1.11 AN INTRODUCTION TO MUDS

This brief introduction is intended for those who are unfamiliar with MUDs,
which are also called:
- MUD    - Multi-User Dungeon, or Multi-User Dimension.
- MUG    - Multi-User Game.
- MOO    - MUD, Object Oriented.
- MU*    - Any of these other things.
- MMOG   - Massively Multiplayer Online Game.
- MUCK   - Multi-User Chat Kingdom.
- MUSE   - Multi-User Shared Experience.
- MUVE   - Multi-User Virtual Environment.
- MUSH   - Multi-User Shared Hallucination.
- ORPG   - Online Role Playing Game.
- MURPE  - Multi-User Role Playing Environment.
- MMORPG - Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game.

(there are a few others, such as MAZE, MARE, MUX, and probably some we've
missed, but that should be enough to get you going).

If you have played one of these before, it's unlikely you'll need to read
below.




Starting: Your Adventurer
-------------------------
So you've created an adventurer in Achaea! Great start! You've also finished
the 'Escape from Miba', which is our introductory tour.

What is your adventurer? For the purposes of the Achaean realms, it is you.
Your adventurer can walk, fly, look at things, learn things, talk to people,
make friends or enemies, join or leave organisations such as cities or Great
Houses or Divine Orders, and almost anything else you can imagine doing.

What do we know about your adventurer? How do we describe him, or her?
SCORE, SKILLS, and STAT go a long way to answer this, showing:

- statistics such as strength, intelligence, constitution, dexterity,
  health, endurance, willpower, and mana (magical power).
- tiredness, hunger.
- age.
- how many lessons are available to increase skills.
- (and a great deal more).


Interaction
-----------
Achaea is not a solo adventure. You are far from alone!

Whatever you do, you'll be doing it with hundreds and even thousands of other
adventurers (other players), plus what we call denizens, which are
computer-controlled beings. Talk to them, ask them things, find out about
quests. Return a lost animal to its owner; end an evil monster's reign of
terror over a fearful township; re-unite lost loved ones; find rare treasures
for wealthy collectors: the possibilities are endless!


Setting
-------
Achaea is a fantasy environment that combines elements of classical Greece and
Rome, medieval Europe, ancient Persia, and other early empires.


Growth: MUDS are About Increasing and Learning
-----------------------------------------------
Your adventurer will grow and gain new abilities as your knowledge and
experience in the land increases. Study in various skills to increase what you
can do and how well you can do it.


Location
--------
You are standing in what is called a "room" or "location". You will always be
in a room/location in Achaea, one of thousands (actually, there are well over
twenty thousand locations, plus the wilderness).

A location could be field, a section of desert, a part of a city street, or
just a room in a house. Locations are usually connected to each other by
directions (e.g. north, northeast, up, down, in and out). Sometimes, special
sorts of things connect remote locations, such as portals.

To "see" your current location, use LOOK, or just L. This will show you several
things:
- a name (a phrase like "At the centre of Dockhand Square"),
- a detailed description of the room,
- what is there: a thing (sword, box, etc.), an animal, people, etc.


Too Much Detail!
----------------
Sometimes you may not want to read the full description of your location, but
still want to see everything else in it. Just do QL (quick look).


Moving
------
You can move around easily enough by simply giving the direction you want to
go. For instance, NORTHEAST or NE to go northeast. As you rise in power, you
may be able to move around in other ways, including flying, burrowing, riding
mounts, or creating portals to faraway places, travelling in an instant.


Confusion
---------
MUDs can be confusing at first. There's a lot going on!

People (both adventurers and denizens) are walking around, coughing, burping,
whatever. You may hear yelling or shouting and tons of just plain talking. You
will hear noises. Information is whirring past, and it's not clear what is
important, and what can be safely ignored.

That's ok. We can help. Many others in Achaea can help you if you'll just ask.
Try doing this:

   NEWBIE I'm not sure what to do now. Could someone advise me privately?

Many are willing to take time out to advise the newest members of Achaea.


Who's Out There?
----------------
Do WHO (to see what adventurers are in the realms). Pick someone:

   TELL jacko I'm new here. Could you help me figure a few things out?


HELP
----
Or you can go straight to HELP. We have an extensive help system with thousands
of entries. HELP alone will give you plenty of ideas. HELP 1 is all about
getting going, and HELP 2 has basic commands.


Fun
---
This can be a heck of a lot of fun. Try out interesting things. Greet everybody
you meet. Listen and learn. You may want to become a great fighter, or a mighty
mage, or an experienced diplomat. Perhaps political leadership is more to your
liking. Like real life, the options are close to endless. It's up to you to
decide and to have fun.

We wish you all the best.