Batmud Newbie FAQ (by Tlob)

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                   *** TLOB'S BATMUD NEWBIE FAQ ***

Introduction:
   This book is a collection of (mostly newbie) questions which have been
asked on the bat-, newbie- or other channels. I am myself still pretty
much a newbie, and I am not saying that I know much of the mud. The answers
here are usually those that someone else has given to the questions. I have
only collected them, and I take no responsibility for them. Some of the
questions here are VERY newbie ones, but some can be useful even to a
hi-leveler.

 *** Help files to read:

help stupid questions (OLD! Believe this FAQ, not the help file!)
help known bugs
help bugs
help who to ask
help topics (read ALL of them if you have time!)
help events
help news
help cheating

NOTE: Most help files are NOT up to date!
Note2: Most help files ARE useful, and you should read them if you just
       have the time. (well maybe not "help durandin ilkeily" but..) :-)

 *** Books to read:

Beginner's Handbook to BatMUD (by Finaldey)
Anaconda's Survival Guide (by Shadowjack)
Spell Incantation Index (by Fixed)
Grifter's Tanking Guide (by Grifter)
Newbie FAQ (by Tlob) :-)
All you ever wanted to know about wands (by Anaconda)
Shadowjack's Guide to Events (by Shadowjack)
The Beginners Guide to the BatMUD News System (by Yari)
Navigating the Outworld, an Easy Guide to the Batmap.gif (by Yari)
The Crimson Brigade Handbook (by Yari)
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ALCHEMIST POTIONS (by Enkil)

(Don't you just LOVE these loooong names..) :-)

Also, type "search newbie", "search help" and "search info" in the library.
Don't pay much attention to those books with 1 or 2 hits, unless their name is
interesting, though.

 *** QUESTIONS:

NOTE: These questions are in no particular order. They are usually ordered
chronologically, except if reading one of them is clearly necessary in order
to understand another one. (For example the definitions of CS and NS are
placed before any questions that reference them. =)

Q: What is cs?
A: Central square, the place in the middle of BatCity. (Crossing of Stone
   and Wood streets)

Q: I typed "lite torch" and it said "You now lite torch" but it still
   doesn't work.
A: Type "light torch", "lite" is something totally different. ("help lite")

Q: How can I stop the torch from burning if I don't need it anymore?
A: Type "extinguish torch".

Q: How can I get stuff from corpses?
A: Type "get all from corpse" or "get  from corpse", ("help handling")
   or you can get rid of the corpse and then get the stuff from the ground.

Q: So how do I get rid of corpses?
A: You can just wait until they disappear, but you shouldn't, because
   sometimes they'll create undeads. If you have a shovel, you can type
   "dig grave". If you have no shovel, get all stuff from the corpse and
   then pick it up, and either drop it to a trashcan or carry it until it
   rots..

Q: Any other ways to get rid of them?
A: Sure. Some races can eat them, also do "help skill fresh pants" and
   "help skill tinning".

Q: Where is OCP (Old Central Park)?
A: South of BatCity, in a city in ruins. Just follow the road south. Don't
   believe if somebody says it doesn't exist!

Q: What are these weird texts I get sometimes when I type a command?
A: Very probably they're typo messages, ie. you typed an inexistant command
   or made a mistake. Weird texts can also be wizard echoes..

Q: How can I consider a monster?
A: Type "use consider at ".("help skills")

Q: I can't wear my shield, and can't wield it either!
A: Your shield is unconverted. Go to Central Square and type "stuff
   shield".

Q: How can I do the "[bat]: Player does something." thing?
A: Type "bat *does something.*" or "bat emote does something.". Of course
   that works with other channels too, and you can change the message. :-)

Q: I can't carry all my money! What should I do?
A: Go to the bank and deposit them. The bank is in the City, shown by the
   "map" -command.

Q: Can I speak Finnish on BatMUD channels?
A: Yes you can, but you have to get the level 35 for the  "fin"
   -channel. Finnish is not allowed on most other channels.

Q: Where is the Newbie Help Warehouse?
A: In the church yard, east,north,north from church altar. Remember to
   behave.. ("bow damogran" / "curtsey damogran")

Q: Where/How can I drink?
A: There are fountains in cs and church entrance, just type "drink
   fountain". All rooms containing water (rivers etc.) also provide it for
   drinking. ("drink water") Watch out for swamp water, it may be
   poisonous!!! Also the tinker ("map" in city) sells water containers,
   fill them with "fill  from ", and drink with
   "drink " 

Q: How can I get rid of "You are too evil to cast this spell!"?
A: Kill evil monsters to become good. You can find evil monsters by the
   spell "detect alignment" or by using your brain. (Undeads usually _are_
   evil.. =))

Q: Why am I grinning WIDELY?
A: It's your default title. Type "help title".

Q: How can I read news?
A: Just type "news read". ("help news")

Q: How many help files are there really?
A: Type "help topics" for a list. Also there are some player written help
   files like this one wandering around..

Q: Where's the city library?
A: In the southeast corner of the city. ("map") Probably you're reading
   this book there, but just in case.. :-)

Q: How can I get ANSI colors to BatMUD?
A: Type "term ansic". ("help term")

Q: How can I know which wizzes are on?
A: Use "who wiz short", or even better, "friends -w". ("help who", "help
   friends")

Q: How can I clear an alias?
A: Type "unalias " or "uncommand ". ("help alias")

Q: How can I know how much exp do I get from my kills?
A: Create a party with you as the only member (of course others can join
   too) and type "party kills" to see how much each monster gave. ("help
   party")

Q: How can I identify items?
A: Either you can buy an identify scroll, or you can go to the store
   (General Store, Armoury or Smithy) that buys such items and type
   "identify ". Identification at shops costs 500gp if it works.

Q: What is a tank?
A: A tank is a player (usually fighter) that stands in the front row of a
   party taking all the hits and protecting others. ("help party" etc..)

Q: What happens if I hit the gong in the City?
A: It's a levelquest. You get banished to a random location and lose all
   your spells for a while. You then
 should go back to the City and repeat
   it 5 times in 15 minutes. (Almost impossible, don't try it..)

Q: How can I give my old items to Newbie Help Warehouse if I can't donate
   them? (ie. you are too low level or something)
A: Just go there and "give  to damogran". (Or drop it on the ground.)

Q: "light torch 2" doesn't work! How can I light many torches?
A: Hint: giving an item to yourself makes it the first one in the list. So,
   to light for example 3 torches you type:
   "light torch"
   "give torch 2 to "
   "light torch"
   "give torch 3 to "
   "light torch"

Q: I advanced my first level, but I can't join any guilds!
A: You first have to complete your 15-level background. You can join guilds
   when you're level 16.

Q: Why can't I wield my weapon? I says it's too big..
A: Well, it's too big.. Weapons have sizes nowadays. You get bigger as you
   grow and advance levels. Go to cs and type "offer " to get info
   about it. ("help weapons")

Q: What's that place "ns" ("newbie sign")?
A: It's simply the place with "A HUGE newbie sign <*glowing*>", ie. the
   street between church and Adv. Guild. ("Pine between Onyx and Jade")

Q: How to get rid of boons and banes?
A: The only way is to get a reinc. ("help boons and banes", "help spell
   reincarnation")

Q: How to find out which bodypart a piece or armour covers?
A: Just look at it, it says "It would cover your ." in the desc.

Q: How to find out where a certain guild is?
A: Type "help open guilds". Of the guilds in city, you can sometimes find
   them by the "map"-command, and there are many guilds in different shops
   and elsewhere. (for example in many offices and in the swimming hall)

Q: How to unlock a door?
A: First, find a key somewhere. Then type "unlock  with ".

Q: How can I see when my hit/spell points change?
A: Type "sc on". ("help sc")

Q: How can I make my character start the game from somewhere else than the
   church?
A: Go to the location and type "start here". Not all rooms allow this, but
   for example castles, city streets and many guilds do. ("help start")

Q: Where can I get my sex changed? I don't want to be "It"!!
A: In the hospital in BatCity, or you can ask somebody to cast sex change on
   you. ("help spell sex change")

Q: What are these boxes I find in corpses and elsewhere? Does someone own
   them?
A: No, chests are somebody's own, not boxes. The boxes contain money. There
   is usually a lot of money in the box, but it can be in any type of coins;
   if you're lucky it's 100 mithril, if not it's 100000000 mowgles!
   The boxes are closed, and the best way to open them is to get someone to
   open them. You usually have to pay from 10% to 50% of the money to the
   opener. You could also try forcing them by yourself, but beware: some of
   them are booby-trapped and can cause serious injury.

Q: So, how can I force a box?
A: First, get a shovel or two. Wield the shovel, and type "force box". A
   shovel isn't absolutely necessary, but plain hands aren't enough, and
   never use your best weapon. The boxes can contain different traps, for
   example they may destroy your weapon, poison you, or explode, causing
   damage to you and destroying the money.

Q: Where is the Digga's newbie area? I can't use the portal!
A: It's 16 southwest, 23 west from BatCity south gate.

Q: How to chech how much does advancing my level cost?
A: Go to the level advancement room in the Adventurers' Guild and type
   "cost".

Q: How to find out what an unknown word means?
A: Type "word " for a Finnish<->English translation, and "webster
   " for a definition on an English word. ("help word", "help
   webster") (or use a normal dictionary :-) )

Q: How to use a tinning kit?
A: Type "tin corpse". The skill "Tinning" helps you succeed more often.
   ("help skill tinning")

Q: Can I be summoned from BatCity sewers?
A: Yes, but you must not have any ring materials on you OR in the same room
   with you. (That means almost anything you pick up from the sewers.)

Q: Can I send/read mail outside the Post Office?
A: Well, not really, but after you have started reading/sending mail, you can
   move around by preceding you commands with a "!". ("help parser")


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Dryad additions:

Q: Any other way to get to evil from neutral than a tempt?
A:
  [07:00]:Presence (newbie): Taunt the magician of good for a while.
  [07:01]:Uurkarka [newbie]: baptism?
  [07:02]:Puddin [newbie]: i think my baptism turned me good because it f****d up so be careful with baptisim
  [07:03]:Puddin [newbie]: the safest way to go evil is kill good creatures
  [07:03]:Serc [newbie]: wibbles!
  [07:03]:Kitania [newbie]: you have to be evil already. killing good things only makes you more evil
  [07:04]:Puddin [newbie]: oh, ty for that :)
  [07:04]:Kitania [newbie]: if you want to be evil and you're good, you can get a flip 
  scroll or potion, fight a mob that has flip spell or purchase a guard and train it 
  to cast flip.
  [07:05]:Kitania [newbie]: or get baptized. but you can only get baptized once per boot, if i recall correctly

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