the literature (excluding the Shadow Lord tribe book), the Shadow Lords are depicted as conniving, backstabbing, ruthless, Machiavellan bastards, and despite the fact that they also depicted as having earned some sort of grudging respect from the other tribes, to be considers #2 to the Silver Fangs' #1, and their patron Totem to be a Totem of Respect, in practice, this often gets ignored.

I've seen very few new-player Shadow Lords survive on the game, and those that have I'd classify as not falling into the stereotypical-Shadow Lord mold. The stereotypical Shadow Lords who do seem to succeed generally tend to be alts. New-player, stereotypical Shadow Lords tend to fail; the reason I think this happens is because most of the characters are ambitious, and the respect necessary for a stereotypical Shadow Lord to work as a part of the whole Sept and not just the tribe is slow in coming, because the other characters on the game do tend to treat them with the suspicion and hostility promoted by their depiction in the source materials. I think this was one of the reasons my own Shadow Lord alt, Rachel failed.

Again, like Philodox, I'd recommend playing a Shadow Lord as an alt, and whether or not it's your first character or an alt, be ready to be patient, don't expect to get respect instantly, and do expect being treated with suspicion and hostility.

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Ronin

1. Stay true to the definition of Ronin, and have little interaction with the majority of Garou RP.
2. Throw that definition out the windows, be 'different', and do most of the normal things the rest of the Garou do anyway.

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Humans

The reason for this is the focus of the MUSH: this is GarouMUSH, and 90% or more of the RP on the MUSH pertains directly to Garou life and what Garou do. This is a vastly different methodology than many WoD MUSHes I've been to; one side-effect of their quest to be all encompassing is that there is a very good chance for humans and human+, as they're called (Kinfolk, for our purposes), to get as much or more regular RP than everyone else. Or, you could argue that because GarouMUSH focuses so specifically on only Garou, it tends to forget and push aside the other character types out there.

Humans are very much victims of this phenomenon. Normal humans are very difficult to play on a regular basis: they tend to be freaked out in the mere presence by Garou and Garou tradition (not to mention their Law) prohibits them from informing normal humans of the reality of the world. What this means is that Garou are actively trying to prevent normal people from finding out what they're up to, and since around 85% of the character base are Garou, it makes for slim RP pickings.

Kinfolk characters have a chance to be more successful, but there are still a great number of obstacles they have to deal with. Although they can be told of the Garou world and may be able to participate in it to a certain extent, their role in GarouMUSH is greatly less than what is portrayed in much of the White Wolf literature.

Kinfolk are considered to be precious commodities to a species of supernatural creatures not entirely capable for coping with the rest of the world, and as so, most Garou on the MUSH try to shelter their Kinfolk from dangerous situations--which means that most Kinfolk aren't going to be allowed to tote their AR-15s to the next planned Garou combat, no matter how good they are with it. Also, the Kinfolk's biggest worth to the Garou is for their ability to interact normally with human society--and GarouMUSH does not really have a PC human society to interact with. This only leaves one last purpose, as breeding stock, and although there can be a great deal of fun RPing that (speaking as someone who has been on both sides of that fence), it's not something capable of being sustained full time.

So, with the ability to only RP limitedly with Garou, and very small options in the non-Garou realm, playing a Kinfolk is also not always a good choice for a first time player wanting to get out there and RP as much as they can.

Much like the character types listed above, I recommend that if you want to play a human, that it be as an alt, and to also be aware of the strong possibility of not being able to find vast quantities of RP on a consistent basis.

Also, if you decide you just absolutely have to play a Kinfolk, either as a first time player or as an alt, I have two strong recommendations:

• Either come in as "clued" Kinfolk, knowing about Garou, or have a method worked out prior to going on-screen of how it can be discovered that the character is Kinfolk if you choose to make the character unclued. Discovering a Kinfolk is nigh on impossible, as it can only be tracked by bloodlines ("yeah, his father was a Garou") or a less certain method of a Garou "happening" to shift in front of the Kinfolk and the Kinfolk not freaking out as most humans will. This isn't a 100% method not to mention that if a Garou does it not knowing the person is Kinfolk, it's technically breaking their laws, the Litany, so we strongly like to avoid this at all possible.
• If you come in clued, try to work out, beforehand, a way to be connected to a Garou character, what we call a hook. The simplest way is to have known the Garou before ("Yeah, he and I knew each other back in Chicago, before he moved out here.") or even as tenuous is to have gotten their name somehow from wherever you're coming from ("Yeah, the Sept Alpha back where I was had heard that Kills-What-Moves was out in St. Claire, so she gave me his phone number to call when I got into town."). What this is is limited only by the feasibility of it; talk to your -reg wiz and the elder of the tribe you want your character to be the Kinfolk of for other ideas.

Cub or cliath?

I find this to be a double-edged sword. It's true that you can learn along with your character, and it can be nice to RP that out. However, when playing a new cub, your RP options are seriously limited by the fact that most tribes insist that only they teach their cubs, making a cubs' teaching RP dependent on less than a handful of players. Coupled with that is the fact that cubs are also not allowed to do everything a cliath can do, like go anywhere without permission, get involved with ONS's and Stories.

Some players are patient enough to take this course willingly. However, many new players are enthusiastic about the game, want to go out and get involved, and to role-play great quantities of time. To the people who fit the latter description, I recommend playing a cliath, even if you're not completely familiar with the game. A cliath will give you the freedom to find your own role-play, to allow you to get involved with the ONS's and Stories without having to depend on the permission of your elders first (in the case where you play a cub).

If you do decide to go the route of the cliath, try to familiarize yourself with the Litany (see 'news litany' on the game), the New Players' Guide, and don't be afraid to ask questions once you get into role-play. It's not fair to expect the seasoned players to hold your hand and simply accept mistakes made IC with no consequences, based solely on the fact that you're new; however, most players are generally helpful and can give you tips if you ask about an action before you write the pose or decide to do something you're uncertain about.

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Final note

My final recommendation is that if you choose to play a "difficult" character, as defined by my points above, that you find someone, be it your -reg wizard, or maybe someone you wind up role-playing with a lot, to talk to if you begin to have problems fitting into the game. And use that resource! Don't wait until you're thoroughly frustrated before making that effort to figure out what you might be doing wrong, or expecting mistakenly. We're a small MUSH, and we're proud of the quality of role-play and role-players, but we're not purposefully exclusionary, and we'd much rather have someone get over the initial bumps and stay, than to quit due to a lack of communication.

If you want some advice about actually writing your application, check out the Official FAQ, or Rory's Unofficial Application Guidelines for one-wizard's opinon on things.

I hope all my hints help, and good luck on your stay on GarouMUSH.

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Glossary:

Cliath: A Rank 1 Garou, the first rank that is considered "adult" in the Garou society.

Cub: A Rank 0 Garou, the lowest rank of the Garou society. Cubs are considered very much like children to the Garou, with limited responsibilities and curtailed freedom during a time in their life when all they are supposed to be doing is learning what it is to be Garou. Cubs become Cliaths when they successfully pass a Rite of Passage, a "test of adulthood" given to them by their tribe or by others authorized by the cub's tribe to test them

Elders: In the general sense, elders on GarouMUSH are any Garou of higher rank than you. In the specific terms of this document, a cub's elders are those Garou of higher rank responsible for the cub's well-being, usually of the cub's tribe.

Face-to-face: Often abbreviated as FTF or F2F, the term for the kind of gaming where a bunch of people gather in someone's living room, eat pizza, and role-play.

Glory: One of the three types of renown Garou earn, Glory is the type usually accrued in combats or great battles.

GM: An acronym for GameMaster, a person who is in charge of a specific scene, like an ONS or Story.

Honor: One of the tree types of renown Garou earn, Honor is the type associated with honesty, integrity, and being fair to others

Hook: The term is based on the same concept as a fish hook--once hooked, the fish can be reeled in. A role-play hook is a connection between a character with at least one other character, usually positive, which allows for the former to be more quickly integrated into the role-play through a system which works a great deal like recommendations or credentials. An example of a hook is knowing a currently existing character before that person came to St. Claire and being able to "look them up" when your character arrives there. Provided the prior relationship was such, the existing character can introduce the new character to others, thereby expanding the possibilities of role-play to a more solid group than can be accomplished by the casual encounter.

IC: An acronym for In Character, it is the term meant to apply to the virtual world and character interaction.

Kinfolk: The term for humans directly related, by blood, to Garou. Kinfolk have an advantage over normal humans because they can withstand sight of a Garou in their warform without going temporarily crazy, and are therefore highly valued in Garou society as a liasion with the human world and as people to date, marry, or simply have children with. Known Kinfolk are often instructed to an extent about Garou society and are sometimes included in Garou activities on a limited basis.

Litany: The set of laws all Garou are bound to follow. Knowing this is important because all Garou who are not cubs are responsible for knowing and not "breaking" the Litany, as violations are called. If a Garou breaks the litany, they can be Judged, and punished

Lounge Lizards: A slang term for players which have characters who hang out in the GarouMUSH OOC Lounge on a regular basis. These players tend to be the ones which Guests and new players encounter more than any others

Megan: My second character technically, but given my first experience, I think she could also be considered an example of a successful 'first character'.

One Night Stand: Also known as an ONS, these scenes are run by a GM, usually some sort of combat, and generally have no tie-in with any longer ranging plot.

OOC: An acronym for Out of Character, it is the term having to do with the player or players of a MUSH, their knowledge or interactions.

Ronin: A Garou who has chosen to live outside of the Garou society, and has usually undergone a Rite to formally make himself outcast.

RP: An acronym for Role-Play

Stories: Capitalized like this, it means a longer running plot or Chronicle masterminded by a GM and approved by the wizards corps.

Sylph: My first character on GarouMUSH which I had before the game even went ajar in September 1993, a Silver Fang Galliard cub. She was an unsuccessful 'first character' by my own definitions.

Wisdom: One of the tree types of renown Garou earn, Wisdom is the type associated with caution, prudence, and forethought.

WoD: An acronym for World of Darkness, the name of White Wolf's fictional world in which Garou and other supernatural types exist.

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