What is Chargen?

A character generation system, or "chargen" for short, is a method of defining a character's abilities, knowledge and training in various fields. The Cuendillar chargen system has been designed to help people create varied and intricate characters to add to their enjoyment of the game. The system is also used to resolve role-playing conflicts, and allows for more realistically coded commands and objects that people can interact with.

Once characters have gone through the initial chargen process, their skills and knowledge can be increased by spending Experience Points, or EXP. These are earned through role-play and in other ways.

This CG section serves as an introduction to the system and suggests a few things for you to consider before you take your character through the chargen system. It also attempts to answer some common questions that people have.

Chargen is Optional

Players ARE NOT required to set their characters up in the chargen system before they can begin role-playing on Cuen. In fact, you are required to spend some time before you will be allowed into the system with your first character. Players may immediately take their character through the character generation process if they have a concept in mind. It is recommended that they wait to get a feel for the game, but it is not a requirement.

However, certain types of characters and people in certain positions ARE required to use the chargen system.

Those wishing to play characters designated as "restricted" must take those characters through the chargen system AND be approved before they can begin to play restricted abilities. Restricted characters and abilities include, but may not be limited to: Channelers, Wolfkin, Viewers, Dreamers, Foretellers, those with Warder training, Blademasters, Sniffers and Assassins. (See CG RESTRICTED for more information)

Those in administrative positions on the game (Kings, Queens, Staff, wizards, etc.) are required to take one of their characters through the chargen system to ensure they are familiar with it and can answer people's questions.

We recommend that characters who are likely to come into frequent conflict with other characters go through the chargen system. The main example of that is warrior and other combat characters, but there are other types of conflict- prone people, such as underworld characters like thieves. Also, if you would like your character to be truly exceptional in any area (incredible strength, superior knowledge in a field, etc.), you should take your character through chargen so the exceptional ability can be officially recognized.

	Sometimes people login, set up a character and then never return to the game because they're busy or don't like it. Character approval is time consuming for the admin, we want them to spend their time serving the needs of active players.
	Similarly, we have some character types limited in number. If someone did the above and took one of these, it would be one month before that slot was recycled (see NEWS IDLE). We want our active players to be able to enjoy the restricted character types.
	It gives you time to develop your character in your mind and establish him/her on the game. The job you may apply for, or the family you decide to join may change your initial ideas about your character. If you're sure what you want BEFORE you use the system, you're more likely to end up with a character you enjoy playing.
	Many players prefer to play a character type that is a little unique, or isn't well-represented on the MUSH. The best way to find a niche for your character or make sure you aren't designing a character type that's very prevalent on the game is to spend some time on the MUSH looking around and role-playing with others before finalizing your characterization.

Non-Chargenned Characters

Characters who haven't gone through the chargen system are considered to be just as "real" and important as those that have. Such characters can use most game commands and objects designed for use with the system.

Characters in this position are assumed by the game to be completely average. All of their Statistics like Strength are set to the human average, and they have the human average amount of life points, size, etc. However, the game commands consider such characters to be completely unskilled, as there is no "average" that can be assumed for skills.

Characters who have not yet gone through chargen earn Experience Points in exactly the same way as those who have. You won't lose any Experience Points or other benefits by waiting a little while to go through the chargen process.

Why Have a Chargen System?

	Character Delineation A chargen system can help people define more about who their character is, and how s/he fits into the world. It can be particularly helpful for those new to role-playing games. The system is designed to create characters with weaknesses as well as strengths. Characters who aren't good at everything have more reasons to interact with other characters, which increases people's role-play and enjoyment of the game.
	Conflict Resolution Sometimes it's hard for people to come to an agreement about the result of a role-play situation. Comparing character abilities can help people to reach a resolution in these situations. For example, take a situation where a guard is chasing a thief. The thief says that she's hugging the shadows in an alley and can't be seen. The guard claims that he has acute hearing and hears her breathing. If the two can't resolve the situation another way, they could compare the guard's Awareness skill against the thief's Stealth skill and decide what happens based on the results.
	Spontaneity Sometimes people prefer a little spontaneity in their role-play, rather than working everything out in advance. The thief and guard in the above example could choose to compare skills to resolve their role-play situation not because they disagree, but for a more spontaneous result than pre-arranging what happens.
	Rewards Game play on the MUSH offers many rewards. It's fun to watch your character grow and take on a life of her own, develop friendships and enmities with other characters, etc. However, many of the rewards on a pure role-play system are intangible. Earning Experience Points gives people a concrete reward and a sense of accomplishment and achievement that many enjoy.
	Code and Commands The elements used by the chargen system allow people who develop commands and objects for the MUSH to tailor the objects to the abilities of the people who use them. For instance, someone might create a dart board that takes a character's Dexterity into account, or a musical instrument that responds differently for musicians of different skill.
	Role-Play The chargen system is definitely NOT intended as a replacement for role-play. We don't want to see people discussing their characters in terms of numbers. The reason that chargen is optional is because it's perfectly possible to enjoy everything that Cuen has to offer without using it. The focus of the game is role-play, not accumulating Experience or achieving a certain "level" in the chargen system. The system has been designed with role-play factors in mind. There are few elements in it that relate to a character's personality, intelligence or interpersonal skills. There is no skill that makes someone a charismatic leader that others have to follow, no aspect that makes a character an irresistible Casanova. People judge characters' leadership and charisma by how the character is played, not something in the chargen system.