Genesis, like most other LPMuds, is heavily combat-oriented. Though there are some other elements, it is primarily focused toward combat, as any who have experience with both fighting and magical guilds can tell.
Thus, knowledge of the basics of combat is essential to long term enjoyment of the game. No matter who you are, no matter what your interests, you will engage in combat with something sooner or later.
First we'll cover preparation: equipment you need and some precautions to take. Then we'll cover the actual dirty business: some considerations of combat.
Arms
Armour
Compare
Wimpy
Health
Drunkenness
Encumberance
Fatigue
In most cases, you will need one or more weapons to be effective in combat. It is possible to be successful while unarmed, especially if you are particularly skilled in unarmed combat. However, it is generally considered better to rely on three feet of steel than on two feet of flesh (ha ha).
Weapons come in five types in Genesis: swords, polearms, axes, clubs and knives. There is no true missile combat in Genesis, though there are two crude simulations of which I am aware. Each weapon type has a skill associated with it. The higher your skill, the more effective you will be when wielding a suitable weapon.
Weapons are designed to be wielded in different ways. There are two handed weapons, any handed weapons, and single handed weapons. Two handed weapons may only be wielded by using both hands. Any handed weapons can be wielded in either hand. Single handed weapons may only be wielded in one hand; for example, only in the right hand.
The type and the design of a weapon may be determined by appraising it and reading the last line of the appraisal result. For example:
> appraise sarissa You study the steel-tipped sarissa carefully. This long sarissa is almost fifteen feet in length. The shaft is made of a light, strong brown wood, and the steel head is wickedly pointed. You notice dark stains where the sarissa is usually gripped. This weapons has been quite well used. It looks like it is in prime condition. You appraise that the weight is 4000 grams and you guess its volume is about 400 milliliters. You estimate its worth to 560 cc. This object seems to be able to last a while. You notice that the polearm is made to be wielded in both hands.
The final line in the description tells that the sarissa is a polearm and that it is a two handed weapon.
Different weapons will have different effectiveness. Some will be easier to use, and some will hit harder or cut deeper. Part of this is common sense - it is generally easier to hit with a sword, but an axe will tend to do more damage. However, many weapons will be of superior craftsmanship and so will outperform others of their ilk. Some weapons are even enchanted, and will bestow great powers upon their wielders or terrible doom upon their victims. However, it is not always possible to determine a weapon's quality by looking at it. My favourite example of this type was the shattersword, which looked like a plain sword fashioned from crystal, but was truly a weapon of epic proportions.
Armour in Genesis does not, as some may think, prevent its wearer from getting hit. However, it can certainly reduce the damage one takes from a hit. Good armour can literally save one's life. It is easy to overlook the effects of armour, since the combat system gives no indication of when the armour is working. A solid blow that is blocked by armour looks exactly like a glancing blow - one of the many drawbacks of the Genesis combat system.
However, it is ill advised to wear so much armour that one becomes too burdened. As will be covered later, being burdened can have a very negative effect on one's performance in combat.
There are five principal locations that armour can cover: the head, the body, the left arm, the right arm, and the legs. A single piece of armour can cover more than one of these locations, but most often a single piece of armour will cover but a single location. The common exception is arm armour, which usually comes in a set that protects both arms.
There are other armour locations, such as the neck, but these don't come into play in standard combat. They are useful only in rare circumstances. For the time being you needn't worry about such armours.
Now that you understand the basics of equipping yourself, you will want to know how to pick your fights. The compare command is designed for just this purpose. It will allow you to estimate another creature's stats in relation to yours. Consult the help files for a more information. I leave you with one warning: the accuracy of your comparison depends on your appraise enemy skill. If your skill is low, do not risk your life betting on the results of your appraisal.
Before you enter combat, you will want to set your wimpy level. When you reach the level of health specified in your wimpy setting, you will automatically flee the room. Consult help options and help wimpy for more information.
Enough with the preparations! Let's get down to the gritty concerns of toe-to-toe combat!
Health is the primary concern of combat. The object of a fight is to reduce your opponnent's health to the point where he dies. One important way to ensure that you stay around long enough to do that to your opponnent is to make sure that your health stays high enough that you don't die or wimpy.
Health is reduced by getting hit in combat. It is increased by the natural act of healing and through healing spells and various other magical means.
There are two easy ways to monitor your health. The first is by means of the vitals command (note that v has been made a universal alias for vitals). The first line of output tells your health and your mental state, respectively. Eg:
> v You are physically feeling very well and mentally in full vigour. You feel extremely secure and extremely alert. You can eat quite a lot more and drink quite a lot more. You are sober. You are foul. Age: 60 days 17 hours 45 minutes 30 seconds.
The character in this example is in the peak of health. To discover the levels of health, type levels health.
The most common way to monitor other peoples' health is to use the health command. To find out everybody's health, try health all. For example:
> health all You are feeling very well. The strong cityguard is feeling very well. The strong cityguard is feeling very well. The strong cityguard is feeling very well.
For more information on the uses of the health command, consult the help files.
The natural rate of healing is quite fast (especially when compared with the natural mana recovery rate!), and, unlike mana, one can speed the healing rate vastly by a simple and easily available formula: getting drunk.
Yes, ma'am, you read correctly. One certain proof that Genesis was created by a Swede is the fact that alcohol has only beneficial effects (some would say wildly beneficial, and perhaps even unbalancing) on a person who drinks it.
One might think that drunkenness would have negative effects in combat, but I have seen no evidence to that effect. Even if it does, the change is so miniscule as to be insignificant compared to the incredible benefit of being drunk. I have been reminded that there are certain weapons which will punish the wielder if he is drunk. However, these few weapons are a small price to pay; while drunk one heals so rapidly and so often that a single drink of whiskey is far more beneficial than any healing spell, because, over time, the whiskey will do more healing than any ten healing spells.
An encumbered character does not fight as well. Each successful level of encumberance lessens one's chance of hitting in combat and increases one's chance of being hit. Being encumbered while in combat is bad. For this reason, weaker characters may wish to stick to lighter armours until they become strong enough to carry heavier kit around with them.
Similarly, a fatigued character fights much worse than an alert character. Moreover, if one is too fatigued, he cannot run from combat. That, obviously, can be quite deadly if the fatigued fighter is losing. Be sure to take precautions against becoming fatigued while fighting.
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©1997 to Michael A. Laux.