I. What is the world on Aether MUSH like?

It's a world based on the mythology of Earth. The setting is roughly equivalent to that of pre-Christian Rome, with some medieval aspects and a strong influence of fantasy and magic. Aether is dominated by four different humanoid races, who are based on the cultures, legends and folklore of our own world.

II. What are those races and what makes them special?

The Varati are based upon Middle Eastern and Eastern cultures such as Arabic, Persian and Indian. They are a martially-oriented race, their strong, brawny, and powerful physiques making them excellent warriors. Their society is governed by very strict laws, customs and rules that differentiate between the castes and sexes. They are ruled by their God-King, Khalid Atar, although their lands are divided into various varas and territories, each governed by a different Clan.

The Sylvans are a forest-dwelling people with a strong link and understanding of nature, and powerful, yet often uncontrolled magic. Shapeshifting into the form of an animal is common among them. Their appearance shares some features with elves; most noteworthy their pointed ears. Their names and customs are derived from Native Americans and, like them, Sylvans tend to live in small tribes.

Atlanteans are a mysterious race living typically below the sea. They share some features of fish, like webbings and gills, but also have legs and lungs allowing them move outside of water. Their specialty is a telepathic form of communication, which allows them to share thoughts in a much deeper and more profound way than would be possible with spoken language. Because of their strong understanding of each other, they are generally a peaceful people and make excellent scholars, philosophers, diplomats, but also craftmen, traders and explorers.

Aside from those those four purebred races, there are two other groups on Aether: Mongrels are the result of countless generations of interbreeding between the different races. They share no specific physical features and make up the servant- or slave-class for the other races. Free mongrels are not uncommon in the game; however, wealthy or high-ranking ones are. They share very little common culture, tradition or history. Mongrels also never possess any magic.

A halfbreed is a direct result of parents of two different, pureblood races. They are very rare, for interbreeding is spurned by all four pure races. They are different from mongrels in that they are typically magically gifted, but their magic runs often out of control and presents a danger to those around them.

III. What race can or should I play?

The choice is all up to you. Try to match the concept you have in mind for your character with the race that suits best for it. Then read the detailed information provided for that race, available in the news files.

Some might find mongrels to be the easiest to play for just starting out on Aether, since you do not need to know any special background to play one. However, as a mongrel, you will also be on the bottom of the social ladder, and might be treated with contempt by the members of the pure races. It may be difficult to find roleplay right off the bat. Please be aware of that.

Sylvans and Atlanteans are also good for starting characters, since their rules and customs are not quite as strict and harsh as those of the other races.

The culture of the Empyreans might be familiar to a lot of us, so if that appeals to you, you might consider playing an Empyrean. However, their society is also governed by tight social customs and the rich of the background information available for Empyreans can easily overwhelm a new player.

Varati are considered the hardest to play for new players, because of their difficult, strict and unforgiving culture; the strong hierarchy within their society and their way of thinking is very different from our modern ethics. However, if you have an interest in playing in such a rigid system with a clear religion and strict rules, and if you take your time to understand the Varati culture, playing one of them can be a very rewarding experience.

Any halfbreed character must be applied for, so that requires heavier consideration before making one.

IV. I want to play something different than everybody else. What races are not so often played? What general concepts are underplayed?

You can get an overview of which races are common and which ones not by typing: +races while connected to the game.

The Empyreans make up by far the biggest PC group, the mongrels the smallest (apart from the halfbreeds, who are an application-only group). Typically, Atlantean PCs are not numerous as well. The other two races -- Sylvan and Varati -- are usually "somewhere in between."

Surprisingly, there are fewer male characters than female ones on the MUSH. So if you have no preference for either sex, you should strongly consider playing a man. And I can really discourage any male player from playing a female character 'just to get the attention of all the men.' Most likely, it won't work, because there are far more women who want attention than men to give it. ;)

V. Okay, I know which race I want to play and I read their section in the news files. How can I find more about them?

Asking specfic questions on the Guest or the Newbie channels is a good way. There's usually somebody around who's willing to help you out. More often than not, the aides (check +aides while connected) will beat themselves at being the first to help you out. :)

The +staff-command gives you a list of all staff members. Typing '+info <STAFFMEMBER>' of a wizard for a specific race gives you more detailed information about each race.

You should also visit the links page, for there are several web-sites set up for the other races, which contain more information beyond that which is in the news files. The current web-sites for the other races are:

• The Atlanteans: A work in progress dedicated to the aquatic race.
• Susanoo's Atlantean Page: A page created by one of the former Atlantean admin, Susanoo.
• The Empyreans - Rulers of the Sky: Designed and maintained by Eos, the Empyrean admin -- includes mirror site.
• Varati - People of the Neverending Fire: Designed by Astraea and maintained by one of the Varati admin, Hecate.

VI. Where does roleplay happen in Aether? What's a good place to start my roleplaying career? Where can I find interaction?

Most of the roleplay on Aether MUSH happens in Haven, one of the biggest cities in the known world, which is a meeting point for all races and their leaders.

The Rialto in the center of Haven serves as market-place and allows lots of different kinds characters the opportunity to meet and interact.

The three Embassies in Haven (Empyreans: Palladium in the east, Varati: Atesh-Gah in the north, Atlanteans: Korallion in the south) also serve as roleplay centers for the particular races.

The Delphic Citadel is an active roleplaying place for mages studying there, and the Sylvan tribes (Ettowealona and Apisachi) have a high activity level in the nearby forests. The Eyotajolon are a city-based "tribe," though they're more a loose collection of Sylvans who've made their homes in Haven.

VII. Can I play a warrior? A mage? A leader? A noble?

Warriors: Yes. There are several military groups in the world of Aether which you can join: The Praetorians are the army of the Empyreans. The Agni-Haidar are a special elite group of Varati fighters dedicated to Khalid (playing an Agni-Haidar requires an application). The warrior-clans of the Varati also constitute a large number of fighters. The Hounds are the police force in Haven, the main city of Aether, and hold the authority there. They are made up of all races. The Atlantean military is represented by the Korallion Guard. The Sylvans have special hunters and protectors of their clan. There are also a group of gladiators, who fight in gladiatorial games in the Coliseum for the entertainment of the crowd.

Typing '+faction/list' while connected to the game gives you an overview of all factions, and '+faction <FACTION-NAME>' gives you more information about a specific faction. If you want to join a militairy group, the best way is to contact the faction leader. However, please be aware that the roleplay of a soldier or warrior contains only very little combat. Battles are rare on Aether MUSH, and often draw consequences after them. So think about something to do while you are not fighting.

Mages:Yes. Varati, Atlanteans and Sylvans can select one type of magic at chargen (Atlanteans can choose one in addition to their telepathic ability). Empyreans or people wanting to choose two magical affinities (except Atlanteans) have to apply for it. Magic is not uncommon on Aether. Many mages go to Delphi, a powerful school for magic in the center of Haven, to train their abilities . The Hounds also often simply send those mages that are deemed too dangerous to roam freely to Delphi. This is especially true for uncontrolled magic or elemental magic.

Leadership characters:Usually, a high-ranking position of leadership needs to either be applied for or attained through roleplay. You may see a list of available positions on the Available Features and VIPs Page.

Nobles: Each race has their own version of nobility: the Empyreans have the noble Houses, the Atlanteans have the Decemvirate families, the Varati have the Kshatri clans (and the Agni-Haidar warriors and Atarvani priests, to a certain degree) and the Sylvans have the tribal elders. Use '+faction/list' online to see what groups exist and speak to the faction head about joining.

See the occupations news files for other ideas of what you can play.

VIII. Do I have to formally apply for my character?

Most normal characters require no application. You can simply create them in Character Generation.

However, leadership characters, characters with extraordinary abilities, characters with extra starting points (beyond the requisite 160 points), or some extremely rare characters (dark Empyreans, Empyreans with magic, characters with dual magics, certain types of shapeshifters or halfbreeds, among others) require an application. Check out the applications news file for details.

IX. I see so many strange names and terms on the game, and don't understand them. How can I learn about them without embarassing myself? Do I have to know them all before starting to roleplay?

We know how confusing all these terms are. And even experienced players on Aether don't know all of them. Don't be embarassed to ask.

An easy way to find out the meaning of a specific term is to type '+term <term-name>' while online. Or you can use the very helpful Terms Database, created by Rabi@Aether, on the web.

X. There's so much background information. Do I have to read it all before starting to roleplay?

By all means, no. You should be aware of the general setting and have read through the news-section of your race, but you do not need to know all details about each of the races. An easy and fun way to learn more about the background of the world is to have your character relatively ignorant about the customs and cultures of other races when he or she enters the city, then gradually learn more about them through roleplay. That way, your OOC learning curve adapts to that of your character.

XI. What historical IC events would my character know about?

Most likely, that depends on the type of your character. For each race, different events had a different impact. A few big events that most characters would have heard of:

• The Varati and the Empyreans clashed in a big war during 3903-3904, several IC years ago. In this war, Khalid Atar created a volcano from the ground below the Empyreal city, Lycanae, and let it erupt, destroying the city utterly. The Empyreans lost that war (also, but not only because of this drastic intervention of the Varati God-King) and signed a treaty of their defeat, that forced the Empyreans to pay huge sums of reparations to the Varati. In accordance with this treaty, they also had to give up their province Arelate (in which the destroyed Lycanae lies), which was instituted as the free mongrel nation Avalon under sovereign rule of the mongrels; though it has since returned to Empyreal rule. In an attempt to bridge the gap between the nations, the leaders married women from the opposing culture -- the Empyrean Emperor married an Empyrean apparently raised in Clan Khalida, and Khalid Atar wed Thalia Tritonides, from one of the premier Empyreal noble Houses.
• In 3905, as a result of the war, a plague spread through Haven, apparently originating among the Empyrean war refugees. After a high death toll, Delphi acquired a herb from the forest Sylvans that cured the plague, and distributed it among Haven's citizens.
• In 3905, a series of mystical events struck Haven: the magic went wild and uncontrolled for some weeks, ending in a rift between the magic types of Clairvoyance and Aether-Elemental (OOC Note: Before, those two abilities were one). The coming rift plagued the clairvoyants with visions and nightmares months before it happened, and left them nearly mad at the event. Almost at the same time, a number of earthquakes shook the ground below Haven, and only a day later, a gigantic, mythical, serpent-like sea-creature attacked the docks of Haven, adding to the destruction. The monster was defeated by the joined forces of all races in Haven.
• In 3906, the rebellious clans of the Varati gathered to march against Khalid Atar. As a result, the nothern mountains and trade routes were completely blocked by those rebels, and there were several battles between loyal clans and the rebels in Haven's streets.
• At the beginning of 3907, a mysterious, dragon-prowed ship sailed into Haven's harbor, heralding the arrival of the Aesir, Najada, and Rusalki. They were new races unknown to most of the inhabitants of Haven, and their ways were considered, by many, to be savage and barbaric. They brought battle and bloodshed, but grew more acclimated to Haven's customs, before they sailed back to their distant, northern home.
• In 3908, the Varati withdrew from Delphi, heralding the beginning of a tenuous time for the Order; there was much talk among the races of dividing the city between them and sundering the neutrality of Haven. Yet in the spring of 3909, a peace treaty was signed and agreed upon by the various racial governments, securing Haven's neutrality but transferring its leadership to a City Council whose members will be chosen by each government. No longer will the Estrella of Delphi -- previously called the Avatarati -- reign over Haven.

XII. What other tips can you give me for starting to play on Aether?

Choose a character concept you enjoy playing, and one that makes it easy to meet new people and interact with them. Few people are willing to play with a dumb character who has only a small role and that nobody knows. Don't limit yourself too much as to where you can play or with whom you can play; otherwise, you might grow bored or disappointed. Respect the theme and the fact that many people think differently than we do today. Racism and arrogance towards others or lower races is common on the world of Aether, and universal tolerance by a purebreed is not only rare, but can also mean disrespect from the person's brethren. However, despite it all, those feelings should never cross the the border between IC and OOC.

If you don't understand something or want to do something you are unsure about, ask OOCly. The players and staff on Aether are always helpful and approachable. Before you work out a difficult concept and hand such an application in, talk to the staffer responsible for that sphere.

And, most important of all, have fun and take it easy!

~ Written by Nox@Aether.

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