Best posts made by Botulism

It's going on a year of Horror Mu being open and running, and I've learned a lot even after 24 years in this hobby. I made it based on a few key observations over the years as a way to see if those things could be overcome, or at least minimized. They are:

• Games with stats usually have some form of XP. There is no proven 'right' way to do XP that's fair - base it on time on game and new players never catch up. Base it on activity or RP and some players will dominate due to RL availability. In either case, XP becomes s thing to be chased, it fosters resentment, and is basically a huge fucking nightmare.
• Games with stats that DON'T have XP often make players feel like the character is stagnant. XP is equated to 'growth', fair or otherwise.
• Games without stats are often still using some kind of factions or hierarchy - Weyrs on Pern, etc. Factions become insular, territorial and possessive.
• Players are generally averse to taking risks, especially if they may lose their big XP PC. Anyone who shakes things up IC or takes risks often gets sideye.
• Players want continuity in RP, not a new game every 4-6 months.
• Approvals, XP, story jobs, etc. burn staff/storytellers out. Making creatives do paperwork is especially bad.

Add to this a few honest things I know about myself as a staff/storyteller:

• I LOVE running stories and playing NPCs.
• For a few months, at least. Then I get bored and distracted.
• The more admin/paperwork I have to do, the more I lose story momentum.

So with Horror Mu I set out to address every one of those issues. I made an anthology-style game where you play an Archetype (The Loner, etc.) that has a new but similar role in each story, which I usually assign. I try to make each story deal with a new or different facet of the Archetypes when I write roles. To keep an ongoing continuity, between stories you all exist in a place simply called The Facility from which there is no escape and all your needs are provided. In here, you ARE your Archetype and remember your various roles from the stories like new lives you lived. There are no dice or stats in The Facility, and dying only lasts a day when you wake up in your bed again.

For stats, I settled on a simple system called Slasher Flick with some modifications. That brought me to

• Games with stats usually have some form of XP. There is no proven 'right' way to do XP that's fair - base it on time on game and new players never catch up. Base it on activity or RP and some
  players will dominate due to RL availability. In either case, XP becomes s thing to be chased, it fosters resentment, and is basically a huge fucking nightmare.

and

• Games with stats that DON'T have XP often make players feel like the character is stagnant. XP is equated to 'growth', fair or otherwise.

I addressed by having stats, but they reset each story. You get to completely redo your stats to suit your role. Further, I added a Perks and Quirks system, like Merits and Flaws, that allows more customization. Every PC has the exact same points, but each is good and bad at different things.

I addressed

• Games without stats are often still using some kind of factions or hierarchy - Weyrs on Pern, etc. Factions become insular, territorial and possessive.

by having the PCs broken into groups or factions each story (with 50 Archetypes, you kinda have to), and scrambling those factions for every story, including who I give leadership roles to. Sometimes, yeah, I get burned by giving an important role to a new or idle player that drops the ball, but often times it surprises everyone when someone new shines and does awesome things. It's been far more 'hit' than 'miss'. It keeps people RPing in new combinations and prevents cliques from dominating.

I addressed

• Players are generally averse to taking risks, especially if they may lose their big XP PC. Anyone who shakes things up IC or takes risks often gets sideye.

and

• Players want continuity in RP, not a new game every 4-6 months.

By having stories last 2-4 months. Most people go in expecting to die. Dying is seen as fun. People do all the crazy shit they normally wouldn't because it's not the end of the character - just that story. The Facility gives enough over-arching continuity to allow people to 'stay in character' and not feel like they're just playing a new PC every time.

And that just leaves me and MY 'Known Issues'.

• Approvals, XP, story jobs, etc. burn staff/storytellers out. Making creatives do paperwork is especially bad.

• I LOVE running stories and playing NPCs.

• For a few months, at least. Then I get bored and distracted.

• The more admin/paperwork I have to do, the more I lose story momentum.

I have a couple staffers who help do all the paperwork/approvals/etc., freeing me up to run stories and do story-related +jobs. I don't approve PCs, or give out Archetypes to new players, or handle wiki foo.

I tell stories.

And with each being limited in nature, I'm always wrapping it up when my usual boredom/loss of energy would hit. People RP in the Facility a couple weeks while I create and post all the info on the NEXT story (I nerd out on world building and writing newsfiles), which I'm totally psyched about at that point, and we take another spin on the wheel.

Rinse and repeat.

It's been a fun experiment, and there have been bumps in the road, but I just talk things out with the players and take their input into consideration when fixing a problem. People have a voice and use it.

I've learned a lot, some of it unexpected, some of it confirming previous theories. Players tend to prefer I write their role and outline their character, and in stories where I leave it open to them we end up with a fair number of 'cannot find a hook into things' issues. Assigning roles means I give you a hook, a reason to be in the story, and things to do. They've come to feel that works better.

It's also created the most co-operative MU environment I've had the pleasure to be in. People encourage and support and help each other. People let each other shine. It's lead to some of my very best experiences in the hobby, and some of the best RP I've seen or been involved in.

Lastly, it's NOT for everyone. Some people don't do well at all there, and it's not because they're bad players, but just different. Everyone likes different things, and that's a good thing. If it doesn't work, it's okay. I'm fine with the game being small-ish but active and enthusiastic.

And thus concludes a year of what I learned running this game and trying something new.

@arkandel I felt the same way recently, that in order to ask someone to leave I had to catch them breaking an actual rule.

Then I realized it's perfectly valid to do it because someone is a shitty person who bullies and hurts others, even if they don't do it right in front of me on my game. This hobby is toxic for a reason - we tolerate toxic behavior from toxic people out of a misguided sense of fairness. No one has a right to play on a game.

We have a hard cap, too - it's simply about recognizing what you can capably handle. I'd rather have a smaller game with jobs getting done and plots moving forward than a huge game where half get left out. That's not exclusive for the sake of being exclusive, it's about knowing how many players I can keep entertained.

Running scenes for players that enjoy them and have fun rather than complain about anything and everything they can find fault with. It's awesome having excited, proactive players who log on to have fun.

SO MANY SCENES. ALL THE SCENES.

horrormu.com 1880
www.horrormu.com

Horror MUX is a game of mortal horror set in a variety of rotating settings and themes, using different versions of the same characters, and with an underlying connection running throughout.

This is not your normal MU*. You don't write a background and 'make' a character. Players choose an Archetype for their character to embody, and that Archetype takes on a new character/role in each story, given to them by The Director. You decide their gender, name, age, ethnicity and appearance, as well as their personality (informed by the chosen Archetype), but the role they play in each story is assigned by The Director (again, informed by the chosen Archetype), along with hooks for the current story and often some supporting characters you can emit. This way, you get to play who you want to play, but you also play what the story needs played. Stories run as long as they take - each has a specific 'ending', often involving escaping an area, surviving until a certain time, or in rare cases defeating the danger(s). Fighting or killing the danger is rarely a good idea and simply surviving is usually the best strategy. It will usually - but not always! - be clear what the goal is. Examples include getting off a xenomorph-infested space station, surviving on an island until rescue comes, escaping a haunted house that's trapped its inhabitants, and so on. A story can also end with the deaths of all active Archetypes. In this game, there CAN be unhappy endings.

In between stories (or upon death in a story), Archetypes find themselves trapped in a sterile, lifeless place known only as The Facility, with no memory of who they are - or if they're real people at all! - but full memory of each story they've experienced and the role they played. There are no other people in the facility outside of the Archetypes, no cameras seem to watch them, food is provided by dispensers, and there is no exit or any windows. Each Archetype has a personal quarters consisting of a bedroom and bathroom, and clean clothes befitting the Archetype are provided daily, also by dispensers in their rooms. All of their needs are taken care of by unseen benefactors - or jailers, depending on point of view. This existence goes on without any clue as to day or night, season, or year. They can do as they please while in the facility - eating, sleeping, recreation - whenever they please. Sometimes new Archetypes show up, and sometimes old ones just disappear.

Without warning, all current Archetypes will eventually become sleepy at the same time, and once asleep, find themselves in a new story. Once inside, they remember nothing of the facility or past stories, and simply become the role they are assigned. The only ways to leave the story are to die in it or to finish it. Upon death or completion of the story, they wake up back in the facility. The rest of the Archetypes are nowhere to be found until they, too, die or finish the story.

To allow players a way to continue within the story in the event their Archetype dies, they may continue to play any surviving Supporting Roles they have. Their Archetype, now back in the facility, has no knowledge or memory of those events, however. Archetypes may also resume facility RP with any other Archetypes that have died if they wish. A player whose Archetype has died in the story, has no remaining Supporting Roles, and no fellow dead Archetypes with them in the facility may be given a Central Casting character to play. This way there should always be something to do.

Over time, your Archetype will begin to evolve and flesh out, becoming more of a person as the stories and experiences shape them. Facility RP will become more interesting as the Archetypes turn to each other to try and make sense of it all and figure out what's really going on. There IS a deeper meta-story, and things WILL slowly unravel over time.

We employ a modified version of the Slasher Flick system which emphasizes personal horror and cinematic narrative over stats and combat, and this very simple game system is explained on the wiki. There is no need to purchase any books.

WE ARE GETTING READY TO START OUR FIRST STORY IN THE NEXT 2 WEEKS. THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO GET IN AT THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING.

Running a game where things have an expiration date, there's going to be an ending, and getting there is the fun. So freeing. I can take risks and do things I could never do on a static, ongoing game. I liken it to the last season of Breaking Bad - everyone is fair game and anything can happen.

Having players who can keep IC and OOC separate helps. They all know they're probably going to die by the end and gleefully do all the things characters in horror movies do, rather than play it safe and stockpile XP to become a demi-god. Even better, they signed up to be fucked with, and the more fuckery that occurs, the more they enjoy it.

So awesome.

@iluvgrumpycat and @WildBaboons

This story was rushed, and as a result stuff blew past people. I fully admit that. It was out of a concern over keeping people from getting bored and leaving early right out of the gate. So I overshot and lost some people. I still feel having too much happen and losing a few people is a better option than going too slow and everyone getting bored. I needed the first story to move quickly as a proof-of-concept.

That said, future stories will build more. I'm re-balancing things and making adjustments as noted up-thread. It's a work in progress and I'm learning as I go. I hope you'll give it a second chance!

So I'm resurrecting Horror MU, but it won't be in continuity/connected as there's a number of changes this time around.

First off, you aren't Archetypes, but actual people. The between-stories meta is that you're all in a surreal sanitarium as patients with no memory of who you are except for your name and age. You start in the sanitarium and spend your between-seasons time there (season one starts July 19). You're 'in treatment', and the stories/seasons will be some kind of a shared experience. Hallucination? VR? Something else? Find out! Group and individual therapy with the doctors is an actual thing, with staff/writers playing the doctors.

You HAVE an archetype that can be anything you choose, but it's to help us fit you into the stories, not who you actually are. Each season/story you play a version of your Prime self (the sanitarium one) with similar appearance, personality, issues, and so on. Your roles each story are less structured and defined, there's no leadership roles, no factions, no pre-written characters this time, allowing you flexibility and making things more organic IC. For example, someone who made a science-type Prime character can choose to be a science-type each season, or not. If no one makes a science type, an NPC will handle that instead of wedging a PC in each season.

Each season/story is set in a different time and place and features a different horror genre. Stories happen around and to you, and you deal with them however you choose. Your involvement is entirely up to and dependent on you. We help those who need it, sure, but there's not 5 pages of theme and detailed faction lore. Most of the time you're normal people (for the time/setting) that get caught up in Bad Shit. It's more character and survival focused, where HM 1.0 was all plot all the time. We hope it will prevent the, "I missed a week and have no idea what's going on anymore!" issue HM 1.0 had. There are several writers this time, too, so everything isn't on my shoulders to run scenes.

We're using FS3/Ares as the core with some minor house rule tweaks. Your stats are set on your Prime self and carry over into the stories. XP buys raise these stats over time. Some stories (but not all) offer Perks and Quirks you can choose related to that specific story. These go away once you return to the sanitarium.

Yes, it's FS3, but we made combat harsh. Armor is almost non-existent, weapons are whatever you can find, and damage is brutal. NPC monster/killer characters aren't low-level mooks, do get weapons and often armor, and there is no free rally from KO as a 'hero'. Fighting? Is discouraged. You'll likely die. It's intentional, as HM 1.0 was way too soft and forgiving in this area, and 2.0 will not be.

Our first season, It Lies Within, is set in modern day Old Downtown Las Vegas, and starts in two weeks. It will run at least three months, as will every story. You're all struggling, working class people living in apartments in a converted hotel - beyond that, you do you. Early on, something will happen that will result in the building being quarantined. Time will be dilated for every 3 RL days being one IC day, so the season will take place over a month or so IC.

Feel free to ask questions and come look over the wiki at http://horrormu.com. The game's port is 4201.

I didn't know him as well or as long as many of you, but this hit me hard. He was one of my very favorite people on Welcome to Lovecraft, a great player and great guy.

He came out of MUX coding retirement to help with HorrorMU* because he said he liked my stories, and then got ill right as I was crafting a lot of things story-wise for him to get into. I'm really sad he never got to enjoy most of them. He did get his moment of drag queen with a flamethrower in the Alien story, though, and I know he had a blast with that.

We're retiring The Avant-Garde archetype in his memory. I'm so sorry he's gone.

@valkyrie It's a MU*. If you build it, they will cum. Games that try policing sexytimes are burning energy better used elsewhere.

@bored I actually agree with you. There's a learning curve for me in this, too, and a big thing I've learned in this first story is that every role needs a job. Yes, some attendees of the festival have found ways to be useful and needed and had more involvement as a result, but the majority haven't been as lucky. There have been event staff that are TOO busy, people with TOO much to do and too much control while others have little or even none. I take responsibility for that.

Going forward, all roles will come with a job of some sort, something that person does that makes them important. I'm also going to make Central Casting NPCs in charge of each area/aspect in some cases rather than PCs, not because the PCs in charge in this story are doing it wrong, but because it's putting too much pressure and focus on too few people. Having an NPC boss means if thee players disagree and rebel, they're rebelling on an NPC and not turning things into PvP.

There's other stuff, too, but as the person pulling the strings I wanted it known that I'm aware of the problem and addressing it. This first story has been FAR from perfect. I've viewed it as a proof-of-concept, a test-run. I'm learning a lot.

@admiral
It wasn't a meeting. I made a bbpost about it asking for feedback (and EVERYONE gets a message on login saying if there are unread bbposts so they won't forget to check), and there were a few discussions on the public channel and in the OOC room. People were invited to chime in, give opinions, etc. If you or they didn't, I'm sorry, but I made the effort. I've regularly checked with the playerbase on everything from story to rules and more. I put up a poll this story asking for feedback on pacing. I've pretty much made a point of going out of my way to make sure players have a say in things and actively solicit that. So yeah, I really resent this insinuation that a core of 'cool kids' run things by fiat.

Running scenes for awesome players.

Starting January 1st, 2019:

Beaver Lake, Oregon, is home to the Eager Beaver Lodge, one of the best kept secrets in 1980's American vacationing. Far from civilization, it has breathtaking views, rustic accommodations, and more than a few dark secrets. When the lodge plays host to the Nu Mu Beta Fraternity and Zeta Eta Pi Sorority from the University of Oregon, a group of adventurous film students from California, and a gang of bank robbers from Washington, it's a prefect storm to bring long-buried secrets back from the grave.

A mash-up of every slasher-genre trope and convention, this story is balls-to-the-wall 80's horror in RPG form, set in 1989.

http://horrormu.com/index.php/Story:Slasher

Slasher is wrapping up in the next week or two, bringing Season 4 to a close. It's been a blast of unexpected feels, tons of tropes and all the bad decisions in the world.

Up next for Season 5? Carnival of Wonders!

I'm really happy with how this story has turned out! I was honestly pretty nervous about trying to follow Prosperity's Price and how heavy and moving that story was, especially with with something that's essentially 80s shlock, but it's actually been huge fun. I'm finally finding my groove, I think, and I don't think I've ever run so many scenes in such a short period of time in my life.

Thank you to all the AMAZING people who let me entertain them, and the crazy few who help me run the whole thing, doing all the paperwork so I can just tell stories. This is by far the most rewarding and enjoyable experience I've ever had on a MU in my 24 years in the hobby.

Thank you all SO MUCH!

@tnp Or non-PST players can stick around and soon there would be more?

I'm always amazed by the hobby's reflex to just give up on things rather than try and make something work. I've scheduled every +event for no later than 8pm EST so the most players can attend. The most active player on the game is in Australia - if she can get RP, anyone can.

So, our President is currently being that player you ban who keeps changing IPs to log into your game and grief you.

@admiral
I get it, people see things differently. And I broke things into groups and arranged those groups the way I did in part because I am aware some see it that way.

I am also saying people were and are given many opportunities to voice opinions on things, and if they don't use those opportunities, there isn't much I can do.

When you can finally relax and enjoy the game you've worked hard to build up with the help of great players. It's a game. If you aren't enjoying yourself, why are you doing it?

Being thanked by numerous people for ripping a band-aid off.

Playing The Devil.

So much fun.