Heroes may want to create their own nodes at some point. To do so, a character must first purchase a computer with at least a good processor and GID. He must then spend a minimum of 1 hour designing the basic visual style and layout of the domain. A truly elaborate domain takes significantly more time to create, and designers sometimes spend several hours a day creating content for their domains.

The owner of a domain is the Admin (or gives that position to somebody else) and determines who can and can’t enter it by giving them “keys” to open the Portals. The portal software and permissions software that come are built into the computer and the Grid allow the owner to lock any or all of the node’s portals and to prevent the execution of certain programs. Likewise, the owner can choose to set the class of the domain, though only systems with excellent processors can generate Class A domains.

The owner must make at least two Computer Use checks, the results of which determine the domain’s default Portal DC and Permissions DC, respectively. The owner can take 20 on both of these checks. Thereafter, any time the owner adds new content to his domain, he can select to apply the domain’s default DC’s or can make new rolls to set the DC’s for the new content (such as if his Computer Use skill has increased. Individual and default Portal and Permission DC’s can be upgraded by taking the domain offline and spending at least as much time as the owner originally spent setting the original DC’s.

A domain is under active administration only when its creator’s shadow (or the shadow of an administrator empowered by the creator/Admin) is active within the domain. If no administrator shadows are present, the domain’s default detection range is 10. When the domain is being actively administered, the detection range is 5.

If the domain’s detection range is violated, the owner or other Admin instantly becomes aware of the violation if he is online. Certain programs and class features can reduce a domain’s detection range.