Combat

Combat is one of the basic activities of mudding, though not the only one. First, some monsters will attack you, and you will want to defend yourself. Second, if you kill a monster, you can take any items or treasure it has. Third, fighting will improve your skills, and then you will be a better fighter in the future.

When you first start out here, you will be weak and frail, until you start to improve your skills. Your chances of defeating an opponent (player-character or non-player-character) depend on a couple of things:
your skills, and your weapon/armour.

There are a few commands to be aware of before you decide to enter into combat. First, there is the "consider <monster>" command. This will give you an idea of the relative strengths of you and the monster. You will soon learn that certain creatures are too tough and others are within your means. But "consider" will help you along at first.

Second, you may want to "align <monster>". This command will give you an idea about the monster's alignment. Depending upon your character's moral and ethical views (if you have any!) you may choose not to attack certain creatures based upon their alignment. One thing to remember is that this command uses 10 endurance. Also, it's effectiveness is based upon your "awareness" skill.

Finally, by typing "wimpy" you can make sure that if your hit points get low enough you will automatically try to run away. This can be very valuable as you learn how much damage different creatures can dish out, and also during times of lag. Type "wimpy off" to turn it off.

You will want, before entering combat, to type 'wield <weapon>', and 'wear <armour>', if you can find, buy, or beg some armours or weapons to use. This is very important, because if you do not have armor or weapons to use, you will not hit the opponent with anything but your fists (if you have skill in that) and you will not be protected from their hits on you.

You can attack a monster by typing "kill <monster>". You may also find monsters attacking you, or sometimes a monster will attack you if you cast a spell on them, or if you attacked them in the past.

At any time (even before combat begins) you may "shape <monster>". This will tell you the general well-being of the creature. Once in combat you need only type "shape" to find your opponents condition.

To check your own well-being you can use the commands "hp" and "hpq". Both will display your hit points and endurance points. The difference is that "hp" will display them to everyone in the room, while "hpq" will allow only you to see them. (Type "help prompt" to learn how to have your prompt display your hp/ep at all times.)

Also, "focus <skill>" is an excellent way to heighten your growing combat skills. Use "focus" to help you gain that slight edge you need. Type "help focus" for more information on this command.

Here is a short example of a battle with an orc as your opponent:

     Orc scratches you.
     You hit orc.
     Orc hits you hard.
     You inflict massive damage to orc.
     Orc massacres you with incredible force!
     You massacre orc with incredible force!
     Orc dies.

After the battle has ended, examine the corpse immediately, you may find he is holding something that you desire.

Remember, fighting improves your skills.

See also:    kill,  wield,  wear,  shape,  focus,  skills,  consider
    align,  spells,  hp,  wimpy,  prompt,  hits,  critical_hit