August 3, 2000
Remembering the Avatar's precious instructions, he types "recall", so as to be transported to the portal in the Main Courtyard, then heads to the Warrior's Guild by typing "enter guild".
Time to practice his warrior skills.
Typing "practice" gives him a list of available skills to practice.
As a warrior, he is a physical fighter, and has access to skills such as "kick", "bash", "charge", "parry", "secondattack" and "thirdattack", as well as some less expresive ones like "meditate" and "offhand".
He tries typing "help (skillname)", and, although it gives him useful information about each skill individually, he receives no help as to which skill to train first.
As he ponders the situation, the warrior who helped him out the day before enters the room through the portal, to our newbie's great surprise and delight.
They exchange greetings, and, after jokingly inquiring as to how the "form" went, the newbie asks his friend and benefactor for some advice as to which skills to practice first.
Thus, he learns that, for a newbie, it is best to concentrate on simple attacks, like "kick", to use during combat, while getting a good "second" and "thirdattack" level right from the start, as these are crucial for success as a warrior.
The newbie thanks his unexpected benefactor for his advice, then starts to practice.
- Fool!, says the warrior. What are you doing?
- practicing, as you said... , sheepishly replies the newbie.
- Without your INT equipment ?!? NEVER practice without it, or you will live to rue the day that you made such a foolish mistake!
The newbie, feeling guilty, puts on the "golden ring" that the Avatar and he had went to get in the Graveyard, and sees his INT rise to the desired level of 18. He promises himself that never again shall he make that most costly of mistakes.
He then practices, and is surprised at the slow speed at which his skills rise. He shares this observation with the warrior.
This, explains the warrior, is a common trait to the physical fighters, the warriors and the thieves. These have access to all their skills right from the start, but have to practice them a lot in order to attain a satisfying level, whereas the casters, the mages and clerics, need to reach a certain level before they can practice each spell, but need only practice each one twice to master it "superbly".
He knows all this, he explains, because he is in fact a multi-class, which means that he has already completed some or all of the other classes in the game before becoming his currnet class, and is well upon his way to herodom, which is achieved by completing all four of the classes in the game.
The newbie, for whom finishing ONE class seems quite a feat, doesn't see why anyone would want to start all over again once they've finished their initial class. He supposes that he'll understand later on.
The warrior takes a glance at his equipment, spits, then tells the newbie to go to the donation room to improve it.
This donation room, he explains, is a room to the South-East of recall where good-hearted people always leave their unwanted equipment, so others may take and use it.
They part, and the newbie heads to "recall", then goes South, East, then East again.
He finds himself in a room overflowing with equipment. Most of it has a large red X next to it, some has an arrow pointing at it, and some doesn't have anything at all to set it apart from the rest. A small box-like machine rests in one corner of the large room.
This must certainly be the donation room of which the warrior was speaking, the newbie says to himself.
In the room with him are a half dozen other adventurers, all dressed in the same fashion as he. He watches as they sort through the Equipment, find an interesting article, pull a handle on the machine and receive information on its effects (in other words, they type "pull (object)" and thus get it "id'ed" )
By trying this himself for a while, he comes to understand that objects with an arrow next to them are generally better than similar objects already worn. Objects with a X next to them are of too high level for him to use, or are meant for other classes, or even other "alignments".
He finds quite a few interesting objects in this manner, and is more than satisfied to see that, on "sc", his six main stats have risen considerably. His other stats have changed as well : his "hitroll" and "damroll" have both gone up (he assumes that both these stats have something to do with how hard he hits) and his "AC" has somehow gone down.
Typing "help AC" gets rid of all worries created by this observation : he learns that the lower your AC is, the better. AC can go from 100, the worst AC possible, to -100, the best. A low AC means that you get hit less in combat and take less damage.
He even figures out a very useful trick : being a Warrior, he doesn't have access to many useful spells, like "identify", but all he needs to do is go to the donation room, drop the item he wishes to id, pick it right back up again, and use the "pull (object)" command to get its stats!
He wisely remembers the Avatar's words before setting out to get some experience, and holds his Satyr's flute, and wears his worn copper belt. He knows better than to level without them.
Wandering around the city, he has a few brief run-ins with Janitors, Commoners, Mercenaries...
He uses the examine command to check out the EQ that's on the mobs he kills (by typing "exa cor"), and finds that some of it has an arrow next to it, like the stuff in the donation room. He tries this EQ out, check his SC screen before and after, and decides whether to keep it or drop it. He finds the Mercenaries' equipment to be of particular interest.
He sporadically finds "green potions" on the corpses. He tries to type "drink green", and is told that he cannot drink from it and "help potion" doesn't exist. So, seeing all those shouted out messages, he types "shout How do I use a potion?", to which a great many answers come back, some polite, some less so, that all basically melt down to : Type "q (potion)".
This he does, discovering that the green potion actually HEALS his wounds.
Being a warrior, the wise use of these potions in battle enhances his chances of winning tremendously, giving him the assurance needed to venture outside known territory.
He explores the different Class Quarters of Med City, which can be reached either on foot, by setting out in any given direction from Recall, or by using the Portal, at Recall, to get transported there post haste (by typing "enter cleric/mage/thief/warrior").
This he learns by reading the FAQ board posted by the Gods at Recall.
In these, he discovers a plethora of small shops and taverns, and an interesting variety of mobs. He especially appreciates the Clerics, and Paladins, who are hard, but are more than worth it, as they give him a whopping 20000 (or 20k) experience.
Before he knows it, he has gained enough xp to become level 7.
He notices that his AC actually goes down with each additional level he attains. He guesses that this is most likely a warrior thing.
His quest for xp brings him to the South of recall, where he finds the "Town Crier". Full of confidence from his latest battles, he swings his sword at the Crier, and, a sudden burst of pain later, is dead.
He stares in stupor as his mangled body crumbles to the ground.
He is even more astonished as a Necromancer suddenly appears and begins to perform a dark ritual upon the body.
A few minutes of agonizing wait later, the newbie regains control over his body, which has now been transformed into an Undead Corpse.
In a state of panic, he checks his inventory, and finds that all of his possessions have disappeared. In their place, lie three vials of "unholy water", a heavy ball at the end of a chain, as well as a book, the "Guide Book for the Newly Deceased".
He reads this, and learns much about his predicament : as an Undead Corpse, he cannot do anything, like get experience or equipment, until he finds an altar and prays there, once a ten minute waiting period has expired. Only then shall his life be returned to him.
He remembers how "guide hotel" gave him directions to the "Hotel Medievia" and, on the off-chance that it might work, tries "guide altar".
Sure enough, the same greasy imp appears and tells him how to get to the altar. Surprisingly, it seems to be in the same direction as the Hotel.
He sets off, reaches the Altar, waits for his ten minutes to pass (he discovers that "sc" tells him how much time he has left) then types "pray" and returns to life.
He immediatly checks his inventory to see if his possessions are still there, and discovers that not only are they there, but they are in the company of all of his equipment items!
He then painstakingly proceeds to re-equip himself, one object at a time.
Having done this, he decides that he would like to know if there is a way to prevent this from happening again. Remembering the Avatar's words, he types " who -a" for a list of Avatars online, then, choosing one at random, a female Avatar, sends her this message :
- Pardon my intrusion ma'am, but I have just been massacred by a Mob, and would like to know if there was any way to make sure it doesn't happen again.
She promply replies :
- Well, there's no way to be ABSOLUTLY sure that you won't get killed when attacking a mob, but you can check and see if it isn't way out of your league with the Consider command. Just type "con (mob name)" and the game will evaluate your chances of killing the mob in question. It will even give you the results with a comical twist!
Having digested this new information, he then asks :
- Thank you. After dying, I noticed that all my equipment was removed. I had to put it back on piece by piece. Any solution to this?
She answers him with the same speed :
- All you have to do is type "wear all". It will put all your equipment on the way it was when you died.
He then thanks her again, to which she replies "No problem, that's what I'm here for! ;0)", and heads off to see the Crier again. Typing "con crier" gives him the following result message :
Here lies one dead and very dumb MEDIEVIA player.
He wishes he had known this BEFORE he attacked the Crier in the first place, but it is of no use to cry over spilled milk, as it is so often said.
He decides that he has had enough adventuring for one day, that he is more than tired (coming back from the dead will do that to a person), and heads back to his comfy Hotel room (which he has to pay for AGAIN at the desk, this is highway robbery), plops down on the bed and plunges into the deep sleep of the exhausted.