news policy Alts
At this time, staff are not implementing a limit to the number of alts a player may have, with the following caveats:
- All alts must be kept active. If you cannot keep up with your characters or have lost interest, consider killing them off or retiring them before taking on another.
- All alts are subject to our idle policy. Logging in one alt will not count towards keeping another active.
- You must register all of your alts when going through chargen.
- Alts cannot work together or share information. If you have learned something through one character, this does not mean your other characters know this. Ideally, your alts should be oblivious to one another.
- You cannot app an alt while you still have an existing character on probation.
- At this time, there are no limits to how many alts you can have in one organization, but staff does ask that your alts be diverse and that they make the effort not to have the same relationships with everyone.
news policy Alt Secrecy
While some people work harder than others to keep their alts secret, this does not give ANY player the right to reveal the alts of another player or staffer without express permission. Whether you know someone's alts because they told you, because you figured it out, or put it together through wiki-stalking, consider that information private.
Furthermore, it is against policy to page or poke one alt to get at another (i.e. paging someone's connected alt because you want to RP with an alt they haven't logged on), unless they have expressly invited you to do so, or have a note in their +finger to this end. It is especially rude to do this when you have figured out the alts on your own. Assume if a player has logged on one alt over another, it is because they feel like playing that alt right now. Try @mailing the alt you wish to play with, or offer to RP with the alt they have connected.
This especially applies to staff alts. If a staffer is connected as a player and dark as staff, you are NOT invited to poke at either the character or the dark staff-bit for staff-related matters. If a staffer is connected as staff and not as their characters, do not poke them to bring on their characters.
While these policies may seem extreme, it's really just a matter of etiquette, respecting personal privacy, and understanding that players and staff log on certain bits for different reasons. If you don't care who knows your alts and are happy to be paged anywhere at any time for anything, simply put a note to this end in your +finger. Otherwise, assume that all alts are private and respect that.
news applications Application Information
- Be as clear and concise in your application as possible. If a staff member asks you for clarification, please provide it without hassle.
- If you are caught being intentionally vague in order to be able to say that a staff member approved you and you can effectively twink because you left out important details, you will be set unapproved, teleported back to the CG room, and forced to redo your application.
- You NEED to choose an organization before you're out of CG. If you've somehow managed to slip it past application staff that you haven't entered one after approval, you will be forced to choose one before your probationary period is up or application staff will choose the organization best suited to your background.
- The application staff reserves the right to make you redo your application at any time.
news applications Banned Concepts
These concepts are banned and will not be approved under any circumstances. If you manage to slip-through approval with one of the following concepts, you will be removed from play as soon as it is caught. In short, do not include any of these concepts in your application.
The following concepts are banned:
- Non-human characters
- Characters with access to magic, special powers, the supernatural, time travel, interstellar space travel (i.e. beyond NASA's current capabilities), futuristic sci-fi technology, mythological beasts, other dimensions, or anything else that does not fit the real-world setting of the game.
- Characters from other media, including, but not limited to, television shows, movies, books and comics.
news theme Canon
The game's world is based primarily around the CW television show Nikita, but we have reset the plot to the end of the first episode.
However, unless you are planning on playing an FC, you do not need to be familiar with the source in order to play here: all of the information you require can be found in these newsfiles.
Players can also draw inspiration from the original Luc Besson movie, the 1993 American remake (Point of No Return), or the earlier television show La Femme Nikita. But please bear in mind that where these sources contradict with the CW show, we will be following the CW's version.
See episode one for details on where the game picks up.
news policy Channels
The game makes use of several 'channels' in order to help players communicate.
| Channel | To Join | To Speak | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public | addcom pub=Public | pub <text> | For all general conversation. New players are connected by default. PG language only. |
| Guests | NA | NA | For staff to help guests with questions. |
| CIA | addcom cia=CIA | cia <text> | For members of the CIA faction. |
| Civilians | addcom civ=Civilians | civ <text> | For members of the Civilians faction. |
| Division | addcom div=Division | div <text> | For members of Division. |
| Gogol | addcom gog=Gogol | gog <text> | For members of Gogol. |
| Greetings | addcom gr=Greetings | gr <text> | Broadcasts connections and disconnections to only those on the channel. If you're not on the channel, no one will see when you connect or disconnect. |
| Help | addcom h=Help | h <text> | For questions relating to the game or the Wiki. |
| Independent | addcom ind=Independent | ind <text> | For members of the Independent faction. |
| Media | addcom med=Media | med <text> | For OOC discussion of video games, music, television, movies, etc. |
| Naughty | addcom nau=Naughty | nau <text> | For players 18 or older only. Curse words go here. |
| ………………………………… | …………………. |
Only current, active members of a faction are allowed to join that faction's channel. If you are unsure whether you should be on a channel, please talk to staff first.
news policy Character Death
As SOON as it looks as though character death is even a remote possibility, staff should be advised with a +request ('+help request'). If death is imminent in this current scene, please pause the scene and wait for a staffer who will join you to mediate the scene. All PC deaths MUST be observed by staff so that we can help to minimize any OOC hard feelings or potential problems that might arise after the fact.
We also invite players to contact us via +request if they would like to volunteer their characters as canon fodder in a current or upcoming plot.
The matter of IC death is one place where there are some differences between OCs and FCs. In our view, OCs are your creation and your property: if a player desires to kill off an OC, staff will not deny them this - except in extenuating circumstances where it may cause too great a problem or invoke undeserved consequences onto other players. FCs, however, belong to this world and to the game. FC death must be agreed to by staff, who will gauge the viability and long-term consequences of removing that character permanently from play. FC death should NEVER be used because you are 'tired' of that character.
Player-Run NPCs can be killed off without staff involvement, provided you are willing to accept the ICC of that action. This applies to short-term one-off NPCs (such as running a generic enemy for an action scene). For long-term NPCs, such as those on the wiki, please use +request to discuss the death with staff first. Players should NEVER kill the NPC of another player or staffer.
If you are asked to acknowledge that you play a high-risk character, it implies that character death could be imminent at any time.
If your character is a Civilian or Independent who gets too close to sensitive Division or Gogol information, there is a good chance that they're going to be killed. The same goes for agents in either Division or Gogol who give out organization sensitive information. This should go without saying. Spies are not given a clap on the back and told 'don't let it happen again' if they spill the beans or fail massively on a mission. You will be dead.
news applications Character Generation
The following files will provide supplemental information about our character generation (chargen) process. You will need to go through the rooms on the game to complete your application. Please see our Apply page for more information.
To begin, click here, or jump directly to a step below:
news factions CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency operates somewhat like its real-world counterpart, although our IC CIA will have a large domestic focus as well and will function as a catch-all for the various government-mandated (and recognized) covert organizations in the United States.
The primary function of the CIA is to collect information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and to advise public policymakers. The agency conducts covert operations and paramilitary actions, and exerts foreign political influence through its Special Activities Division.
Civilians can join the CIA entirely by choice, unlike Division. There are pay grades, benefits, rules and legislation. Operatives working for the CIA operate within the law (although this can become a little grey when in the middle of an op and things need to be done).
As well as operatives, the CIA also requires a huge pool of support staff, including computer and tech experts, analysts, cryptographers, security guards and even office admin, and all of these roles are open to players.
Most of the IC action for the CIA will take place at their field office in New York. TPs or other IC events may occasionally call employees back to Langley, Virginia, where the organization has its headquarters, but we expect IC focus to remain on the New York office.
More information about the CIA:
news cia Agents
The CIA employs people in a variety of roles, providing them with a regular salary, benefits and retirement package. Agents are also supplied with weapons and any resources needed to help them accomplish their current mission (housing, vehicle, cover job, etc.).
Undercover agents still remain in close contact with their employers and may be assigned handlers to help them complete their missions. While those employed in the HUMINT division may not report to the office on a regular basis, they still must file reports and complete briefings before, during and after every op.
No one is forced to become a CIA agent and no one is forced to remain one either. Agents who have served their country are allowed to retire or change jobs, provided they do not pose a threat to national security.
Agents who are caught breaking laws or putting the state at risk may be arrested or detained against their will, sometimes even without trial. The CIA does not, however, cancel its operatives - at least not directly. In extremely dire circumstances, the killing of a CIA agent can be outsourced to Division, in order to keep the government's hands clean.
news cia Other Positions
Spies are only a tiny fraction of the individuals employed by the CIA. Most employees work in the open, either sitting behind a desk or out in the field investigating matters overtly. These are the people who work with local law enforcement, perform raids, give press conferences and answer the phone when someone calls in with a tip.
There are a wide variety of positions at the CIA, including analysts, cryptographers, security personnel, field agents, secretaries, technicians, communications specialists, IT, etc.
news cia Recruitment
The CIA operates like a government agency, seeing as that is what it is. Recruitment is done through several fronts, but they are all relatively above board and can be as simple as posting a want ad on Monster.
The CIA will also monitor educational, government, police and military institutions and may approach remarkable individuals with job offers. These are always done legally and are completely optional to the individual being approached. No one becomes a member of the CIA against his or her will.
news factions Civilian
The Civilian faction covers anyone who does not work in espionage and is not part of an existing org. These are the regular people leading regular lives who will get caught up in the events unfolding on the game.
These are the fastest characters to get approved and do not usually need much in the way of skills or resources during chargen.
Some examples of civilians include:
- Doctors/nurses
- Reporters
- Neighbours
- Foreign nationalists
- Politicians
- Business owners
news rp Consent
This game does not use stats, depending instead on a consent-based system. This means that any actions taken against another character must have the full and clear consent of that character's player BEFORE any such action is taken.
The most common and easiest way of doing so is by leaving your poses open-ended, posing only what your character attempts to do, not whether they were successful and to what degree. You may include in your pose information as to how likely they should be, but you still must not impose any consequences upon the other player. You may also, if you prefer, page the other player and discuss the possible outcome OOCly with them, BEFORE you pose anything.
However, there are limitations to the consent system. Many actions have consequences, and attempting to always get away without any is considered excessive 'twinking' and will be dealt with accordingly. If another character is faster than yours, then nine times out of ten, you should allow yourself to be caught. If your character is caught by the enemy, then you should expect to be captured and tortured or killed.
If there is something you strongly do not want to happen with your character, you should discuss the issue thoroughly before or during a scene. If a player is RPing and finding that the other player is not accepting proper consequences, they are to pause and contact staff. Do NOT simply stop following the laws of consent, or you may also get in trouble!
This also goes without saying that if someone tries to do something IC that you uncomfortable with, stop the scene immediately and page a staff member.
Please be aware that staff may overrule the law of consent and impose consequences upon characters who have brought them about through their own actions. These may be in the name of another PC or for the sake of plot, fairness or any other reason staff sees fit (see also 'news rp icc' and 'news policy character death'). If you cannot abide this, do not play here.
news factions Division
Division is a secret operation working to train spies and assassins. They operate above the law, having their nasty fingers deep in the CIA.
Known to only very few powerful figures within the CIA, Division began as a black ops unit of the government. Today, it still does operate in that capacity when called upon by the the powers that be, but has also spawned a number of its own interests and projects, often working as hired guns for the highest bidder.
Despite having created a monster with Division, the government is helpless to stop it now, as those in charge have collected far too many dirty secrets on everyone who is or has ever been in power.
Percy, head of Division, is said to be untouchable, thanks to his series of "black boxes" hidden and guarded all around the world. The boxes contain details that could cause serious damage to the world's governments, and innocents would be hurt should the contents ever go public. And killing Percy means the contents go public.
More information about Division:
news division Agents
Division employs a huge network of agents, all across the globe, though many are kept close at hand in the nearby City. To become a full field agent, a recruit must successfully complete training - and make his or her first kill.
Once an agent, operatives are set up with a cover story and the resources to go with it. Between missions, they are free to do as they please, so long as it doesn't compromise their cover or get in the way of Division.
Agents are all outfitted with a tracking device that allows Division to immediately pinpoint their location anywhere in the world. One should never assume that Division isn't watching.
When it comes time for a mission, the operative will receive a call on their Division-issued cell phone. Absolute obedience is expected, and too many mistakes will lead to permanent termination.
Agents are employed in a wide array of field missions, though none can avoid being tagged to kill at least on occasion. They can run from long-term deep cover missions, to acting as a simple courier. Whatever Division wants an agent to do, that is their only option.
news division Division FAQ
This FAQ will provide some details for those of you playing in the Division faction without having watched the show. Your character would ICly learn this during his/her time as a recruit.
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Can Division members date?
This is a tricky question because there is no easy answer. Getting romantically involved is strongly, strongly discouraged by Division. You exist only to do your job, and an active dating life may get in the way of that or sway your loyalty. Dating within Division distracts you from your job, while dating outside of Division could compromise your cover or make you think you're a real person.
Recruits absolutely aren't allowed to date. Agents have a little more freedom, since Division does not keep tabs on every agent 24/7. New agents will be watched more closely and spending too much time with anyone (whether platonic or romantic) will resulting in a concerned Amanda prying into your business and pointing out the importance of keeping your distance to maintain cover.
Also bear in mind that getting close to someone on the outside puts them at real danger. The second Division thinks a person is distracting an agent or compromising either cover or loyalty, that person will be killed.
OOCly, we have no problem with Division agents or recruits getting romantically involved - it's been shown to happen over and over on the show. Just bear in mind that ICly, you're treading on thin ice, and the more time you spend with a person, the thinner that ice gets. Going on a date or having a one-night stand isn't going to be much of a blip on the radar, but continue to hook up, and you may find yourself having an uncomfortable conversation with Amanda. Be stupid or careless or, heaven forbid, tell anyone about your cover, and Division is going to look at dispatching a Cleaner.
How much freedom do agents have?
Once you finish your recruit training and graduate to being an agent, you are basically released into the wild, with a cover story, place to live, vehicle and credit card. Division doesn't really care what you do in your cover life, provided it does not compromise your cover. This is key. Do anything that puts your cover at risk, and you'll be looking at some pretty major trouble. Otherwise, until Division calls with an op, you just live the lie. Go shopping, take up a hobby, read a book, watch TV… But the second that Division-issued cell phone rings, you're expected to drop everything and go do what you're told.
How closely are agents monitored?
When an agent is first released into the wild, Division will keep a fairly close eye on his or her tracker. You won't be watched every second of the day, but expect probably 2-3 random spot-checks each day for the first few weeks, and then one or two a day for another month or so. Once Division is confident you're behaving yourself and have the right idea, they'll check up on you randomly maybe once a week or so. The one thing to note is that they won't tell you how often they're tracking you, so you should never assume that they aren't.
If you start acting strangely or do anything to attract suspicion, they may start checking up on you more often.
It's also worth noting, there are devices out there on the black market capable of jamming the signal, but these aren't easy to come by. Nikita has one, but your average agent isn't going to. Especially since getting caught with something like that will get you canceled (what could you possibly be doing with it but causing trouble?).
The signal will also die if you go more than a storey underground, so you can temporarily disappear off the radar by going into sub-basements or parking garages. Bear in mind they will see that you are missing, so being gone for an extended period of time or too often will get their attention.
How much time do agents spend at HQ?
That's really up to the agent. You're able to come and go freely, and the resources of Division are available to you at any time, including the training area, shooting range and computer system. But there is no regular 'check-in' that you're expected to do.
You will have to report to Division if someone there calls you in. At the very least, you will go in before and after an op, in order to receive instructions and train beforehand, and then to be debriefed afterwards. You may also be called in for a meeting, for a medical check-up or because Division has some concerns about your performance or behaviour.
Do all agents know each other?
Not necessarily. You will know other agents who were recruits at the same time as you, since you would all have lived in close proximity for up to a year. Otherwise, you will only know other agents if you have worked with them or run into them at HQ. You should talk to the other players in your faction to work out backstory, before you assume to know them IC, especially if you meet them while they are undercover.
Do agents socialize outside of Division?
Again, that depends on the agent. It's not against the rules, provided you both are careful to protect your cover. Newly graduated agents may be directed towards those they knew as recruits but who graduated ahead of them, in order to help the new agent acclimatize to life on the outside. Again, talk to other players before assuming anything.
Do recruits all start and finish the program at the same time?
No, recruits aren't part of a year or class. You're brought in when it is convenient and graduate once you are ready to handle being an agent (and you make your first successful kill). As a recruit, you'll train and take classes with people of varying skill, but everyone is expected to keep up. New recruits will get their butts kicked often (both in combat and in other training), but are expected to learn from it and improve.
How long does it take a recruit to graduate?
It takes roughly a year to complete training on average. Some agents, especially those coming in with a few skills, may take a few months less, while other agents may need longer. If you're still not getting it after about the 18-month mark, Division is going to start questioning whether you're a worthwhile investment…
Can agents or recruits quit?
If they want to die, sure. The only way out is death. At this point in the game, Nikita is the only operative to ever escape Division. You should not write an escape into your background. You can RP out an escape attempt, but bear in mind getting caught trying to escape will get an agent or recruit promptly cancelled. By attempting to escape, you're tacitly agreeing to that potential consequence.
What is life like for a recruit?
While you're a recruit, you're stuck inside Division HQ 24/7, save the very occasional training exercise or mission. Most of your day will consist of very, very intensive training - physical, mental and even emotional training. You will work out in the training area, working by yourself or with a sparring partner during free time, and also within training classes in various forms of combat. You'll attend classes on languages, technology (everything from basic computer skills to some rudimentary hacking, shutting down security systems, etc.), weapons (maintenance and use), mechanics, munitions, etc. They'll keep changing your schedule and who you train with in order to keep you off-balance.
During your minimal free time, you can make use of the computers or training area, hang out in your room, or socialize with recruits. You'll also be given homework assignments to do between classes, and failure is not an option. You'll have many one-on-one meetings with Amanda, both to train you in etiquette and to assess your mental state.
All meals are served in the cafeteria where you will eat with other recruits. Meal penalty is a common punishment for minor infractions, so you may go hungry if you don't get things right away. Keep screwing up, and you'll be threatened with cancellation.
Basically, Division views you as an investment of time and resources. If that investment doesn't look likely to pay off, they will dump that stock. The more they invest in you and the more valuable you become (especially if you excel in a skill that's badly needed), the more they'll hesitate before canceling you. But at the end of the day, you're easy to replace.
So, if I break the rules, is my character going to be killed?
ICly, you should play it as though this is always a very real possibility. Division plays up this threat to keep recruits and agents in line - although don't doubt for a second that they have the balls to see it through if they need to.
OOCly, we're not looking to kill off characters without player consent unless you give us no other choice. As long as you avoid doing something really stupid or irreparable (appearing on CNN to reveal that you're a secret Division agent, walking into Gogol HQ with a dull knife looking for a fight), we will do our best to work with you and warn you when your character is skirting a little too close to becoming an expendable liability.
If in doubt, please talk to us before doing something. We want everyone to have fun and see ICC as a way to enhance RP, not punish players. Just don't paint us into a corner where we have no choice but to pull out the big guns.
Do I know ICly about Nikita?
If you've been an agent for over three years, you almost definitely do. Nikita was a star, one of the best Division had ever seen. She's also the first and only agent to escape (thus far). Those sorts of things tend to get noticed. She was a recruit 5-6 years ago (some of you may have trained with her) and a super-star agent up until the last few years.
If you're a more recent agent, there's still a good chance you know about her legend. People throughout the intelligence community have heard the name, and the fact that she took a runner from Division makes her even more notable.
If you're still a recruit, you probably don't know about Nikita - at least not until you find out ICly. Division doesn't like to advertise the fact that it lost an asset, and they don't want to be giving the newbies any bright ideas about escaping. But it is the sort of thing you'll likely learn about through the grapevine at some point during your tenure at Division, especially as she starts making waves.
news division Other Positions
Not every recruit necessarily graduates to field agent. Of course, a lot of them are lost along the way, but even those that do graduate the program may end up somewhere else.
Guards
Recruits who lack the necessary spark to become field agents but have performed well in training and show a good head for rules may eventually graduate to guard. On the plus side, guards enjoy more freedom than recruits, and don't have to complete a kill mission to move up. On the down side, they're still stuck underground in Division HQ and don't get anywhere near the respect of agents.
Cleaners
Those who excel at killing without remorse or pity may find themselves placed as cleaners. They are kept deeper undercover than regular field agents and are held apart from the rest of Division. They are generally held in the highest esteem, because, well, who's going to talk shit about a guy who could kill you without blinking and knows what to do with the body.
Guardians
Guardians operate solo, independent of Division. They are handpicked by Percy to guard his little black boxes, which are hidden in cities around the world. Each black box has its own Guardian, who is in charge of protecting it and performing regular updates to the hard drive, with information from new missions. They are the sort to get the job done without ever asking any questions. (Probably unlikely to be a good PC role, since they operate alone in a foreign city.)
news division Recruitment
For most, a life at Division does not begin by choice. The agency handpicks promising young people who have run afoul of the law (although sometimes this turns out to be orchestrated by Division in the first place).
Through their shadowy means, Division fakes the death of the potential recruit, and secrets them away to their underground headquarters. However the recruit feels about matters at that point is largely irrelevant. The only choice they get is to join the regime or face a certain death. However, some are brought around with talk of second chances and the shot at a new life.
Once settled, the recruit enters an intensive training period. Kept in the underground HQ, they are unable to leave, even just to see the sun, except on official missions.
Training includes everything necessary to become an elite spy, including combat, computer skills, etiquette and weapons handling. Once training is underway, promising recruits begin to go out on field missions, always under supervision of experienced agents and handlers from HQ.
Recruits begin with absolutely nothing but a couple of uniforms and a bare room to call their own. Little perks, such as electronics, books, music, and personal items, must be earned during training or missions.
While minor infractions might earn a meal penalty or solitary confinement, recruits who fail to meet expectations are killed without remorse. While they are never told this directly, every recruit learns this from his fellows soon upon his arrival, and remains only too aware during his tenure.
news theme Episode One
Black Ops MUSH opens at the end of the first episode of the CW show Nikita. If you need a refresher as to where that leaves us, you can read the Television Without Pity review here.
We have reset the plot for a few reasons:
- To make it easier for new viewers to get caught up with the game.
- To give FCs the chance to explore new ground without some of the burdens placed on them by the plot so far.
- To allow us to collaboratively build our own game world without having to constantly adjust to keep up with an on-going show.
If you are considering applying for an FC, please read news theme fcs to see what this means for you.
Please see news theme canon for more information.
