The Game Mechanics of Armageddon

Combat Commands Communication Commands Detection Commands The Emote System Miscellaneous Commands Movement Commands Observation Commands OOC Commands Stealth Commands Thoughts & Feelings Back to the Main Index

This document collects the major commands used in the game and explains how they can be used. Some commands are intuitive; others are not. For those that are not, this collection should provide the proper guidelines for each command. The specific syntax for each command can be found by browsing the helpfiles or viewing the link to each specific helpfile.

Movement: Getting Around Zalanthas

Direction: Characters can move in six directions: north, south, east, west, up, and down. They can also enter and leave.

Speed: Characters can move at three different speeds. Each speed governs how quickly you move as well as how many movement points are used. Running costs more points than walking.

Walk Run Sneak

Positions: Your character can stand, sit, rest, and sleep. Each position allows characters to regain hitpoints, mana, stun, and movement points. Resting allows a character to regain points more quickly than sitting, while sleeping will regain even more points. Severe injuries can only be overcome through sleeping.

Sit Rest Sleep

Wake Stand

Grouping/Ungrouping: These commands have to do with following other characters or having them follow you.

Flee/Flee self Follow/Follow self Unhitch/ Hitch

Shadow Mount/Dismount

Various communications commands are used within the game to communicate ICly with other players. They are listed below:

Talk Whisper Say

Shout Tell Contact

Emotes: Acting out your Roleplaying

Verbal Emoting: Various verbal commands allow you to include emotes within your dialogue by putting them in parentheses. Verbal commands are listed below:

Talk Whisper Say

Shout Tell

Movement Emoting: As with verbal commands, you can include emotes with your movement commands (north, etc) by including the emotes in parentheses.

Example:

> n (limping heavily)

What you see:

You move north, limping heavily.

What is seen by everyone else:

The bald, stocky man moves north, limping heavily.

Command Emoting: Many commands allow you to specify extra emotives, either before, after or both before and after the command's normal echo. See command emotes for a list of what commands take command emotes.

Look Emoting: Any use of the look command can take command emotes

Example:

> look elf [with a quizzical twitch of her eyebrow]

What is seen by the red-haired elf:

The lean woman looks at you, with a quizzical twitch of her eyebrow.

What is seen by everyone else:

The lean woman looks at the red-haired elf, with a quizzical twitch of her eyebrow.

The think command has two purposes:

• To aid you in fleshing our your character’s motives, desires, and dreams
• To give the staff some idea of the above

Think doubles as [dream] when your character is sleeping; the echo changes to reflect a dream

The feel command is similar to think, except it is used purely for emotional and physical feelings your character is having.

Combat: Survival of the Fittest

Combat is a semi-automated system in Armageddon. The player can use certain commands to interact before, during, and after the process. Remember that emote and think can be used to give more depth to roleplaying your fights.

Weapons: There are many different types of weapon categories on Armageddon, and your character’s ability to use them is skill-dependent.

Bludgeoning Stabbing Piercing

Slashing Archery Throwing

Weapon Syntax: Use of weapons depends on the weapon. Most weapons require you to either wield or hold them, as in the case of a sword or dagger. Some, such as a bow and arrow, require you to hold the weapon, and pull from your ammunition container - or simply wield the ammunition. Note: You can pull only from ammunition containers such as quivers. Other related commands/syntax include:

Draw Ep Es etwo

Change hands Sheathe Load Remove

Combat Syntax: Typing Kill or hit an opponent initiates the fight, which does not stop until a combatant is dead or uses the flee command to successfully get out of the fight. Other commands that initiate combat are:

Kick Backstab Shoot Disarm Subdue

Charge Sap Throw Bash

Adjunct Syntax: Adjuncts to combat are related to battle but can only occur once a battle has already started. They include:

Assist Release Rescue

Change Opponent Guard Disengage

Note that hit and kill are the same in most cases; however, hit can also be used in taverns that have brawl code. Brawling allows characters to engage in a non-lethal fist-fight without getting arrested. Brawlers must NOT be wielding or holding any manner of weapon.

Repercussions of combat: Various statistics are affected during and after a fight. You can keep track of your health points, stamina, stun, method of movement, and other things by using the prompt code; these things are displayed through the score and stat commands.

Stealth commands allow you to secretly carry out actions that would normally be shown to other players or attract the militia's attention. Failing at these actions (with the exception of "whisper") means you get noticed, arrested or killed by the militia. Always turn nosave on before you try stealing or planting things, for if you get caught, the guards (inside Allanak and Tuluk, at least) will capture rather than kill you. Common commands are listed below:

Hide Shadow Whisper Sneak

Steal Palm Plant

Detection: Enhancing Your Awareness of Your Environment

Some things, like footprints and secret doors, are hidden. Detection commands let you, and you alone, perceive them. Note that some things may not require the "search" or "scan" command, but remain concealed in room descriptions.

Listen Peek Peek Watch

Search Forage Hunt

Observation: Perceiving the World

Listed below are miscellaneous perception-related actions, which yield information about your surroundings, such as look, sniff, and taste. Most of these commands are available to all players; only players with the related skills can use the value and analyze commands.

Light Look View Sniff

Taste Sip Watch Assess

Value Analyze Weather Time

OOC: Out-of-Character Communication

These commands don't directly affect the game, but are provided to make your playing experience easier.

OOC Prompt Wish

Save Who Review

Pagelength Brief Reroll

Miscellaneous Commands:

Some actions and items require specific commands that do not fall into any specific category. Many of these are used to activate scripts on specific items, such as soap.They are listed below:

Shave Smoke Dig Pitch/Make Cease

Roll Use Clean Throw

Seal Break Deal Craft

This list is not comprehensive, since many skills are guild specific and not appropriate for a general document such as this. Rather, this documentation is provided as a stepping stone into the world of Zalanthas, to allow you to feel more comfortable with the OOC aspects of the commands so that you can spend more of your focus on the rich and full world in which you submerge yourself.

Submitted by Nari and Avril
Last updated November 20, 2004 by Sanvean
© 2004 Armageddon MUD. All rights reserved.