Nightmare FAQ (November 1995) ----------------------------------------- The following list are most of the frequently asked questions people new to Nightmare have. Be sure you have read this whole thing and know that your question is unanswered before you go asking someone else. Everyone here is happy to help you, but you must understand that answering the same question over and over again for several thousand players is wholly unmanageable. To that end, we have created this FAQ. ************************************************************************ 1) What is the first thing I should do here as a newbie? Type "help". Every command on Nightmare has a help file, but there are other help files as well. The "help" command will list those other help file for you. 2) How do i move around? There are two motion commands on Nightmare, "go" and "enter". The "go" command represents motion towards, for example "go south". Most directional commands, for the sake of convenience, have been aliased so that "s" means "go south". The "enter" command is used for motion into, for example, "enter pub". Use the enter command whenever you are going into something. 3) Where should I go first? First place you should visit is the Praxis library in west Praxis. The books in the library explain the laws of Nightmare. You must know the laws and obey them. If you break any of them you will have to talk to the law department, which is not always pleasant. (Actually, they are a cool bunch of people, but have to do their job, which could be unpleasant for the law-breakers). 4) So I've read all the laws. And now what? The first area of the game you should visit is the Newbieland. There, you could find useful information on the Newbieland board, play with other newbies and gain some useful experiences. In addition, you may be able to get some free stuff to help you start off. Enjoy exploring! 5) How do I get to Newbieland? Newbie land is inside the portal located at the initial login site for every town. At the portal, type "enter portal". 6) What happens when I die? As a mortal, when you die, you join the living dead in a domain known as the Underworld. As a member of the undead, you gain special powers not available to the living. You live, however, with the knowledge that if you die again, your death is permanent. That is, when a member of the undead dies, that person is erased from Nightmare. On the other hand, you may simply ask a cleric, monk, or kataan to resurrect you if you are undead. Resurrection returns you to the land of the living. Unfortunately, those who go through the pain of resurrection often find themselves less skillful than in their previous life. People who die while undead may not be resurrected, as it is too late. 7) How do I learn even more about this mud? The first people you should talk to are other newbies. They are most familiar with many of the questions you might have. You can do this by using the newbie line. To use the newbie line type <newbie message>. High mortals and avatars, both of whom have access to the newbie line, also are excellent source of information. 8) What is legal here? Read the rules in the Praxis library. 9) I have a problem. Who do I talk to? You can talk to other newbies, high mortals, avatars, or the Advocate. The Advocate is an immortal whose only job is to deal with players problems (these do not include things like "Can you get me this and that? Can you move me there? Can you kill this person for me?"). The Advocate also serves as a liaison between players and immortals, so if you have something that needs to be addressed by arches, you should first talk to the Advocate. 10) What does the stuff in the "who" listing mean? The who listing is designed to give you information about who is currently present in our reality. The listing is divided by player and immortal category (e.g. newbies, mortals, high mortals, avatars, creators and arches). The "who" listing also gives you information on which players are idle and which are in edit mode. Players or creators that are in edit mode generally don't like to be disturbed by tells, unless in cases of emergency. 11) How do i tell how long someone has been idle? You can use the "idle <player>" command. 12) How do I send and read mail on Nightmare? Visit the post office. From the square, 3w, enter office. The commands are shown on a list in the post office. 13) What is the difference between a guild and a class? A class is considered your general way of life, akin to the modern expression of saying "I work in television". It does not specify exactly what it is I do, but it does suggest that I have certain talents I have gained through training and such which will last me throughout my life that may be manifest in many different manners. Similarly in the reality of Nightmare, there are seven general classes of people: clerics, fighters, fishers, kataans, mages, monks, and rogues. There are help files on each of these. Once you join a class, you are a member for life. The class is your source of power. A guild on the other hand is a social institution. It's main function is to give an individual player character and individuality that is not common in LPMud games. There are no great powers gained by joining a guild, but they do help tie you in a way to other players in the game. Your choice of guild should thus reflect your game personality. The number of guilds is limited only by how many the immortals of the mud have created. 14) Can I join more than one class? Nightmare IV presents you with that option once you become a high mortal (level 25). If you choose to do so, you must be prepared to make certain compromises. No one but you can know if that is a wise decision for you to make. But if you are the one who wishes to explore new things an take risks, by all means, go for it. 15) What is Nightmare IV? It is simply version 4.0 of the underlying library of objects we use to build Nightmare. The reason you hear a lot of talk about it is that it represents a total rewrite of the software we used to use, version 3.3.2. Thus people use "Nightmare IV" and "the new mudlib" and "the new Nightmare" interchangeably. 16) What are the different guilds on Nightmare? Type <help guilds> to get the most up to date guild information. 17) How do I join a guild? The method will vary from guild to guild. You should talk to a member of the guild you want to join to find out the process for that guild. Remember that each guild on Nightmare is meant only for a certain restricted group of characters, so a guild good for one player is not necessarily good for another player. 18) Have you seen player X? Type <finger [name]> and you will get all of the information you need. 19) What can I use to fight monsters? You can obviously use your limbs (melee) and any weapon you find, as well as specialized magic spells. Additionally, as in real life, any object in the game could be used as a weapon, although it will be less effective than designated weapons. 20) What do I use to protect myself from being hit? You can use amour (<wear amour>) or magical protection given to you by your or somebody else's casting of a protection spell on you. 21) How do I heal? There are many ways to be healed. You heal naturally over time. This natural process of healing is speeded up when you rest, eat well and drink plenty of fluids. You can also be healed in the hospital, but that, of course, costs money. Another way to get well is to make friends with clerics who have the ability to cure people from all kinds of things. However, it is a cleric's option to refuse this kind of service or do it in exchange for a favor from you. 22) How do I make friends? Well, hopefully, you should know that by now. Be nice to people, don't bug them, do good deeds and be funny (people like that, unless you are making fun of them). 23) Is player killing allowed? Only in areas known as arenas. These can be single rooms or entire areas. Abuse of this right is justification for removal from Nightmare. Though such artificial regulation runs contrary to the philosophy behind Nightmare, the player-killing ban was implemented due to the fact that some people took player-killing beyond the gaming spirit and instead used it as a tool of malice and personal vengeance. 24) How many quests do I have to do? None. Nightmare does not require you to do any quests. Still, they are a source of money, treasure, prestige, and skill advancement. Quests give you a list of titles. You may pick any two of your titles at any time to be displayed using the "title" command. 25) How much experience do I have? Unlike other MUDs, Nightmare has no experience points which will help you determine your experience easily. Instead, your experience is determined by your skillfulness in the arts essential to your class. 26) How do I advance, then? Your level respresents how good you are at what you do. This means that a level 20 fisher is considered as skillfull at fishing as a level 20 mage is at the magic arts. It does not mean that a level 20 fisher should be able to do battle with a level 20 fighter and have any hope of winning. A player thus advances through the use of their primary skills. Each class has 4 primary skills, and you can list those skills by checking out the help file for your class. 27) How do I know my stats and skills? <stats> will give you a list of stats, and <skills> will let you see your skills. 28) How do I improve my skills? You are alloted a certain number of training points which you may use at training centers for training skills. These are quickly exchausted, and from that point on, you must use a skill in order to improve it. You will receive a certain amount of point each time you gain a level. These can be used however you see fit. 29) What do the stats mean? Stats are numerical representations of your basic physical make up, your personality and your karma, all of which are determined by your racial heritage. These stats are used in different relevant aspects of your mud life. Many stats have an impact on any single facet of your character. The interactions between stats are very complex and you might begin to understand them through experience. 30) How do I raise stats? It depends on the stat. Some stats, like luck, are with you as is for all your life. Others, like strength, improve with use, but decrease as you enter old age. Finally, others, like wisdom, improve as you age. Which stats do what, however, are highly dependent on your race. 31) What if I don't like my stats? Every race has its strong points and weak points. Either you play to your strengths and become a member of a class which can take advantage of your strengths, or you accept the challenge of overcoming your weak points and excelling in a class you are not designed for. If you really hate your stats, use the "suicide" command to destroy your character and rebuild anew. 32) I have an idea for something new here, who do I tell? You have several options: a) become a creator and build it yourself This is perhaps the most rewarding option, as you have full creative control over what eventually happens with your ideas. b) Use the "bug" command and report your idea c) mail advocate and tell them your idea Nightmare is always interested in hearing player ideas. 33) A list of abbreviations: PK- Player killer HM- High mortal cre- Creator [] - Monument Square in Praxis du - destroy utterly (a description of damage) 34) How do I see in color? Since different people have different terminal types, when you first login to Nightmare your terminal is set to "unknown". If you have a terminal emulation which supports some sort of standard protocol for producing color (most vt100's support ansi), you may use the command "terminal" to choose a protocol. See "help terminal". 35) How do I know what commands exist? Type "help player commands" for player commands, "help spell commands" for a list of spells, "help item commands" for commands used on items, and "help room commands" for general room-based commands. "help index" will give you a list of other command types as well. 36) I do not like my character or I no longer want to play Nightmare. How do I get rid of my character? Use the "suicide" command. This FAQ was first written by Descartes in 1992. Extensive modifications and additions were completed by Xymox in November 1995. Direct all questions and concerns to Xymox.