 FOR NEWBIES WHO HAVEN'T GRADUATED FROM THE ACADEMY YET |
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Contents
of
this page:
You're being attacked by six giant aphids all at once. They're beating you to a pulp! You chat 'help!' No one answers. You chat 'help!!!!' No one answers. You're within an inch of your life. Someone chats 'Help with what?' Next
thing you know, you're dead, and the giant aphids are gloating over
your
corpse. There were people all around who could have helped you,
but
they didn't understand what you needed. Their ESP wasn't working
right. Next time you'll know to chat 'Help! The giant aphids are
killing me!'
If you died, you'll need to find where your corpse is, because all of your stuff is in it. You have to go back to the spot where you died. You have been transported to the Altar of Thoric, where Sonoria is. To get back to the Academy, go 5s, 2e, se, 3e, s, d. If you died in the Academy, you can just walk back to where you died, and the mobs won't attack you. Unless you died in the cavern underneath the playhouse, and if that happened, you won't be able to get to your corpse without help. (Type "who NC", and send a tell to the Newbie Council member who is on duty. Look for "[NC:ON]" after their name.) It helps a lot if someone can cast the invisible spell on you. But it doesn't work at all if you get the invisible spell cast on you before you enter the playground! When
you get to your corpse, you'll need to get your stuff back. Type
"get all (yourname)" and then "wear all", "get all (yourname)" and
"wear
all", repeating the process until your corpse is empty.
Afterwards
you should type "save". Saving is important because sometimes the
game doesn't work quite right, and you wouldn't want to have to get
your
corpse again if there is a problem with the game. Some people
will
tell you to type "get all corpse" instead of "get all
(yourname)".
This is a bad idea, because you could be trying to loot the corpse of a
mob, or you could be looting the corpse of someone in your group.
Your group member will probably not appreciate your taking his
stuff!
If you have two corpses in the same room, try "get all 1.(yourname)"
and
"get all 2.(yourname)".
It's pitch black because
you're roaming
around at night without a light. You can buy a bright ball of
light
by starting out from the Altar to Thoric (where Sonoria is), walking 5s
2e se 2s w n and typing "buy light". Or if Nelkum is around you
can
get a free ball of iridescent light by starting out from the Altar to
Thoric,
walking 5s 2e se 7e and typing "say light". Or after you move at
least 2s from the Altar to Thoric, you can chat "Could someone please
send
me a ball of light?" Probably at least one person will be glad to
help.
Before you can really accomplish much in this game, you'll have to get a sense of how things work. One way is to just guess. A lot of players use this method, but the results are unpredictable. A more reliable approach is to use the information that is given to you. If you read the room descriptions in the Academy, you'll learn the ins and outs of the game very quickly. Another way to learn about the game is to use the help files. One of the best help files is "help start". There are hundreds of help files out there. To learn what help files start with the letter W, for example, type "hlist w". My favorite source of information about how the game works is The New Player's Guide, not only because it is very well written, but also because holding the guide will make you intelligent, wise and healthy. Especially if you hold it where everyone can see it. Why should you have to read so
much?
Well, duh! You're playing a text-based game!
There are doors all over the Realms. Sometimes it will be obvious that you are standing next to a closed door, because the direction appears in brackets: [east]. But a lot of doors are hidden and you have to look for them. A good indication is that the room description might mention an "entrance" of some sort. So you'll want to look at the room descriptions. Some of them are more interesting than others. But there are some places where huge areas can be discovered if you look at the hints in the room descriptions. To open a door, type "open
(direction)".
Some doors are secret doors, and there are different ways to open them,
such as "open secret", "open trap", or "open trapdoor".
To learn new skills and
spells, you
should go to Swordcraft or Spellcraft, located at n w and n e from the
robed figure. Practice the skills and spells there first to learn
the basics, but afterwards you'll need to practice on your own.
This
kind of practice comes from using the skill or spell again and again,
and
eventually you'll be really good at it. Most skills can be used
by
typing their name. To use a spell, type "cast (spellname)". If
the
spell name is two words, you'll need to use single quotes, like this:
cast
'create food'. The same goes for practicing two-word spells, you
should type this: prac 'create food'. If you forget to put single
quotes around a two-word spell, you will get a confusing message saying
that you aren't ready to learn that yet.
You can increase your proficiency with styles if you change them while fighting. Type "sty s", "sty d", etc. At first you'll probably trip all over yourself. But eventually you'll get the hang of it. If you use the Realms Client, like most new players do, you can become adept at styles very quickly by reassigning the buttons at the bottom of your screen. That way you can click on buttons instead of typing the same text over and over. If the upper left corner of your screen says "realms.game.org 4000" then you're using the Realms Client. Right-click on a button at the bottom of the screen, and change it to say "sty s", and put a checkmark for "Auto Enter". Now you can click this button as a nifty shortcut. Oops, I said "nifty"! I've been reading "Hints from Heloise" too much! * *NOTE:
Back in the mid 90s, the person who programmed Nelkum was actually
published
in "Hints from Heloise"! WOOT!
Your percentages for weapon classes won't change at all until you reach level 6, so you needn't practice the weapon skills until then. After you reach level 6, if you've practiced the skill, it will increase automatically as you fight with a weapon in that class. After level 6, you'll need to start paying attention to what's the best weapon for your character class. Check your skill list (type "slist 1 6") to find out which weapon class will give you the highest MAXIMUM percentage. For example, clerics should use Bludgeon weapons. To find out what class a weapon is, look at what it says when you use it. If it slices or slashes, it's a long blade. If it stabs or pierces, it's a short blade. If it blasts, it's a pugilistic weapon. If it pounds, it's a bludgeon. If it claws, it's a talonous weapon. If it whips, it's a flexible arm. If it dices, purees, stirs or blends, it's a Cuisinart. If your weapon doesn't have
this kind
of description when you use it, but says something like "You hit an old
doll", then it's probably a miscellaneous weapon. Three of the
first
weapons you'll find in this group are the paint brush, the wooden
spoon,
and the wooden sword. Miscellaneous weapons are classified under
pugilism. Also, if you fight without a weapon, that's pugilism,
too.
Look! No brains!
If you are below level 4, you probably shouldn't leave the Academy. Sometimes you'll find a level 2 warrior roaming all about, but then level 2 warriors aren't known for their intelligence or wisdom. There are exceptions, of course. You can leave the Academy by going up from the robed figure. But my advice is that you don't wander about aimlessly. You'll be relatively safe in Darkhaven, or you can visit the Warehouse at u n 7w 2n sw from the robed figure. But the Realms is full of dangerous places, so you shouldn't wander around unless you know where you are going. What kinds of dangers are out there? Besides the problem of losing your way, you could run into an aggressive ("aggro") mob. These are monsters who attack you when you enter the room just because they have a bad attitude. Or maybe they don't like the way you smell. But the real danger is deathtraps. If you land in a deathtrap, everything you own will be destroyed (except for your money). If you hit a deathtrap, seek advice from a newbie councilor on duty (look for "[NC:ON]" after the person's name). A couple of deathtraps leave a way to get your stuff back. (Technically speaking the traps that leave your stuff behind are actually "instant death rooms" instead of deathtraps. Surprisingly, there are some players who go ballistic when people call these deathtraps instead of "instant death rooms"!) To get back to the Academy from Darkhaven, you'll need to locate Darkhaven Square, commonly known as DH[]. Darkhaven Square is at the intersection of Vertic Avenue (which goes north and south) and Horizon Road (which goes east and west). From DH[] the Academy is at 3e s d. Don't leave home without
it! I'm
not talking about your American Express Card, I'm talking about a
recall
scroll. You should buy lots of these at 2s 3w n from DH[].
When you need to get back to Darkhaven from goodness-knows-where,
simply
type "recite recall" (or abbreviate to "rec rec") and you'll be back at
Harakiem's place, 1n of DH[]. There are some spots where recall
scrolls
won't work, but you'll be glad you remembered your recall scroll should
you happen to walk into a no-exit room!
The options currently
available are:
The Lizardman race is no longer available.
Stoneheft chats 'Bah. My sarcasm never comes over well in Ascii. I need to go to Nelkum's School of Ascii Sarcasm for another course.' |
