The Adventurer's Guide to Ayreon

This same guide is found on Dawn of the Ages (DoA), either given to new characters by the veteran in the Tower of Training or sold by Melancholy at his store in Midgaard. Herein we answer questions which new players tend to ask a lot, hoping to be as detailed as possible without being cumbersome. More information about a particular topic may be found by typing "help [topic name]" at the prompt in the game.

Introduction

The slender volume, bound in leather and fitted with brass corners and 
spine, reads on the cover in golden letters:

                  The Adventurer's Guide to Ayreon

                                 by
                      Aldebaran, Encyclopedist


Opening to the introduction of the volume, the book reads:

Welcome to the lands of Ayreon!

For your convenience, this guide is provided to you free of charge by the 
good folks at Midgaard's Guild of the Seekers. Should you lose this guide 
another may be obtained free of charge at Melancholy's Maps,  mapmaker to 
Ayreon and beyond, found two paces south, one pace west, and one north of 
Temple Square.

No matter where you travel, these commands may be of help to you: 

                     HELP COMMANDS SOCIALS RULES 

Table of Contents

Table of Contents:

What is Ayreon?                        What is a career?
Basic Commands                         What are clans?
What is my score?                      What is a quest?
What are my stats?                     What are reincarnates (reincs)?
Where do I train?                      Where do I begin my adventure?
What is my alignment?                  More Commands
What is my religion?                   Starting and Quitting
What is my armor class?                Automatic Commands
What are my skills?                    Checking Yourself
What are my spells?                    Money and Items
Where do I practice?                   Combat
Where do I go when I recall?           Advanced Combat
What happens when I die?               Magic and Spells
How do I recover hit points,           Communication
    mana, etc.?                        
What is player killing?                Written Communication
Do I have to eat?                      Groups and Grouping

What is Ayreon?

Ayreon is the main continent found on the mud called Dawn of the Ages. Dawn 
of the Ages is a Java-based mud based on earlier C-coded ROM muds. Dawn of 
the Ages is a player-killing mud, which means players do kill each other 
here for whatever reasons they choose. Dawn of the Ages is also a role- 
playing mud, which requires players and their characters to behave in ways 
consistent with the role they choose. Type 'help dawn' for further info.

Ayreon is home to many towns and areas in which you can explore, meet new 
friends (and enemies), and, with luck, gain equipment with which you can 
explore even more. There are CLANS, CAREERS, and QUESTS which you may take 
an active part in. You may wish to spread your RELIGION to other parts of 
the continent; you may find life dull as a normal and opt to become a 
REINCARNATE; you may decide to leave the singles life behind and marry. The 
prospects are many.

A complete listing of areas on Ayreon may be found by typing 'areas'.

Basic Commands

When first starting out a player should learn to use these commands. The 
commands are UPPERCASE and colored; a brief explanation follows. To read 
more information about the command, type 'help' followed by the COMMAND.

HELP        gives players more information about a particular mud function
COMMANDS    lists a set of commands usable by players
SOCIALS     lists a set of expressions usable by players towards others
RULES       lists the rules of Dawn of the Ages which a player must follow
LOOK        gives a player a description of the room or object looked at
EXAMINE     gives a player detailed information of an object examined
EAT         what a player does to eat; typed as 'eat '
DRINK       what a player does to drink; typed as 'drink '
SLEEP       allows a player to recover hit points and mana faster
WAKE        wakes a player up from sleep
REST        a player will rest
STAND       a player will stand from resting
SCORE       gives players information about themselves
SAVE        saves the current state of your character

To issue these commands, just type the COMMAND at the prompt.

What is my score?

When the command SCORE is typed at the prompt, you should see a listing of 
all kinds of information, including your name, race, sex, hair color, level, 
profession, career, religion, stats, and so on. Some of these, like name, 
hair color, profession, and so on, will remain permanent, while others, like
level, hit points, mana, and so on, will fluctuate. The ones that fluctuate 
are those you generally will pay attention to, mainly because your survival 
depends on it. Some of these are described in futher detail on other pages.

What are my stats?

Your STATS (also STATISTICS), or attributes, are the numbers that describe 
certain personality traits. The power of these STATS are given by numbers 
from 1 to 100 -- the higher the number, the more powerful the attribute. A 
list of the STATS and a brief description of each follows.

STR (strength) -- determines how much a player can lift and how much extra 
                  damage a player delivers
QUI (quickness) -- determines your speed; players with high quickness may be 
                   able to deliver an extra attack
DEX (dexterity) -- determines a player's accuracy in performing a task, and 
                   thus affects a player's to-hit probability
INT (intelligence) -- shows how smart a character is, and affects that 
                      character's ability to learn from practice alone
WIS (wisdom) -- demonstrates a character's knowledge of the world, and thus 
                affects the saves that character has
CON (constitution) -- displays a player's health; this attribute will affect 
                      a player's recovery rate and her maximum hit points
CHA (charisma) -- determines a player's ability to inspire or manipulate and
                  is useful in haggling and similar skills
APP (appearance) -- determines how beautiful (or ugly) a player is matched 
                    against others in society; it has no game affect

Where do I train?

Every time you LEVEL, you are given one training session (two at levels 5, 
15, and so on, three at levels 10, 20 and so on) to boost your STATS. To do 
this you must go to a trainer who will help you. In Midgaard, this is the 
sailor found two paces south, three paces east and another pace south of 
the Temple Square. Other trainers, however, can be found elsewhere.

For any class, a player is encouraged to train certain STATS in preference 
to others. Type 'help stats' to see this list.

What is my alignment?

Your ALIGNMENT is a reflection of your particular outlook on life, whether 
good, evil or neutral. How each is played is a matter of interpretation. For 
example, someone good may strive towards peaceful resolutions of situations, 
or may be zealous in the guarding and spreading of her ethos and will kill 
evil on sight, or may be bound by honor when asked for mercy in the middle 
of a fight, etc. An evil character might have no regard for life and seek to 
eliminate it when he can, or may find others useful in his own personal 
quest for power and try to dominate them, etc. The interpretations are many.

In terms of game play, ALIGNMENT can prevent a player from using certain 
items, may cause some mobs to attack him outright, can help good players in 
acquiring helpful items, and places a restriction on the play of priests and 
templars.

What is my religion?

There are many GODS who walk the face of Ayreon, some good, some evil, some 
neutral. You may elect to worship one of these gods by seeking out a temple 
dedicated to her or him and worship at the altar where her or his chosen 
priest is (that is, go to the priest and type 'worship '.) It is wise to 
choose a god, if you choose a god, who best represents your ethos; gods who 
find out their followers are false have been known to become angry and 
severely punish the transgressor...

In game terms RELIGION affects priests, templars, and monks the most, who 
must choose a GOD and abide by the alignment restrictions of their chosen 
deity. Failure to do so can result in a loss of powers. Repeat offenders may 
get the attention of the gods and be punished further. Choosing a god is 
optional, though those who do get a little added bonus. 

What is my armor class?

Your ARMOR CLASS (or AC for short) gives you an indication of how well you 
are able to avoid being hit. The higher your ARMOR CLASS is (the lower the 
number is on your SCORE), the harder it is for a mob or player to hit you. 
There are four different types of attacks which your armor class can and 
will defend against, "slash", "pierce", "bash", and "magic". Not all armors 
are the same; some will defend better against slash but defend less well 
against bash; others will defend great against slash, pierce, and bash but 
not magic; and so on. It will be up to you to decide which armors and armor 
classes are best for you.

Know this: having a great ARMOR CLASS is no guarantee against being hit, nor 
will it save a body against many spells and spell-like affects. Also, there 
are other SKILLS (e.g., dodge, parry, etc.) that can help prevent a player 
from being hit and damaged. It is also rumored there are great armors that 
will sometimes provide resistance to certain kinds of attacks... 

What are my skills?

SKILLS are the abilities a player possesses that allow him or her to get 
along in the world. There are many kinds of SKILLS, attack skills, magical 
skills, detection skills, recovery skills, holding skills, and so on. You 
can find out what SKILLS you have by typing 'skills' at the prompt. To find 
out what a particular SKILL is, and what it does, type 'help '. SKILLS are 
listed in order of level of acquisition, followed by how well you've learned 
the SKILL (a percentage) and your potency in using that SKILL, which 
reflects your STATS and statbonuses. 

What are my spells?

SPELLS are the flipside of SKILLS, which spellcasters use in lieu of the 
combat and other survival SKILLS warriors and the like employ. Like SKILLS, 
there are many kinds of SPELLS, usually divided into divine and magical, 
used by priests and mages, respectively. Of the former kind there are 
curatives, holy spells, defensive spells, detections, healings, and so 
forth. Some of these kinds overlap with the SPELLS that are magical in 
nature, which include dispellings, enchantments, invocations, gating, 
creation, and so on. Like SKILLS, they are listed in order of obtainment, 
followed by a percent that reflects a player's competence in using the 
spell, and which is then followed by a number reflecting a player's potency 
in using the SPELL. To find out what SPELLS you have, type 'spells'. If you 
wonder what your spell does, type 'help [spellname]'. 

Where do I practice?

When you first gain a SKILL or SPELL, oftentimes the SKILL or SPELL is 
unpracticed, that is, you either will need to PRACTICE by going to someone 
who can teach you, or learn the SKILL or SPELL by teaching yourself. The 
former method is by far the easiest way, the latter can be difficult. 
Practicing by going to somone can take you only so far, however; your 
modified intelligence (given by the STAT "Int") and racebonus dictate how 
high (i.e., to what percentage) PRACTICE-ing will take you. From then on 
you will need to learn-by-doing.

In Midgaard and other cities across the face of Ayreon, guildmasters are 
the ones who can teach you the SKILLS and SPELLS you need to survive. Just 
go to the guildmaster and type 'practice '. Your guildmaster will indicate 
when you've practiced all you can using PRACTICE. There are other masters 
who can teach as well, but those you must find for yourself. 

Where do I go when I recall?

When you are some distance from Midgaard, you have the option of going back 
there using the command RECALL. This command will bring you back to the 
Temple of Midgaard, protected by its sole guardian, Hassan. Note that using 
RECALL will cost you one-half of your movement points. Also, there are 
areas in which RECALL will not work: you will need to find a way out by 
other means. 

What happens when I die?

When players die, and they often do (type 'death' to see how often some 
do), they turn into a ghost for a moment and are transported to the room 
"By the Temple Altar." This room is located one north of the Temple of 
Midgaard. The players' corpses are left at the spot of death with most if 
not all objects intact. Players' immediately are granted 'godly protection', 
a spell that lasts slightly over two hours of mud time and protects players 
from almost all attacks. The players also are granted their full movement 
points so they, with the help of their 'godly protection', can recover 
their corpses and equipment. However, if the players cannot reach their 
corpses in this amount of time, they may wait by the pit at the altar, and 
the items from their corpses will arrive in a few minutes. To grab this 
equipment, just type 'get all pit'. (Keep in mind, other players can grab 
this equipment as well...) 

How do I recover hit points, mana, etc.?

Over the course of adventuring the player will find herself low on her 
three vitals, hit points, mana, and movement. Hit points (Hp) represent 
the amount of damage a player can take from weapons and spells. Mana 
points (Ma) depict the power reserves a player possesses when casting 
spells or using certain skills. Movement points (Mv) tell how far a player 
can travel before needing to stop. There are many ways to recover these 
point values; hit points and mana recover on their own if not engaaged in 
fighting or skills use, and movement can be regained just by standing 
still. However, a player can recover even faster by choosing either to 
REST or to SLEEP. Typing REST or SLEEP will cause the player to rest or 
sleep, respectively. The advantage to sleeping is that the player will 
recover faster than if she only rests; the disadvantage is she cannot see 
what is going on around her, as she is asleep.

There are even faster methods than these two at recovering points, for 
instance, QUAFFing potions or EATing pills, or finding a priest to HEAL 
you. These you will need to discover in the course of your adventures.

What is player killing?

Player killing, or 'pkilling' for short, or 'pk' for shorter, is the taking 
of the life of a player by another player. Dawn of the Ages offers a highly 
developed PK system to allow players to compete against each other 
(optional, of course). The gods encourage pkilling in addition to 
roleplaying. To foster such participation, the Creators of Ayreon have seen 
fit to place LIMITED items in the world, usable only by players who are 
'pk joined'. These items often are more powerful, some vastly so, than the 
normal items commonly found in the world, and are sought out by those who 
wish to be the best at what they are. To find out more, type 'help 
playerkilling'. By the way, if you do 'pk join' and get killed, don't take 
it personally; afterall, it's just a game. :-) 

Do I have to eat?

While it's not required that a player eats or drinks -- she won't die if 
she does neither -- nevertheless the player will suffer the drawbacks of 
a lack of sustenance by not being able to heal properly, or at all. To EAT 
just be sure to have food in your inventory and type 'eat '. To DRINK do 
the same, have a drink container filled with liquid in your inventory and 
type 'drink '. 

What is a career?

While warriors, rangers, templars, thieves, priests, necromancers, and 
mages all have certain common powers between them, they distinguish 
themselves from their peers by taking on a CAREER. There are many careers 
from which to choose, from invokers and arcanists for wizards to amazons 
and monks for warriors to footpads and outlaws for thieves and so on. These 
careers, once chosen, are permanent, but they add at least 14 new SKILLs 
and/or SPELLs to the class of the player. However, a player is bound to 
certain careers by his or her chosen class. To find out what career you 
may choose, type 'help careerplanning'. If you wonder what that career is 
or does, type 'help '.

To gain a career, a player always will have to perform some kind of quest. 
The quest is different for each class and each career, and once performed 
the person who gave the player a quest will teach the player the career as 
a reward. To find out what the quest is for your particular career, go to 
your guildmaster and type 'say '. 

What are clans?

Just as there are gods in the world that represent various activities and 
alignments, and classes which represent different skills and outlooks, so 
there are clans which the various races and classes of Ayreon naturally 
gravitate to for companionship, protection, and power. There are seven clans 
on Ayreon, each with its rules and clan hideout, and with its own clan 
enemy. Each also has its own additional powers it confers on its members, 
an additional bonus for players. However, to join a clan one *must* apply 
for a clan before reaching level 20. Clan business is not for the timid - 
even if you did not join the playerfights, your clanmates will expect you 
to support their cause.

To find out more about clans, what they are and what they represent, type 
'help clan'.

What is a quest?

Throughout Ayreon are folks who give out quests. The quests are many and 
varied, and the rewards can differ vastly. Some quests are performed to 
gain a career. Some quests are a means to gaining an item. Some allow 
access to restricted areas and rooms. Some offer gold, silver and other 
treasure. Some offer that most valued of commodities, questpoints, which 
can be used to buy items of artefact status but which are not limited. To 
access quests, you often will need to say to a mob 'quest', that is, type 
'say quest' when before a mob. Not all mobs, not even most mobs, give out 
quests, just a few do. To discover these either ask around or find out for 
yourself. 

What are reincarnates (reincs)?

REINCARNATES, or REINCs for short, are the legendary races of Ayreon. When 
a player reached level 50 and is one experience point shy of level 51, she 
or he can request to become a REINC character. There are several REINC 
races to choose from, each with their own abilities and drawbacks, and 
every one of them more powerful than a normal race. To find out more type 
'help reinc'.

Where do I begin my adventure?

When in Midgaard (modified standard area for those who prefer a more 
familiar surrounding) or Belarion (a great realm designed for DotA), the 
starting areas you can choose, the best place to go is the Newbie Tower, 
right above the Temples of Hatherly. The Tower is designed for players 
level 1 through 5, and has many signs and acolytes and mobs that will help 
a player first start out. For players level 6 and beyond, there are several 
areas around the town of Midgaard that a player can go to for experience. 
Two commands will help in this regard. First is AREA, which lists the areas 
of Ayreon in terms of degree of difficulty. Newbie areas will generally be 
located near the top. Second is the command CONSIDER, or CON for short, 
which, when a player is standing next to a mob and types 'con ', will tell 
a player how difficult the mob may be to master. From there on, you are 
off to the races. 

More Commands

WHO         gives a list of the players currently playing
WHOIS       lists the use or users with the give name; typed 'whois [name]'
WHOWAS      shows when a player was last on
WHERE       shows what players or mobs are near you in an area
AREA        lists the areas of the mud in terms of level of difficulty
OPEN        allows a player to open a door or container
CLOSE       allows a player to close a door or container
UNLOCK      allows a player to unlock a door or container
LOCK        allows a player to lock a door or container
RECALL      places a player back at her or his recall point
NOFOLLOW    disallows others from following a player
LEVEL       toggling this will allow or disallow levelling for a player
DEATH       displays the 'deathlist', showing the top dying players
PRACTICE    practice a skill/spell; typed 'practice '
TRAIN       train an attribute
GAIN        convert practices to train and vice versa

Starting and Quitting

SAVE        saves the current state of your character
DELETE      deletes your character; must be entered twice in a row by you
QUIT        saves your character and quits from the game

Automatic Commands

AUTOLIST    lists all automatic actions
AUTOLOOT    a player will automatically take all equipment from a corpse
AUTOGOLD    a player will automatically take all gold from a corpse
AUTOSAC     a player will automatically sacrifice a corpse
AUTOEXIT    a player will automatically see all exits when in a room
AUTOSPLIT   a player will automatically split moeny when grouped
AUTOASSIST  a player will automatically assist other in group
AUTOALL     activates all the above auto-functions

Checking Yourself

SCORE       will show your current score
AFFECTS     will show what spells/skills currently affect you
EQUIPMENT   will give a list of the items you currently wear
INVENTORY   will give a list of items currently in your inventory
COMPARE     will compare value of the item in inventory with one worn
SKILLS      will list the spells at your disposal
SPELLS      will list the skills at your disposal
WORTH       lists your gold, silver, and how long you've been playing

Money and Items

BUY         allows a player to buy items in a shop
SELL        allows player to sell items in a shop
LIST        lists items sold in a shop
VALUE       tells player how much the shopkeeper is willing to pay for 
              an item
AUCTION     command for auctioning, either for selling or bidding
EQUIPMENT   will give a list of the items you currently wear
INVENTORY   will give a list of items currently in your inventory
COMPARE     will compare value of the item in inventory with one worn
WEAR        allows a player to wear an item
REMOVE      allows a player to remove a worn item
GET         allows a player to get an item from the ground or an object
DROP        allows a player to drop an item from inventory
GIVE        allows a player to give an item to another player or mob
PUT         allows a player to put an item in a container
FILL        fills a liquid container with liquid
SACRIFICE   removes the object from the world, giving a player extra money

Combat

KILL        kill a mob or player
FLEE        flee from a fight
WIMPY       toggles an automatic flee command when hit points are down to 
              a specified amount
CONSIDER    considers the level/degree of difficulty of the mob considered

Advanced Combat

(The skills below are primarily thief/warrior skills.)

BACKSTAB    hit from behind for extra damage
BASH        damages and stuns an opponent
CHARGE      strikes for extra damage
DIRTKICK    damages and blinds an opponent
DISARM      removes weapon from an opponent
TRIP        trips an opponent for damage

Magic and Spells

CAST              used to cast spells; typed 'cast '
QUAFF             command for quaffing potions
EAT               command for eating pills
RECITE            command for reciting scrolls
BRANDISH          command for using staves
ZAP               command for using wands
PLAYINSTRUMENT    command for playing instruments; used by minstrels

Communication

SAY         used to say something in a room
TELL        used to communicate with a specific player
REPLY       used to reply to a tell
WHISPER     used to communicate with a specific player in a room
GTELL       used to communicate in a group
CT          channel used for communication in a clan
IGNORE      a player can 'ignore' tells of another player(s)
EMOTE       can emote a feeling from player; typed 'emote '
SOCIAL      a command for non-combative action towards others
GOSSIP      channel for worldwide communication
YELL        channel for area-wide communication
SHOUT       channel for worldwide communication (do NOT abuse)
MUSIC       channel for playing music or singing
GRAT        the gratitude channel, for sharing praise
PRAY        a way to communicate with gods

Written Communication

NOTES       the notes board for general notes
CHANGES     the changes board for mud-wide changes
IDEAS       the ideas board for sharing ideas
NEWS        the news board for new news
PENALTIES   the penalties board for player penalties

Groups and Grouping

FOLLOW      used to follow a person or mob
NOFOLLOW    used to disallow following
GROUP       used to group a person
SPLIT       command used to split gold or silver
GTELL       channel of communication for groups; also typed 'gt'
ORDER       order a charmed follower to do something