General new player guide

This is a page for the non-guild specific page for the Newbie Help Guide. For details, rules, and the other pages involved, see Category:Newbie Guide Contest.

Introduction

Hello! Thank you for stopping by the Dragonrealms General Newbie Help Guide! This guide will try and help you get started with the game and teach you the ABSOLUTE basics.

What is Dragonrealms?

Dragonrealms is a MUD, which means it's a text-based multiplayer RPG. You connect to the game and the game's world is described to you in text, as if you were reading a book. You complete actions by entering text commands that you wish your character to accomplish. As long as the command is one recognized by the game, and you used it correctly, it will result in the main window of the game (typically called the Story window) listing the results of what happened. The interface and game world are almost entirely text-based, though there are some limited graphical features, such as certain things like health being able to be depicted in bar form.

Dragonrealms takes place in Elanthia, which is a fantasy setting. There is magic, swords, bows and arrows and the like. There are minor elements indicative of slightly more technology than a strictly medieval setting would have (such as some steampunk style things like mechanical constructs and airships) but you won't find cars, guns, lasers or spaceships to be in-genre in any way.

How to Use This Guide

This guide will attempt to explain the basics of the game to you and get you on your way to adventuring! However, as in any tutorial, you will be required to input things yourself from time to time. When this guide references a command that you should type in, it will list it in the following fashion:

>COMMAND

In this example, you would be expected to type the word COMMAND in your text-entry field in the game and then press your ENTER key. For the purposes of this guide, commands will be listed in all caps, but they can be entered however you wish.

Some commands require targets or modifiers. Usually these will be dependent on the context in which the command is used. As an example:

>COMMAND <OBJECT>

In this example, you would be expected to type the word COMMAND in your text-entry field in the game, followed by the name of the person you wanted to interact with before pressing ENTER. So if you were in a room with a picture and you wanted to look at it, you would type the following:

>LOOK PICTURE

In addition, modifiers may be used. For example, if there were both a blue picture and a red picture in the room and you wanted to look at the red one, you would type:

>LOOK RED PICTURE

Or, if there were two pictures but no identifying modifier (or as an alternative to a specific modifier like "red"), you may use numeric modifiers, like:

>LOOK SECOND PICTURE

Finally, modifiers may be combined, such as:

>LOOK MY SECOND RED PICTURE

which will look at the second red picture you have in your inventory.

Each section will have different information on the basics of the game and how to play, but understanding how to enter commands will be an essential part of following instructions in this (and other) guides.

Note that commands may be abbreviated. For example, WAV BOB will wave at Bob. However, take care that when abbreviating commands, you do not abbreviate too much. For example, simply entering W BOB will attempt to move the character one room to the west and the "BOB" portion will be ignored.

Game Concepts

Races

In addition to various other NPC races, there are 11 playable races: Human, Elf, Dwarf, Elothean, Gor'Tog, Halfling, S'Kra Mur, Rakash, Prydaen, Gnome, and Kaldar.

A character's race affects the character's attributes (number of Time Development Points needed to raise an attribute by one point) and mostly RP-elements (e.g. tail verbs for races with tails).

There are no "racial traits" (e.g. infravision) or "racial abilities" (e.g. faerie fire) as may be found in other games.

Guilds

All characters start as Commoners. Then, there are 11 guilds that a player may choose to join: Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Empath, Moon Mage, Necromancer, Paladin, Ranger, Thief, Trader, Warrior Mage.

You can type DIR <GUILD> while in the city for directions to that guild. However, the location of two of the guilds, Thieves and Necromancers, are considered puzzles.

Also, due to unique mechanics that apply only to necromancers, it is not recommended that a new player join the Necromancer guild.

Attributes

Each character has eight attributes. They are: Strength, Reflex, Agility, Charisma, Discipline, Wisdom, Intelligence, and Stamina. You can check your character's attributes, among other information, by using the >INFO command.

Time Development Points, known as TDPs, and a negligible amount of coins are used to increase attributes. The number of TDPs needed to increase each attribute increases as that attribute increases. It is not affected by the number of points in other attributes. It is affected by the character's race.

TDPs are granted each time a character circles, as well as gradually by training skills. At first, the number of TDPs received from circling will provide the majority of the TDPs a character has. However, at higher circles, the number of TDPs received from training skills will outpace the TDPs received from circling. This is especially true if the player elects to train more skills than the minimum required to circle.

Skills

In Dragonrealms, the success of actions (e.g. attacking) is determined by a character's experience with the respective skill. Want to climb that mountain? That requires Athletics. Want to swing that broadsword? Heavy Edged. Every challenge will require a certain number of ranks in the appropriate skill, and in order to train a given skill, you must attempt an appropriate challenge to your current skill ranks. If you're a champion of skinning the rarest beasts in the land, skinning a ships rat won't provide a challenge, and as such, won't teach you further skinning ranks.

All skills in the game are broken into five categories: Armor, Lore, Magic, Survival, and Weapons.

Experience

The way skills gain in ranks in Dragonrealms may also be somewhat confusing at first. As you gain experience, you'll see that skills mindstate increase progressively from Clear (0/34) to Mind Lock (34/34). This is your 'Field Experience', and represents you learning things that you haven't yet converted to actual skill. Think of it as studying for a test, but needing to sleep on it to fully process and integrate all you've learned. Over time, Field Experience will drain, and in doing so, will convert into actual ranks in the skill. The rate at which skills drain is determined by your guild. Each guild has one primary skill group, two secondary skill groups, and two tertiary skill groups. Skills in a character's primary skill group are easiest to train, secondary skill groups the next, and tertiary take the longest to train.

Typing >EXPERIENCE will display skills with field experience. To see your total experience in all ranks, type >EXPERIENCE ALL. To check your experience in a given skillset, type >EXPERIENCE WEAPON, >EXPERIENCE LORE, >EXPERIENCE MAGIC, >EXPERIENCE ARMOR, or >EXPERIENCE SURVIVAL. Adding ALL will also include skills without any field experience. You may also check an individual skills progress by typing >EXPERIENCE LOCKSMITHING, for example, to check Locksmithing.

Character Advancement

In Dragonrealms, a character's level is called their 'circle'. If someone says they are 20th circle, they have reached the minimum requirements to advance with the guild leader 19 times, as all characters start at 1st circle. 'Circling' is also used as a verb to describe the act of leveling up. Each guild requires a certain number of ranks in various skills to circle. The skills required are often flexible. For example, the requirements are often X ranks in each of the highest Y skills in a skill group. The exact skill (e.g. small edge or large edge) can be freely chosen by the player, although some skills cannot be used. There are also sometimes requirements for specific skills. To circle, a player must fulfill all the requirements. It is possible for a character's skills to be significantly higher than the minimum required for their circle, either by not meeting the minimum skill requirement to circle in a different skill or by choosing not to circle, as it is done manually. To circle, find your guild leader and >ASK <LEADER> ABOUT CIRCLE.

Health

Dragonrealms doesn't employ the "hit point" system, per se, though vitality and spirit are similar. Instead, each body part (head, each eye, neck, chest, abdomen, back, each arm, each hand, each leg, and the nervous system) takes damage, which can be either external or internal, and fresh or scars. Injuries a player receives are almost always fresh, which become scars after they are healed. The scars then, in turn, need to be healed. As you are injured more in an area, the damage becomes more severe. For example, they may start as minor abrasions and end up as a stump if you are not careful. When a critical body part (head, neck, chest, abdomen, or back) is destroyed, the character will die. Players may also die if their vitality reaches zero, or if their spirit health reaches zero. Spirit health is not as commonly used when compared to vitality. When the severity of fresh injuries reach a certain threshold, they begin to bleed. External wounds may be >TENDed, utilizing the First Aid skill to stop the bleeding, but there is no similar option for internal wounds.

Vitality and spirit health will regenerate naturally. Wounds and scars need to be healed by empaths, some NPCs (such as Mirinn), healing herbs, and remedies products.

In addition, there are also poisons, diseases, and parasites that can affect the character's health.

Money

Money comes in the form of coins, with denominations of copper, bronze, silver, gold, and platinum, each worth 10 of the previous denomination. In addition, there are three currencies: Kronars, Lirums, and Dokoras. They may be exchanged for each other at a bank for a small fee. Dokoras are worth the most, followed by Lirums, and Kronars the least. Shops in different areas will demand payment in their "home" currency. When discussing price for items between players, it is usually discussed using Kronars.

Coins do have physical properties but are not quite the same as normal items. See currency for details.

Other concept ideas

Encumbrance.

Hindrance.

Creation systems.

Day/night effects (shop closures, etc.)

Justice

Death/favors

Helpful Terminology

In any game, you'll come across terms that are used by long-time players that can sometimes be confusing to new players. Some of the more common terms will be listed here to help you better understand what other players are talking about.

Verb - Typically when players refer to verbs, they are referring to an item that you can use a command on, though for some people verb holds the same meaning as command does. As an example, if someone says they have a 'verbed cloak', this might mean they have a cloak, but when you >SHAKE MY CLOAK while the cloak is worn on your character, you might see your character shaking dust out of the hem. Verbs, whether on items or not, give you additional ways to express things that your character is doing.

Gweth - Short for gwethdesuan. Gwethdesuans are items that can be used for communication at a distance via a thought network. If you are wearing one, you can >THINK <MESSAGE> to broadcast a message to anyone else with the same type of gwethdesuan within range. So for example, to send out "Hello world!" on the thought network, you would input >THINK Hello world! into your text-entry field and press your ENTER key.

Making Money - The primary means most players earn money in Dragonrealms is by hunting the various NPC critters that inhabit the lands. Critters will drop coins, small gems, junk gear, and lockboxes. You may also SKIN some creatures for valuable pelts, skins, hides, horns, paws, teeth, etc. Generally speaking, gems can be sold in gemshops, while skins/pelts/etc may be sold at tanneries. Lockboxes must be opened by a locksmith with sufficient LOCKSMITHING, and will often contain gems and coins. Not surprisingly, more difficult creatures tend to have more valuable loot.

Equipment - Starting towns with have places to purchase weapons and armor, and this store bought gear will be sufficient to get you started adventuring. APPRAISE the gear you have to determine what skills it will train, for example, a Scimitar trains the Small Edge skill, while a Broadsword trains the Heavy Edge skill. There are no irreversibly wrong decisions to be made when starting to train your character, though it's a good idea to speak with some people for advice on what skills to focus on, and therefor what gear you should seek out. Sooner or later, you'll want to upgrade to player crafted gear, which is superior to store bought, and can range in price dramatically depending on the materials. Many players will donate player crafted gear to new players, so ask around.

As a very general rule of thumb that is by no means a hard and fast rule, Weapon or Armor Tertiary guilds will be better served using lighter and faster weapons, and less hindering and less protecting armors, though there are frequent exceptions to this rule. For example, for a Moon Mage, a good starting set of weapons would be a Scimitar (Small Edge), a Mace (Small Blunt), a Throwing Club (Light Thrown) and a Shortbow (Bows), while a good set of armor may be all cloth or leather (Light Armor), and rotating Chain Greaves (chain). Comparitively, a Paladin will probably want to train a larger number of armors, focusing on heavier pieces, and use heavier weapons. That said, there are advantages and disadvantages to each weapon and armor type, so do some research and figure out how you want to craft your character.

• [Another important term that may confuse people is "circle." -CARAAMON (talk) 18:52, 28 October 2014 (CDT)]

I recommend putting any information that doesn't apply to just one guild here. For example, how to cast spells, how to make money, how to find equipment, etc. --ISHARON (talk) 23:03, 27 October 2014 (CDT)

Death and Favors

At some point, death comes to everyone in Elanthia. Death isn't permanent, but in DragonRealms it does works differently than in many other MMOORPGs and MUDs. Your character can die from a loss of vitality, a loss of spirit health, or having a critical body part sufficiently damaged or removed. Any field experience not yet converted to ranks is lost, and your character will drop anything you were holding in your hands. Once you die, your options for communicating with other players are limited. You will be able to speak to other players that come by, but you are unable to move on your own, but other players can DRAG you.

Your character can come back to life a few different ways. The two most common are for a cleric to resurrect you, or for your character to DEPART. In order for a cleric to resurrect you, an empath will first need to heal any major wounds that your character might posses. Being resurrected by a cleric is the best way to come back from the dead, but isn't always available. The other way for your character to come back to life is to use the DEPART command. New characters have a free depart option that last until second circle (level), or it has been used 5 times. These initial 5 departs allow you to return to life at the nearest resurrection location with all your items and coins still in your possession. For characters without this newbie protection, recovering from death requires favors.

In-character, a favor represents your character making some sort of sacrifice to the Immortals, the gods of Elanthia. In exchange for that sacrifice, the gods will let your character return from the dead. What this means to us, the players, is that your character will have to complete a puzzle to get a favor orb, fill the orb with field experience, and place the orb on an altar devoted to one of the gods. Orbs are filled using the RUB or HUG command, with rub transferring a little field experience, and hug filling the orb completely.

It is important to keep in mind that each favor orb takes a little more experience to fill than the last. As a rule of thumb, you should try to have 10 or more favors at any time. You can see the number of favors when you use the INFO or EXP command.

One important thing to remember when using the DEPART command, is that by default, all of the coins your character was carrying will be lost, and all of your items will go into a grave in the room where you died. Any items you were carrying may also have been dropped at your characters feet, and not in the grave. Items in a grave have some small measure of protection, but it is possible for another player to take items from the grave and not return them. Some protections are in place to keep the would-be thief from logging out with your hard-won items or running to a 'safe' room, but these protections don't last forever.

Major Game Systems

Magic

While Magic in Dragonrealms is used to some extent by every guild, Thieves and Barbarians train it in their own way. This section covers the prepare/cast mechanics that magic-using guilds utilize to train magic. Each spell has a 'Minimum Prep' or minimum amount of mana that it can be cast at. Anything above that is at the mage's discretion. The more mana funneled into a spell, the more difficult it is to cast, and that amount is determined by their skill in their primary magic skill (e.g., Lunar Magic for Moon Mages, Elemental Magic for Warrior Mages) and their skill in the type of spell being cast. For a more in-depth explanation of magic in Dragonrealms, you can read the lore behind Magical Theory.

For the sake of this Newbie Guide, all spells should follow the same pattern: (with exceptions to be discussed later)

1. PREPare <spell>
2. Wait until you see: You feel fully prepared to cast your spell.
3. Add Mana
   1. via HARNESS <amount>
   2. via Cambrinth
      1. CHARGE <item> <amount>
      2. INVOKE <item>
4. CAST

The <item> in this example is the scrap/sliver/shaving you will buy from the Artificer (if following the Walkthrough). As you're just starting out, the <amount> will only be 1 or 2 as you won't yet have the skill to put much extra mana in your spells. You can split it up however you like, in increments as small as 1. You can HARNESS 1 and CHARGE 1/INVOKE with cambrinth for a total of 2 extra mana. Eventually you will also be able to cast before the spell is fully prepared, though at low skill levels you risk backfiring and damaging your nerves.

This method will cover training the Magic skills of Augmentation, Warding, Utility, and Sorcery. In the process of casting it will also train your general Realm Magic (Arcane, Elemental, Holy, Lunar)

Debilitation is trained in the same way, though requires you be in combat and casting on an enemy in the proper skill range.

Targeted Magic is trained the same way, but with one extra step: TARGETing the spell at a critter.

1. TARGET <spell abbreviation> (this will default to the enemy you are currently facing)
2. Wait until you see: Your formation of a targeting pattern around a <target> has completed.
3. Proceed as above with adding mana and CASTing.

The spellcaster may also 'fine target' the spell by PREParing it before TARGETing. Here is an example of the difference:

>target ff

You begin chanting a prayer to invoke the Fists of Faenella spell.

You begin to weave mana lines into a target pattern around a pigeon-toed snow goblin.

>prep ff

You begin chanting a prayer to invoke the Fists of Faenella spell.

>targ head

You begin to weave mana lines into a target pattern around a pigeon-toed snow goblin, focusing on its head.

This can be useful for damaging an already damaged body part of an opponent, but it also makes it much more difficult to aim so you might find yourself missing a critter you can hit easily with general TARGETing. It is important to mention that either method teaches just as well. Once you TARGET a spell, it is considered fully prepared, but CASTing before the targeting matrix fully forms will reduce it's accuracy.

Attunement is another magic skill used only by the 'magic using' guilds. Attunement is perhaps the easiest of all Magic Skills to train. It will tell you how much mana is available in any given room by use of the PERCEIVE command. Also POWER or CONCENTRATE. It is trained as simply as walking into a new room, and checking the POWer there. Each room has a timer of 540 seconds on teaching via PERCeiving, so to train you end up doing a 'Power Walk'. Move, CONCentrate, Move, CONCentrate, Move, CONCentrate...you get the picture.

Barbarian 'Magic'

Placed here because the skills used are the same. I'm sure Caraamon will have choice words on whether or not Barbarians actually use magic. See the Barbarian Newbie Guide for more detail.

Thief 'Magic'

Placed here because the skills used are the same. See the Thief Newbie Guide for more detail.

<-- Taken from War Mage Newbie Guide, primarily written by ORBITAL303 -->

Debilitation Spells

Debilitation spells are all spells that you cast on another target to affect them negatively in a non-damaging way while using the Debilitation skill. It can be a stun, a reduction in balance, immobilization, a hit to fatigue, taking extra damage from everything else, or removal of defenses. When picking a disabler, you should keep in mind the stats it contests. It is ideal for you to use spells that favor the stats your race can train cheaply (and thus has higher values for) and to also consider spells that contest stats you know your opponent is weak against. The different contests involved mean that even though two spells do the same thing, one of them may be better for you personally in the situation you're in. Debilitation abilities are all subject to a stat contest, and more information can be found at Contested Abilities.

Augmentation Spells

Augmentation Spells are spells that are used to improve your capabilities in some way. They might make you more capable of dodging blows, stronger, faster, more skilled with magic, etc. They are essentially "buff" spells, helping you to survive or otherwise be better at something.

Utility Spells

Utility Spells are spells that are used to provide a variety of differing types of effects that don't easily fall into one of the other categories.

Utility spells can have a variety of effects, all of which are useful, but they are not necessarily related to directly improving the capabilities of someone like Augmentation spells. Additionally, Utility spells are generally cast on an item or in the area, instead of on a person.

Warding Spells

Warding spells that have the specific effect of protecting their target from magic in some way. They may provide you with a protective barrier to elemental damage, reduce incoming physical damage, etc.

General Walkthrough after Character Creation

Gear

While the character creation process will provide you with basic armor and a weapon, there a few other things you will need to begin adventuring (mostly) safely. To begin with, spend some time wandering around your starting town, trying to find the grizzled old war Veteran (Crossing) or Sir Robyn (Riverhaven). Visit their pages to see the syntax for exchanging your starting gear with those NPCs for a weapon and armor that fit your play style and character concept. In Dragonrealms you can make just about any armor/weapon combination work. If you are planning on joining a heavy stealth guild (Necromancer, Ranger, Thief) or planning on seriously training stealth for any other character, I would recommend light armor. Paladins, plate armor, and all others chain armor. Feel free to speak to other members of your guild for more detailed advice. When it comes to weapons, a scimitar or broadsword will suit anyone well, through let your character concept be your guide here.

Now that you've wandered around and probably gotten thoroughly lost, it's time to learn a great command for getting around town, the DIRECTION command (abbreviated DIR). This will allow you to easily navigate to where you need to go.

Next order of business; obtain a shield. To accomplish this you can use DIRection ARMOR and follow the cues. Once you make it to the shop, you can READ CATALOG to see what is for sale. You can also use the WEALTH command to see how much money you have. In Crossing, you can get a target shield from Tembeg's Armory. In Riverhaven, there is unfortunately no small shield option, though you can probably ask another player to get you one from Goblins or if you must, purchase an oval shield from Bantheld's Ironworks. A shield is your first priority, and then if you have extra money you will want to purchase a helm, greaves, and gloves. The shop you purchased a shield from will have these items, although if you started in Crossing, the storebought helm is terrible and doesn't protect eyes - consider a trip to Riverhaven in the not too distant future to purchase a helm there.

Now that your armor is taken care of, if you are a magic user you should also purchase a piece of cambrinth. Cambrinth is a magical metal that stores mana, and the primary means of training the Arcana skill. DIRection ARTIFICER will either take you to Herilo's Artifacts (Crossing) shop or Zanthron's Artificer Shop (Riverhaven). Once in Herilo's, you can use the SHOP command to see what is available. Any of the 'scrap' type cambrinth pieces in the metal bucket will do. If you started in Riverhaven, Zanthron's has no good options for new players, so consider a trip to Crossing in the not too distant future. Exploration is fun!

Preparation

We'll begin with the shield, and if you were able to obtain a small-sized target shield, we will go over how to wear it on your arm. If you were unable to obtain a target shield and are using an oval shield, skip to the next paragraph because you have to hold an oval shield for it to work. With a target shield, hold your shield in your hand and ADJUST SHIELD. This will switch the shield between two methods of wearing it: over your shoulder, or attached to your forearm. The message you will be looking for is this: You adjust the straps of your shield, tightening them so that it will fit securely upon your left arm. After you have adjusted it properly, WEAR SHIELD.

Now that you have a shield, held or worn, let's cover the STANCE command to make sure you're using the shield. STANCE SHIELD will allow you to use your Shield (100%) and Evasion (80%) skills. This is the safest stance for young adventurers, as your new armor will greatly hinder evasion until you have more ranks in its use. Once you enter combat and have a weapon in your right hand, you can STANCE PARRY to train the Parry skill. However, it is always best and safest to return to STANCE SHIELD as your default. Once you have an arm-worn small shield and are in shield stance, you can be at full defensive power all the time no matter what you are doing. Again, if you have an oval (or any medium sized) shield, you must be holding it in your left hand to use it. Eventually Paladins will be able to arm-wear a large-sized shield in this manner, while Barbarians, Rangers, and Traders will be able to arm-wear medium shields. Speak with other members of your guild to learn the pros and cons of these larger shields, but know that an arm-worn small shield is still the choice of most players and will serve any young adventurer well.

Joining a Guild

Now that you are fully equipped and ready to adventure, it is time to join the guild of your choice! Use the trusty DIRection command to get to the guild of your choosing, and find the Guildleader. Once there, you can type JOIN and listen to what they have to say.

How to Search Elanthipedia

Basic and Advanced Search

Elanthipedia has a lot of useful content, but finding what you want is not always intuitive. Here are some tricks.

Basic Search: to perform a basic search, click the link, or scroll to the upper-right corner of the screen, and type your search term in the box. Click "Search."

Advanced Search: Sometimes, the basic search gives you too many results, and you want to narrow your search. You can reach the advanced search option by clicking the link by performing a basic search and then clicking the "Advanced" link.

Under Search in namespaces, you can choose which types of pages to include in your search. The most useful options are:

• (Main) any wiki page that is not in a special category (most articles and shops)
• Category: any wiki page whose title begins with Category:. This includes the main guild, race, and spell pages, for example, which link to more detailed information.
• Armor: armor item pages (with looks, stats, shop locations, etc.)
• Shield: shield item pages (with looks, stats, shop locations, etc.)
• Weapon: weapon item pages (with looks, stats, shop locations, etc.)
• Item: all other item pages (with looks, stats, shop locations, etc.)
• Post: archived posts from the official Play.net forum
• Title: titles (the kind your character wears around his name)
• Checking the "List redirects" option will include pages that just redirect you to another page.

Special Queries

In addition to the normal search options, Elanthipedia has some special query pages that let you search for particular content. To use them, simply select the options you want and click "run query" at the bottom.

• ShopQuery: in the type field, include any of the merchandise types listed here
• WeaponQuery
• ArmorQuery
• ShieldQuery
• ItemQuery: all other items

When using the four item query pages, "rare" means items that aren't normally available, such as quest prizes, festival merchandise, etc.

BestiaryQuery: Here you can search for huntable creatures by location, difficulty, types of loot dropped, etc.

PostQuery: Search for archived posts from the official Play.net forum (separate topics with a comma)