*index PerlMUD Help System Type "help topic" for more information about a particular command or topic. The following is a list of the available commands and help topics: TOPICS: beginner, clothing, moving, talking, building, locking, rooms, substitutions, flags, admin, rules, map, changing shape COMMANDS: say, emote, look, read, examine, inventory, drop, get, take, quit, home, who, sign, write, help, motd, welcome, whisper, page @wall, @dig, @doing, @create, @stats, @set, @describe, @name, @chown, @pcreate, @password, @teleport, @link, @open, @fail, @ofail, @success, @osuccess, @odrop, @lock, @boot, @clean, @find, @recycle, @toad, @shutdown, @dump, @rows, @gag, @ungag *beginner Welcome to PerlMUD. PerlMUD is very similar to TinyMUD and TeenyMUD, with which you may be familiar. If you are new to MUDs, you will want to read the following topics first: clothing moving talking Type "help clothing" to read that topic. *clothing When your character is first created, it is not much to look at. Be sure to set your description with the @desc command. @describe me = You see a tall newspaperman with a button nose. Type "look me" to see yourself. Next, if you wish, set your gender with the @set command: @set me = male You can abbreviate most commands. Next, you will probably want to read the "help moving" topic. *moving To move from room to room in PerlMUD, just type the direction in which you want to move. Usually the possible directions are mentioned in the description of the room you are in. Typical exits include north, south, east, west, and one-letter abbreviations of the above. You may see the message "Huh?" if a particular exit is not available from the current room. Example: You are in the dining room. There is a door to the north. n You are in the hallway. Next, you will probably want to read the "help talking" topic. *talking You will often encounter other players on the MUD. To converse with them, use the "say" command, which can be abbreviated to a single " (double quotation mark). For example: say hello You say hello. "hello You say hello. If you want to express action or emotion, use the emote command, which can be abbreviated to a single : character. For example: emote cries. Bob cries. :cries. Bob cries. To learn about creating objects, move on to the "help building" topic. *building To create an object, use the @create command: @create Can of Cheese-B-Gone Can of Cheese-B-Gone has been created as #188. Then describe the object. Try the following commands. Note that abbreviations can be used: @desc can = The can is of the usual ozone-destroying aerosol type. look can inventory drop can get can @recycle can To learn more, see the "help locking" topic, or move on to "help rooms". *locking You may wish to lock an object so that only certain people can pick it up, or lock an exit so that only certain people can move through it. Locks can refer to both people and objects. If you lock an object to a person, only that person can pick it up. Place an * in front of the person's name when locking the object. If you lock an object to another object, the second object must be in the possession of a person attempting to use it. You can also build complicated locks using & (AND), | (OR), ! (NOT), and ( and ) to group expressions. Got all that? Here are some examples: @lock can = me @lock can = !*Bob @lock north = key @lock south = !(bluekey | greenkey | redkey | prize) To find out how to control what people see when a lock succeeds or fails, see the "help messages" topic. To move on, see the "help rooms" topic. *messages To control what a user sees when she fails to pass a lock, use @fail: @fail north = You can't unlock the door. Guess you need a key. To control what the audience sees, use @ofail. Note that the player's name always appears first: @ofail north = tries to open the door, but $s doesn't have a key. $s is a substitution which inserts the correct pronoun. There are several others; see the "help substitutions" topic for more information. To control what a user sees when she successfully passes a lock, use @success. To control what the audience sees, use @osuccess. To move on, see the "help rooms" topic. *rooms Eventually, you will want to create a home of your own for your character. Try your own variation on the following commands. @dig Palace of Wonderful Things @link me = #XXX (Type the number @dig reports to you, not XXX) home @desc here = Welcome to the Palace. Try the trapdoor down or press the button. @open down;d = #0 (Or the number of a room set linkok on this MUD) @desc down = A trapdoor in the floor beckons you downwards. @open press button;button = home Exits can have many alternate names, separated by semicolons. "home" is a special destination which takes the player to the home she is attached to by the @link command. "nowhere" is another special destination which goes nowhere! Note that you can use the @link command to change the destination of the down exit, or any exit, at a later time. @link is also useful to set the home of your objects. *flags Every PerlMUD object can have one or more flags set. You can use the @set command to set or clear a flag: @set me = male @set me = !dark dark Contents of room not visible (except to "examine") male Character is male (for pronoun substitutions) female Character is female (for pronoun substitutions) linkok OK for anyone to link exits TO this room jumpok OK for anyone to teleport to this room buildok OK for anyone to link exits FROM this room sticky This object goes home immediately when dropped puzzle If set for room, force drop all on "home" or "@tele" abode OK for anyone to set their home to this room grand This room is huge; entrances, exits are silent book Anyone can "sign" this object, adding text wizard This player is a wizard (#1 is always a wizard) expert If set, you must type a " before things you say spy Tells you who really said something builder The player is permitted to build things and rooms *substitutions Commands like @fail, @ofail, @success, and @osuccess set messages to be displayed when a player fails or succeeds in manipulating an object or exit. To make sense, these messages must contain the correct pronouns. The following substitutions are available, and output the correct pronoun or name depending on the player's flag settings and name: Substitution Name Outputs %s subjective he, she, it, or name %n name name %p possessive his, her, its, or name's %a absolute possessive his, hers, its, or name's %o objective him, her, it, or name name %r reflexive himself, herself, itself, or name %% Percent sign % If the above substitutions are capitalized, the output will also be capitalized. *admin The following administrative commands are available, primarily for use by wizards. Also note that many ordinary commands have far fewer restrictions when used by wizards. @wall message Sends a message to all connected players. @stats player Outputs statistics. Player can be omitted. @chown object = owner Grants an object to another player. @pcreate name = password Creates a new player. @password name = password Changes a password. @teleport name = #location Teleports an object. @boot name Disconnects a player (for now). @clean Sends nonplayers and sleeping players home from this room. @find name Finds objects with the specified name. @recycle object Recycles the specified object. @toad player = newowner Turns a player into a toad. There's no going back! If newowner is not specified, possessions recycled. @dump Writes the database to disk immediately. @shutdown Shuts down the mud. Implies @dump. *say The say command is used to speak to other players in the room. Usage: say hi there! "hi there! ..troc do you have any more cookies? *emote The emote command is used to express yourself in the third person. The resulting sentence will begin with your name. Usage: emote smiles. :smiles. *look The look command is used to glance at the current room, or at a particular object. Usage: look look me look north *read A synonym for "look." *examine The examine command is used to examine the current room or a particular object in detail. The examine command outputs a great deal of useful information including flag settings, lock settings, fail and success messages and other information about the object. Usage: examine examine me examine north *inventory The inventory command displays what your character is carrying. Usage: inventory *drop The drop command is used to drop an object, or to drop all currently carried objects. Usage: drop key drop all *get The get command is used to pick up an object. Usage: get key *take A synonym for "get." *quit The quit command is used to disconnect from PerlMUD. *home The home command is used to transport your character back to her home room. You can set your character's home using the @link command. Usage: home *who The who command displays information about the currently connected users, including how long they have been connected and how long they have been idle. The who command also displays how long the PerlMUD system has been up and running since it was last restarted. Usage: who *sign The sign command is used to sign a book. Things which have the book flag set can be signed by any user. Signing the book adds up to 256 characters, prefixed by your name. Use the look command to see the current signatures in the book. Also see unsign. Usage: sign book = message *write A synonym for "sign." *unsign The unsign command is used to remove a signature from a book. When you unsign a book, your oldest signature is deleted. Usage: unsign book *help The help system you are now using. Type "help" by itself and press ENTER to begin learning more about PerlMUD. Usage: help *motd The motd command repeats the message that was displayed immediately after you logged into the MUD. Usage: motd *welcome The welcome command repeats the message that was displayed when you first connected to the MUD. Usage: welcome *whisper The whisper command is used to speak privately to an individual in the same room. Use the page command to speak to an individual who may be located anywhere in the MUD. The . command is a shorthand for whisper. Usage: whisper person = message .person message *page The page command is used to send a private message to another player anywhere in the MUD. Usage: page person = message *@wall The @wall command is used to send a message to all players currently connected to the MUD. @wall is available only to wizards. Usage: @wall System restarting in 5 minutes *@dig The @dig command is used to create a new room. After the room is created, PerlMUD will report the object ID associated with the room. Be sure to make a note of the ID as you will need it to open an exit to that room or teleport to that room. Usage: @dig Castle Mauveskull *@doing The @doing command is used to set the message which appears next to your character's name on the list output by the who command. Usage: @doing message *@create The @create command is used to create a new object. (Rooms are created with the @dig command, exits are created with the @open command, and players are created with the @pcreate command.) Usage: @create objectname *@stats The @stats command outputs statistics about the system as a whole, or about a particular character. These statistics are useful to determine how large the MUD has become, or to measure the impact of a particular user. Usage: @stats @stats me *@set The @set command is used to set various flags on any object (including players, rooms, and exits). See "help flags" for more information. Usage: @set here = dark @set here = linkok @set me = female @set #327 = jumpok *@describe The @describe command is used to set the description that a player sees when looking at an object. Usage: @describe here = You are standing in a north-south hallway. @describe me = Indifferent honest. @describe north = To the north you can make out the shores of a distant lake. *@rows The @rows command sets the number of rows of scrollback the WWW interface should display. You may wish to set this to a smaller value if your link is slow. Usage: @rows me = 20 *@name The @name command is used to rename an existing object. Only wizards can rename players. Usage: @name north = s;south @name here = Castle OffwhiteSkull *@chown The @chown command is used to change the ownership of an object. You may give any object you own to any other player using @chown. Usage: @chown object = player *@pcreate The @pcreate command is used to create a new character. This command is available only to wizards. Character names cannot contain spaces. Usage: @pcreate name = password *@password The @password command is used to set a new password for a character. Usage: @password foo @password Jessica = kibitz27 *@teleport The @teleport command is used to transport an object, or your character, to a specific location. If the word home is used as a destination, the object will go to its own home, as was set by the @link command. Usage: @teleport #0 @teleport dog = home *@link The @link command is used to establish a home for an object. An object's home must be a room. Objects can be sent home under a variety of circumstances. In the case of exits, it sets a new destination for the exit. Usage: @link me = here @link dog = here @link dog = #27 *@open The @open command is used to open a new exit from this room to a different room ID. The destination must be a room. Every exit must have a destination, although it is possible to @lock an exit so that it never succeeds. Many synonyms for the exit's name can be provided to accommodate reasonable guesses on the player's part. The destination can be changed later using the @link command. Usage: @open n;north;out = #322 *@fail The @fail command is used to establish a failure message which the player will see when unsuccessfully attempting to get an object or use an exit. See also locking, substitutions, @lock, @ofail, @success, @osuccess, and @odrop. Usage: @fail north = The door won't open without a key. *@ofail The @ofail command is used to establish a failure message which spectators in the room will see when a player unsuccessfully attempts to get an object or use an exit. See also locking, substitutions, @lock, @fail, @success, @osuccess, and @odrop. Usage: @ofail north = pounds senselessly on the door. *@success The @success command is used to establish a success message which the player will see when successfully attempting to get an object or use an exit. See also locking, substitutions, @lock, @osuccess, @fail, @ofail, and @odrop. Usage: @success north = The key fits! You turn the lock and pass through. *@osuccess The @osuccess command is used to establish a success message which spectators in the room will see when a player successfully attempts to get an object or use an exit. See also locking, substitutions, @lock, @success, @fail, @ofail, and @odrop. Usage: @osuccess north = passes through the door. *@odrop The @odrop command is used to establish a success message which spectators in the room will see when a player drops the specified object. If the object is an exit, the message will be displayed to other players in the room the player has traveled into. See also locking, substitutions, @lock, @success, @osuccess, @fail, and @ofail. *@lock The @lock command is used to control which players can get a particular object or pass through a particular exit. Locks can refer to both players and objects. If a lock refers to a player, then that player can use the object. If a lock refers to an object, then the player can use it if the player is carrying the specified key. Objects and players can be combined using & (AND), | (OR), ! (NOT), and ( and ) (parentheses to group expressions). If players are mentioned in the lock, it is crucial that an * appear before the name of each player. To clear a lock, place nothing on the right-hand side of the = sign. Usage: @lock north = *jessica @lock south = (!*roger) & blue key *@boot The @boot command is used to immediately disconnect a particular player (for now). No permanent damage is done to the user's character. Only wizards can use this command. Usage: @boot player *@clean The @clean command is used to "clean up" the current room. Every object that does not have its home set to the current room is immediately sent home, except for currently connected players. Only the owner of the room or a wizard can use this command. Usage: @clean *@find The @find command is used to locate missing objects by name. This is useful if you have forgotten the id number of a newly created room. Usage: @find name *@recycle The @recycle command is used to recycle (destroy) an object, reclaiming the space to be reused by a new object. If the object contains other objects, they are immediately dropped. If the object is a room, room #0 is set as the new home of objects residing in the recycled room. If there are exits which lead to a recycled room, those exits are directed to room #0. @recycle cannot be used directly on players, but wizards can use @toad first to turn players into inanimate objects. @recycle cannot be undone. Be sure you want to recycle the object. This command cannot be abbreviated. Usage: @recycle object *@toad The @toad command is used to turn a character into a slimy toad (an inanimate object). The character's possessions are recycled if no recipient is specified to accept them. Only wizards can use this command. This command cannot be abbreviated. Usage: @toad player @toad player = recipient *@shutdown The @shutdown command is used to shut down the MUD, disconnecting all current users and writing the database to disk. This command cannot be abbreviated. *@dump The @dump command is used to write the database to disk immedately. Note that the server automatically writes the database to disk at regular intervals. This command is nonetheless useful when a particularly important action has just been performed. Only wizards can use this command. This command cannot be abbreviated. *@gag The @gag command allows you to completely ignore another player. Use this command if you find you simply can't stand them, no matter what. Use examine me (not look me) to see who is on your gag list. Example: @gag bob See also: @ungag *@ungag The @ungag command is used to remove a gag placed with the gag command. Example: @ungag bob Bob says, "it's oddly quiet in here." See also: @gag *map This is a Kahuna MODUS map of existing rooms and exits. To move between rooms, just type the direction or its abbreviation (e.g. south or s and northeast or ne etc.) Mysterious Writing Chamber Sea ----------------- Juju | ___________________/ | | | / | | Train ---- Beach ------------------------- Ary's Place --- Ary's Laboratory | | | / | \ | | | | / | \ | Other- --- Final Exit Bar ------ Geekspace -------------- Prague world | | Mutaga Underground There are, however, also some rooms hidden below or above others, e.g., in Geekspace, Ary's Place or the Final Exit Bar. This map was optimized to be viewed using a telnet client. If it looks somehow "deranged" in your client window, please look at the pic of this map on the kahunaMUD homepage. *rules The kahunaMUD world is an extension of Nika's living room. Please behave accordingly. When building yourself a home, ask for an entrance somewhere in the town so you can be added to the map. Please don't add random, inconsistent exits. Beyond your front door, silly or illogical geography is perfectly OK. Don't MUD while driving. *changing shape Changing your shape is nowhere as easy as in here. Simply create an object as your costume and carry it with you as long as you want. For example, if you want to change yourself into a raven, then type "@create putyournamehere_raven" and think of an imaginative description of your new outlook, then type "@desc yourname_raven = your_description", and finally "get yourname_raven" to put your new costume on. However, if you want to change your shape permanently, i.e. change your player name to something like name_raven, you have to ask Nadine or Chef for it, 'cause only a Kahuna can do that trick. r illogical geography is perfectly OK. Don't MUD while driving. *changing shape Changing your shape is nowhere as easy as in here. Simply create an object as your costume and carry it with you as long as you want. For example, if you want to change yourself into a raven, then type "@create putyournamehere_raven" and think of an imaginative description of your new outlook, then type "@desc yourname_raven = your_description", and finally "get yourname_raven" to put your new costume on. However, if you want to change your shape permanently, i.e. change your player name to something like name_raven, you have to ask Nadine or Chef for it, 'cause only a Kahuna can do that trick. that trick.