Observe command

Observe
Unknown
OBSERVE - shows room as if you did a LOOK You see: You look around, trying to appear nonchalant. Others see: <Person> casually observes the area. OBSERVE <self> You see: You look yourself over. Others see: <Person> looks <himself/herself> over. OBSERVE <person> You see: You observe <Person> with fascination. Target sees: <Person> observes you with fascination. Others see: <Person1> observes <Person2> with fascination.

The OBSERVE command is used primarily for Moon Mages to view celestial bodies and gain insight to preform predictions on themselves or others. It's secondary function acts much like the LOOK command, except it outputs the following to the user: "You look around, trying to appear nonchalant."

Syntax

• OBSERVE
• OBSERVE WEATHER: Will let you know the weather. Useful if you are drying things in a pyramid.

Note: The WEATHER command is generally considered superior as there is no roundtime levied and it can be used in combat.

• OBSERVE <CELESTIAL BODY>: Moon Mages may OBSERVE a constellation, enigma or planet they've learned from the star chart to glean prophetic insight to use to predict the future.
• OBSERVE <SKY/HEAVENS>: Gives an overview of celestial bodies that are visible without the aid of a telescope. Non-Moon Mages have a significantly longer RT for this.

Notes

Upon a successful observation, the player will receive a message similar to the following:

You scan the skies for a few moments.

Xibar is unobscured by clouds.

Waxing still, half of the blue moon Xibar looks down from above.

It is quite near and glowing rather insistently.

You learned something useful from your observation.

Roundtime: 5 sec.

The roundtime is equal to 20 - circle/2 with a minimum of 5, but can increase further due to cloud cover.

Once a Moon Mage has observed a celestial body and learned something from it, they may then use the PREDICT command to preform a prediction and give a bonus or penalty to a skill based on the result of said prediction.

There is a timer 2-4 minutes (random) that restricts making observations. The cooldown timer is messaged by:

You feel you have sufficiently pondered your latest observation.

If a player tries to observe too soon, they receive a message similar to this:

You scan the skies for a few moments.

Xibar is unobscured by clouds.

Waxing still, half of the blue moon Xibar looks down from above.

It is quite near and glowing rather insistently.

You have not pondered your last observation sufficiently.

You are unable to make use of this latest observation.

Roundtime: 5 sec.

It should be noted that it is possible to fail in an observation, based on a few factors, including, but not limited to, cloud cover, Astrology skill, and Perception skill. Upon failing an observation the player will receive a message similar to this:

You scan the skies for a few moments.

Xibar is unobscured by clouds.

Waxing still, half of the blue moon Xibar looks down from above.

It is quite near and glowing rather insistently.

You fail to learn anything useful from your observation.

Roundtime: 5 sec.

There is a timer for making observations. The cooldown timer is messaged by:

You feel you have sufficiently pondered your latest observation.

Telescopes

Telescopes will help with observations (Through CENTER followed by PEER) and the moons and Sun will always grant at least a partial success through anything except total cloud cover.