Lexicon

The jargon of Convergence MUSH can be a bit dense. For that reason, we've compiled this lexicon to serve both as a quick definition lookup and a brief primer about what you're dealing with here.

The lists are split into both In-Character (IC) Terms - the words that characters use to describe things to each other within the story - and Out-of-Character (OOC) Terms - words and phrases relevant to readers/players but which are not part of a story.

Out-of-Character Terms

MUSH: Multi-User Shared Hallucination. The name of the family/type of engine/code that runs our game server, a relative of MUDs (Multi-User Dungeons). Used for text-based roleplaying, among stranger things.

Character: A specific character object that's on the MUSH, which must be approved for play. Can represent single entities (IE: Link, Mario), groups of entities (The Power Rangers), or more abstract concepts.

Player: You, probably. Unless you're...

Staff: Sometimes called Wizards, Immortals, or Royalty due to old MUD traditions. The administrators of the game and arbitrators of the community.

Plot: An ongoing story arc, or a major part of one, akin to that of a short story, novel, or tabletop campaign. Comprised many individual scenes.

Scene: A roleplaying session. Can be hours long or sometimes resumed over days. Each public scene is recorded for review.

In-Character Terms

Beacon: Where a stable Spireway connects to a Neighbor World, it can take many forms, sometimes merging with an existing structure or manifesting a new one that appears to have always existed but fits with local thematics - a Warp Pipe in the Mushroom Kingdom, a Stargate in sci-fi settings, etc. Sometimes their placements are subtle or heavily obfuscated, so that only Player Characters, those they introduce to such, and others who already use the Spireways, can use them.

Castaway: A term for someone who has become 'native' to Grand Convergence. Doing so is simple but profound: One must formally sever all ties of allegiance to their home. Castaways are also not allowed to hold titles originating from outside Grand Convergence. e.g. one must relinquish the title of High King of Skyrim if one is to become a Castaway. However, they can possess any titles that are part of Grand Convergence's society.

Comm Field: The strange energy field produced by Spires and Beacons. It enables auto-translation and can be used as a network/message medium far superior to radio.

Core: An impassable, insanely dangerous region at the center of Grand Convergence. Scholars theorize it holds the answers to whatever is behind Grand Convergence and the Spires.

Dead World: A broken, twisted, entropy-addled World where reality itself is breaking down. Filled with bleak wonders and freakish terrors alike.

Distant World: A World which nears Grand Convergence enough to be influenced, but travel is difficult. There are no stable Spireways yet.

Domestication: The Everen art of biomancy, usually used for healing, creating symbiotic connections, and reshaping life to useful purposes.

Fixers: Mercenaries and adventurers by trade. Fixers are hired via contract system to perform tasks. The Grand Market Initiative maintains the contract network and ensures that payments are provided on mission completion.

Grand Convergence: A space-station like microplanet that has been assembled from a series of complex, interconnected Spires and Plates arranged in multiple Shells, which forms the center stage of our setting. It's comprised of numerous floating Shell fragments orbiting at different layers above the Core. Much of it is not suited for habitation, or inaccessible.

Neighbor World: A World that is currently connected to Grand Convergence via stable Spireways.

Orphan: The Orphans are those who have come to Grand Convergence and have no way to get to their home World, through misadventure, circumstance, or intention, and have not chosen to become Castaway. They have no particular station and there is no particular malice or disdain for them as they are common enough that there are a few in Grand Convergence at any given time, usually. Mostly they serve as warnings and reminders to others.

Precursors: Blanket term for the ancient civilization, or civilizations, of Grand Convergence, which made use of wondrous High Spiretech to live in unimaginably advanced fashion. Tales say they were worn down by a steady onslaught of disasters, and now only ruins remain. Modern natives of Grand Convergence know of them or may even be related to them in some vast distant fashion, but much has been lost or forgotten.

Spire: Mysterious structures often found across Grand Convergence, devices that project Spireways from their peak. Resistant (but not immune) to damage, Spires can be found to connect to many and wonderous places, including dungeons, convenient living spaces, strange trials, wondrous treasures, monster hordes, and more. Their complete purpose is unknown, but ways have been found to use them as FTL communication/network relays.

Spiretech/Gaptech: An engineering field melding many conventional science and mystic disciplines using materials harvested from Spires, which has proven to be uncannily adaptable and versatile, far greater than the sum of its parts. Hypothetically capable of breaking "the rules" by combining the principles of numerous Worlds in ways not normally allowed and amplifying them. So-called "High Spiretech" is attributed to the success of the precursor civilizations. "Gaptech" is a term used interchangably with Spiretech.

Spireway: Rainbow-colored mystical pathways which criss-cross Grand Convergence's skies and reach into the heavens out to Neighbor Worlds. They are used for fast travel, though they have some quirks.

Translation Effect: A curious quality of the Comm Field. Those in range can understand the literal gist of unknown spoken languages, provided the language is commonly used for casual open communication. Works for distance communication and audio recordings, but not written works.

Translation Gear: Or T-Gear for short. A broad category of Spiretech wonders which allow users to benefit from the Translation Effect while far from the Comm Fields. Usually must be recharged within a Comm Field every few weeks or so.

Traveler: The Travelers are a common sight. Someone who does not claim their home as Grand Convergence, and yet maintains a connection back to their home World is considered a Traveler. There is no particular distinction for them other than it being used as a designation or title sometimes.

World: A short-hand for dimension, timeline, and a number of other terms. Can also refer to a grouping of inter-linked/related dimensions, timelines, planes that share a unique resonance. An IC term used to refer to the OOC concept of a "theme" or "setting" of a story.