So, now that you've decided what you want to play, how do you go about making it? First, you need a name. It's always the hardest part.

One note about choosing a name: keep in mind that this is a text-based environment, and both you and your fellow players will have to type whatever you choose on a regular basis. Pick something that's not impossibly complicated, not eighty-seven characters long, and not offensive, and you'll have a better chance at getting roleplay interaction. You're not limited to first names, either. You can use last names, nicknames, whatever fits your character best, but there's plenty of opportunity later in your character info to tell people that you're Thomas_Speilhinsky_the_Third. For name registration purposes... can we call you Tom?

Once you have that name, you can create the character at the log in screen by typing create <name> <password> and that's it! You've got a character! But then you've got to go through Character Generation. What, you think we'd really let you off that easily? Below you'll find the steps to build your character. If at any time you run into a snag, there are two ways to get help. First, you are automatically added to the 'newbie' chat channel. You can ask your question there by typing chat #newbie <question>. You can also page someone in helpstaff, or a wizard. If you're new to mucks, please see Appendix C I: Basic Muck Commands for help on checking for staff or wizards, or paging.

The first thing you should do is decide on your special. A special is an ability or benefit, or even just mental attitude that the rest of your character will be built around. It is both a benefit and a drawback, and all of them are different. It will affect everything else you do here, so be sure to pick one you can live with. To see the specials you can pick, and a description of them, see Appendix A I: Specials. If you have trouble fitting your idea to an existing special, speak with a wizard about it, and we'll help you pick one that suits. If your idea is original enough that none of our specials apply, perhaps we'll add your idea as a new one! To set your special, you can type special <special name> in the New Character Room.

After you choose your special, you may choose stats. There are fifteen stats all together, and you may pick seven of them that you are above average at. Not taking a stat does not make you bad at it, unless you want to be! It simply means you're not above-average with that ability. The stats and what they do can be seen in Appendix A II: Stats. To add a stat to your character, you type addstat <stat>. To remove a stat from your list, use remstat <stat>.

Once you're finished choosing your above average stats, you can start deciding exactly how above average you are at them. All taken stats automatically have one rank. You have seven more ranks that you can divide between your taken stats however you like. Keep in mind that no stat can start over a three. To add a rank to one of your stats, use addrank <stat>. To remove a rank from a stat, use takerank <stat>. Keep in mind that some specials will modify certain stats up or down.

You can see your character by typing sheet. You can also see anyone else's character by typing sheet <name>. If at any time you want to scrap the character and start over, you can type reset up until the time you have finished. Once you have finished, you'll not be able to reset without wizard intervention, so make sure you're happy.

Once you're happy with everything, you'll need to agree to the policies, and set your email address. To read the policies, see Appendix B: Policies. Once you have read the policies, you can signal your agreement to abide by them by typing policy. It will ask you if you have read and agree to abide by the policies, and you can type yes to finish.

We require an email address to be set on your character. For information on how it is used, please see the Privacy Policy under Appendix B I: Policies. To set your email address, type email #update <address>.

Now that you have your character set up, and you have acknowledged the policies and set your email address, you can finish your character, and leave the New Character Room. Type finish. The first thing that will happen is the program will tell you what your beginning mist and sanity scores will be. Most specials are able to change this number, although some will not have that choice. If you are given a choice to lower your mist score, you can decide by either typing yes or no. Whether you are given the choice or not, you will have one chance to accept your scores. If you're happy with your mist and sanity scores and wish to continue, type yes, if you're not, and would like to change something, type no to abort the finish program.

If you typed yes to accept the scores, you will then be asked to set a Job Description. This can be anything you do, or have done that would affect your knowledge or skills. This is used mostly as background filler; though if your job is set to 'actor' don't be surprised if someone questions your ability to defuse bombs! To set your job description, simply type it in.

Once you've done that, you will be shown your character sheet, and asked to accept the character. This is your last chance to back out before you will be unable to reset! To accept the character and finish character generation, type yes. If you want to go back and change something, type no.

Once you have accepted your character, you will be able to leave the New Character Room, and join the people in the OOC Area. However, to go IC, you will need to do some basic set up (We can't have people wandering around IC with no description, after all). Character Setup is covered next.

All newly created characters will be granted one free reset within 30 days of their characters creation, to allow for reconsiderations after a new character gains a basic learning of the system. This reset policy will only apply to new characters. Established characters will not be able to reset without severe IC circumstances and repercussions.