"What Now?"
You've completed the novice quests. You've read all the Newplayer help files. You've patiently conversed with Aunt Emma as she imparted to you wisdom from the Halls of Knowledge. What do to now?
First of all, many established Cardeans are always keen to help new players. Levana, the Mother of Newborns, is the goddess in whose keeping all new players lie. She has a team of mortal helpers who will be on the look out for new players, and who will have the ability to monitor your progress, to lend a hand if and when needed.
Don't be afraid to approach other mortals if you find yourself without knowledge of what to do next. If you experience any problems completing your novice quests, don't fret. Ask your fellow Cardeans for help; everyone was a new player once.
Now that you've finished the novice quests...
You probably have a lot of questions, such as "Where can I get clothes?" and even more pressing, "Where can I get gold?". These are all questions that your fellow mortals can field, providing you with the answers you seek. However, if for some reason you are unable to find a mortal to impart such wisdom to you, the following is general information for players just beginning their life in Cardea.
The Village of Holdfast
The village of Holdfast lies to the east of the Stonetroll Forest, in which you completed many of your novice quests. Holdfast is a haven for new folk; there are shops galore for virtually every basic need, there are characters of all shapes and sizes with whom you can converse, and there is a carriage available to take you to major locations such as the cities.
It is important to know that when you encounter a CCC (computer controlled character), you may "ask" it about certain topics. For example, when you meet Elgion, the cook in Holdfast Tavern, you can ask him about food. If he has a task for you to complete, he will explain the details of the quest. You can also attempt to "greet" CCCs, and if they wish to speak with you, they will. Some CCCs do not have a quest for you at this time, so they will not respond to your queries. But it is worth conversing with every CCC you meet, since a lot of adventure is to be found in clues they dispense.
Since you are naked when you enter the realm, you will naturally want to equip yourself with clothing. Basic weaponry and armour will also appeal to some new players. You may also find yourself in need of a way to see in the dark, such as a lantern. All these items can be purchased in the various shops in Holdfast. You can tell a location is a shop if there is a sign telling you to check the "GOODS". Occasionally, you will see a caravan, wagon, or market stall. These also denote shops.
Purchasing things in Cardea is very simple. You are given a money pouch during your novice quests, in which you may store your gold to safeguard against thieves. To remove gold from the pouch, simply "GET GOLD FROM POUCH". This will remove all the talons inside the pouch, regardless of the amount. You can "EXAMINE" the gold to see how much you are holding. With the money in your hands, you can then "BUY item". If there is a specific item you want to purchase--such as a "glass bottle" instead of a "cracked glass bottle", then use the unique item number of the glass bottle, which you will see on the GOODS list. It will appear something like "glass bottle452". You would then use the command "BUY GLASS BOTTLE452", to ensure you are purchasing the correct type of bottle.
The GOODS screen is organised into four parts. It appears like:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
45 : A simple hide skirt. hide skirt7767 50.
18 : A leather hood. leather hood7986 200.
55 : A sturdy piece of wood. club5290 30.
66 : A hunting knife. knife4343 300.
The first number is the quantity available. The next group of words is the name of the item for sale. Following this is the unique item number of the first object on the "pile" of goods in the stockroom. This number will change every time an item is purchased, and the item number of the item you purchase will match the item number displayed in GOODS. It's worth keeping note of this number in case you lose it or it is stolen. Finally, the number in the column to the far right is the price in gold talons.
Of course, before you can buy anything, you must have gold! There are a few methods of gaining gold, but the two most important to new players are questing and selling items.
Each city has a pawnbroker, and it is up to you to have a mortal show you the exact location, or to figure it out on your own. The pawnbrokers are usually located near the busiest area of the city, such as marketplaces. If you see items lying around, and they do not obviously belong to anyone in the room, it's worth picking them up and trying to sell them. This process is commonly referred to as "goldquesting."
The questing method of gold accumulation is slightly harder, because you need to figure out the quests that reward gold, and the ways to solve them! Your fellow Cardeans will help you learn the most obvious ones, but in the event that there is no one available to help you at the time, here's a small hint to get you started: wishing wells are always a place where spare change can be found.
Joining a City
Many young Cardeans wish to join the citizenry of one of the major cities in the realm. To see information on the cities themselves, issue the HELP CITY command whilst in Cardea. In a nutshell, Nineveh is the city of Darkness, Arboria is the city of Nature, and Maine is the city of Freedom. More cities will be founded in the future.
It is not necessary to rush into the decision of citizenship, or to choose citizenship at all. Some players never join a city, and you can survive just fine outside of a city's walls. However, in order to become involved in politics, or to take advantage of the comradery that citizenship can provide, you will need to apply to join a city. Each city has different criteria which you must fulfill in order to be a citizen, and each city has a different method of offering citizenship to prospective citizens. Speak with a representative of the city to which you wish to belong for more information.
Joining a Guild
The decision to join a guild should be a calling; you should join a guild of which you are going to enjoy being a member. Each guild has a different set of skills, which you can train to perform various guild-appropriate activities. More information on guilds can be found by typing GUILDS and HELP guildname. You are not required to join a guild in Cardea. There are some who never acquire guild skills, and manage just fine. A guild does give you the advantage of a close-knit group of people with similar interests, who oft look out for and help each other. Speak to a member of the guild to which you wish to apply for more information. Only the guildmaster and the guild patron can induct you into the guild at this time. Some guilds have special processes by which they screen applicants.
Joining a Profession
There are professional skills in Cardea, which you can gain by joining a profession. You are certainly not required to join a profession, and many people never do. You can only belong to one profession at a time, just as you can only belong to one guild at a time, one city at a time, and so forth. Professions may be joined by finding and speaking with members of the desired profession. It is up to you to research the options available, and to locate the necessary people. Professions can be an adventure!
Joining an Order
Every god differs in their opionions of new players joining orders. Some would rather see new players wait and grow before committing themselves to a religion. Some are eager for the energy and enthusiasm a new player can bring. If you find yourself called to follow a certain god (information on gods can be found by typing GODS), speak with a member of His/Her order about the possibility of joining the fold. If you see the god visible on the WHO list, you may approach the deity with respect, if you wish, with your query. Please note that the decision of joining an order is a massive one with consequences that may affect your entire life in Cardea. It should not be made lightly. However, there are few bonds in life as strong and as important as the bond between a mortal and his/her patron deity, and the support of an order is invaluable to some. There are, of course, those who choose to never follow a god, and this is perfectly OK.
Experience, Levels, and Health
You gain experience in Cardea simply by being logged in, and by participating in the game. The effects of this are far more noticable for smaller folk, when levelling is much easier than it is for those of higher levels. If you spend time exploring the game, or just sitting around talking to others, you will find your experience slowly increases. The best ways to gain experience, however, are to group with others in hunting expeditions, in which you hunt certain creatures and gain experience from their death, or by questing. Cardea has a wealth of quests and adventures just waiting to be solved, and the rewards range from minor to astounding, depending on the difficulty of the quest.
As you gain experience, your levels increase, and with every level you gain 50 health points and 50 mana points.
Acquisition of Non-guild, Non-professional Skills
There are some skills in Cardea with which you are not born, but which are important--if not vital--to your success in Cardea. In order to receive these skills you must perform some quests, which will test everything from ingenuity to perception to patience. Speak with a fellow Cardean for clues as to where to find these quests, and the function of the skills which you will gain from completing them. Hint: You encountered most of the quest-giving characters during your Novice quests...
Explore, explore, explore!
As stated earlier, you gain experience just by being logged in and by taking part in the game--what better way to spend your time than by getting to know the land! There are many, many areas to explore and to map, if you are ambitious. You will find that spending time learning the layout of these places will be a rewarding way to spend your time, during which you will gain experience, and you may find treasure and quests.
Helpful Hints:
You can gain more information on items in locations and in your inventory with the "info" command. There are three distinct INFO commands for your use: INFO HERE, INFO INV, and INFO <item>.
INFO HERE gives you unique item information on all objects in your current location. This includes the actual name by which you can refer to the item. A typical INFO HERE response may look like this:
Items here:
An Orc Peon is uniquely identified as 'orc433'.
An Orc Peon is uniquely identified as 'orc1387'.
A shell is uniquely identified as 'shell2402'.
There are two orc peons (CCCs) and one shell (an object), all of which are identified by unique item numbers. If you wish to jab orc433, but not orc1387, you will need to use the information obtained via INFO HERE to target the orc with its correct number (i.e. "jab orc433").
INFO INV gives you unique item information on all objects currently in your inventory. This includes the actual name by which you can refer to the item. A typical INFO INV response may look like this:
Items in your inventory.
A wedding ring is uniquely identified as 'wedding ring7131'.
A leather jerkin is uniquely identified as 'leather jerkin1842'.
A pair of leather trousers is uniquely identified as 'leather trousers2385'.
A slightly worn backpack is uniquely identified as 'backpack2486'.
You can use the unique item numbers displayed in INFO INV to reference specific items in your inventory.
INFO <item> gives you unique item information on one item in your current inventory. This includes the actual name by which you can refer to the item. A typical INFO <item> response may look like this:
(command: INFO SCROLLS)
A scroll is uniquely identified as 'scroll1521'.
A scroll is uniquely identified as 'scroll6598'.
If you have multiple items of the same kind in your inventory, for example keys or bottles, this command is very useful in discerning the unique numbers and names by which to reference them.
If you would like to view Cardea in full colour, and your client supports it (note: the java client on this site and regular Windows telnet do not support colour), you can do so by typing ANSI ON. This enables Cardea's inherent colour scheme. If you find that your client does not support colour, or you do not prefer to view Cardea in colour, ANSI OFF will disable colour again.
To receive a prompting of your health and mana points at all times in Cardea, you can enable the full prompt report with the command: FULLPROMPT ON. Your prompt will then display with HP:MP, where HP is health points and MP is mana points. To disable this feature, type FULLPROMPT OFF.
If you have any questions not covered here, refer to the help files available here on the web site and in Cardea. You may also want to check the FAQs. Good luck!
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