1.10 Basics

An Introduction to MUDs.

This brief introduction is intended for those who are unfamiliar with MUDs (or MUGs, MOOs, MUCK, MMOGs, etc as they are also called). If you have played them before, it's unlikely you'll need to read the information below.

Since you are reading this, we can assume that you have successfully created a character. What this means is that you have made a persona for yourself that will grow as your knowledge and experience in the land increases. This is _you_ for the purposes of the game, and soon enough you will begin to feel, when playing Imperian, that it really is you.

MUDs as a whole are structured to provide real-time interaction between many players, and between various computer-controlled elements. They can be as varied as the imagination and to attempt to characterize the content of them here would be pointless. However, briefly, Imperian takes place in a fantasy environment that combines elements of classical Greece and Rome, medieval Europe, and ancient Persia.

Currently, you are standing in what is called a "room" or "location". You will always be in a room in Imperian. The structure of Imperian is such that there are thousands of locations, each representing an area of space. A location could be field, a section of desert, a part of a city street, or just a room in a house. These locations are generally connected to each other by directions like north, northeast, etc, up, down, in and out. There may also be portals that connect far-flung locations.

To "see" the room you are standing in, simply type LOOK, or just L. This will show you the name of the room (always a single sentence, like "Forked Intersection"), the description of the room, and whatever is in the room, be it an item, an animal or monster, or other players. You can move around easily enough by simply typing the direction you want to go in. For instance, northeast or ne to go northeast.

Oftentimes, you will not want to read the entire description of the room, and you will just want to see the name of the room and the items, 'monsters' and players that are in it. To do this, just type QL (which stands for Quick Look). Since you are reading this, you are probably new to MUDs and will initially experience confusion in dealing with the medium. However, the other players will generally be willing to help you, and all you need to do is use the NEWBIE command to ask for help. For instance, "newbie Could someone please help me?" You can also see who is online by typing WHO and then asking an individual player for help by using the TELL command. If you read all the help files in the Newbie Introduction (just type HELP on its own for more information about this), then you will get detailed instructions on how all this works.

I'm sure that at this point, you still do not have a clear idea of what goes on in MUDs, and I can only recommend that you jump right in and start playing. Take the Newbie tour (remember, just type HELP to see a directory of the help chapters), and never be afraid to ask other players for help. Just remember that there are people who will gladly help you, so don't get frustrated and quit at the first thing that confuses you. It may take some getting used to, but this is a highly entertaining and involving art form that hundreds of thousands of internet users find hopelessly addicting. Give it a try and you'll discover a brave new world waiting to be explored!

Imperian Specific Information

As a new player, you will undoubtedly be confused. Below are a list of files that you should probably read, in order. To read these files, simply type HELP <filename>. For instance, HELP BASECOMMANDS. Capital letters are not necessary. There is a lot of information, but after reading this sequence of files, you will be prepared to begin your life in Imperian!

Note that these files are arranged in a standard outline form. The headings of the sections are not help files in and of themselves, though they may share the same name as one of the files in that heading. Many of these files refer to other help files which contain further information on that subject.


Topic:                          Help files
------------                    -------------------
Basic commands                  basecommands

Communication                   says
                                tells
                                language
                                emotes
                                messaging
                                news
                                bugs

Your Character                  score
                                status
                                equipment
                                skills

Guilds and Skills               guildsystem
                                learning
                                equilibrium

Starting Out                    movement
                                death
                                money
                                shops
                                whatnow
                                website


The following files are not strictly necessary at first, but will undoubtedly be useful to you at some point:
                                playerkilling
                                healingyourself