Newbie Guide

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Welcome to Aetolia, The Midnight Age! You've stepped into an "interactive novelworld," a persistent, ever-changing story where your character can rise from a humble beginning to a position of power, fame, or even divinity. This guide will help you take your first steps.

Part 1: Your First Steps – The Introductory Tour

When you first create your character, you'll find yourself on Slaver's Isle. This is the start of Aetolia's automated introduction, designed to teach you the very basics of the game through a series of simple quests.

  • Don't Worry About Your Backstory: The Slaver's Isle intro is a mechanical tutorial. You are not required to incorporate this experience into your character's personal history.
  • Lost? If you forget what you're supposed to be doing, just type REMEMBER.
  • Need Help? The best way to get help from experienced players is to use the newbie channel. Type NEWBIE <your question here>. For example: NEWBIE How do I open a door?
  • Finishing Up: You can't leave the introduction and join the main world until you've finished the tour. If you're a MUD veteran and want to skip it, you can use the GRADUATE command.

Part 2: The Absolute Basics

The intro will teach you some of this, but here are the core mechanics you'll use constantly.

Moving Around
The world is made of "rooms." To move between them, you first need to see where you can go.

  • LOOK or L: Shows you a full description of the room you're in, including items, other people, and available exits (e.g., "Obvious exits: north, east, up").
  • QL (Quick Look): Shows you the room name and who/what is in it, without the long description.
  • To move, simply type the direction: N, S, E, W, NE, UP, DOWN, IN, OUT, etc.
  • Doors: Sometimes exits are blocked by doors. Use OPEN DOOR NORTH or CLOSE DOOR EAST.

Interacting with the World
You'll be picking things up, using items, and talking to people constantly.

  • GET <item>: Picks an item up off the ground.
  • DROP <item>: Drops an item from your inventory.
  • GIVE <item> TO <person>: Gives an item to someone.
  • LOOK <item/person> or EXAMINE <item/person>: Gets a detailed description.
  • INVENTORY or INV: Shows you what you're carrying.

Communicating
Aetolia is a social game, and communication is key.

  • SAY <message> or '<message>: Speak to everyone in the same room.
  • TELL <player> <message>: Send a private message to another player, no matter where they are.
  • NEWBIE <message>: Ask a question on the global, out-of-character channel for new players. This is your best resource!
  • CNT <message>: Speak on your city's channel for new players. It's a great place to ask for city-specific help.

Part 3: Who Will You Be? Race, Class, and City

After the introductory tour, you'll need to make some important choices. Don't worry, you can change your mind freely until you reach level 31.

Choosing a City and Class:
Your "class" determines your three primary skillsets and combat style. In Aetolia, classes are tied to Guilds, which are in turn located within the major City-States. In most cases, you should have finished character creation with a class selected, but if for some reason you find yourself without a class:

  1. Find Aaranu: Travel to the city of Esterport (you can use PORTALS as a newbie) and find Aaranu, the Newbie Ambassador. You can use PATH TRACK AARANU to find him easily.
  2. Pick a Class: To see your options, type CLASS GUIDE in-game. To learn more about a guild associated with a class, type HELP <guild name>.
  3. Join: Once you've decided, ASK AARANU JOIN <class name>. For example, ASK AARANU JOIN SENTINEL. This will make you an apprentice of that class and set you on the path to joining its guild and home city.
  4. Changing your Mind? As a newbie, you can use REPICK CLASS in the Academy to try something else. Your lessons will be fully refunded.

Choosing a Race:
Each race offers a unique set of four racial skills. Importantly, all races are viable for every class. Your choice is more about flavor and the specific utility skills you prefer.

  • To see a list of races and their skills, type HELP RACES.
  • To change your race (and your base stats via "statpacks"), use the REINCARNATE command. You can do this as many times as you like for free before you hit level 31, so feel free to experiment! Type HELP REINCARNATE for the syntax.

Part 4: What Now? Life After the Tour

You've finished the intro and picked a path. What's next?

  • The Academy (Highly Recommended!): This is the #1 place to start. The Academy in your city will guide you through a series of tasks that teach you intermediate Aetolian mechanics, from combat to crafting. You'll even get some free equipment! Type HELP ACADEMY for more info.
  • Orientation Tasks: If the Academy feels too in-depth, you can follow the TASKS system. These are simpler objectives that teach you game basics and give you rewards like lessons and experience. The first one is to REGISTER your character.
  • Getting Lost: Don't panic! As a newbie, you can use PORTALS CITY to return to your city or PORTALS GUILD to get to your guildhall. You lose access to this powerful tool at level 31, so use the time to learn your way around!
  • Hunting & Leveling: You gain experience by killing monsters (often called "denizens" or "mobiles"). Type HELP NEWBIEAREAS for a list of good places to start. As a new player, you have two basic attacks: PUNCH <target> and KICK <target>.
  • Learning Your Skills: As you gain experience and level up, you'll earn lessons. You spend these lessons to learn new abilities.
    • SKILLS or AB: See your available skillsets.
    • AB <skillset name>: See the abilities within that skill.
    • LEARN <#> <skillset> FROM <tutor>: Spend lessons to improve a skill. Your city and guild will have tutors you can learn from. Ask on CNT or GT (guild tell) where to find them!

Part 5: Essential Commands & Final Tips

  • HELP <topic>: The single most important command. There's a help file for almost everything.
  • SCORE: Shows your character's basic stats, level, health, mana, and more.
  • STATUS: Shows more detailed information, including how many lessons you have.
  • WHO: See a list of players currently online.
  • REGISTER: Do this immediately! It protects your character from being deleted quickly due to inactivity and is the only way to recover a lost password.
  • QUIT: To log out of the game. Your character saves automatically.

Aetolia is deep and complex, but the community is here to help. Never be afraid to ask questions on the NEWBIE channel. Explore, experiment, and discover the character you want to be. Good luck