Need some advice

[somerandomguy]

Well I just up and lost my first char...Someone was actingly friendly and ended up dragging me out into the middle of nowhere. Lesson learned I suppose....don't trust anyone in the game for any reason at all. Though I came to this game thinking that the mindless pk'ing would be minimal(especially considering my character was just a poor fellow without work) who attempts to rob a jobless man?

So blah anyway on to the point of this thread. Is there anything else I should know about this game that may not be listed in all the files? I've already learned that I should shun offers for help unless they are oocly offered...What else should I know?

[Spoon]

I think some people are just nasty. I'm all for people scamming each other, but killing players who you can tell are new is something most of the playerbase frown upon. Most likely it was another new player who hasn't got to grips with the game yet.

Be suspicious in general of people being overly friendly. Especially the kind who carry knives.

I hope you plan to stick around and find out how great this mud really can be and this won't put you off!

[somerandomguy]

Is there anyway to tell what they are carrying? I must admit I was a bit put off by that. While there is a lot of information there is nothing like a helpful person helping you get a feel...Which is why I went for it in the first place. I had been spending a good deal of time reading help files and the fellow walked in to interact with me. I figured I've been reading endlessly for awhile now may as well try to do something.

Maybe I'll think up a new char and start again tomorrow...Kind of a shame though.

[MarshallStaxx]

who attempts to rob a jobless man?

Someone who is broke, and desperate, and thirsty, and hungry, and has no job himself except for a miserable life of crime?
Well, that's half the population of Zalanthas.
This fella could have looted your corpse for your boots and clothes, sold them for enough coin to buy a drink of water. That's more than enough to kill for in this world.
Same thing happened to me first time... it quickly teaches you to be suspicious of everyone. Always keep your guard up, as someone much wiser once said... "Behind every Zalanthian smile is a forked-tongue waiting to come out."
My advice is to join a clan at first, it gives you a relatively safe environment to learn the basics of the game in.
Stick with it, and good luck.

[Ardan]

It is a tough lesson though generally most people will cut an obviously new player some slack. If you feel that the player in question took advantage of you being completely new in an unfair way I would recommend you mailing the Imms at mud@armageddon.org giving your account details so they can look into it. As far as I know it's pretty frowned upon by the Imms to lure a brand new player to their death solely because they see the player is new. It is not a common thing to happen so I hope you give it another try.

If you want to try and survive for a while I'd recommend talking with some of the helpers. A list can be found here: Helper List. I'd also recommend not going anywhere outside the city with anybody you don't know too well. Put yourself in your character's shoes and ask yourself would -you- go with this person. If the answer is no or you might be wary then I'd suggest having your character react in the same way. Might also be an idea to see about joining up with a House so they can show you the ropes. Hope you have better luck with your next PC.

[somerandomguy]

Nah Ardan I suppose I should of known better. Though the game is a bit overwhelming at first so I jumped all over a offer of help. Expect I dunno something besides attempts to murder me as a completely new player, but again I should of known better...

I suppose I'll think up a new character later, but right now I don't feel like putting the effort into it. Perhaps I'll just use the same story and a new name and slightly altered description...

[My 2 sids]

Some people try a different city with new PCs and that helps them get into the new PC better.  

Also, if you pick a PC that is somewhat more personable (not friendly, but who would interact with others well) you may find a few more job offers.  Usually those who land jobs with in the houses tend to live a bit longer.

[Beux]

Not everyone with a knife is horrible and scary. I've met my fair share of nasty people...I've also met my fair share of really nice people - who could have scammed, killed, robbed me...but helped me instead.

[Barzalene]

Not everyone with a knife is horrible and scary. I've met my fair share of nasty people...I've also met my fair share of really nice people - who could have scammed, killed, robbed me...but helped me instead. :)

I think a good point is that one should be VERY cautious, but not to the point where you cut yourself off from interaction. I've played for a fair bit of time now (going on five years, I'm still a noob) and I will still sometimes take the chance and follow the friendly guy, if they're not too friendly, if no warning bells go off, if my pc is hungry enough or needs something bad enough.

When it happens with your first pc it sucks. It interupts the learning curve. There's enough mechanical stuff to learn. You get attached fast. But later, there's a huge rush in the thrill of trusting someone. Every first sip of wine is exciting. Every first foray out to hunt gives you a little thrill.

Finally, I always believe, and I'm probably wrong, that the people who target newbies are probably still newbies themselves, and I hope they'll learn better.

[jhunter]

It happens from time to time. Don't let it get you down, this death is going to be the first of what will probably be many of them. Always be very cautious of others ICly, not to the point that you don't interact with anyone but try to play it as you might in RL if you believed there was the chance that anyone you met might want to kill/rob/rape you. Always have an out and be on your toes.

[Bestatte]

Instead of shunning offers for help, you could try a modified approach that would actually help you more anyway.

Example:

Friendly man: It looks like you need a hand there. I can show you where to hunt.

You: That'd be great, just as soon as I learn my way around the city.

Friendly man: I can take you on a tour!
Friendly man thinks: To the Rinth where I can practice my l33t backstab skillz and get his phat noob lewt.

You: Awesome. Except let me do the leading, you just give me directions. I learn better that way.

Either he takes the bait or he says later something just came up, heh. If he gives you directions, you have that advantage of stopping the moment you see a room description that implies it probably isn't someplace you want to be. Plus you really -do- learn faster if you're leading and someone is giving you directions, so it's a win-win situation for you.

[daedroug]

Generally on the whole i would suggest to any new player to make their start in Tuluk, for the most part it's a little less harsh then Allanak and you can usually find some random house to employ you while you get a hang on the game.

[Cuusardo]

I would suggest getting your new PC to get a job by joining a clan.  At least if you are in a clan, it's very unlikely that one of your clanmates will take you somewhere and kill you.

[Agent_137]

Generally on the whole i would suggest to any new player to make their start in Tuluk, for the most part it's a little less harsh then Allanak and you can usually find some random house to employ you while you get a hang on the game.

Generally on the whole I would suggest to any new player to make their start in Allanak, for the most part it's a little more harsh than Tuluk and you can usually find some random house to employ you while you get a hang on the game.

[Marauder Moe]

The other good thing about a new player starting in Allanak vs. Tuluk is that they're more likely to get obvious feedback for their actions.  In Tuluk, if you say something stupid people aren't likely to rudely berate you, they'll just snicker behind your back or make you disappear.  In Allanak, no one is afraid to call someone an idiot and punishment is doled out more quickly.  Punishment is also often more public, so a new player can more easily learn from the mistakes of others.

[adrien]

if an elf is really friendly with you, put your most valuable belonging away in a closed bag..


join byn

[Beux]

If you're acting slightly newbish. And you find people IC'ly being rude or nasty, it's poss. the player trying to give you a hint.  :wink:

[Djarjak]

This is my personal opinion, not necessarily the opinion of the entire staff.

Read that again.

Now, two of my opinions just for the record:

1) I would hope that people role play their characters regardless of the OOC knowledge that someone might be new. This discourages abuse of the "dude, I'm new" charity clause, and it means you stay in character. Note, if someone asks you something OOCly, or you need to point something out that is purely OOC, that's fine. But deciding whether or not to harass someone in-character based on an OOC factor is not role play.

2) If you kill someone, you should have a solid, in-character reason to do so. "Because I can" is not a good reason. "Because it's a harsh world" is not a good reason. "Because it's faster than trying to con them" is not a good reason unless you happen to be on the run. "Because I needed 'sid for water/food" is an OK reason, but I'm not buying this if you have money in the bank, a full backpack, and a full waterskin. "Because he had something I wanted," is a fine reason - but have an IC reason to want it, not an OOC reason. At a point, it would be realistic for -someone- to notice what you're doing and call you on it. Just because the code doesn't, isn't a reason you shouldn't stop to think about what you're doing. This is a role playing mud where PKing is allowed, not a PK mud where role playing is used as an excuse.

Now, I am all for people lying, cheating, stealing, and killing to get what they want, but screwing someone over royally and then letting them live[/i] is almost always more interesting for the players involved and for the game as a whole than killing them outright. Please consider this next time you're out for an easy kill. You will get much more respect from me, personally, if you play a character instead of a pkill bot who knows how to use 'say'.

I've seen some really crap RP when it comes to character assassination. Saying "Sure, follow me" then walking to where you know the law code won't punish you, then just typing "kill <keyword>" may be valid, but it really sucks in my eyes. A lot. Especially when I see other people use the mercy code to play out great scenes of extortion, robbery, and intrigue that provide weeks of entertainment for multiple players.

[InsertCleverNameHere]

I would suggest getting your new PC to get a job by joining a clan.  At least if you are in a clan, it's very unlikely that one of your clanmates will take you somewhere and kill you.

Personally, I would change that very unlikely to usually unlikely, or often unlikely.. However that isn't always the case. Some people are nutballs. Some people are into dirty (aka NORMAL) politics, and sometimes.. You step on the wrong toes without ever knowing it. Ever heard the expression keep your friends close, and your enemies closer? If someone is getting very close to you.. Make sure they don't consider you the enemy!

Aside from that.. Yeah. Some people do that stuff, to noobs, to vets, and everything inbetween. Some people are totally legit when they lure you in, some are just creeps. Just try again. Most of us, it takes a few characters before we really begin catching on to all the little do's and don'ts..  It took me about 6 before I feel I had my first REAL PC. And when one dies, I don't suggest just taking what you had and alter it a little. It is tempting, especially when you feel that the PC is going to die quickly, and it isn't worth your while to spend long times writing new ideas and coming up with new concepts on 'throw-away' PC. But you never know!

Edited to add that I agree quite a bit with the above IMM.

[Sokotra]

I agree with using mercy.  Even if your character is someone that would purposely kill your target rather than being careful not to land that final blow - it is still probably more realistic or at least good RP to stop attacking after they are unable to fight back.  In real life, most people wouldn't stand there and rip their guts out after they are already lying on the ground bleeding/not moving.  At least pretend like you thought they were dead and leave them with half a chance to wake up and run naked to safety.


To the original poster:  Would you walk off, in a hostile environment, with a stranger you just met, out into the wastes until you were completely exhausted?  As I'm sure you've learned, you have to think with a little paranoia and extra precaution.  Sure, you don't want to miss out on the interaction or building of a possibly beneficial alliance - but do it safely... here are some tips...

*Have two weapons or blade and shield ready, drawn and in your hands the moment you leave the gates with your "friend". (if on a kank, have one blade or shield in hand and make a macro/alias to dismount and draw your other weapon the SPLIT-SECOND that danger arises - you have to be fast to survive)

*Have water in your pack, a hunk of bread or meat would probably be a good idea too. (usually a good idea to have already drank and ate before you leave for a long or even short journey... i.e. drink your waterskin and fill it back up before leaving)

*If possible, have a kank - if not, make sure you stop and rest leaving plenty of stamina stored up in case you have to run to safety (back to a lawful area).  Don't let them run you into exhaustion.  ('help prompt' if you haven't already done so, and set your prompt to display health, stamina, and stun - watch them all carefully)

*Watch which direction you are going, and at least try to remember the general direction back to safety.  Again - stop, sit down and rest or "follow self" to quit following them if they are moving too fast or doing something suspicious.


There's some raw basics that all noobs should know - I'm sure someone could probably add some more, but study and learn how to do these things quickly and you should be off to a good start.  But no matter what happens, just remember... the world is harsh, have fun with what is going on - even if it is you starving or fighting to your last breath - it's part of Armageddon... your bones may bleach in the sun and become a femur club or sharp bone knife for the next raider or hunter... but your soul will live on.