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The Character Application
 
This is the application for a character at Mutatis Mutandis MUX. The application is largely the same for all types of characters, Features, Non-Features, and Humans. However, for Humans, not all the information is required. Refer to the online news files for more information. Alas, the sample application has been removed from the web resources due to repeated incidence of all too heinous plagiarism.
 
1) Your Real Name and Age This is requested as part of the application so that you are more than just an application. If you positively choose not to tell us, please do not lie. That will simply set things off on a false start. You are, however, required to tell us your age, or at least affirm that you are 18 or over. We will accept applications from people of any age.
2) Your E-mail Address This is requested as part of the application so that we can contact you in the event that the MUX moves or goes down for an extended period of time. This information is also crucial to the application process, as we need to inform you of application status and to schedule an interview.

Again, you are encouraged to refrain from answering instead of providing false information. However, it is wise to note that all official MUX correspondence is via e-mail -- notification of the receipt of your application and the results of the judging of your application. We will not send out passwords to characters any other way than via email. If you do not have an email address, there are several places on the net that provide free addresses.

3) Your Gaming Experience None, some, daydreaming, writing, anything counts. How prepared are you to play this character. List here ALL characters that you have on other MU*s at this present time. You can also list any past alts of your choosing. This is an important part of your application because it gives us an idea of what your MU* commitments entail and the breadth of your online experience.

Have you ever played this character before? What are your strong points as a roleplayer? Your weak points? What have you done in the past to positively affect the course of a MU*? What have you done wrong in the past and how have you changed? How would you react to a similar situation if it were to happen again?

Be absolutely sure to tell us ALL of your alts on the MUX, past and present, so that we can ensure that the rules set forth in news characters are applied fairly to all. Note that if you withhold information or give false information on the app, we will be forced to conclude that you have something to hide.

4) Personal Information What do you want us to know about you that sets you apart from the rest of the world and makes you someone who could and wants to contribute to the MUX. What makes you someone who will help benefit the entire MUX by playing here.
5) Your Availability How much time do you plan to invest in the character. How stable is your access. Keep in mind that it is MUX policy that characters remain active and online and available for roleplay for 10 hours a week. While we realize that real life can happen, and should always take precedence, we need to know that you will invest an appropriate minimum of time to help keep the game going. If you don't think you can be around a lot, apply for a human or non-feature or tinyplot oriented feature who is not required on a daily basis. Be upfront with us during the application process. Do not apply for someone whose presence is critical to the MUX. Keep in mind that the game is rather like a spiders web, and all the threads of all the players lives are intricately connected.

If you know now that the limits set forth in the news files are something you will have trouble meeting, please tell us now exactly how much time you intend or expect to be able to be online and available for roleplay.

6) Interview Part of the application process will most likely include an OOC and possibly IC interview where we have a chance to ask you questions about your application and to give you a chance to show us that you can play the character. If needed and there is time, we will make up an IC situation and do some spontaneous roleplay and get to know each other. If your application is good enough to pass formal review, you will be contacted for scheduling an interview. Tell us when you are available for the interview, it will cut down on the turnaround time. Saying "any time" isn't an adequate response. We need rough intervals of time, and be sure to include timezones.
7) Character's Name Give all names and aliases of the character for which you are applying.

Note that NFCs are subject to the policies in 'news names' online. Please do not pick a name such as Charles or Scott or Jean. There are plenty of names in the world that you do not need to do this. Unfortunately, there can be only one object in the database named 'Charles'.

8) Character's Description and Appearance This should include EXACTLY what you would intend for your description for your character. This is what people see when they look at you. Feel free to provide more than one description, in combat attire, casual attire, et cetera. Note that you can of course have more descriptions for your character than the ones you submit, but you should submit at least one. If you have a shapeshifter, submit a few descriptions. This is important as the game -is- text based, and therefore how able you are to describe things is important to the game.

A note about descriptions: A good description will evoke a response in the reader without the reader being told what sort of response they should have to the description. In other words, don't tell someone what they feel or think when looking at your character, but rather evoke this response by describing the things in the character that would inspire those feelings.

We will not allow people to use the words attractive, beautiful, pretty, handsome, or the like, in their descriptions. These are wholly judgmental and entirely in the eye ofthe beholder. All of these things should be roleplayed and/or evoked from a well-written description.

If you have aspects of your character that you can't think where else to put, this is a perfectly acceptable place. For example, physical aspects that are not part of the psyche nor exactly powers can be placed here.

9) Character's Psyche What is your character like -- hopes and dreams, fears, personality quirks, obsessions, motivations, what makes them tick. Analyze the inner workings of the subconscious mind and all that fun stuff. This is an opportunity to make the character your own. These are both good and bad things, things that make your character strong and things that make your character weak. How is your character vulnerable, what inner demons does he or she have. You can present this information in any manner that you feel is most suitable for the character, be it a free form discussion or a listing of key aspects of the psyche of the character. In any event, it is important to cover all the details that makes the person into who they are so that we can envision their integration into the MUX.

Feel free to +psyche some of the characters in the game to get an idea of what we want. Note that because the psyche is one of the most personal interpretations of a character, it is possible for players to protect this by locking the accessibility. You can see whose psyches guests can read by typing +guests/psyche, or you can just give it a try and see whether permission is denied or not.

10) Character Background This section should be a summary of the history of the character that touches upon all the key life events of the character and how these events shaped the character into the person he or she is today. When did they manifest powers if they have them, how do they feel about the powers, what skills do they have and how and when did they learn them, what key events shaped certain personality quirks, who do they know and how did they meet them, what resources do they have at their disposal, where did they grow up and how did they come to be where and who they are today? All of these questions and more should be addressed by an adequate background.

For a FC, this includes material from the comics, and for an NFC, it is entirely made up. However, if there are gaps in a FC's history, those histories which go out on a limb to make things up about the character will receive more appreciation than those that simply stick to what is known from the comics. If it isn't known, go out on a limb and write it up yourself. This is a significant opportunity to make the character your own.

Although the background you provide in the application should be extensive, you will not need to use all this information in your background trait in the game, as you can share a more limited background with the general public. If you already expect that you will use a different background, please submit that version as well. It will make the inspection process go more quickly.

11) Skills List any and all skills that the character has and list explicitly the degree of competency to which the skill has been mastered. Now of course, we don't expect you to list "Brushing Teeth" as a skill unless it's really only one of the three or four things that the character can do with any measure of success. Use the command +skills/list to see the various types of skills that are being used. Think about the things that set your character apart from the rest of the world, what can they do exceptionally well, or even poorly if it is simply exceptional to be able to perform the task. Think about the education that the character has had, and detail it. List all languages that the character is able to speak as well. A skills section is mandatory for each and every character.

It is best if you categorize the skills somewhat, and delineate them as thoroughly as possible. These will be part of your online +stats to help facilitate game play.

12) Powers List any and all metahuman powers and abilities of the character, whether they are simply cosmetic or world shattering. How do they work, why do you have them, what do they do, what can't they do. A powers section is mandatory for all super-powered individuals. Each power should be thoroughly discussed, including applications, complications, vulnerabilities, and any idosyncracies of the power. It is also imperative that you completely delineate the levels and limitations of the power(s). It is best if you categorize, thoroughly discussing each power in its own section for use in your +powers. For more information about powers, refer to 'news powers' online.

Also note that if the character is to have ANY magical abilities, these must fall in line with the information in 'news magic' online. Further, EVERY spell that your character will have must be presented and described with just as much detail as each and every power a person could have. Think of a spell as a power that is simply engaged in another fashion. It too must have limits, ranges, affects, et cetera. For more information, see '+help +spells' online.

13) Contacts Friends, enemies, family, high government mucky-mucks and lowly street bums. This is where you should list who the character knows, how well, and what exactly this person might be willing to do for them, and what your character might be willing to do in return. Who can you run to, where can you hide, who will do things for you unquestioningly or bail you out at 3am. In order to list an established character as a contact, this must be approved by the established character.

This information will be used in the game as your +contacts, and you should write this information in a form which easily translates to CONTACT_.

14) Resources Money, power, what you can get ahold of and how. Property, wealthy, libraries of information, even organizational power that you can rally behind you. In order to list an established character as a resource, this must be approved by the established character. This information will be used in the game as your +resources, and you should write this information in a form which easily translates to RESOURCE_.
15) Technology Give detailed descriptions of any and all technology that your character has access to or has built that is exceptional in nature. By exceptional we mean any technology that one could not obtain easily as a common citizen by wandering into a sporting goods store or a Radio Shack. Since in many cases technology takes the place of a power, it is paramount that each and every item be written up as thoroughly and as carefully as a power would be. Refer to 'news tech' online for more information on technology. There is a tech app in that section that might help guide what other information we look for in technology applications. You should also include in this section of the application a petition for your tech level rating and IC justification for this rating.
16) Sample IC Dialogue This is optional though highly recommended. You can choose to write a sample dialogue with your character, a short story, prose, a journal or diary entry, an internal dialogue, anything that you might want to share. You can also simply go through and respond to some of the situations given in 'news ic questions'. In someways, this is your chance to show off what you know about the character and how this particular character can enhance the MUX community.

While this section is not mandatory it can prove significant in cases where there is ambiguity about the decision. An absence of an IC section will lend itself to a No while the presence of an IC section will lend itself to further chance for the application to be passed.

17) A Week in the Life What exactly does this person do? If we got a peek inside the datebook of this person, what would we see? Business luncheons? Bar bombings and car hijackings? Countless selfless hours or martyrdom? Or do they just hang out in their room and mope a lot about how miserable they are and never get out into a situation which would involve roleplaying with another character?

Yep, you guessed it. What exactly is this person going to be doing on the MUX on a daily basis. Do they get up at dawn and job through central park, or shower and hoof it to the office? Where do they go on Friday nights when they aren't out masterminding global world domination? What exactly are you going to do in between tinyplots that come knocking on your door?

18) What if you went through the Siege Perilous? Just that. You have a completely developed character before you, a grasp of this person's whole life. If by chance your character gets tossed into the Siege, what would you have happen? Where does your character end up, how is the character's life changed, cover all bases and be as elaborate as you like. Note that saying "absolutely nothing changes" is acceptable; however, the Siege is a cosmic judge of sorts. It is unlikely that rather evil beings would enter the siege and emerge unscathed.

Just because you do not have to go through the siege does not mean that you do not need to write this section up completely. We -want- to see what you perceive would happen to your character.

For more information, refer to 'news siege' online.

19) Plans for Your Character What are you going to do once you have the character. This can include short term immediate goals, things that will motivate you right off, and should even include more long term goals, even fantastical goals, what you would ask for if you could have anything. Not that you'll be able to get it with any immediacy, but this is your chance to show us how your character might contribute to the MUX in terms of tinyplots and other interactions.
20) Why do you want the character? Just that. Why did you go to all the trouble to fill out the application for this particular character? Why do you want to play this particular character on this particular MUX? Saying that you made the character up is not terribly useful here for NFCs. A more appropriate response would be for you to discuss how your creation or chosen character combined with your playing will add to the MUX as a community, both ICly and OOCly. Certainly something made you want to write an application... :)
 
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