Integration
Setting Integration
In our Character Application, you'll notice that there is a mandatory field for what is called a Themelist. This is what we call a series/setting/etc. that has been incorporated into the Multiverse by being applied for. As noted in the application process, we require a simple and easily digestible explanation of what your themelist is all about, but this isn't the only aspect of integration into Multiverse Crisis MUSH's setting, and there are several things that are very important to know.
Throughout our news files, you may have noticed the term "Warpgate", and if not, you'll certainly see it in play on the MUSH. Warpgates are more or less what they sound like: A transportation network that makes getting from Point A to Point B easy even if the distances between those two points is incredibly vast, and on MCM they more or less just crop up as-needed, though some are built. Every themelist is assumed to have at least one warpgate for every major landmark in its setting. So to use Star Wars as a common example, you could expect to have warpgates that connect to Coruscant, Naboo, Tatooine, etc. In your typical JRPG, it might merely be every major city in the game. In essence, the idea is to hook every themelist into the Multiverse, and provide easy access to any "important" areas that might crop up.
More esoteric or secure locations, like the various Planes of Dungeons and Dragons, may not (and don't need to be) quite so easily accessed. Such places may still require special methods to enter. It bears mentioning that while historically we've allowed people to determine the quantity and size of warpgates that crop up in their themelisting, it is explicitly forbidden to create deliberate "bottlenecks" into a setting wholesale, and "shutting your world off from the Multiverse" is considered to be a feat of amazing rarity that is simply not permitted to occur without Staff permission. This isn't to say that a warpgate should exist to "sensitive" areas, but we don't want people to quarantine their whole settings, either. Unfortunately, some series rely heavily on isolation or a lack of ability to just "go".
These settings are simply required to yield to the MUSH's integration requirements and let people in from the outside, though the broad availability of warpgates doesn't need to be as prolific as it might be in a less closed setting.
Deities
A "God" is a supernatural entity usually attributed with either creating or governing a universe. This news file concerns deities like the Olympian Zeus or Nordic god Odin, but also beings like the Faerie Queens Mab or Titania, all of whom are arbitrarily powerful within their domains. Whether simply powerful people or actually omnipotent, they fall under the same rule: A God's supreme power is bounded to the borders of their setting, and the people WITHIN it.
Their divine jurisdiction ends at their setting's borders, beyond which are realms governed by other beings, or which have no governing deities. A character from one setting entering another god's domain, for instance, would not be a valid target for Zeus's divine retribution.
In short, Gods only have absolute power over their lands and people, if they have that. They can be powerful outside those territories, but never supreme, and being a god isn't justification to do as you please and instantly defeat people. This means you could end up with a setting where Zeus taking his true divine form instantly kills Demigods who look upon him, and then Link from Legend of Zelda could turn up and ruin his day. It also means that any God isn't likely to be much better than any other PC at doing stuff outside their setting.
Meta-Gods?
There are two mysterious entities, identified in the Multiverse as the Prime Divinity and Prime Evil. Exactly where they come from and why they exist is a great mystery. At the very least they seem to be the caretakers of souls too maimed to persist even in the hereafters of individual worlds, but what goals they may have is a complete unknown. It is speculated by some scholars of the Multiverse that they are the natural amalgamation of intermingling divine forces, and did not exist prior to the formation of the Multiverse, but this like so much else about them is utterly unverifiable.
Superficially, the Prime Divinity and Evil appear to be primal forces of Good and Evil respectively, hence their names.
Notes
This intended to outline the limits of Gods (or similar absolute entities) on the MUSH, not to state that all Gods receive these traits. This file, in short, is for the benefit of those who apply for series like Percy Jackson and the Olympians (or more broadly, Greek / Roman mythology-derived material in general) where the hard primacy of Gods is a Thing.
Tone & Rating
Multiverse Crisis MUSH is rated American R. It's expected that all players are 16 years of age or older. Our overall tone is meant to be comparable to those of mainstream comic books.
Limited sexual situations may occur, but explicit sex may not. Cybersex / Tinysex is not allowed and is a bannable offense. Violence and swearing are acceptable to a limit; we'd prefer it not exceed what you might see in a movie like Terminator -- it might get intense in bursts, but it shouldn't be extreme or constant. For instance, the level of gruesome violence in some horror movies is too much. Below we have additional policy related to the MUSH's spiritual disposition, and more detailed policy on sex and sexuality.
Spiritual Policy: Afterlives, Souls, Etc.
The existence of souls and disposition of the afterlife are areas where, in the interest of our desired tone and avoidance of primacy conflicts, we have rules that retroactively take primacy over all other source materials.
All sapient life has a soul. Souls are indestructible and there is a life-after-death that can only be permanently taken away by willful action on the part of the individual. (That is, you can sell your own soul or maim it so horribly that you're a spiritual quadriplegic, but somebody else can't do that to you.) What happens after you die is informed by your source material, unless it otherwise contradicts the rules here. Cessation of existence is not an option.
Sex and Sexuality
This game has a history of players applying for characters heavily motivated by a desire to play to their fetishes. This has usually taken the form of male players making female canon characters lesbians. Accordingly: Portrayals of sexuality in RP should be tasteful outside of private RP. Avoid discussing your IC dating lives in public radio spaces. Cybersex is still a bannable offense, keep it clean(ish).
We may deny (or remove) any character being played in a sexualized / fetishized way. Characters should be mentally and physically young adults if they're going to be romantically involved. Child characters and 700 year old ten year olds shouldn't be. Character pregnancy may not occur without staff permission.
A canon character's sexuality and/or gender may only be altered with explicit staff permission, obtained in writing via email prior to the submission of an application for the character in question. Our default answer is no. We'll want to know, at minimum: Why do you want to play this character with an orientation or gender change? What does it add to the source material? Why do you want to alter this character instead of playing an OC? How will the character's behavior change? What do you expect other people to get out of it?
Where canon sexuality is undefined, characters are assumed to adhere to biological norms established by their source barring a convincing explanation otherwise, which we'd want discussed similar to altering seen above.
