September 18, 2000
There are several reasons you could be reading this now. You are close to achieving your HERO flag, but those Multi-Level Requirements (MLR) mean you need Dragon Points (DP). Maybe you are a HERO, and just want that extra bit of help dragonhide equipment can give you (DH EQ). That Dragon Hunter (DH) flag look appetizing to you? Well, running a Dragon Lair (DL) is a great way to get these points, although you can also get points by helping defend a clan town from a Dragon attack. (More on this later in the article!)
We are not going to go over every aspect of DragonLairs, but we are going to try and cover everything you need to be a contributing member of a DL form.
By now you have either been selected to run on a DL, you were invited by a friend, or perhaps your clan is going, and you volunteered to come along. Maybe you have a reputation, and where Dragons are hunted, you are wanted. It's time to get ready, so what do you do first?
Well, are you ready for this lair? Do you have everything you are going to need throughout the course of this form? Well, if you don't know what you need - let me try to help you out.
Hit Points. These dragons are not pushovers, and their breath attack has left many an unsuspecting and unprepared adventurer dead. How to protect yourself? Hit points, lots and lots of hit points. Warriors and thieves, who will usually be in the front taking the brunt of the attacks, will need more than usual, while the ever fragile mage class will need lots of Hit Points to stay alive, too.
For the weaker dragons, 800 or more hp is acceptable, while some of the mean ones require 1,000 hit points. (This varies - check with your form leader about just what will be acceptable)
Save vs Breath Weapon equipment. Rumours fly, about its value or lack thereof, but I say it can't hurt to have a little.
Staffs. That's right, staffs. Lots and lots of staffs. When I say staffs, I am talking about healing staffs. There are lots of types, and most any will do, as long as it is item type staff, and casts the spell "heal". When a Dragon breathes his special attack, the success or failure of a lair run can often depend on just how well the members staff to recover hp. Bring along plenty of these staffs, and a few extra - for the party member who might not have enough. Remember - your life depends on these staffs, too.
Orbs. You know, those blue and green things we all see on auction. Bring along a couple, because we are going to use lots of them just getting to the dragon, and even more once we get him out of his lair!
Bringing along the things above is a big step in being prepared for a dragonlair, and physically its about all you are going to need. Next we are going to briefly outline behavior inside of a dragonlair, common mistakes, and ways you can help make your dragonlair go smoother for everyone. By earning a reputation as a smart and helpful form member, you are more likely to be invited back on more runs, and helping you achieve whatever goals you have set for yourself that much faster.
Time. Hey, this isn't a walk in the park, if you wanna come along, try to have an hour or two of free time, where you wont need to go Away From Keyboard (AFK) for long periods of time. It is annoying to a form of people to have to wait 5-10 minutes because you had to go shave your dog, and you didn't give them warning. Remember, these people are most likely in a hurry or at the very least don't often appreciate waiting at your convenience.
Listening. This is what really burns most Dragon Lair leaders. When you are told to go 2 rooms to the east, and don't wander. This means just that. Go east 2 times, and don't go anywhere else. It is amazing how people can mess this one up, really. People go the wrong way, they go and decide to walk around, to see whats there. If you must know - use farsight or scan, but DO NOT IGNORE YOUR FORMLEADER. Sorry to scream there, but this is a big one. Possibly the biggest. Simply put - its not hard to pay attention, and just do what your told. If you do what you are told to do, and mess up - at the very least its not your fault.
Player Killing. Don't do it. It is rude, and most of the time unacceptable behavior. Yes dragon lairs are PK zones, but this is not the place to notch your PK counter, or to settle that grudge with somebody. Keep your problems outside of the DL, and if you must - talk to your formleader about unresolvable conflicts.
All right! I'm at the Dragon Lair, and ready to go! What now?
This is the meat and potatoes of the DL run, and what causes most lairs to fail or succeed. You have 3 levels of tunnels to a Dragon Lair. Your leader will guide you through each level, taking you progressively closer and closer to the Dragon himself.
Wimpy. Its better to die than to flee. Wimpy 0 always.
Brief. Oh, this is my favorite. Use brief combat, brief spells, brief descriptions and brief movement if you are spammed by any of this. Be warned however that you should pay attention if you use these commands, because when you lose the spam, you dont so quickly see what's happening with them. (for example, you don't even see someone get backstabbed with brief combat, and you won't see people healing each other with brief spell - just a warning to keep on your toes if you use these commands!)
Blockers. These are mobs that you can not flee from. Your party must kill these to move on. (Note: I find it is helpful to cast the 'Shield Room' spell at intersections, so wandering blockers cannot wander in and kill the occasional straggler.)
Cramped. This is where paying attention to your form leader will pay off. There are rooms in a DL that groups of people are simply too large to pass through. There are 2 ways of resolving this. Have the formleader unform the party, and everyone follow his directions - and meet at his ending point. Or you can opt for the slower method and pass through the cramped room(s) one player at a time. Listen to your form leader, and you won't go wrong here.
Fireshielded Mobs. When you run into more than one mob in the room with fireshield . . . don't room spell! Target one mob at a time, and use your mana to heal each other.
Xheal. (abbrev for Cross-Healing) Read help heal if you don't know this, but healing yourself is not as effective as healing someone else, and having them heal you. Keep that in mind when your party has to stop and heal. Type "Freport" and heal the people with the lowest hit points first.
Down. This is the 'down' exit on each level that takes you to the next lower level within the lair.
Sharing Hide. This is the process where the Form Leader, as the context implies, "shares the hide". What this does is assigns a 'share' of the dragon's hide to each member of the attacking forms, up to 18 players. Fewer players can mean more hide for each player, but it is a great risk to chance not killing the dragon, and getting nothing instead. When the hide is shared, only members of the attacking forms will get hide from the dragon when it dies in the Clan Town.
Notes - make sure you stay spelled up, and everyone have the 'breathe water' spell active, as well as your detection spells.
Three levels later, here we are at the Dragon! This means we win right?
Not yet, although you have come a long way, for sure! This is the moment you have waited for, and you are undoubtedly eager to begin. However, be patient. Just a moment more of your time and I will let you go about your chivalric crusades.
When you are at the end of the third level, and nearing the Dragon himself - Your formleaders will stop you. This is where you get the "speech" from your formleaders (unless your groups travel together often, you should hear this a lot). Essentially however, the speech boils down to this. Spell up, cast strength 4-5 times. Get full hit points and mana. Get your staffs ready, and be ready to use them a lot! (No! No! Put the carved staves away! Those are bad! Ask your form about the most recent "so and so sanced the dragon" story - it could be you, otherwise!)
The next step (after your form leader shares the hide [dragonhide inside the lair will show you this status]), is to attack the dragon. Your form leaders will pull the forms into the cavern of the dragon, where the bloodshed begins (tip - I use brief combat and brief spells, the spam can be lethal on an unreliable connection) Engage the dragon, cast plague on the dragon. If your plague is successful, then SHOUT IN ALL CAPS LIKE THIS so that everyone knows they can now devote their spells to doing damage to the dragon. When the Dragon uses his breath weapon, use your staff. Be liberal, its hard to overstaff in a dragonlair, and I don't think it's a problem I have seen. Usually everyone enjoys staying alive, how about you? When he is just about dead . . . don't cheer yet! . . . he will flee. You briefly chase him to the surface, and then repeat the 'speech stage', get full, etc.
You go up one more time to engage the dragon . . . and surprise! He has healed himself. *groan* no wait! It is just a part of the process, don't get disheartened. You have now driven him out of his lair successfully. When you beat him again, he will proceed to fly to the nearest clantown (CT) and heal himself again. By now, all of Medievia knows where he is though, and you will have help waiting in town, you can be sure! Listen to your form leaders, and fight off the dragon one last time . . . for good!
Be warned, this is the last stage, but sometimes it can be a pain to chase a dragon through a clan town, some of the larger clan towns will have Heroes moaning and holding their temples . . it can be that bad.
Regardless of what has happened so far, you are now ready for the final showdown with the dragon. You have chased this oversized lizard to a clantown, and its time to show him who is boss. But, he just won't sit still! Argghh!!!
Ok, calm down, and listen up. When you fight the dragon, he will run from you in one of two ways. Either he leaps to the sky, and lands elsewhere in the CT, or else he will casually stroll into and adjoining room. Either way, now is the time to stop, frep and xheal again, and resurrect the players in the room who need it. (type 'reslist' - yet another cool command I never knew until recently)
Once the parties are ready to attack the dragon again, you need to find him. The dragon will only be in rooms that are outdoors, so a thorough knowledge of the CT you are in will help immensely, but for the vast majority of us who just don't know it all - go slowly and use scan and farsight often. When you find the dragon, shout or tell your form that you have found the dragon (make sure for this you have setphase A - Its not fun to have someone shout for you to phase to them, when they are blocking you). Don't rush the dragon ahead of your form leaders, and don't try to solo the dragon.
Well, those are the essentials of running a dragon lair! If you follow those steps, and listen to the instructions here, it will save you and your form a lot of time, and wasted effort. Grab your staffs, strap on your armor, and get ready to enter the lair and rescue the damsel . . . or at least pillage the treasure!