Unsure if this is the place for newbie help, but...

[Akintude]

I've gone through most of the documentation, and I was curious if there was any "basic information on Allanak" document, since I wasn't able to locate one. That is to say, where various shops are, etc, as I've been wandering around the city for perhaps and hour and a half and have been unable to locate either a clothing or weapon shop.

[Bestatte]

Yes there is, and Jenred had a link to it somewhere around here. But since it -is- information on what your character would know, and since it -is- in the official docs, I'll give you the basic info:

Allanak is divided into areas called "quarters" (even though there's more than 4 of them). The two main taverns are the Gaj and Gladiator (where your character probably first showed up), and the Bard's Barrel, which is a bit east and south from there.

If you move in a general northeasterly direction from the Gaj, you'll come to the marketplace. Read the room descriptions along the road and you'll see hints that you're getting closer to an area of commerce and traders and merchants and stuff.

To deal with merchants in shops, type LIST to see what they have for sale. Then type VIEW #1 or VIEW #24 or whatever number the object on the list is that you want, to see its description before you buy it.

Then you can either OFFER 17 #24 (to offer 17 coins on an item that costs 20, for example) and then BARTER once you reach an agreeable price with the merchant, or just BUY #24 if you don't wanna try and haggle.

The same is in reverse, if you want to sell something to a merchant. You'd OFFER SWORD 17 to offer your sword to the merchant for 17 coins.. and he'll either accept the offer or come back with his own.. and then BARTER when you agree to a price.

Bear in mind that you can only attempt to haggle so much before the merchant gets pissed at you and tells you to go away. Watch his reactions when you use the offer command.

http://www.armageddon.org/slides/intro1.html

[Sanvean]

The MAP helpfile also contains a crude map of Allanak.

[Carnage]

What You Know - Allanak

[Akintude]

What You Know - Allanak

Yes, I'd already read that, and am passably familiar with Allanaki culture & social heirarchy, but what I was looking for is a general idea of the layout of the city and where important buildings and facilities (inns, critical shops, etc.) were, which I assumed would be part of what any character that hailed from Allanak would know by default.

Thanks Sanvean, the map is quite helpful. I assumed that the places to shop would be in the Commoners' Quarter, which is where I'd been prowling.

By the way, I have a couple other, more specific questions. First, the help files advise newbies to "join a clan" to learn the ropes more quickly, and I've looked at all the clan-related help files, but I'm not sure how I would go around learning about the various clans without commiting breaches of IC behavior. Also, what is "the Byn" that I keep hearing about?

I'm sorry if my nagging is inappropriate, but this seems like a serious, high-quality MUD and I'm just trying to do my best to reach everyone else's standards as soon as possible.

[JollyGreenGiant]

The Bazaar is generally a good place to find things to buy and sell.

The T'zai Byn mercenaries are ... uh, mercenaries.  In Allanak.  If you ask around in the Gaj or Barrel, someone can likely point you in the right direction.  Good, solid clan usually with a decent number of PCs, and if you happen to be a newbie, a good place to learn a few things, especially about the combat system.

[Northlander]

'help byn' gives you an immediate and nice answer. And of course your questioning isn't inappropriate, it's always nice to help interested people out with learning our mud. In fact, some people enjoy it so much and are so good at it that they've asked to be designated "Helpers". You can find a list of our helpers here: http://www.armageddon.org/intro/helpers.html

Working with a helper over an instant messenger is a good idea for most newcomers, but we common folk are also happy to answer questions on the forum.

[Barzalene]

And all the helpers are invariably happy to help.