
  Welcome to Haven!

  You're probably very confused as to what to do now.  This book is
  your first aide in that endeavor. Inside this book, you'll discover
  how to get skills, how to train those skills, and how to interact with
  the various non-player characters in the game.  

  If you ever need to refer back to this document (and you should!), you
  can do that by simply typing "help newbie".

  GETTING AROUND

  *Going places
    Moving around in the world is fairly easy.  Simply use the command
    "go <direction>", which would be "go east" or "go north". The 
    directions you can go can be seen at the top of the room description.
    These are the "obvious" exits.  You can also use the pre-made aliases
    to move you around.  These are aliased around all the cardinal 
    directions, such as "n" for "go north".  To see a list of your aliases,
    simply type "alias".

  *It says there is a building here, how do I enter it?
    Entering buildings is a vital part of the game. To do so, simply type
    "enter <building>", where <building> is the name of what you want to
    enter, such as "enter shop" or "enter temple".

  GETTING SKILLS

  *What are development points?
    Development points are a measure of your current ability to learn new
    skills.  They are listed using the "score" command.  Development points
    allow you to train existing skills (in some cases) and to learn new
    skills.

  *How do I get them?
    You receive development points for many things in the game, including
    solving quests and advancing your character level.  Reading this newbie
    book is your first "quest" and gives you many development points to 
    begin buying skills with.
    
  *Ok, I have development points, how do I use them?
    That's the easy part.  Just find a trainer (usually they are marked as 
    "willing to teach" in their description) and "ask" them to teach you.
    They will respond telling you what they can teach.  Not all trainers
    train the same skills, so be careful who you talk to!
    
  *Hey, how do I join a class?
    Haven uses both a class and classless system.  You can "buy" using
    development points any skill in the game, assuming you find a trainer
    that is willing to teach you.  This allows greater flexibility in 
    character creation than a normal "class based" MUD.  If you want your
    wizard to wield a sword instead of a staff, that is up to you. However,
    you can also find a class leader and "ask <leader> to join <class>", 
    which will give you more skills than you could afford as classless, 
    but with no choice in how those skills are ranked. Once you have 
    skills, typing <skills> will list them, or you can use <..> which is 
    a pre-set alias.
    
  GETTING STARTED

  *Where can I get some free equipment?
    Most cities have someone who gives various types of free equipment to 
    new players.  In Sanctum, this person is Xoran and he can be found in
    the Colosseum.  Simply "ask" this NPC, and he will equip you.
    
  *Where can I use those nifty skills?
    Any time you perform an action in the game, your skills will raise if
    the action you performed was related to that skill.  So if you want to
    raise your "slash attack" skill, just hold a slashing weapon and 
    attack.
    
  RELIGIONS

  *What religions are there in the game?
    There are many different religions in the game. Use <help religions>
    to learn about them.
    
  *Why isn't Christianity/Judaism/etc modelled?
    Haven does not want to suggest any "real" religion, and this
    is not the place to discuss modern religion.  Everyone has their own
    beliefs, and we do not want to hurt anyone's feelings by modelling
    their religion in a manner different from modern views.
    
  *What effect does religion have on the game?
    Religion can have a deep impact on a character or a very small impact,
    depending on how you choose to play your character. Religions offer
    clerical magic and spells to their priests.  Having a priest character
    is fun, but requires a bit more roleplay than having a basic warrior.
    
  *How do I join a religion?
    Simply find a temple of that religion.  One of the NPCs in that room
    will be able to "convert" you if you ask them.
    
  *How do I become a priest of a religion?
    Once you have converted to that religion, you can buy the "faith"
    skill from a trainer.  This will give you access to spells and
    other bonus abilities for clerics/priests. Or, you can choose to
    join the clerics/priest class for your religion.
    
  MAGIC

  *Does Haven have spells?
    Yes.  Haven has magic in 4 varieties.  Conjuring magic,
    which is also "wizard magic"; faith magic, which is "priest magic";
    natural magic, which is "druidic" magic; and bardic music, which 
    is a somewhat different type of magic that uses the "sing" command
    instead of the "cast" command.
    
  *How do I learn spells?
    One you have found a trainer that will teach you the appropriate 
    skills, you must find a "metatrainer" to teach you spells.  Usually
    this trainer is hanging around near the skill trainer. Use <spellhelp>
    or <help allspells> to see the kind of spells you can learn.
    
  *What do "vocal music" and "instrumental music" do?
    These are the skills involved in bardic magic. Use <songhelp> for 
    details.
    
  *Why do all my spells fail?
    Your spells, like all skills, take practice to learn.  Once you are
    more familiar with the casting of a spell, it will fail less often.
    Use <spells> to see a list of spells you know, and how well you know
    them.
    
  *When will I be earth shatteringly powerful as a Mage?
    Never.  Well, maybe.  But it'll be a LONG while.  You never hear 
    about an 18 year old human mage of phenominal godlike powers.  When
    your level increases, your spells will increase in power.  Eventually,
    mages can kill with a touch, but that is for very powerful mages only.
    
  *What is the best way to train my magical skills?
    Use them.  Sometimes, this can be very dull in the early game due to
    the fact that casting "divine magic" on your shirt several hundred 
    times is not very interesting.  However, it is a fine way to increase 
    your skills without needing to risk your life.  Keep in mind that many 
    mages lack weapons training, and any combat can be life-threatening.
    
  DEATH, WOUNDS, COMBAT, and POST-TRAUMATIC INJURIES

  *Ok, I'm dead.  What now?
    If you died, you're probably standing in a cemetery now. Your body is
    sitting, rotting, wherever it was you died.  On the plus side, you're 
    safe now. On the down side, you're a walking zombie.  Find a healer to 
    resurrect you. Newbies get this treatment for free, beyond that you 
    must pay to have your body restored to life.  If you die AGAIN while 
    you are a zombie, your character is deleted from the game, so you 
    probably want to avoid that. Once you reach mortal you will need to pay
    for healing, so it is a good idea to put some money in a bank (see 
    <help banking>), as it will often be difficult to reach your corpse.
    
  *Ack!  He cut my arm off!  Help!
    First, get the bleeding stopped (if you can).  Then, find a healer and
    ask him to "restore" your arm.  He'll laugh at you and charge you a fee,
    but at least you'll have your arm back.
    
  *Why does it keep saying "Your mind is no longer clouded?"
    Any time you take damage, you become slightly dazed.  To a warrior, this
    is a normal feeling; but to a mage or priest this can be deadly since
    they cannot focus enough to cast spells.  This can lead to a deadly cycle
    where the mage cannot cast spells to defend himself and winds up dead.
    "Your mind is no longer clouded" tells you that you are no longer dazed,
    and if you are a spell caster you may now cast a spell.
    
  *I'm bleeding.  Is that bad?
    It can be. If you are only bleeding a small amount, like in life, you
    will eventually stop bleeding and just need to wipe off the mess.  If
    you are bleeding like a sieve though it can be life threatening.  Seek
    medical attention (or magical attention!) quickly.
    
  *I collapsed.  How screwed am I?
    Well, it depends on whether someone is attacking you or not.  If you 
    are lying on the ground unable to defend yourself, you're probably in
    some big trouble.  If you're just very tired, just rest on the ground
    a bit and wait.
    
  *Whenever I flee combat, it tells me I pant.  Why?
    Fleeing combat is very tiring.  You need to take a moment to catch your
    breath.  Just hope that the person you fled from doesn't follow you.
    
  WEATHER

  *It's raining.  Does that do anything?
    Yes.  It causes some nice messages letting you know that it's raining.
    In addition, people of poor health will sometimes catch colds or other
    diseases if they stand in the rain too long.  (This also applies to
    snowing, misting, hailing, etc.)
    
  *My score says that my body temperature is "cold".  Is that bad?
    Yes.  If you are cold, you will begin to die from cold.  The same
    can be said of being too warm.  Seek clothing more suitable to
    your current environment.

  *Where can I buy warmer (cooler) clothes?
    Many towns have clothiers who are willing to sell regionally appropriate
    clothing at reasonable prices.  Then again, some are just out to make 
    money and charge excessively for low quality clothes.
    
  ILLNESS AND DISEASE

  *I think I caught a cold.  Will I die?
    Possibly, but not likely with just a regular cold.  Lie down someplace
    warm (like an inn) and wait it out.  You can also seek out magical 
    healing to rid you of the annoyance quickly.
    
  *Is there any way to get over being ill faster?
    Yes.  Magical spells and the occasional "treatment" can be found that 
    will accelerate the process.
    
  *How did I get this disease anyway?
    Well, some diseases are contagious.  Standing out in the rain is a good
    way to get a cold, and spending too much time with working women near the
    city docks can also lead to strange diseases.
    
  ROLEPLAYING

  *What is "roleplaying"?
    Roleplaying means taking on the persona of someone that you are not.  
    It doesn't require an Oscar-winning performance, only a bit of work
    to not talk about things that the character doesn't know. See <help
    roleplay> for more information.
    
  *Do I have to say things like "Doth mine eyes deceive me, Brutus?"
    Well, you can, but people will laugh at you.  Roleplaying means acting
    "in character".  If you character is a young female elf, she should not
    be talking about the Detroit Red Wings.  Keep that sort of discussion 
    to the "ooc" channel.
    
  *Can I play my character how I want?
    Yes, within the bounds of good sense.  Your character must behave as
    the character would within the world as defined.  In other words, if
    you have created an Ultra-Good Eclat Priest, she should not spend time
    killing small children.
    
  *My character is the ONE <elf/gnoll/human> that is different!
    While it can be fun to play the rebel, in a roleplaying game such as
    Haven, this can be cliche.  If everyone roleplays the ONE 
    demon that likes flowers, then it's not exactly unique.  If you don't
    want to roleplay the race and/or religion you have chosen, then please
    reselect a different race that better fits the type of character you
    wish to play.
    
  *The OOC channel
    The OOC channel ("<ooc>") is a good wait to communicate with other
    people playing the game.  It is totally "out of character", and so
    you can discuss things like hockey and football games (or Haven
    game info!) without getting yelled at.  The only restrictions on this
    channel are that no "in game" knowledge must ever pass on this line, 
    such as "meet me at the Forum in Sanctum".  You can change the name
    that is seen on the OOC line by using the "oocname" command.  It defaults
    to whatever you entered as your Real Name when you created the character.
    This helps to seperate the OOC line from normal in-game communication.
    
  *It says I need an approved story.  What is that?
    Once you reach level 4, you need to have spent some time thinking about
    your character.  A character story is a short history of your character,
    including why he is the way he is.  This can include "My father took me
    to see the fights in the Colosseum when I was young, so I grew up always
    wanting to be an impressive warrior."
    
  CHAT LINES

  *Is OOC the only chat line?
    Yes.  It is the only chat line available in the game. On occassion, other
    lines may be added for specific reasons (priests of the same religion),
    but those lines are considered to be IN GAME and must remain in-character
    at all times.
    
  *How do I talk on OOC?
    Type "ooc <message>" where <message> is what you want to say.
    
  *How do I emote on the chat lines?
    Type either "oocemote <message>" where <message> is what you want to 
    emote, or type "oe <message>" for the same thing.  Example:  "oe smiles."
    will display "<ooc> Bob smiles." if Bob types it.
    
  IMMORTALITY

  *What is an Immortal?
    An Immortal is someone that helps to build the game and add to it.
    They can be considered the "staff" and "employees" of the game. Read
    <help admin> to learn what the different ranks of immortals do.
    
  *How do I become an Angel?
    You ask VERY nicely.  This must be a request to Duuk or another
    person of "Admin" rank.  It helps to be very familiar with the game
    and be someone who is known to help out and not cheat or exploit bugs.
    
  *What does an Angel actually do?
    Build areas.  An Angel is still learning how to build areas for 
    the game, and works very hard.  It is quite a bit of work for very little
    actual result.  Many, many people fail in this stage, not realizing just
    how much effort is involved.

  IF THINGS GO WRONG

  *This room has no exits!
    Occasionally you may come across a room with a bug or other issue, which
    may result in the room having no exits. If this happens and no immortals
    are present to help, you can use the fix command, specifically 
    <fix room>. Read <help fix> for more details and other situations where 
    this command is useful. Do not abuse this command.

  *Wizhelp
    If you need Immortal assistance and none are answering ooc, you can use
    <wizhelp> to reach them. Type <wizhelp> and if an Immortal is avaliable,
    they should respond with a tell. Do not abuse this command.
    
  THE END

  *Enjoy the game. See <help> for an index of avaliable topics. Player 
   documents includes files like this one, and player commands will tell 
   you more about all the other commands avaliable to you.