How do I use the help files?

What race should I choose as a beginner?

What guild should I choose as a beginner?

Warriors and rangers are probably the easiest characters to begin with, because they can take care of themselves from the start, even if the player has no working knowledge of Zalanthas or Armageddon. As a warrior-type, one can explore the areas and get accustomed to the world and can then create a more "difficult" character later.

Assassins to a lesser degree, are a relatively good choice as well, because these guilds have ways of supporting and taking care of themselves from the start. such as hunting or hiring out as a mercenary or house guard.

Merchants can support themselves by crafting (subguilds can also provide some initial crafting skills), and generally find a merchant house willing to pay them for their labors.

How do I earn money?

There are actually a large number of ways to get money. The most often resorted to method is to hire on with a merchant or noble house as a servant. For the combat oriented, one might hire themselves out as a guard or militia member, or sign on with the mercenary group, the T'zai Byn, which has compounds in both the north and the south.

Another strategy is to kill or steal for what you need. This does not generally work well for most people, however, because the soldiers of the city will quite likely kill you in return, and even the commonest gith will probably defeat you hands down in a fight. Furthermore, you are likely to bring the revengeful ire of an entire clan down upon your head.

An easy, yet dangerous, strategy is to scavenge. In the wastes outside of every city can usually be found the remains of travelers who perished or the leftovers from an old battle. If one is quick enough, one can snatch up these things and scurry back to safety in the city where you can sell what you have found.

Experienced characters will doubtless have devised clever ways of getting money. The best possible method will be for you to have one of them teach you their angle.

How do I purchase items in shops?

The method of purchasing or selling has two steps: first you must haggle with the merchant in order to establish a price, and then close the deal.

The syntax for haggling is: offer {item|money} {item|money}
To close the deal: barter

When you wish to purchase an item, the merchant will usually give you a price that is far more than the item is worth. So, what you need to do is offer a lower price by saying 'offer {lower price} {item}'. The merchant will usually counter with a more modest reduction, or they will stand firm on the first offer. If you haggle too long without ending the deal, merchants will get mad and may order you to go away (and will not trade with you again). Once the price is agreed upon, typing 'barter' will close the deal.

The armor I bought doesn't fit. What's wrong?

Armor and clothing is created for a specific set of height and weight ranges, and if you fall outside of those ranges then the item will not fit you. Typically, armor is fitted for human size, though very tall or very short humans will have problems. In order to get your armor or clothing to fit, you must take it to the tailor's shop. Once you find the tailor, the syntax for altering an item is: Tailor {item}

The tailor will give you a receipt, and ask you to come back later on. It usually takes tailors at least an hour (about five minutes real time) to alter items, and it may take much longer if you are very large (half-giant) or very small (halfling). When he is done, go back to the tailor and use the following syntax: Offer ticket

He or she will charge you a small (or, possibly, large) fee for the service and return your armor or clothing.

You can check whether or not your item is finished by offering your ticket at any time.

How do I operate a mount?

Mounts are a vital part of Zalanthan life, and should be mastered as soon as possible. First, in order to get a mount, one must find a stable where they are sold, or find a cleric of Ruk who can create them. Most stables will not allow haggling and one must simply barter for the price being asked. Once the mount is in your possession, you must improve your riding skill. Only rangers and merchants begin with this skill, but anyone can develop it with a little hard work. After you pass around 40% proficiency, you will be able to operate your mount perfectly in non-combat situations. In combat, if one's riding skill is not very high one can possibly lose control of one's mount and get thrown off.

To learn the ride skill, it's best to just ride for several hours and watch it improve. However, learning takes time, and as with all skills, once you improve a little bit you should go concentrate on something else for a while (see also, Skills).

If you want to keep your mount, find a stable where you can rent mounts and simply type 'rent {mount}' and it will be stored, and the stablehand will give you a ticket in return. Use the 'offer ticket' command to retrieve your mount at any later time.

There are many different sorts of mounts in Zalanthas, and you must experiment with them to find out what their strengths and weaknesses are.

How do clans work on Armageddon?

A clan is a group who share resources by virtue of familial relations, legal contracts, culture, philosophy, etc. Examples include merchant and noble house, militia groups, the Templarate, the T'zai Byn, desert elf tribes, and the Anyali.

Clans have different purposes and different styles. A clan can be one of the best ways to survive (within clans one will find one of the few places where people trust each other), as a character will gain several allies who will help her or him survive.

To join a clan, one must seek out the leader and ask to be admitted. Anyone can 'rebel' against membership in a clan, and clanleaders can dump members at any time. Many clans have their own discussion boards as well as a staff member responsible for handling requests and plotlines for that clan. When your character joins a clan, email the staff member associated with the clan with your discussion board name so they can add you to the clan forum.

How do I learn skills?

In almost every instance, skills are learned by practice. If you have some basic knowledge of a skill then it will improve by doing it over and over again. When a skill fails (or spell) there is a chance it will improve.

There are two exceptions: one, language skills are learned only by listening to better speakers. It takes a very long time to finally get the hang of a language (and gain 1% proficiency) but after that the learning curve goes up very fast. Two, many spells can be taught. You must already have basic knowledge of a spell for a "master" to teach you. Masters are other players who are very good at the spell you wish to learn. If they agree to teach you, your ability in that spell can jump dramatically.

What are some tips for travelling?

1. Don't travel unless you need to. Remember that the world outside city walls is dangerous and unfriendly.
2. Water is valuable in the desert. Bring plenty, but not so much that you are weighted down and have trouble moving.
3. Travel in groups. The wastes of Zalanthas are full of bandits and predators who would like nothing better than to stand over your dead body. Safety in numbers is the rule.
4. Ride a mount if at all possible.
5. Travel at dusk and at dawn. The heat at midday will cause you to tire very quickly, and visibility is limited at night even with both moon in the sky (you won't be able to see enemies coming). If the weather is bad, find shelter and wait it out, as raiders can come upon you by total surprise in a sandstorm.
6. Map the area you are travelling, or know it well, or have multiple guides in case one dies. Rangers are good companions, as they have an uncanny ability to know where they are if they are good.
7. Learn to ride well. If your mount throws you off in combat you stand a good chance of getting separated from it and becoming stranded in the desert.