Hello Armageddon

[Arcana]

Hi all!

I just started playing Armageddon. I'm used to playing Aardwolf, if any of you are familiar you might be able to sense the kind of trouble I'm having. I really need a point in the right direction. How can I get off on the right foot here? What are your first days of playing a new character like? How can I make some sort of progress towards something, and what am I supposed to be aiming for?

Any tidbits of insight would be appreciated,

Thanks,
Arcana

[Kankman]

Welcome.

I remember when I logged in for the first time. Damn, was I lost! You can read all the documents on the webpage but when you first log in, you'll still have no idea what to do. It takes a little while to get used to everything, but the best thing you can do is probably wander over to a bar, and take a seat. If nobody is there yet, someone will turn up soon. Try and make idle conversation, something will turn up. And by something, I mean something to do.

Contact one of the helpers, they are incredibly more useful than anyone else posting here. I'm too lazy to find the link, but I'm sure the next poster will provide it, and if not, the one after..

[Rhyden]

I've played Aardwolf. Armageddon is different. MUCH different. :twisted:

First off, I'd suggest familiarizing yourself with Armageddon's basic commands. Anything and everything that can help you out along the way can be found here: //www.armageddon.org. I'd suggest checking out the newbie files first, then move along into general information and such.  :wink:

With your first character, I'd advise not spending hours developping your character. Try this first character out to see what Armageddon is and to get a feel for Zalanthas. Try to stay inside the gates of your respectable city until you think your character is ready to explore. Treat your Nobles and Templars with respect. Avoid using 'kill' and 'hit' buttons on random NPCS. (I know this is popular in Aardwolf but it isn't so much here  :wink: ). Don't go blowing away all your starting coins. Remember to buy yourself a container to keep water in since it is a very important element in order to survive in Zalanthas. Keep some 'sids for food too.

A good suggestion is to join a House. In order to do this, you'll need to find a leader character that can recruit you into their designated house. That's where I learned and loved to play Armageddon and I'd recommend it highly. Don't be afraid to use the 'OOC' command if you're really stuck.

Lastly, Zalanthas isn't some fancy, prancing elf-loving do-dah fantasy world. It's HARSH :twisted: .

Welcome to Armageddon!

[Delirium]

The first thing I would do is read the what you know document for the city you start in, and then explore that city.  Get familiar with its basic layout, where things are, and try not to spend too much obsidian on things you don't absolutely need.  What you DO need is water and food.  Keep in mind that food purchased at taverns will be much more expensive than food purchased at a grocer's.  I can't recommend contacting a Helper enough, they won't bite.  (Except EvilRoeSlade, but he bites lovingly.)

"What should you try to do" is a really open ended question, and Armageddon is somewhat unique in that you can persue just about any goal you want.  One thing that is different from other games, mainly H&S style games, is that there is no treadmill race to the top, no need to skillmax.  Instead the focus is on living out your character's life.

Some suggestions off the top of my head are to try to make some friends (though the word 'friends' should be used lightly here, characters in Armageddon are largely not to be trusted), get a job or figure out how to support yourself in some fashion, and get mixed up in the ongoing plots and interactions that are going on in your location.  With a little elbow grease you can do just about anything in this game, provided it's IC and that your character has the capabilities and resources to do so.

Welcome to the addiction.

[amoeba]

Welcome to the addiction.

You are in an enviable spot. The fun of doing this all from the beginning, with no prior knowledge.  

Good advice so far, all I can add is relax and enjoy the time. There is no hurry to get anywhere. It's the trip thats fun, not the destination.  Just remember that pretty much everything can kill you.

[FiveDisgruntledMonkeysWit]

Since no one else has provided it yet, here's a link to the helper's page:
http://www.armageddon.org/intro/helpers.html
I highly recommend you contact one, or even a few, of these guys. They'll be able to answer your specific, nitty-gritty questions about mechanics and the gameworld better than most of the people on the board. I wasn't aware of the helpers when I first started playing, and my first few characters were that much harder because of it.
With these guys watching your OOC back, I'm sure you'll have a great time playing in our little sandbox. Guard your water, don't trust the elves, and good luck.

[Raesanos]

Welcome to Armageddon!  The advice people are giving seem like a good start; definitely don't hesitate to ask questions and contact a helper as Armageddon is certainly a different kind of MUD.  On behalf of the Armageddon staff we hope you find yourself at home!

[moab]

...do not be lured to the death waiting for you beyond the city gates wherever you start...

The only things that wait for you in the vast stretches of burnt and ruined land are remains of those who were easily seduced by the sparkle of some mirage, some illusion born of lust and greed which, once approached, advanced before them, luring them further with promise of water, wealth and the black 'sid of the soul and finally damning them to lie forgotten in the sands forever.

[Alnir]

The only things that wait for you in the vast stretches of burnt and ruined land are remains of those who were easily seduced by the sparkle of some mirage, some illusion born of lust and greed which, once approached, advanced before them, luring them further with promise of water, wealth and the black 'sid of the soul and finally damning them to lie forgotten in the sands forever.

Or.....

Aww..Look at the cute little thing. He looks harmless. I wonder why he has weapons?..What..What is he doing? Are those sharpened teeth? Aiiie!!!!!
/halfling brutally ravages person, dragging their gash ridden body back to their tree fort and knawing on the flesh for days/

;] Welcome to Armageddon.

[Arcana]

Thanks for all the support, this seems like a great game and community. What kind of things do I need to accomplish before I venture outside the gate, if I may ask. And also, I'm in Luir, been walking around for hours, and I can't seem to find a tavern or water anywhere. I assume knowledge of where these things are in the town we live are considered to be something my character should know.  :wink:  I'll refrain from asking where to find a lock pick unless someone really wants to share.

I just feel really stuck and lonely right now  :cry:

Thanks again for the help, you guys are great.

[Barzalene]

If you are really really stuck, you can wish up something along the lines of Hello, I have been looking for the tavern for the past few hours. If it is possible for someone to animate -this npc- (except it should be the given npc's description) that would really help. Thank you.

(you want to be polite because it's always good to be polite when asking someone to go out of their way for you, like in general, in life)

Then you can have an in character discussion with said npc who will probably know where the tavern is.

This is an idea for when you've exhausted other avenues first.

[Kankman]

Thanks for all the support, this seems like a great game and community.

It wouldn't hurt if you told your friends. The one thing just about everybody around here can agree on would be, we want fresh meat!

[amoeba]

Okay I'll try to not be IC.   As far as the tavern, you started in it. Luir's is small enough you should find it easily.  This is entirely up to you, but Luirs is either really busy or really dead. You may want to consider sweet talking someone into helping you get to either Tuluk or Allanak.  Don't try to go solo, you'll get way more excitement then you barganed for.  When you find the tavern, stay there for a bit. Someone will be along eventually.

[slight derailment]
I usually hate to suggest these things, but wouldn't it be better if for the first character only Tuluk, Allanack, or the 'rinth was an option?   No disrespect to Red Strom or Luirs, but finding no PC's can be quite disheartening.
[/derailment]

[Bestatte]

Also, pay careful attention to two things:

1) your stamina points. Type <help prompt> to see how you can set up your command prompt for your convenience.
2) the room descriptions. Often they will guide you to wherever you need to go within the various cities/outposts.

[Barzalene]

I agree that it is nice to have a larger pool of pc's to interact with, but for reasons I will not state on the board, I think newbies who start in Luirs quickly become very strong players as a rule. I think to a greater extent than either of the major cities.

[Anonymous]

yay I finally found the tavern  

[Bogre]

Remember this:

In the game, most likely no one is going to care about you. They won't start giving a shit until you start to look half-dead and weak, and then only because you'll be an easy target. You find someone who actually cares? Chances are that the sands will get them within a few years. To survive, you'll have to fight tooth and nail, and even if you do, you'll still probably die.

Welcome to Armageddon.

[Mean_Old_Bastard]

Yeah, as Bogre said, ICly we're assholes. There will be no ingame help for  your newbie. You -will- be fucked.

OOCly though, we're great, real nice, friendly, helpful. Well...some of us .

[Angela Christine]

Welcome!

Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I like to draw maps on paper (a client program that maps for you could be cool too, but most of them freak out on Arm because of the weather code).  When I get lost in that going round and round in circles but never getting anywhere sort of way, "Oh look, there's the north gate, again" I find a map can really clairify the shape of a place for me.  As you map you learn where you have been, and the places where you haven't been yet become obvious blank spots.  Once you know everywhere the tavern -isn't- it is easier to figure out where the tavern must be.  (The main difficulty is that wilderness and city locations are on a different scale, and outdoor and indoor locations may or may not be on different scales, so if you don't start a new map when you change scale you may get a multi-room building apparently over-lapping the road, but I don't think this happens too much in Luir's).  


Good luck,

Angela Christine

[Ghost]

I hope you enjoy the game friend.  Don't hesitate to load the helpers with tons of questions till you feel comfortable with the game.

Don't trust anyone in the game.  Especially elves.  Join a house/clan/organisation, if you get such an option.  And do not get disheartened if you lose your first few characters fast.

Welcome to Armageddon.

[Yokunama]

Here are some few helpful things...

We strongly suggest that new players take the time to review the wealth of documents describing the rich cultural and historical detail of Zalanthas in order to help them design and roleplay an interesting, compelling character.

New players are advised but not required to select Human or Half-Elf for race and a non-thief guild until they get a feel for the game's intricacies. Allanak is a friendlier starting place for new players as well, and has the highest player population.

I think a city role would be best for a starting character. You can learn alot about the world and what goes through the gossip that goes on in the cities. This also gives you a chance to see how other players interact amongst each other. Instead of waiting hours for after your hunter's death, it will help give you a lot more time to get used to the controls of the game too.

Heres an important link if you are considering playing a non-human character: http://www.armageddon.org/rp/racial/index.html (click on the race names for more information.)

[Alnir]

Remember this:

In the game, most likely no one is going to care about you. They won't start giving a shit until you start to look half-dead and weak, and then only because you'll be an easy target. You find someone who actually cares? Chances are that the sands will get them within a few years. To survive, you'll have to fight tooth and nail, and even if you do, you'll still probably die.

Welcome to Armageddon.

Hey. I resent that. My character is a nice person, unlike you smelly rinthers. Psh. and..AND. The sands haven't gotten me yet. Two full days, wooh :3

[Bogre]

Your character is nice?

Hah, foolish, foolish padawan...niceness gets you nowhere!


....unless you are pretending to be nice in order to betray them at the first possible moment... :twisted:

[Delirium]

....unless you are pretending to be nice in order to betray them at the first possible moment...

Gee, hasn't been done before.  That certainly isn't what almost EVERYONE and their mother likes to do in Tuluk.  Nooooo, sir.