News Welcome

From Masq

Contents

Welcome

Welcome to Masquerade MUSH. We're pleased to have you with us, and hope that you'll find us to your liking!

Our source material is from White Wolf's "old World of Darkness" (oWoD) Revised edition. We currently support Vampire, Shifter, and Mortal/Mortal+ Spheres.

Getting Started: How to get off on the right foot.

Theme: Putting the Dark in World of Darkness.

Remember those old stories you used to tell around the campfire, trying to scare your friends? Remember the horror films you used to watch late at night, pretending that you weren't frightened? You couldn't sleep, shivering under the covers, and when you finally did drop off, your dreams were filled with twisted, terrifying shapes from the darkest depths of your unconscious mind.

What if all those stories were actually true?

The basic premise of White Wolf's "World of Darkness" Storyteller game systems is that supernatural creatures such as vampires and werewolves are actually secretly living amongst us, with humanity none the wiser. To protect themselves, the elders of the Camarilla came up with the concept of the "Masquerade," essentially doing everything in their power to convince people that vampires don't exist. Other supernatural races have other means to conceal their existence from humanity. But they are all around us: manipulating us for their own devices, scheming, plotting, fighting great battles, and more.

Masquerade's world of Gothic/punk horror is just like our world; it's just that all the nightmares are actually real. Tension is stronger, cops more corrupt, criminals even more firmly in control. It is not a pretty world, though there will always be moments of startling beauty, made all the precious by the tarnished setting. It is a world where any mistake could be your last.

Most of you begin play on the game as a mortal, with no knowledge of the supernatural that lurks just underneath the mundane seeming of the world. More than likely, you scoff at all those silly stories created by fertile imaginations to inspire terror and fascination. Vampires and werewolves are as real to you as the UFOs you read about in the tabloids. There's no such thing as monsters.

Except some of you ARE the monsters. You have to protect your secret at all costs and to try to blend in. You're a simple human... just like everybody else, right?

Careful, your fangs are showing...

All of you are here to share in a communal storytelling. Together with your new friends, you will tell stories of madness and fear, of lust and redemption... tales of things that go bump in the night... tales of peril, paranoia, and sinister, shadowy evil. These stories can capture your imagination far more easily than any play or movie, because you will be creating the story with others, becoming part of the adventure. At the heart of these stories is your character, be it mortal, vampire, shifter, or something stranger still.

Welcome to your nightmare. Welcome to the Masquerade!

Setting: Welcome to Albuquerque, New Mexico!

Surrounded by the towering Sandia mountain range to the east, the Manzano mountains to the southeast, and a high volcanic mesa to the west, Albuquerque sits astride the nurturing Rio Grande River. Dizzying views unfold over sweeping vistas across a truly magical landscape, filled with a myriad natural wonders. If New Mexico is truly the "Land of Enchantment," then, surely, Albuquerque must be its gateway!

Founded in 1706 by Spanish settlers, the town was named after the Duke of Albuquerque; while the first "r" in the spelling was later dropped, Albuquerque is still referred to as "Duke City." Ancient Indian Pueblo culture and the influence of the Spanish settlers combine into a rich and unique cultural history which makes Albuquerque, one of the nation's oldest inland communities, an eclectic mix of the past and the present. The lure of open space continues to draw people to this fast-growing community which still retains a "small-town" feel.

In our online version of the city, set in the recent past, Albuquerque has a somewhat darker reality (see NEWS THEME). However, many of the surface things remain the same. The grandeur of the natural setting is unparalleled; unforgettable sunsets continue to spread out across the vast sky. Albuquerque remains a home to the arts, traditional and contemporary... it is home to some of the nation's finest high-tech research facilities... it houses a nationally ranked University... and so much more. Albuquerque continues to be a choice visitor destination and a great place to live! Welcome to our Albuquerque!

Quick Facts:

  • Albuquerque is the largest city in New Mexico, with approximately 700,000 residents in the greater metropolitan area.
  • Most people assume that Albuquerque is a desert. In fact, although some of the environment is xeric, the city's elevation of 5,314 feet above sea level makes it the highest metropolitan city in the United States. While Albuquerque does enjoy low humidity and warm temperatures around the year, it does, indeed, snow here.


Profile: What to expect and what we're about as a game.

One of the greatest things about Masq has always been its enduring sense of community. After the game closed in 2007, former players and staff continued to stay in touch and many sought to have the game reopen. We are grateful for your continued support.

We believe that all of us, players and staff alike, are here to have a good time. As staff, however, we know that we have an additional responsibility to create a fun and interesting storytelling environment for our players. We fully acknowledge that a game is nothing without its players and we welcome your feedback. We are here to help you. You may not always get exactly what you want, but we will always treat you with the utmost respect and consideration.

We expect the same sort of adult behavior from our players. We hope that you will always treat one another (and staff) with politeness and courtesy. We encourage all Masq players to get involved in our plots, to tell their own stories, and to generate RP for others. We value your enthusiasm and creativity!

To paraphrase Bill & Ted: be excellent to each other, and RP on, dudes!

This is what we are about. We really do believe that this is a community -- one that can grow and thrive. We look forward to this next phase of Masq's evolution. Let's go out there and have some fun!

-Masquerade staff

Copyright Notice: Legalese Satisfied.

"Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse are copyright (c) 1991-2010 by White Wolf. All material herein is used with permission from the publisher, and may not be reproduced in any way without permission."

All items created for the MUSH shall remain copyrighted by the original builder or coder. However, MASQ retains the right to keep all publicly used buildings or code after the original author has left. In English, if you make a building or code, the copyright is yours and you can take it to other games or do as you wish. However, when you leave, we reserve the right to keep using your stuff and to modify it as we need.