Deep Shadows MUSH - Closed Beta

Kassien

A while back I posted once about Deep Shadows MUSH; this is a follow-up—we are now ready to start closed beta testing.

This has been a long-running project. The goal from day one has been simple: a Shadowrun 5th Edition MUSH on Evennia that stays as close to the tabletop rules as a persistent, shared world allows—so players can explore the Sixth World beyond a single city, with mechanics that stay consistent between Character Creation, the sheet, and play.

We are not opening the doors to everyone yet. We will bring people in in small waves: testers who want to stress systems, file bugs, and give usable feedback while things are still moving. Solid SR5 knowledge is strongly recommended; we are past “learn the rules from scratch here” territory.

What is in place today

The foundation is playable end-to-end for approved characters:

SR5 Character Creation — In-game priority selection and spend flow: concepts, metatypes, attributes, magic, resonance, qualities, skills, gear, contacts, lifestyles, and related spends (including optional corporation / organization membership where policy allows).
Matrix — Grids, WAN/LAN, hosts, files, jack-in/out, AR/VR flow, overwatch pressure, and matrix actions integrated with characters and gear.
Gear and augmentation — Weapons, armor, cyberware, bioware, nanoware, drones, and vehicles tied into sheets and inventory-style workflows.
Lifestyle and housing — Character Creation lifestyles plus in-world housing: long-term leases, short-term stays, and lifestyle options hooked to buildings and staff/builder tooling.
Identity and economy — SINs / fake SINs, personas, credsticks, with mechanical impact where the game checks identity (for example transit, rent, and secured access).
Advancement — Karma spending after approval with training times and improvement scheduling (+advance; staff paths where needed).
Events and GM tooling — Scheduled events with signups (+events), session logging that can post to forums, and staff queue / application flows for review.
Character systems and sheets — Condition monitors, skills, limits, magic/resonance, augments, contacts, and supporting commands behind +nsheet and related sections.
World infrastructure — Public transit (hubs, routes, tickets), forums (Paxboards) in-game and on the web, staff/builder commands for world data, and a wiki integrated with room content where configured.
Environment — Time and weather commands and room/building patterns aimed at consistent, immersive space.
Who we are looking for

People who want to try archetypes and break edge cases in Character Creation and live play.
Clear bug reports and repro steps, not just “it felt off.”
Mechanics and UX feedback that respects SR5 as the baseline.
Patience with waves, resets, and policy still settling.
If you like SR5, persistent shared RP, and a single continuity that can span multiple cities with few house rules on top of the book, you are probably in the right audience.

How access works

We will admit testers gradually so the game stays stable and feedback actually gets handled.

If you raised your hand in an older thread—thank you. When this phase starts, ping us again so you are on the current list.

Deep Shadows MUSH
One world. Multiple cities. SR5 on Evennia.

Play / connect: https://dsmush.com/play/

Gasboy

@Kassien I’m glad you kept at this, all this time.

Lemon Fox

Suuuuper excited for this! Can’t wait to play the open beta!

Chiron

@Kassien this looks amazing. Love to try it out when it’s open beta!

Kassien

@Lemon-Fox said in Deep Shadows MUSH - Closed Beta:

Suuuuper excited for this! Can’t wait to play the open beta!

@Chiron said in Deep Shadows MUSH - Closed Beta:

ove to try it out when it’s open beta!

Come check us out in closed beta! All I ask is you know a little about Shadowrun, or have access to the books, and can submit a bug report or suggestions (Built in system already for it).

Plus the more people I can get through closed Beta to verify the game and break things, the sooner I can get to open beta.

Kassien

@Gasboy said in Deep Shadows MUSH - Closed Beta:

@Kassien I’m glad you kept at this, all this time.

… yeah… it’s almost like I want some old MU* friends to come RP or something… huh? When you coming in?

Lemon Fox

@Kassien said in Deep Shadows MUSH - Closed Beta:

All I ask is you know a little about Shadowrun, or have access to the books

Aaaaugh, work? But okay! I only have the Fifth Edition core and never played it, though.

Rucket

Hey, very cool putting up a new game. Best of luck! I hope it thrives.

Kassien

One of the things to make people aware of as you come in, you will not see character creation until permissions are added.

It is up, it is running, just rather myself or the other staff member needs to set the permissions.

Kassien

@Rucket said in Deep Shadows MUSH - Closed Beta:

Hey, very cool putting up a new game. Best of luck! I hope it thrives.

Thanks! I appreciate the confidence. I would be happy with just a good core group of RPers to be honest.

Sounds like you’re not interested in exploring it yourself, can I ask why?

Pavel

@Kassien said in Deep Shadows MUSH - Closed Beta:

I would be happy with just a good core group of RPers

Best we can do is a bunch of mentally ill queer folks with angst and a penchant for metaphor.

Kassien

@Pavel said in Deep Shadows MUSH - Closed Beta:

Best we can do is a bunch of mentally ill queer folks with angst and a penchant for metaphor.

… that sounds like a very long way around to say something that might just piss some people off But very well said.

Kassien

If I can get a few more characters through Character Creation, I’m looking at opening up to Beta to the public.

Kassien

What testers can do now that they could not in April

Magic and the astral — This was the biggest hole. Magicians are no longer “sheet only.”

Spellcasting (+cast) with opposed tests, drain, Edge, area, Health, and ally counterspelling.
Summoning, binding, banishing; spirits actually show up in the room.
Rituals: assistants/teamwork, lodges, reagents, Spotter, Material Links, Curse, wards.
Foci you can bond and activate (Power, Spell, Spirit, Sustaining, Qi, Binding, Banishing).
Initiation and metamagic (Centering, Quickening, Masking / Extended Masking, Spell Shaping, Power Point, Flexible Signature). Adept’s Way is a quality, not a fake metamagic.
Mentor spirits that actually pay out bonuses.
Astral perception and projection (+astral) for who the book allows.
Matrix and Resonance — The April Matrix loop is still there. The new work is depth: PAN and slaved gear, skillsofts, agents, hardline, drone/vehicle direct-connect, offline hosts, Industry Host bypass, wireless bonuses on chrome, noise flavor when the grid is ugly. Technomancers: compile / thread / sprites, streams, submersion, and Resonance state that cleans up when you jack out.

Meatspace play — Advisory combat is still pose-first (nothing freezes the room). Added: Surprise tests, physical security (keypads, maglocks, cameras, guest lists), lockpicking with a required pose (+breakin), unofficial routes that street skills can notice, and some SIN checkpoints you can slip if the book would let you. Riggers: drone mods, jump-in, repair and scavenge. Languages: you always type English; listeners hear what their skill allows (+language).

Jobs and the street — Work does not come off a public job board. Living Contacts live on the comm (+comm): Gossip, Work, rumors, introductions, staff jobs, and small odd jobs when the city is quiet. After a week away, a shared contact with something to say can call you. Loud runs can leave Facts / bruises; combat and logs can bleed to neighboring rooms. Hotspots show on +where; rooms with people actually playing can pay out. Staff/Certified GMs can scene-lock mechanical downtime (train/heal/buy) without stopping RP.

Character Creation and the sheet — Still in-game priority/spend, still staff approval. Since April: qualities and a lot of chrome actually hit pools via the effects engine; mentor/adept/technomancer paths match RAW more tightly (including mystic adept Power Points bought with karma); foci at creation; starting nuyen from the lifestyle roll; catalogs filled so Resources menus are not empty (vehicles, RCCs, electronics, grades). Staff review of a packet is faster and more honest about what is wrong.

Clients and finding the city — Web client still recommended (https://dsmush.com/play/). OOC channels and pages have a dedicated OOC Chat pane so Main stays IC. Mudlet (telnet dsmush.com:4000, GMCP on) installs the official package: AR / Matrix HUD, vitals, OOC chat, GEO. +map opens CONNEXUS GEO for Las Vegas (districts / neighborhoods / pins), also on the website at /map/las-vegas/. In-game DSDA holograms cover MUSH basics, theme, PvP, Matrix, magic, and so on. Player handbook is on the wiki.

Still in place from April (and still the spine): Character Creation through approval, Matrix grids/hosts, gear and augments, lifestyles and housing, SINs/personas/credsticks, +advance, events/logs/forums (+events, +log, Paxboards), +nsheet, transit, time/weather.

What this is not

We are not open. Recurring lifestyle billing is still settling. Some edges are unfinished (wards vs astral travel, a few focus types, Matrix Foundation, other cities as playable grids). Expect bugs, waves, and the occasional reset. If a number is on your sheet or in a catalog, trust that over memory.

Who we still want

Same as April, with a sharper ask now that magicians, deckers, riggers, and faces have real verbs:

People who will build awkward archetypes and try to break Character Creation and live play.
Bug reports with repro steps.
Feedback that treats SR5 as the baseline.
Patience with waves and policy.
Solid SR5 knowledge is still strongly recommended.

How access works

Still gradual. Staff still grant tester access; finishing Character Creation still goes through a queue.

If you raised a hand on the April post—or any older thread—ping again so you are on the current list. Old interest does not automatically carry forward.

Discord: https://discord.gg/SG6pcq4v6F
Play / connect: https://dsmush.com/play/ <---- Can’t stress this enough as the recommended way to connect.
Site / wiki / forums: https://dsmush.com/
Telnet / Mudlet: dsmush.com port 4000