Olympus Island MUSH, an superhero-themed online RPG environment, is now publicly opening for players. I’m posting this here because last time I mentioned it (while still in private alpha test) several people requested that I post an update when we publicly opened.
Olympus Island MUSH is a text-based online roleplaying game which uses the Champions 5th edition rules . You do not need experience with the Hero System rules; the online help files and staff can help you through the process of making a character. You don’t even need prior MUSH experience. Character approval is fast - usually within a few days once you’ve got your sheet and background written. Plots, combats and scenes are entierly GM-run - there are no automated villains, puzzles, or challenges. Players are allowed to run their own villains, NPCs and plots with time and experience.
The world backstory and code base have been over two years in the making, with the last year and a half being an extended private alpha test session to work out the bugs and smooth procedures.
The MUSH is up 24 hours a day, but most active in the evening, with occasional afternoon scenes. (Eastern US time). My wife (Ellis on the MUSH) is nearly always online. There is no charge to play, but the game is geared towards serious roleplayers and those with the patience and drive for a RP-oriented game experience. It’s not City Of Heroes - there’s no pregenerated mobs of villains waiting for you to go and blast, but on the other hand your actions can actually affect the game world!
Our website is still a bit of a mess - we’ve been working on getting the MUSH perfected first. It does explain the backstory and basic house rules, and you can see it at http://www.angelfire.com/games4/oim/ or connect straight to the MUSH by telnetting to oim.wolfpaw.net port 1960
Of course, I double-check the spelling in the body, but miss the typo in the thread title. That’s “Olympus Island MUSH”. I don’t suppose an admin can fix it for me?
(Hope that link works, it’s a telnet session, not a web link)
Look around. You don’t need to know the system, the people are friendly, the game is easy to pick up. All you need is delight in comics and heroism… and the ability to capitalize, punctuate, and spell in a reasonably acceptable manner.
The archetypes on the M&M website will give you a good idea on how a character looks… look over in the Gimmick’s Gadgets tab. Yes, the system is loosely based on D&D, but let me repeat… it works better than any other game out there for superheroic action.
Well, let’s not go into a major hijack - I think I’ve played every superhero system there is, with the exception of Villains and Vigilantes and the Marvel SAGA system - and Champions is my favorite of the bunch. Mutants and Masterminds is good, as is Silver Age Sentinels - both capture the feel well, and have simple systems. But Champions? It can do anything. And aside from initial character creation? Not that complex.
Though if you’d like to open another thread to discuss the matter, debating pros and cons of Superhero RPGs is something I dearly love to do.
It’s not a hijack… it’s a wave at a friend. Glad to see you guys got your game out of beta. The place has a wonderful theme, but… in my personal experience, Champions is a bitch and a half to play online. Just not adapted for the role. (I’ve played them all. Including Marvel SAGA, V&V, New Marvel, MEGS, new DC, Superworld, and so on, and so on)
We’re well aware of the M&M system and Cruicible City MUSH. There are a fair number of people who play on both MUSHes, including my wife who’s the OIM headwiz. From what I’ve seen we have a fairly different feel to the world and play - CC seems to have a looser chargen and theme, more of a “Do anything so long as you’re online and playing” feel, while we’re stricter on theme and continuity.
I far prefer the Champions system - primarily for the flexibiliry and power of the rules and character creation system. (It doesn’t hurt that I’ve been gaming with the system since 1991, so I know the system very well.) M&M to me feels more like a hack, a system for a completely different genre that’s been modofied to do superheroes. Both systems have their strengths and weaknesses, I suppose, but to say that M&M works better than any other superhero system is not something that you’ll find much agreement with here.
Sure. I’ll open a new thread this weekend on that. Andrew, you digested the Sidekick system yet? (Simplified Hero) I’m not sure how well it works, having only given it a cursory glance.
Ahem. I will now expand on my previous post: Gee! It’s the people at OIM! Hey, you’re out of beta? That’s great! Hey folks, go check it out, it’s got a really good theme. His wife’s a great person, and we miss her over on the place I like, which has a different system.
On the other hand, I think that Hero is a bit too much of a pain in the neck for a Mush environment. I like this other system better for a Mush environment. It’s not quite as flexible, but it’s close. And it’s a lot quicker.
Oh, I should explain the system and the place I play briefly, so people who don’t know mushing and don’t know superhero games, know what’s what. (insert link, insert link) I’m sure most people who’d be interested know what Champions/Hero is.
Anyhow, lots of luck, I’m sure I’m going to check it out, myself. And maybe make a character and play, if I can get over my procrastination issues and find where I put 'fred. ’ (Fifth Rules EDition? It’s a backwards made acronym, anyhow)
I should add that, on re-reading, it seems I wiped out the top half of my first post, while trying to create a telnet link on the board. Turning it into an unwelcome and apparently mean-spirited comment.
I meant to congratulate all of you, and hope this meant that your wife would have some time for CC again, because we’ve missed her. Then I wandered into mentioning CC, and my personal conviction that the system is better for mushing than Hero, then… And, of course, posting from work means that I may not actually have typed out the top half of the post. But I meant it to be there. Really.
I just started evangelizing. Sometimes I do that. Sorry.
(The opinions in this post are soley that of E-Sabbath and not of Crucible City Mux’s staff or other players.)