Roughly 0.00001% of the playable setting.
"The Multiverse is, in essence, a writing game in which all players have equal input into the story. There are no statistics or win conditions, and instead, the constant overarching goal for each player is to explore the extensive possibilities that occur when there are no limitations on the scope of reality." -Remæus, Render of the Realms
The Multiverse is a massively multiplayer play-by-post roleplaying game that is featured on Roleplaygateway.com. It consistently holds the title for the largest game on the site, at least in regards to character and player count.
In The Multiverse, players are encouraged to take on the role of anyone and anything they desire, so long as that role is played responsibly and with the right characterization (This doesn't happen as often as most people would like). The in-game setting can literally be anywhere: most locations are player made, but there are several that tie directly into real world franchises.
The Multiverse, or, more commonly The MV has been running for at least eight years, but has slowed down considerably over time. The site's owner and administrator, Remæus, is one of the permanent GMs for the MV. It's a good thing too, because the MV has a large reputation on the website for being unruly (At best). This comes with the territory of unlimited creative freedom, however, and the game has played host to several extremely long-arching and complex stories because of said freedom.
The MV has no singular plot or goal (though attempts have been made), so the entire game is character driven. There are, however, several larger ongoing stories that span almost every genre imaginable. It would be impractical to try and encompass a summary of the MV's content here, so it's probably better if you look for yourself. On that note, since everything can (and probably has) happened in The Multiverse, it would be shorter to list the Tropes that don't apply to it. The list here applies specifically to the game's largest driving themes and elements. Only characters who have had a verifiably large impact on the game should be mentioned here; otherwise, feel free to make a heading for them on the The Multiverse characters page.
Tropes
- Aborted Arc: There are enough unresolved plot threads to stretch from Caprica to Gaia.
- Affably Evil: Many ethically bad characters are really quite pleasant to be around. Some even will commit acts of good, so long as it is convenient for them.
- All Your Base Are Belong to Us: Some writers play the MV like it's a Command & Conquer game. It gets messy.
- Another Dimension: Zig zagged. Hypothetically, the Multiverse is a combination of all possible realities into a single universe. At the same time, there are also definitely separate layers of the MV, such as Hell, The Æther, and the Giggungagap.
- Anti-Hero: In droves.
- Anyone Can Die: Subverted. Ideally the MV should operate this way, but some writers just can't let go of their characters.
- Apocalypse How: Pretty much every possible variety has been at least attempted. Many have even succeeded, but due to Negative Continuity, it rarely lasts if it's even noticed in the first place.
- Artistic License – Physics: And how! The attempts to rationalize some of the more bizarre technologies in the MV usually don't even come close to sensible, and usually just rely on Applied Phlebotinum and Techno Babble. This makes it slightly ridiculous when writers adherent to the superiority of science try to make magic out to be nonsensical.
- Author Avatar: Some original characters are basically this, and if the person writing them is overly sensitive, they can take IC threats against their avatar personally.
- Bad Guy Bar: Gambit's bar is usually this, except for when it's being a Good-Guy Bar. Sometimes it's both, and when that happens, you get a classic Gambit's Bar Brawl.
- Big Bad: There's a lot of competition in the MV for this position, though most writers are willing to share if they don't interfere with eachother. Certain writers are even seen as being the Big Bad on occassion.
- Black-and-Grey Morality: Struggles in the MV are usually like this, since Evil Feels Good and Good Is Boring, but because not everyone wants to conquer/destroy/warp the MV, a majority of the benevolent characters usually have questionable moral standards.
- Circles of Hell: Canonicaly, this how Hell is in the MV, though that doesn't stop writers from using their own interpretations.
- City of Adventure: Pretty much any city in the MV has the capacity to be this, but Wing City trumps all of them.
- Frankly, just about every City Trope applies to Wing City.
- A Commander Is You: Certain writers take a lot of effort making their individual space empires unique from eachother. This is somewhat necessary, as without a coherent identity, empires with multiple writers would be all over the place.
- Crapsack World: Blackrock counts as one, but if you ask some people, it's a crapsack multiverse.
- David Versus Goliath: Happens often enough in its literal form, but also figuratively. Well written, weaker characters are able to beat poorly written, stronger characters because the better author will take into account their environment, timing, and ingenuity, rather than relying on raw power.
- Death Is Not Permanent: There are several characters who died, and got brought back. Some against their will. A few of them got murdered soon after. Point is, even when a character does die, they may come back. One has supposedly come back nearly one hundred times, as his only power is that he resurrects. Painfully.
- Determinator: As always, lots of characters fit this trope. The bigger relevance here is that writers in the MV usually have to be this to have a large, lasting effect on the game.
- During the War: War is an extremely popular activity in the MV, and it's possible to find any setting in the middle of a large scale conflict.
- Earth Is the Center of the Universe: Well, Terra is anyway, and while Terra is explicitly said not to be Earth, it may as well be. Regardless, roughly 70% of the MV's action happens here.
- Eldritch Abomination: There are many, many different interpretations of this trope within the MV, both Expies and originals. Nyarlathotep deserves special mention for being the only one with an official in game group and cult, also making him one of the more active Gods of Evil.
- Eldritch Location: There are plenty of these to choose from in the MV, but The Maw and The Ruins are consistent player favorites.
- Gambit's Bar too, if you're on the up and up.
- 11th-Hour Ranger: More experienced writers tend to resort to this when their characters are in a desperate fight. If used correctly, it can add a lot to a given scene. Sometimes it's seen as power gaming, but is generally more accepted than writing in an...
- 11th-Hour Superpower: Less experienced writers tend to try and pull this if they're desperate, and it usually leads to an argument OOC.
- Escalating Brawl: Gambit's Bar is notorious for these, but they can happen anywhere in the MV if enough people notice. In the MV, they tend to escalate in orders of magnitude...
- Evil Empire: Plenty, but the Aschen Empire stands out among all of them. YMMV when it comes to how 'evil' they truly are though.
- Expy: Naturally.
- Fluffy Cloud Heaven: Along with the pearly gates, this is the most common way Heaven is written in the MV.
- Godhood Seeker: The primary motivator for many characters. In addition, it's perfectly acceptable to play as any sort of deity. Usually this leads to a lot of foolishness, but if played with restraint, a god can add a lot to a story. Also occasionally played for laughs in the OOC chat.
- Hard Work Hardly Works: Rather common. Many writers spend months if not years developing their character's abilities and powers to their peak. Many more writers just start their characters as already having amazing power.
- Interface Screw: Lately, due to server issues.
- Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: Certainly IC examples, but this is also a Metatrope when applied to how OOC writers go about pitting their creations against eachother. While there aren't many steadfast rules about how combat is handled in the MV, there is a lot of unwritten etiquette.
- Magic Versus Science: A source of some of the bloodiest conflicts in the MV, both IC and OOC.
- Magitek: Growing in prevalence within the MV, VARIATech was one of the first IC corporations to experiment with this. The Aschen Empire is adapting more of it into their arsenal as they go head to head with more magic users.
- MegaCorp: Aplenty, with a fair share of them having a touch of Evil, Inc.
- Mysterious Watcher: This is a common way for writers to plug new characters into a scene/multiverse.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Lessard, Mammon, Maleficus, McGreggor...the list goes on.
- Negative Continuity: With so many authors writing so many isolated stories, it is almost impossible to keep track of everything that happens in the MV, let alone maintain a continuity. Thought attempts have been made, nothing has stuck. This is usually rationalized IC by stating that the Multiverse's inherent structure prevents any permanent changes, at least without enough writers to see it, since in the MV, Your Mind Makes It Real.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Becoming more common in the MV recently. Rather refreshing when considering that most MV villains used to do things just For the Evulz.
- Reality Warping Is Not a Toy: Inverted. It's not uncommon for less experienced writers to let the creative freedom of the MV get to their head, and they then feel justified to make a godlike character who screws with reality just for kicks. Usually this is just Played for Laughs, but it can be seriously annoying to more reserved writers. Thankfully, the MV's Negative Continuity actually comes in handy in these instances.
- Schizo Tech: True almost everywhere, but it's especially prevalent on Terra. Players tend to agree that technology is more advanced on Terra, but precisely how advanced and how prevalent it is is variable.
- The Multiverse: It should be self-explanitory, but not all writers seem to grasp the full implications of a united Multiverse.
- The Necrocracy: The Vankoryth Detente, and to a lesser extent, the Lessard Family.
- The Chessmaster: Many characters and writers aspire to be this, and a few have succeeded marvelously. The characters themselves tend to go unnoticed, but their effect can be profound.
- Time Travel: This used to be banned in the game for the obvious potential for abuse. Then people kept doing it anywa, so it's allowed again. Thankfully people mostly seem to be able to handle it responsibly.
- Turn-Based Combat: Inherent, considering the MV's play-by-post format. Newer writers tend to completely ignore the concept.
- Wide-Open Sandbox: Literally completely unlimited, though the growth of playable locations is regulated by the fact you have to request space for it first.
- World of Badass: Terra, full stop. Though attempts have been made to tone this down recently, it's still a place where superheroes and demon lords rub elbows on regular occassion.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Plenty of IC examples, but this is also prevalent OOC; when writers get bored of certain characters, they'll just boot them out of their roster.
In short, our infinity is infinitier.
