Guide

Newbie Guide

If you're new to MUDs or just new to Arctic, study the following and get your bearings with the basics of the world.

Connecting to Arctic
The game's prompt line
Picking a town to start in
Sample commands
Grouping
Casting Spells
In game help
Session/Prompt options (color!)
Things can be invisible
You need to study your skills
Every player has stats
Stories and comments
Utility spells that can be cast
Death and reequipping
Basics of Exploring
Saving, logging off
You don't want to stay at level 1, do you?

Connecting to Arctic

Arctic sits at mud.arctic.org on port 2700.
You could straight telnet in, but your experience would be horrible. So, you need a MUD client. We have a few listed on our external links page

The game's prompt line

Your new best friend. This is where you'll be typing all of the commands you'll use to play the game. An example prompt line:

210H 149V 490972X 480C Exits:NES>

This says the character has 210 hit points, 149 "moves," needs 490972 experience points to advance to the next level, is holding 480 coins and can exit the current room by typing n (north), e (east), or s (south).

Picking a town to start in

When you log on for the first time, you will be in "Nowhere." Look around the room (look room) and get used to where you are. You'll find instructions that say all you need to do is type a city name to start there. After you pick a town, you won't be able to get back to Nowhere.

Note - if you select "yes" to the question "Are you a new player?" during character creation, you will start the game in Solace.

Sample commands

Here are some common things to type to see what's going on in the world. Typing out the whole word works, but you may as well just type the short version (noted before parentheses).

The system and YOU

sc (score) - Displays your game statistical information, plus any spells you are currently affected by
sys (systat) - Displays the statistics of the system.

Looking at things

l (look) - by itself (or look room) will look at the room you're in
inv (inventory) - will display what you have in your inventory
exa [item/object/corpse] (examine) - will allow you to look at an object closely
l me (look me) - will look at yourself. You can see what you're wearing!
l [anyone/anything] - will look at them/it
l [direction = e,w,s,n,u,d] - will make you look east, west, etc.
scan (scan) - will make you look in all directions at once. (very useful!)

Resting, sleeping, standing, sitting, etc.

res (rest) - will make you rest (get back more moves and HP per tic)
st (stand) - will make you stand - necessary to move around
sl (sleep) - will make you sleep (get back more moves and HP per tic - more than resting)
wak (wake) - will make you wake up from sleep
sit (sit) - will make you sit - not ultra useful

Managing inventory

get [object] - will let you get an object
drop [object] - drop an object
drop all.apple - you will drop all the apples you're holding (unless they're in a container)
give [object] [person/mob] - lets you give an object from your inventory away
give 1000 coins starmis - will give 1000 coins to Starmis
wear [item] - you can wear armor, necklaces, bracelets, hats, and other fine things
wield [weapon] - equip better weapons to deal more damage
eq (equip) - similar to "look me" this shows your current equipment
rem [anything equipped] - removes weapons, armor, clothing or accessories
hold [item] - hold target item in your hand
put [item] in [container] - put something from your inventory into a container
put sword in chest - will put a sword into a chest if you have both
put apple bag - the "in" can be left out. Puts an apple you're carrying into a bag you're carrying

Dealing with opening, closing, and multiple items

open door [dir] will try to open the door in the direction specified such as 'open door n'
open chest - if you have a chest, or one is in the room, you will try to open it
open chest in room - useful if you have a chest, but want to open one in the room instead
fill skin fountain - will fill a waterskin you're holding in a fountain if it's in the room
fill 2.skin fountain - if you have a 2nd skin, it will fill that one
fill all.skin fountain - simultaneously fill all skins you're holding from the fountain

Buying items and food

list - will list the items a shopkeeper has for sale
buy bread - buy a loaf of bread
buy 10*bread - buy 10 loaves of bread

Multiple mobs - use a number before the keyword

l guard - will look at a guard
l 2.guard - will look at a 2nd guard

Giving things to people or mobs

give skin [person/mob]
give 2.skin 2.bird -if you wanted to give your skin #2 to bird #2

Killing

con [mob] - (consider) You will "consider" how you fair against a mob. If it says, "Do you want to live forever?" then he's too high. Though, don't always trust the output of this command.
ki [person, mob] - (kill) you will begin combat with the target

Grouping

fo [person] (follow) - you will follow someone
fo me (or fo self) - you will follow yourself (use this to stop following someone)
gro [person] (group)- if someone is following you this accepts them into your group
gro - if you're in a group, it displays group information
ass (assist) - if a group member is fighting, type ass to assist him!
split [number] - this will split [number] coins between your group members. When you loot a corpse it's nice to split the profits
swap me [person] - if you're in a group, this attempts to swap your position with someone else (leaders use this often)
[direction] alone - the "alone" flag lets you go in a direction without anyone who is following you (i.e. 'n alone')

Grouping

Groups of players can band together and take advantage of the skills and spells of their friends to help them survive. Without the unique abilities of a variety of classes, players would not be able to survive long in a dragon's lair or a lich's crypt.

Groups consist of two or more players.

To create a group:
First, decide who will be the leader - everyone will automatically follow this person when he or she moves from room to room. Second, everyone must follow the leader. Third, the leader must form the group.

For example, if there are four players (John, Paul, George, Ringo) that want to form a group with John as the leader, here are the commands each of them should type:

Paul:
>follow john

George:
>follow john

Ringo:
>follow john

Lastly,

John:
>group form

This will create a group of four people, with John as the leader. Everyone in the group can then type 'group' by itself to see all the members of the group:

   Your group of 4 members consists of:
     Member           Hits      Move      Position  Fly Inv Water Here Light Mem
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
     John             fair      rested    fighting   Y   N    Y    Y     2    3
     Paul             bad       rested    fighting   Y   N    N    Y     0    0
     George           good      rested    fighting   Y   N    N    Y     0   12
     Ringo            AWFUL     rested    fighting   N   N    N    Y     0    4

For more information on the columns, naming the group, disbanding and other options see HELP GROUP in game.

Casting Spells

Mages, Clerics, Druids and eventually other classes such as Paladins and Dark Knights get spells. You'll learn them from guild masters in towns, and books around the world - it's up to you to find out where those are. When you learn a spell it goes into your spellbook. Type "spells" to see a list of your spells.

If you fail to learn a spell, you'll have to wait until your next level to attempt to learn it again (an alternate option is to study the correct level "relearn" book to undo your failure - mostly useful at higher levels).

Keep in mind, memorizing a spell is different than learning a spell, and this separates the Arctic magic system from other games. You have a certain number of spell slots that you can fill up with spells you know. As you gain levels you'll get more slots and your existing spells may become more powerful (and/or more predictable depending upon the spell).

If you type "mem" and you see: 1-4 2-3
then you have four unused 1st circle slots and three unused 2nd circle slots. Memorize some spells so you can cast them later!

Look at your spells list (type spells) and pick one you want to cast later, and memorize it now by using the "mem" command. Mages, for example, may choose to memorize "magic missile." At level 1, you might be best off filling all or most of your slots with magic missile - do it like this:

mem 'm m'
mem 'm m'
mem 'm m'

After this, type "mem" again and look at the new output. Also notice a shortcut for 'magic missile' is 'm m'. 'ma mi' would work too, it's up to you to figure out how you want to type things like this. It may seem clumsy to type at first, but over time you will be able to type it very fast.

To cast a spell, use the "cast" command.

c 'm m' [target]

After you cast, you'll notice that your memorization time (it's in your caster's command prompt) goes up. This is how long it will take you to rememorize all previously casted spells. After you memorize your used spells and close your spellbook, you can cast them again. As you go, you'll intuitively learn how to manage your spells (what to memorize, when to memorize it, and what the "right" spell is to use is in a specific fight).

Casting with no target will send the spell in a default, usually desired, direction. Aggressive spells are sent at who you're targeting in a fight, and friendly spells are sent towards you. Thus, when you're in combat you usually want to leave out the target for offensive spells (unless you want to cast on something other than who you're fighting). After combat has started, use

c 'm m'

Not only is it easier to type, but this bad scenario won't happen: Let's say you're a low character and you're fighting something almost too hard for you, let's say a wolf - it'll be a close fight. You're both hurting, and you're spamming c 'm m' wolf. Guess what happens if a second wolf comes into the room... the wolf you're fighting becomes 2.wolf and the new wolf responds to the keyword wolf, one magic missile on him and you've engaged the new wolf in combat. Now you're fighting two wolves, and if it's as close as I suggested, you'll learn this lesson in a hard way.

If you decide you don't want to know a spell, you can "forget" it from a slot.

forget 'm m'

If you decide you really didn't want to type mem 'm m' and you want to stop learning for that one slot, the command is

mem stop 'm m'

mem stop (to stop all memorization)

Be sure to visit the towns when you have a few levels under your belt so you can learn better spells. Because of the need to travel from town to town and then the need to find books in zones, the casting classes aren't considered newbie classes on Arctic - but don't let that deter you if you really want to play as a caster.

In game help

Arctic has a pretty extensive HELP file system. Start with these and know that there are many more:

help (or ?) - will give you a list of commands
help newbie - a small newbie help file
help area - a list of areas
help area [area name] - a description of the area in question
help faq - a Frequently Asked Questions list
topics - a large list of other help topics

Session/Prompt options (color!)

Some options you may want to configure:

opt ansi - If your MUD client supports it (most do, including terminals), Arctic can be configured to send text in ANSI color. Colored output will help quickly distinguish mobs and objects from room descriptions, colorize hit and move points in the prompt based on what percentage remains, and much more. To turn this on, type "opt ansi". "help options" will show you other options you can configure for your character.

opt domain - opt domain, a security feature, controls how many internet service providers the game will allow your character to connect from. By default your character is allowed to connect from one domain (opt domain 1). You can change this number or set "opt domain 0" to be able to connect from any number of locations (work, home, school, etc, etc).

If you want to customize your prompt, read HELP PROMPT.

Things can be invisible

The veteran player takes this for granted, but it can be confusing for a newbie, that there may be NPCs or players right in front of you, without your knowledge. Mages have the spell invisibility and can cast it on nearly anything in the game. They can make themselves, their friends, their equipment, or even the town fountain invisible. You can quaff a "milky potion" to detect invisibility - or, Mages get a spell "detect invisibility." Keep in mind, too, that there are a few more ways a player or NPC could be hidden from a casual observer.

You need to study your skills

When you log your character into the game for the first time, he won't know much. Your first task is to find your guild where a guild master will be able to help you learn. When you find your guild master, type "learn all". You'll learn lots skills or spells that depend upon your class. All major towns have guilds.

Later, when you gain a level, you'll want to visit your guild master again. Casters need to travel to different guild masters on Krynn to learn different spells - not all guild masters teach all spells or skills.

Every character has stats

Stats are given as follows : Str Int Wis Dex Con Cha
At level 2 you will "roll" (you won't see it happen) your stats that you'll be stuck with for the rest of that characters life. In a couple of levels you can quaff a 'potion of knowledge' or use a scroll of legend lore on yourself. This will reveal your stats to you. Any character can be fun, but you may wish to reroll if you are disappointed.

The maximum stat for any is 28, however you will not roll a 28. High for any category is 21. Barbarians need con, Warriors need str, Mages need int, Clerics need wis, Thieves need dex, Shamans need cha.

Stat tests
There are tests you can do for most stats. For example, a common Mage int test is to see if you can memorize 3 magic missiles in 2 tics while standing (not in a mem room). Invent/discover these as you go.

Stories and comments

If you want to read what's going on in the culture of Arctic, check out some of the boards (help board). "l board" will let you look at a board in a room, and "read 1" will read post number 1. You'll see all sorts of things being discussed - stories people are writing, bad poetry, threats, and the occasional witty comment. Immortals will also use that as a spot to post tournament information so that the News doesn't become cluttered. Boards get erased every so often, depending upon traffic.

Utility spells that can be cast

Mage

Invisibility - will turn a target character, mob, or item invisible
Fly - will make the target fly
Strength - will increase character/mob Strength for a short period of time
Dispel Magic - can remove a magical affliction on a character/mob

Cleric

Cure light - cures light wounds
Cure Serious - cures serious wounds
Cure Critical - Cures critical wounds
Create food - Creates food
Create water - Creates water
Heal - Gives a character/mob a large amount of HP back
Remove Poison - A poisoned character needs a remove poison desperately

Druid

Refresh - Gives characters back much needed moves

Death and Reequipping

Dying in Arctic means that you lose experience points (which could lose you a level).

At death, your equipment stays on your corpse and you are returned to the inn of the town you last rented in. When you die you will need to make a decision about going back to your corpse to retrieve your stuff with 'get all corpse'. Before you run back to your corpse you need to ask yourself, "Is the danger gone?" Aggressive mobs will, no doubt, still be aggressive. Mobs that killed you because you attacked them probably will not hold a grudge after their victory. Players are unpredictable.

To re-equip yourself with newbie gear, your guild master can give you a set of newbie equipment with the command "reequip". A wise player may also have invested money in a town bank to withdraw to buy new equipment. It costs more to use, but the bank also has a vault for storing items and equipment (help vault) for a rainy day.

Death floats in the air, creeps through the window, comes in with the hand-shake of a stranger. If we stop living because we fear death then we have already died. -- Raistlin Majere, Soulforge

Basic Exploring

The essentials of exploring are food, water and a light source.

If you need an idea of where to explore use "help area" for a list. If the location is far away and you don't know how to get there, consider using the caravan (help caravan) to get closer to it.

You will quickly want transportation - a horse, a small boat, or the spell "fly" cast upon you if you can manage.

Use the "scan" command often, as it will warn you about death traps (help death trap), and read the room descriptions for possible keywords.

If the room description talks about a fireplace, try "look fireplace". If one of the stones in that fireplace seems out of place, type "look stone". Continue this, and you may find secret passages, treasure chests, or more.

Lastly, you'll probably also want to carry one or more "scroll of recall," available in magic shops. Using a recall scroll (recite recall) will teleport you to your home town - convenient if you need to save and end your gaming session, and also convenient to use in a battle that isn't going as well as you would like.

Though dangerous, exploring is the key to the game.

Saving, logging off

Gotta go? Find an inn! You started in an inn when you began the game. At an inn you can rent a room (help rent) which will save your equipment while you're away. You will need money to rent your items, so you may wish to sell off extraneous items before you rent which will lower your rent cost. When you get to the inn type "offer" to see how much it will cost, and "rent" to rent, save, and log off.

Tip: Need to find an inn instantly? Try a "glowing scroll of recall."

You don't want to stay at level 1, do you?

In order to raise your level, you need to kill mobs to gain you experience. For most levels you need to kill at least 15 mobs to go on to the next. You will find that each level presents a limit to how much experience a mob will give you. At level 1 and 2, for instance, you may find that your "max" is 133. At level 3, however, this may go up to 266. The trick to leveling is finding mobs to kill. Sounds easy, right?

Welcome to Krynn.