Introduction
Welcome to Return of the Shadow, Arda the Fourth Age; better known as simply RotS. This is a guide that intends to give a basic knowledge of the game and its workings. It is meant to show you how things work and point you towards areas where you may learn more. The following is a list of questions we commonly hear from new players--so much so that they deserve the status as a frequently asked question.
Q1. What is a MUD?
A MUD is a game, and like all other games, the main object is to have fun. MUD is short for Multi-User Dimension (or Multi-User Dungeon); an online world, where almost anything is possible. A MUD contains players (other people online playing the game) and mobs (computer controlled creatures in the game that the players interact with). The game is a text-based adventure, where the player roams the world by reading text that describes each room, the mobs and objects in the room and the exits to and from the room. In this way, no graphics are seen, and how the world appears is all up to the imagination and interpretation of the player.
In most MUDs, players can interact with each other by a system of commands. These commands are all basic, usually consisting of every-day things. Players can chat, (send a message to all of the players in the game with the chat channel on) narrate, (same as chat, but usually in-character information), sing (sing a song), tell (send a private message to a player) or say (send a message to everyone in the character's room). Other commands, including directional commands, are essential. These directional commands are n (north), e (east), s (south) and w (west). All of the commands in RotS can be listed with the command commands.
You can log in to RotS using telnet or your favorite MUD client (see our links page for our favorites). When you first log in, you will be prompted to into your character's name. If you don't have a character already, you'll have to choose an unused name appropriate for a Tolkien setting and a secure password. You will then be led through the creation process for your new character. Once you've created your character, you'll be able to log in and play it whenever you please.
The purpose of RotS is to enjoy exploring our Tolkien-inspired world while leveling up and fighting monsters in the classic DikuMUD style. Once you've attained a decent level, you can even begin to participate in the race war between the Free Peoples of Arda and the forces of the Shadow. This is known as PK or player-killing and is an fast-paced, intense fight between two real players.
While leveling up in RotS, you will also be gathering new equipment to help
you in your goals.
Q2. What is Return of the Shadow MUD?
Return of the Shadow is a game based on the Fourth Age of Arda, J.R.R. Tolkien's wonderful world of fantasy. Game play takes place after the destruction of the One Ring. After Sauron's fall, a period of peace was laid about the land, and the Elves, Humans, Dwarves, and Hobbits prospered.
However, these times of peace were forever threatened by a growing danger in Greenwood the Great. Once again, Orcs and other hideous things squirmed in dark places and began to multiply; the mighty forest became Mirkwood again. In response to these troubling events, the Free Peoples of Arda took alliance once again to combat the still unknown force behind the ever-rising threat from the forest--a threat which became known as the Shadow.
As a player of RotS, you get to decide whether you will aid the Free Peoples in their fight against the Shadow or fester in the depths on Mirkwood as a minion of its power. Since the Shadow is fledgling and has not come to its true power, players who choose to side with it will play races which have been intentionally weakened. The dark races of Arda face unusual quirks and disadvantages that the Free Peoples needn't worry about; and for this reason, we recommend evil characters only to experienced MUDders.
Q3. How do I connect to Return of the Shadow?
If you've never connected to a MUD before, then we highly recommend you try
out our Java-based client. However, if you're running
Windows 98, 2000, XP or just about any flavor of UNIX or Linux, you can opt
to use the telnet program already installed on your computer. (If you're
using Windows Vista, then telnet is not installed on your computer by
default; we then highly recommend that you save yourself the trouble
of enabling telnet and simply use our online client.)
Alternatively, if you find yourself interested by MUDs and you think you'll
be playing them often, you'd be much better suited by downloading a client
like JMC from our links page.
If you wish to use telnet, then, in Windows:
Gameplay
Q1. Where do I find newbie equipment?
When you log in for the first time, you will be at the Great Crossroads where you will be presented with instructions on obtaining a basic kit of gear. Any time you die, you will return to the crossroads where you can request another kit. However, keep in mind that newbie kits are meant for new players and, as such, the higher you level the less you will be given when you request a kit.
Q2. Where do I get money and buy things?
As a starting player, money may seem fairly difficult to come by. However, as you explore Arda and learn where good, easy-to-get loot can be found, you will quickly forget that you ever had problems finding money. If you want to find those good loot spots quickly, keep an eye out for thieves and bandits--these mobiles are almost always aggressive and will attack unwary travelers. Due to this, they commonly congregate around stashes of gear and other stolen goods.
Q3. Where do I practice my skills and spells?
There are teachers spread across Arda, hidden in towns, forests and other areas. If you're in the same room as a guildmaster, typing practice will present you with a list of skills or spells available for you to learn. Once you have found a guildmaster, simply type practice <skill name> to spend one of your practice points on a skill. Don't worry about mis-using practice sessions--you can always reset your practices later if you find out that you made some bad decisions. Knowing this, it is fairly easy to wander around your first town and find a teacher willing to improve your skills.
It is also important to note that RotS' class system is completely dynamic; and as a consequence, you must visit teachers based on what skills you wish to learn--not what class you may have chosen. You will have to utilize abilities from every class in the game, so you will have to learn the locations of many teachers and guildmasters if you wish to truly become a powerful opponent.
Once you are in-game, you can see the list of all warrior and ranger skills by typing man spell list (where man is short for manual); similarly you can view all mystic powers with man power list and all mage spells with man spell list.
Q4. Where is it safe to kill mobiles for experience?
We have gone through a great deal of trouble to make certain that portions of the world are very safe for new, good-aligned characters. In particular, this includes the tract of land between Vinyanost and Maethelburg (as well as the land north of Maethelburg) as well as the lands between Maethelburg and the Elven Halls (this area is known as the Elven Path). Keep in mind that when we say an area is safe, we mean that you can be fairly sure that you will not be attacked by another player while exploring that area; mobiles in those zones can still be very dangerous. Also keep in mind that we have done no such thing for players of the evil side--and this is very intentional. The evil side is meant for experienced players who do not want help.
When killing mobiles for experience (also known as xping), remember to use the consider command liberally; this command will tell you how strong a mobile is compared to your character. Keep an eye on your health and use the flee command to leave battle if it drops too low; also remember that it is possible (and very likely!) to fail attempts to flee!
While xping, it is important to stay healthy as well as keep a good supply of food and light sources available. Once an animal has been killed, you can usually butcher the corpse for meat depending on how scrawny the specimen may have been; to do this, simply type butcher corpse. You can keep yourself alive for weeks at a time by living on butchered meat and fresh ponds. It is also important to keep a number of torches available for long, winter nights and the dark forests of Mirkwood. Remember to visit the dry goods store in your nearest town on a regular basis to keep your supply up to snuff.
Q5. How does player killing work here?
Player killing is perhaps the most important part of RotS; you will eventually
map our entire world and try every combination of classes that whets your
interest; and it will then be time for you to take your knowledge and use it
in player versus player combat. However, there are a few things to keep in
mind when performing player killing:
Q6. How do I get the gates of a city open?
Many cities on RotS have keep the gates closed during the night time (and some more paranoid cities have them locked and guarded at all times). There are specific ways to get in and out of these locked cities, provided you are on a friendly basis with the gatekeepers.
If you are inside a city's locked gates and you wish to get out, simply let the gatekeeper know by saying open (to do that, type say open ). If you are outside the gates of a locked city and wish entrance, simply knock on the gate. The gatekeeper will give you a look-over and let you in if he trusts you. To knock on a gate, type knock <name of the gate>.
Q7. Are there any other sources of information?
Yes! There is a built-in manual system with a topic system that we encourage you to use as often as possible. To see the list of manual topics, simply type manual (which we often abbreviate man). To get a list of all manual articles on a given topic, type manual <topic>.
In addition to the manual, there is a very important news bulletin board that we require you to be up-to-date on. Every time you log in you will be notified of any news messages which you have not read.
Finally, there are the player boards. These boards have messages written by players and are placed in inns around Arda. You may view all messages on a board by typing look board all, you may read a particular message by typing read <message number> and you may read the oldest unread message on a board by simply typing next.
Q8. What are some of the more useful commands on RotS?
A list of the various commands can be seen by typing commands. Further help on most general commands can be gained by typing manual general <command>. Some of the more useful commands that you will want to read about are: alias, assist, butcher, compare, equipment, flee, inventory, rent, quit, rest, score, info, set, sleep, where, and who. These are commands you will find yourself using quite often during your travels through Arda so it is best to get familiar with them as quickly as possible.
Q9. Why won't some people help me?
While it is generally nice to help people, there is no law that dictates that higher levels should help newibes. Certain people believe that they shouldn't help newbies, while others dont concern themselves with it. As a newbie, it is important to realize that higher levels may or may not help you with equipment or gold--its their choice. Usually, if anyone feels like giving out some equipment or gold, they will give it freely. Begging is highly disliked and if you plan on getting along with others, do not beg.
Q10. What is spam?
Spam is generally considered the repetition of some action. If someone accuses you of "spamming" them, it means that your constant yelling/narrating/shouting/etc. has made them unable to do anything. As you might have already guessed, spamming is frowned upon by management.
Q11. How do I use a weapon?
Type wield <weapon name>.
Q12. How do I use some armor?
Type wear <name of armor>.
Q13. How do I cast a spell?
Most spells take a special syntax in order to cast them. Let us take the spell cure self for example. To correctly cast cure self, one would type cast 'cure self'. The ' and ' characters are important and must be included for many spells to function correctly. To learn more about the other spells, type man spell all, or simply man spell.
Q14. What weapons are better than others?
To learn which weapons are better than others are, use the compare command. The weapons must be in your inventory in order for you to compare them. Let us take the comparison of a longsword and a shortsword for example. The correct syntax is: compare longsword shortsword.
Q15. What are the rules of this game?
Type policy in-game or navigate to the policy portion of this webpage.
Q16. What is autodelete?
If your character is under level 20 and you do not play for a certain amount of time, that character will be deleted. The amount of time it takes for a character to be deleted depends on its level. If your character is under level 20, and you want to find out how long you have until that character is deleted, simply multiply the level of your character by 7. A level 1 will have 7 days to log on until that character is deleted deleted; a level 2 will have 14, and so on. Note that retired characters will never be deleted--regardless of level.
Q17. Can I automatically switch characters of the same side?
Yes, provided that neither character has been involved in player killing nor wishes to be involved in player killing.
Q18. What is a race war?
Return of the Shadow is built around the idea of a race war: good races versus evil races. If you come across a race that is the member of the opposite side of the war, you will see that player by his or her race only, such as *an Uruk* or *a Hobbit*. If you come across a member of the opposite race you have two choices: kill or be killed. Most players will attack you on sight if they feel they can kill you; and there is no mercy.
The race war, of course, comes with a few rules:
You cannot give any kind information to
a member of the opposite side. Taunting and antagonizing is quite
alright though.
You must be out of the game (all characters rented) for at least 20
minutes before changing sides of the race war. You also cannot carry
over any information you might know about the opposite side when you
log on. For details, see the policy.
You cannot assist a member of the opposite race in any way. This means
trading or giving equipment or gold, assisting killing a mob or casting
useful spells on them (unless that useful spell might also have
drawbacks, such as curing saturation and restlessness)
Players of good races should not kill each other.
The killing of a good-aligned player by another good-aligned player is considered a crime
and will be punished by the Immortal staff.
Q19. Is Multiplaying allowed on this game?
That depends on your definition of multiplaying. On some MUDs, it is the act of owning more than one character. On RotS, this is completely within the rules and we actively encourage you to try out many different characters. On RotS, however, multiplaying means having more than one of your characters logged on at the same time; and this is highly illegal. Doing so will result in your characters being deleted, your site being banned or your equipment being taken.
Q20. Can I become an immortal?
There is a certain criteria set for a player to become an immortal. An immortal character is not given to a player because they want to be level 90 or because they want cool powers meant for building the MUD; becoming an immortal means that one wishes to become a builder and actively contribute new, Tolkien-themed content to the game.
To become an immortal, a player must have at least one character over level 30, advanced knowledge of how the game works and experience on all sides of the race war. Immortals follow all of the same rules that players do plus more. Cheating on an immortal character in any form will result in serious punishment. Any previous history of If you have a previous history of cheating, it is highly unlikely that you will be allowed an immortal character. To find out more about building, ask an immortal.
Q22. I have an important question and none of the immortals are online to answer it. How do I get in touch with them?
Sometimes, the immortals need privacy. They have the ability to become invisible to mortal characters. If all of the playing immortals are invisible, none of their names will appear on the who list. However, they can still hear your chats, narrates and sings. To communicate important, urgent information to the immortals, use the petition command. The usage for petition is the same as that of chat and narrate.
Example: petition I just found a bug, someone should look into this.
You will receive no echo of the text you petitioned, but your petition will be heard by the immortals--give them time to respond and do not spam the petition channel. Usually, at least 1 immortal is online, but, if after a long period of time, no one answers you, you should try to petition again later.