How to apply for a character on GarouMUSH

How hard is it to get a character?
What kinds of characters (races) are being accepted?
What goes in an application?
Where do I e-mail my application to?
What happens after I e-mail my application?
My application got rejected!!! Now what?
I got accepted!!! Now what?

How hard is it to get a character?

It's actually not very hard if you can do the following five things:

Write English with basic proficiently.

Come up with a believable and well-developed human character--that gets you a human or a pre-change cub right there.

If you intend to play a kinfolk or garou, read the Guide for writing a character page.

Submit the application to garou-reg@garoumush.org. (Please send the application as text, not as an attachment. We get a lot of spam and viruses and don't like attachments.)

Work with a wizard to tweak the character to conform to GarouMUSH's worldview.

If you've been on other MUSHes, this is probably a little (or a lot) more than they require of new players.

If GarouMUSH's basic requirements seem too hard and too time consuming, then GarouMUSH probably isn't the right place for you.

What kinds of characters (races) are being accepted?

New players can apply for the following characters, listed here in increasing order of difficulty to get approved.

Humans

Kinfolk

Homid Garou of Rank 0 (cubs or pre-change cubs)

Homid Garou of Rank 1 (Garou who recently completed their Rite of Passage and do not have much experience)

In order to obtain the most RP, new players should probably try to obtain a cub, which will require training by other garou.

Humans and kin can be difficult to obtain RP with, as they are not permitted into certain areas where Garou tend to congregate.

Other character races (vampires, bastet, mages, spirits) or unusual characters (kinfolk or humans with special powers for instance) are available only to existing, experienced GarouMUSH players on a limited, individual basis.

What goes in an application?

In a nutshell, we're looking for a well-developed character concept that includes history, motivations, strengths, weaknesses, ethics and morality, etc. And that's on top of the character's tribe, breed, auspice, and rank if it's a garou.

For detailed advice on developing a character application for GarouMUSH, check out our Guide for writing a character page. It contains lots of hints, advice, worldviews, and things that -reg wizards will be looking for.

Where do I e-mail my application to?

Once you've sent your application in to garou-reg@garoumush.org, it is randomly sent to a wizard for processing.

What happens after I e-mail my application?

You'll receive an automated e-mail--usually almost immediately--stating that your application was received and who your -reg wizard is.

You should get a response from your -reg wizard within 7 days. If you do not get a response, you may e-mail your -reg wizard to ask about your application's status. It's generally a good idea to include both the "application received" e-mail as well as the application you sent in case the application was accidentally lost or deleted.

If you still get no response from your -reg wizard within the next few days, you may opt to send your -reg wizard an e-mail stating that you are resending your application to the rotator and to disregard the application sent earlier. (Wizards are generally very good about responding to applications in a timely fashion, but every now and then one drops through the cracks, a computer bites the dust, or someone goes on vacation or otherwise gets consumed by real life.)

My application got rejected!!! Now what?

Don't freak out, man!!!!

Most applications get rejected. In fact, it's pretty safe to say that almost every player on the game has had a character that did not get approved on the very first try.

Just because you get a rejection does not mean that you should simply give up.

There are three basic kinds of rejections: "poor English use", "won't work", and "needs work".

Poor English use rejection
Like it or not, your use of English is seen as a direct reflection of your intelligence, maturity, and storytelling ability--all things that we want from our players.

We don't expect perfection--there's plenty of typos and grammatical errors to be found on this website--but we do expect basic competency and an honest effort to use relatively standard written English.

If you get rejected for poor use of English, that could be a permanent obstacle to getting a character approved or a matter that can be solved by simply taking more care in revising the application.

Instant messaging styles and "733t hax0r" speak are just not acceptable on GarouMUSH, as are incomprehensible attempts at dialects.

"Won't work" rejections
Your -reg wizard may decide that there's so many problems with the character or the worldview presented in the application that the character simply won't work--or that the character needs substantial revision to the point where it would simply be easiest to scrap it and start over from scratch.

You might get a very short rejection in this instance, simply stating that the character is unworkable for GarouMUSH and advising you to look at the Guide for writing a character and to start over.

These kinds of rejections can occur even with a very well written application where something amiss happens earlier on in the character application. For instance, if the character has been obsessed with fighting Pentex ever since his first change, and the character is now a cliath, everything since the character's first encounter with Pentex will have to be rewritten because Pentex does not exist on GarouMUSH.

Remember that this is a rejection of the character concept, not a rejection of you as a player. If you think you've got a good concept in you, go read the Guide for writing a character and try again!

"Needs work" rejections
The second kind of rejection is one where the character "needs work." Typically, these characters have a few problems that need to be dealt with or hammered out to make them acceptable for GarouMUSH--and these are often worldview or character development issues.

These are things that can generally be fixed by listening to the advice your -reg wizard gives you and/or by looking at Guide for writing a character.

It might take a couple revisions with you and your -reg wizard, but these characters can almost always be salvaged.

I got accepted!!!! Now what?

First off: Congratulations and welcome aboard!!

Your -reg wizard will include a name and password for you with your "character accepted" notice. Simply connect to garoumush and log in using the name and password provided.

You'll start off in the first of about 6 rooms entitled "Birthplace" where you'll set up your characters stats and other information.

Some of the Background bonuses have been modified for the particular online environment of the MUSH. You might want to type "+info backgrounds" and review these backgrounds prior to selecting them.

Once you've finished, you'll be deposited in the OOC Lounge.

Type "News Newbie" for information on setting up your character and spending freebies. If you make a mistake, you can send a +mail or e-mail to your -reg wizard, who can correct the problem.

If you have some experience with MUSH coding, there's useful code on the Sample Werewolf in the OOCL.

Before you go running off to roleplay, be sure that you have set your character's description(s). Garou have five different forms (homid, glabro, crinos, hispo, lupus) and thus should have five different descriptions.

Your -reg wizard may also advise you to hold off on going IC so that they can look over your stats to make sure that they reflect your application and that no blatent min-maxing or powergaming has occured--or to suggest a combination that made more sense for the character than what is currently being represented.

Actively try to get in touch with people--particularly members of your character's tribe--in order to arrange for your character to be brought onscreen and introduced to the sept.

Last but certainly not least, enjoy yourself!