Newbie FAQ

[Melodor]

Here are some questions that get asked very frequently, and some answers:

1) What stats should I use?

There are no "best" stats.
Having said that there are some worst ones (11 11 11 11 11) and there are some choices which will make it easier to get going than others.

- For physical fighting it's good to invest in strength and dexterity (feeble clumsy warriors can be a bit of a trial).
- Dexterity will also help you to avoid blows (shock).
- For magical fighting you need intelligence (mages and all casters).
- Piety will help you regain those MP points faster.
- Would-be healers are helped by decent piety (paladins and clerics).
- Constitution (innate bodily strength) is helpful if you are a class that can't achieve much with healing spells.

Factors also affect class skills, but it's not really something to worry about.
Generally, high strength hitting classes (such as rangers, fighters etc) are probably the easiest for beginners. Mages are potent but fragile and most newbie mages die a lot. Clerics are a pretty decent casting alternative.

2) Where do I go to train?

Talk to the Immigration Officer in Amethyst.
Coral and Amber are towns to the south of Amethyst - go out of the south gate and head all the way southwards to Amber or towards the southeast along the cartway to Coral. The barbarian camp can be found by heading north out of Amethyst, north through the fort and then generally towards the northwest.

3) How do I get spells?

- Some creatures carry or guard scrolls - kill a range of targets and you are sure to discover some.
- In the chamber beside the Chapel and in the bookshop in the arcade you can purchase primers

4) Why don't you do X in this mud?

Usually either because it's a silly idea, doesn't fit with the precepts of LoS or because Shihan's coding list is a terrifying monster.

5) Can I be a DM?

No. Read help staff.

6) What weapon should I use to start?

Whatever you like and can obtain. Experiment, or ask other players for recommendations.

7) Why do my spells fail?

Probably a combination of low intelligence or piety, low skill and/or belonging to a guild which does not value magic (e.g. fighters)

8) Why is everyone so nuts about roleplaying here? Some guy said he wouldn't help me just because I was a thief.

Because once you get the hang of it, it adds a lot to the game.
Talk using osend or otell if you can't yet quite deal with being treated like the thief you chose to be.

9) Why is X happening? This is a mordor mud, it shouldn't work like that.

The code on which LoS runs is called Flint. It developed from Mordor but most of it has been completely rewritten. Don't expect things to be the same.

10) How do I go on quests?

First pick your quest, this can involve simply identifying a creature that is going to be a challenge to kill, or talking to levelling perms or others to discover a task. Erynn's site (see sticky post for the link) has plenty of hints and ideas.

Any more questions (or comments?)

[Happy]

Since the staff have to hold their reputation of not play a game depend on stats, but since I am a player I can say the following....however, since it is not mordor but flint, many of my assumptions might be wrong ^_^

Normally if you are a caster, ie mage, cleric, alchemist etc, please have 21 intel and 17 piety at a decent level, ie around 11-16. It would make your life easier. Have 17 piety for any class that have decent amount of mp actually, ie paladins, dark knights, or rangers. The reason is under 17 piety = 40 sec per tick to 17+ piety = 20 sec tick. Many casting class can do without intel, mostly clerics and druids because their healing power and armor class. It is good to have though, since 80-90% of mobs or perms are indeed bindable/confusable, except for the few tough ones. Less hit on you means less breakage for your amours!

Another note is that constitution is quite useless, except for holding back disease. I am sure there are a lot of benefits of having a high con, but at least I think it is minimal. So unless you are a barbarian or maybe a fighter, do away from constitution is a good idea. Dex is very important for melee classes especially for circlers or the shadier classes, having 17 or 21 of those is important. For others, 8 dex is very good because it gets you away from penalty. Backstabbing and hiding skills might get better at higher levels that having good dex is not as important as it sounds, but it is only a theory. Strength helps you hit more accurately, having 17 or 21 of those is good for melee classes. 21 hits more accurately than 17 but it only does 1 damage more, but you can carry a lot of stuff with 21 strength. (Stats only make a big difference if it is a 7, 8, 13, 17, 21, 25, everything in between is moot mostly, except for carrying weight)

Stunners please have 21 intel ^^, for the sake or yours and others. These are all pretty standard knowledge for players that have some experience, but it is good for newbies to know because I felt bad for some dark-elf mage that had 2 piety, who amazingly got to level 11! Not very pleasant...But, play anyway you like, some people have chosen very different paths and became quite successful. As people suggest, it is not a number game.

[Melodor]

Happy, the sentiment is appreciated, but the information is somewhat inaccurate. We do not have the same mechanisms as standard mordor (or RoH).

-Ticking in LoS is more finely graded than a simple 20 or 40 seconds depending on a fixed point. Higher piety really does mean faster ticking.
-Con is pretty useful if you are bad at vigging. On other muds assassins for example are great healers. Here they are not: they deal damage not doctor it. They have a lot of HP and ticking for 1HP because you have terrible constitution gets dull. It is also a factor for other skills in some classes.
-These "stats which make a big difference" are not accurate: in LoS 13 is not really significantly better than 12.
-The point that casters need high intelligence was already made. But there is not some kind of on/off switch point at 21 intelligence. It's graded.
-Strength is *not* the only factor involved in fighting. If you are aiming at a target you need more than brute strength to hit it accurately.
-Dexterity is far more significant here than on other muds.

Your comments are almost certainly accurate for other mordor muds, but not for LoS which has many refinements. For example in the old system your casting ability depended on level. A level 18 fighter with 4 int and 0% skill in fire could cast fireball much better than a level 1 with 4 int and 0% skill. Why? he might be high level but he is still stupid and has no skill in fire. And as for dexterity being irrelevant for thieves, assassins and how much you miss your targets - no comment. Leave your mordor assumptions behind :-)

[Happy]

It is my conspiracy to get out some of the facts and mysteries out of the staffs mouth

Ya, I know, I had a feeling that it is probably different...but now it is good for other mordor players who come here and know they do not have to stick to the norm!

[Ghandi]

I think they are points on how much dex or int you have where the difference is bigger. ie i finally have 10 int and i cast a well lot better, even lvl 4 spells. Could be being my lvl or int', don't know exactly. Which im almost sure of it the point where you switch to 16 dex. Usually i walk around with 15 dex, but when im preparing for big battles, i put on another piece of armour and my dex is 16. At this point my ac drops 1 and not because this piece of armour is so strong.

[crow]

If all you are interested in is a lower armour class then fine, but as a thief I've noticed dexterity changes have more of an impact generally. Nothing confirmed but it definitely feels 'better' for each point of dex I gain when using most of my skills.

[Ghandi]

Too bad Ghandi has too much constitution. He could have better used those extra points to increase his piety or maybe some strength.

[Ghandi]

For those who doesn't know it yet: Erynn's site has been updated. Check their character and story section for new entries.

[brent]

Too bad Ghandi has too much constitution. He could have better used those extra points to increase his piety or maybe some strength.

i dont have enough piety, i need more so me healin spells dont fail so much