Swords of Chaos ------------------- SoC is a multi-player adventure game. The goal (aside from socializing and having fun) is to hack and slash your way to power. You do this by exploring the realm, amassing treasure and killing monsters. Swords of Chaos is a Muinet product, written by Mark Peterson. Swords of Chaos is Copyright (C) 1997 by Mark Peterson, All Rights Reserved. Entering Commands ----------------- Whenever the game is waiting for you to do something, you will see a ">" prompt. At the ">" prompt you enter commands and parameters that tell the game what you want to do. All commands can be abbreviated to the point of "uniqueness" (i.e. you only have to type enough letters of a command to differentiate it from all the other commands). While playing the game you can get a list of all the different commands by typing 'help commands'. To get help for an individual command type 'help '. Note: "." (a single period) will repeat your last command line and will cancel whatever you've typed on a line. Communicating ------------- As a multi-player game, SoC allows you to interact with other people also playing the game. No one likes reading help files, so it's often more convenient to ask questions of the experienced players. These are the commands for communicating with others: Where - Displays a list of everyone currently signed on to Chaos. Send - Sends a line of text to everyone signed on to Chaos, i.e. send hi everyone! Say - Sends a line of text to everyone in your current location/room, i.e. Joe just arrived! say hi Joe! Whisper - Sends a private message to the specified player, i.e. whisper joe Hi Joe! Yell - Sends a line of text to everyone in your current location/room and to everyone in the rooms that adjoin your current location, i.e. Joe just left! yell hey joe, come back! Your Character -------------- Your character consists of a bunch of statistics and information that determine what you can and cannot do and how well you can do it. The command to display your character is "stats". Your stats consist of several things: Name and Title -------------- Your character is identified by it's unique name. Your character also has a "title", so generally a player is referred as "Name the Title" (the "the" is always inserted). You can change your name and/or title from the main SoC menu. Class ----- You must select a character class for yourself. The options are warrior, sorcerer, barbarian, thief, duelist, cleric, and mystic. Your class represents your characters background and inclination. Classes do not generally place restrictions on what you can and cannot do. For example, all classes may attempt to rob players and monsters, but thieves are just better at it than non-thieves. Similarly, all classes may learn and cast spells, but sorcerers, clerics and mystics are just better at it than the other classes. In addition to different special abilities and bonuses, the class you choose also determines which of your starting stats are increased when your character is first created. Race ---- You must select a race for yourself. The options are elf, dwarf, human, ogre, and halfling. Your race determines in which of your five basic attributes you specialize. You start with +10 in the stat your race specializes in and only need to earn half the relative experience when questing for increases in that attribute. Also, each race has a special ability that will aid you along the way. For a full explaination of the different starting bonuses and special abilities for the various classes, read the "character classes" help section. Physical Attributes ------------------- These are strength, dexterity, constitution, psychic ability, and intelligence. Your attributes affect many different situations in the game (see below), for a more detailed explaination see 'help stats'. Carrying Capacity ----------------- Your strength determines your carrying capacity. The higher your strength, the more items (by weight) and gold you can carry. Combat Bonus ------------ Your str, dex and int determine your base combat bonus. Your combat bonus is added to your rolls in combat. The higher your combat bonus, the more often you will score a "hit" and the more damage you will do when you do hit. For each 10 points of str, dex and int you receive a +1 to your combat bonus. I.E. if your str was 10, your dex was 20 and your int was 15 your base combat bonus would be +4. Body Points ----------- Your combined str and con determine your body points. So, whenever you increase your str or con, your body points also increase. Body points indicate how many hits you can withstand in combat. Each time a monster hits you you temporarily lose body points. If your body points ever go below 0 you are killed (more on dying later). Fatigue Points -------------- Your combined str and con determine your fatigue points. Fatigue points represent your "stamina". Virtually every physical action in the game (i.e. fighting, moving, etc) has an associated fatigue point cost. As you perform actions, fatigue points are temporarily subtracted from your fatigue point total. If you try to perform an action and you don't have enough fatigue points left, then you will have to rest up (wait for your fatigue points to regenerate) before you can finally perform the action. Some activities use up more fatigue than others. For example, just moving between rooms uses less fatigue than combat. Being attacked also costs fatigue. For example, if a monster swings at you but does no damage, you still lose fatigue points. Similarly, if a monster attempts to "bash" you (knock you down) and fails, you still get tired in the process. Face it, evading blows can be as tiring as inflicting them. You naturally regenerate 1 fatigue point every 2 seconds. Also, you can naturally regenerate body points (again 1 point every 2 seconds). However, you cannot regenerate body points until all your fatigue points have been regenerated (i.e. you won't start to heal until you've had a chance to rest). There are magic spells that let you regenerate fatigue and body points much faster (more on spells later). Magic Points ------------ Your psychic ability determines how many magic points you have. When casting spells, each individual spell has a different magic point cost. The number of points is temporarily subtracted from your magic point total whenever you cast a spell. If you do not have enough magic points left to cast the desired spell, then you must wait for your magic points to regenerate until you do have enough points. You regenerate 1 magic point per second (there are no spells that increase that regeneration rate). Level ----- Your level is derived from your five basic attributes. It is a close approximation of what level a monster would have to be to have stats like yours. Basically it is a general estimation of your power and is used by the game in a number of different ways. Weapon Class Bonuses -------------------- All weapons in the game fall in one of the four weapon classes: edged (swords, axes, etc), blunt (maces, clubs, etc), pole (spears, etc), and "unarmed" (gauntlets, etc). Your character has a skill level for each of the different weapon classes. When you use a weapon of a given type, your bonus for that particular weapon class is added to your combat bonus. If you're not wielding any weapons at all, then your "unarmed" bonus is added to your combat bonus. Unarmed combat is just that, fighting without weapons. There are, however, unarmed combat "aids" that enhance your unarmed fighting abilities. Armor Class ----------- Your armor class is a measure of how hard you are to hit. The higher the number, the more difficult you are to hit. So, when you put on armor or hold up a shield, your armor class will increase. The better the armor or shield, the higher your armor class will go. Defensive Ability ----------------- Your defensive ability is your natural "armor class", representing your ability to avoid being hit. It is added on to your armor class as determined by any armor and/or shield you are currently using. Shield Skill ------------ Your shield skill represents how affectively you can fight while holding a shield. It is added to your armor class (in addition to the armor class of any armor you might be wearing and the armor class of the shield itself). Initially your shield skill is negative, so until you get better at it, holding a shield can be something of a liability. While your shield skill is negative it is subtracted from both your armor class AND your combat bonus (however, once it becomes non-negative it is not then added to your combat bonus). Two Weapon Skill ---------------- Your two weapon skill represents how affectively you can fight while wielding two weapons. If you are wielding two weapons, your two weapon skill is added to your combat bonus. Like the shield skill, your two-handed skill is initially a negative number, so until you increase it you will find that you are a tad clumsy when wielding two weapons. Thief Ability ------------- Your thief ability represents how adept your are at thieving. The higher the number, the greater your chance of successfully stealing from a monster or another player. The command to rob another player or a monster is "rob". Bank Balance ------------ Your bank balance is how much gold you have deposited into your bank account. You get gold by killing monsters and taking their gold, or by taking their treasure and selling it. Gold is used to buy things or to pay for training (more on all that later). Inventory --------- Your character can carry up to 20 different items. To display the items you are carrying, type "inventory". More on items later. Rooms ----- Wherever your character is currently located in the game is it's current "room". For example, all characters start the game in "Town Square". A room consists of a a variety of different pieces of information. To look at the room you are in, the command is "look". Room Description ---------------- Up to six lines of text which, in general terms, describe what you see and where you are. Exits ----- These are the ways you can leave your current room and go to a different room. Exits consist of the directions north, south, east, west, up, down and out. To leave your current room via one of the exits, just type the direction you want to go (movement commands can all be abbreviated to one letter, i.e. 'n', 'e', 's', 'w', 'u', 'd' and 'o'). Some rooms have hidden exits. To see if your room has a hidden exit use the 'search' command. Cover ----- All rooms have a cover factor. The cover factor for a room determines whether or not you are successful when trying to "hide" in a room (more on hiding later). There are four levels of cover; no cover, sparse cover, moderate cover and heavy cover. The heavier cover, the easier it will be to find a hiding place. Special Exit ------------ Some rooms have a "special" exit, i.e. one that does not correspond to a specific direction. For example "You see the palace" means that this room has a special exit which leads to the palace. To go to a special exit the command is "go", i.e. "go palace". Some special exits are doors or gates which may or may not be locked. To open a locked door you can either use a key on it or attempt to smash it open with brute force (using the "smash" command). Some special exits are magical in nature and can only be opened with magic keys (normal keys and smashing will not work). Some doors can only be unlocked by chanting a special password or phrase. Some exits require that you belong to a specific guild, or that you carry a specific item before you can pass through them. Traps ----- Some rooms have permanant traps in them. There are a variety of traps, all self-explainatory when you trip them. The protection spell will protect you from the affects of traps. Also, the higher your intelligence, the better your odds of avoiding a trap. If your intelligence is greater than 100 you are immune to traps. Items ----- If there are items laying on the ground in a room they will be displayed. To just look at the items in the room (and nothing else), type "items". Monsters -------- If there are monsters in the room with you they will displayed. To just look at the monsters in the room type "monsters". If a room has "encounters" (i.e. monsters show up there), you will always encounter the same few monsters there. So, if there are certain monsters that you find profitable to kill, remember where you encountered them. Encounter rates vary from room to room. Monsters will show up more frequently in some rooms than others, and in some rooms monsters just don't show up at all. Players ------- If there are any other players in the room with you they will be displayed. The "monsters" command also displays other players if any are around. Safe Haven ---------- Some rooms are designated "safe haven". This means that monsters cannot go there. Also, players are not permitted to fight each other there. There are a number of safe havens throughout the game (Town Square, for example, is a safe haven). Town Square ----------- Town Square is a common meeting place for players, it also is the room where you start the game. The Bank -------- In the bank you can withdraw, transfer or deposit gold. To get to the bank from town square go east and then north. Generally speaking it's not necessary to ever withdraw cash from your bank account. Whenever you purchase something, the gold is taken directly from your bank account. Also, if you want to give gold to another player you can just transfer it to his or her bank account rather than withdrawing the cash and giving that to them. New players start out with a small amount of "free" gold in their bank accounts. To prevent you from simply giving this money away, you must first increase your starting intelligence by 1 point before you can withdraw cash or transfer funds to another player. This should not hinder the honest player, since as mentioned above, all normal expenditures are extracted directly from your bank account. Once you've spent the time increasing your intelligence, you can do whatever you like (whenever you like) with your bank account. The Mercantile -------------- In the mercantile you can buy and sell things. Any gold paid to you for selling an item is deposited directly into your bank account. Similarly, when you purchase an item the gold is debited from your bank account. To get the the mercantile from town square go east and then south. The Academy ----------- The academy is where you train for enhancements to your character (more on this later). To get to the academy from town square, go east, east and then go academy. Player-Vs-Player Combat Arena ----------------------------- PVP combat arenas (one is located in the Tavern in the base game) are places where players can fight each other without risk of losing anything other than wagered gold. If you are slain in a PVP combat arena, the gold you bet on your survival is transferred to the victor. Beyond that, none of the normal penalties for getting killed apply. When you enter a PVP arena, you will be prompted for the amount of gold you wish to bet on yourself. The minimum bet is 1 gold (unless you have no money whatsoever). Look at a player to see what they have bet - their bet is displayed in parens () next to their name. Water Rooms ----------- In some rooms you are considered to be in water over your heard (i.e. drowning). While you stay in such rooms you lose 2 points of fatigue and 2 body points every second (until you leave or until you die). If you cast levitation you can safely float about the water and avoid such damage. Fire Rooms ---------- Fire rooms are similar to water rooms in that you lose 2 fatigue points and 2 body points every second while in them. There is no way to avoid this damage (other than by leaving or dying). Magic Sponge Rooms ------------------ Some rooms have magic dampening fields that prevent you from using magic. In some rooms you can use magic items, but you cannot cast spells. In really bad rooms you cannot use any kind of magic (cast or item), and any timed spells you casted prior to entering the room will instantly expire. No-Teleport Rooms ----------------- There are some rooms to which you are not permitted to teleport. The only way to get into them is old fashioned walking. This includes the teleport, safe return, bring and seek spells. Maps ---- Apart from a map of the streets of Elfhelm, there are no other "official" maps for Swords of Chaos. But, they are a good idea nonetheless. Wandering around lost is both frustrating and dangerous. Before you officially embark on improving your character you may wish to spend some time exploring around and making maps. Items ----- Generally speaking, there are two ways to get items. You can either purchase them from the mercantile (a very limited selection), or you can get them from monsters or other players (by either killing or robbing them). Of course, there's always whining and pleading, but that'll usually earn you a mace to the face. All items have a couple of common characteristics; they all have a name, i.e. "a flaming Battleaxe". Note that one word in an item's name is capitalized. This is the word you would use to reference a particular item, i.e. "get battleaxe". It is possible to relabel an item by changing it's "adjective" (in this case, "flaming"). Use the "label" command to do this (this is handy for putting your name on an item you leave in a guild or put a label on a container). Also, all items have weight. So depending on your strength and how much something weighs, you may or may not be able to pick it up. To get more information on an item, pick it up ("get" command), and look at it ("look" command). Weapons ------- Weapons fall into four different categories (blunt, pole, edged and unarmed combat aid). There are also two subclasses of weapon; two-handed and "light". A two-handed weapon is generally a large, heavy weapon that requires you to hold it with both hands. It is possible to wield a two-handed weapon in one hand if your strength is high enough. Light weapons are, for one reason or another, lighter than weapons of a similar ilk (perhaps due to some kind of enchantment or special property). Looking at a weapon will give you a display something like this: look bat It is a flaming Battleaxe - two-handed edged weapon (20 +5) Equivalent weight in gold pieces = 1000 The "20" indicates the base damage factor of the weapon. In this instance, hitting a monster with this weapon would do a base of 1-20 (random) points of damage. So, the higher the damage factor the more damage you can inflict with the weapon. The +5 is an enchantment bonus on the weapon and would be added to your combat bonus. So, the higher the enchantment the better your odds of hitting and the more damage you would do. All weapons have a finite number of "uses". Each time you swing and connect with a target, a use is decremented from the weapon. When the number of uses falls below 10 you will be informed that the weapon is "cracking". Once the number of uses reaches 0, the weapon breaks and is removed from your inventory. The command to wield a weapon is "use". To stop using a weapon you can either just "drop" it or "use" it again. Drop will put it on the ground (probably not desireable). Re-using will return the weapon to it's sheath. Armor ----- There are two types of armor; metallic and non-metallic. Metallic armor could be steel chainmail or a bronze breastplate, etc. Non-metallic armor could be hardened leather armor or perhaps some magically enhanced element (bone, for example). There are several reasons for this differentiation. First, non-metallic armor will weigh less than metallic armor of similar armor class. Second, it is not possible to either cast spells or rob someone while wearing metallic armor. The amount of metal present in metallic armor interferes with the wizard's ability to tap into the "cosmic energy pool". Similarly, metallic armor is too noisy and bulky for thieves who require stealth and freedom of movement. Looking at some armor will give you a display similar to this: look arm It is some leather Armor (5 +2) - protection for the body! Equivalent weight in gold pieces = 40 In this case, "5" is the base armor class for the armor. The +2 indicates that the armor is enchanted and is added to the base armor class for a total armor class of 7. That is, were you to wear this armor your armor class would increase by 7. Like weapons, armor has a finite number of uses. Whenever an enemy hits you in combat, a use is decremented from your armor. Armor with an enchantment bonus will also tend to last longer, as the enchantment will occasionally prevent a use from being decremented. The higher the enchantment bonus, the longer the armor will last. To put on armor you "use" it. To take it off you "use" it again. Not only does wearing armor make you harder to be hit, it also reduces the amount of damage done to you when you are hit. The higher the armor class, the more damage it prevents you from taking. Metallic armor prevents more damage than non-metallic armor (i.e. if you had some metallic armor that was armor class 20, it would prevent more damage than AC 20 non-metallic armor). Shields ------- Shields work exactly like armor, i.e. they add to your armor class. There are two subclasses of shield; strapped, and light. Strapped shields are strapped to your arm, thus preventing you from accidentally dropping them during combat. Light shields, like light weapons, are comprised of special material that make them lighter than other shields of similar armor class. To hold up a shield you "use" it. To stop using it you "use" it again. Magic Devices, Magic Rings and Scrolls -------------------------------------- Chaos has many different magic spells to help you in the game; there are spells that heal you when you're wounded, invigorate you when you're tired, enchant your weapons and armor, make you tougher and faster in combat, inflict damage and woe upon your foes, and so on (see the spells documentation section for a detailed explaination of all the spells). There are two ways to invoke a spell; learning the spell from a scroll and casting it, or using a magic device. Scrolls ------- To "learn" a spell, you must slay the scroll-carrying monster in individual combat. That is to say, you must find a monster that carries a scroll and then kill it with no help from anyone else (no one besides yourself can have attacked the monster). If you accomplish that feat, you immediatly learn the spell written upon the monster's scroll. It becomes a permanant part of your spell repetoire and can never be taken away from you. To list the spells you have learned the command is "spells". Once you have learned a spell you can cast it any time you want using the "cast" command, with just a couple of exceptions. For each spell, depending on how powerful it is, there is a minimum psychic ability requirement. Although you may know the proper words and gestures to invoke the spell, it is possible that your psychic ability is not high enough to be able to cast it. If this is the case, you will be informed when you try casting it how high your psychic ability needs to be to cast the spell. Also, each spell costs a certain number of magic points to cast. Each time you cast a spell, magic points are temporarily subtracted from your total magic points. If you don't have enough magic points to cast the spell you want, then you have to wait for your magic points to recharge. Magic Devices ------------- Magic devices can be used by players to cast spells that they haven't yet learned. To use a magic device the command is "use". Devices have a finite number of uses, decremented each time the item used. Once the number of uses reaches 0 the item vanishes in a puff of smoke. Magic Rings ----------- Magic rings are a little different in the way they work. Rather than having a number of "uses", they have internal timers. Putting on a ring (via the "use" command) invokes the affects of the spell on the ring. Once the time expires on a ring, the ring vanishes and it's affect is cancelled. For example, wearing a ring of invisibility will cause you to be invisible until you either take the ring off or the timer on the ring runs out. To remove a ring, just "use" it again. Magic Amulets ------------- Amulets are special devices that block offensive spells cast upon you. You don't need to "use" them per se- merely having them in your inventory is enough. While you are carrying an amulet, it will absorb all offensive spells that are cast upon you. Amulets have a finite number of magic points they can absorb before they become overloaded and vanish in the proverbial puff of smoke. Psychic Focus ------------- Psychic focii are special magic devices that, depending on your class, serve a couple of different purposes. For all classes, they help you cast spells that you otherwise don't have the psychic ability to cast. If you are holding a focus and you cast a spell that you can't cast because your psy is too low, the focus may help you cast the spell. If you are a mystic, cleric or sorcerer the focus will always allow you to cast any spell, regardless of how low your psy may be. For non-mages (warrior, duelist, barbarian, thief), the focus will double your psy (for the purposes of determining whether you can cast the spell). If your doubled psy is sufficient, you will be able to cast the spell. A use is subtracted from the focus each time it aides you in casting a spell that you otherwise wouldn't be able to cast. If you belong to one of the mage classes (mystic, cleric and sorcerer) and you are using a psychic focus and cast a spell, the power of the spell is greatly increased. Also, in the case of offensive spells your target's chances of dodging the spell are greatly reduced. To hold a focus, use the "use" command. Each time you cast a spell, a use is automatically decremented from the focus. Once the number of uses reaches 0, the focus will vanish. Psychic focii can also be used to enhance the affects of magic devices. If you are holding a focus when you use a magic device, the spell will be more powerful (and if offensive, your aiming odds will increase). This applies to all classes. Cash ---- You may occasionally find cash when you kill or rob a monster. You carry this cash around with you until such time as you go to the bank and deposit it. Trinkets -------- Trinkets are essentially useless items that you can sell at the mercantile for big bucks. Puzzle Items ------------ Certain trinkets are "puzzle" items. A puzzle item is a part of a set of up to 20 other pieces that can be assembled into a totally new item. To see if you've acquired all of the pieces of a puzzle set, use the "use" command on one of them. Containers ---------- Containers are items that can hold other items (i.e. bags, sacks, chests, etc). They allow you to carry more items than your normal 20 item limit. Containers have a finite number of uses, a use being subtracted whenever you put an item in. Once the number of uses reaches 0 the container will break, spilling it's contents out on the floor. Magic chests are special containers who's contents become weightless. I.E. you can put 50 suits of armor into a magic chest and it still won't weigh any more than it weighs when it's empty. To put an item into a container use either the "put" or the "drop" command. To take an item out of a container use the "get" command. To see what's in a container just look at it. To dump out the entire contents of a container use the "dump" command. Any given container can only hold up to 100 items before it becomes full. Keys ---- Keys are special items used to open doors (locked special exits). A key may be just a normal skeleton key, or magical. Magical keys will open any lock. Normal keys will only open non-enchanted locks. Keys have a finite number of uses and once the number of uses reaches 0 the key breaks. Talismans --------- Talismans are special items that help prevent you from suffering the penalties associated with being killed (more on this later). Also, warriors and duelists have a special class ability that allows them to use talismans to add uses to (i.e. repair) weapons, shields and armor. The number of uses added is equal to the level of the monster from which the talisman came. Transporters ------------ Transporters are magic devices that are basically one-shot teleportation devices to a preset room. Semi-Permanant Items -------------------- Semi-permanant items are items that appear in a room and stay there until they are picked up. These items are refreshed once per day (or possibly more often, depending on how your sysop has configured the game). Monsters -------- Monsters are the entities that you encounter in the game that aren't other players. They may be human, humanoid, animal, awesome, loners, or just plain weird. It is by killng and/or robbing monsters that you earn the experience points necessary to advance your character. There are a variety of factors that determine a monster's behavior (looking at a monster will reveal these factors to you): Alignment --------- Monsters are all either evil or lawful. Lawful monsters will ignore you unless you attack them. Evil monsters will attack you the moment they become aware of your presence. Level ----- Monsters have the same physical attributes as players (strength, dexterity, body points, fatigue points, etc). How high these stats are is determined by their "level". This single factor is used to determine all of a monster's stats, so determining a monster's level will go a long way towards telling you whether you can take it on or not. Magical ------- Certain monsters are magical in nature. This means two things; first, they can cast spells (which spells they can cast is determined by their level). Also, magical monsters can only be hurt by spells and enchanted weapons - non-enchanted weapons will merely bounce off their shimmering hides. Magic Immune ------------ Some monsters are immune to all forms of magic, i.e. they cannot be hurt by spells or enchanted weapons. The only way to kill them is to attack them with non-enchanted weapons. Block/Pursue ------------ Certain belligerant monsters may try to prevent you from picking items up from the ground. They may also prevent you from leaving the room, or pursue you into the next room if you try to escape from them. Sometimes having monsters pursue is a good idea. If the monster you want to kill is encountered in a very dangerous room, you can try attacking it and getting it to pursue you into a (hopefully) less dangerous room. Treasure -------- Most monsters carry treasure that you can take from them by either killing or robbing them. The same monster will carry the same few items, so if there are items that you particularly like, remember the monster they came from. Whether or not a given monster is carrying any treasure is randomly determined, so not all monsters may carry treasure all the time. Monsters (with the exception of animals) actually wield the weapons and wear the armor that they carry, so better equipped monsters are more dangerous than monsters without weapons or armor. Poison ------ Some monsters are poisonous, i.e. you become poisoned when they hit you. Poison is always fatal (and in a very short period of time). The only way to get rid of poison is to cast a "purification" spell on yourself. If you have been poisoned your prompt will appear with a red "P" next to it. Thievery -------- Some monsters, like players, will attempt to steal things from you. The only thing that they can't steal from you is the armor off your back. If a monster steals something from you, the only way to get it back is to kill the monster or steal it back. Soul Drain ---------- Certain horrible monsters have the ability to drain your life forces. When they hit you, they actually absorb yor body points into their own body. So, if a drainer hits you for 50 points, you go down 50 and they go up 50! Pests ----- Certain monsters are "pests". They will not initate combat, but they will be annoying by trying to steal from you and/or pick things up from the ground. Once attacked, they will defend themselves. Loners ------ Certain special monsters are "loners". They only drop treasure if you kill them "solo" (i.e. without any help from anyone else). Morphing -------- Some hideous monsters have the ability to "morph" themselves. They can change their level at will. If you attack what looks like a level 1 monster, it might suddenly turn into a level 100 monster! Burly Guards ------------ Certain more petite and vulnerable monsters (i.e. fair maidens, etc) have their own entourage of guards. Attacking such a monster will land you in jail, minus your weapons. Talking ------- You can talk to monsters using the "talk" command. Generally they don't have much to say, with a couple of exceptions. If you talk to The Oracle (a permanant monster) he will ask you for a spell you are interested in. Then, for a price, he will tell you the name of a monster that carries a magical device of that spell. Another permanant monster is The Huntress. She is rumoured to live in a cave somewhere in the wilderness surrounding Elfhelm. If you talk to her she will ask you to be her champion. If you agree, she will set you upon a quest (or quests). If you complete her quests she will reward you with a Talisman. Note- the talismans the Huntress awards can be extremely valuable to warriors and duelists. They can use them to repair weapons, shields and armor. The number of uses added is equal to the level of the monster from which the talisman came (i.e. the level of the Huntress). Fleeing ------- As you become more powerful you will discover that monsters that used to put up a fight when you attacked them now just flee the minute you try to initiate hostilities. Like players, when monsters flee the tend to drop stuff in their haste, so be sure to check the ground for items after a monster flees from you. Referencing ----------- Commands that refer to a special exit, monster, item or player require that you reference them in your command input. For example: smash gate get bag put sword in chest talk guard parry joe Special Exits ------------- Special exits are referenced by their name. For example: You see the palace go palace You see a bronze gate. It's locked! use key on gate Monsters -------- Monsters are referenced by their name and their number (if there is more than one of the same kind of monster in the room). For example: You see an 2 aciddragons, 3 generals, and a scumbag. hit acid talk acid 2 cast blast on general 3 bash scum (Note, 'hit acid' and 'hit acid 1' are the same thing. If you don't specify a number, then it's assumed you mean the first one). Items on the ground ------------------- Items laying on the ground can be referenced name, name and number, or just number. For example: You see a shortsword, a bag of stuff, and a shortsword. get short (pick up the first shortsword) get short 2 (pick up the second shortsword) get 1 (pick up the first item on the ground, the shortsword) toss 2 (throw away the second item on the ground, the bag) Items in your inventory ----------------------- Items in your inventory can be referenced by name, name and number, or just number. For example: Carrying 4 items: 1. a shortsword 2. a bag of stuff 3. a shortsword 4. some leather armor drop short (drop the first shortsword) sell short 2 (sell the second shortsword) cast enchant on 3 (enchant the second shortsword) drop 4 (drop the leather armor) Items in a container -------------------- Items in a container can be referenced by name, name and number, or just number. For example: look bag Bag contents: 1. a shortsword 2. a bag of stuff 3. a shortsword get short from bag (get the first shortsword from the bag) toss short 2 from bag (remove the second shortsword and throw it away) get 3 from bag (get the second shortsword from the bag) Players ------- Players are either referenced by their name, or in the case of the communication commands (send, etc) also by their SoC "port number". Abbreviating ------------ Any item name or monster name may be abbreviated to the point of uniqueness. I.E.: You see a shell, a shortsword, and a shoshoni. You see a sheep and a shepherd. 'she' is not unique, whereas 'shel', 'shee' and 'shep' are. 'sho' is not unique, whereas 'shor' and 'shos' are. Hiding and Detection -------------------- Staying out of sight is a basic strategy in Chaos. If a monster doesn't know you are in a room, it can't attack you, can't stop you from picking things up from the floor, can't prevent you from leaving, and so on. So, it is valuable to try to remain undetected. The simplest way to get out of sight is to use the "hide" command. Whether or not you find a hiding place is determined by your intelligence and the level of cover in the room. If you fail to find a hiding place you have to wait a few seconds before you can try to hide again. Once you have found a hiding place it is assumed that you will stay there. An "H" next to your main prompt indicates that you are hidden. Monsters that enter a room after you've hidden will not know you are there until you perform an action that alerts them to your presence. To see whether or not a monster knows about you, just look at it. Virtually any overt physical action (dropping something, picking something up, performing an attack, leaving the room, etc) will cause all monsters in the room to note your presence. If there are evil monsters in the room they will then attack you. Your first strike on a monster who doesn't know you are in the room should usually be a good one. You have an enhanced chance to hit (+20) and a greater chance of dealing double damage (it's a surprise attack!). There are a couple of spells that relate to hiding and detection; invisibility and stealth. While invisible, a player can enter a room without having the monsters there detect him or her. Also, the player can pick up items from the floor without having monsters interfere with them. Finally, they can leave a room without having monsters try to stop them or pursue them. Under the affects of stealth, it is possible for a player to perform an overt action and still not have monsters in the room become aware of their presence. The odds of success are based on the monster's intelligence vs. the player's dexterity, along with random chance. So, a stealthy player can actually attack a monster from his hiding place and not have the monster detect them! (This is an extremely powerful ability, perhaps the most powerful ability in the game). Timers ------ Chaos is played in "real time". That is to say, most actions require a few seconds of real time to pass after you perform them before you can perform another action (this is tracked by your "action timer"). Many of the spells are timed as well, in that their affect lasts for a set number of seconds before the spell expires and must be recast. The "timers" command lists any timers currently running on your character (generally from spells). Combat ------ There are five basic forms of attack, the commands for them are: Hit --- Hit is a basic attack, with no special bonuses or penalties applied. You roll a random number to which your combat bonus is added. The result of that is compared to your foe's armor class. If you "win" the roll, then you have hit. If you hit, a roll is made for the base damage of the weapon (or weapons) you are wielding and finally your combat bonus is added to that roll. An additional roll is made to see if you scored an excellent hit. If you make that roll, the damage you do is doubled. The damage is subtracted from your foe's body points and if they have gone below 0, your foe dies. Once killed, a monster is removed from the room and any items it has fall to the floor. Regardless of whether or not you hit, you and your opponant both lose fatigue from the attack. Parry ----- Parry is a defensive attack. The damage you do by parrying is only half of what you would normally do, however you are much harder to hit in return. Parrying temporarily adds 10 to your armor class. Parrying does not cost any fatigue points. Greatblow --------- Greatblow is a "berserk" attack. The damage you do by greatblowing is double what you normally do, however you leave yourself vulnerable to counter-strike. Greatblowing temporarily subtracts 20 from your armor class (down to a minimum of armor class 0). Greatblowing costs more fatigue than hitting. Bash ---- Bashing an opponant does not inflict damage, rather it (if successful) renders an opponant temporarily unable to do anything (the target's action timer is set and it can't perform any actions until it's timer runs down to 0). Bashing can be used in a couple of ways. You can alternate it with a damage-inflicting attack thus avoiding taking damage. Or, two players can gang up on a monster- one player bashing and the other hitting for damage. Bashing has two levels of success. If partially successful, the target is rendered vulnerable (it receives an armor class penalty) and it's action timer is set. If totally sucessful, the target is considered "knocked to the ground" and is totally helpless. It is rendered vulnerable, it's action timer is set, and it can't otherwise flee or evade blows. Bashing costs more fatigue than greatblow. Offensive Magic --------------- The fifth form of attack is attack by magic. There are several offensive spells, some of which inflict damage on the target and others which make it harder for a monster to fight. Automated Combat ---------------- Once you enter into combat the computer will press the attack for you using your most recent attack method. The fight will continue until either you or your opponant dies. The computer is smart enough to downgrade your attack method if you do not have enough fatigue to perform the most recent type of attack. For example, say you greatblow a monster. The computer will continue to greatblow the monster for you until you don't have enough fatigue for another greatblow, then it will try to hit the monster, and finally, if all else fails, it will simply parry (which costs no fatigue). Once you regenerate enough fatigue for further greatblows, the computer will revert back to greatblowing. Fumbling -------- Whenever a player or a monster performs an attack they have a small chance of goofing up. This could result in stumbling, tripping, falling down or dropping a weapon or shield. The higher your dexterity, the lower the likelihood of your messing up. When you are first learning to fight with a shield or with two weapons, you also have an increased chance of dropping stuff. Once your shield skill level and two weapon skill levels become non-negative you will find that you fumble less often when fighting using a shield or two weapons. Player-vs-Player Combat ----------------------- As implied by the very name of the game, "Swords of Chaos" is a violent and nigh lawless game. The default configuration of the game places little restriction on PVP combat. In fact, PVP conflict is actually encouraged by the existance of the guilds. However, there are a number of sysop-configureable features that can place limitations on intra-player combat. PVPLEVEL -------- This option determines the allowed discrepency between the level of attacker and attackee. For example, if PVPLEVEL is set to 10, you can only attack players whose level is within 10 levels of your own. Outlaws ------- The outlaw system is probably the most affective way of limiting PVP conflict. Under the outlaw system, players must specifically become an outlaw (from the main SoC menu) before they are permitted to attack other players. And they will only be allowed to attack other outlaws. Evil Points ----------- Your sysop may also configure the game to make use of the "evil point" system. There are three settings related to evil points: ADDEVIL ------- The number of evil points applied to your character when you murder another player. SUBEVIL ------- The number of evil points you are forgiven each day you play. EVILNESS -------- The number of evil points you must accrue to be considered an "evil" character. Once you reach this level of evilness, all monsters in the game (including normally lawful monsters) will attack you on sight. Thus making playing the game considerably more difficult and discouraging people from committing enough murders to reach this state. Fleeing ------- The most valuable command in the game is "flee". When you flee you throw down any weapons or shield you are currently wielding and run to a randomly determined exit. Fleeing is a guaranteed escape, so remember to use it when it looks like you're about to die - you'll be glad you did. Magic ----- As previously discussed, players can invoke spells by either learning them and using the "cast" command or casting them using magic devices. There are many different spells with many different uses. A note on offensive spells; whenever an offensive spell is cast on a target, that target has the opportunity to "dodge" the spell. The chance of evading an offensive spell is based on the psychic ability of the caster and the dexterity of the target, along with random chance. There are three possible outcomes of an attempted dodge; completely dodged means nothing happens to the target, the spell missed. Partially dodged means that the target almost dodged the spell. The target only suffers a weakened version of the offensive spell (usually 1/2 power). Finally, if the target completely fails to dodge they must suffer the total power of the spell. There are a number of "friendly" spells in the game that for one reason or other the caster may wish to cancel. This is accomplished using the "uncast" command. The character classes geared towards magic (cleric, mystic and sorcerer) have a special ability available to them. This is the ability to enter into a trance (using the 'trance' command). While in a trance, their psychic ability points are available to other players in the same room. So, if player A has a psychic ability stat of 100 and player B has a psychic ability stat of 100, then when player A enters into a trance, player B will have an affective psychic ability of 200. Becoming More Powerful ---------------------- Becoming a more powerful player certainly involves acquiring better weapons, armor, shields, magic items, learning spells, and amassing vast quantities of gold. But that's just a small part of the big picture, a means to an end. The real guts of becomming a powerful player is raising your character's stats. This is accomplished by "training" and "questing". Training involves going to the Elfhelm Academy, selecting the stat (or stats) you want to raise, paying the training fee and then questing for experience points. You have 13 different stats you can increase in this fashion: 1. Strength 2. Dexterity 3. Constitution 4. Psychic Ability 5. Intelligence 6. Thief Bonus 7. Defensive Ability 8. Blunt Weapon Bonus 9. Unarmed Combat Bonus 10. Edged Weapon Bonus 11. Pole Weapon Bonus 12. Shield Skill 13. Two Weapon Skill Your first step is to get to the Academy. Once inside, activate the Academy menu by typing "menu". List your current experience quests. Each quest has an associated training cost (in gold pieces) and a number of experience points you must earn to complete the quest. These numbers will increase as your stats increase, so initially you should be able to advance rapidly. Very high stats will cost you a lot more gold and take a lot more time to complete. To select a quest and train for it, select the appropriate option from the Academy Menu. The "experience" command will display which quests you are currently on and how much more experience you need to complete them. Once you've select a quest or quests and trained for them, you are then ready to go out and earn the experience points. Except for the thief bonus, this involves killing monsters (you earn experience towards a thief bonus quest by robbing monsters). Experience points awarded for a kill vary depending on the level of the monster killed as compared to your character's own stats. The higher a monster's level, the more experience is awarded for killing it. Experience you earn is downgraded if the monsters you kill are significantly less powerful than you (and upgraded if the monsters are significantly more powerful than you). A good rule of thumb is to start out with level 1 monsters (the weakest monsters in the game). Eventually the experience you earn by killing them will decrease until finally they just run away from you whenever you attack them. Then you can move up to level 2 monsters, and then level 3 monsters, and so on (remember, look at a monster to see it's level). Of course, that's just a general guideline - more skilled and daring players (or players working together), may wish to attempt to fight "over their heads". As you earn experience, the experience counters for your quests decrement. Once you've earned all the required experience for a quest, the quest is over. The stat you were questing to increase increments. If you want to increase that stat yet again you must return to the academy and start the cycle again; pay the training and earn the experience. Whether or not you earn experience from a kill is different for each quest and depends on a variety of factors. Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Intelligence --------------------------------------------------- Any kill will earn you experience for these quests. Experience may vary up or down based on how your particular stat compares to the monster's stat. I.E. if you are questing for intelligence, you earn more experience for killing monsters that have higher intelligence than you and less experience for monsters that have lower intelligence than you. Psychic Ability --------------- Psychic ability quest experience is awarded when you kill a monster in a combat where you hit it with at least one offensive spell. I.E. if you kill a monster using only weapons you won't earn experience towards a psychic ability quest. However, if you use weapons and also nail it with a lightning bolt or a langour spell (both offensive spells), you will receive experience towards a psychic ability quest. Note; just casting an offensive spell at a monster is not enough, you must actually hit it with the spell. If the monster dodges the spell it does not count as a successful offensive spell. Spells may be cast either via the cast command (spells you have learned) or from magic devices. In terms of a psychic ability quest, it doesn't matter how you get the spell off. Thief Bonus ----------- As previously mentioned, experience towards a thief quest is awarded for successfully stealing items from a monster. Defensive Ability ----------------- Any kill will earn you experience towards a defensive ability quest. The experience you earn is lowered if you kill monsters that have a lower armor class than your total armor class. Blunt, Pole and Edged Weapon Bonus ---------------------------------- Any kill will earn you experience towards a weapon bonus so long as you are using a weapon of the appropriate type. I.E. to earn experience towards an edged weapon bonus quest you must be using an edged weapon. It is possible to use two different weapon types and earn experience towards both weapon class bonus quests. Experience you earn is downgraded if your combat bonus exceeds a monster's armor class (if it was easy to hit, you earn less experience). Unarmed Combat Bonus -------------------- Any kill will earn you experience towards an unarmed combat bonus quest so long as you either aren't wielding any weapons at all or the weapons you wield are unarmed combat aids and not pole, blunt or edged weapons. Shield Skill ------------ Any kill will earn you experience towards a shield skill quest so long as you are fighting while holding a shield. Two Weapon Skill ---------------- Any kill will earn you experience towards a two weapon skill so long as you are wielding two weapons. Banking Generic Experience -------------------------- If you make kills and you haven't trained for anything (i.e. you're not currently questing) you can "bank" a finite amount of "generic" experience points. Generic experience is applied the next time you train for either a strength, dexterity, constituion or intelligence quest. So, even if you haven't trained for anything it's still possible to earn at least some experience points for kills you make. However, it's not a good idea to spend a lot of time fighting when you haven't trained for anything. When earning generic experience, you are only awarded half the experience you'd earn if you had actually trained for a quest. Yelling ------- The yell command serves a couple of purposes. First, it can be used to send a line of text to people in the rooms that adjoin your current room. Also (and more importantly) it can be used to increase the encounter rate of a room. Yelling and raising a ruckus just naturally attracts monsters, so if that's what you want, yell away. Beware though, if you yell in the presence of monsters they will tend to get aggravated and attack you! So, the lesson here is to yell when you want monsters to come because there aren't any there already. Hanging Up ---------- Unlike games similar to Chaos, hanging up (disconnecting from the system) when you're in a tough spot will not save your bacon. If you hang up while other players are in a room with you, any monsters you leave behind that were attacking you will immediatly switch over to attacking your compatriots. This kind of behavior will quickly earn you a very bad reputation, something that is usually pretty hard to overcome. If you hang up while you are alone in a room (there are no other players present), a snapshot of the room is taken and the next time you sign on you will be right back where you left off. Any monsters and/or items that were in the room when you hung up will still be there, patiently awaiting your return. So, if things get rough, either tough it out or flee - disconnecting won't help. Bounties and Other Events ------------------------- Periodically you will see various messages announcing bounties and other random occurances. These occurances provide you with special opportunities. Bounties -------- There is always a bounty on. To see what monster is currently under bounty use the "bounty" command. When killing monsters under bounty you are awarded double experience, as well as a cash payment. There is also a chance that a bounty monster will carry enhanced items - items that are more powerful and valuable that what is normally carried by that monster. Bounties are always on evil monsters. They are randomly determined and last for a finite period of time. Each time the bounty changes a "permanant roving" version of the bounty monster is placed into the game. Watch out, it may show up anywhere! Invasions --------- During an invasion, a random horde of monsters starts streaming into the realm and quickly starts spreading. The level of the invaders is based on the levels of everyone playing at the moment. These monsters carry items with enhanced power and value. To end the invasion, you and your allies must simply hunt down and kill them all. The player who kills the last remaining invader is awarded with as many talismans as he or she can carry. The 'bounty' command displays whether or not there is an invasion occuring, and if so, how many invaders remain to be killed. The invasion will collapse on it's own after an hour or two if no one manages to kill them all. There are various other random occurances that affect the state of monsters in the game which are also displayed with the "bounty" command. The Wail of The Banshee ---------------------- While The Banshee wails, monsters move slower. I.E. A monster's action timer is set higher than normal when they perform any kind of action. Solar Eclipse ------------ During an eclipse monsters have fewer body points than they normally would. Golden Halo ---------- While a golden halo rings the sun you earn greater than normal experience for kills. Dying ------ Dying is a terrible experience for any adventurer. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind about dying: When you die you lose any items or cash you were carrying and are teleported via "the coffin express" back to Town Square. You may attempt to retrieve the items you lost by returning to the room where you were killed. Dying also causes you to lose 1 point from each of your physical attributes (str, dex, con, int and psy). If your constitution goes below 2, your character is permanantly dead and you must start over with a new one. Note, some of your other statistics are computed based on your 5 physical attributes- body points, fatigue and magic points. So, when you die and lose 1 point each from your physical attributes, your BP's, fatigue and MP's will also go down. Talismans can be used to prevent this stat loss. For each talisman you carry you will save one randomly determined stat from being decremented. The downside is that you will not be able to retrieve your items if killed while holding talismans (the gods take your inventory rather than your stats). Talismans can be found on a wide variety of different monsters, though they are somewhat rare. Talismans can also be had by completing quests for The Huntress (if you ever find her, she'll tell you what you have to do). Finally, when you die any experience you had earned towards an experience quest is lost.