Primer for Myriad Magic
(The Newbie's Guide)
This is the online manual for Myriad Magic. It will help the new MUD player grasp the basic concepts of MM to his or her fullest. Sections of the manual will be separated with lines like the one seen below: This manual covers extensive area of the entire MUD, so it is rather long.
CHARACTERS
Each character in Myriad Magic is a unique individual with strengths, weaknesses, and special abilities. A character is portrayed in the game by hundreds of separate pieces of information, each of which is influenced by the actions that the character performs.
ABILITY SCORES
One of a character's most important attributes are his or her ability scores. These represent strengths and weaknessess that are possessed by a character.
STRENGTH is how physically strong your character is
DEXTERITY is how nimble and responsive your character is
INTELLIGENCE determines how complex your character is mentally
CONSTITUTION is a rating of your character's physical health and vitality
DEVOTION relates how devoted your character is to any task, and measures willpower.
LUCK comes to your aid in mysterious ways, and gives bonuses to saving throws and other rolls where luck comes in handy.
RACES
You may choose a race during your characters creation. A characters race is just as important as a characters class. You may also choose to be one of the few 'special races', but beware: their extra flair comes at a price!
STANDARD RACES
Humans are the race which all others are compared to. Humans are by far the most adaptable and versatile race within the game system. A human may be any profession, if he can push his ability scores high enough. As a race, humans have a decided lack of determination, and they live to be around 100 years.
Dwarves are akin to Gnomes. They live in mountainous regions, and love weapons, gems and precious metals. Most dwarves are generally dour, grim, but good-natured and loyal to friends. The typical dwarf lifespan is around 350 years.
Halflings, also known as Hobbits, are a happy-go-lucky race of small folk who commonly live on the rolling plains, or "shires". They live in large communities of burrows, cute homes built in the side of the hills. Halflings are typically very talkative, and get along well with all of the other races. While they may not be very strong, they are agile, and very, very lucky.
Elves are intelligent, forest-dwelling folk with an unparalelled love for art, magic and nature. Tall and slender, most elves possess great affinity for the forests and woodlands. As a race, elves are aloof, and while they may be skilled, they are viewed with suspicion by the other demi-humans. Elves can live up to the very old age of 700+ years.
Half-Elves are half human, half elf. Humans and elves are the only races able to produce half-breed children. They possess many of the traits of both races. Most half-elves live on the outskirts of civilization, never truly being accepted by either race.
Gnomes are super folk who live in the rainy foothills and misty mountainsides throughout the land. They are small folk, like Halflings and Dwarves, and are typically hard-working and extremely resilient individuals. The typical gnome lifespan is around 200 years.
SPECIAL RACES
Special races are races vastly different from the standard ones. They have perks and disadvantages, such as having a limited class selection, regardless of ability scores.
Faeries are the smallest race. Possessing butterfly wings and purple skin, they have lightning speed with a wit to match, but physically they are fragile and weak. Favorite profession: Thief or Mage
Dracons are a strange, reptilian race. Aloof and arrogant, they possess intelligence along with physical strength. They possess the limited ability to breathe acid, as they are part Dragon. Favorite profession: Psionic
Half-Wolves are bipedal canines with great intelligence. They possess many canine attributes along with a humans. A half-wolf is either good or evil, there are almost never any neutral half wolves. They possess great determination, resilence, and are very loyal friends. They live to around 100 years of age. Favorite profession: Lord
Half-Demons are the offspring of an evil Demon and a Human female. Most are evil, although a few aren't. They possess supernatural speed, natural talent for wizardry and swordsmanship, and hot-headed personalities. Physically, they look like very attractive humanoid goats with talons for feet. Unique profession limitation: Fighter/Mage (similar to the Samurai, except without honor or armour)... this is the only profession they may become. Half-Demons must be Male.
ALIGNMENT
Alignment describes your character's general ethical outlook.
Good characters are just that. They will go out of their way to help someone.
Neutral characters take life as it is. They will help someone if it doesn't harm them.
Evil characters are not really evil when compared to some of the things characters fight while adventuring! They are just self-centered, and always want to know "what's in it for them". Evil characters will help someone, for a small fee.
CLASS
A character's class is a sort of job description. It describes what a character has trained himself to be. A character always belongs to one class, and later on can change his class. Each class has special requirements as to minimum ability scores, allowed races, alignments, and possessions. Go to the classes page for a complete list of these requirements. Also, next to the class name, the percentage of each genre that makes up that class will be shown.
Fighter
The basic man-at-arms. Fighters have high hit points, can use any armor and weapon, and relish their role as shock-troops. They are the best in combat, any way you look at it.They may be of any alignment.
Samurai
These folk are fantastic warriors. While their combat prowress isn't as great as a Fighter's, they possess the ability to cast the basic Wizard spells. They start out with one spell point and very slowly gain them as they gain levels. They may learn up to 3rd level Wizard spells.
Ranger
Masters of the forests, these fellows use both their wit and their combat prowress to survive. They can track enemies, use up to medium armor, wield almost any weapon, and begin to learn priest spells at higher levels. Rangrs also possess the ability to hide or move silently.
Cleric
The advocates of Deities, they receive the ability to cast priest spells starting at 1st level. Clerics are able to DISPEL evil undead monsters, can use up to medium-class armor, and must wield specially consecrated weapons.
Lord
The true crusader knight of Myriad Magic, they are the symbols of all that is right and true in the world. They must be of good alignment. Lords receive 75% of the skills that a Fighter possesses, in addition to learning Priest spells later on. They may only wear a maximum of one miscellaneous magical item, not including weapons and armor, for they may not be greedy.
Monk
Like the Zen Bhuddists, these solemn figures are martial artists as well. Monks combine their martial arts skills with their pious faith to create a fearsome adversary, totally functional without the aid of any physical objects.
Thief
The trickster. They are masters of stealth, lock-picking, and pick-pocketing. Thieves may wield a fair selection of weapons, and can only wear the lighter armors. Thieves receive +1 to all saving throws due to their wary, evasive nature. They are crucial to disarming the trapped treaesure chests that frequently inhabit dungeons and other locales. They are about as effective as a Cleric in combat, although they are more offensive, and less defensive.
Ninja
Effective fighting machines, they seek to master their training and become adept mentally as well as physically. They can wreak havoc with any slashing weapon, or even their bare hands, sometimes paralyzing or killing the biggest monster with only one blow. They disdain armor, and their AC improves slowly as they gain levels. At higher levels, they can learn up to 2nd level Wizard spells.
Mage
Your standard "robes-and-a-dagger" sorceror. They are masters of magic and have little time for physical endeavors, leaving them with poor hit points, combat abilities, and weapon selection. However, with a few simple words and arcane gestures they can summon mighty energies at their command. They can cast any and all Wizard spells.
Bishop
These individuals practice both forms of magic, and seek to become masters of both. They possess skills that are intermediate between Mage and Cleric. They have the advantages and disadvantages of both the Mage and the Cleric. They can wear light armor, and wield any weapon a Cleric could. They do not learn spells as fast as a purist spellcaster, though.
Bard
Bards are generally light-hearted individuals who are known as minstrels throughout the lands. Their main area of expertise is charisma; with their musical talents and their silver tongues, they can sway the masses with the least amount of effort. In addition to this, however, they possess an extremely wide variety of skills which are sure to help any group they're in.
Psionic
Dark, powerful and mysterious individuals who are masters of mental powers. In addition to their Psionic spells they possess many unusual abilities, such as the talent of identifying items, dispelling extraplanar creatures, regenerating from wounds, and recovering magic points in positions other than sleeping! Physically they are much like the Mage.
EXPERIENCE
Experience is a measure of the character's mettle and abilities, as tested in the real world. Where the abilities and charactertistics describe a character's potential, perhaps the best way to measure the ability of a character to help a group of adventurers is by the number of experience points he has earned.
A character can gain experience points in a number of ways, but the most common is through the test of steel; in real combat with a mortal enemy. After each combat, all surviving members of a group will receive an award of experience points. The amount they gain depends on the difficultly of the combat. For example, a Great Dragon will provide more than a Green Slime.
As the character gains experience, certain thresholds will be passed, depending upon his or her class. When the number of experience points are obtained, your character is said to have made the next level. When a character makes a level, his abilities, combat prowress, and characterists change, usually for the better.
Please note that it is possible to lose experience, too. This occurs usually from acting cowardly or getting hit by certain spells.
POSSESSIONS
Possessions are objects that characters own.
Gold is a very important possession. When your character begins life, he has a pittance (probably won in a lottery), barely enough to buy some simple armor and a few paltry weapons. As your character explores outside of the Castle, he will find great riches in gold, which may be used to purchase better items, lodging, and perhaps occasionally acquire the services of a high priest to cure, heal, or even resurrect a friend.
Gathering and maintaining the best possible set of items is a major pastime for adventurers, as they can make the difference between life and death! The number and variety of items found in Myriad Magic may be a little bewildering at first. We won't tell you how the items work, but do offer some general guidelines here.
First of all, not all items may be used by every character. Some items may be used only by specific character classes. You will learn what works by practice and experience.
For example, Magicians may not use anything heavy, such as armor, shields, swords, or maces.
Also, some items are intelligent and have an alignment, just as your character does. If a character equips an item that has a different alignment, the item will seriously impair him. In addition, it will become cursed.
Cursed items picked up while adventuring are very uncooperative and they stick like glue to anyone who equips them. If you manage to get back to the Trading Post in one piece carrying such an item, Boltac can uncurse it for you. Select the cursed item by typing in 'uncurse' followed by the item's name, and if you have the cash, Boltac will take it off your hands (or whatever part of your body it is attached to.)
When you first find certain items in the Maze or anywhere else, you cannot be certain of their exact properties. The names of these items describe only their appearance. Whenever possible, have such items identified before you equip yourself with them in case they turn out to be cursed.
One of the special powers of the bishop is the ability to identify items. However, there are some risks associated with having a bishop identify an item. If the bishop is not very careful, he or she may touch the item by accident. This will cause the item to be equipped, and if the item is cursed, the hapless bishop will be forced to use it. For this reason, Boltac has begun to perform such inspections himself. Needless to say, Boltac exacts a fee for this service. Also, the identify spell is available to most spellcasters, but the caster suffers the same risks.
The procedure for identifying items is similar to that of uncursing them, except that you type in 'identify' to identify instead.
Here are some other guidelines for equipment within Myriad Magic:
SPELLS
Spells are magical formulas that proceed all human logic and bend the physical laws of the universe.
There are three basic categories of spells: Psionic, Wizard and Priest. Whereas the sorceror obtains his spell knowledge through studying, and learning complex formulas and rituals, the devout priest obtains his spell abilities from the divine entity he follows. Lastly, the psionic gains his spell-like abilities slowly, as he learns more and more about the powers of the mind.
Each category of magic has it's own group of levels. Priest spells go up to level 7, Psionic spells go up to level 8, and Wizard spells go up to level 9. This does not mean that Wizard spells are more powerful than Priest spells, it just means Wizard spells are more finely categorized, as a level 7 Priest spell is around as powerful as a level 9 Wizard spell.
Each spell-casting character has a spellbook, which lists all of the spells that the character has learned. For a character to cast a particular spell, he needs to have that spell in his book, and needs to have enough magic points equal to the level of the spell being cast. So in order for a character to cast the third level Wizard spell MAHALITO (Fireball), he must have it in his spellbook, in addition to possessing at least 3 magic points.
Characters may learn new spells at the training grounds. A character must have a train point for every spell he wishes to learn. A new character starts out with 3 train points, and gains 1 train point every time the character gains another level. Also, the character must be experienced enough to be able to learn the spell. A level one Mage cannot learn MADALTO (Ice Storm).
To regain lost magic points, you must sleep and memorize your spells. Every hour of rest, in game time, restores one magic point. If your character has a high devotion or is learned in the arts of Meditation, he will recover more than 1 per hour.
PLACES
CASTLE OF LYLLGAMYN
The Castle is a safe haven where your Adventurers can train, rest and lick their wounds, be ripped off by the shopkeeper, or even resurrected from the grave. The Castle encompasses five locations which provide special services to the adventuring player. These are the Training Grounds, Gilgamesh's Tavern, Boltac's Trading Post, the Temple of Cant, and the Adventurer's Inn.
The Training Grounds, located just outside the Castle, rings with the sounds of swords clashing and timid battle cries. A closer inspection shows youngsters hitting pells with wooden blades, and many of the battle cries turn into yelps when the blade bounces back and hits them! It is here that you create new, novice characters, and can inspect veteran characters, who are standing around shouting encouragement (and other things) to the novices.
GAIN - allows you to gain skills your character doesn't start out with initially. costs Train Points
LEARN - for spellcasters. this is how you learrn spells. if you are one, be sure to learn instead of train
PRACTICE - use practice points to practice your sskill in any skill or spell
RECLASS - used to change your class. you can onlly do this once, so make sure you know what you're doing
Gilgamesh's Tavern is dim and smoke-filled from the haunch of boar roasting slowly over the fire. Small groups of adventurers talk in low tones around deeply scarred wooden tables. Here is where you hope to join a team capable of surviving the arduous rigors of Myriad Magic.
LOOK - allows you to see the adventurers in the room
SAY - followed by an argument, allows you too send a message to the room you're in
TELL - followed by the person's name, and theen message, sends a private message to that person
WHO - shows an online roster of the current adventuring players
Boltac's Trading Post is the commercial center of the Castle. It is owned and operated by a friendly dwarf named Boltac. Like all dwarves, Boltac likes gold, and will sell you your own arms (not your "armaments," your arms!) if he can get away with it. Here the spoils from a hundred forays find their dubious way to sale. This place has all the equipment you need to make it your one-stop shopping center, and it is open around the clock for your adventuring convenience.
LIST - lists the items boltac has for sale. it will tell you each one's cost, and if you are allowed to use it or not.
BUY - buys the desired item. if two or more items have the same name, use buy 2.item_name for the second one, etc.
SELL - attempts to sell to boltac the desiredd item
VALUE - you may want to see how much he'll buyy it for first, though. use this command to accomplish this.
Whenever a party brings back characters who are dead, paralyzed or similarly distressed, they can be carried to the Temple of Kant.
Enter the Temple by proceeding north, then west, from the Market Square. Type in 'heal' to see a list of spells the Clerics can cast on you (in addition to the hefty "donation"). Unless you are dead or blown to ashes, (worse than just being merely dead), the healing arts of the Temple practitioners are assured of success. In those other more serious cases, there is a chance that the best efforts of the priests will be to no avail!
A character with a good vitality rating has a good chance of being helped, but old, infirm characters may be in big trouble. Dead characters who fail to be raised from the dead are reduced to ashes. Even in such depressing circumstances though, there is still hope: for a larger tithe, it is sometimes possible to resurrect a person even from an ashen mess - but if this attempt fails, the character is lost forever and cannot be restored by any mortal means short of a MAHAMAN or IHALON spell.
Anyone brought back from the dead will have but a single hit point and should limp post-haste to the Adventurer's Inn. Those resurrected from their ashes will have all their hit points restored (for all the money, you should get something free.)
HEAL - lists the arguments to heal yourself ffrom any malady, including DEATH and ASHES
The Adventurer's Inn offers several important amenities for your characters. To being with, staying in the Inn overnight or longer can help you recuperate from rough fights with monsters by restoring some or all of the hit points you've lost in combat. If you don't have enough money to afford a room, you are always welcome to the stables. Second, resting at the Inn gets you out of the cold, and away from any thieves or brigands lurking for unwary adventurers. Lastly, resting here heals you at an increased rate compared to resting on the street, and you will recover your magic points as well.
SLEEP - Allows you to sleep to recover hit poiints and magic power faster.
REST - You don't recover as fast as sleeping,, but you can talk and do things while resteing.
Here is a brief synopsis of what kind of world your character is in. A more detailed version can be found on the Story page.
You live in a dark and oppressed world, thousands of years after a nuclear war utterly demolished the planet. The world is now a dark, cold and unforgiving place. Those who still survive fight for what they have, and live in walled towns called "Castles". The world is now back in the dark ages, with high technology long gone. Thieves, brigands and murderers keep the world in constant check, never allowing it to grow back to the civilzation it once was.
DNA-altering viruses and nuclear radiation have caused many mundane lifeforms on your planet to mutate. For example, there are mutant forms of human, which the people call demi-humans. Elves, dwarves, and gnomes are some of these new races.
A strange new science was discovered, in the place of technology. This science was technically termed Magick, after the legends from the superstitious Medieval days. It seems those very legends have come true, or perhaps old knowledge was simply found once again. In any case, Wizards abound the planet, seeking magical power, or seeking to help the human and demi-human races understand more about it.
You are merely a traveling adventurer... possibly a future hero, or an prospective villain. You've come across a quaint Castle in your travels... the name of this kingdom is Lyllgamyn, and they seem to have training grounds for beginners just like you. You've been thinking to yourself that maybe such a place is a good place to get started. After all, we've all got to start somewhere, right?
The winds blow fiercely across the plains as you approach the wooden gates.
EVERYWHERE ELSE
THE MAZE
Whenever this manual mentions The Maze (note, ominous sounding) it means the Maelstrom, a multi-leveled underground dungeon, a structure left in the aftermath of the nuclear war. (you remember the storyline, right?) The Maze is probably going to be the most mainstream place to adventure, although many people may prefer not to explore in such a dark, scary, and enclosed environment. The Maze is where the adventurers can go in search of monsters to kill, loot to "borrow", and clues to help the players understand what is really going on, story-wise. As the characters become more proficient, they will be able to adventure for longer periods of time, and penetrate deeper into the Maze; eventually, they may come face to face with whatever lurks at the bottom of it (if there is a bottom to the horrible place).
LYLLGAMYN, CONTINENT OF
The continent of Lyllgamyn is vast and boasts many counties, castles, and towns, from the Castle of Lyllgamyn to the rolling hills of Oakenshire, the Halfling community. To the southeast, behind the Darsh Mountains, lies a port town which is now evil, since it was taken over by goblins. Also, rumor has it that Vale Stronghold, in the Darsh, was taken over by Fire Giants. The largest dungeon residing on Lyllgamyn that is publically known is The Maelstrom, although this dungeon is probably the largest in the world.
LYLLGAMYN, CASTLE OF
Lyllgamyn Castle is a quaint, european-style place. It functions as a town, its thick walls and iron gates protecting it's citizens from outside terrors. Here, players can rest at the Adventurer's Inn, get ripped off by shopkeepers, and accept commissions from the City Hall. The Training Grounds is just outside of the Castle, to the east. The Maelstrom is a little ways to the north of the training grounds, the entrance being placed inside a small hill (look at the map)
Also, look at the other sections of the site if this primer failed to satisfy your question(s).