11th June 2001
Island was a MUD written by Richard Green and friends, starting shortly after MUNDI was closed down, in part to fill the void that its absence left behind. MUNDI is acklowledged as a strong influence in Island, so it's interesting to see how MUNDI's ideas and intangibles (``spirit'') were taken forward.I'd like to link to an Island page here, but there doesn't currently seem to be one - a deficiency that Richard, or Martin Keegan, really ought to remedy.
Anyway, here is the Island HELP file, which gives a nice flavour of what the game was like.
INTRODUCTION absolve arena arch-wizards armour atmospherics attributes autoexits banish bansite barsite beam becalm bet bless blind block borrow brief browse bug buy bwye capacity caps cash cd challenge change check choices clear cloak close collmode combat0 combat1 combat2 combat3 combat4 combat5 comfort commandline commandments commands commands2 commands3 commands4 communication console consult conjure countdown cry cure curse curt deaf debt decloak delete describe dexterity disable diseases doors douse drink drop dumb eat eavesdrop economics editor emote emote2 emote3 empower enlarge erase examine exits exploring extract faq fathom fighters fod folders follow force fossils freeze fright frisk gambling gamestat get give goto grats guildlist guilds guru hand heal help hide histauth history hoopiness hug hush ibb idle inflict intelligence inventory invisible join kill kiss last lastcrime laugh league legal lemote level levels light lightning list locate lock logging_in look madden magic management maxstrength memote meta mobiles monsters morph motd msay mstatus mstock multi nd necromancers netstat newbie news next night novice novice2 novice3 objects offer oldpasswd omnihear open origins overhear para-wizards parser passwd pay pd peace people pemote perform physique pit play poison ports post premote prewarn privacy privacy2 probe problems prosecute protect prying pshemote purge purify put quests quest2 quit qpurge raise read reap refresh remote remove repay reply reset rest rexits rlist rlook rob rsay rsearch rstatus run save say score scry search secret seers sell set set2 set3 set4 shemote shield shout show shut shutdown sin sites size skill slotfod slotstat smite sneak snoop spells spirit starting status steal stick stifle stock strength subject suicide summon superget swearing tag take tap teleport tell thank thieves time timelimits transport trap traps truce twist unbansite unbarsite uncash unfod unfreeze unfollow unhide unlock unmorph unpit unquest unset unsnoop untag untap unwield unwizmode value vanilla verbose view visible vote war wear weather web what whereis which whisper who wield wizards wizmode zot
ISLAND: (c) Richard Green and Huw Davies
Help Menu
Help is available in the following areas, and on most of the verbs in
the command list. (For a big list of commands type "help verbs", or for a
more organized list "help commands".) Wizards will usually be happy to
provide further information.
arch-wizards arena atmospherics attributes combat commandline
commandments communication diseases doors economics exploring
faq fighters fossils gambling guilds ibb
legal lightning logging_in magic management monsters
necromancers news objects origins para-wizards parser
ports privacy problems seers sin sites
spells spirit starting swearing thieves timelimits
vanilla verbs web whoswho wizards
* In addition, there is a hints file - type "hints" to see it.
* To see Vino's guide for novices, type "help novice".
* Type "help ibb" for info on the bulletin board and mail system.
absolve [x]
Erases a player's sin. Takes the same syntax as "cure". Restricted
to arch-wizards. If you omit the parameter, you absolve yourself.
You can't absolve people who are in court.
The arena is used to settle duels between members of the fighters
guild. When a duel starts, the doors of the arena lock, and will not
open again until the duel ends. Duels are normally to the death, but
dying in the arena does not cost a life. Non-combatants may bet on the
outcome of a duel.
Spells may not be cast in the arena except by arches and metas.
When a player has finished all the quests, and if The Management so
permits, he/she attains the level of an arch-wizard. This gives most of the
abilities of a meta-wizard, except for some administration commands and the
ability to reset absolutely any time (which could ruin gameplay).
When an arch-wizard is in wizmode, the extra commands include:
(un)fod, inflict, war, peace, (de)cloak, netstat, idle, prosecute, absolve,
(un)bansite, (un)barsite, slotfod, clear, erase, zot.
In addition, arches have greater powers in IBB, and are expected to use
these responsibly.
Arches can also help design new areas and quests. Doing so may result in
promotion to archipelago. Fair warning.
armour
Turns a player's armour to something bad, whatever they are wearing.
Yes, without compensation. How wicked! If you are not in wizmode, you
can only do this to players in your current location.
See "help attributes".
Mobiles react to "laugh, cry, kiss, hug". There are also lots of useless atmospherics, as follows: agree apologise beg blink blush bof bounce bow burp cheer chuckle clap cough cringe curtsey dance disagree faint fart fidget flail flip frown fume gasp giggle glare glower grimace grin groan grovel growl grumble grunt guffaw howl hyperve* jump lag mumble mutter nod panic pant pine pontifi* puke scowl scream shiver shrug shudder sigh simper sing slip smell smile smirk snarl sneer sneeze sniff snigger snort spank squint stomp sulk swoon think twitch wave whimper whistle wince wink wish yawn (hyperve* is short for hyperventilate, and pontifi* short for pontificate)
(Words in quotes can be typed in as commands. Try it!)
Level "levels" A rating based on points to indicate your relative power.
Strength "str" A rating to indicate physical strength and ability to take
damage. Decreases when damaged in combat. Increased by resting.
MaxStr The maximum level of your strength. Increased by eating/drinking up
to a maximum value determined by your level.
Sin For performing an action contrary to the laws of ISLAND, you get sin
points. Sin can be decreased by performing deeds of conspicuous
virtue and heroism, or by going on trial, which happens when you
accumulate 1000 sin. Type "help legal" for more information.
Hoopiness A rating to indicate how likeable you are.
Fright A rating to indicate how frightening to mobiles you are.
Intell A rating to indicate your knowledge of combat and magic.
Dexterity A rating to indicate how nimble and accurate you are in combat.
Skill A rating to indicate how skilled you are in various aspects of
ISLAND life.
Size How big you are. This can affect what you can pick up and how
effective shields are.
Capacity How many objects you can carry. Try using bags or chests.
Debt You can borrow money from the bank. This is how much you owe them.
Magic Like strength only your psychic strength. Spells have magic strength
costs. Resting replenishes. MaxMagicStr similar to MaxStr.
Armour Non-negative value to indicate how well protected you are from
damage. Higher is better.
autoexits [x]
autoexits on: turns autoexits mode on
autoexits off: turns autoexits mode off
autoexits: tells you if autoexits is on or off
The autoexits spell automatically shows you the exits after local
location descriptions.
banish <x>
Sends a zombie to Hell. This only works on zombies of mobiles.
bansite [a]
An arch-wizard command to ban new players from the site specified
by the numeric address <a>. Without an argument, shows the currently
banned sites.
barsite [a]
An arch-wizard command to prevent sub-arch level players connecting
from the site specified by the numeric address <a>. Without an
argument, shows the currently barred sites.
beam <x>
Moves you to another location when in space! For example, if the exit
"AUG" is mentioned when you type "exits", then "beam AUG" will take
you to the location with code AUG.
becalm <x>
Opposite of "madden <x>".
bet
When gambling, places a bet. For roulette, type "bet <x> on <y>"
where <x> is an amount of money and <y> is a number 0 to 36. (OK,
so it isn't proper roulette.) For blackjack, which is really pontoon
(who writes this stuff?), just type "bet <x>", where <x> is the amount
of money you want to bet. For betting on duels, type "bet <x> on <y>"
where <x> is the amount of money, and <y> is the fighter.
Bets are subject to a house limit (currently 10000).
bless <x>
Removes a curse from object <x>. In wizmode, you can bless objects
anywhere in the game.
blind <x>
Renders a player blind. Backfires if it fails. This depends on
intelligence. Out of wizmode, can only be cast on players in your
location.
block <level>
Sets your "block" parameter to the given level. This screens out
messages received via "omnihear", "eavesdrop" and "overhear" from
players strictly below that level. Of course, this does not apply to
messages which you would normally hear anyway.
The default value for the "block" parameter is 0. You may not set it
to a value higher than your level, unless you are a seer and you know
what you're doing.
On its own, "block" shows the value of your "block" parameter.
Seers are regarded as level 6 for the purposes of "block".
See also "secret".
borrow <x>
Borrows <x> gold pieces from the bank. There is a limit to the debt
you may accumulate. Although this seems like a free lunch, there are
drawbacks as the bank often asks for its money back without warning,
and if you can't pay you are taken to court. Most players can only
borrow money once per day.
brief
Sets location descriptions up so that you only get the description
when you have not seen the description of that room during that game.
See also: curt, verbose.
browse [<spell>]
Lets you see what's on sale in a shop. Each spell has a minimum
casting level (which you must attain before buying the spell), a cost in
gold (the learning price) and a cost in magic (the casting price).
In the armour shops, "browse" lists the classes of available armour.
Used with an argument, browse lists the details of the given spell.
You need to know the spell to do this.
bug <x>
Leaves a bug report. In ISLAND TNG, this is equivalent to using the
bulletin board, but works from anywhere.
buy [x]
Simply type "buy" after someone has done a "sell" to you. You must
have enough gold. To buy spells, go to the relevant shop and type
buy <spellname>. You have to have a sufficient level and enough gold.
To buy armour, see help protect.
bwye [x]
On its own, shouts "bwye" to everyone. In addition, "bwye <player>"
tells that player "bwye". If you don't know what "bwye" means, then
stick around. Misuse of bwye is considered a sin. Here are
acceptable uses:
1. Two bwyes in quick succession, then quit at any time.
2. One bwye followed immediately by quit.
3. One bwye, then wait at least 10 seconds so people can respond,
then quit. If you continue to type commands after the bwye,
the game will tell you when 10 seconds have elapsed.
4. Quitting without saying bwye at all.
None of this applies to "bwye <player>", which can be used at any time.
The global "bwye" command can't be used while invisible or morphed.
See "help attributes".
caps
Changes the capitalization of your name.
cash [x]
Cashes the given number of gold pieces (which you must have) into
points, at an exchange rate proportional to the number of
levels you are ABOVE novice. (The management is not amused by negative
numbers etc.) "cash" on its own cashes all your gold in.
Cashing with no gold is slightly sinful.
cd <x>
Changes to specified folder in IBB.
challenge <x>
Challenges the specified player to a duel in the arena. You can't
challenge players with no objects. What would they fight with? A box of
food?
change [x]
Changes a player's gender. Backfires if intelligence is insufficient
to perform the spell. With no argument, changes your own gender.
Out of wizmode, only works on players in your location.
check <x>
Checks the object <x> for a trap, curse, or poison. If there is a trap,
you will not necessarily find it. You will find curses and poison if
you're the right kind of player. Failure is not fatal. In wizmode, you
can check objects anywhere in the game.
choices
Lists options during fight.
clear [<location>]
An arch command to clear all monsters and objects out of a given
location, except for the ones that start there. If the parameter is
omitted, you clear your current location. You can also use a wildcard
in the location parameter, as for "stock" and "mstock".
cloak
Makes invisibility, morphing and smiting permissible.
Done automatically when the last arch-wizard or meta-wizard quits the
game.
close <x>
Closes the door or object named <x>; "shut" also works.
collmode
The game simulates multi-line tells, emotes, etc. by using "collmode".
You can go into this manually (to achieve weird effects, etc.) or, more
frequently, accidentally, by putting a \ at the end of the line.
Combat in Island is more complex than in many other MUDs. As you may have discovered by now, simply typing "kill wonka" over and over has very little effect. In Island, after typing "kill <x>" (once is enough) to identify your target, you must specify your combat actions. You do this by typing "choices" to see your options, then typing in the numbers of your selected actions. Be careful - some of the options are risky. Player killing is allowed, but prepare to face the consequences! For a lot more information and hints, type "help combat1" now.
There are certain steps to ensure that fights go in your favour. 1. If the monster attacks you first, run like hell. It can probably kill you. This means that novices and inexperienced players may like to hang around the pit area, so that typing "p" very quickly may shake off pursuit. Another alternative is the "run" command. This is available anywhere, but could send you round and round in circles. Remember, limbo is a safe zone and mobiles won't attack you there. To gain points, grab items when you can and avoid combat. 2. Choose your weapon. It is very important that you don't go into fights empty-handed. Remember to "wield" the most effective weapon at your disposal (but in a pinch, anything is better than nothing). Use probe to find out relative weapon strengths. Using an item as a shield is just as important, since without one your defensive options are limited. Shield effectiveness is a function of size, but bigger is not always better. Walking around with a wielded weapon is BAD, so remember to "unwield". 3. Know your enemy. A much underused feature of ISLAND is the ability to communicate with the mobiles. If they don't attack you straight away, say "stay". Say "what is your strength". Say "what is your dexterity". Then compare these values with your own. If they are significantly higher, avoid conflict until you are confident you know how to win. [Type "help combat2" to continue.]
4. The value of armour is important and as armour is relatively cheap at present, there's no excuse for leaving home without it. Mobiles typically have no armour, so this gives you a big advantage. 5. Examine your choices. If you are weak physically, go for defensive or guarded attacks, feints and blocks. Jumping away may be useful. Furthermore, defensive moves can often increase the effectiveness of a follow-up attack. Only go for heavy attacks if you significantly overpower your foe, or you are sure they are at your mercy. A heavy attack that misses can land you in deep trouble. Disarming is a dangerous manoeuvre that can open you up for attacks and is only wise for experts. 6. Remember that resting between attacks is ok. If you have taken damage, take time out to regain your lost hits. [Type "help combat3" to continue.]
7. If your enemy gets behind you, RUN. Before you start a fight, plan your escape route. If you want to stay and fight, be ready to take some hits. 8. If you lose your weapon, RUN (unless you have almost won the fight already). Retrieving your weapon is possible, but risky. If you decide to fight on, use the "Retrieve Weapon" choice, not the command "get" or "take". If you use "get" or "take", you will have to re-"wield" the weapon, thus losing precious time. 9. Your choices at each round are determined by what you just did and what just happened to you. To see them type the command "choices". The same is true of your enemy. For example if you score a hit, your enemy's next choice is often limited to purely defensive moves. You can use this knowledge to plan your attack combinations. Similarly, it is not usually possible to make 2 consecutive high or low attacks. For example, if you have just been hit in the leg, it is unlikely that your enemy will be able to strike again at your leg immediately. Thus if you are planning to block, you might want to block high rather than low. You choose your move by typing its number in the list. [Type "help combat4" to continue.]
10. When you see a message like "You have lost 67 strength points" it means
this number of points have been subtracted from your current strength.
If your current strength becomes negative, you are dead. If you are hit
during combat, the "rest" command is strongly recommended.
11. Dodges avoid thrusts and overhead swings. Jumping in the air avoids
low thrusts and swings. Ducking avoids high ones.
12. Fake attacks (feints) are ones that appear to be going one place
but end up somewhere else. For example, fake low appears to be a
low attack, but actually strikes high (though probably not very hard).
This can be very useful if you want to attack in the high line but
don't have any "high" choices.
13. Some mobiles will try to run away during a fight. Type "follow <x>"
before or during the fight in order to chase them. The mobile must
be in your location when you type this.
[Type "help combat5" to continue]
14. Mobiles rest during fights too. Sometimes you have to hit them several
times very quickly.
15. If you can't see (e.g. because it's dark), you don't see your opponent's
moves.
So, in summary, if you decide to have a fight then remember these commands:
wield <weapon>, kill <mobile>, choices and rest.
A fight goes something like this:
kill mouse
25
7
12
etc., typing "choices" only when you need to get a list of your options.
Hope these give you some clues as how to survive in the dangerous realms
of ISLAND. Enjoy the game!
Vino, Saomik & the other guy.
comfort <x> [y]
Comforts a player. Takes the same syntax as "thank".
There is a history command, like its UNIX equivalent, and expressions
such as !10 and !c do what you would expect. Note that the "repeat last
command" is ! (and not !! as it is in UNIX). In "collmode", you have to
escape the "!" by typing it as "\!".
There is also command line editing, very much like "tcsh". ^F moves
the cursor forward, ^B moves it back, ^P gives you the previous line,
and ^N the next line. ^A goes to the beginning of the line while ^E goes to
the end. ^K will kill the current line.
There is also a "multi" command, which adds a prefix to whatever line
you type, and this applies until you type "quit". By starting your line with
a backslash "\", you can avoid the prefixer.
Word wrap and line wrap are provided.
Usually everything can be abbreviated. If there is ambiguity, type
the name of the object in full, with correct capitals, words linked with
underscores, and add a "$".
The 10 ISLAND Commandments (by Feynmann, EdFromO & Saomik)
1. Thou shalt not annoy the metas in any way, or thou shalt bear their wrath.
2. Thou shalt not abuse thy powers (unless it is really funny).
3. Thou shalt not lead the hydra to the pit for the purpose of wiping out
novices.
4. Thou shalt observe proper "bwye" etiquette.
5. Thou shalt consider others before thou resettest the game.
6. Thou shalt not kill unfairly (people a lot less powerful than you).
7. Thou shalt not repeatedly pester for archness.
8. Thou shalt not post ibb articles containing extraneous TUsh rubbish.
9. Thou shalt not harass any player who questeth in search of higher powers.
10. Thou shalt not expect privacy.
Some recognized verbs, in semi-logical, non-disjoint groups:
Movement & Exploration:
north east south west up down in out
northeast southeast southwest northwest pit exits run goto
beam teleport transport look follow unfollow rlook rexits
night locate verbose brief curt autoexits
Communications and interactions:
say shout tell perform kiss laugh cry hug
think bwye multi vote hush emote remote shemote
pemote premote pshemote memote msay thank grats console
comfort
See "help atmospherics" for many more commands in this category.
Personal info, condition, and development:
status score strength list inventory enlarge empower describe
rest quest reap wizmode unwizmode visible invisible caps
prying morph unmorph passwd oldpasswd consult history idle
hush join set unset show suicide unquest lastcrime
... continued in commands2
Object-oriented: take get drop inventory value examine superget search pit unpit check disable probe put open shut lock unlock scry offer buy sell eat drink read wield unwield shield fathom light douse poison curse stock extract remove purify bless Nastiness: deaf dumb blind change inflict rob steal trap armour fod prosecute force kill attack poison curse challenge madden conjure slotfod bansite barsite stifle erase zot freeze smite Niceness: give cure heal absolve unfod pay truce becalm bless purify stock mstock unbansite unbarsite refresh hand ... continued in commands3
Nosiness: whereis snoop unsnoop follow unfollow tag untag who what people history netstat frisk idle slotstat physique rlook prewarn omnihear eavesdrop overhear tap untap rstatus rsearch which guildlist mstatus Combat: kill attack choices wield shield protect rest challenge truce Magic: change scry whereis unpit cure blind deaf dumb snoop superget teleport summon invisible force armour enlarge empower frisk tag heal morph unmorph physique rlook prewarn omnihear hush eavesdrop overhear fathom raise conjure banish night sneak hide lemote rsay Doors: scry lock unlock trap check disable open shut ... continued in commands4
IBB:
folders cd nd pd read next last post
subject delete reply view
Financial:
cash uncash borrow repay browse buy sell offer
pay
Gambling:
play bet twist stick
Level oriented:
block secret histauth
General info:
help levels hints time gamestat league slotstat idle
quests motd
Other:
quit save reset bug shell cmd war peace
cloak decloak weather shutdown meta countdown purge qpurge
hide unhide
The main communication verbs are shout, say, tell, consult and
perform (see separate help for each one).
See also "help emote" and "help atmospherics".
console <x> [y]
Consoles a player. Takes the same syntax as "thank".
consult [x]
Used only for communicating with the guru in his office. This is done
when you have a disease or diseases. The guru will diagnose your
illness(es) and charge you for his services. You need to have gold
for this. The guru doesn't like his time being wasted. If you
specify a disease, the guru will only heal that particular affliction.
conjure <x>
Resurrects a dead mobile as a zombie. It is a sin to do this in the
beginners' zone.
countdown <n>
Initiates the countdown sequence to a reset or shutdown.
Wizards can abort the count by typing "countdown 0".
Non-wizards can abort a group reset in the same way.
See "help reset".
cry [x]
Boo hoo. See laugh.
cure [x]
Cures player <x> of blindness, deafness and dumbness.
Depends on intelligence. With no arguments, cures whoever typed
it (provided that person is a wizard). Cure does NOT cure diseases -
for that, you need to see the guru, or use the heal spell.
curse <x>
Puts a curse on object <x>. Cursed objects are rather hard on
people who carry them.
curt
Sets location descriptions up so that you only get the description
if you explicitly look.
See also: brief, verbose.
deaf <x>
Similar to blind, with the obvious differences.
See "help attributes".
decloak
Forbids invisibility, morphing and smiting.
Any (well, almost any) invisible, morphed and smitten players are forced
into their natural state (no, not that natural state).
delete [<n>]
Deletes article <n> in your current ibb folder. Not everyone
can delete everything, of course. Unless you have set noconfirm to 1 or
2, you will be given a chance to change your mind.
If you omit the parameter, you will delete the current (most recently
read or posted) article. In this case, you will always be asked to
confirm it.
Metas can delete anything. Arches can delete messages by sub-arches.
Any player can delete something which they have received.
A player can delete something which they posted so long as they have at
least as much privilege as when they posted it.
Only metas can delete from "system" and "logs".
describe <x>
Sets your description to <x>. Some guild members cannot use this
command. If you start your description with punctuation, no space
is left between your name and your description. Use a "_" before the
punctuation if you wish to force a space after your name.
Typing "describe _" will erase the description.
See "help attributes".
disable <x>
Like check except the trap is removed if you succeed.
If you fail, you die.
Players are subject to a variety of ailments. See "help inflict",
"help consult", and "help guru".
The doors in ISLAND can basically be open, shut or locked. The main
verbs governing doors are open, shut, lock, unlock, check and scry. Oh yes,
some doors have explosive traps on them.
douse <x>
If <x> is a light-giving object that can be deactivated, this does it.
See light.
drink <x>
Drinks the specified object (if this makes sense). Usually your
Strength and Maximum go up by the value of the object, but other things
can happen.
drop <x>
Opposite of "take". Takes the same syntax. Cannot be used if you are
in a vehicle. "drop all" is a quick way to divest yourself of worldly
goods and chattels.
dumb <x>
Renders player <x> speechless. This wears off after the victim logs
out.
eat <x>
Eats the specified object (if this makes sense). Usually your
Strength and Maximum go up by the value of the object, but other things
can happen.
eavesdrop
Lets you hear things said by all other players in the game (unless
they have made other arrangements).
If you are a sub-wizard character, you need to be at the bank to cash,
uncash, borrow or repay. Novices may be unwelcome.
ISLAND is developing ISLE (IBB Simple Line Editor) for editing IBB
posts. Currently, the only implemented commands are ".view" and ".kill",
which do what you might expect.
Many emote-type verbs are built-in; type "help atmos" to read about
these. For more creative actions, ISLAND provides six forms of the emote
verb: emote, remote, shemote, pemote, premote, pshemote. These verbs are
purely atmospheric (that is, they have no effect on anything except other
players' minds). You need to be at least a level 1 player to use emote and
pemote. For the others, you need to be level 6 or higher. Emoting and
pemoting are sinful if you're invisible. Remoting and premoting are more
sinful. There is also a "lemote" (location emote), documented separately.
...continued in emote2
emote <action> OR : <action>
Generates an atmospheric. For example, if EdFromO types
emote does a dance.
the other people in his room get the message "EdFromO does a dance."
Can be shortened to : (colon), so EdFromO might type
:does a dance.
to get the same effect. Note that no space is needed after the :
remote <person> <action> OR < <person> <action>
Similar to emote, except the action is only shown to the specified
person. The person's name can be abbreviated. If Nemesys types
<Feyn ties your shoe laces together.
then Feynmann gets the message "+ Nemesys ties your shoe laces together."
... continued in emote3
shemote <action> OR ": <action>
Shows the action to everyone playing. For example, Saomik
might type
shemote invites everyone to a party in the orchard.
or
":is fed up with this lag.
pemote <action>, premote <person> <action>, pshemote <action> OR
:: <action , <: <person> <action> , ":: <action>
Placing "p" in front of emote, remote, or shemote gives the possessive
form. If Reiner types
pemote landlady is a pill.
players in the same room see "Reiner's landlady is a pill."
As an example of one of the abbreviations, LINK might type
<:Vort head aches - too much amber nectar.
Then Vortex will see "+ LINK's head aches - too much amber nectar."
Some hints for effective emoting
- get the verb tense right
- add punctuation at the end
- KISS (keep it simple, sweetie)
empower
Increases your magical strength at the expense of physical strength.
Seers and necromancers can do this automatically, and are not subject
to the size restrictions or penalties.
enlarge
Increases physical strength at the expense of magic or another
statistic.
erase <player> <spell>
This removes a given spell from a given player's list! With no
compensation. From the people who brought you "armour".
examine <x>
Describes an object or player. Wizards and seers can examine things
not in their location. This can be abbreviated to "x".
exits
Gives a list of current available and obvious exits.
You can explore the game using the verbs north, east, south, west, ne
(northeast), se, sw, nw, up, down, in, out and pit. (The last one moves you
towards the pit when you are near it.) There is also a "run" command which
moves randomly. Type "help commands" for an up-to-date list of all the
related verbs.
extract <x | all> from <y>
Removes an object from inside another object.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Q: What is hoopiness? A: Attribute determining how likeable you are. See "help attributes". Q: You must have a lot of crashes, since this game has only been up n hours. A: No. Q: Why isn't there a "hwi" command? A: Hwi is never needed in a hurry, unlike bwye which often is. Q: Why can't I kill anything? A: RTFM. Q: How do I whisper? A: You don't. That's just other people using tell. Q: What does "put it away!" mean? A: You're walking around wielding a weapon. This is bad. Q: Can you open the wormhole for me? A: No. You can. Surprisingly, using "open wormhole". Q: DO YOU HAVE COLOR? A: No. We don't have 'colour', either.
fathom <x>
Reveals the doors and/or objects that <x> will (un)lock.
The fighters guild is for those who delight in physical mayhem.
To join the fighters guild, go down from Limbo and look around. Fighters
can develop some attributes to much higher levels than non-fighters.
Fighters, unlike all other guilds, can compete for top rank among
their fellows. Formal duels in the arena are logged and tabulated.
(Formal duels are started with a "challenge" command.) The current
front-runners are listed by the "league" command. Other players
can bet on the outcome of duels - see "help bet". Fighters who let a
week go by without fighting are dropped from the league table. The duel
system is not regarded as optional: fighters must win a duel between quests.
Note that you do not lose a life for losing a formal duel!
fod <x>
Gives the player <x> the Finger of Death. If they are an
arch-wizard or meta-wizard, this forces them to quit the game (but
they can come straight back). For other characters, even wizards, the
persona is marked as fodded and the player is forced to quit. That
persona is not allowed to play the game until it is unfodded.
You can't fod invisible people, or yourself!
On its own, "fod" lists the fodded players in the persona file.
folders
Lists folders in IBB.
follow <x>
Start to follow <x>, where <x> is the name of a
monster or player in your room. Stop with unfollow.
If you start to follow a player, that player is (usually) informed.
force <x> <y>
Forces the player <x> to do <y>, as if they had typed <y>
at their keyboard. (Yes, and you can force people to force others, and
so on.) Sometimes force doesn't work, for example when the other
person is on a quest, in a trial, or carrying an anti-forcer. When you
are being forced, the prompt changes to "}".
THE ISLAND MUSEUM: Metas: Vortex - Low-level coder (quondam) Moychild - (total quondam) Archipelagos by design: Mark, Zweistein, Vino, Thorin, Reiner. Archipelagos for services to ISLAND: Finnagle
freeze <player>
This roots a player to the spot, so they can't move in the usual 13
directions or use "run". The victim is notified. This doesn't work on
questing players. Frozen players cannot be summoned. It is possible
to prevent or cure this condition.
See "help attributes".
frisk <x>
Allows you to see what objects and gold a player is carrying. Unless
they are on a quest!
Characters who have attained sufficiently high level are allowed
to gamble in the casino. This is intended to be a shortcut to lots of gold,
and it is (but not as much as it used to be before we un-rigged the roulette)
if you know what to do. Don't go into the casino without money or try to use
money you don't have. The gambling verbs are play, bet, twist and stick.
You can also bet on duels - see bet for more details.
gamestat
Tells you the last reset time, and whether fighting, invisibility,
morphing and smiting are allowed, as well as the number of objects under
the pit and the number of mobiles in Hell. Also indicates how long
until dark or light, as appropriate. In wizmode, it tells you the
number of players, and the maximum number since the last shutdown.
get <x>
This verb can be used to mean "take". "get all" is often useful.
It has another use, which is in conjunction with vehicles. For example,
"get into skiff" and "get out" do what you would expect. When you get
into or out of a vehicle, you are still carrying it.
give <x> to <y>
The opposite of steal, but legal. If not in wizmode, the persona
must be in your location. "give all to <y>" does what you would expect.
goto <x>
Visits the named player, if they're in a reasonable place.
You need the teleport spell to get this to work.
grats <x> [y]
Congratulates a player. Takes the same syntax as "thank".
guildlist [<guild>]
A para command to list the members of a guild.
The inhabitants of Island have the option of joining any one of
several specialized guilds. Joining a guild brings you some special powers,
but also places some limitations on you. The guilds currently available are
vanilla - blandness personified
fighters - walking death machines
seers - know all, see all - information addicts
necromancers - adepts of dark sorcery
thieves - masters and mistresses of lock- and pocket-picking
management - the lowest of the low
Think carefully before you join a guild - it's almost always non-reversible.
The guru has an office in Oaj. See "help consult" and "help inflict".
hand <x> to <y>
A para command, a bit like give, except <x> must be a free object.
heal <x> [of <y>]
Cures the specified player of diseases, and thaws you out if you're
frozen.
If you miss out the parameter, it heals everything, including "stifle",
"blind", "deaf" and "dumb".
Unless you are an arch, you can only use this to heal nonserious
diseases.
help [x]
"help help"? Are you in trouble?
A spell that renders the caster temporarily hard to see. A hidden
player is not revealed when another player types "look" or "whereis".
Mobiles will not (normally) attack a hidden player. The spell is broken
when the hidden player moves, teleports, or chooses a combat action.
Wizards can hide even if they don't know the spell.
When you are hiding, an "h " appears in the prompt.
See also "unhide".
histauth <level>
Sets your "histauth" parameter to the given level. This prevents
players below this level from histing you further back than the last
few commands.
The default value for the "histauth" parameter is 0, but anyone can set
it to any level up to meta level.
On its own, "histauth" shows the value of your "histauth" parameter.
See also "history".
history [x [n]]
If given with no parameters, this tells you the last few commands you
typed.
"history x" tells you the last few commands player x typed.
"history x n" tells you the 10 commands numbered n onwards which player
x typed, so long as they are out of player x's normal history.
History with arguments only works for para-wizards in ISLAND TNG.
Only arches can history a questing wizard.
See also "histauth".
See "help attributes".
hug <x>
Quite a lot like kiss, really, but without the exchange of fluids.
hush [x]
hush on: turns hush mode on
hush off: turns hush mode off
hush: tells you if hush is on or off
The hush spell ignores shouts.
IBB is ISLAND's Bulletin Board. The commands governing it are:
cd folders post subject view reply delete next last nd pd read
(See separate help for each one.)
The private folder is for personal mail. When you sign on, you are told if
there are any private messages for you. Everyone should read the new/,
fixes/, and general/ folders at least. Reading messages gives a slight
benefit to your character. It is an offence not to delete your private mail
after you've read it!
The "logs" folder lists when people signed on and off, and so on.
The "system" folder lists important events such as promotions.
In other folders, anyone can read anything, except for "quotes", "wizards",
"arches", "logs" and "metas", which can only be used by people of sufficient
level ("quotes" is level 7). To read "wizards", "arches" etc requires
wizmode.
When you are posting, you can't be summoned or forced.
Note that when the folders contain lots of articles, you should use "view"
with an argument!
See "help delete" for rules on who can delete what, and help "editor" for
how to edit posts.
idle [<slot number>]
On its own, shows you your idle times. Anyone can do this, but only
arches can use the parameter.
The current idle time is the amount of time you actually have. The base idle
time is the amount of time you have assuming you aren't posting, or ineligible
for the full amount because you are not invisible and not hiding.
idle <slot number> <#minutes>
Sets the base idle time for the given slot. The victim is informed of
the new base idle time.
Note that for visible players who aren't hiding, the maximum current idle time
(which is the one that matters in practice) is limited to 15 minutes, except
for seers, who can go up to 30 minutes.
inflict <x> with <y>
Inflicts the player <x> with disease <y>, This is illegal, but fun
for wrecking people's personae. Possibilities for <y> include
black death vejawk disease mad cow disease
Each of these has a continuous ill-effect on the player's attributes
and can only be cured by visiting the guru or using the heal spell.
There are also a number of minor ailments that can be inflicted
or contracted during the game:
athlete's foot hives dandruff
Link's syndrome dropsy Pickup's disease
Tourette's syndrome donatitis kleptomania
dysdactylia cold spacesickness
seasickness diku fever Rawle's syndrome
Lawre's syndlome Woss syndwome echolalia
flatulence Goldy fever aimlessness
lurgi (contagious)
Unless you are a seer or have a very vicious disease, you can inflict
someone else with it!
See "help attributes".
inventory [x]
Lists the objects you are carrying. Shows which, if any, objects are
being used as weapons or shields. Can be used with a player argument
if you are in wizmode.
invisible
Renders you invisible. This means you do not appear on "who" lists,
and people can't tell when you sign on or off, or enter or leave a
room. They also can't tell who you are, even if you do something -
as far as everyone else is concerned, your name becomes "Someone".
This command can be disabled by arch-wizards and meta-wizards.
An "i " is prefixed to the prompt when you are invisible.
join <guild>
Attempt to join the named guild. Different guilds have different
entry requirements. You can't be forced to do the actual join.
You can't join if you're already in a guild, which includes management!
kill <x>
Starts the attack procedure on character or monster <x>.
After this, you type various numbers corresponding to the moves you
can make ("choices" gives you the list).
You can use "attack" as a synonym for kill.
Note that kill works on a blow-by-blow basis, rather than a "flee if
you get scared" system. Abbreviations are recommended.
See also: combat choices wield shield run
kiss <x>
Kisses the named player or mobile. Kissing mobiles can
seriously damage your health, but is sometimes useful.
last
When you are reading in an IBB folder, this moves you on to the last
message (i.e. an older one).
This command isn't intended for use in the private folder.
When you first move to a folder, "last" will take you to the most
recent message. See "next".
Can be abbreviated to "-".
lastcrime [x]
On its own, tells you your last crime. With arguments (TNG only), tells
you the last crime of a given player.
laugh [x]
Ha ha. If [x] is given, it is used as an extension to the atmospheric.
For example, if I am Wingnut and I type "laugh like a baboon", everyone
in my location sees the line "Wingnut laughs like a baboon."
league
Lists the top members of the fighters guild.
Players, if they misbehave, accumulate sin. On the other hand when
they perform deeds of conspicuous heroism and goodness, their sin may
dissipate. If sin reaches 1000 the player is placed on trial. Other
players in the game who are above the level of novice (except idle or exempted
players, questing players, etc.) will be summoned as jurors. They are given a
"vote>" prompt and within half a minute they are expected to type "vote
guilty" or "vote not guilty". The votes are counted and determine the fate of
the defendant. Sentencing may be lenient if the defendant gives sufficient
explanation for his/her actions.
Punishment is proportional to the score of the defendant. If you have
enough gold to pay the fine, that is your punishment; otherwise you lose half
your score if the sentencing is harsh, otherwise a quarter. Other punishments
may be assigned at the court's discretion. Quitting out of court as a juror
loses you a quarter of your score, and quitting out as a defendant loses you
half your score and leads to re-prosecution. Jurors and defendants are
protected from being forced while participating in a trial.
When you have voted or been convicted, you are returned to where you
were before the trial, unless your punishment involves incarceration.
The results of trials are broadcast and logged.
lemote <location> <message>
This is like emote, but projects itself into the location of your
choice, and your name is not prepended. However, a "-" is added at
the beginning to stop it being too abusable!
If you put a "." for the location field, you lemote to your current
location.
If you put a "*" for the location field, you lemote everywhere.
See "help attributes".
levels [gender] [guild]
Prints the minimum qualifications for achieving each level, and the
names of the levels. Seers and players in wizmode may use the
parameters to see the level names and requirements in other guilds.
light <x>
If <x> is capable of emitting light, this activates it.
See "help douse".
lightning
This sometimes happens naturally in bad weather. Players carrying nasty
objects may be more susceptible to this. The higher your sin, the worse
the effects are. It is possible to die completely in the worst case
scenario. Wearing HARD armour tends to help you though!
See "help zot".
list
Lists which spells you have. Works on other players for wizards in
ISLAND TNG.
locate <x>
Lists the locations with names that contain the string <x>. Also
shows the three-letter codes.
lock <x> with <y>
Locks the door or object named <x> with the key named <y>, which you
must be carrying.
When you run ISLAND, you will be presented with the game message of
the day, followed by a standard welcome message and a prompt for the
name of your persona. This should be between 3 and 12 letters long, and
can only contain letters and numbers. If you have not played before, you
will be asked for a password to stop other people pretending to be you. The
game will store your password (unencrypted). Make sure you remember it,
because when you subsequently use the game, you will be required to enter it.
The game beautifies your name, so that the capitals will be in the "right"
places. (When playing locally, the environmental variable ISLANDNAME can be
set as your default persona name, if you know how to set it up.)
If the game thinks you are already playing, the previous game session
is terminated. Possessions carry over.
See also "help ports".
look
Describes the current location, including any objects, players,
mobiles and doors that may be present. That's on a good day, anyway.
The players may be hiding or invisible, it may be dark, you may be
blind, etc. etc. [continued page 94].
madden <x>
Sends the mobile <x> into a bit of a frenzy.
See the appropriate section under "help commands". Note, however, that
magic cannot be used in the arena except by arches and metas.
See "help attributes".
The shadowiest, most disreputable of all the guilds. These are
mostly the gang of misfits who have made on-going contributions to the
game and have been suitably punished for their efforts. Don't trust
any of them, especially Saomik.
See "help attributes".
memote [location:]<m> <emote>
Forces mobile <m> to perform <emote>. Only works if conditions are
perfect. You may specify a location followed by a colon to avoid
ambiguity.
If you have to ask, you don't need to know! If you don't have to ask, try "meta clear" (clears arena), "meta seer", "meta wipe" (changes you to management guild), "meta cross", "meta max". Also "meta day [n]" and "meta moon [n]", which don't work. To exempt a fighter from duel duty, "meta exempt [slot number]". To reverse the effects of that stuff, "meta unglad [slot number]". Even more uselessly, "meta getrs" and "meta igetrs" give you the return values from those functions (the reset state of the game). The command "meta bind <fname>" shows you the binding of a monster. The subcommands "fisee" and "fiam" give fighting messages, "mrestock" and "orestock" do monster and object stocks of the newbie zone, "hearts" shows the heartbeat numbers and "fort1" and "fort2" show some random seed thingies. The subcommands "nuffmons [x]" and "nuffobjs [x]" change the requirements for group resets; omitting the [x] gives you the values. "meta resign" does what you might expect. "meta bound" is actually useful. "meta whoreset" is nothing to do with brothels. This command doesn't exist (like shell and cmd), and is supposed to be buggy and useless. No correspondence will be entered into.
Another term for monsters. See "help monsters" for more information.
ISLAND has a lot of monsters inhabiting its terrain. These are often
unfriendly, especially to low-level characters, but they are much more
interesting than their shallow equivalents in many MUDs. Many can obey simple
commands, such as "follow", "go", "stay", "attack", "shut up" and "talk", and
their negations using "stop" or "don't", and can answer certain simple,
restricted questions. By killing monsters, you build up your persona's
attributes, and although you may not score many points directly, you
often make some money from it. Killing some monsters will change your
sin level. Monsters sometimes carry useful items.
morph <mobile>
Lets you become the mobile. The meld usually only works in privacy.
(Yeah, I know, there's no privacy!)
It is terminated by "unmorph".
Invisibility and morphing are mutually exclusive.
An "m " is prefixed to the prompt when you are morphed.
motd
Prints the game's opening screen.
msay [location:]<m> <speech>
Forces mobile <m> to say <speech>. Only works if the conditions are
perfect. You may specify a location followed by a colon to avoid
ambiguity.
mstatus [location:]<m>
A para-command yielding rstatus-like information about mobiles.
Ambiguity may be avoided by prefixing a colon to the mobile name, thus:
'mstatus AII:ogre' and 'mstatus AFB:ogre' may report on different ogres.
mstock <a> <b> <c>
Attempts to return one or more mobiles to their origins. See
"help stock" for the syntax.
The "multi" command, adds a prefix to whatever line you type, and this
applies until you type "quit". By starting your line with a backslash "\",
you can avoid the prefixer.
For example, "multi sing" would mean that you sing all the lines you
enter until you type "quit" on its own.
nd
Cycles you one step forwards through the folders, and does a "view".
See "help ibb" for related information.
The necromancer guild is for dark souls who wish to dabble in
such arcane practices as raising the dead. Sunlight is not a friend
to necromancers, but at night they are potent beings. You can join
the guild by going down from Limbo and finding the guild room. Necromancers
have magic powers not available to most other players. Figuring out what they
are is part of the game.
Necromancers are not admitted unless they are sufficiently sinful. It is most
advisable that you build up your persona to at least level 4 before joining
this guild, so that you are not too weak to be able to play properly.
Necromancer is also a level name for vanilla players, for immutable
historical reasons. Please don't be confused.
netstat
Lets you see where people are calling from. (TNG only)
See "help novice".
news
For ISLAND's internal bulletin board system, see "help ibb".
The newsgroup alt.mud.island was founded in July 1995.
You can post by mailing
alt.mud.island@news.demon.co.uk
next
When you are reading in a folder, this moves you on to the next message
(i.e. a newer one).
This command isn't intended for use in the private folder.
When you first move to a folder, "next" shows you the oldest
message. See "last".
Can be abbreviated to "+".
night [x]
When you cast the night spell, you can see in the dark, but you are
blind during daytime. At night with the spell on, each time you "look"
you burn up some magic points.
The syntax is the same as "prewarn" - i.e. [x] can be "on" or "off".
THE DEFINITIVE ISLAND GUIDE FOR NOVICES First of all, welcome to ISLAND. I will keep this guide quick and simple and introduce only the basics. There is an extensive set of help files on all possible subjects to do with ISLAND. Typing "help" then "help <topic>" will give you all of the information that you will ever need to play the game. If there is anything you still don't understand, ask someone. What is ISLAND? Island is a M(ulti) U(ser) D(ungeon). People from around the world connect to the game and can interact with the environment and each other. What is the point? There are several reasons why people play ISLAND. You can meet lots of "interesting" people, albeit in a limited environment, chat, and generally hang out. ISLAND is also a game, with the goal to gain "points" and rise through a hierarchy of levels. How do I score points? Ahhh ... so you want to play? The best thing to do is look at the help files to see how you get going. I suggest you type "help novice2" and keep a piece of paper and a pencil handy to note down help files you may want to look at. Type "help novice2" to continue
Novice guide continued ...
Type "status" or "st" to look at your character's abilities. A lot of
these numbers will not directly affect your ability to play, but will define
how well your character can perform certain tasks. The important ones to note
are; strength, magic strength, gold, score. (See also "help attributes").
Type "look" to look at your surroundings. The directions you can move
may be in the location description, and typing "exits" will give you a
list of the OBVIOUS exits at that point. Type in the initial letters of the
direction you wish to move, in order to move there. (See also "help
exploring".)
The display of a room is in three parts. The title and verbal description,
a list of objects in the room, and a list of players or mobiles in the room.
The verbal description cannot be interacted with. If the description mentions
a sofa for example, your character may not be able to pick it up, etc.
The objects in the room may be interacted with in several ways; try: "help
examine" "help get" "help probe" "help drop" "help give" "help sell" . An
important thing to be able to do to items is pit them ("help pit"); this is
one of the main ways to score points in the game. (See also "help objects".)
(Now type "help novice3" to continue)
Novice guide continued ...
Players are usually recognized by their silly names and descriptions ("help
describe") and will more often than not be very happy to help you out if you
have problems. You can examine them and communicate with them ("help
communication"). Monsters tend to behave in similar ways. They have things
they say and do on occasion and like to follow novices around for cheap
laughs. You can't examine monsters (yet) but you can communicate with them by
using phrases in their limited vocabulary. Try: "say what is your strength",
"say do you like me", "say shut up". Their response depends on how tough
you are, so you may get punched for your troubles! The areas around the
pit are "safe" zones where monsters don't attack unless provoked or
instructed. (See "help monsters" and, if you can't wait, "help combat[1..4]")
Now you are ready to go forth and do what you will. There are many more
things to learn, but all the information you need is in the help files
(except for the stuff we've kept secret to make it more challenging). If
you don't understand, ask someone who may know. (See "help whoswho")
Don't forget to read the news in the Island Bulletin Board room on a
regular basis. At the very least read the new/ and general/ folders.
I hope you enjoy the game, most important of all, HAVE FUN! See you soon.
Vino
The game contains many objects which can be picked up, dropped and
so on. Most of the objects have an associated value, which is the number of
points you would get by going to the pit with that object and typing "pit
<objectname>". This is one of the standard ways of scoring points. For
edible/drinkable objects, the value is usually the amount of strength you
gain when you consume the object (unless it is magical or poisoned, uh-oh).
Objects all have sizes. They also all have weapons values, which determine
how effective they are as weapons. Some objects have other uses, such as
enabling the bearer to walk through secret exits, and providing protection of
various kinds against evil wizards. Every object has a description, and many
objects can be read.
offer <x> <n> for <y>
Offer the persona <x> <n> pieces of gold in exchange for the object <y>.
This is only used to initiate the exchange and is not binding or even
useful.
oldpasswd <old password>
Used to complete a password change. Make sure you use the passwd
command FIRST!
omnihear [x]
omnihear on: turns omnihear mode on
omnihear off: turns omnihear mode off
omnihear: tells you if omnihear is on or off
The omnihear spell lets you hear everything that is said in the game,
modulo the effects of "secret" and "block".
open <x>
Opens the door or object named <x>. May trigger a trap.
ISLAND is a Multi-User Dungeon (MUD). Its influences include, among others, MIST by Richard Bartle and Roy Trubshaw, mundi by Mike Taylor, The Sorcerer's Isle by Daniel Freeman (Thorin) and Foothills/EW-too by Simon Marsh. The basic code for ISLAND was written from scratch by Richard Green (Edfromo) and Huw Davies (Vortex) between 1990 and 1993. It has been on the net since February 1993. Additional coding was done by James Lord, who wrote the terminal (and I do mean terminal) code for the OxMUD system, and by Robin Dawes (Saomik), who wrote the combat system. The database was designed by too many people to mention here. ISLAND comes in two forms - a local one (ISLAND CLASSIC) and a network one (ISLAND TNG). ISLAND TNG runs on the OxMUD code talked about by Bryan Scattergood, Steven Singer and James Lord, and written by James Lord, Huw Davies and Richard Green. The code still undergoes frequent (but not regular) upgrades, usually based on feedback from players.
overhear
Lets you hear everything said in your location, including "tells".
Upon completing all the quests, one becomes a para-wizard or para-witch. You can handle quest objects freely, and have uncapped magic strength and size. The following verbs become available (or more interesting, at least) in wizmode: snoop, tap, history, what, omnihear, which, prying, stifle, weather, slotstat, raise, conjure, stock, mstock, transport, caps, guildlist, hand, mstatus
Like many MUDs, at the heart of ISLAND is a command-line interface.
This is a bit like a UNIX shell.
You can usually abbreviate words to initial segments until they are as
short as ambiguity permits. Players, objects, mobiles and doors should only
be referred to by a single word (this is always possible).
See also - commandline.
passwd <new password>
Starts the password changing procedure. To complete it, you have to
use the oldpasswd command.
The passwd command will fail if you are being snooped.
pay <persona> <x>
Pays the specified player the given amount of gold.
Out of wizmode, the character must be in the same room.
If x is *, you hand over all your gold.
pd
Cycles you one step backwards through the folders, and does a "view".
peace
Forbids fighting until further notice.
people
Shows you information about the current players:
wizmode (*), questmode (#), posting (% or ?), nightmode (N),
duelmode (X), omnihear (O), eavesdrop (e), overhear (o), prewarn (P),
hush (H), hiding (h)
The next four characters are the level, block level, secret level and
histauth level.
The digits 0-9 mean 0-9; W is 10, P is 11, A is 12 and M is 13.
Also shown are gender, location, and whether the player is invisible
or morphed.
The number 2 or 3 appearing in the prewarn column means that the player
has set prewarn to 2 or 3 (respectively, of course).
Guild affiliation, if any, is indicated as follows:
(N = necromancer, T = thief, S = seer, F = fighter, * = management)
The N for nightmode and the N for necromancer guild can be distinguished
by the fact that they are in different columns.
See under "help emote".
perform <action>
Synonymous with "emote".
physique <x>
Tells you another player's strengths.
pit [x]
A bit like "drop" except it drops the object into the pit, which may
score you points equal in amount to the Current Value of the object.
You must actually be at the pit to do this. If you are in quest mode,
you don't score for pitting objects.
"pit" takes the same syntax as "drop". "pit all" works.
Without an argument, "pit" will try to move you towards the pit, if
you are not too far from it.
play <game>
Starts to play a game, either craps, roulette or blackjack. All have
their uses (except some people only play craps using kermit scripts).
poison <x>
Makes an item of food or drink poisonous. What a wicked thing to do!
Connection to ISLAND is usually via telnet ports 2092 and 2093. Port
2092 supports password suppression and handling of prompts. Port 2093 does
not attempt to do anything clever and should work with almost any telnet link.
post <recipient>
Starts the post procedure in IBB. You have to be at least level 2 to
post. You should then specify a subject with the "subject" command.
See under "help emote".
prewarn [x]
The prewarn spell tells you when someone starts to log on or
disconnects.
The parameter x may be 0, 1, 2 or 3.
Setting x to 0 turns off prewarn. Setting x to 1 turns prewarn on.
If x is 2, banned players connecting will be shown, but not barred
players.
If x is 3, banned and barred players connecting will both be shown.
New players are identified. Mistyped names are not shown.
Arches are shown the site name on prewarn connection attempts.
If you have read "help commandments", you may have realised that Island does NOT offer privacy for players. Wizards in "omnihear" mode can hear all communication by means of "say" and "tell". Other high level players and seers in "eavesdrop" mode can hear all communication by means of "say". High level players in "overhear" mode can hear all "tells" by players in their own location. Wizards may snoop on any player at any time. When this happens, everything that appears on your screen will be echoed to the wizard's screen. You will receive no warning that you are being snooped. Unless you are a wizard or a seer, you have no way of checking whether you are being snooped (the seer command to do this is "prying"). Wizards may also tap you: this allows the wizard to see everything that you type. You will receive no warning that you are being tapped. Unless you are a wizard, you have no way of knowing whether you are being tapped. Wizards may read your command history at any time. This shows the last ten lines that you typed. This is undetectable. There is also a command, "what", which allows wizards to see the last command typed by all players. Type "help privacy2" to continue.
Privacy continued...
It is possible for wizards and thieves to go invisible and for high level
players to sneak and hide. Usually only a wizard or a seer can detect
hidden or invisible players.
One restriction on all of this is that there is some protection against
wizards discovering your password. (However you should not use your Island
password on any other system.)
You should also be aware that Meta-wizards can read all messages in the
private/ folder, irrespective of to whom they are addressed.
Snooping and omnihear are not unique to Island. Very few MUDs offer total
privacy: just remember that Island is not a talker, and there should be
no problems. If you want to talk to somebody in private, there are plenty
of ways to do this on the internet: Unix talk/ntalk/ytalk, talkers, IRC
etc.
Remember that Island is a game - play it and enjoy it!
Trub
probe <x>
Shows various information about an object, including size, value,
whether it is consumable, whether it is open or shut (if applicable),
weapons value, and any special properties of the object.
Wizards and seers can probe virtually anything at any time.
Island is intended to protect players from most computer-related
problems. However, you may still encounter some difficulties. For example:
lag:
If you find that the game is not responding as quickly as you would
like, there may be a number of causes. Network delay or lag is
beyond your control, and must be patiently endured. However, Island
has an internal scheduler that prevents you from hogging all the
CPU time - if you type a lot of commands very quickly, the game
temporarily ignores you. It's not a bad idea to wait a few seconds -
that should restore your priority.
crashes:
Every once in a while (not very often) either the game or the
machine it runs on suffers a crash. If this happens while you are
playing, any points you have scored since you last "saved" will be
lost. Remember to save soon, and save often.
prosecute <player> for <crime>
Forces a trial, anonymously. Nasty, eh?
protect <n> [<player>]
This is used to up- or downgrade your armour. The syntax is
protect <new armour class>
where the argument is a small nonnegative integer. Placebo armour
has interesting side effects.
Armour is lost on quit - remember to sell it back at an armour
shop before you leave the game.
Wizards can use the "protect" command without being in an armour shop.
Wizards can also use "protect" on other people by using the <player>
argument, but this won't work to their financial advantage!
prying
Tells you who is snooping on you.
See under "help emote".
purge <score> <days>
A meta-wizard command for deleting long-absent players. Players
with score higher than <score> will not be deleted, nor will
players who have been absent less than <days>. Players with score
equivalent to level n cannot be purged unless they have been absent for
5n + 5 days.
purify <x>
makes <x> non-poisonous.
put <x> in <y>
Puts an object inside another one. The carrier object should be a
vehicle or an open object. "put all in <y>" usually works if it makes
sense.
Completing quests is the only way to advance past level 5 since
score becomes less and less important.
level minimum requirement (in quests)
6 1
7 7
8 14
9 21
10 30
11 40
12 40 + acceptance by management
quest done
This reminds you of which quests you have done.
quest [guild]
For arches, this tells you the quest list for a given guild.
... continued in quest2
quest (continued)
quest
If this is typed in an appropriate location (for some the pit, but
for others your guild headquarters), if possible you go into
questmode and get the prompt "#". The game will give you a quest to
do. Quests involving the retrieval of objects require them to be
brought to the pit and pitted. Some objects are sacred so normal
players can only obtain them by going on the relevant quest. There is
no time limit for quests. You can abort the quest with the "unquest"
command. During a quest you cannot use wizmode, unpit, be forced,
teleported or be summoned. Quest objects may not be stolen except by
the authorities!
(No forcing is for protection; the others are to stop cheats.)
If you are already on a quest, this command will remind you of your
assigned task.
Questmode incurs a drain on your points, which is a lot worse at high
levels. This is to encourage you to get on with it! The drain doesn't
apply to combat moves.
Fighters must win a duel (see "challenge") between two consecutive
quests. You can see from "status" whether you have to do a challenge
before your next quest.
quit
Quits the game, saving your character automatically if you have a
non-zero score. A synonym is "logout". Experienced players should
stay at least 30 seconds before quitting - otherwise you're just being
rude!
qpurge <name | *> <old quest count> <new quest count>
This changes the quest count of player "name" (or all possible players
if *) from the 2nd parameter to the 3rd.
This command can be used to make arches, so you can't be forced to do
it. This command can only be used by metas and management arches with
maximum questcount.
raise <x>
Brings a completely dead player back as a zombie. You have total
power over the zombie, and you get all their gold. When raised,
the zombie is unaffiliated with any guild.
IMPORTANT NOTE: A raised character cannot reach wizard level!
On its own, "raise" lists the raisable players in the persona file.
Typing "raise *" shows the non-dead saved personae under your control.
read <x> or read [n]
Reads the object, if applicable. This can be for information only
but sometimes has side-effects.
In the IBB room, read <n> reads article number <n> of whatever folder
you are currently looking at. Without an argument, "read" redisplays
the most recently read article. In this usage, read can be
abbreviated to "=". You can read an article in another folder without
losing your place by using the syntax "read folder/article", where
folder is the folder name and article is the number.
reap
Reaping corn can be a quick way of scoring points as a novice, and
a quick way of getting done for everyone else.
refresh <x>
Restores a player's strengths, or the caster's, if x is omitted.
See "help emote".
See "help extract".
repay
Repays your debt to the bank.
reply [folder]
Replies to the current article. Of course, you need to be level 2
or higher to do this. If a folder is specified, you change to that
folder and the reply goes there, then you go back after you've finished.
reset
Resets the game. All objects and mobiles are returned to their
original condition and location. Anyone can do this; meta-wizards any
time, other characters in wizmode every half-hour or so and everybody
else can reset every day, in the sense of 86400 seconds.
The game doesn't die during a reset; such is not true for the shutdown
command.
After you type "reset" you will be prompted to issue a "countdown"
command.
If there are more than a certain number of objects in the pit and a
certain number of monsters in hell (usually 125 objects and 50
monsters), a "group reset" may be initiated by a player out of wizmode.
Anyone over level 7 is allowed to initiate this, by typing "reset". An
extra-long countdown of 240 seconds is issued automatically. In the
first 120 seconds of this, anyone may abort the command by typing
"countdown 0". For the last 120 seconds, the group reset turns itself
into a normal reset, which can only be aborted by wizards.
rest
Increases your Strength by about 1/4 of the difference between it and
your Maximum. This happens for both physical and magical strengths.
Can be abbreviated to "r".
rexits <location>
Shows you the exits from a location. You need to know the three-
letter name for the location you wish to know about. See
"help locate".
An exit shown in brackets [] requires a vehicle to be used. Not
everyone can see them, though. Vehicle exits are shown even when you
aren't in the vehicle.
rlist <player>
Like "list", but works on a player who isn't logged on.
rlook <location>
Allows you to look at a location without being there. See "help
locate".
rob <x>
If your dexterity is high enough or you're lucky enough, this robs
player <x> of gold. Illegal even to attempt this, and even more illegal
if it works. Wizards can rob anyone in the game; characters under
wizard have to be in the same room. Thieves are rather good at this.
Players cannot be robbed of their last 800 gold pieces.
rsay <location> <message>
Similar to "say", but to a specific location. The location "*" means
your own location, if you're crazy enough to want to use the option.
rsearch <x>
A command for wizards and seers similar to "search", but which can
work on objects you are not carrying.
rstatus <p>
A wizard command that shows the persona file entry of the person <p>.
Gives output similar to "status".
run
Attempts to move in a randomly chosen direction. Useful if you
want to get away from a fight without taking time to choose your route.
save
Saves your persona (just in case!). This only usually works for
players with a positive score.
say <message>
Like shout, but the message is only audible to players and mobiles in
the current location. Can be shortened to ' (quote). If your
message ends in "?" or "!", you "ask" or "exclaim" automatically.
Note that "ask" and "exclaim" are not recognized as commands.
score
Gives your current score and gold.
scry [x]
Tells you which object is used to (un)lock a given door or object.
Sometimes it will also give very important information about mobiles
when used with no argument (but only if you are a seer or a
para-wizard/witch).
search <x>
Reveals any objects hidden in the one you search.
secret <level> [<player>]
Sets your parameter of secrecy to the given level. This means that
players strictly below that level are unable to hear what you say
(unless they're obviously supposed to) by using "omnihear", "eavesdrop"
or "overhear".
The default value for the "secret" parameter is 0. You may not set it
to a value higher than your level.
With an argument in ISLAND TNG, you can change the secret level of other
players. They are notified.
On its own, "secret" shows the value of your "secret" parameter.
See also "block".
The seers' guild is for people who thirst for knowledge, and eschew all
worldly pleasures. When you become a seer, you gain the ability to explore
with almost total impunity, and visiting the top of the wizards' tower (where
they start off) lets you observe distant people and places. Also, when you
become a seer, you abandon all rank. All seers are assigned rank 0,
regardless of previous rank, and lose any quests they may have done (nota
bene!!). However, they are able to post articles in the ibb, and can use all
the emote verbs (except the powerful ones like lemote) The seers' guild is
unique in that it sometimes expels members.
sell <x> to <y> for <n>
Sell the object <x> to the persona <y> in exchange for <n> gold pieces.
It is up to them whether they accept. This is useful in negotiating a
fair swap of objects.
Spells can be sold at the place you bought them.
set ([v] ([x]))
A wizard command to set the personal variable <v> to the value [x].
The parameter [x] may be omitted if this makes sense, and without a [v]
argument, the current variables are activated. The current set of
variables includes:
wizmode
overhear
eavesdrop
omnihear
prewarn [0, 1, 2, 3] (see help prewarn)
hush
brief
curt
idle <time>
startloc <locname>
description <what others see when they examine you + punctuation>
vanish <message others see when you become invisible + punctuation>
reappear <guess!>
... continued in set2
set (continued)
current set of variables also includes:
(*) entermsg <message others see when you teleport in + punctuation>
(*) exitmsg <message others see when you teleport out + punctuation>
(*) superget <message others see when you superget>
noconfirm (set to 1 or blank):
lets you delete ibb articles without confirmation
noconfirm (set to 2)
lets you delete and post without confirmation
exempt - gets you out of jury service
secret <level> - like the "secret" command
block <level> - like the "block" command
histauth <level> - like the "histauth" command
noduel - gets you out of duel challenges
(*) If you put a "\n" (no, NOT a carriage return!) in these messages, your
name goes there instead of at the beginning. You can have multiple
copies of your name. The same goes for "\o" which replaces the object,
in the case of superget. The token "\s" translates as an 's' for
singular objects and as the empty string for plural ones.
... continued in set3
set (continued)
current set of variables also includes:
hushadvert - spares you any advertisements on quitting
wizprotect (can be set to 1, 2, 3 or left blank) -
takes you out of wizmode before certain kinds of force.
Left blank or set to 3, this applies to anyone forcing you.
Set to 2, this allows full force only to metas.
Set to 1, this allows full force only to metas and arches.
This doesn't apply if the forcer is your "owner"!
autoinvis (can be set to 1, 2, or left blank) -
makes you invisible (if possible) while you idle. If set to 2, this
happens even if you are hiding.
nowhisper - stops a "whisper" being generated when you do a "tell"
invisremote <pseudonym> - changes the name other people see when you
remote or premote while invisible (no, not morphed). Technically,
this can only be one word, but you can make it appear to be more by
linking with underscores.
autoexits - shows you the exits automatically.
... continued in set4
set (continued)
current set of variables also includes:
describe <description> - sets your default description. This is
activated on login, and subject to the usual restrictions.
bradbury - means you can vote in court without having to wait 10
seconds
Without any arguments, "set" activates the current choices.
See "help show".
See under "help emote".
shield <x>
Selects object <x> as your shield. Any object can be used as a
shield. The appropriateness of an object depends on its size and
your size. The shield value is shown by "probe" - the values range
from 0 to 10 - higher is better.
shout <message>
Broadcasts a message to everyone in the game. Can be shortened to "
(double quote).
Novices may not do this (but seers can).
show [p]
A wizard command to examine personal variables. Without an argument
it shows your own. See "help set".
shut <x>
Opposite of open; "close" also works.
shutdown
This shuts the game down. There are two main reasons this happens:
1. To install an upgrade.
2. So the machine can be brought down. This is done from outside and
causes all players to be transported to the pit with a 60 second
period of grace to get out.
See also "help reset".
See "help legal". See also "help attributes".
Island is currently co-existing on two main sites: homeWorld and Xanadu.
Xanadu is the latest addition to the Island multiverse and boasts fast
response times and 24-hour access. For those of a more traditional
nature, homeWorld Island can claim to be the 'original and best'. Take
your pick - they both provide a rich world full of wit, originality, and
mice. It's just that one's faster, and always open - which is why it's
the only one with any players!
Xanadu: telnet xanadu.pet.cam.ac.uk 2092 / 2093
HomeWorld: telnet teaching4.physics.ox.ac.uk 2092 / 2093
See "help attributes".
See "help attributes".
slotfod <n>
Cuts off an attempt to connect to the game on slot <n>. Can also be
used to disconnect link-dead players.
slotstat (TNG only)
Shows the current idle time and priority for slots. If the base idle
time is different from the current idle time, then it is shown in parentheses
after the current idle time.
smite <player>
Morphs the victim into a small and/or nasty animal, subject to
availability. Unmorph doesn't work for the victim, unless the victim is
an arch in wizmode. Players on quests, duelling, in court or posting
cannot be smitten.
sneak
A spell that lets the caster move about without being observed.
After casting the sneak spell, your next movement (i.e. north,
south, etc.) will not be reported to people in the room you leave or
the room you enter. Works nicely in conjunction with "hide".
When you are in "sneak" mode, an "s " appears in the prompt.
snoop [x]
Starts to snoop on the character <x>, which means that you
get to see everything they type or see in the game, as well as what you
are doing. You can only snoop on one person at once, and "snoop
loops", where you are directly or indirectly snooping on yourself, are
banned (theoretically) for recursion reasons.
Snooping stops automatically when the snoopee (snoopy, ha ha) logs out.
If you lose your link while snooping, when you come back you should
snoop again on the same person and unsnoop (if you're somehow still
snooping, that is).
Without an argument, snoop gives information about who is snooping
on whom.
Many verbs in ISLAND only work if your attributes are sufficiently
high or if you are lucky. These include:
whereis, summon, blind, deaf, dumb, change, cure, unpit, rob, reset, tag,
frisk, heal, enlarge, empower, morph, armour, physique and rlook. See
"help commands" for a more complete list.
Most of these skills must be bought at one of the magic shops.
To view spells for sale in a shop, use the "browse" command, and to see
which ones you already have, use the "list" command.
1. The development of the game shall not be driven by the nature of existing
code.
2. In all text visible to the player, spelling and punctuation will be
correct. Exceptions are permissible only for the sake of word-play.
3. The interface shall be non-intrusive. The player must never be exposed
to the mechanics of the game.
4. "It's not realistic" is not a valid comment on any aspect of the game.
5. The prime consideration for room, object, and mobile descriptions shall
be wit. This is to be understood in its full sense, which includes
ingenuity and intelligence, not just humour.
6. "More" isn't "better".
After logging in to the game, you are given some information
about where you are, and you are presented with a command line prompt. The
game expects you to type in a command, the first word of which may be one of
the recognized verbs. For a list of these, type "help commands". As you
type, the game may interrupt you to give you some message about what is
happening around you, but this is done in a slick way which should cause
minimum disruption (if you have a decent interface!)
Your persona starts the game with a certain number of lives, which
are used up when you die in combat. When you run out of lives, your persona
is wiped from the file. Otherwise, the only way of dying permanently in the
game is to be given the finger of death by an arch-wizard or meta-wizard,
although this is reversible. In other cases, after you die you come back at
one-quarter-strength. Strength is replenished by resting.
If you get stuck, try typing "hints", and to quit type "quit".
If you have a comment about the game, post a message in the IBB.
status [x]
Tells you your current attributes, how many objects you are carrying,
etc. Can be used with a player argument in ISLAND TNG in wizmode.
steal <x> from <y>
Tries to steal the object with name <x> from the persona or monster
with name <y>. Sinful but sometimes useful. If you are not in
wizmode, you can only steal from entities in your location. Steal
only works if your dexterity is high enough or you are lucky.
Stealing is forbidden in the no-combat zone near the pit.
stick
Terminates your round of blackjack and lets your opponent play. The
game tells you who won and why, so you can work out the exact rules for
yourself. Aces count intelligently high or low.
stifle <x>
A bit like "dumb", but only paras can do this. Prevents the victim
from emoting, but they can still talk.
stock <a> <b> <c>
A para-wizard command to do a partial reset of objects. <a> is
an object name, <b> is the current location, and <c> is the
destination (similar to "trans"). Any or all of <a>, <b>, and <c>
may be or include the wild card "*". For example,
stock * * bp*
will attempt to restock the BP block. Only accessible objects
are moved.
strength [x]
Tells you your two physical and two magical strengths.
Works on other players for wizards (in ISLAND TNG).
See "help attributes".
subject <x>
Specifies a subject in IBB. Done after the "post" command. You then
go into post mode, and when you have finished, type quit. You are then
shown the text of your article and given the option to discard it.
Type "send" to post the article or "reject" to discard it.
suicide
Totally scrubs a novice-level persona. Useful when you just want to
start over.
summon <x>
Summons the given player to your location. Depends on intelligence.
Doesn't work if the player is on a quest, carrying an anti-summoner or
in a safe location. Actually, there are quite a lot more exceptions!
superget <x>
Superget <x> is like "take" but the object <x> can be anywhere in the
game, so long as it is not carried or in something else. A successful
superget loses you points equal to the value of the object.
Certain words are classed as swear words for various reasons. These include: bloody, damn, abermud, bollocks, definate, sentance, turf, wierd, recieve, wisard, discription, invisable, sheild, theif, weild, semprini, begginer, lightening, sundevil, hombre. Semprini??? Certain words are taboo. These include: s***, c***, f***, w**k, t**t, b***er You may be fined for using these words, in addition to gaining sin.
tag <x>
Keeps track of a persona or monster as it moves around. Reversed by
untag.
In wizmode with no argument, this shows who's tagging whom. (Is it me,
is it me, is it youm?)
take <x>
Picks up the object, provided the number of objects you are
already carrying is less than your Capacity, and that your strength
is at least equal to the Size of the object. "take all" will take
everything in the location. With a few special sacred objects, "take"
will not work for the unworthy.
Usually you can only do this if you can see what you're doing!
tap [p]
A wizmode command that lets you see everything player <p> types.
With no argument, reports who is tapping whom.
teleport <x>
Teleports you to the location <x>, where <x> is three
characters corresponding to the ones you see when you do a "whereis".
Teleporting works from most places to most other places, but you cannot
go to Hell, for example.
tell <x> <y>
Will tell the persona or mobile named <x> the message <y>. No-one
else can hear it (except possibly wizards and thieves).
Can be abbreviated to > . Like "say", "tell" understands about
questions and exclamations.
thank <x> [y]
Thanks persona named <x>. The second argument is optional, and
may be used to add a modifier. For example
thank Saomik for being such a nice person. (Hah!)
The thieves' guild is home to larcenous villains who can't keep
their fingers out of other people's pockets. Thieves have unusually good
hearing, and are also amazingly clever with locks. It is rumoured that
thieves have a way of becoming invisible that is denied to other players.
Admittance to the thieves' guild is by invitation only.
Thieves have cheap and easy access to the spells "overhear",
"eavesdrop", "sneak" and "hide".
time
Gives you the time and date (exciting or what?). A synonym is "date".
The machine on which Island runs in Oxford is also used for teaching purposes. (If this were not so, Island would not have a site in the first place!) This means that during Oxford term times, Island is closed between 9am and 5.30pm local time on weekdays, and ensures that the machines are not slowed down for those using the machines for work purposes. At all other times Island is available around the clock. Oxford full terms are 8 weeks long and start in mid-January, late April and early October. The machine on which Island runs in Cambridge is not used for teaching purposes. Even if it were, there still wouldn't be time limits. This site is available 24 hours a day.
transport <entity> [<loc1>]
This transports an entity called <entity> to location <loc1>, or
to your current location if you omit this.
transport <entity> <loc1> <loc2>
This transports an entity called <entity> from location
<loc1> to location <loc2>.
You can specify "." as either location to refer to your own location.
Players cannot be transported to hell.
Monsters may be resurrected using this command.
Questing players may not be transported, except by metas.
trap <x>
Puts a trap on the door or object called <x>. It should be
shut first. If you fail, it backfires, you die, and the trap is not
set. See help traps.
Doors and openable objects in ISLAND may be trapped. The trap is
detonated when the door or object is picked up, opened or searched. Traps are
in general rare but nasty. Skill in handling traps depends mainly on your
skill, but also on intelligence and dexterity. The verbs governing traps are
check, disable and trap.
truce
Amicably terminates a duel. Both combatants must agree to the truce.
twist
Draws another card in blackjack. You can continue to twist even when
bust.
unbansite <a>
See bansite.
unbarsite <a>
See barsite.
uncash <x>
Converts <x> number of points back into gold. Fractions of gold
pieces are lost. You may only uncash up to half of your points, as
a protective measure. Yes, you can be forced to uncash.
unfod <x>
Tries to resurrect a character who has been fodded.
unfreeze <player>
This reverses the effects of "freeze". You have to know the "freeze"
spell for it to work.
unfollow
Terminates the current "follow".
unhide
Brings you out of hiding.
unlock <x> with <y>
Opposite of lock; takes same syntax. Thieves and arch-wizards can
use the lock-pick. Otherwise, find the right key.
unmorph
Terminates a morph.
unpit <x>
Magically removes an object from below the pit, or from some other
inaccessible locations.
This is for those people who are killed and leave things in the sea
or simply pit the wrong object. Success depends on intelligence, and
casting the spell costs a number of points equal to the value of the
object's base value.
Unpitted objects usually have their current value set to zero.
You cannot unpit in quest mode.
Sub-wizards must be at the pit to unpit.
unquest
This terminates a quest, with the side-effects that you drop everything,
get out of any vehicle you are in, lose your armour, and go back to
Limbo.
unset <v>
Command to unset a personal variable. See "help set".
unsnoop
Terminates the current snoop.
untag
Terminates a tag.
untap
Terminates a tap.
unwield
Terminates a wield.
unwizmode
Takes you out of wizmode, if you were in it.
value <x>
Shows the base value and current value of the specified object.
The base value is a default value for the object, and the
current value is the number of points you would get for pitting
the object in question.
Wizards and seers can value virtually anything at any time.
Before you join or are elected to any of the other guilds, you are
a member of the vanilla guild by default. Many players remain in the
vanilla guild forever. Oh well.
verbose
Sets location descriptions up so that they are printed up whenever
you enter the room.
See also: brief, curt.
view [n] [to <player>] [from <player>]
View <n> lists the first few articles in the current folder with
numbers less than <n>.
On its own, view (or view 0) views the first few articles.
If the parameter n is set to . (dot), then you view from the current
article backwards, or from the most recent if you haven't started
reading.
If the "to" and "from" fields are present (in either order!), only
articles matching the desired specification are shown.
The flag [U] means the message hasn't been read by the recipient, and
the flag [R] means it has.
visible
Makes you visible again.
vote <x>
When you are summoned for jury duty, you MUST vote, even if the trial
concludes before you cast your vote. Failing to vote may have dire
consequences. The commands "vote guilty" and "vote not guilty" can
be abbreviated to "vote g" and "vote n g".
war
Makes fighting permissible for players and mobiles. This is done
automatically when the last arch-wizard or meta-wizard quits the game,
to stop the game staying in permanent peace.
See "help wield", "help shield", "help inventory" and "help combat".
weather [nnnn]
When called without argument, weather returns the current weather state.
Anyone can do this.
With an argument, this allows changing of the weather. You must be
outside to do it.
The new weather is given in the form of a 4-digit number, the digits
of which represent the levels of wind, rain, clouds and temperature
respectively. These all range between 0 and 9. (Note that you can't
have rain with no clouds!)
Remember that the interpretation of the base weather can depend on
regional factors, and changes frequently (every 60 seconds at the
moment).
The ISLAND web page is: http://users.ox.ac.uk/~math0001/island.html (Note: not "info.ox.ac.uk" any more, although this may still work.)
what
ISLAND TNG:
Tells you what people are doing.
ISLAND CLASSIC:
Gives you a list of all objects ("what treasure" or "what objects")
or all monsters ("what monsters" or "what mobiles").
whereis <x>
Usually abbreviated to "where". This tells you the quantities
and locations of a given mobile, object or player, if invoked as
"where <x>" where <x> is the name of the relevant entity. In
addition, "where treasures" or "where objects" lists the number
of objects in each "interesting" location, and "where mobiles" or
"where monsters" lists the number of monsters in each "interesting"
location. An "interesting" location is defined to be any place with
two or more objects or mobiles. In further addition, "where people" or
"where players" does what you expect. In still further addition,
"where lights" tells you where torches etc. may be found. Also (!)
"where weapons" tells you where the decent weapons are. Did I mention
that "where boats" tells you where the boats are?
If the object you enquire about is hidden inside something else, this
is indicated. This may not be very informative - this is intentional.
Successful use of this command depends on intelligence.
which <level number> [gender (optional) [guild (optional)]]
A para command to look at persona file breakdowns.
Gender may be set to "male", "female" or "*".
All personae satisfying the conditions will be shown, including fodded
ones.
Whispering doesn't really exist. What you think is whispering is most
likely another player in your location using "tell" to someone other
than you.
who
Gives a list of visible personae who are currently playing.
[TNG] You are informed if the player is very idle, link-dead or posting.
Wizards can also see the levels.
wield [<x>]
Selects <x> as your weapon. Any object can be used as a weapon.
Use "probe" to discover the weapons value of an object.
Walking around with a deadly weapon wielded is sinful.
On its own, wield tells you what you are wielding and what the weapon
class is. This is how much sin you get for walking one "move" wielding
the weapon.
See also "unwield".
(The term "wizard" below designates a player of either gender and
any guild who has attained a level at least as high as wizard or witch.)
Upon reaching the level of wizard a player is granted extra
privileges. These privileges can only be used in "wizmode". You can tell if
you are in wizmode from the prompt which changes from the standard ">" to "*".
In addition to the several new verbs, wizards also get more detail from o
ther commands like "who", and can do things like "cash", "unpit", "give" and
"steal" without being in the relevant room. (For details see elsewhere.)
The added verbs include:
(un)wizmode, force, teleport, goto, superget, invisible, visible, morph,
people, prewarn, rstatus, msay, memote, rsearch, secret, block, lastcrime,
rlist.
wizmode:
Puts you into wizmode if you are a wizard. Bit useless if you're not.
zot <player>
Zots the given player with lightning! Make sure you aim carefully.
See "help lightning".