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Combat in Aetolia is handled different for mobile vs. player combat and player vs. player combat. This document will explain, further down in it, why this is. In the meantime, however, it will briefly review how combat in Aetolia is resolved. |
| Player vs. Mobile (NPC) Combat |
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When you wish to fight a mobile, you may, generally, initiate combat with it simply by finding it and attacking it with whatever ability you choose to use. However, most abilities that do something other than just cause damage will not work against mobiles. The reason for this requires some understanding of how player vs. player combat works, but for now suffice it to say that creating an artificial intelligence that allowed mobiles to effectively deal with the hundreds of things a player can do to another player would be prohibitively complicated.
Once you have attacked a mobile, it will, in most cases, either attack you back, or run away. Usually a mobile will continue to attack you until either it begins to panic and runs away, or until you or it is dead. Be warned that some mobiles may loot your corpse of an item or two after they have killed you. |
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Player combat is an entirely more complicated affair. This is what our combat system is primarily geared to, and few, if any games, can match the intensity and complex nature of our combat.
It can be difficult to fully describe player combat, as there are so many different approaches to it. It is possible to fight with your goal as death of the opponent, crippling of your opponent, re-arrangement of items (for instance, stealing things from him), or even just as a demonstration or lesson.
Generally, the details of your offensive combat manouvers will be covered in the help files for your class-specific skills, as this is where the majority of offensive abilities lie. Some of your defensive abilities (more for some classes, less for others) will also lie in your class-specific skills, but probably the majority of defensive equipment and abilities are available to everyone who has high enough general (ie non-class-specific) skills and enough money to purchase the proper equipment.
Player combat generally involves much more than simply inflicting damage on your opponent. Not only can individual body parts be damaged, with different, harmful effects resulting from enough cumulative damage on a body part, but there are hundreds of afflictions that can be inflicted on an opponent.
If we take the most general goal of combat, which is to kill your opponent, then combat can be said to generally consist of: 1) Locating your opponent and finding him or bringing him to you. 2) Pinning him into place so that he cannot escape. 3) Damaging him until he dies.
This is an over-simplification insofar as only with a very surprised or helpless opponent will you simply execute 1, then 2, then 3. Usually there will be much moving around, healing of the things that pin you, healing of the damage done to you, etc. Combat is therefore a give-and-take process. For many offences, there are defences, and for many defences, there are methods of removing the defences. There are many afflictions (the general term for anything that affects you in a negative way aside from damage), ranging from the classic web spell to paralysis, to anorexia, to the aeon curse, which slows your movement through time. |
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Most of the damage and afflicting-dealing abilities in Aetolia, as well as some defensive and movement ones, will require that you have equilibrium and balance and will, after you use the ability, take equilibrium or balance away from you for a certain number of seconds. How many depends entirely on the ability.
Perhaps the single most important factor in mounting a successful attack against another player, and even against a mobile, is the efficient use of equilibrium and balance. When engaged in combat, you _always_ want to be making the most out of every second of combat. If you recover equilibrium and balance, and your opponent is in the room with you, there is no reason not to immediately use another ability that will use these up, unless you wish to flee.
The process of being as efficient as possible in your use of equilibrium and balance is referred to as "chasing equilibrium" or "chasing balance". |
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| Just as using most offensive abilities requires equilibrium and/or balance, many healing abilities or equipment have their own type of balance. These are often referred to as "healing balances". For instance, you are limited as to how often a health or mana elixir can be drunk with a beneficial effect. Since they both use the same "balance", you must choose which to heal while in the midst of combat. |
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| There are nine types of damage in Aetolia. These are: |
| Damage Type |
Example |
| Cutting Physicial |
a sword strike |
| Blunt Physical |
someone punching you |
| Cold |
the Necromantic "chill" spell |
| Fire |
the fiery breath of a Wyvern-morphed Druid |
| Asphyxiation |
the garrote ability used by Syssins |
| Electric |
lightning cast by a Mage |
| Magic |
the "decay" ability in Necromancy |
| Poison |
a Sentinel's trap, coated with the camus venom |
| Psychic |
the "mind crush" ability used by telepaths |
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| For each type of damage, there exists defences. For instance, the higher your Avoidance skill, the more easily you will avoid physical (both blunt and cutting) attacks, or be able to reduce the damage you take from them. There are mini-skills for defending against all other types of damage.
Furthermore, you may find elixirs or particular defences that help you with a certain kind of damage. We will leave it up to you to discover these, however. |
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| Healing in Aetolia may be accomplished in a number of ways, dependent upon your resources and what it is you wish to heal. |
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Healing of health and endurance may be accomplished by sleeping, while mana and willpower may be healed via meditation. SLEEP will put you to sleep, WAKE will wake you up, MEDITATE will cause you to meditate and any command will cause you to cease meditating. These are the most basic methods of healing, but they are not really sufficient for an experienced adventurer, as they are slow and require that you do not do anything else while performing them.
The other ways of healing are legion. They include abilities in various skills, salves, elixirs, plants, and smoking. Nothing need be said here about the abilities, as suitable help may be found on those within the skills. However, the other methods need some explanation. |
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Elixirs are liquids that may heal health, mana, cure afflictions, or set up various defences. Salves are also fluids, though not they are thicker and are able to be spread on your body.
Both elixirs and salves come in the various types of vials found throughout the land, and when full, can be used many times before running out.
One drinks an elixir, but one applies a salve. One may apply a salve to either head, arms, legs, or body. For instance, a salve of mending would cure a broken arm if applied to your arm, and a broken leg if applied to your legs.
You may purchase elixirs and salves from the marketplaces around Aetolia, or you may ask someone of the Druid or Sentinel class for them. |
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| Plants, in this context, are things that you eat. (Some may be smoked. See the next section.) Eating plants generally cure afflictions, or set up defences for you. You may find both of these for sale in marketplaces around Aetolia, or you may contact a Druid or Sentinel to buy them. |
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| Some defences, such as an anti-weapon field (created by smoking the skullcap plant), and some cures are effected by smoking plants. To do this, you simply find yourself a nice pipe, PUT IN PIPE, LIGHT PIPE (you must have a source of fire, such as a tinderbox in your inventory), and then SMOKE PIPE. A lit pipe will eventually go out if you don't smoke it now and then, but you can simply relight it. |
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| Combat goes much, much deeper than the few things mentioned here. It is, however, up to you to discover its full breadth and depth. The successful combatant is the one who has practiced, practiced, practiced, and who has investigated every ability, in every combination possible. Considerably more information on combat may be found in the help files. |
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