First Steps¶

This page covers orientation: the commands that report your state, how movement and rooms work, and the rules that keep you alive in your first minutes.

Connecting¶

Browser: play at the main site — browser play starts from a free web account, and a signed-in account with claimed characters opens on character select (pick a number, no password).

Telnet (phoenixsagas.servegame.com 4000, TLS 4443): no account needed. You are prompted for a name:

A new name begins character creation.
An existing name prompts for the password and returns you exactly where you logged out.

The connect banner names the running build (v0.1.0 <sha>) — quote it when reporting a bug. Everything is saved automatically and continuously — position, stats, skills, inventory, and learned spells. You can quit and return at any time.

Your first minute

A brand-new character is hailed by name at the fountain — answer with GREET EILWEN. TASKS lists the finding-your-feet checklist and spells out each next keystroke; finishing it hands you to the saga.

The four status commands¶

Use these first; they never cost anything and never apply roundtime:

Command	Aliases	Reports
`LOOK`	`L`	The room: description, occupants, ground items, and exits
`STAT`	`STATS`	The ten stats with bonuses, current/max HP, current/max mana, active afflictions
`INFO`	—	Level, experience and next-level threshold, unspent PTP/MTP, silver, posture, stance, roundtime
`SKILL`	`SKILLS`	Trained skills with ranks and bonuses (`SKILL ALL` includes untrained)

Two more are worth knowing immediately:

Command	Aliases	Reports
`EFFECTS`	`AFFLICTIONS`	Active wounds and status effects, with remaining durations
`RT`	`ROUNDTIME`	Seconds of roundtime left before you can act again

Movement¶

Directions are single commands:

N  S  E  W            cardinal
NE NW SE SW           diagonal
UP DOWN  (U D)        vertical
OUT                   the room's default exit
GO <name>             a named exit (GO GATE, GO HALL, GO DOOR)

LOOK <target> examines a creature, item, exit, or a piece of scenery named in the room description. Some exits are hidden and not listed by LOOK — they must be discovered. Some are one-way. Doored exits show their state ([closed], [locked]); open them with OPEN / UNLOCK (see Inventory).

Roundtime¶

Roundtime (RT) is a forced pause after an action — every combat swing, every spell, every lockpicking attempt. It begins the instant you act, even on a miss or a fizzle.

While in roundtime you can still use the status commands above, HELP, and STANCE. You cannot attack, move, cast, or use most active verbs.

The standard combat rhythm: swing → immediately STANCE defensive → wait out RT → STANCE offensive → swing again. Changing stance is free and legal during RT.

See Combat for exact RT values.

Sanctuary: the town is safe¶

Inside Coldhollow you are fully protected:

No creature can start a fight with you.
Hostile creatures cannot follow you in through the gate.
You can rest, heal, train, and trade with no threat.

Past the gate — the Frostspine Trail and beyond — those protections end. When a fight turns against you, withdraw to town; pursuers stop at the gate. See The Frostspine.

Finding your feet¶

A brand-new character has a short orientation checklist — type TASKS to see it. It asks you to walk the safe streets of Coldhollow and GREET a few of its people (the empath in the square, the priest at the chapel, the herbalist at the apothecary, and more). Each one you complete grants experience — enough to carry you from level 0 up a level or two while you learn to move, LOOK, and TALK. The list ticks itself as you go; there's nothing to turn in.

Getting help in game¶

HELP            the in-world topic list
HELP COMBAT     combat mechanics
HELP MAGIC      the incantation system
HELP TRAIN      spending training points
HELP DEATH      what dying costs

Most mechanics on this wiki have a matching HELP <topic> entry in game.