Step Four: SimpleMU

At this point, you might want to look into a better telnet client. If you already have a good client, or are leery of downloading (though I promise you SimpleMU is small and safe and free), then skip past this section to Step 5: Getting a Character. Otherwise, read on and I'll talk you through the installation and setup process for SimpleMU, which is a basic client to get you on your feet. If you later decide you'd like a different one, just google telnet clients and you'll get pages full of 'em. For now, this will do.

Go to, download, and install the free version. There is a paid "full" version, but there's no reason you need to worry about that unless you just feel some overwhelming need for the spellcheck, dictionary/thesaurus, and basic text editor. Any features you could possibly *need* are already included in the free version, which does not expire on you. (When you fire it up, yes, you will see a little thirty-day notice thing in yellow on the screen, but your program is not going to stop working after those thirty days, and you're free to use it for as long as you need).

Once SimpleMU is installed, start it up, click on "File" in the upper lefthand corner, and select "New Connection Wizard". First it wants to know the site address--jointhesaga.com. The port number is 3005, and you want the MUSH, MUX or MOO option. When it asks for a site name, it just wants to know what to call it. You could name it whatever you want, and it'll work fine, but for simplicity's sake just enter Chiaroscuro into this field.

And voila. Now whenever you want to connect, you just hit "File", "Connect To", and "Chiaroscuro"--or you could just click on the green monitor in the upper lefthand corner of the screen and select "Chiaroscuro" from the drop-down menu. The login screen will pop up.

''Return to Chiaroscuro: The Walkthrough

<-- Step Three: Connecting and Information --  Step Five: Getting a Character -->