Help System

X. Combat

Combat in Alyria is a fact of life. Many dangerous and tricky creatures
inhabit the lands, and an Adventurer must be prepared to face them.

How Combat Works

Melee combat occurs in a series of rounds. A round is when attacks and
blows are exchanged between opposing forces. Combat is started when one
side utilizes the ATTACK command or uses a special attack on an opponent.

During combat, damage is inflicted in two overall ways. The first way is a
series of hits from your WIELDed weapon, or if no weapon is being wielded,
by your fists (also known as hand-to-hand combat. The hits will occur
automatically once combat is started, and will not stop until someone FLEEs
from combat, an opponent is incapacitated, combat is stopped through other
means (for example, a calm spell, momentary darkness spell, etc.) or when
there are no opponents left on one (or either) side.

The second way is from using a "special attack". These can be magical
spells, items that are THROWn at the target, or special rebounding defenses
such as fireshield or reflect-magic shields. Using special attacks during
combat will usually result in the number of hits you can issue per round
being diminished, depending on how busy you are preparing the special
attack.

The amount of damage done to the opposing participant is dependent on the
type of attack, the level of the attacker, their skill in using the weapon
type, spell, or other special attack, and other attributes such as agility
and strength.

Armor Resistance

Each body part has its own armor resistance, which is a way of measuring
how much damage you can absorb if a hit successfully connects with that
body part. The armor resistance is further broken down into four different
types, namely:

armor resistance vs. piercing attacks
armor resistance vs. slashing attacks
armor resistance vs. bashing attacks
armor resistance vs. exotic attacks (miscellaneous)

Each of these armor resistance types will have a value from 0 to 75, where
0 means that there is no resistance to attacks of that type, on through 75,
which means that the maximum resistance to attacks of that type is present.

Armor resistance can be increased through items designed to protect the
specific body part (a helm for the head, for example), and it can also be
increased through the use of magic spells or enchanted items.

Each body part has its own damage multiplier - meaning that if a hit lands
there, the damage from the hit is either increased or reduced based on the
body part. For instance, a blow to the head would do more damage to a
humanoid than a blow to the leg.

The modifiers for the damage done to the specific bodyparts are as follows:

head    120%        
tail    50%
torso    100% (no modification)
wings    50%
arms    65%
legs    75%

Unlike armor resistance, which reduces the damage caused by hits, combat
defenses can cause a hit during an attack to be avoided entirely. A defense
must be active in order to be used during a combat round. Active defenses
can be changed using the COMBAT DEFENSE command. Available defenses can
include the following:

Acrobatics
Parry
Dodge
Shield Block
Evasion
Magical Fade (Fey and Sidhe only)

There are additional ways to block attacks - special equipment, magical
spells such as telekinetic shield, combat blink and so forth.

PK Combat

Within Alyria some adventurers have chosen to fight amongst each other in
mortal combat. Special areas and zones have been marked off as acceptable
places to do battle with other adventurers, but this sort of combat is
governed by certain rules. If you enter a player killing area, it is assumed
that you have accepted the risks and understand the rules involved.
Playerkilling zones may be found scattered all over the world.

There are three different types of rooms whre player-killing (PK) is
acceptable. These rooms are denoted by red text that warns you when you
enter or LOOK into a room of this type. The types of PK rooms are as
follows:

CHAOTIC PLAYERKILLING ZONES (CPK)
Your corpse and some of your possessions will remain in the place in which
you were slain, and can be looted by anyone. While journeying through these
areas, you can be robbed by other players. CPK is restricted to players
level 45 and higher.

NEUTRAL PLAYERKILLING ZONES (NPK)
You will keep your possessions, merely turning into a ghost. Your slayer
will not gain any experience from the fight. NPK is restricted to players
level 25 and higher.

LAWFUL PLAYERKILLING ZONES (LPK)
You will keep all your possessions and will reincarnate instantly, but must
regain hit points and other attributes before you can fight again. This type
of room is most commonly found in Arena combat areas.

Combat Preparation

Before entering combat with an unknown foe, it is always wise to CONSIDER
the opponent first. This will tell you what you (potentially) may face in
terms of difficulty. You will also want to LOOK at the opponent, which will
provide you with valuable information, such as if he's in a formation of
other NPCs (or PCs). The description you see when looking at someone may
also tell you that he is someone you may not want to mess with.

If your opponent is in a formation when you enter combat, and his formation
members are in the room with him, it is very likely that they will join
combat the round after the first attack is initiated. Beware that the single
creature who looks so defenseless may be formed with some very powerful
friends!

If you are a spellcaster, take the time before combat to MEMORIZE your
spells as needed. You can also apply any defensive spells to yourself (such
as Armor or Bless), and possibly a few offensive spells to your opponent
(such as Weaken, Faerie Fire, or Curse). Depending on the spells used, you
can gain a nice bonus to your combat rounds, as well as weakening your
opponent's blows.

Initiating Combat

You can start combat rounds by ATTACKing your opponent. Combat can also be
initiated by casting an offensive spell such as Spark or Shocking Grasp.

If you are a Fey, you may FEED upon your opponent. Thieves can sneak up on
a target and BACKSTAB them. You may choose to BASH or KICK, if you have the
knowledge to do so. THROW is an additional option for Monks, Rogues, and
Rangers.

If you are of the Dracon race, you may make use of the BREATHE command.
Dracons may breathe fire, acid, frost, gas, or lightning. Lightning and acid
will hit only one victim at a time. Fire, frost and gas are area attacks and
may hit other creatures in the same location and melee. Dracons gain the
ability to use these individual breath attacks one at a time as they raise
in experience levels.

Escaping from Combat

To leave combat, you may FLEE. If you would like to attempt to
automatically flee once your hit points fall below a certain number, you
may wish to make use of the WIMPY command. Combat may also be stopped
through use of the calm spell, momentary darkness spell, or other magical
intervention.

Death

Most likely you will die at some point during your adventures. When your
hit points drop to zero and death inevitably occurs, the most important
thing is to remember not to panic. In the world of Alyria, death for
Adventurers follows different rules than you might otherwise expect, due to
the intervention of the Powers.

If you are under level six, the Powers usually take pity on you and restore
you immediately to life, with all your equipment and inventory on you,
without penalty. You'll have to rest a bit to rejuvenate your hit points,
stamina, and spell power any time you are restored to life.

You'll often be restored to the nearest RECALL point to where you were
slain. If you are under level six and die in Lasler, for example, you will
be restored in the Shrine of St. Wisehart. If you die in or near the Towne
of Rune, you will be restored in the white-marble covered walls of the Runic
Temple.

At level six and greater, when you die you will become a shade - a ghostly
specter forced to roam the world until a Power takes pity on you and
reincarnates you. Luckily, the Powers are pretty predictable about when they
will get around to restoring you (after they feel you've learned your
lesson), and by utilizing the SCORE command, you will be able to see how
much time you have remaining as a shade.

NEXT: Questing and Marks (help guide_11)

SEE ALSO
Guide_1, Guide_2, Guide_3, Guide_4, Guide_5, Guide_6, Guide_7, Guide_8, Guide_9, Guide_11, Guide_12, Guide_13