The Avalon Manual

Here is the complete manual for Avalon. If you are a novice to the realm, it is highly recommended that you first proceed to the Introduction before reading this manual in its entirety. This manual covers everything which a player needs to know about the game and it is useful as both a reference and a comprehensive tour of Avalon's unique qualities. Enjoy!

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to Avalon.

About life inside the game and basic character development.

1.1. Avalon's underlying concept (essential reading).

Avalon is not simply a game - it has evolved to a level beyond a mere 'game', and success at Avalon is not a matter of clever button pushing, or isolated linear progress. You will need all the talents which lead to success in real-life; communication, quick-thinking, insight, perseverance, passion and ability. The 'game' is founded on conflict and co-operation, its aim to be a forum for emotional clashes between bitter enemies, and alliances between beloved friends. A land of heroism and villainy, not a sugary safe environment for easy progress and emotionless character building.

There is no distinction in Avalon between role, and real. You will find the Gods especially are not interested in the neat distinction between in-character and out-of-character. There is no difference. Within Avalon, all is one - you choose to step into this world, and while you do so, you live by its laws. The most fundamental rule of Avalon is that all is fair and just, unless the Gods declare otherwise. You cannot simply step outside your character when things become difficult. You cannot shout unfair and expect restitution. Sometimes the land is violent and bloody, when the vicious blood-thirsty are pre-eminent, sometimes it is peaceful and safe, when the pacifists are more prevalent. The ebb and flow of Avalon is not a matter of design, but of evolution. No other gameworld can offer such freedom. Freedom to succeed and be great, but also freedom to be hurt and persecuted.

1.2. Initial Introduction to Avalon.

From the moment you enter Avalon at the lowly level of Newborn, you embark upon a journey into the imagination. Avalon is a Role-Playing World, a mythological environment in which you can develop your own character and interact with other real-life and imaginary beings. A continent of legends, both of the past and in the making, Avalon allows you to become part of an endlessly unfolding tale. Most importantly you play out your role alongside other real people, whose characters may help or hinder your progress through the land.

Every character in Avalon has freedom of choice in their actions. Each character forms a part of an evolving world. You may select a Guild for tutoring in skills, produce potions with alchemists of Mercinae or forge weapons in the smithies of Thakria. You may build your reputation and become a respected or feared member of society. All the while you are part of the unfolding history of a world in w hich you can play a major or even guiding part. Your journey is that of enlightenment, your quest to one day touch the divine.

There are a few things, though, that you should be aware of when entering the land of Avalon. It cannot be compared with any other computer game. The depth and complexity of Avalon is unrivalled. This level of game design has not been achieved without some sacrifice, unfortunately. Avalon can appear overwhelming at first, and it takes a typical player a few hours to become used to the style of game. It is no short-term game. It is the nature of the game that its appeal is lasting and durable, rather than a short-term buzz from flashy graphics and sounds.

1.3. Charges for Avalon, and purchasing credits.

Avalon credits or lessons can be purchased by check (in US dollars or UK pounds), money order or postal order. Mail and all correspondence should be sent to:

Avalon
PO Box 3348
Sheffield
S10 3WS
United Kingdom

Payments to this address must be made in U.S. dollars or UK Pounds and we strongly recommend courier or registered post, particularly for those mailing money internationally. Make all checks/money orders payable to AVALON. Do not forget to include some reference to your character name with your payment. If you have any further queries, e-mail support@firstage.net.

1.4. Introduction to Avalon.

The first thing that you should attempt to do if new to Avalon is to come to familiarise yourself with those commands which tell you about the progress, abilities and skills of your character. You can type SCORE and STATUS to see your current status, DIVINITIES to show how the deities feel about you (they can give you their favour, or disfavour), INVENTORY to show what you are holding and wearing, and SKILLS to display your proficiencies in various areas. Type HELP SKILLS for more information. You begin your life as a citizen of either Thakria, Parrius or Mercinae. In addition you are a member of either the Academy (in Mercinae), the College (in Parrius), or the Institute (in Thakria) through which you can learn and develop your skills. The Academy can be found on Singing Street, the College on Amber Street, and the Institute resides on Moonstone Crescent.

Type HELP ACADEMY for information on this, your most immediate concern. The most important thing to remember is that other people will be very willing to help you. It may seem rather large and complex, but most people have been through that stage at one time and will be glad to aid you.

1.5. Dreams to learn the ways of Avalon.

Dreams are undertaken mostly by those fairly new to Avalon, novices, new graduates, and apprentices in the guilds. There are dreams to be had detailing every major deity, all of the open professions, the three major cities, and further tours on Avalon's geography, and general advice. You may have as many or as few dreams as you like, though all are useful - each one lasts for, at most, five minutes.

Type DREAM OF followed by the tour you wish to take (as listed below) to begin a dream, e.g. DREAM OF MERCINAE to dream about the city of Mercinae.

Dreams of the Gods can be found about GENESIS, ALDARON, ORTHWEIN, OSIRIS, SOLONTUS, MYRKUL, MALDOROR.

Dreams of the Professions can be found about KNIGHT, MAGE, LOREMASTER, SEER, RANGER, DRUID, THIEF, SORCERER and BARD.

Dreams of the Cities can be found about MERCINAE, PARRIUS, and THAKRIA.

And general dreams can be found about GEOGRAPHY, and ADVICE.

1.6. Overview of Avalon itself.

Avalon is a mystical land before the age of humanity, when other strange and wonderful creatures walked through the great forests and valleys of the earth. Great cities exist, but beyond the stone walls of humans ancient forces of magic move through the land. Your objective is to experience life in Avalon, for only through experience and competence at your skills can you elevate your mortal spirit into the form of a deity and become one of the gods who hold the land in their sway. Material goods and items you will no doubt encounter, and many will help you in quests, though wealth is a poor substitute for the true essence of perseverence, skills and experience.

1.7. The game environment, for those new to it.

Avalon is a real time world. This means that as you are thinking and acting, events will continue to progress. You will be informed as and when things occur around your character; for example, when others perform actions in the same location as you.

You control your character by means of typed commands and each time Avalon is ready for a command, the prompt (a single dash) will appear. If your typing is interrupted by incoming messages, the prompt and any text you have entered so far will be temporarily deleted and then re-displayed afterwards. Avalon will execute your commands when you terminate them with a 'Carriage Return' or by pressing the 'Enter' key. Having entered a command, you will then receive a response to your action immediately.

Each action you perform in the land is interpreted as a command by Avalon. Many of these commands are simple verbs through which you instruct your character to move about and interact with others. Most commands take the form of <verb> <noun> <preposition> <noun>, although you will find that many vary quite considerably, depending upon their nature. Avalon understands a vast range of verbs. Should what you enter not be understood at first, it is often worth rephrasing your command in a more standard format. All commands can be entered in upper or lower case. Omit any THEs, ANDs or superfluous adjectives - Avalon does not need these.

1.8. Playing Avalon without conflict.

Being combatative is by no means the only way to enjoy Avalon. There are guilds devoted entirely to pacifism, to the avoidance of combat, and even its prevention. The path of the pacifist is a more gradual one - because they do not fight, they do not ride the roller coaster of great victories and ignominious defeats. Pacifists or those who do not like combat tend to make excellent diplomats (pursuing positions such as Barony or Ministries of a city), or fine merchants. Traditionally the Animists, the Loremasters, the Alchemists, the Minstrels, and the Bards Guilds attract those who would prefer a peaceful lifestyle.

Since around 950 years after the Divine War, the god of life chose to exercise his divine right and formalise pacifism as an aid for the younger, more vulnerable or less belligerent mortals - or even for those who tire a while of battle and seek to rest and relax for a time. If you wish to choose pacifism for a while type CHOOSE PACIFISM to begin your thirty second prayer to the god of life for pacifist status. Pacifism lasts for around one year after you choose to adopt it. It will restrict your actions insofar as you will find it more difficult to interfere actively with combat between non-pacifists. Conversely, though, non-pacifists will find it almost impossibly difficult to harm you while pacifist and, unlike the temporary divine protection enjoyed after death, the pacifist protection cannot be broken by you until it melts away after new year and your experience gain is not inhibited at all. Type PW for a list of pacifists in your locale at any given time.

1.9. The Good Samaritan - customer and novice support.

The Good Samaritan's role is simple - he is here to help. His job is customer service and support. He will help to guide all novices and those who have not yet established themselves in Avalon, and deal/report bugs and problems spotted by the established players. The Samaritan will bring all problems to the attention of the relevant person and will never turn away a player in need of help. The Samaritan is not a deity, and has no role. All may feel free to come to him for support. However, he is not obliged to give away secrets of Avalon or hold an established player's hand, nor will he aid one player to the detriment of another.

To talk to the Samaritan type SAMA followed by the text you wish to say, e.g. SAMA you are a friendly and helpful soul.

If you have any serious problems, you may e-mail the Avalon Support staff at support@avalon-rpg.com and we will endeavour to respond as promptly as we can.

1.10. Conduct while in the land of Avalon.

Avalon is a World - it is not simply a selection of locations containing treasure and problems to overcome. It has inhabitants (of which you are, of course, one), cities, villages and wildlife. Even when you are not playing, there will be things going on, plots developing. To ensure that you enjoy as much as possible of this astounding world it is necessary for you to behave as if you WERE the character you are playing. To enjoy fully the complexity of Avalon you will have to treat your character as an extension of your own being - do with him/her what you would do in any particular situation. Rash actions in Avalon can have far reaching effects - there is no easy way of just going back to the beginning and starting again. As a few simple guide-lines; Try to respect the Gods, but never to rely on them. Choose a patron closest to your own personality and confide in him or her. Striking up friendships with your fellow guild members and city dwellers is important - there is safety in numbers. Perhaps, if you have time, you should check DREAM OF ADVICE for further hints on initial progress in the land.

1.11. Syntax used throughout the Avalon help system.

Throughout the help system you will notice many words within < > brackets. These tend to follow on from actual commands referred to in capital letters. Avalon commands usually take the form <verb> <noun> and <preposition> and syntax examples throughout the help system are displayed in this format. Anything contained within < > brackets should be interpreted as 'any relevant word'. The syntax of the command GET, for instance, would be GET <object> - where in place of <object> you would type in the name of the object you wished to get.

SYNTAX EXAMPLES:
- look at dog
The dog is small and young. It is a mere pup.
- pat dog
You pat the dog in a friendly manner.
- get dagger from backpack
You retrieve the dagger from your back-pack.
- throw dagger at dog
You hurl your dagger at the dog.
It strikes true!

1.12. Etiquette for dealing with Young Avalonians.

It is worth clarifying the distinction in Avalon between those who can be considered part of the cut-and-thrust of the land, and those still too young to have fully acclimatised themselves to the unique and sometimes extreme world they have stumbled into. Regardless of alignment, citizenship, divine belief, or guild, those youngsters must be treated with care and special attention. It is the duty of all Avalonians to give at least some thought to embellishing the early lives of the very young, and integrating them into whichever facet of the world you or they choose. Type LW or LITTLEWHO to see a list of those that the Gods consider part of this 'youngster' category.

In practice, what this distinction should affect, in all cases, is the manner of treatment of the youngsters. Grand gestures, lucid explanation of your motivations and reasons behind your actions, especially if you are an enemy to their chosen path. A powerful sorcerer has every right to scare a young mage, but should do so with maximum drama and be conscious not to overwhelm. There comes a point, reasonably early in every Avalon player's career that they cross the line between roaming around unsure of their surroundings and their future, and being set on their chosen path in the land. Be aware of that distinction. Nurture the young, it is the duty of all Avalonians, because when they reach adulthood, they will come to realise that in Avalon, there is no safe path.

1.13. Avalon's world economics system (summary).

Avalon has a complex economic system, designed to reflect a real world economy (although in miniature). The system can be simplified into two tiers; production of useable raw materials, and the fashioning of the finished products. Both tiers can be carried out entirely by computer controlled characters, though for the most part it is in the hands of the mortals and their gods. Raw materials come from villages and towns dotted about the land and are procured by individuals, guilds or cities. Cities control fashioning of these raw commodities into usable items - centralized around council chambers and the baronies.

1.14. How to access Avalon via the best possible route.

The most infuriating problem with the internet is overloaded connections leading to slow, lag-ridden response. Though for the most part the extent of lag you will experience at any given time is beyond our control we have set up other Points of Presence in North America and Europe, each on different parts of the internet, to give you a number of alternatives should you experience unacceptable lag. See HELP POPS for a current list.

We will be expanding the number of Points of Presence to give more alternatives as suitable sites are found. Remember also that the internet is an unpredictable and disorderly beast and often the Point of Presence which is nearest to you in distance is the most lag-ridden due to sagging networks in between - so try all the Points of Presence.

2. Novicehood - The first steps.

How to complete your novicehood and benefit greatly from the experience.

2.1. The basic set of newborn skills.

You gain the basic set of five skills as soon as you create a character on Avalon. They can be developed as fully as you wish throughout your Avalon lifetime.

Fisticuffs is a skill used during a fight to determine how effective you are at hand to hand combat. It is used when evaluating your chance of striking, and the accuracy of your blow. Fisticuffs are often used to settle minor arguments with the two protag onists rolling down their sleeves and commencing an honourable fist fight. Usually the winner is the first person to knock the other unconscious - you are much less likely to slay somebody using Fisticuffs than with Swordplay.

Scholarship is the skill of linguistics, writing, and general academic pursuits. It includes abilities to extend herbalism and poison lore, control your mind, and eventually even imposing your will on others. Since Scholarship is one of your basic skills, you would be better advised to advance in your specialist guild skills before learning the scholastic ways.

Defence is a skill used during a fight to determine your agility, and ability to dodge an incoming blow. It can be roughly translated as your speed of reaction in a combat situation. It is used against both Fisticuffs and Swordplay. Defence is improved by getting yourself into fights and many young players enjoy battling with wolves and young goblins to improve their defence before engaging some of the more potent of enemies.

Constitution is your ability to resist and defend against most forms of magical attack. Many of the guilds use enchantment as their prime means of attack and you will need to develop good constitution in order to withstand their offensives. Each time you develop constitution, you will become slightly more resistant to attack, and magical spells will do just that little bit less damage against you.

Perception deals with your ability to see things which happen very quickly, or which are hidden. It comes into play when you attempt to see hidden people or items, or when trying to follow somebody. In short, it determines how aware you are of your changing surroundings. It is an aid to almost every guild-specific ability.

2.2. Help about novices and novicehood.

During your first hours in Avalon, you will be considered a novice. In practical terms this means that you cannot access the Bulletin Board, you cannot involve yourself in elections, join a specialist guild or choose a patron. These restrictions have been introduced in order that you think carefully about your character's progression (particularly in terms of a guild) before making a choice. You can spend your five hours in any way that pleases you, the Academy of Mercinae, the College of Parrius or the Institute of Thakria are essential places to learn a basic core of skills. You will have to perform the accolade quests to end your novicehood. Type HELP ACADEMY for information crucial to your young character's development and HELP ACCOLADES for details on graduating from novicehood. The academy leads onto the school (see HELP SCHOOLS) which is the gateway to guild apprenticeship.

2.3. The automated guide for all novices.

The autoguide is a facility provided for all those new to Avalon - to lead them through a brief introduction, join them to an Academy, complete the accolades, and then give a final welcome to the land. Autoguide is offered to all new players and requires periodic response from the novice - such as a nod, or some actions. If you aim to give help to a novice, allow them to carry through the autoguide so that they gain an inkling of the land, offering regular advice but steering clear of interfering too much. Should you feel the autoguide insufficient, then ask the novice to type REFUSE, and the automatic guide will depart, allowing you to interact with the novice in peace.

2.4. Introduction to the City Academies.

All newly born adventurers in Avalon begin life with only an insubstantial taste of the skills which they might one day learn. The Academies are charitable institutions set up by city councils that invite all novices to join so that they may be trained in a few more of the basic adventuring skills. Indeed, before you can progress to a fully-fledged guild you must have graduated from an Academy of some sort. This means that you must acquire a level of competency sufficient to warrant your progression to a more specialised guild.

The Academies are generally to be found not more than a few steps away from the centre of a city. Mercinae's Academy is the oldest of all, while Thakria's Institute and Parrius' College are more recent constructions, though all are equally respected. Each has a variety of tutors, all of whom are well-versed in the basic skills, and all of whom are willing to provide lessons and guides at any hour of the day or night. Membership and teaching within these halls of learning is absolutely free, a far-sighted move on the part of the city Councils who are keen to encourage excellence among their citizens, in order that the glory of their city as a whole may be furthered.

The time you spend within an Academy before you come to graduate is a crucial one. You are well advised to spend time thinking about the possible future for your character; where your goals are to lie. Soon you will have graduated and it is better to have decided early on which guild you would prefer to take a look at, rather than dallying about aimlessly. During this important stopgap, discuss matters of a future guild with as many people as you can so that when the time comes to decide, you have already eliminated those that you feel are not appropriate for your character. You should also be aware of the dreams - type HELP DREAMS for further information.

2.5. The role and purpose of the Academies.

Upon creation of a newborn character in Avalon, you will find yourself born in either the northern city of Thakria, the eastern city of Parrius, or the southern counterpart Mercinae. All cities boast fine learning centres where you will learn a core of skills. It is essential to join either the Academy of Mercinae, the College of Parrius, or the Institute of Thakria during your novicehood regardless of whether you wish to learn there - the mere act of joining gives you the core skills. See also HELP ACADEMIES for further information.

2.6. The city schools and their purpose.

All of the great cities (those with novice academies) boast a well developed city school. The school is accessible to all graduates, once they have completed their accolades. It is necessary to complete the city school before a youngster is allowed to take up a guild apprenticeship. The schools offer four distinct courses to aid the budding apprentice in his or her first steps into Avalon proper.

The school courses bestow access, temporarily, to a range of low-level specialist skills to better help the youngster adapt to the rigours of Avalon life and, later on, have some insight into the choice of apprenticeship in a guild. These specialist skills are held only for the duration of the course. Permanent skill acquisition (and advancement) comes from a guild apprenticeship but the school should provide a taste and a better insight into Avalon. Choice of guild is one of the singlemost most important decisions any Avalon character can make and the school is a buffer, to allow you breathing space and exploration time before making any lifelong commitments. The schools are located close to the academies in all the great cities.

It is mandatory to graduate from at least two of the four courses. Completing a course requires a bare minimum number of successes and thus you are able to rush through courses or stay longer and perform a greater number of course missions, quests and disciplines. You will be informed of the minimum standards necessary to complete a course at the point of enrollment and, subsequently, after each mission or quest or deed you perform successfully. It is possible to accumulate an apprentice's dowry by excelling at the scholastic courses - more missions, more quests, more successful disciplines in a single course. The extent of your success beyond the minimum requirements translates into an apprentice's dowry after you graduate; faster early progress in your apprentice skills and a purse of gold. How much gold and how many skills are in the dowry depend entirely on how far in excess of minimum course requirements you elect to go.

The trade-off between time spent in the school building, a more advanced apprenticeship, and the time gained from early graduation and therefore early apprenticeship are a matter of individual taste. See HELP COURSES for details on the four scholastic courses and HELP SCHOOLCOM for a list of scholastic commands. The latter should be etched in your memory.

2.7. Courses available at the city schools.

The current city school graduation requirements are:

    Messenger course requires 4 missions to merit completion.
    Militia course requires 3 foreign kills as minimum quota.
    Hunter/Gatherer course quota is 6 herbs/poisons or half that figure
       presented in fox, boar or rabbit skins.
    Disciple course minimum requirement is 3 successful visitations.

2.8. Badges for guild apprentices.

There are four distinct phases in the life of an Avalonian. The first spent in the academy, the second in the school and the third, perhaps the most difficult, the transition between fledgling apprentice and long-term independent. The fourth, the long and heroic challenge of making a mark in this land is dealt with elsewhere but here we address that crucial third phase: the badges.

After joining a guild, during the apprenticeship, there are numerous 'badges' of knowledge that all Avalonians should aspire to attain. These badges are bestowed by guildmasters, guild elders, or deities. They represent the successful acquisition of a slice of important knowledge, whether that be the ability to equip oneself with armour and weapons, or the successful witnessing of the sunrise in the vale of Azrili. It is not necessary to attain all possible badges but to do so signifies, in the minds of the great of this land, the establishment of an independent, self-assured character ready to meet his or her future. Many guild use the badges as a gauge of a youngster's readiness to move from apprenticeship to full initiate.

To review your own acquired badges type BADGES. Guildmasters and Elders can bestow badges using the BADGE command. It is only possible to bestow a badge on an apprentice once per Avalon timezone (six timezones per Avalon day). These badges are for apprentices in their first career only - for those genuinely new to the ways of the land. High ranking guildmembers may review the attained badges by typing BADGES followed by the name of the apprentice. Each badge brings with it rewards, whether gold, experience or lessons. Some are relatively simple, some more complex. The collection of all possible badges gains the apprentice great prestige in the eyes of the Gods.

Type HELP BADGELIST for a full list of badges and requirements.

2.9. The skills of the Academy.

Once you join one of the three academic institutions, you will gain five more basic skills. It is essential that you graduate from an academy or you will miss out on the crucial core skills. Make sure that you know the whereabouts of your local academic institution, since it provides not only skills, but tutors and safety from the dangerous world about you.

You gain the following skills upon joining the Academy:

Riding      Swordplay     Itemlore     Survival     Throwing

2.10. The accolade quests for all novices.

Accolades are quests of valour and adventure bestowed upon novices who have yet to graduate from their academy. They are given out by the respective heads of the academies, Pandion of Thakria, Sevenius of Mercinae, or the Walrus of Parrius. To gain an accolade in the presence of one of these Masters, type REQUEST. Should you choose to accept the accolade quest, type ACCEPT. Otherwise wait for twenty seconds and request another. You can type ACCOLADES at any time to review accolades gained.

Once you have been given an accolade or honour quest, you must perform it, return to the person who gave it you and type SUCCESS. Assuming you have been successful, you will be given the associated accolade or honour. At any time during the quest you may type ACADEMY to return directly to your academic master, and then ADMIT FAILURE to cast aside the quest as too difficult. Should you forget the words of your quest-master, you can type REMEMBER and they will be repeated to you wherever you are.

2.11. Enrolling yourself in a guild.

Although the Guildmaster of a guild can enroll you in his or her guild, it is often not possible or convenient to find the Master and hence one of their minions must do. You can enrol yourself in a guild (or at least gain some information about it) by finding one associated with the guild and greeting them or by searching out the guild's patron deity. You may also attempt to locate the door to the guild, and type KNOCK; the guild tutor if they are feeling friendly will come out and help you. Typing SURVEY will show if you are standing on the doorstep of any guild. Type HELP GUILDS for a list of guilds, guildmasters and guild patrons and HELP RECRUITMENT to review the guilds actively recruiting new members.

2.12. Apprenticeship in a guild.

Your stature within your guild is as important as in any another situation. When you are first admitted to a guild you will find yourself under an apprenticeship. This will change as and when you and the Guildmaster are both fully sure of what the guild and your character have to offer one another. Apprenticeship is ended by mutual consent between Guildmaster and apprentice, or by surpassing the minimum requirements for auto-assent to full guild membership (generally three Grand Master or two Legendar level skills). Auto-assent is obtained from the guild tutors by typing COMPLETE APPRENTICESHIP.

Beyond your apprenticeship, you will become an ordinary guildmember (of the guildrank Initiate), whereupon you may learn of all the skills that the guild offers you with no obligation to do any more than defend and uphold its prime interests

While you remain an apprentice you will not assume the profession of the guild and will be free to QUIT GUILD and choose another (losing that guild's skills but gaining those of another). However, once you chose to end your apprenticeship, you will gain the profession of the guild and will thenceforward only be able to join guilds associated with that profession. When a non-apprentice quits his guild, he may retain the skills he has developed. Apprentices may KNOCK on the guild door to call out the secondary guild tutor for learning lessons - something to be borne in mind when a member of a security conscious guild loathe to give out keys to vulnerable young members.

2.13. Currently available mortal professions.

Most citizens of the civilised cities, of which you will probably become one, chose a profession. A profession is not binding on you, but simply indicates which area of personal development you will tend towards. It affects the skills you possess and their advancement. Type HELP followed by the profession to gain help on specific professions:

KNIGHT            MAGE                LOREMASTER          SORCERER
BARD              THIEF               SEER                RANGER

2.14. The role of the teacher in early Avalon.

Teachers are the lifeblood of Avalon, no matter the city or the guild or the alignment of an individual. The young, academics and scholars, are thrust into this great and diverse continent with only their wits and their patience to begin their lifelong journey. Guild apprentices often receive much personal attention from their elders but often the scholars, the very young still engaged in the courses of the city school, are neglected. The deities, wishing to encourage care for the scholar, bestow upon those of suitable charcter and age a range of commands to help their tuition and guidance of the young.

SCHOLARS to review the current scholars, domestic or foreign.
RECORD <scholar> to look over a particular scholar's course record.
AID <scholar> to call upon Olympus to guide your feet directly to a scholar in need.

2.15. Mapping the land and finding destinations.

Two commands are extremely useful for finding your way around the land and moving large distances without the need to remember complex routes.

The first is MAP. Typing MAP will inform you which direction to take from your present location to get one step closer to all of the four major cities: Mercinae, Parrius, Springdale and Thakria.

The second is FIND. Youngsters can type FIND HOME anywhere in the land and will thereby employ a divinely given second sense to automatically walk, location by location, all the way back to the centre of their home city. You may also use FIND MONARCH to seek out the location of your city's head of state, or FIND followed by a guild-name (like FIND KNIGHTS) to seek out the entranceway to a guild. Guilds are often difficult to find in the maze of city streets. See HELP GUILDS for a list of available guilds for school graduates.

Scholars (via a divinely-given boon) and those with Master Scholarship can type FIND followed by any city or village. Doing so will initiate an automated walk, again location by location, from their present location to their chosen destination.

You can type CEASE at any time while automatically moving to come to a halt. You can append PANIC, FAST or STROLL after your FIND HOME or FIND MONARCH or FIND <city/village> to select the speed of movement. Panic is extremely fast, while stroll will give you opportunity to peruse your surroundings at greater leisure.

3. The Avalon World.

An overview of the different areas of the world.

3.1. The form and hierarchy of a city-state.

The form of a city is simple in theory and complex in reality. The most common form that a city takes is that of a democracy, where the head of a city is its royal patron, a figurehead role. They however delegate responsibility to the City Council who run the city. The true leader of the city is the Prince, chosen by of all chosen Barons. The Prince is the source of all appointments within the city (Barons aside), and without an effective Prince, a city is crippled. The Prince must be a strong personality, to pull a city together and keep its morale high. Barons, who chose the Prince and therefore control appointments and the government, are usually elected by universal suffrage of all citizens. Often, the cities are democracies, whilst the villages and towns are dictatorships, with their leaders appointed by the gods.

3.2. Summary of Avalon's four major cities.

Three major cities grace the Avalonian continent, larger by far than any of the villages or towns. This urban triad is formed out of the royal cities of Mercinae, Thakria, and Parrius. The cities are guarded by mighty gates which are often closed during times of crisis to prevent intruders or invasion. The cities (and indeed some of the towns and villages) possess a potent military to defend their interiors - if you, for some reason, find yourself an enemy of one of the great cities, you should take great care when entering their walls or you may find yourself attacked and slain by its avenging troops. Ultimate responsibility for the military and for opening and shutting the city gates lies with the leaders of the city.

Mercinae lies under the patronage of the god of magic, and is a city devoted to stern morality and honour. Their governing Barons have remained essentially peaceful and yet reflective of Mercinae's greatest strength - the ability to fight like lions when pushed into a test of its morality. Mercinae plays host to all the Gods, bar those that would bring darkness upon them. It is built around the banks of the river Leithe and its main park, known as Park Elienna, pin-points its centre with its glorious expanse of unspoilt woodland. Mercinae has its life-long enemies, however, and as a precautionary measure it has erected an impenetrable wall around its entire body, accessible only from its eastern and northern gates.

Thakria stands proudly on the banks of the Moonstone Lake, in the far northwest of the continent, under the royal command of Emperor Periam. It thrives gleefully on both scrupulous trade and less-than-honest plunder from all around. It boasts fabulous architectural edifices and its lakeside promenade, whose high-class establishments offer expensive goods to those that can afford them. Thakria however can only be approached by the dangerous route past the Goblin City and the Darkened Forests. Nonetheless it remains a magnet for those that seek to dominate, and those that lust after the knowledge which brings power.

Parrius is a cityport that lies on the far-eastern shores of the continent. It is a great economic power and strongly militaristic. Its citizens are fiercely loyal to Parrian independence. A strong sea-faring tradition made the goddess of the sea Parrius' first patron, though its monarchic figurehead is Lady Augustine, daughter of the First Mariner. Parrius' primary concern is its trading and indeed it is centred around large dockyards, thriving on the constant sea voyages that its citizens undertake. Parrius draws to it the explorers, the brave-hearted adventurers who will risk all for the sake of glory and broadening of knowledge. It is approached from the long but relatively safe eastern road from Mercinae.

3.3. Favour and disfavour from the Gods.

Typing DIVINITIES will list the feelings of the various deities towards you. In addition to patronage, deities may express their current feelings towards you in three basic ways. All begin with neutrality towards you, either through being unaware of your progress or uninterested. However, should you perform a worthy deed which greatly pleases a divinity, you may be lucky enough to receive their divine favour. The favour of one of the Gods is a great possession, enabling you to call upon them to aid you in times of crisis. Favour augments the might of your skills which are linked to the realm controlled by the Deity, while disfavour will hinder you and should you hold favour for a long enough period you will gain a great boost in your experience.

Conversely, a mortal who is cursed with the disfavour of a God is unlucky indeed. This means that you have displeased a God to the extent that he or she has declared their desire to hinder your progress. The extent of the disfavour will be under the control of the deities themselves, but a mortal should always seek to regain at least neutrality or pay the consequences of the wrath of an immortal. Should you find yourself cursed with disfavour for a long enough period of time, though, you will find lose a great deal of experience.

3.4. Divine protection against death.

After taking a complete ride on the Ship of Death, your character will be under Divine Protection. This means that though you will be subject to damage from attack, you will be resurrected instantly, at no experience loss to yourself when slain - the Gods do not wish to see anybody unfairly victimised or slain over and over again by some sadistic enemy. Bear in mind though that you will gain no experience through combat, or watching combat while protected, either. While in Avalon, you can type PROTECTED to see a list of players on the game at any given time who are under divine protection; they are not worth attacking. Divine protection, you should also know, is invalidated the moment you commit an offensive or potentially offensive move. Thus you must remain entirely pacifist and somewhat passive to retain protection. Protection is very important and very helpful, particularly when you are young - make use of it when you need it. Those of the level of Ordainable do not gain divine protection, and all characters are stripped of divine protection every New Years Day (1st of Midwinter).

3.5. Hording possessions and artifacts.

One of the great strengths of Avalon is the freedom your character has to assemble as many personal items as he or she wishes. This means that each time you suspend your play of Avalon, you need not worry about your personal belongings being discovered or even stolen in your absence, because everything that is in your hands or everything that is worn by you at the end of each Avalon session will stay with you until given away or worn out by the ravages of time. The more obscure and rare artefacts that are to be found do not usually fall in to this category, however. Day-to-day essentials such as keys, clothing, armour, weapons, and so on, are yours to keep. When you examine an item, the words "It belongs to you" will follow its description if it is your possession. Items purchased from shops will usually be yours to keep.

Avalon has a number of different types of items. Those items which can belong to players are known as personal items. They remain with you until they wear out. Personal items can either be the product of commodities, or the creation of the Gods. Divine items last until specifically destroyed. In addition to personal and divine items, there are circular and quest items. Circular items cannot be owned by any individual, but can be stored in safe places and are usually associated with some great quest or power. Quest items are under the domain of the Gods and are used to test the mettle of the mortals. They cannot be stored or kept, and return to their place of origin every so often.

3.6. Experience levels for all mortals.

Avalon, unlike most of the other Multi-User Games, is not based purely around score. It has a complex system of levels which you ascend by simply experiencing the world. Many have difficulty grasping the fact that in Avalon you gain points by just wanderi ng around and looking at things evolve. It is likely that your ultimate aim will be to progress to the divine status of God. You must realise that God is not simply a level obtainable by gaining an enormous amount of experience. Reaching God must be done via much hardship and quests; Gods have nearly limitless power of creation and destruction and the obtaining of this power must reflect this important responsibility.

To reach God you must progress all of the mortal levels. They start at Newborn and end at Avalonian. As a rough guide-line, once you reach the level of Indefatigable you are doing rather well! Eventually you reach Avalonian where progression depends on your interactive skills, time spent with others and group quests. Beyond Avalonian lies the very final mortal level, that of Ordainable. Once you are of the level of Ordainable you are physically ready to transcend mortality. All that remains is for you to collect the fifteen gemstones, a quest which is detailed in HELP ORDINATION.

3.7. Initial outfitting and marketplace location.

Newborns to Avalon begin their adult lives naked and penniless. This conforms to the concept that everybody begins equal. The first thing that you may wish to do is to equip yourself with a basic outfit - clothes, a cheap weapon, a back-pack and some shoes. Clothes are particularly important as protection against the weather. While novices are protected by a divine aura and cannot feel the cold, non-novices must purchase clothing to cover themselves and keep themselves warm. For those who begin in Mercinae, the place to go for clothes is in and around the Cassiandora Square marketplace, just west of the knoll where you start. In Parrius you must travel a little further, to Chapman's Square. From Hellespont Square you should walk north three times, northeast twice, north three times again, northwest, and then north. In Thakria you begin your adventures in the central park. From the pond you must walk south four times, southwest, then west four times to arrive at the square.

3.8. Ownership of items in Avalon.

An important thing to remember when playing Avalon is that instead of simply dropping all your treasure when you QUIT, many objects (including all weapons, and goods you buy from the many shops) will in fact stay on your person. When you next enter Avalon, in exactly the same place as when you departed, you will still own these objects. You will be able to tell whether an item can be owned when you EXAMINE it - at the end of its description will appear the words "It belongs to you". Many people use this facility to its full potential, commissioning mighty weapons from the town smiths and keeping their weapon (for which they would have paid much gold) each time they play.

3.9. Overview of the Avalon Skill System.

The complexity and depth of the skills system is a facet of Avalon which sets it apart from other games. Every profession has a multitude of skills and abilities and your skills will be the single-most important reflection of your character's development. A skill is your personal knowledge of a specific art that you have chosen to learn and become proficient in. They range from the commonplace skill of riding horses, to the celestial qualities of Far Sight or magical runes.

All newborn adventurers begin with the basic skills of Fisticuffs, Defence, Riding, Constitution and Perception. Joining an Academy will provide you with five more; Swordplay, Survival, Scholarship, Throwing, and Itemlore. To gain a list of your skills at any time type SKILLS. This will also inform you of the level of proficiency you have attained. You can type ABILITIES (or AB) followed by a skill to gain a list of the special abilities you have attained because of development in a particular skill. Type HELP SKILLRANKS for a list of skill levels, and HELP <skill name> for detailed information on any of the skills you possess. You can also find out the extent of your progress between skill levels by consulting one of the three oracles of the land - the oracle of the Greenwood in the Room of Stars near Mercinae, the oracle of the Tavern in the Halfway Tavern near Parrius, or Telamon, the Priest of Greeny's Edge near Thakria. To consult an oracle type ASK ORACLE followed by the skill you wish to enquire about, for example, ASK ORACLE SWORDPLAY.

3.10. Improving proficiency in skills.

You are able to teach a skill to anybody else who satisfies the requirements of a basic knowledge of the skill, and being of a lower competency than you. Equally, you can learn a skill from anybody who has a higher knowledge than you do. It is not possible to teach skills to those who do not already possess it; they simply do not have the basic grounding necessary to begin to understand you. The only way to gain skills is to join guilds or perform specific quests where you may come into contact with 'brilliant' teachers who will be able to instruct you regardless of your profession.

Most guilds have two or three primary skills. These skills can be developed to the highest level without penalty since they are directly associated with their profession. Many guilds boast secondary skills which can only be learnt to lower levels. You will know when you have reached the limit of your progression in any skill by the fact that it is preceeded by "---->" in your SKILLS list. Specialist non-guild skills cannot be gained exception through extra ordinary circumstances such as divine intervention.

Every character possesses a number of general and specialist abilities called skills. These skills determine your prowess and areas of expertise. The following help files should be perused:

SKILLRANKS              Lists the Avalon skill ranks.
TEACHING                Help on the process and rewards of teaching.
LEARNING                Help on the method of learning.
PROCURE                 Information on gaining lessons more quickly.
GUILDS                  Lists guilds - sources of specialist skills.

SKILLS                       To gain a list of your skills and abilities.
LEARN <skill> FROM <tutor>   To initiate a lesson with a tutor.
TEACH <skill> TO <pupil>     Offers to teach one less skilled.

3.11. Advice on all Avalon's public professions.

Do you need advice at this stage in your Avalon career? Why not dream for it, type DREAM OF ADVICE and see what spirits the Gods deign to send you to aid you in your plight.

3.12. Avalon currency - the gold piece.

Gold pieces are the principle currency of the human cities and towns of Avalon, and you will no doubt build up a small fortune in your adventures. They are useful for many things, especially the purchase of essential goods such as food and armour from shops. However, any gold you carry is vulnerable to loss, so banking excess monies is always advisable. Eventually you may amass sufficient funds to invest in a steed, a house or even establish your own shop or service. This remains in your hands, for Avalon is open to development and contribution from every player in the land; an important area which is little developed by most Avalonians, the scope for individual contribution to the landscape is vast and the Gods are quite want to turn their divine hands to regular bouts of creation.

3.13. Format of location descriptions.

The easiest way to subject an item or player to closer inspection is to EXAMINE them. This gives you more detailed information and, depending on the type of item, sometimes its contents or salient statistics that might be useful in determining its worth.

As you grow more experienced in the land it may occur to you that you wish to describe your character so that when others EXAMINE you. You may write a description for yourself and then contact one of the deities to have it checked over and then attached. It will then appear in addition to the other information described whenever somebody examines you.

You will also have noticed that you can type HELP followed by a player name to gain a potted history of their exploits in Avalon (city and guild changes, promotions, victories and public failures). It is possible for you write a personalised character history that would sit atop the Avalon-generated information. To have your writing appended to your HELP you must submit it to a deity who will then approve it, and subsequently bring it live.

It is possible you may also own property or personalised items and might desire to create unique descriptions for see. Check out HELP FORMAT for further information on this type of submission to the land.

3.14. Doors, gates and other barriers.

Should you come across a locked door you will, of course, need the correct key with which to unlock it. Typing OPEN DOOR <direction> will attempt to open it without a key; if you own the necessary key then UNLOCK DOOR <direction> will both unlock the door and open it for you. You will then be able to pass through without further ado, and perhaps LOCK the door behind you.

There are other forms of barrier, some behaving in a similar fashion to doors (like gates and windows, while others require a little guile to operate. The drawbridge for instance is occasionally found. To operate them, one must find the location containing its mechanism. Therein one may issue the RAISE DRAWBRIDGE or LOWER DRAWBRIDGE commands to exact control over this most comprehensive of barricades. City gatehouses, barbicans, portals and all manner of magical door-simalcrums exist in the land; phenomena to be explored and experienced with as and when time permits.

3.15. Taverns to visit and sup in.

While journeying about the land of Avalon, you should make a point of visiting some of the famous taverns and inns which break up the travels of many a thirsty individual. Mercinae boasts the Moon Inn, and the Slumbering Serpent Tavern, Parrius has The Seagull Inn, while Thakria plays host to Perambule's Tavern in the Old Quarter and the Fugitive's Rest. In the villages you will find the Silver Hind Tavern of Ariadne and the Land's Edge Tavern in Astrea's Delta of great interest. The barman in the inn of Eastpoint is renowned for his lively sense of humour and witty badinage, while the taverns of Greeny's Edge flow to the ale of Argemis, their local brewer.

3.16. Wagons, carts and such.

Wagons and carts and the like are essential for rapid and safe transport of bulky items or large numbers of commodities. You can procure a wagon or a cart from most good marketplaces.

LOAD <cart> WITH <commodity>
To commence reasonably quick loading of the specified commodity into your cart. A nice and efficient method of loading up a large quantity of any commodity.

UNLOAD <commodity> FROM <cart>
Unloads at a reasonable pace the specified commodity from your cart and places it upon the ground.

WHEEL <cart>
Takes hold of the specified cart, guards it from being loaded or unloaded by any not on your friends list, and trundles the specified cart along with you when you move about.

RELEASE <cart>
Lets go your hold on the specified cart and moves you away from it so you are no longer guarding it against non-friends.

3.17. Furnaces and forges.

Furnaces and forges are useful for smelting ores and ingots and in the forging/pounding of armour and weapons. Furnaces need to be filled with oil or wood to fuel their fires. To do this type STOKE FURNACE WITH followed by the name of the fuel you wish to use. Once you have sufficient fuel in your furnace type LIGHT FURNACE (you will need to be holding some source of fire to ignite it) and the furnace should be lit. Keep it stocked up with fuel to prevent it from losing its heat.

3.18. The Houses of Healing.

In Mercinae, along Moon Street, you will find the famed Houses of Healing. In the Room of Beds just inside, you may find healing and comfortable sleep at any time, be it day or night. The Houses also offer companion healers to those willing to sacrifice s ufficient gold to the healing coffers. Simply enter the Houses and type BUY HEALER. If they have any healers available (which they generally do), one will emerge and follow you around. You should type LEAD HEALER to lead the fellow with you. Then, when in battle or when set upon, you will be able to give gold to the healer and gain immediate healing. Type BUY HEALING followed by the amount of health you wish healed, or BUY HEALING TOTAL to buy enough healing to restore all of your health loss.

3.19. Relics of Avalon past - for the truly skilled.

In order to push your skill prowess to the heights of post-Ultimate mastery, emulating by oneself the benefits of godly favour, it is necessary to utilise one of the fabled relics of Avalon. These relics, throwbacks from a time before the Divine War, are each imbued with the capacity to inspire - to enable learning beyond learning, to allow a mortal to chase the effect of a divinely favoured skill. For most mortals this boon is worthy of pursuit - the deities are a capricious sort and to own excellence is a greater independence than to obtain it for the unpredictable duration of a divine whim.

To use the relic appropriate to your chosen skill, you must learn (from one of greater skill) in its presence. The relic must be laid upon the ground for the duration of the lesson else your tuition will be slip from your memory almost immediately. Relics cannot be taken indoors, into city-designated buildings, or into inner temples.

Here are the general-skill relics, listed out against the skill to which it is associated: the jade amulet (Constitution), the bone dagger (Survival), the red handkerchief (Perception), the stone slab (Scholarship), the bronze gauntlets (Fisticuffs), the iron rapier (Swordplay), a worn buckler shield (Defence), a silver box (Itemlore), a rusted sickle (Farming), a gold lasso (Riding), a stone hammer (Labours).

And here are the specialist skill relics: an ivory flute (Music), a laurel wreath (Songs), the mask of Iveriol (dramatics), the Isabellan scrolls (Voice), the fur cloak (Endurance), the broken lance (Chivalry), a necklace of skulls (Trapping), a reaver's helmet (Warcraft), a silver cross (Spiritualism), a living branch (Naturalism), a woodsman's cup (Healing), old Talgan's bow (Forestry), the beard 'Alena's Folly' (Thievery), a jar of Hydra blood (Evocation), a mummified corpse (Necromancy), an old oak chest (Elixirs), the ring of Medram (Runes), the book of Lore (Alchemy), Aelgrim's broken skull (Forging), the hand of Asilith (Mysticism), a bag of broken bones (Fatalism), the book of Prophecy (Farsight), a pair of black boots (Stealth), a macabre mirror (Demonology), a sparkling pendant (Candescence), the book of Dylath's journal (Poisons), an ebony wand (Charming), a feathered cloak (Rituals), a dagger of strange alloy (Weaponry) and a clay pipe (Herbs).

3.20. The great Libraries of Avalon and how to use them.

Within the great libraries of the land, one can find tomes both ancient and modern, those of great knowledge and those of great literature, books of both history and legend. The greatest library of all was said to be in the halls of Alessandria, in the Golden Age that once blessed the land. In its time, its Library was the undisputed centre of learning to which sages travelled from far and wide to study and to share their wisdom. But when the halls of Alessandria closed, the forest ancients took their writings with them, preventing their accumulated knowledge falling to the evil that was to come.

In modern times, the principal libraries are those of the great cities. Mercinae boasts the Silver Tree Library, one of the oldest still standing. It can be found at the junction of Candle Street and Alchemist's Walk, in the southwestern quarter. In Parrius, the grand Public Library towers proud to the east of Hellespont Square. In Springdale, the more modern halls stand behind the University, off the commons. The Thakrian library stands on the banks of the Moonstone lake, in the old eastern quarter of the city - east from the Square of the First Emperor for a while, and then northwest to stand outside its doors.

The librarians of Avalon hold great responsibility in the operation of the libraries. See HELP LIBRARIANS to discover who these are.

READ CATALOGUE   To view the library's catalogue.
BORROW <book>    To take a book out on loan.
RETURN <book>    To return a book once you have read it.

RECALL <book>     Dispatch one of your deputies to track down a book.

3.21. The currently appointed librarians.

The Librarians of Avalon are responsible for the vast repositories of wisdom under their purview. They handle the acquisition of books of knowledge, memoirs and other weighty tomes, procuring them from the great authors of the time and from the monks who copy them meticulously. The Librarian of Avalon is appointed by Aldaron, the god of life and acts as liaison between the City librarians, arranging impartial dissemination of knowledge between the cities. The post of City librarian is a non-executive one and, as their tenure is longer than that of the average politician, is also appointed by the gods.

Forest Nymph Maud, Mad as a Hatter is the Librarian of Avalon.
Princess of Thieves Narissa, Mistress of Mishap is City Librarian of Thakria.

3.22. Cherubs, safekeepers of quest items.

It is possible you have noticed in your travels these apparently mischevious cherubs wandering about the land, periodically stealing items you may have found lying around as you explore. Often these cherubs and their thefts can be cause for much frustration and it is true their exhuberence sometimes gets the better of these naturally impatient beasts. However, the cherubs are not genuine thieves. They serve a purpose in the land - the smooth running, and safe restoration/circulation of items designated part of quests, puzzles or those forbidden from long term ownership by any one mortal. Thus the cherubs regularly chase down each item in the land carrying this flag and, when they happen to notice it not in its rightful place (ready for the completion of the quest, puzzle or purpose it was intended) they dart in, quick-as-a-flash, and pickpocket the item away.

You should not despair. The cherubs tend to place the special items in predetermined locations about the land. Learn these locations and you can plot your own routes for completing profitable, experience-garnering questing sessions.

If you are unsure whether an item you have found is part of the cherubic grand design examine it and if anywhere you see the words 'it belongs to you' you will know immediately the item will never come under the jurisdication of these ever-vigilant little darlings. Items purchased in shops or fashioned by cities, guilds or individuals with appropriate skills are never vulnerable to cherub theft... so if you seek to build an inventory of great potency, these are the routes to take to do so. Good luck.

4. The Basic Command Set.

Moving around, basic actions and learning skills within Avalon.

4.1. Moving yourself about the land.

The Avalon world is divided up into thousands of individual locations. Each location is a distinct place (a cottage living room, a path in the forest, a fork in the stream, for example). You can move between these locations using standard compass directions (abbreviated so N is NORTH, NE is NORTHEAST, etc), or UP/DOWN, or sometimes you can use IN or OUT.

Type LOOK to see the location you stand in. Type EXITS for a summary of the exits available. To move, then, you simply type a compass direction and, providing the exit is available, you will move to the next location in your chosen direction.

See HELP MOVEMENT for a longer, but simpler list of movement related commands and their syntax.

4.2. Overcoming obstacles to your free movement.

In addition to moving via the typical compass directions, there are three other common ways to move around. You may CLIMB things, such as trees or rope ladders. You can ENTER things - particularly useful when you have discovered a secret passage or when you wish to climb aboard a stage-coach or a ferry. Remember that often coaches and ferries cost gold to board. After you have entered a vehicle or container, you will usually have to type LEAVE to get yourself out. The Springdale ferry which runs from Mercinae to Springdale, the stage-coach, which runs in Kristanisti, and the Thakrian ferry, charge between five and ten gold coins to carry passengers.

4.3. Looking at your inventory of possessions.

At any time you may have a look at what you are carrying through the use of the INVENTORY command - typing I by itself will suffice. Not only will this list the items that you are carrying around with you, it will also show you what garments or what armour you are wearing, if any, and what you are wielding in your hands. You will find yourself encumbered by items you hold that you are not wearing, and characters are limited to a certain number and weight of items before they find themselves over-laden and dropping their possessions. You can also type INFO INV and INFO WEARING to gain a list of items held and items worn, together with their Avalon numbers (for the more advanced player).

Anything that is within your inventory may be given away, if you so wish it. To hand over one of your possessions to another character you must type GIVE <item> TO <player/creature>. Items can also be stored away and retrieved from containers such as a backpack or a strong-box through PUT <item> IN <container>, and GET <item> FROM <container>. It is far safer to hold a valuable item inside a backpack or a locked box since thieves and vagabonds will find it harder to steal from you.

4.4. Basics for dealing with items in Avalon.

Throughout the land you will find a variety of objects and artefacts. With each one you may take it, scrutinise it, poke it, drop it, or do whatever you please with it. Learning the item manipulation commands is essential. They are not complicated, or numerous, and they are detailed in this section.

To take an object you must type GET <item>. Assuming it is not too heavy or bulky to be carried, it will now be a part of your current possessions. If you wish to take all of a certain item from the room, type GET ALL <item>. GET ALL KEY, for instance, would take all the keys from the location. To discard an item type DROP <item>. To discard all of a specific type of item, type DROP ALL <item>. DROP ALL KEY, for instance, would drop all the keys you are holding on the ground.

4.5. Manipulating items about you.

Dealing with objects is a very important area of knowledge and you should familiarise yourself quickly with the various object manipulation commands. If, when you examine an item, you see the words "It belongs to you" at the end of the description, you should know that that item will remain with you even when you are not playing Avalon. It will be owned by you.

INVENTORY            - Lists all items, and gold you are holding.
INFO INVENTORY       - Lists all items you hold and their item codes.
INFO INSIDE <item>   - To review items inside another item.
INFO ALL <item>      - List all items you hold of a specific type.
QI                   - Quick inventory of items you hold.
KEYLIST              - Lists all the keys you are holding.
GET <item>           - Picks up an item from the ground.
EXAMINE <item>       - Examines specific items more closely.
INFO <item>          - Gives extra-Avalon information on an item.
DROP <item>          - Drops an item from inventory to the ground.
SPLIT <item>         - Splits large commodities in half.
BUNDLE <item>        - To bundle up a commodity into one item.
PUT <item> IN <item> - Puts items from one place to another.   
PUT <number> GOLD... - Put gold inside containers. See HELP GOLD.   
GET <number> GOLD... - Gets gold from containers. See HELP GOLD.   
READ <item>          - Reads items, such as books and scrolls.
OPEN <item>          - Open an item (providing it can be opened).
CLOSE <item>         - Closes a specific item.
LOCK <item>          - Locks an item (providing you have the key).
UNLOCK <item>        - Unlocks specific items (providing you own the key).
GIVE <item> TO <ply> - Hands an item to a player or creature.   
WRITE <item>         - Begins writing on a suitable item. See HELP WRITING.

4.6. Looking about you, to see where you are.

To remind yourself of your present location, the LOOK command will redisplay it in full (whether you have typed BRIEF or not). You will undoubtedly find this useful when you find yourself in what you consider a significant location as it will give you a more thorough picture of your surroundings. You may also type WEATHER to assess the current weather conditions and how much clothing would be required to keep warm, TIME to find out the time of day, and DATE to discover the current Avalon date. Should you want to see just the shorter description, as you would get in BRIEF mode, then you need only GLANCE (GL for short) and it will be displayed to you. This command has another use in that it can be used directionally. In other words you may throw your glance into an adjacent location, without actually moving from your current position. To do this type GLANCE <direction>. As for those that have the perceptive ability, they may SQUINT in a specific direction. Similar to the GLANCE command, SQUINT (SQ for short) will attempt to look along your specified direction for as many locations away as you are able. This obviously has its uses should you want to check what lies upon the road ahead. You should also be aware that on occasion, being able to look and glance is undesirable and you may wish to type SHUT EYES to close your eyes and see nothing. It is up to you to discover situations where blindness is an asset rather than a hindrance.

4.7. The SCORE command and explanation.

When you type SCORE, you are told of your character name and highest level attainment. What follows, however, is your actual level, your level in real terms represented as a percentage of the experience required for the next one. This gives you a better idea of where you stand should you have suffered a mishap in your adventuring. Your level is only a rough indication of your experience and physical might combined, and it will take progressively longer to move to the next. When you are slain, you will doubtless lose some of the experiences you have gained, and if you drop down experience level, your health and mana potentials will fall. As you gain in level, it will become more and more difficult to gain experience from routine quests or exploration. To aid those who have died, however, quest and exploration performance is judged upon your present level, rather than your highest level thereby allowing you to regain lost experience at a faster rate. Listed after details of your experience level and actual level are various items of information, amongst which are your citizenship, your profession and guild, your financial status (represented by your wealth in gold pieces), and your tax situation, all of which are discussed in more detail in later areas of the help system.

4.8. The STATUS command and explanation.

Alongside your experience and your score sheet you will discover that typing STATUS reveals a great deal of information that you will find pertinent to your day-to-day life. It details those civilisations that consider you an enemy, your levels of hunger and tiredness, level of breathing and bleeding. Status will also inform you of how well clothed you are - something you need not worry about while you are young. It also reminds you how many lessons you may learn in any of your skills before becoming saturated, and the status of your character due to excessive death.

[---> Example of the status command]
- status
You are a citizen of Thakria.
The City of Mercinae considers you an enemy.
You are an enemy of The Forest of the Greenwood.
You are not bleeding, breathing perfectly well, wide awake and not hungry.
Your alignment is Good.
You are unclothed. The weather is warm and uncomfortable.
You will be able to absorb 12 more lessons become becoming saturated.
You are blessed with ten safe encounters with Death.

4.9. How to find who is playing Avalon with you.

There are a number of ways to see who is playing Avalon unconcealed on the same part of the continent as you.

WHO     Gives a full list of who is around with innersight effects if any.
QW      Gives a full list of who is around without innersight.
BW      Brief paragraph listing all those who are around.
BBW     Very brief listing of just names.
LW      List those whom the gods consider young and inexperienced.
NNW     Shows only novices.
GMW     Shows a list of those in your guild who are about.
CIT     Shows a list of those in your city who are about.
OW      Lists fellow followers of your patron who are about.
PEERS   List only those of around your skill expertise.
PW      Lists those who have chosen to live as pacifists.

TW/TTW  Lists those non-pacifists, non-protected, ready for combat.   
EW      List only those against whom you would gain no bloodlust.

4.10. Learning your skills.

The ways to better yourself in any given skill are numerous, but the most common is simply to receive a lesson from another Avalonian character. LEARN <skill name> FROM <character> requests a lesson in your chosen discipline from someone, who will often be a resident member of your guild. Simple practice of a skill through its use will increase your prowess, albeit more slowly. The more learned characters are able to offer lessons to those of less ability than they - TEACH <skill name> to <student> will offer up a lesson and provided the pupil is agreeable to it, the teaching will commence. Not only is player-to-player teaching beneficial to the student, but, to a lesser extent, the instructor profits as well. The only CCC of roughly analagous teaching ability is the designated guild tutor. Guild tutors can be prevailed upon to come forth from the inner guild chambers when a guild member KNOCKs on the entrance door. Some guilds are security conscious and keep apprentices away from the guildhouse interiors; thus being able to knock on the front door and summon out the guild tutor is crucial for advancing many a youngster's skills.

Type LESSONS to discover how many lessons you are able to take before reaching that point. Not all skills are freely available, however. Many are solely within the sphere of particular guilds, guilds that over the centuries have so refined their learning that they now specialise in only these particular arts. Thus professions were born in Avalon. It is possible to procure lessons at a faster than usual rate. Type HELP PROCURE for more information on speedy lesson acquisition. Last but certainly not least, check out HELP DARSURION for important information on learning enhancing herbs and HELP GLOBEACTS for ways to boost lesson effectiveness.

4.11. Teaching skills to others.

Teaching is one of the most important methods of progressing in a skill,
while at the same time allowing the higher level teacher to also gain in
competency. To teach somebody, they must first know the skill which you
are going to teach them (it would be impossible, for example, to improve
somebody's Swordplay if they did not even know how to hold a sword!),
and you must be above them in level. To teach somebody, type TEACH
<skill> to <player>, assuming you know the skill and the player is
visible to you. Hopefully, the prospective pupil will see your offer and
type OK after which the lesson will proceed as normal. Though learning a
lesson from a CCC or a player will gain the learner the same amount as a
result, learning from players is encouraged as the teacher also gains in
skill through the lesson.

4.12. Lessons and learning.

Lessons are the easiest way to progress in a given skill. You can learn as many lessons as you have lesson credits for. Lesson credits are built up over time as you grow older in the land. They do not build up in protected locations, in the Pool of Life, or in locations marked more than once by a deity. Type LESSONS to see how many lessons you may learn before becoming saturated with learning. See also HELP LEARNING and HELP TEACHING for further information.

4.13. An example of an Avalon lesson.

Below is an example of an Avalon lesson. Lessons take just over a minute to learn. You can have at most two hundred and fifty lessons in a row, and every twenty to twenty-five minutes you gain enough experience of life to absorb a new one.

- learn runes from Raghallach
-
Raghallach has agreed to teach you.
-
Raghallach smiles and pulls out a piece of silver ore.
-
You examine the ore; it is plain, but pure silver
-
Raghallach motions to a selection of delicate instruments and takes them in his hands.
-
Raghallach fashions the silver ore into a strangely-shaped effigy.
-
Raghallach explains that the shape of the silver effigy denotes the effect and power of a rune.
-
Raghallach tells you of runes shaped like leaves, fists and hearts.
-
Raghallach continues by explaining that the mightier the Rune-fashioner, the longer it will last.
-
Raghallach details the method for connecting runes to items or to rune staves.
-
Raghallach finished by explaining that a rune will only have effect if it is seen.
-
Raghallach bows low, the lesson complete.
-

4.14. The DEFENCES command and explanation.

DEFENCES gives an indication of your natural defences. As your character develops you will come to learn of new things that will protect you in your continuing adventures. Armour is the most straightforward means of protection and it is not difficult to find providing you have gathered together sufficient gold. Certain guilds may find wearing armour prohibitive since it interferes with their enchantments, though the Sorcerers and Necromancers guild can summon demonic armour to protect them from injury and the Mages can weave light to protect themselves from harm.

4.15. Moving about the land.

You can move around by entering compass directions; North, Northeast, East, Southeast, South, Southwest, West, Northwest, Up, Down, In or Out.

EXITS               - Lists all visible exits from your location.
GLANCE              - Quickly glances at your location.
GLANCE <direction>  - Quickly glances in specific directions.   
GLE                 - Takes a quick glance and tells you exits.
LOOK                - Take a long look at your surroundings.
SURVEY              - Surveys the terrain type of your surroundings.
SQUINT <direction>  - Squint as far as possible in a specific direction.   
BOARD <item>        - Allows you to board a ship, a boat or a ferry.
ENTER <item>        - To enter a stagecoach, for instance.
LEAVE               - Attempts to depart from the inside to the outside.
CLIMB <item>        - Climbs up a ladder, for instance.
CROSS <item>        - Crosses a rope bridge, for instance.
MOUNT <steed>       - To mount a steed. Type HELP STEEDS for further help.
DISMOUNT <steed>    - To dismount a steed.
FOLLOW <player>     - To begin following another player around.
LOSE <player>       - To lose one following you, or cease following another.
DRAG <player>       - To drag a sleeping or unconscious player with you.
SWIM <direction>    - Enters water and swims. See HELP SWIMMING.
STRUGGLE            - Struggles free of traps and magical restraint.

4.16. Using the java applet compass to move about.

If you are using our java software to play Avalon you will note a sidebar in addition to the main story window. The main story window has, below it, a grey-strip containing (very briefly) a description of where you are in the land, and further below a blue-strip into which you type commands to control your character.

In the sidebar you will notice your character name and Avalon rank, below a percentage of progress towards the next experience level. Then, below this text, is an ornate compass. This compass can be used by those less experienced in this medium to move about the Avalon landscape. You need simply click, using your mouse, on the compass direction and your character will move accordingly. Directions on the sidebar compass are gold when available to you, and dim silver when not. The four circles beneath are, in order left to right: IN, OUT, DOWN, UP. You will have to learn how to face many obstacles as you grow older in Avalon and it is well to issue movement commands without over-reliance on the compass - initially, however, you should feel free to make use of it for as long as you find it works faster and more intuitively.

5. Communication.

Talking to others in the game, through the bulletin board, and through the written word.

5.1. The importance of communication in Avalon.

Central to the idea of a multi-player game is that of communication and interaction between its inhabitants. The best way to get a feel of the land is by talking with other players. The help sections in this topic discuss both the rudimentary and the more sophisticated ways of expressing yourself. You should acquaint yourself full with all of them.

It is important to ascertain who your present player companions are within the land at any given time. You can find this out by typing WHO. This command will list all the people in the local region that are currently playing Avalon with you and are not concealed by extra-ordinary means. Some may choose to hide themselves in order that they might slink about unnoticed, creeping up on their prey or hiding from their enemies. Methods of communication are detailed below.

5.2. Saying things to those in your location.

The most basic way to communicate is through the SAY command. This will transmit your message to whoever is in the same location as yourself. Thus, SAY Hello would produce the action of you saying "Hello" to all present. No quotation marks are necessary, but make sure there is someone to talk to before using SAY (use the LOOK or GLANCE command to see if anybody is present), or you could find you are talking to yourself! The SAY command may also be abbreviated to simply a single apostrophe or quotation mark, followed by the text of your message. Using SAY is plainly the most sociable form of communication when more than one person is in the same location as you since all present can be involved in the conversation.

5.3. An example of a conversation.

An example conversation. Maedhros Allendil, the Hunter is one of the immortal divinities and Shadowthane is a close friend to one of the Barons who runs Mercinae. Sarik is Guildmaster of the Mages Guild.

- say Hi everybody!
Maedhros, the Hunter says, "hi there".
-
Ranger Shadowthane greets you.
-
- say What's been going on?
-
Ranger Shadowthane says, "Helkarakse has tried to declare war on Mercinae!".
-
Maedhros says, "he's been throwing his weight around ever since he moved into his new tower".
- say He did what??
-
Ranger Shadowthane laughs heartily.
-
Ranger Shadowthane says, "He tried to lead a legion of Thakrian Black Knights on a raid of the guard-house and shops of Cassiandora square. Me'n'Sarik caught him and blasted him back out of the city".
- say What did the Council do?
-
Maedhros says, "dunno if the council have met to discuss it yet".
-
Ranger Shadowthane says, "Sarik will tell the others tonight what happened. It may be war!".
- nod
You nod your head emphatically.
- say I will find out from Ingold, my guildmaster. He should tell me what happens in the meeting.
-
Maedhros grins and nods.
-
Ranger Shadowthane says, "Come and see the carnage he left behind though...".
-
- smile
You smile openly.
- say Let's have a look then.
-

5.4. Using and understanding the Avalon bulletin board.

The Avalon bulletin board is a method for all Avalonians to maintain contact with each other. It should be used for notices and messages relating to world-wide issues and as a convenient method for Cities, Guilds and Orders to speak to the assembled masses. Type BB to enter the bulletin board or BBSTATUS within Avalon to discover whether there are any new messages. You may also use READBB to apprise yourself of the contents whilst still in the land. HELP once inside the bulletin board will give you information.

There are a great number of selective-entry bulletin board sections in addition to those mentioned above, including separate boards for members of government, guildmasters, elders over a century (in Avalon years), comments about Avalon, treaties between cities and guilds, etc. You will know you have access to a selective-entry section when it appears in your BBSTATUS list.

5.5. Letters and the postal system.

Letters are the most formal and cheapest means of contacting another individual when they are not around. In order to write a letter you must first visit the postal halls that exist in all the major cities.

"LETTERS"
To list letters in your inventory.

"ERASE LETTER"
Typing this clears anything previously on the letter. It also ensures that you are the only person able to write on the letter.

"POST LETTER"
Typing this posts a letter into a pillar box. You must post a letter for it to reach another person automatically.

"ADDRESS LETTER <name>"
This addresses your letter to a particular player.

"WRITE LETTER"
This command writes text on the letter. It will let you write text directly onto the letter.

"READ LETTER"
Needless to say, typing this allows you to read a letter. Unless you are given permission, it is bad form to read other people's mail.

"TRASH LETTER"
In the postal hall, this command puts your letter into the recycling bin, erasing its contents and allowing the next person who requests a letter to use the blank page.

"REQUEST LETTER"
Typing this command in the postal hall will enable the postal staff to hand you a blank letter.

"SEAL LETTER"
Seals a letter for your unique stamp, using a piece of wax.

"UNSEAL LETTER"
Unseals a letter which has been sealed so that it may be read.

"PIN LETTER"
Permanently pins the letter up in your location so that others may read it.

5.6. Private messages between individuals.

Another, more terse, form of communication is via the MSG system. This will allow you to send brief messages (at the cost of five gold pieces) to unavailable players, MSG <player> <text> being the syntax. The intended player will be notified of any unread messages upon his next play of Avalon and can read them at any time using the command RMSG. These short messages are stored indefinitely for your perusal, although you may find it necessary to CMSG (clear your messages) every once in a while, to avoid getting bogged down with ones you have already read. This brief messaging system also has the function of informing you of any significant changes to your character that have taken place while you have been absent. For example, someone may have declared you an enemy of their township, or some deity may have given you their favour.

5.7. Writing, reading and posting notes.

Notes contain information about events, quests and messages from one player to another group - they are written on by typing WRITE NOTE, and then entering, line by line, the message you wish to add. Writing on a note adds text to the end of whatever was on it before. To wipe a note fully, type ERASE NOTE, and it will become blank once again. Note can hold, at most, twenty lines of text.

5.8. Writing, reading and using scrolls.

Parchment scrolls are commonly used for recording details of some great event in the land's history, for future readers to know about. They can be found in libraries and great halls all over the land. To write on a parchment, type WRITE PARCHMENT, and then you will be able to add your contribution line by line. You can erase a parchment in its entirety by typing ERASE PARCHMENT (if you are its owner), and, if you wish to read it, type READ PARCHMENT. It is good etiquette not to horde important parchments, or take them out of public libraries into private collections.

5.9. Shouting so that many may hear your words.

SHOUT is syntactically the same as the SAY command. It broadcasts your message over a much wider area, however. Everybody in your local region will hear you shout - it is commonly used for challenges and as a distress call. In many ways this is a fairly anonymous form of communication as the recipients of your SHOUT (which may be abbreviated to just SH) will see your message appear as merely an ambiguous voice, only distinguished by its pitch. Shouting is helpful in situations of genuine or dire need, or of public importance. Its regular and persistent use is discouraged, as it is prone to disturb others.

5.10. Writing on, and fixing signs for all to see.

Signs are used for a variety of purposes, including advertising shops and directing folk this way and that about the land. You can purchase a sign from any of the well-stocked city markets. To write a message upon a sign, type WRITE SIGN followed by the message. To fix a sign to a location so that it cannot be removed, type FIX SIGN. An example is shown below. If you wish to prevent others from writing upon your sign, you should make sure it was bought directly from a shop (which imprints your ownership on the sign), or ask a deity to make your mark upon it.

- Write sign Private! Keep Out! By Order of Genesis.
You pen the legend, "Private! Keep Out! By Order of Genesis." upon the sign.
- Fix sign
You fix the sign to the ground.

5.11. Telling privately to individuals all over Avalon.

The most intimate form of communication is through the TELL command. This enables you to single out one particular player as the recipient of your message. Thus you may TELL <player> <message> and that player alone will receive it. Alternatively, you may simply omit the TELL command and use the syntax of <player> <message> - both have the same function. If, for some reason, you do not wish to be disturbed by private TELL messages, you may type TELL OFF which disables all incoming TELLs and messages - TELL ON will reverse this.

Type TELLS to repeat view your last dozen or so received tells and CT to clear the log of your latest tells. Your tells log lasts, at most, twenty four hours.

5.12. Expression the emotions of your character.

Your character can display an infinite variety of emotions and facial expressions. These descriptive commands allow your character to demonstrate how he or she is feeling. They must be performed "face-to-face" however - in other words they can only be received by people in the same location as you. Hundreds of these pre-defined commands exist, each one at your character's disposal. Thus you may type GRIN and your character will do likewise; you may SMILE, LAUGH, SOB, PURR like a cat or even BARK like a dog. Many of the descriptive commands can also be directed towards specific things or individuals. As a result you are able to HUG <person> or WAVE to someone leaving your chamber.

If you find that you need a more specific emotion:

EMOTE <text> or EMS <text>.
For example:
EMOTE JUMPS UP AND DOWN MERRILY = Genesis jumps up and down merrily.

EMS HEAD HURTS                  = Genesis's head hurts.

5.13. Securing your writings with runic script.

Often you may not wish to have your writings perused by all and sundry. You can safeguard your works by adding a touch of runic warding script to the page, or pages, you wish to protect. The command to add runic script to a page is SCRIPT. You only need include the page number if the item you are writing upon has more than one page (i.e. you would include a page number if you were penning script into a tome, but not into a letter). You can include more than one runic warding script upon the same page but they must be included in the same SCRIPT command, each time you use the SCRIPT command on a page it replaces any runic script that might have been there previously. You will be able to use runic script on contributions to the bulletin board if you wish also. Remember that letters should be erased before you begin writing anew (either new scripts or new text) since remnants of old scripts can linger.

Syntax: SCRIPT <item> <runic warding script>.

Possible scripts are listed as follows. It is a fairly intricate little system and experimentation is advised:
PASSWORD <password> - Protecting your text with a password.
ALLOW GUILD <guild> - Allowing members of named guild.
DENY GUILD <guild> - Deny members of the named guild access.
ALLOW GUILDRANK <guild rank> - Allow access to those with named rank.
DENY GUILDRANK <guild rank> - Deny access to those below said rank.
ALLOW CITY <city> - Allow access to citizens of the specified city.
DENY CITY <city> - Deny access to citizens of the specified city.
ALLOW CITYSTATUS <city status> - Allow access according to city status.
DENY CITYSTATUS <city status> - Deny access to those not holding the status.
ALLOW EYES <individual> - Allow access to the named individual.
DENY EYES <individual> - Deny access solely to the individual named.
ALLOW PATRON <deity name> - Allow access to the specified divine order.
DENY PATRON <deity name> - Deny access to members of the said order.
ALLOW ORDERLEVEL <order rank> - Allow access to those of said rank and up.
DENY ORDERLEVEL <order rank> - Deny access to those below said rank.

You should be aware of HELP GUILDRANKS, HELP ORDERSTATUS and HELP NOBILITY for a list of guild ranks, divine patronage ranks, and nobility ranks within a city. In ALLOW and DENY CITYSTATUS you can, as status, specify also: GOVERNMENT (all ministers, Barons, Prince, High Constable, and Cardinal), BARONY, CONSTABLE, STATE, TRADE, CHANCELLORY, FOREIGN, CARDINAL, JUSTICE, and RELATIONS.

5.14. Communicating with others.

To communicate directly with other people you have four commands which effectively cover the range of communication.

SAY <message>              - Tells everybody in your location the message.
SHOUT <message>            - Tells everybody in Avalon your message.
TELL <person> <message>    - Tells specific people your message.
WHISPER <person> <message> - Tells specific people in your location.   
TELLS                      - Review the last dozen or so tells to you.
CT                         - Clears the contents of your tells log.
WHO                        - To tell you who is on Avalon at present.

6. Your Avalon Character - Overview.

Information on other parts of a character, from questing for gold to changing your alignment.

6.1. The importance of roleplay for your character.

Your standing among your contemporaries is, for most people, very important. Since it is you who decides what your character says and does, all relationships which you strike up with other players will be real and continuous. Hence deciding upon a role is one of your most important decisions. It would not be possible, for instance, to form lasting relationships with folk dedicated to protecting life if your immediate aim was to rape and pillage. Try, as often as possible, to stick to your chosen role. Ensure that decisions your character makes are consistent with its role.

One of the most beautiful things about Avalon is that all start equal, and anything is possible. There is no reason why you should not rise to be the greatest Knight in the land, or the mightiest Enchanter. The following sections describe in detail the aids Avalon provides for fulfilling whatever role you have chosen for your character. Avalon charts your physical progression through skills, experience levels, status and feelings of other civilisations towards you. While role-playing your character, two commands of use to you will be FRIENDLY and HOSTILE. Typing HOSTILE will put your character in hostile mode. It was make your actions as secret as possible, for instance, when you are following, Avalon will assume you are stalking them and will not show your name when they type GROUPSTATUS. Typing FRIENDLY will revert to being open with everybody.

6.2. Selecting a profession and changing to a new one.

Your profession is gained after serving an apprenticeship in a guild and choosing to join the guild as a full member. At that point, you will assume whichever profession that guild is associated with (see HELP PROFESSIONS). Once you have taken a profession you will be tied to it, and your skills will develop according to the specialities of your guild.

Changing profession can only be done at great personal sacrifice using the CHANGE PROFESSION command. If you choose to reject your profession you will lose all of your specialist guild skills, and the time spent learning will simply be deemed to have augmented your general skills, at three-quarters of their effectiveness. Your general skills though will not be able to progress beyond Ultimate, so it is possible to actually lose skills that would have been gained on general skills that are Ultimate or above. You will then be free to join a new guild and start afresh.

6.3. The guild apprentice's twenty badges.

There are four distinct phases in the life of an Avalonian. The first spent in the academy, the second in the school and the third, perhaps the most difficult, the transition between fledgling apprentice and long-term independent. The fourth, the long and heroic challenge of making a mark in this land is dealt with elsewhere but here we address that crucial third phase: the badges.

After joining a guild, during the apprenticeship, there are numerous 'badges' of knowledge that all Avalonians should aspire to attain. These badges are bestowed by guildmasters, guild elders, or deities. They represent the successful acquisition of a slice of important knowledge, whether that be the ability to equip oneself with armour and weapons, or the successful witnessing of the sunrise in the vale of Azrili. It is not necessary to attain all possible badges but to do so signifies, in the minds of the great of this land, the establishment of an independent, self-assured character ready to meet his or her future. Many guild use the badges as a gauge of a youngster's readiness to move from apprenticeship to full initiate.

To review your own acquired badges type BADGES. Guildmasters and Elders can bestow badges using the BADGE command. It is only possible to bestow a badge on an apprentice once per Avalon timezone (six timezones per Avalon day). These badges are for apprentices in their first career only - for those genuinely new to the ways of the land. High ranking guildmembers may review the attained badges by typing BADGES followed by the name of the apprentice. Each badge brings with it rewards, whether gold, experience or lessons. Some are relatively simple, some more complex. The collection of all possible badges gains the apprentice great prestige in the eyes of the Gods.

Type HELP BADGELIST for a full list of badges and requirements.

6.4. Quests for your character to perform.

Quests are one of the most profitable ways of expanding your experience of Avalon, of encountering new places and witnessing wondrous happenings. There are four different types of quests which you will be able to perform in Avalon.

The City Quest is given out by the monarch of your city (Thandrades of Mercinae, Augustine of Parrius and Periam of Thakria) when you type REQUEST QUEST in their presence. City quests are given out according to your level, and every few levels has a number of city quests to test your progress. They are extremely valuable and you should always endeavour to perform regular city quests. The Professional Honours are given out by the Master Tutor of your Guild. You gain an honour when you type REQUEST HONOUR in their presence.

General quests are given out by most of the Computer Controlled haracters, and a wide number of the unnamed creatues of the land when you GREET them (for example, GREET GRAGNOR). They vary enormously in difficulty and reward, and it is up to you to decide which quests to perform and when to ignore. You do not need to accept any quests given via this method, and success is usually determined by a specific deed or by returning an item requested. The fourth type of quest is the Avalon-wide quest, usually involving a large number of players and resulting in worldwide effects. These quests are irregular and tend to be quite involved. They can last for a couple of hours. Rewards are great and you should always keep half an eye open for unusual occurences which may hint at some great quest commencing.

Additionally there a thousands of quests available to the higher ranking citizens or guildmembers, any of which can be given out to younger members of Avalonian society. Ask your guildmaster or elders, members of your government or higher nobility, those in exhalted positions about the land and see if they can bestow quests upon you. Or you may choose to beg a quest from a CCC by typing QUEST FROM followed by the CCC name, e.g. QUEST FROM IORWENN. If they offer you a quest, type ACCEPT to take it on (permanently) and seek to perform it, duly gaining experience and often gold... and in doing so, learn more of the secrets of the land. If you find the quest too difficult you may type FAIL followed by the questname. Admitting failure has a modest cost in experience. If you have been declared successful then you type SUCCESS followed by the questname to publish your success (e.g. SUCCESS BANDITSLAYER) and claim your reward (experience and sometimes gold coins). Type REMEMBER (or REM) at any time to review those quests you have outstanding on your adventuring rollcall and finally you may type MEMORIES to gain a list of those experience quests you've successfully gained against your character.

See also HELP HONOURS and HELP XPQUESTS for further information on specific types of quests you may wish to further explore.

6.5. Avalon weddings, bonding one character to another.

In order to illustrate the touches of realism which Avalon possesses, it is worth mentioning two of the less regular events in the land; the weddings and the divine gift of pregnancy. Weddings take place, as one might expect, between two mature adults - often cementing ties between cities or uniting powerful individuals. Traditionally they are held in the Mercinaen cathedral or one of the temples in Thakria. Pregnancy is often a by-product of a wedding, though more often it is a gift bestowed upon mortals unknown to them by the benevolent deities. Pregnancy lasts over a period of nine months, at which point the pregnant woman will be able to give birth. The child which is born will be helpless and dependent on its parents to defend it against the bitter, cruel world.

6.6. The target for all mortals - Avalonian rank.

Once you reach the illustrious level of Avalonian, you will no longer gain any experience from doing menial tasks, quests or slaying creatures. Instead, you may gain score through slaying your foes and through interaction with other players. You can speed this up by playing regularly, by spending time with other players and by performing Godly quests and actions. It is possible to complete the Avalonian level in a month providing you spend your time playing with others and roleplaying your character.

6.7. Rising in status within your city.

Each of the four Avalonian cities, and many of the towns and villages, is governed by some hierarchical means, be it democratic or otherwise. When you are born into your city as a commoner, you join the lowest rung in a socio-political hierarchy. You will be able to choose the city which most closely matches your ideals to swear allegiance too, or you may keep faith with the city of your birth.

Being a citizen of a major city has its obvious advantages. A city will have an incredible wealth of resources behind it, not only in everyday commodities but its armies and guards will fend off most forms of attack, providing you with an environment that is relatively safe from the harsher elements of the outside world. It also provides a firm grounding for friendships among you and your fellow citizens; loyalties and bonds between players can quickly be struck up purely on the basis of citizenship. Being a citizen of a city will give your character a cause to fight for, ideals for which he or she can struggle.

Barons of your city, if you choose to remain a citizen of one of the major cities, will be able to give out their favour if they feel you deserve it. Gaining Baronial favour will gradually increase your reputation within the city. This will lead, eventually, to you gaining a title and certain privileges in your city. Type PRIVILEGES CITY to review the privileges enjoyed by your current city status. Below is a list of the ranks within a city.

1. Commoner           4. Squire/Maiden          7. Marquis/Marchioness
2. Messenger          5. Gentleman/Gentlewoman  8. Count/Countess
3. Freeman/Freewoman  6. Nobleman/Noblewoman    9. Duke/Duchess

6.8. Major titles available to aspirant mortals.

One of the most effective gauges of your progress in the land, and the reputation amongst your peers you have established are titles. Titles are gained by becoming Master of a Guild, rising in the order of a deity, or, most often, attaining positions of responsibility within a city. A list of titles is provided below.

Prince               Supported by all the Barons - the leader of a city.
Baron                Elected by the citizens, with a wide range of powers.
High Priest          One of the highest ranks within a divine Order.
Guildmaster          Leader and guiding force within a particular Guild.

6.9. Earning gold for your character.

Although Avalon has hundreds of methods of earning gold, a new character will desire a fast and easy method of earning enough to afford to outfit himself. You would be advised to request aid from one of the elders of your city - type CITIZENS to see which fellow citizens are playing Avalon while you are. They will normally be only too happy to show you a few easy methods of earning small sums of gold. All of the cities have folk desiring items or simple tasks performed and most reward the person who executes it with gold. Gragnor and Pandion of Thakria, Sevenius and Thandrades of Mercinae, Walrus and Augustine of Parrius will all dole out quests to the young and untutored.

6.10. Procuring lessons speedily as you grow older.

Lesson procurement is a method of advancing in skills more quickly. It allows you to purchase lessons in batches for immediate learning on your character. At times the number of lessons you can procure at any time may be limited by your age and how many times you've utilised this facility.

To procure lessons using this mechanism type PROCURE followed by the number of lessons you wish to buy. Billing is automatic and immediate. You can only procure in batches of fifty lessons, ten pounds/nineteen dollars per fifty price.

Type SUBSCRIBE to enter your procurement details if you have no payment data on record.

6.11. The perils and punishments for sadism.

Combat between players in Avalon brings about the most extreme emotional responses of any events which might befall your character. Fighting itself can be nerve-wracking, sometimes frightening. Death can be devastating and disheartening, victory elating. The adrenalin rush during a fight has to be experienced, since it defies explanation. However, it is possible during the thrill of a fight to forget that your opponent is invariably another individual, who has spent time and effort building up his or her character. It is essential that you avoid falling into the trap of forgetting that your opponent is attached, as you are, to their character. Repeated slaying of another player is unacceptable.

A rule of thumb which should be used to guide your offensive acts is; never send your enemy upon the Ship of Death more than once, and only attack again when the defeated enemy acts against your person. Avoid attacking those obviously much weaker than you, and, if you are unsure about the might of another player, take the time to find out before wading in and making some poor novice's life a misery.

6.12. The concept of game-in-microcosm.

There is an important principle, here in Avalon, that is not entirely addressed by the contents of the pivotal HELP SADISM: that of game-in-microcosm. In order that younger or less skilled Avalonians may develop it is crucial that they are allowed to go through their own struggles, against enemies of equal and challenging stature. It is not the place of the great to bully the small, even if this is in defence of one of their own: their charge will not live to thank them, will not improve, will not find the freedom to respond independently to the challenges that may face them. The end result of mollycoddling, whether in the name of bullying, revenge or plain interference is a dearth of rising talent. This cannot be.

Avalon is a land that thrives on conflict and consensus. It is a world of extremes and subtleties. You, the great, must allow the young to experience the spectrum at their own level. The rewards will be obvious: they will mature faster, more independent, more innovative. Olympus trusts in the gamesense and intelligence of the great and the middling and the young alike to understand and apply the principles of game-in-microcosm. The pantheon will l