News/Characters
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Alt Policy
Crossroads does not have any policy on the number of non-feature alternate characters (alts) a person may have, but we do expect players to behave responsibly with each of their characters.
There are two main classes of alt abuse that can take place on the game: Inside information and conflict of interests.
Inside Information
Inside information is defined as sharing information between two (or more) of your own characters. This would include both manipulating another player's character into bringing this information to your alt as well as OOC information that you may gather by any means. If you gain information that concerns one of your alts through another PC (player character), and think that the alt receiving this information would react to this information, then you /must/ be able to provide a log to staff showing how you acquired this information. In most cases, it is highly recommended that your characters do not know the others exist. If this is unavoidable, then they should recuse themselves from any situation where an opinion or recommendation for action would be offered to another PC.
Some examples of inside information are as follows:
- Alt A (Betty) is in the tavern and learns gossip about Alt B (Suzy). Betty cannot try to influence other characters opinions of Suzy; Betty cannot tell a third party PC that they should tell Suzy what was said about them; Suzy should not get a sudden whim to enter the tavern, having heard the gossip for herself by 'being outside the door', and start up a brawl with the gossiper. In this situation, it is best to just ignore the gossip about Suzy completely.
- Alt A (Joe) gets punched by Alt B's (Eric) younger brother. Joe cannot tell Eric about the incident directly or by intentionally sending another PC to inform Eric.
Conflict of Interest
Conflict of interest is defined as using one alt to unduly benefit another alt, or to use one of your alts to get revenge/punish/force through power the actions of a third party PC. In these situations, we must all rely on a healthy amount of common sense to dictate what is appropriate behavior and what is not. Again, it's always best that your alts know only minimal information like name or title about your other alts.
Some examples of Conflict of Interest:
- Alt A (Bob) is caught in a crime and accused of treason. Alt B (Jeremy) is on the high noble council that is going to hear the cast. Jeremy cannot try to sway the votes of the council. This would be a good time for Jeremy to suddenly get called back to his lands and send an advocate to listen to the trial on his behalf.
- Alt A (Darren) is trying to woo the innocent Baron's daughter, Lisa. Alt B (Carmen) is Lisa's older brother and Darren's friend. Alt B cannot berate Lisa for turning down Darren's advances or try to arrange a marriage or dates for Lisa and Darren. A character in power should /never/ try to use his or her power to order a third party PC to favor an alt.
- Alt A (Elizabeth) loses a bet to Missy, and Elizabeth has to streak through the village at midnight. James, the man that happens to be trying to woo Elizabeth sees her in her streaking glory and dumps her. Alt B (Mark) hears of the bet through James. Mark thinks it was an inappropriate wager, so he informs the guard to have Missy arrested for either something true or fictional to 'get back' at Missy for causing Elizabeth strife.
This is not an exhaustive list by far, and again common sense is a large factor in these situations. If you have even a small internal nudge that you are assisting an alt, then it is likely an inappropriate alt conflict that should be avoided.
Conflict Exceptions
If it is unavoidable that you must make a determination in a situation involving your alt (ex: Your child character gets hit in the head by a flying mug in the tavern and your alt happens to be the only healer on, and the tavern keeper brings your child alt to the infirmary.) Contact admin /immediately/ to explain your intentions to deal with your alt. If no admin are on, log the scene and submit a +ticket explaining your situation. If your actions are reasonable, in theme, and consistent with your character's personality, there will likely be no issue.
If you are caught abusing alt policies, admin will address the issue as soon as it is reported to us. Consequences can vary from simple warnings to losing feature characters or restricting the number of alts for probationary periods or even permanently. Repeated violation of alt conflict rules can result in having your privilege of playing on Crossroads revoked.
Occasional exceptions in support of tinyplots may be given by admin. However, these exceptions will be narrow in scope, covering specific scenes or relationships, and should never be a blanket permission to repeatedly violate these stated rules with the 'exception' character.
Privacy
One more policy concerning alts - it is against Crossroads' policy to reveal anyone's alts but your own. In the same manner, to reveal the player behind a character and their alts is not allowed. Do not even speculate as to who might be playing a particular character! Obviously we can't tell if you personally have a good guess, or know for a fact who someone is, but the moment you start discussing it with other players, it becomes a problem that admin will take very seriously.
Applications
The application process on Crossroads MUSH is intended to be simple and get people playing on the grid as quickly as possible. Standard characters, with no special powers or noble title, can be created without approval and begin playing immediately. This includes servants, merchants, warriors, alchemists, farmers, etc.
What characters do you need to write an application for? Nobility, magic, faction heads, guild leaders, and non-humans. Any character from the Isle of Mists MUST have approval.
Please note, if you are viewing +wanted and the character you wish to take over falls into one of the above categories, it must have an application. If a player is listed as the Point of Contact, you must contact the player prior to submitting the application. If the character does not fit into one of the above categories, then an application is not needed, however, if a player is listed as the Point of Contact, then you must still speak with that person prior to creation of the character.
For additional information on applications and to see the Character Application for magic characters, Knights, etc.
For nobles, please see +news applications NobleApp. When you are ready use the Noble Application form to submit your application.
The staff of Crossroads MUSH has implemented a 48 hour turnaround time for applications; if you have not heard from us regarding your application within 48 hours, please page an online admin for assistance.
Remember: Its much more interesting to play off a character with faults than it is to play off perfection!
NobleApp
Please answer the following questions when applying for a noble character:
- Name & Age?
- What land are you applying for?
- If you are not going to be the landholder (Lord/Baron listed on 'lordlist), please tell your relationship to the landholder.
- What does your land produce?
- What is your family coat of arms?
- Please tell your living relatives (immediate family only such as children, spouse, sibling). Please indicate any that you would like to see played in the future.
- Why is your character coming to Gateway?
- Where do you plan to live on Gateway? (See +news building to become familiar with options)
- What reputation does your character have either in court or on his/her lands?
- If possible, contact your liege (the next higher ranked person above your land on 'lordlist') and establish some type of existing IC relationship with that person. Please give a brief description of that relationship. (Note: If it has been more than 24 hours and you have not been able to get in contact with the liege through @mail, write what you would /think/ the relationship would be.
- Please give a brief background of your character.
- What is one of your character's greatest strengths?
- What is one of your character's greatest weaknesses?
- What is one thing that you OOCly hope that your character would ICly bring to the game?
- If you are applying for Baron or higher, please indicate any ideas that you may have for stirring up RP for court/your vassals/other PCs.
Please apply via the Noble Application form.
Age & Exp
Alright folks -- one of the most important things we need to be aware of is age and experience versus youth and vitality. There are benefits and drawbacks to both age groups!!!
With age comes experience and this goes for all the classes and skills of Crossroads MUSH. 16 year olds that draw a sword on a 25 year old knight can just forget it. Their life is over (either via the sword or a nice jail stay if against an Imperial Guard or City Guard). A mage of 16 who tries to go against a 25 year old mage is going to end up returning to The Breath of Imperius, which will be more than happy to reclaim the magic your deceased body gives up. An alchemist at 16 who attempts to make a potion to heal all wounds is more likely to leave his/her patient with a bad case of the hives or worse (much much much worse).
Play realistically for your age or you will have nothing to icly build in the character (not to mention that the Admin will just reverse the play or make it more realistic - i.e. we will tell the player of the targeted character that all his/her hair is falling out or he has a 3 week case of the runs!). Part of the fun of rp is to build your character over time, not just plop down a bunch of skills at 16 that rightfully should take years of study (and some interesting accidents along the way) to master.
Some of the most difficult areas of study:
- Alchemists: Healing. Whenever you are dealing with a body (a unique person) there are possible problems, including allergies, illnesses that the alchemist isn't aware of that with this mixture could make the illness worse, etc. A young alchemist at the age of 15 or so is very unlikely to have the skill to make a healing potion as it is a separate area of study (specialization in the alchemy field due to the fact that the healer holds the life of a character in his/her hands and must learn not only potions and mixtures, but surgery, etc. (the list is too long to mention here - and that doesn't even go into how much time it takes to MAKE these potions!)). No one, not even a Master Healer would just whip up a potion to heal a person no matter how small the injury is without some real study of the patient for signs of allergy, etc.
- Magic: Any magic that deals with a direct injury to another, is going to cost the mage big time. You are drawing that magic from the 'Breath of Imperius' and the sudden taking on of a lot of magic at 15 when the body isn't ready to hold it and the mind can't comprehend it is going to have some bad and lasting affects. Think of pouring one gallon of water into an 8 ounce cup (a real mess) -- which is the comparison between a master mage of 45 and a mage of 18. This is why a young mage cannot create a fireball (this takes a full gallon of water and you best be able to hold it).
- Fighters: Weapons training. Guardians (the major area for training in warrior skills) have many levels. All start as warriors, and some move up to legionnaire officers or knight (IF they decide to go that route and are accepted into the knighthood). Some will not make the cut and some will just simply not wish to become an Imperial Guard. Others will not put as much into their training, and some will have other interests or goals for their lives (i.e. Weaponsmith, blacksmith, artisan, or split class with another area (ex. Magic)). These fighters will NOT be as skilled with a weapon as those that stick with only their training as a warrior. In the end, an 18 year old blacksmith will fall to an 18 year old who has trained only to be a knight. A split-class character has handicaps in the fighting arena that go hand-in-hand with the benefit of drawing from the skill set of another area, so in a straight one-on-one battle is likely to lose be it to a fighter or mage of the same age or near it.
If we keep this realistic, when you DO play a character from one of the above classes, you have earned for your character the right to one day call yourself master and other players and admin will support and respect the time you put into the growth of your character. It also will allow you to explain to a new player when he/she at 18 is handing out magic or potions as if they are going out of style, that this is unacceptable and you have a moral high ground to stand on.
We need players to think about this. What is really realistic? If I play this at 16 (and I am not caught by an admin), can I complain when some 14 year old decides that two years means nothing and they can do it too? Why have you spent time playing on the mush so that your character is respected, if this new person can walk in and play the same after two days. What's good for the goose, is good for the gander!
Castle Permissions
Any citizen or foreign visitor may enter the Castle as long as they are not a known wanted criminal. They are granted free access to the main halls, including the south hall, north hall, east hall, west hall and great hall. They are also allowed access to the hall of prayers, castle courtyard and the infirmary. One exception to this is that the Imperial Tower is accessible to anyone up to the foyer, once reaching the foyer, an individual may not proceed into any office, chamber, or higher up without direct permission.
Castle servants are permitted to go anywhere in the Castle that they have been assigned to. This means that a servant who works cleaning the noble towers wouldn't be found in the dungeon and a noble that has been assigned as a cook in the Green Fields Tower wouldn't be making the bed in the Draught Tower.
Nobles of the Gateway Empire are permitted free access to the second floor in public areas without specific invitation, such as the Court Wing and all extensions off of it.
High Nobles and their families are permitted access to their specific tower, an example being the Duke and Duchess of Draught and their family are allowed in the Draught Tower as well as anyone else that they permit to live in that tower.
Offices of specific positions (example: The Mogur, the Chamberlain), are only permitted entrance by those individuals.
Exception: The Imperial family can go anywhere.
Child Characters
For those of you that are kids at heart, Crossroads does encourage the playing of child characters if a few things are kept in mind. Here are a few tips or hints if you decide to bring a child on to the game.
First of all, the village on the main island is not very large. It's the type of small town atmosphere where people just know other people and have known them for years. It's a common philosophy that it really does take a village to raise a child. Because of that mentality, if a shopkeeper sees you being kind to someone on the street or equally causing a world of trouble, they may take matters into their own hands. For kindness, an apple from their cart or a promise to tell your parents that you were a shining example of citizenship. For mischief, it's not uncommon to get scolded, spanked or brought right to your parents who may repeat the same actions as the keeper for having embarrassed them or the family name. Children played on the game should at least respect the authority of the adults for the potential to make your character's life miserable if they choose to do so. No one wants to play off of a child character that spits at their character, stomps on their foot, and then after being disciplined just spits in their face again.
Children are not powerful characters. If they have magic, then it should be limited and frequently cast wrong. If they are a budding alchemist, they should likely mix up ingredients, read the potion making instructions wrong, not have the patience to wait the week it takes to brew the mixture, etc. Farmer's kids should be a little rough on manners or accidentally throw out all of the good apples instead of the bad. Children that are planning to be fighters may be clumsy or prone to injury for trying out things they aren't ready for. Enjoy being young with your child and use errors as a way to grow the child into a teen or adult with a great deal of depth.
Children tend to be rather resilient, playful, curious and unrefined. Don't be afraid to play these aspects. Role play can be stimulated just by having a child walk into an occupied shop and asking the shopkeep question after question or asking them to show a few trade secrets. Give the guard something to play by swiping a piece of fruit from the farmer's market where they might see you. Set up a 'bad guy' trap in an alley on delivery day. No matter what you do (or no matter what the adult does to you), just try to have your child rebound pretty quickly. Corporal punishment is the norm for this day and age, so if your character gets spanked, do not have them go into some catatonic state where they will never recover. Let them learn a lesson that will change them a little bit (even if marginally) for the next time they get a grand idea.
Please keep in mind that not everyone wants to play off of a child character, and some characters just do not ICly like children. Don't take it personally!
The biggest advice that can be offered is to at least talk to admin about people that may be looking for children to be part of their IC family. It will be a much more fun experience if you have parents or a guardian to help teach and mold your character.
Foreigners
Countries outside of the Isles will begin to be unveiled over time, along with the differing races and cultures that each country will offer to the grid. Admin would like this to be a special event for each new country that discovers the Island Empire of Gateway. To this end, we would like the players themselves to draw up these lands. There will be an application process as follows (including but not limited to):
- Name of land.
- Culture.
- Politics.
- Religion.
- History.
Please keep in mind when the creative juices get flowing that this will be an off-the-grid country but if you intend on playing a character or having others play a character from your land, make sure the theme of Gateway is preserved. Introducing a land or people to our ic-world should be done with considerable and careful thought to the preservation of Gateway as it is the main play area. Introduction of a race of people that are better or stronger or smarter, just to develop a character that is better or stronger or smarter will be greatly frowned upon by the admin.
Marriage
Marriage on the Isles of the Keeper
Commoners intermarrying is obviously fine and that is the luxury of being a commoner. No one is telling you who you will spend your life with.
Amongst the nobility and royalty however, it is another matter entirely. To be realistic, a Duke with daughters and sons is going to want to be very careful about the alliances he forges (influence, power and money can be negotiated with proper alliances). Marrying the Heir of Mists to the Heir of Guardians is a big 'no no', the most important reason being that both were raised to be completely loyal to their own Duchy. Love is not going to erase that loyalty, and what Duke of Guardians is going to want a son-in-law who is going to be pushing what is best for Mists?
Also consider that the Gateway Empire is isolated. Intermarrying only between the nobility would result in birth defects, still births, and a number of other nasty side effects no one wants to breed into their bloodline. What has evolved then? It is actually COMMON for a commoner to wed into nobility. Yes! This includes the royal family.
Considering that the Gateway Empire is isolated, restricting marriage of nobles to other nobles would result in birth defects, still births, and a number of other nasty side effects no one wants to breed into their bloodline. A system has evolved, then, in which it is very common for commoners to wed into nobility, even including the royal family.
Acceptable noble marriage partners for from the common class are those from good families, of course. The Emperor and/or a noble is not going to marry one of the girls or boys from the local cat house (though we love the local cat house *coughs*); though, the daughter or son of a local shopkeeper is indeed eligible for such a match. Any father would be proud to have his child chosen to be the wife or husband of the Duke of Draught or the Emperor himself! The result is likely to be loyalty to that duchy and/or the Emperor from the new family. Guildmasters' children are another good place to seek a wife or husband as well. They come with their own power and influence.
While Dukes and Duchesses may set their own standards for periods of courtship and betrothal, a system has evolved for marriages between nobles of different islands which allows the Council to learn more of the proposed match and give appropriate consent. The following process has become the recent (since 500 A.G.) precedent:
- The prospective couple appears before the Emperor at Council with a spokesperson (patron) who will speak for the two individuals, stating the case of why the marriage should be allowed.
- The couple will return to the noble's box and the Emperor and Council will hear any objections, debate the pros and cons of such an alliance, and determine whether a courtship will be allowed. In absence of compelling evidence otherwise, courtships are usually permitted to begin.
- The Council sets a time, normally from six months to a year, at which they will reconsider the matter and decide whether a betrothal will be allowed. During this courtship, the couple will be observed by members of the council and appointed observers. It is not unheard of for "spies" to attempt to get the nobles to engage in inappropriate behavior during this time.
- In addition to the Council's observations, the courtship period allows time for the noble leaving his old island to prepare to sever his ties and establish his new loyalties to the satisfaction of the Duke ruling his prospective new island. The courtship may be terminated at any time should either involved Duke be unsatisfied with the behavior of the prospective match.
- At the end of the designated courtship period, the couple and their patron again come before the Emperor and Council, where any findings of fact by the Council and their appointed watchers will be stated, both favorable and unfavorable.
- The Council will then again debate the match and vote to approve or disapprove a betrothal. The standards for this final approval are much higher than those at the earlier approval of the courtship. The Emperor will stand as final say when an heir or potential heir is involved and may veto a match at any time. He also will sit as the neutral party if a tie should happen in Council. (Note: One vote per duchy is allowed. A split vote between a Duke and a Duchess results in a null vote.)
- If the Council approves a betrothal, their involvement in the matter is finished. The respective Dukes then draw up the contract of betrothal and plan the marriage ceremony.
One key prerequisite to signing the betrothal contract is that the noble leaving their island must relinquish all inheritance rights and titles. In the unfortunate (but, fortunately, rare) event that the betrothal fails to lead to marriage, it is common that these contracts include appropriate other guarantees to the noble so that he or she is not left in a new island without land or title. Sometimes the negotiations between Dukes over the specifics of the contract can be more contentious than the Council's approval votes!
There are always exceptions to any rule. But the exceptions usually come at great cost. A titled noble or heir desiring a marriage out of the traditional limits (for example, a potential heir to another island) may be required to relinquish their title in order to proceed with the match.
In summary, while marriages outside of one's island are not unheard of, and while the Council's deliberations are usually fair and just, the process is usually daunting enough that inter-island marriages are rarely the first choices of those involved in the decision.
Money
The following is comparable to real world economics for the sake of being easier to remember (we hope):
| 1 tin | 10 cents |
| 1 copper | $1.00 |
| 1 bronze | $5.00 |
| 1 silver | $10.00 |
| 1 gold | $100.00 |
| 1 platinum | $1,000.00 |
These prices are intended to be comparable to real life. A piece of candy is a tin while a horse, depending on the breed and bloodline, might be several platinum. A riding pony that is $2,350.40 would be: two Platinum, three Gold, five Silver, and four tin to purchase.
Besides coin, many people will trade goods for goods. An example might be the local general store owner might trade some salt for eggs he can sell.
Given we are using a base money system comparable to real life, salaries can be determined through considering what a particular profession is paid in today's society. There is a +news salary file for some game-wide positions that are not as flexible.
One other final note. Some items (i.e. magic, books) are more costly than their equivalent in our modern age. Admin would like to establish a base price for such items. Feel free to +ticket if you think you have something that might be added to this list.
Non-Humans
Beyond the barrier controlled by the Emperor exist many lands and many races, some of which fall into the non-human category. Crossroads is not accepting applications for non-human characters, as they are considered NPC characters. Occasionally staff will ask someone to play a non-human for plot purposes, but they are not considered PCs. They are NPCs, plot devices whose actions admin keep a strong hand upon.
Please direct all questions or applications for non-human characters to Diuturnal.
Salary
A breakdown in average salaries for Crossroads. Please be advised, this is a rough outline and there may be reasons to deviate from this. All amounts are expressed annually and account for actual discretionary income for the particular job listed.
| Emperor | 500 platinum |
| Prince/Princess of the realm | All income is at the discretion of the Emperor and must be gifted by him. They can usually shop at any shop and charge their purchases to the Emperor without issue. |
| Duke/Duchess | 350 platinum (This figure is per Isle, not per person) |
| Baron/Baroness | 275 platinum (This figure is per Barony, not per person) |
| Landed Lord/Lady | 150 platinum (This figure is per Lordship, not per person) |
| Non-Landed Lord/Lady | Income comes from lands, so any noble with no land gets their money as an allowance from the landholder -- either sibling or parent. Most non-landed nobles must find some other source of income unless they have extremely generous ties to the landholder. Positions in the University, Chamberlains or Chancellors to High Nobles, or Guards to landed nobles are popular choices. |
| Chancellor of the University | 185 platinum |
| Any Dean of University | 125 platinum |
| Professor of the University | 50 platinum |
| First Knight | 100 platinum |
| Sheriff of Gateway | 85 platinum |
| Knight | 60 platinum |
| Squire & Pages | All money comes as an allowance from their knight. |
| Mogur Imperius | 100 platinum |
| Chancellor/Chamberlain to Emperor/Duke or Duchess | 50 platinum |
| Lady's Maid | 25 platinum |
| Castle Servant | 12 platinum |
| Castle Healer | 60 platinum |
| High Ranking Military Officer | 65 platinum |
| Low Ranking Military Officer | 35 platinum |
| Enlisted Military | 20 platinum |
Shopkeepers will make whatever profits they have past the expenses of their goods and memberships to their guilds. Servants or staff employed in a shop will make what the shopkeeper gives. Barmaids or serving staff will probably make a base of around 10-15 platinum a year, but have the opportunity to make tips. Other shop occupations (housekeeper, bouncer) /may/ make a little more than a barmaid, but they just aren't high paying jobs.
Taxes
Boo Hiss! We all hate them, but they are vital on the game for the nobles to live and to manage their lands. The current IC situation with taxes is inefficient and does allow opportunity for abuse and corruption by those that collect them. It's also very difficult to know if the report of income is accurate. There are also no property taxes because all land ultimately belongs to the Emperor and anyone managing the lands are stewards on behalf of their lieges.
In general, sources of income are the only thing taxed through the Gateway Empire. A farmer will pay taxes on a percentage of what price he sells his crops to the merchants. A healer will pay a portion of her taxes on how much she charges for services. A shop owner will pay on a percentage of how much coin he takes in a month. The Lord of the area is the one that collects the initial taxes. The Baron taxes the Lord, the Duke taxes the Baron, and the Emperor taxes the Duke. The Lord pays the highest percentages of the income since they do collect the most money at the ground level.
It is important to note that taxes are typically assessed by a gross national product. There are tax assessors who will estimate what the production of an Isle should be for a year, and set the tax at approximately 20 percent of that figure. Which means that the Emperor is still going to expect that 20 percent that is reported to come from each Isle, including Gateway and this will go down the line. The Ducal lead will expect a certain amount of tax from the Baronies, based on what the tax assessment for the barony is and so forth. This will mean that any change in taxes or social projects must be done carefully so that surplus funds are not diminished too quickly.
This may open an area of political manipulation in the ability to bribe a tax assessor, hide production from the assessors, or gathering more in taxes than what the assessor deems appropriate for that area.
Titles
Please see Characters Titles.
