Characters

Character Policies

We recognize 4 types of characters on CoMUX:

Archtypal Characters (AC): A type of media-created character (MC), archtypal characters (ACs) are characters that commands a certain level of OOC responsibility as well as IC popularity and/or responsibility. These types of characters include popular media characters (MC's) such as Captain America, Thor, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Doctor Strange and Wolverine. It also includes characters who have IC or OOC team leadership responsibilities. ACs are expected to maintain higher activity levels than other characters and to help further RP on the grid — within and without their teams. Players of ACs should be willing to create and run periodic plots, events, and/or open scenes.

Media-created Characters (MC): Media Created (MC) Character. This is a character that draws from published source material that is the Intellectual Property (IP) of said publishers. Because CoMux is a very different world than any of the variant realities that are published, all characters are then adapted to fit our world's theme. This may mean significant changes as most of their backstory is likely incompatible and it might also mean changes in their commonly accepted powerset. 'They did X in issue Y' will not be a valid argument if we ask you to change something. You are merely drawing inspiration from a previously established character, not playing that character itself. We do, however, request that players 'respect the source background' of the character they choose to app and play.

Original Player-created Character (OC): Distinguished from MCs as the original creations of their players, PCs remain the property of their creators. They must conform to the same character-creation rules as MCs, but do not revert back to the game roster when their original player steps down, unless that player specifically bequeaths them to the game. Typically, they are retired or recycled. We do not make any practical differentiation between MCs or PCs in terms of what type, diversity, or level of powers they may claim. If something is acceptable on a MC, it is acceptable for an OC. The only caveat to that is this: PCs must, in fact, be original and not simply clones or mash-ups of popular MCs. So, no. You can't recreate Wolverine with cosmetic differences, cross him with Sabertooth, and call him (or her) Badger or something. Exercise a little more imagination than that, please.

Villain Characters (VC): Villians are unique MCs whose purposes are primarily plot-driven. They can be much harder to play than normal MCs, since they don't lend themselves to social play. They almost always have some sort of scheme underway and almost every scene they do is to further that agenda. Consequently, VCs are accorded a little more leeway than normal MCs in terms of activity. In order to apply as a VC, your character must be a recognized villian from Marvel or DC. OCs, generally, are not eligible to be VCs without significant staff involvement, since any OC given VC status must be bequeathed to the game and able to change hands in the future.

Before applying for a new character, please check out the alts policy, our restricted character concepts and our banned character concepts

Dropping a character or picking up a new one

To resign your character, use +request. Be sure you really want to do so. If you drop the character by accident, you will have to reapply. If this does turn out to be a mistake and you sleep on it and wish to regain that character you must wait 30 days to pick up the bit again (and in the meantime that bit is open for app by others). Please note, that staff reserve the right restore a character that was dropped.

To apply for an open character, use +request <character name>=<open request reason>. To request that an idle character be opened for application, use +request <character name>=<open request reasons>.

To create a new character that hasn't yet been added to the game, go to the login screen and type create <codename> <password>. If the name of the character you wish to create uses two or more words, enclose those words in quotation marks (e.g. create "Mr. Doe" <password>). Be sure you create a shorter alias (e.g. @alias me=doe) for that character as soon as you've logged in to make future logins and paging by other players much simpler.

When you create a new character you have 2 weeks to go through the chargen process. If you need more time simply ask! But characters that get created and sat on will be nuked if we see nothing is being done with them.

This being said, to keep the load on staff lighter with app processes you must wait 10 days between character bit approval and creation and also have a log up. So if character A is approved on the 1st, you may not grab character B until the 11th and until you have done sufficient RP and logged it. This is done to keep from bombardment appstaff side, or those who are unsure from collecting a bunch, sitting unsure in the gen process and keeping them from other players. Everyone deserves an opportunity. Don't be greedy!

The big thing we also look for is activity. Each time you apply for another character be sure your current MC's have up to date logs, if they do not have logs per the activity rules, another slot will not be awarded to you and your app will be denied.

Note: Staff may provide permission for the cooldown to be shortened if a reserved character becomes available. This decision will be made on a case by case basis.

The big thing we look for is activity. Each time you apply for another character be sure your current MC's have the number of required, up to date logs. If they do not have logs per the activity rules, your app will be denied.

"Alt Cycling"

While not common, occasionally we have experienced players that drops and apps alts in excessive fashion, occasionally dropping newly approved characters (multiple instances, not just once!) within days or hours of approval. In these extreme cases, staff reserves the right to extend the app "cooldown" period for these players. This is typically 30 days but will be decided on a case by case basis. Our aim is to promote stability within the player base.

Picking up Previously Played Characters

MCs that have failed to apply within 2 weeks from registration; that are dropped via +request; or have not logged in within 30 days are considered OPEN. The charbit will be wiped and returned to the welcome room and a bboard announcement made.

MCs that have gone through the Gen process and not posted any logs within 30 days are considered IDLE and made immediately OPEN.

MCs that fail to meet their activity requirements are considered IDLE. Idle characters my be +requested from staff. If staff confirms that the character is IDLE, the character will dropped and reassigned.

We use a modified 'reservation' program. Players have the option to put in a 'reserve' on any currently-played MC. All players are allowed one reserve. Reservations are made using the +request command.

When an MC with an active Reserve becomes IDLE or OPEN, staff will bbpost that the char is now available for application. After a 24 hour waiting period, if there are no other reserves and no +requests made, the MC will be awarded to the reserving player.

The decision to release a MC on the reserve list is at Staff discretion. Our aim is to always promote, and balance, activity and stability.

If in the event there are multiple persons interested in a character either via +reserve or +requests during the 24 hour holding period, characters will be awarded as follows:

  • Players with the activity levels to support an extra MC will be given priority, however we will allow players to drop a current Media Character to "make room" for the new MC if they so wish
  • If multiple players have the required activity to support an extra MC, staff will review posted logs over the last month. The player with superior numbers of logs will be awarded the character.
  • If log numbers are considered close, staff reserves the right to review the logs and decide who has the more substantive body of work.
  • Finally, if all other matters are considered equal, it will revert back to the first registered +reserve or +request. (First come, first served.)

TL;DR - Order of Priority: Activity levels to support an extra MC, Most logs by player, First-Come

You should not unlink, delete, or otherwise erase established actions or RP that the character has previously been involved in. The game's wiki logs are our 'canon'. If you wish to play a significantly different version of the character, you will need to come up with a reason, be it an alternate reality version, clone, etc. The RP that has happened AND IS LOGGED continues to exist for everyone else involved, even if your version of the character has no knowledge or memory of it.

 

Activity Top

Staff does not police idle characters to determine when they are available for application. A lot of times people are idle on an MC/VC/AC that no one has an interest in applying for but that isn't always the case. Staff will not remove a character from a MC/VC/AC for being IDLE unless another player wants that character or we are undergoing our routine quarterly maintenance. If your MC/VC/AC is verified as IDLE and another player puts in a request(or there is a reserve) for that MC/VC/AC, subject to staff discretion, the character will be awarded to the new player. This puts the burden on the players to both keep track of their activity and to keep an eye on the activity of characters that they want to play.

We will, however maintain the system and occupied character bits by checking quarterly and doing a sweep. If you have not maintained the activity requirements and the character bit is considered IDLE, the MC/VC/AC may be part of the reaping. We are not obligated to send out notices for such things, so please, maintain activity and keep this painless for us and you!

When does a MC become idle?

30 days no logs.

When does a VC become idle?

45 days no logs.

When does an AC become idle?

15 days no logs.

An AC/MC/VC that becomes inactive/idle will be wiped, newpassworded and returned to the Welcome room. A bboard message will be made that the character is now considered OPEN.

When does a MC become inactive?

  • 2 weeks from registration to application submission
  • 1 week without replying to staff during the application phase
  • 30 days w/out logging in
  • 1 rolling calendar month w/out a single log after approval

A PC(OC) that becomes Inactive will be @nuked. It will not be given over to another player as it is the IP of the original creator.

When is a PC considered inactive?

60 days w/out logging in

When can I get my MC/VC/AC back after I lose them?

30 days after you lose the bit if no one else has apped for the character.

What does -not- count as activity?

  • Cutscenes, of any nature
  • +Requested, staff emitted scenes with only one player. You can’t +request staff to emit your activity requirements.
  • Scenes in which your character bit only poses once or twice and then idles; poses out; or others emit for you.

What does count as activity (that you might not have expected):

  • Scenes in which you emit NPC’s for other players
  • Scenes that you run for other players but do not emit your own characters

(Be sure to tag the character you want to get credit in the log and note the credit in the scene summary.)

Vacation Policy

Vacations can be set up to 30 days (this can be extended if absolutely necessary - speak to staff)
Simply inform staff and post to the vacation board in game (or staff will if you are unable).
Your characters will not be considered idle during this time but once off vacation you have 10 days to have a log up or they will be considered idle and up for bidding.

 

Alts Top

Each player on the game may control as many Media Based Characters (MCs) their activity (logged RP) can support.

The new rule for the amount of Alts a person can have is limited only by how many you as a player can maintain. This basically means all you need is 'one log per' in that character types expected active period.

OCs NO requirements
VCs 1 log per 45 days
MCs 1 log per 30 days
FCs 1 log per 15 days

Characters still become idle/inactive in accordance with our idle/inactive policy. See Activity.

There are no limits to the number of Player Created (PC) characters a player may control and these are not included in the log/activity requirement calculations for new MC's. MC activity is not considered when applying for a new PC. You may always app a new PC, presuming you’re not on app cooldown.

ALT-CROSSING

Alt-Crossing rules are quite simple:

  • No fighting your alts.
  • No training, jobs, technology or receiving gifts from your alts (also remember anything that classifies as an update must be requested).
  • TRY to keep multiple alts out of the same plots and plotlines. (this is not a hard rule)
  • TRY to keep interaction with an alt's close companions or teams minimal. The world of E626 is a large one with multiple cities (Gotham, Metropolis and New York) as the focus. There is little need to overlap your alts and their stories extensively.

No alts can hand out information to another alt or those closely associated with the alt if it will result in benefiting said alt. Basically do not hand off plot elements from one alt only to have it end up with another alt.

  • If there should ever be a point in which an alt crosses another alt it will only be in a CUTSCENE and requires Staff approval first.

These rules do not stop alts from knowing the same people or tactfully RPing 'around' one another. But alts should never be actively engaged with each other at any point; even through a medium.

~Alt-Crossing at best should just be avoided to escape confusion and general chaos.

*The only time Alt-Crossing is truly safe is during MACROPLOTS that affect the entire grid and then, it still to be handled with care. Once said plot is done, things should resume as normal.

Emitting Villains

Antagonist Media Characters not currently controlled or played by another player or on the reserved list for Plots or Player Plots may be emitted subject to to the following conditions:

  • Used for one off / pick up / infrequent scenes (use for longer periods, story arcs / plots etc may be +requested. This will allow for the character to be moved to the reserved list.)
  • The antagonist is not killed, maimed or have their character fundamentally altered
  • The antagonist used must be appropriate the city they are emitted in (i.e don’t use a Superman level antagonist in Gotham)
  • The character must be tagged in the log.

 

IC vs. OOC Top

IC stands for In-Character. Similarly, OOC is short for Out-Of-Character. Both are important concepts to learn when roleplaying — no matter the roleplay format. For a game to operate effectively, the line between IC and OOC must be strictly maintained.

Differentiating between IC and OOC

For the purposes of our game, we need our players to clearly distinguish between IC and OOC knowledge of situations. To aid in this, we have developed some short descriptions.

  • Character — the persona a player uses to play the game.
  • Player — the person sitting behind the keyboard at the computer, who controls a character's actions.
  • IC: In-Character — all that your character (not you, the player) knows, from what they have heard in the IC news, to what they hear from their daily conversations and investigations while you roleplay on the game.
  • OOC: Out of Character — This refers to what you, the player, knows. Many times you will know things that your character does not know. This will include what you know about the overall structure of tinyplots (TPs) being run, to what another player told you in an OOC conversation about a crime being planned. Just because you as a player know that Yorick is Sorcerer doesn't mean that your character knows that… not unless your character has had some sort of IC encounter that would allow him to know.

For the sake of the story, we ask that you keep these two types of information separate. If your character starts using OOC information ICly, not only will that ruin plots in the making, but, if it becomes too severe, the scene may need to be retconned1. If staff receives complaints about this, the offending player will be put under warning. Continued complaints may result in sanctions and/or banning.

IC Courtesy

From an IC perspective, your character can act however you choose to have him act. Just remember, though, that how your character acts and presents himself will have a direct bearing on how other react and respond to him. Further, it's entirely possible that, if your character is always a jerk ICly, other players may begin to think that you are a jerk, OOCly. So, you need to be careful and be clear about distinguishing your character from yourself.

Keep in mind that if you find a particular action annoying, others may as well, so try to avoid such things.

OOC Courtesy

OOC courtesy is often much more important than IC courtesy, though that in no way diminishes IC interaction. That said, OOC conduct almost entirely determines how you, the player, are judged by your fellow players and, thus, how they react to you personally. This can be very important. Generally, keep the following in mind:

  1. Try to avoid too much OOC chatter while in IC areas.

    Excessive OOC chatter can be very annoying for those trying to concentrate on roleplay. Some people log their game sessions in order to keep the story and too much OOC chatter causes for unnecessary spam to edit away. If the conversation does not concern the IC scene, converse through pages or on channels people can turn off.

  2. Don't enter private rooms without asking permission, or announcing yourself OOCly first.

    You won't always know what you might be interrupting, and some things are best left uninterrupted.

Remember the first rule of gaming etiquette: Treat others as well as or better than you would like to be treated. As with IC conduct, keep in mind that if you find something annoying, others may, too. So, be polite.

ICA = ICC

Defined, ICA=ICC means 'In Character Actions will result In Character Consequences'.

Translated, this means if your character rushes in to a burning building to save people from the flames, he could get burned… and if there's no one around to treat his injuries, he could end up with some very ugly scars — or worse. It's entirely possible your character could die.

Sad, but true.

The point, then, is simply be aware that whatever choices your character makes — right or wrong, good or bad — will lead to results both he and you, the player, are going to have to live with even if you don't like it. Just like real life.

That said, remember this:

It's only a game!

There are usually ways to mitigate undesirable consequences. But, for the sake of story integrity, it's not always possible2.

Realistically, we all get attached to our characters. But, in the end, it's important to realize that they're only part of a fictional story and not real. If your character dies, then his story (at least this version of it), tragic as it may be, has been told. You can always create a new character. Don't let yourself get all bent out of shape about it. Try something new, instead.

 

Plagiarism Top

This one's easy. Please, use your own original work when apping for characters. Yes we know that if you're apping a comic book character odds are someone else created it and ten billion words have been written about it on the internet, but we want to see your take, not some Wiki's. If staff reasonably suspects that you have plagiarized or copy-pasted your app, the bit will be denied and you will not be able to re-app for three months. If it happens a second time, your account will be banned.

For the purposes of this policy, this shall include both the original works of other players and the wiki information sites. If something absolutely, positively seems like the best way word a particular bit of application (and it's public domain), please, talk it out with the staffer handling your app. Our wordsmiths are pretty good so odds are they can help you find something that doesn't violate this policy. Yes, we understand that when applying for a character that's been hashed over it comics a hundred times that it can be hard to find words that seem like your own. We don't expect you to be the next Stan Lee, just take a little pride in the bit you want us to give you.

 

Restricted/Banned Characters Top

We like to offer a lot of freedom of choice here on CoMux, however there are certain characters and concepts that either do not fit into the theme of our game or would potentially break the game… or both.

Banned characters/concepts

These are characters or concepts we flat-out refuse to allow on the game, or which we have reserved specifically for high-level plot use.

  • Cartoon characters. E.g. Anything from South Park to Anime.
  • Video game characters or alternate RPGs; Dungeons and Dragons, Shadowlands, Far Cry, Deux Ex Machina, Smash Bros, etc…
  • Mortal Kombat characters (individuals may be allowed if pitched in proper form but likely these are a no largely due to theme and feel. Homelands, the Adversary, the Farm, Outworld, Netherrealm, MK's Elder Gods, the Mortal Kombat tournaments do not and will not exist here).
  • Angel and Buffy or True Blood characters.
  • Characters with no COMIC BOOK presence, origin or ties (game title should give that away).
  • Amalgam Comics and any form of Amalgam style characters or any direct non-canonical "bastardization" of the original concept or multiples (blatant ones, we understand certain types like dead Deadpool were inspired by Deathstroke and so forth).
  • Characters existing far outside the scope of Marvel/DC comics and of Earth 626, whether as comics or other media. E.g. Firefly, Star Trek, Labyrinth, Krull, Dr. Who, etc.
  • Extremely powerful, cosmic, or reality-warping characters, characters that serve better as plot devices for various reasons. E.g. Darkseid, Galactus, Hela, Mephisto, Black Alice, the Phoenix Force (as opposed to Jean Grey without the Phoenix), etc.

    Note: Occasionally, we may allow players to app somewhat "nerfed" versions of these characters. Speak to staff, if you're really desperate to play them. But, you'll have to come up with some pretty amazing or thorough arguments to make us change our minds. Chances are, you'll be disappointed.

  • Anthropomorphic, Neko, or 'furry' characters, which are not part of either DC or Marvel canon. Characters with the ability to shape-shift into animal form from a human form are generally allowed but will be handled on a case by case basis. If you wish to choose one of these types of characters you must find an existing canon "race".
  • Non-sentient beings and characters of animal intelligence.
  • Original characters which are clear knock-offs of DC/Marvel characters, whether as a character itself or in what gear they carry.
  • Any character, whether canonical or original, with whose powers or abilities are nearly exclusively focused on seduction or sexual coercion. (This applies more to characters like Stacy-X, whose entire character seems predicated on her ability to manipulate pheromones, as opposed to characters like Black Widow, whose primary skill set is spycraft and weapons training, with seduction simply as a subset of the whole package rather than a regular focus. Basically, we're coming back to the whole "This game is not about sex" policy.
  • Any character that is under the age of 18. (You can still play them if you find a way to age them up to 18 or older.)
  • Elder Gods, Celestials, Danger, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Onslaught, DC/Marvel Animals, Howard the Duck, Phoenix Force/Goblin Force, Dimensional/Hell Lords/Chaos Lords/Lords of Order (Zarathos, Shadow Master, Trigon, Dormmamu, Mephisto, Malebolgia, etc), Annihilus, Shuma-Gorath, Mojo, Odin Force, Darkseid, Apocalypse, Superboy Prime, Helspont, Despero, Black Alice, Eclipso, Pandora, Time Trapper, Nekron, Destiny Force, the Wizard, the Presence, the Endless, Lucifer Morningstar, Jenny Quantum, Bastian, Ultron, Vulcan, Vandal Savage, Ares, Mister Sinister. If any show up that are not in this list Staff will let you know.

Restricted characters/concepts include:

These are characters and concepts which might be allowed, but it's not likely. Apply for them at your own risk.

  • Original characters with an extremely high power level. E.g. Superman strength, Omega level mutants, etc.
  • Original characters that are very powerful but also at the low end of the allowed age restriction.
  • Any character which would clearly disrupt or clash with the game's theme and/or timeline.
  • Any 'multiple-character' or anyone that has more than one physical body. This refers more to characters such as the Stepford Cuckoos rather than characters with duplication powers, such as Jamie Madrox/Multiple Man (who is absolutely app-able).
  • SOME Space /BASED/ characters/. When in doubt, ask!
  • Fantomex, Amanda Waller, Franklin Richards, Spectre, Rose Tattoo, Brainiac, Sentry, Doomsday, Kang, Dr. Fate, Hyperion, Supreme, Count Nefaria, Mr.Majestic, Spawn, Legion, Stryfe, Vulcan, Eternals, Externals, Deviants, Dark Beast, Invincible, Captain Dynamo, Omni-Man, Despot, Omega Sentinel, Doctor Doom, the Darkness, Nate Grey, Cobra-La characters, Gods, New Gods, Molecule Man, the High, Vandal Savage, Phantom Stranger, Cable, Xavier, Magneto, Kryptonians, Stepford Cuckoos, Clones, Dr. Strange, Inhumans, Terry McGuiness, Reality Manipulation, Hope Summers, Kilgrave, Otherly-Dimensional characters, Time Travel/Manipulation/Time-Travelers.


In other words: Just because a pair of characters are considered inseparable, doesn't mean they actually are.

If you have one restricted character/concept it is very likely you will not be allowed to man more then that.

Any characters existing from other comic series will be handled on a case by case basis. We understand that there are many other characters out there which could be made to fit within this game's theme. But, please bear in mind that any such characters could potentially require some heavy reworking and will take additional time in order to approve or deny.

Also note that while these types of characters are restricted or banned from becoming player-controlled alts, we aren't opposed to the idea of bringing in some of the bigger named comic characters strictly for use with global plots. If you have an idea in mind, feel free to contact the staff about it!

Currently Staff Reserved Alts

  • Baroness
  • Nick Fury
  • Vandal Savage
  • Magneto
  • Darkseid
  • Graydon Creed
  • Master Darque
  • Sadie Sinclair
  • Ra's al Ghul
  • Mister Bones
  • Ivana Baiul
  • Amanda Waller
  • Madelyne Pryor (Goblin Queen)

 

Rolling Calendar Month Top

What's a 'Rolling Calendar Month'?

The period of the preceding month, where the start date is the date of the last log add 30 "rolling" days. Ie. If the last log was 9 January, the next log would be required by 8 February.


See Also: Game Policies and Plots

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